Chapter 1770 Transnational Combination

Annan wants to open up a trade route to Northeast Asia. Most of the time, he can only start from the coast of Beibu Gulf, go to Daming via Qiongzhou Strait or Sanya Port, and then cross the Fujian Strait and head north to North Korea. The fleet departing from Annan is on this route.

During the route, it is very likely that we will stop at several ports controlled by Haihan for supplies, purchase or sell some goods. This cannot be hidden from Haihan officials anyway, so this matter must be reported to Haihan's senior management first.

Of course, with the good relationship that the Annan Zheng family has established with the Haihan senior management over the years, they will not face any difficulties if they request to open their own trade routes, not to mention that the Fujian Xu family is also involved in this matter. Moreover, Schneider also

Understand, in fact, Zheng Zha does not want to abandon Haihan and go it alone. On the contrary, he wants Haihan to join in and operate this route together. In this way, Annan's fleet can obtain more trade opportunities at the Haihan port along the way.

, and can get protection from Haihan, and have better security protection.

However, Zheng Zha didn't take the initiative to bring it up, and Schneider kept his composure. The three of them talked about this topic for a while, going around and around before finally coming to the point of letting Haihan join the team.

"Mr. Shi, as far as I know, although your country has established diplomatic relations with North Korea for nearly a year, there is currently no fixed trade fleet traveling between the two countries. Do you want to consider asking the Ministry of Shipping to send a few ships?

Ship join our transnational trade fleet?" Zheng Zha persuaded while watching Schneider's expression carefully, hoping to judge the other party's attitude from this.

"What size do you plan to build your fleet?" Schneider did not rush to answer Zheng Zha, but first asked a question that interested him.

As Haihan's long-term trading partners, Annan and Fujian are very aware of the approximate size of Haihan's trading fleet. In the past few years, Haihan specially developed the Yugong-class heavy-duty sail with a displacement of 500 tons.

As a maritime cargo vehicle, military and civilian versions were later built. The civilian version was used by Haihan officials as the main force of the ocean-going trade fleet.

Among the existing heavy-load sailing fleets, ten ships are generally used as the basic establishment, and more than twenty ships are considered a large fleet. When a large fleet sets sail, the Navy will arrange one or two exploration ships.

The accompanying warships are not only performing escort missions but also conducting long-distance voyage training for sailors, which can be regarded as killing two birds with one stone.

However, due to the high cost of Yugong-class sailing ships, there are no buyers for this kind of cargo sailing ships in other countries yet. Therefore, if a fleet with the same tonnage as the Haihan trading fleet is to be formed, the number of sailing ships must be at least three times.

Only then can the cargo carrying volume be kept constant. And this is already a big move for Annan, which focuses its maritime trade on the South China Sea.

Zheng Zha responded: "At present, we have agreed with General Xu that our family will sell twenty ships. If this deal can be done, we will make more in the future."

Compared with Annan, Fujian, which has very developed shipping and shipbuilding industries, has better conditions, and its geographical location is exactly at the midpoint between Annan and North Korea. These twenty cargo ships are just a trivial matter to Fujian, so naturally they are not there

Next words.

Schneider thought about it silently in his mind. If Qiong Lianfa and his gang planned to increase investment in Liaodong and use Lushun as a major commercial port for long-term trade with North Korea, the number of ships that would be invested in the northern route might be far greater than forty.

Zhan's Shipping Company alone can organize such a fleet on its own. However, Qiong Lianfa's main business direction is to open up the North Korean market after settling in Liaodong, which is different from Zheng Zha's approach of trying to operate routes.

There is a difference.

Of course, this is without the official involvement of Haihan. If Haihan also joins the trade route led by Zheng Zha, the fleet's carrying capacity can easily be doubled. And Schneider couldn't help but think of a very practical

The question is - how much trade volume can North Korea support? If a fleet of this size travels across thousands of miles of sea to North Korea without purchasing enough supplies, it will undoubtedly be a huge waste of transportation capacity. Schneider thought to himself.

