From Chief to Ball

A patriotic businessman will consider choosing a lower profit to transport domestic raw silk and develop his own industry, but the personification of capital will naturally choose a higher profit, so for these profit-minded people, Chen Jian's behavior is very good. It has become a "foresight" and has a higher reputation.

For this reason, Chen Jian quickly gathered the people in the fleet to discuss one thing.

He is eating at both ends, saying that he got the news from the merchants of the Ming Dynasty that the Japanese might attack Ryukyu. In fact, no one told him, but he is clear about the fall of Ryukyu in March next year.

This is the best time to open up relations with the Ming Dynasty. If everything goes well and you can go to Beijing next year, then this matter will deepen the impression and favor of the Ming Dynasty, and at least get the same treatment as a Portuguese.

This was also his last preparation for trade and a foothold.

He is the supreme commander of the fleet, but the use of the army must be discussed with the people sent by the country, so these people were called together.

"Mr. Chen, we have just established a trade relationship with Japan. Is it inappropriate to intervene at this time? I think, if our country is fighting for the Spanish colony, and suddenly a group of people come to confront us, we will definitely would be very dissatisfied."

"Yes, that country has a lot of silver and is a good trading partner. We don't quite agree with this."

Chen Jian said: "You are wrong. Let me ask you, take the raw silk trade as an example. If Japan can directly trade with the Ming Dynasty, is our existence still necessary?"

"Of course it's not necessary."

"Yes, so we want to bury nails between the two countries. Don't give them any chance to trade with each other. This is a perfect opportunity. The vassals of the Ming Dynasty were attacked by Japan, and we killed them in the name of Ming Dynasty officials. They, is it possible for these two families to reconcile and trade?"

Everyone figured it out a bit, they were familiar with this kind of thing of burying nails and making shit sticks, and history books said that such things were done a lot.

With this group of people, there is no need to talk about doctrines, beliefs and ideals, as long as two words, interests are enough.

Chen Jian said again: "If this thing is done, there will be no chance of direct trade between Japan and the Ming country in this life. And we have become good people, won the favor of the Ming country, and won't be a middleman to make a big difference Beautiful? They conquered Ryukyu, took advantage of the opportunity of Ryukyu tribute, and took the right to trade in the name of tribute in their own hands, and we still make a lot of money?"

"But... we just made a deal with them about the business hall, so will they... cut off the trade with us directly? They have a lot of silver."

Chen Jian said with a smile: "No. They are like us 100 years ago. There are many countries, and the country closest to Ryukyu was standing on the opposite side of the current Japanese king not long ago. Besides, what are they fighting Ryukyu for? ? If you can’t trade in that poor place, you’ll just grow sweet potatoes, and I won’t even give it to me. Isn’t it for trade?”

Someone said again: "But even if we look very similar to people from the Ming Dynasty, but there is no wall that does not leak, this..."

"So what can we do if we know? Originally, trade is a life-and-death struggle. If we don't fight, they will benefit. They want to trade directly and bypass middlemen to make the difference. Of course, they can't be given a chance. No matter what, it is impossible to conduct direct trade with Japan, and we can stand more firmly here. And, by the way, let them know that the era of flint guns is coming, and they just happen to sell more muskets. This thing is huge profits, Why is it a [-]% profit? Japan is not stable internally, some people don’t want it and some people want it, how can you sell guns if there is no war?”

"Moreover, opportunities are rare now. The Spaniards can't reach out, and the Dutch are temporarily weak. In a few years, we will be passive if we don't prepare in advance."

Someone thought about it for a while, then nodded and said: "That's right. In this way, the relationship between Japan and Ming will be tense, and Ming will not allow ships to go to Japan. We can obtain the legal right to assist in anti-smuggling in this waterway. If we want to trade, we must After Wangbei City, you can either join the company and become a shareholder, or sink it and take it away. Second, the countries that can trade with Japan in this area are those countries. We control the strait, and Japan’s own ships trade with Vietnam and Thailand. It’s unrealistic, unless they don’t want to make any money at all, they will definitely allow trade. The third is that the strength of the Spaniards and the Dutch here is not enough for the time being, and we have buried the Catholic gap in Japan, Portugal It is estimated that it will be difficult for people to gain a foothold, and it really depends on us. Four things, in this way, we can gain the favor of the Ming Dynasty, obtain the right to open the market, and obtain cheaper and higher-quality raw silk."

