While Blake was writing his report in St. Paul's Church, Shang Yi and Lin Fengwu were also listening to Li Gefei's report at the official residence on the itinerary of these two British East India Company agents in Zhejiang.
After listening to this, Shang Yi felt very satisfied. He nodded and said, "Uncle Li, it's up to you to worry more about this period of time. Put other things aside for the time being. We want to show them our business environment in Zhejiang."
."
At this time Lin Fengwu said: "Mr. sir, I think you seem to value these two British people very much?"
In fact, this is what Li Gefei wanted to ask, but he couldn't take the initiative to ask. Lin Fengwu happened to ask, so he was waiting for Shang Yi's answer.
Shang Yi said: "I have said it before, we don't always have to wait passively for others to come to us to buy and do business, but should take the initiative to go out. Since Westerners can travel thousands of miles to come to China, why should we?
Why can't we take the initiative to transport goods to Europe to buy? This is not only for doing business, but also to spread our Chinese culture to Europe, and to better absorb the advantages of Europe, so that the East and the West can learn from each other's strengths,"
Li Gefei nodded and said: "Your Majesty's words are also my wish to realize the feat of the Three Treasures Eunuch's seven voyages to the West."
Li Gefei was a maritime businessman, and Lin Fengwu also lived in Manila all year round. They were both people who had been exposed to the overseas world, and they also had a considerable spirit of adventure. Although they still could not fully understand the significance of Shang Yi's move, they had great influence on Shang Yi.
Speaking of taking the initiative to transport the goods to Europe to buy, is that still true?
I agree, from a businessman's point of view, although China's goods are not worried about selling at this time, there is a huge difference in the results between waiting for others to come to buy, and actively shipping the goods out to buy. The former is passive after all.
But the latter can take everything into their own hands.
Shang Yi added: "But the distance from China to Europe is more than 100,000 miles. Even a one-way trip can take as little as half a year or as long as ten months. There must be a place to replenish fresh water and food on the way. India is right at the point where we go to Europe.
The middle point, and the land is fertile and rich in food, so all Western countries
Establishing a company in India serves as a supply point for doing business in China. Therefore, if we want to take the initiative to trade with Europe, we must establish a similar supply point in India. That is why I hope to cooperate with the British East India Company
Through cooperation, we will also open a company in India in the future."
Lin Fengwu and Li Gefei also knew that various Western countries had established the East India Company in India, so they understood a little after what Shang Yi said. Lin Fengwu said again: "But sir, there are more than just Westerners who come to me to do business."
One or more companies have opened companies in India, so why do you want to cooperate with the British East India Company? They don’t seem to have any foundation in Southeast Asia?"
Shang Yi smiled and said: "This is the reason why I hope to cooperate with them. Now the Francois occupy Xiangshan'ao, the Qianlu people occupy Manila, the Hongyi Mao people occupy Batavia and southern Taiwan, and only the British
There is no foundation in Nanyang, so if they want to establish a foothold in Nanyang or trade directly with us, they must ask me for help, and we can just use opening a company in India as a condition to exchange with them. And they have a foundation in India.
, with their support, it will be easier to handle.”
After hearing this, Li Gefei nodded repeatedly and said, "Your Excellency is indeed very far-sighted."
Shang Yi said to Lin Fengwu again: "Fengwu, Uncle Li will entertain guests these days, so you should worry more about the affairs of the Commercial Department."
Lin Fengwu smiled sweetly and said, "Don't worry, Mr., I won't make any mistakes."
In fact, Shang Yi's purpose of establishing a stronghold in India is not only for trade, but also to use India as a springboard to expand to the African continent and the Arab region. At the same time, India's military value is also immeasurable. It can be said that in the future Within three hundred years, if European countries want to attack China, India will be their bridgehead and main logistics base. In fact, in the two Opium Wars that broke out in another time and space, Britain and France both used India as the fulcrum to invade from all directions. Chinese.
Therefore, from a geopolitical point of view, it is absolutely necessary to establish a Chinese stronghold in India, take a share of the colonial interests of European countries in India, Africa and other places, and at the same time curb the European attack on China.