It is better to discuss this matter with North Korean envoy Li Xi at another time to find out what are the main materials that North Korea can sell at this historical stage, and how many of them are raw materials and specialties that Haihan needs. And North Korea’s national

Whether trade can be opened up in such a cooperative manner, Schneider thinks there is still a big question mark.

While they were talking, Tao Donglai finally arrived. The short meeting did not come to a final conclusion on the issue of garrisoning troops in North Korea, but Li Xi's proposal was considered good news anyway. As for the cross-border trade plan proposed by Zheng Zha,

Tao Donglai's attitude was consistent with Schneider's, both recognized the feasibility of this trade route. Moreover, Tao Donglai was obviously more interested in sea ginseng, and asked Zheng Zao in detail how he planned to arrange the shipping schedule, and what the three parties

Proportions of ships provided.

However, since Schneider had not yet made up his mind to send a ship to participate in this matter, Tao Donglai would not express his position at this juncture to disrupt the position of his Minister of Commerce. Therefore, although he greatly appreciated Zheng Zha's proposal, he still did not make a clear decision.

This statement also made Zheng Zha feel a little disappointed. He didn't understand why these two high-ranking Haihan officials still refused to place a bet even though his plan was clearly appreciated.

This topic was not the main topic in today's meeting between the three parties, so after Tao Donglai raised a few questions, he quickly ended the discussion and returned to business.

The trade volume between Haihan and Annan and Fujian is considerable, and has been showing an upward trend over the years. These cross-border trades have brought huge benefits to all three parties, and trade items that need to be added or adjusted every year will be represented by the three parties.

Mutually agreed. Having said that, it was precisely based on this kind of trade relationship that Zheng Zha came up with the idea of ​​taking the lead in operating cross-border trade routes.

Haihan mainly imports local specialties and various raw materials from these two places, while exports are mainly various industrial products. Basically, the scissor difference between industry and agriculture is used to ensure annual trade profits. Annan and Fujian are

The raw material exporting place has always maintained a trade deficit with Haihan, but fortunately, the salt and iron industries that Haihan assisted them in operating are very profitable, and Haihan products imported from Fujian can also be distributed to the inland of Ming Dynasty for profit.

, so the cooperation between the three parties has always been smooth.

The two parties have cooperated for many years, and the various quotations are not too outrageous. Generally, they review each other's quotations, and if there are no major problems, they directly finalize the main import and export trade content for the next year. Of course, in terms of specific business projects, the three companies have different opinions on each other.

There will still be some disputes over the pricing of various commodities, but in the end they will make concessions to each other and choose a price acceptable to both parties to complete the transaction.

However, this year Xu Yuzhuo made new demands on Haihan on behalf of Fujian: "My father hopes that your country can export steam engines to Fujian, and the price can be easily negotiated."

Zheng Zha also followed closely: "What a coincidence. My father also has the same idea. I hope your country can open up the export of steam engines!"

Tao Donglai and Schneider looked at each other, and both saw a hint of vigilance in each other's eyes. The steam engine is the cornerstone of Haihan Industry, and it is also one of the main black technologies that travelers can perfectly copy in this time and space. For the steam engine

Haihan has always placed its manufacturing and use under strict control. Even technicians who have access to and use steam engines are under official supervision.

As for selling it to others? I'm sorry, Haihan has never had such a plan. Even the scrapped steam engine will never flow into the hands of other forces.

The reason for such strict monitoring is actually very simple. The structure and craftsmanship of a steam engine are not irreproducible. As long as they understand its operating principles, craftsmen from any country can design and manufacture a steam engine according to the design. Of course,

Whether simple imitations have practical application value is another matter.

Of course, Haihan's senior officials do not want any country other than themselves to master the manufacturing technology of steam engines, even if they are die-hard allies. Although Fujian and Annan should not have any bad intentions towards Haihan, if they master

If this technology is acquired, it may be lost to some Western countries in a few years. This situation is absolutely unacceptable to Haihan.

According to original history, Europeans would have built early industrial steam engines at the end of this century and put them into use in a wide range of applications in the 18th century. Although Haihan led the West in the use and manufacture of steam engines for only a few decades.

