Chapter 3517
On the seventh day of the Zhoushan Forum, which was also the last day of official activities, a number of countries led by Haihan jointly signed the "Zhoushan Declaration" and it was read out at the closing ceremony of the forum.
This is not a declaration of alliance, but some consensus reached by various countries during the forum.
For example, all countries agree that in the event of conflicts with other countries, negotiation is the preferred way to resolve the issue.
It was agreed that Haihan would hold the Zhoushan Forum regularly as a platform to strengthen exchanges and communication between countries.
Agree to increase the scale of trade between countries and organize the formulation of trade rules and tariff standards common to all countries.
Although many of these consensuses are unlikely to be implemented in the short term, the fact that they can be recognized by various countries reflects, at least to a certain extent, the influence Haihan has today.
Of course, the real reason why it is recognized by all countries is because the participants gained real benefits during the forum activities.
Whether it is political consultation, military alliance, or commercial procurement, the vast majority of participants can achieve some set goals at the Zhoushan Forum. Even countries with less harmonious relations with Haihan have at least obtained a lot of valuable information from the forum.
The people who gained the most real money during this period were probably the exhibitors at various exhibitions.
Take Fujian Shipyard, which co-organized the ship show as an example. During the forum, it received various orders for a total of nearly 100 ships, and even more than half of the production capacity for next year has been booked. It is estimated that by the next forum, the scale of the ship show will be greatly increased, and the participating units will probably not only be shipyards from Fujian.
Most of the exhibitors in Jiangsu and Zhejiang are promoting local traditional specialties. High-end porcelain, silk, tea, spices and other products are most popular among foreign merchants, especially Western merchants. After these things are shipped to Europe, the price often increases several times, and the profit is considerable.
Of course, the most profitable thing is probably Haihan’s military industry.
Although the sales figures have not been announced to the public, the busyness of the two industry officials, Bai Kesi and Qiao Zhiya, during the forum is enough to prove that the military industry is booming and a lot of equipment should have been sold.
A considerable part of this went to Japan. Representatives of the Kyushu vassals have already embarked on their return journey ahead of schedule. Along with them, they returned to Kyushu with the last batch of arms received before the outbreak of the civil war.
After the war breaks out, the supply of arms may no longer be as smooth as it is now. Haihan will regulate the arms supply according to the war situation to ensure that the strength of the warring parties can maintain a delicate balance and allow the civil war to continue for a long time.
However, the Japanese probably don't think so. Both the Kyushu vassals and the Tokugawa shogunate firmly believe that they can defeat the opponent quickly. By then, the wealth plundered from the opponent will be enough to make up for the huge investment in purchasing arms before the war.
With the conclusion of the Zhoushan Forum, the cross-border inspection activities organized by Haihan also kicked off.
Due to the large number of people from various countries participating in the inspection activities, and nearly a hundred distinguished time-travelers who also traveled together, the scale of the fleet going to Japan was also surprisingly large. The entire fleet has more than a hundred ships, including more than fifty accompanying ships that are used only for material transportation and armed escort.
In order to ensure the safety of the inspection trip, in addition to the Haihan Army of nearly 2,000 people departing from Zhoushan Port, more than 2,000 troops at the Sasebo base have also been prepared to serve as escorts. The Haihan Army of this size is enough to defeat any armed force in the Japanese archipelago.
Among the members of the executive committee, except for Yuan Qiuye and Schneider, who are staying behind, the other seven will participate in the inspection trip. Among them, Chen Yixin will set off directly from Shandong and join the large army in Jiuzhou.
Of course, after the other seven people return in batches, Yuan Qiuye and Schneider will also have the opportunity to participate in subsequent inspections. Anyway, this civil war won't be over for a while, so don't worry if you miss the opening, there will be no fun to watch.
It was not until this time that other countries gradually realized that Haihan attached more importance to Japan than imagined. In the past thirty years, it is rare to hear that Haihan’s top management made such a large-scale move.
Andoshi, a Korean military general who had participated in the Battle of Hirado in 1638, immediately informed Li Zhen after seeing the huge fleet preparing to leave for Japan in Dinghai Port that Japan was going to be in bad luck this time.
Looking back at the time when Kaihan took the initiative to send troops to attack the Kyushu Hirado Domain, the armed fleet dispatched did not reach the current scale, and there were not so many high-ranking Kaihan officials accompanying him to supervise the battle. Therefore, An Daoshi believes that the real purpose of this inspection trip to Japan may not be as simple as the Haihan Executive Committee claims.
Li Zhi is relatively calm. No matter what Haihan's true purpose is, Japan, an evil neighbor, is targeted by Haihan. This situation will be beneficial to North Korea without any harm.
If it hadn't been for the fact that the Executive Committee had already said hello that North Korea should not directly intervene in Japan's civil war for the time being, Li Zhi was actually very willing to take advantage of this opportunity to carve out some pieces of flesh from Japan. If there is a chance, it is not impossible to destroy Japan directly.
Li Zhi was still a little skeptical, whether Haihan only planned to teach a lesson and was not prepared to deal with Japan ruthlessly, but when he heard Ando Shi's report, he knew that he was wrong.
This time Kaihan takes action, there is a high probability that he will not destroy the Hirado clan, take Sasebo Bay, and then withdraw his troops and return to camp like he did last time. With so many big figures rushing to Japan for inspection, it would be reasonable to make some big noise locally.
Whether it is a civil war or a war to destroy the country will be revealed soon.
There are actually many people who are also aware that Japan's prospects are worrying, but the vast majority of them just watch the excitement and do not feel sorry for Japan.
There are also a very small number of people who have different concerns. They pay more attention to the methods used by Haihan in the process of operating this matter.
However, Shi Diwen's previous layout in Kyushu has lasted for several years, and it was only launched during his local tour last year. It is difficult for outsiders to detect the role of these silent means in the early stage in creating the current situation, and it is even more difficult to implement them from the beginning. committee’s perspective to take a bird’s-eye view of the overall situation.
As a party involved, Masato Masuyama only left Zhoushan the day before the departure of the fleet to Japan. He had tried his best to resolve the battle situation that the shogunate would face, but his personal power was really difficult in the chess game that Haihan had deployed. It caused a stir and didn't even get a chance to meet with the executive committee.
The only good thing is that Haihan did not close arms sales channels to the shogunate, and acquiesced in Masato Masuyama's contacts with Haihan's various suppliers. All kinds of equipment that the Kyushu vassals can buy from Haihan can also be purchased by the shogunate. Although the quantity is limited, it is better than nothing.