After this person finished speaking, several people also nodded and said: "Although people's hearts are unpredictable, from the perspective of interests, as long as there is no opposition force in Japan, they will not close the country and stop trading. Only when there is an internal threat, it is possible to ignore it, and at this time, many people may feel dissatisfied and increase their enemies."

Chen Jian nodded and said: "That's it. We have already made a concession that we will not get involved in the spice trade with Europe, so the Dutch and Spaniards are not allowed to intervene in this trade route. The company's plan, it can be like this, let's get together internally Some of the shares are not affiliated to the Nanyang Trading Company. At the same time, we can attract maritime merchants from the Ming Dynasty to buy shares, and there is no shortage of manpower, and we don’t need to send many people from far away to station here.”

This means that some of the profits here are sold to those who follow him to sea, and everyone is naturally happy.As for the establishment of a foothold in Taiwan, this group of people also understands that the Mexican Party will hold it in their hands, and the level of this group of people's development of immigration areas is naturally not bad, so they can rest assured.

I asked the military people, and the military people were very relieved, and said: "The two battalions, plus the artillery on the ship and the company's employees, victory is not a problem. Their delivery capacity is at most 5000 people." .”

Chen Jian also said generously: "This battle is worth at least [-] silver coins. Counting the soldiers' shares, if they die in battle, the three times the shares will be handed over to the family. After all, this is for the benefit, not for the country. To persuade?"

The officer smiled and said: "No need, the money is enough to boost morale. The shares of Mr. Chen's company are real money, everyone can trust it. After going around for a while, they all have dozens of silver coins in share capital. Earn money like this?"

"Then it's settled. I'll send a ship to Fuzhou, and ask the officials of the Ming Dynasty to borrow a justifiable name. I'll see if there are any officials who are brave enough to seek wealth and wealth. The soldiers are also ready to send two fast boats to Ryukyu Inquire about the situation, but don't reveal your flaws."

The officer asked again: "Do you need to make preparations? Wang Beicheng, do you want to prepare for the retaliation?"

Chen Jian waved his hand and said, "They're exhausted. Let's talk about the Navy's victory over us first. A small battle, fought beautifully, can be regarded as a test of flint guns. After you go back, write a report to summarize. Reward. Is that the deal?"

Everyone nodded in agreement, and asked the clerk to write down these things and stamp them with a seal. It was considered settled, and they were ready to go step by step.Chen Jian also wrote a report within the party to explain the importance of this matter for future plans, and they all agreed.

Chen Jianxin said, bring Li Dan, Sun Yuanhua and others.Let Li Dan firmly believe that this is a promising company to avoid both ends; let Sun Yuanhua and others see the new tactics with their own eyes. If they can show a change in thinking that can be "united front" before sailing, they will have the opportunity to give a great contribution to the company. These people who have not yet achieved fame.

Chapter 79

The envoy sent to Fuzhou to take chicken feathers as arrows returned soon, and the conversation went smoothly.

It's Eunuch Gao, the tax supervisor of the governor of Fujian who is running the water, as long as he doesn't do too much, this guy will be fine for the time being.

The newly appointed governor, Chen Zizhen, was very old. He had heard what Chen Jian and others did before, and his attitude was quite friendly.The newly-appointed Fujian General Soldier is also greedy for money. Chen Jian usually sends people to bribe and accept Fujian local officials. He turns a blind eye to many things.

The possibility of Ryukyu being invaded by Japanese pirates is not big or small, and the officials also feel that if there is any, they will send someone to check it anyway.

It is also true that the navy is not good enough to manage it. There are disasters everywhere in the country, and the military pay is lacking everywhere.If something happened to Ryukyu, it would be a big deal to change the biennial tribute to once every ten years. This would not only preserve the dignity, but also prevent Japan from using the Ryukyu tribute to trade.

However, this chicken feather arrow is very important to Chen Jian. With this chicken feather, he is a mercenary this time.

Wars are always for profit, and he has enough confidence in getting involved in Ryukyu affairs this time.

The Shimadzu family was on the wrong team when they fought in Sekigahara. They belonged to the unreliable group of people from the shogunate. All the Tokugawa family wanted was to trade with the Ming Dynasty. If something happened, the Shimadzu family would be blamed. Xia, at this time the reputation of the Ming Dynasty still has a certain deterrent power here in Asia.

