Chapter 1044 Tobacco Trade

Wang Tom then asked: "According to the original establishment, your Shipu Station should be equipped with warships, right?"

Ma Ling responded: "Originally there were a few ships, but last year... in short, there are none now."

Of course, Ma Ling couldn't clearly explain that all the original warships had been sunk and captured by Haihan, and he didn't quite understand Wang Tom's intentions, so he could only respond vaguely.

Wang Tom said: "Shipu Port is dozens of miles deep, and we only rely on a few sentry ships to maintain public order. I think this pressure is too much. This time I plan to leave a few warships and corresponding manpower to assist the local area in maintaining public order."

, what does Ma Qianhu think?"

Only then did Ma Ling understand Wang Tom's intention to take the initiative to intervene in the matter. He wanted to arrange for armed personnel to be stationed in Shipu Port to replace the role of the Qianhu garrison. Before this, although Haihan had stationed some staff in Shipu, there were no

After revealing that he would replace Qianhu, Ma Ling immediately panicked. If the security and defense here were completely taken over by Haihan, then his own existence as Qianhu would seem to become dispensable.

"Chief, in fact, the people in Shipu Port are simple and simple, and there have been no pirate activities nearby. There is no need to arrange for additional troops to be stationed. The subordinates led by the humble post can do the job." Ma Ling quickly declined.

Tom Wang shook his head slightly and said: "The overall situation is the most important thing. You don't need to talk about this anymore. It's just decided."

Wang Tom did not intend to explain Haihan's intentions to him in detail. Haihan had not stationed troops here before, mainly because there were too many places where troops were needed in the Zhoushan Islands, and he would not be able to come here for a while, but after a year

Haihan slowly freed up his hands, and naturally he no longer turned a blind eye to the situation in Shipu Port. Just like Yacheng, which was adjacent to Sanya, it was only a matter of time before it was gradually taken over and annexed by Haihan.

Shipu Port itself is a natural port, and Sanmen Bay to the west is also an important coastal area with excellent terrain. The mouth of this semi-enclosed bay faces the southeast and is connected to the East China Sea through Shipu Waterway. The bay area is nearly 400 square meters.

It is the second largest bay in Zhejiang's coastal area after Hangzhou Bay. Shipu Port on the east side of Sanmen Bay and Jiantiao Port on the west side are both large natural seaports.

There are also many ports such as Haiyou, Chenhu, Liyang, Che'ao, Crab Claw, Zhengyu, Qimen, etc. The conditions for developing the maritime industry are very ideal. In addition, the vast coastal beach of Sanmen Bay can also be used for the construction of salt works.

But it is one of the low-cost industrial projects that Haihan is best at.

In the original history, Western powers had also made plans here. In 1899, Italy tried to forcibly lease Sanmen Bay as its naval base in the Far East. However, due to the tough attitude of the Qing court, the Italians failed in the end.

However, Haihan was not Italy, the weakest of the Western powers that entered the Far East in the 19th century, and the Ming Dynasty was not the Qing court that had declined after the Sino-Japanese War. Haihan did not intend to obtain Sanmen Bay from the Ming Dynasty through the public method of leasing.

control, but intends to exercise actual control over this area through garrisoning troops.

This method is somewhat similar to the Qiongbei area before Haihan declared the founding of the People's Republic of China. Although the local government agencies of the Ming Dynasty were retained, they were all ignored by Haihan and had long lost their actual jurisdiction over the local area. Sanmen Bay happens to be in the

At the junction of Ningbo and Taizhou, the garrisons on both sides were unwilling to offend the evil man Haihan, but they provided Haihan with a lot of convenience.

However, the scale of Haihan's garrison in Zhejiang is currently limited, and he will organize a march northward within the year, so the measures to control Sanmen Bay cannot be achieved overnight. Wang Tom believes that controlling the Shipu Waterway at this stage can be regarded as winning a city for Haihan.

As for the navy stationed in the local area, there is actually not much need, as long as there are a few ships to calm the scene. Although the establishment of the local Ming army is still there, the military camp is actually mostly empty.

The number of troops is only about a hundred or so, which is not enough to pose a threat to the Haihan garrison.

Wang Tom pretended to ask Ma Ling, but in fact it was just to find a reason for this arrangement. As for whether Ma Ling supports or opposes it, it will not affect Haihan's decision. If Ma Ling is informed, he will continue to be the leader.