, it will even promote the research progress of Western scientists on steam engines, but this first-mover advantage is enough for Haihan to develop the next generation of power technology before competitors enter this field. However, if Westerners get it decades in advance,

Without the key technology of steam engines, the advantages that Haihan can obtain may not be that great.

But Tao Donglai and Schneider can't explain the reason to Zheng Zha and Xu Yuzhuo in front of them. They can't tell each other. I can't trust your confidentiality measures. And even if they tell the reason, they can probably only be told.

If the other party takes it as an excuse, it will only attract more suspicion.

Tao Donglai responded: "The matter you two raised is indeed of great importance. I'm sorry that I can't reply to you immediately. After these few days are busy, I will arrange for the executive committee to meet to discuss your requests."

Tao Donglai couldn't refuse them directly, so he could only resort to his best trick of dragging his feet. He would deal with the moment first and deal with it slowly later. However, his method of dealing with it was obviously no longer able to deceive Yu Hai.

Zheng Zha, whom Han had known for many years, immediately expressed his dissatisfaction with this response.

"Mr. Tao, as your country's most loyal ally, our country has always cooperated with your country in any field of politics, economy, trade, culture, and military. We can even lease our territory to your country permanently, so that your country can

The military is stationed at the coastal gateway of our country. But why can't your country give equal trust to our country, and even block exports to our country on projects such as steam engines? I would like to ask, isn't this inconsistent with the equal diplomacy advocated by your country?

?”

Zheng Zha obviously came prepared, and his doubts about Haihan were well-founded, and he obviously did not intend to accept Tao Donglai's delaying tactics.

"Young Master, you are serious." Tao Dong came to see the other party and deliberately elevated the political meaning of this matter and raised it to the diplomatic level to exert pressure. He had to respond at the moment: "The steam engine is one of our country's national secrets. According to our country's

The law stipulates that at this stage, any type of steam engine cannot be exported overseas in any form, even for civilian use. This is not directed at the two of you, and it should not be used as a reason to affect the diplomatic relations between us."

Schneider added: "Even if you are willing to pay a high price to buy it, it will not work. The steam engine is not for sale and has nothing to do with the price. We do not intend to sell it as a commodity."

Xu Yuzhuo keenly caught the words in Tao Donglai's words and asked: "At this stage? What Mr. Tao means is that it is still possible to sell in the future. I don't know when the next stage will be?"

Tao Donglai shook his head and said: "I don't have an accurate answer to this question, but I think it will at least have to wait until our country successfully develops and begins to popularize the next generation of power equipment that can replace steam engines. It may take decades, two or three generations.

Human time?”

Replace steam engines? Xu Yuzhuo and Zheng Zha were both a little confused when they heard this. They are still trying hard to get Haihansong to sell a few of the oldest and most primitive steam engines. They summoned skilled craftsmen to study and see if they can spend three to five to seven years.

After copying it, the Haihan people are already considering the development of the next generation of power equipment. And from Tao Donglai's words, it is obvious that the next generation of equipment will be more powerful than the steam engine, and the operating principle will be completely different.

But having them wait for decades to get results is really unacceptable. Zheng Zha couldn't help complaining: "Mr. Tao, who can tell clearly what will happen in a few decades? But we just

If you want to get a chance to touch steam engines now, can't your country make some concessions for its most loyal ally?"

Tao Donglai said seriously: "As an ally, we can discuss other issues, even if your country wants to borrow money and troops from our country, but there are some issues that there is no room for bargaining, such as steam engines. Please believe us, young prince, if it is true

When the time comes, we will definitely give priority to selling steam engines to our allies. This is the only condition I can promise you at the moment."

Seeing Tao Donglai's resolute attitude, Zheng Zha knew that there was probably no way around him. He turned to look at Schneider again, wanting to try to open an opening from here. After all, Schneider was a businessman, and many things could be negotiated slowly.

to solve.

But Schneider didn't give him a chance at all. He just jumped in and shook his head and said, "Young prince, you don't have to waste your breath. I don't want to repeat what Mr. Tao said. There's really no need to talk about this matter."
Chapter completed!