Ryukyu still wants to maintain its special status as a trade transfer station and earn high profits by relying on the permission of tribute trade.The Ming Dynasty carried the power of the three major conquests, and Ryukyu felt that Japan still did not have the courage to do too much.

Regarding the threat from the Satsuma clan and Japan’s previous hope that Ryukyu would come forward to help contact the Ming Dynasty to start trade, Ryukyu also has its own plans. Once it negotiates the status of its own transit station, it will be very embarrassing. This is something that Ryukyu cannot allow Basically, the more pro-Ming faction, the more powerful officials in charge of tribute trade will not agree.

There are also fierce factional struggles within the Satsuma domain, so Chen Jian is not worried at all about making too much noise and affecting trade.As long as the Toyotomi family is not completely finished, and the shogunate does not have enough control, it is impossible to lock the country.

Since Ryukyu is a transit point for trade, it must be a strategic location.In the future, they will really turn their backs on Spain, the Netherlands and Portugal. If Ryukyu can control Taiwan, they will be able to cut off their trade with Japan, creating a foundation for this nascent maritime group to monopolize trade.

Soon after the envoy sent to Fuzhou returned, the person sent to Ryukyu to collect information also returned, and the news of the conflict between Satsuma and Ryukyu was basically confirmed.

Chen Jian was not in a hurry, and continued to send people to use the method and excuse of buying sulfur and dedicating sweet potato planting technology to King Shangning of Ryukyu to draw a map of Ryukyu, collect local customs and customs, and how to build some forts and fortresses, as well as measure tides. In case of difference and the time of high tide and low tide, come back on time to report.

Chen Jian squatted quietly in Wangbei City by himself. The construction of Wangbei City was still going on, and the large-scale land reclamation and planting of sweet potatoes had begun to save enough immigrant food for the upcoming flood in Fujian.

For the rest of the time, Chen Jian worked as a teacher, teaching geometry to Sun Yuanhua and others.

He has been a teacher for a long time, and spent several years compiling "Arithmetic and Geometry", the explanation from the simple to the deep can just be accepted by Sun Yuanhua and others.

Sun Yuanhua and others called Chen Jian Mr., and the age difference is not much different, but Han Changli said that there is a priority in learning and specialization in art, so calling Mr. Sheng is no big deal.

Chen Jian would not let go of the opportunity to subtly influence ideological education. He did not ask these people who are familiar with the sages to change their minds, but at least they could be used as the target of the united front if something happened in the future.

In the blink of an eye, when Sun Yuanhua and others started to learn about simple trigonometric functions, Wangbei City ushered in the first real political immigrant.Lin Zigui from Zhangzhou returned to sell his family property after returning from the last voyage, and together with his wife, he came to Wangbei City and began to learn characters and languages ​​in Wangbei City, hoping to read some more radical ideological books in the future.

The people who came on the same boat as Chen Jian were also busy. Some were busy organizing production and construction, while others were looking for someone to translate some of the collected books and sort out some useful knowledge.

The upper class knew about the war, but the soldiers below only got wind of it.Fighting wars for money, mobilization and preaching too early is meaningless.

In February, Chen Jian began to prepare fresh water, food and supplies, and sort out gunpowder. There were rumors that there might be a war, and there was also news that he might go to Ryukyu.

A small military officer from Fujian also followed the boat to Wangbei City. The boat sent by Chen Jian took more than 30 people with him, which is quite important.

In late March, the Ryukyu Clippers finally sent the news of Satsuma's invasion of Ryukyu. Before the news was sent, the Satsuma's army had captured several small islands in the northern archipelago. It was those traders who brought the news to Shuri. King Shang Ning sent someone to ask for peace.

The officers in Wangbei City began to mobilize.The mobilization is very simple. Tell them that after the war, they will set up a trading company in the future. Those who participate will be divided into company shares of [-] silver coins according to whether they are injured, killed in battle, or participate in the war normally;

Simple mobilization, the soldiers cheered, and the company shares promised by Chen Jian were no different from real money.Moreover, this is not a place to defend the country. Apart from money, there is really nothing that can arouse the soldiers' emotions.

The soldiers had seen the Dutch system in the Netherlands, and felt that those people were just like that. They were much worse than their own in the use of artillery, and the matchlock guns were definitely not as fast as the flintlock guns in their hands.