Thousands of households in his Shipu village are living on empty wages and engaged in smuggling business, so that they can steadily become a wealthy man with a public official position. If he feels that Haihan's move is unacceptable, then he has no choice but to arrange other not-so-good things for Ma Ling.

It's over.

Ma Ling listened to Tom Wang's firm tone and left no room for him to argue. After hesitating for a moment, he finally gave in and said, "Can the garrison stay in Shipu in the name of a militia? This way, we can avoid making false accusations and causing all kinds of inconvenience in the future."

"I just like to deal with quick-thinking people like you." Wang Tom smiled and patted Ma Ling on the shoulder and praised: "As you said, the warships and related personnel will be in this area in the name of Shipu Militia from now on.

Activity."

The existence of Haihan armed personnel in this area in the name of Shipu Militia is undoubtedly a more compromise method. This can indeed effectively avoid the guilt of Shipu Qianhusho's foreign connections, and also allow Haihan to achieve his purpose

, from a certain point of view, it is a win-win situation. What Haihan wants now is actual control, and he does not need to care about the reputation. Ma Ling's proposal is exactly what Wang Tom wants, and it also gives him a step down.

Ma Lingji did his best that day and arranged a sumptuous reception banquet for Wang Tom and others, including eating, drinking and having fun. Finally, he also prepared several jade ornaments bought from Hangzhou prefecture trustees as gifts. He knew that the Haihan people valued gold

I don't have much interest in silver, but I have a hobby of collecting some small things of low value but exquisite craftsmanship, so I specially selected such handicrafts as gifts for the high-ranking officials of Haihan. Of course, those who bought these gifts

The expenses are not out of his own pocket, but directly deducted from military expenses as training expenses - anyway, there is no daily training in Shipu Institute nowadays, so these empty military salaries are naturally spent by Ma Ling as he wants.

.

"Ma Qianhu is very interested!" Wang Tom admired the jade snuff bottle given by Ma Ling. He couldn't stop playing with it and couldn't put it down.

Snuff was introduced to China by the Italian missionary Matteo Ricci during the Wanli period, and was presented to the emperor as a tribute along with items such as the chime bell and the map of nations. The raw material is dry tobacco leaves that are rich in oil after being dried. In fact, as early as the early Ming Dynasty, Luzon

The country once offered tobacco as a tribute to the Ming Dynasty. During the Wanli period, sporadic tobacco cultivation appeared in the Zhangzhou area of ​​Fujian Province. According to the transliteration of Spanish tabacco, the tobacco was called Tamba wild rice. However, the snus at that time was mostly produced by Spanish colonies.

The quantity trafficked to the Ming Dynasty was not large, and its production technology did not flow into the Ming Dynasty at the same time. Therefore, snuff was not popular among the people of the Ming Dynasty during this period, and was only a pastime for a few upper-class people in society.

However, after Haihan took over the Qiongbei area, he began to promote tobacco planting in Danzhou. The reason why he chose this place was because there was a precedent for successfully growing tobacco in this place in the time and space before traveling, so there was no need to wait any longer.

Let’s slowly examine the soil and water environment in various places. In addition, tobacco cultivation has been gradually promoted in Heitu Port, Leizhou Peninsula, Pearl River Estuary, Fujian, Taiwan and other places in recent years. Except for a few low-grade products, these cultivated tobaccos flow from the local to the private sector.

In addition to sales, most of them are recycled by Haihan for deep processing, made into cigarettes and snus, and then sold to Daming.

Haihan imported almost all raw materials from Daming, while exporting highly processed high value-added products. This scissor gap was also one of the main means for Haihan to quickly accumulate wealth through trade in just a few years. The tobacco industry is

How big the market potential is and how huge the profits can be expected in the future. Travelers naturally know much better than people of this era. Therefore, after key export products such as salt, glass products, and weapons, tobacco and related products have also become the main export products of the sea.

Hanxin’s profitable export projects.

Compared with cigarettes, snuff that does not require carrying fire is obviously more convenient for users. In addition, its flavor can be blended with other drugs and spices, and the requirements for tobacco quality are relatively low, so it has also become a brand based in Danzhou.

The most important product of the cigarette factory.

When making snuff, the tobacco leaves are first dusted, ground and sifted, then mixed with medicinal materials and spices, sealed in pottery jars and buried underground to age for more than a year, and finally taken out and packaged for sale. The Spanish trafficked them to the Ming Dynasty.

Snus was mostly produced in the North American colonies and had to travel halfway around the world to reach the Far East. Freight accounted for most of the cost, so it was difficult to compete with the snus produced in Haihan in terms of price.