Although no large-scale war will break out between the East and the West at this time, if possible, a good foundation should be laid for the future. And compared with European countries, China is not only closer to India, but also connected by land, so As long as you have a stronghold in India first, you can quickly expand your sphere of influence in India.
Of course, at present, trade is still the main purpose.
"During these ten days, I conducted a detailed inspection of all aspects of Hangzhou. Although this period is not long, compared with when I first arrived in China, I have undoubtedly gained a deeper understanding of this place, and Answers have been found to some of the previous questions, and it is also necessary to make certain revisions to some of the views.
The first is about the authority of General Shang within his jurisdiction. I obviously misunderstood before. As I said in previous reports, due to the invasion of northern nomads, the Ming Empire is currently facing a great crisis. In fact This crisis is greater than I imagined, because the Ming Empire not only lost most of its land in the north, but the emperor's authority and control over the current territory also dropped to a very low level.
But the crisis that the Ming Empire is now facing is not a bad thing for General Shang Yi. It will make his actual power closer to that of a lord, rather than his official governorship. His jurisdiction has actually become the same Just like his fiefdom, the emperor of the Ming Empire could no longer exert his authority over his jurisdiction. In other words, General Shang Yi was as much an emperor as he was within his jurisdiction.
Of course, another important reason for this phenomenon is that General Shang Yi does have a very powerful army, whether it is the army or the navy.
On the last day, I was very fortunate to visit an army actual combat exercise conducted by General Shang Yi. This was an actual combat exercise training with seven to eight thousand people participating. Cannons and rifles were the main weapons used by soldiers. I even saw them using In addition to the organ gun, there are also some other weapons that I don't know about, but without exception, they are all very powerful, especially the rifle with an ultra-long range that Hans said is true.
Not only the weapons, the tactics they use are similar to the Swedes, and even more clever; the layout of the defense line is comparable to the Italians; the coordination of infantry and artillery can be regarded as perfect; in my opinion, even It is the best army in Europe, that's all. Frankly speaking, if possible, I really don't want to be an enemy of such an army.
In fact, it was this army that defeated the Manchus in the battle to attack the south a few months ago, and the Ming Empire played only a dispensable role. And in this battle During the battle, General Shang Yi's commanding level was an exquisite artistic act. I think it can be included in the teachings of military academies across Europe. Of course, I have already made a separate report on the entire story of this battle.
In addition, although I have not seen actual combat exercises of the navy, judging from a visit to their shipyard, General Shang Yi's navy will never be that bad. It defeated the Spanish fleet twice, especially the second one. times is enough to prove this point.
It is precisely because of such a strong military strength as a foundation, and because the policies he pursues are in line with the interests of the public, General Shang Yi's rule has also received widespread support within his jurisdiction. Therefore, I have expressed my concern before There is no problem at all, and we can safely cooperate with General Shang Yi in all aspects.
But I discovered another problem, that is, a person with a strength equivalent to that of a European country is not only a good partner, but also a strong competitor. In a sense, there is a huge gap between the two. There is only a thin line.
Unlike most Chinese, General Shang Yi had an unusual enthusiasm for navigation and trade, which can be seen from the huge shipyard he built and a series of policies to encourage business.
But during this period, he mentioned to me more than once that exchanges between China and Europe should be two-way. China should not only accept European merchant ships, but also take the initiative to send merchant ships to Europe, so that the two sides can even establish Reciprocal state-to-state relations, just like we have with the Mughal Empire.
From the perspective of China's national foreign policy, this is of course a very wise and enlightened decision, but from the perspective of our company, it is quite bad. This means that we are not only competing with other European countries, but also There is also a huge eastern empire to join.
Compared with other European countries, China will have a huge advantage from the beginning, because the competitiveness of their products is unparalleled, and we can't find any substitutes at all. In fact, we have almost no chance of winning. As I reported previously, General Shang Yi controlled the production of nearly all of these goods that Europe needed.
On the other hand, if China is really preparing to move towards long-sea trade, India will be a place they will definitely get involved. In fact, General Shang Yi once proposed that when the time is right, he will also send representatives to India to visit our company. I doubt it. This expresses a certain signal. If we choose to cooperate with General Shang Yi, this must be considered..."
On a merchant ship sailing from Hangzhou to Manila, Black was writing the last part of the "Black Report" in his room.