In addition, in the southeastern coastal areas, the living habits of the Haihan people have gradually become imitated by the upper class of society. The use of glassware, riding box carriages, installing ceramic sanitary ware and hot water boilers at home, etc. were all pioneered by Haihan

After some powerful people discovered that the Haihan people began to use snuff, they followed suit. The Ministry of Commerce instructed some scholars to start writing articles to promote this new pastime, saying that snuff "can improve eyesight, and is especially effective in warding off epidemics."

The unappealing name of "Tanba wild rice" was changed and a new term was called "Jinsi Xun", which immediately improved the reputation a lot.

However, in just a year or so, snuff began to become popular among the upper-class social circles on the southeastern coast. Taking snuff and sneezing has become a new pastime. As long as you see someone holding a palm-sized glass

Snuff bottles, no need to ask, must be produced in Danzhou.

The snus product also followed Haihan's consistent development method. Not only did it soon have a variety of different flavors, but it was also developed based on the quality of the tobacco, the value of the added drugs and spices, the differences in the manufacturing industry, and the differences in packaging.

It has launched multiple series of products with prices covering all classes from the grassroots to the wealthy, and has completed its occupation of the market in a very short period of time.

Since the Spaniards were expelled from Taipei last year, the major maritime trade ports in Fuzhou and Guangzhou are almost inevitably affected by Haihan. Although there are still some Ming maritime merchants who go to Manila for trade, Haihan overtly and covertly

Under the hints and threats, Spanish snus soon disappeared from the Ming Dynasty market due to supply interruption. In this way, Haihan successfully completed the monopoly on the tobacco market without spending much effort.

After Haihan entered the coast of Zhejiang last year, snuff was naturally one of the many Haihan products that flooded into the local market along with the sea routes. During this year, Qian Tiandun, Shi Diwen, Chen Yixin, etc. were stationed in Zhejiang.

People like Ma Ling also voluntarily served as spokespersons to promote this new product. People like Ma Ling, who has openly supported Haihan and will go to Zhoushan Island in a month or two, naturally know Haihan very well.

It was the preference of a high-ranking official. He purchased the materials himself and found a craftsman in Hangzhou to custom-make this snuff bottle.

Of course Wang Tom knew that the Haihan Commercial Department was sparing no effort to promote tobacco products to the Ming Dynasty, but the effect of allowing the Ming Dynasty officers to give snuff bottles to him as gifts was indeed something he had not expected.

Wang Tom called the guards over, gave a few instructions in a low voice, and then asked Ma Ling: "Ma Qianhu also likes to take snuff?"

Ma Ling responded: "I think this thing is really good for clearing the brain, improving eyesight, and driving away filth and diseases. Thousands of households in Qiancang and Juexi also have high praise for this thing. This snuff bottle is

When I went to Hangzhou for business, I asked a skilled craftsman to make it. Although it is not a valuable thing, it is still elegant to play with on a daily basis. I hope the leaders will not find it objectionable."

Neither Wang Tom nor Chen Yixin had much research on jade, but Hao Wanqing was a discerning person. While playing with it, he asked: "This jade has a bit of green, is it Lantian jade from Shaanxi?"

"Thank you, sir!" Ma Ling responded quickly: "This is exactly what Lantian jade is made of."

"You are willing to spend money!" Hao Wanqing did not comment on the value of the snuff bottle. Instead, he made an unclear comment to Ma Ling.

Ma Ling said with a smile: "They are all small items, not valuables, which made the chief laugh."

Tom Wang turned to Hao Wanqing and asked, "Is there something wrong with the thing?"

Hao Wanqing shook his head and said, "There's nothing wrong with it. It's a good thing. Just keep it. This is what Ma Qianhu wants."

"Yes, yes, what the chief said is that the humble position is just a way to express one's feelings. There is no other meaning." Ma Ling responded quickly.

Wang Tom's bodyguard came back soon, holding a small iron box in his hand. Wang Tom motioned for him to place it on the dining table, and then said to Ma Ling: "This is high-grade snuff produced in Danzhou. The weight in the box is five qian.

However, it costs twenty or thirty taels of silver in the Guangdong market. It is not sold in Zhejiang yet, and I don’t have much with me. Ma Qianhu must not think that this amount is too small."

How could Ma Ling dare to object that the portion was too small? It was already a great honor to receive a gift from a high-ranking official of Haihan in person. He accepted it with great gratitude, and his initially uneasy mood finally settled down.
Chapter completed!