Chapter 1876 Trading Center

Technical knowledge requires a lot of time to learn and digest, and it must have support from the court to implement and promote it before it can be truly put to use. Although North Korea has received opportunities for shipbuilding technology training and transfer from Haihan

, but converting it into productivity and further forming the combat effectiveness of the army will not be achieved overnight.

Even the most optimistic estimate is that this time point will be one or two years later. Maybe by the time Li Bo returns from Haihan after completing his studies abroad, the new fleet of the North Korean Navy may not be able to take shape. So on Haihan's side

There is currently no plan to incorporate North Korea's future naval fleet into the coalition. Before it can truly form combat effectiveness, Haihan's request for the North Korean navy is only to block the Yalu River on the northern border to prevent the Qing army from invading southward again.

opportunity.

As for sending troops to other sea areas to carry out military operations with Haihan like other coalition fleets, that is probably not a goal that can be achieved in the short term.

After spending most of the afternoon in the shipyard, Shi Diwen saw that Li Bo had no more questions to ask, so he suggested that several North Korean shipbuilders stay here to continue their observation and invited Li Bo to visit Dinghai Port not far away.

trading center.

Li Bo had read the report on Zhoushan Dinghai Port written by Jin Shangjiu in China. In addition to the shipyard and port, this trading center was also one of the key objects mentioned. After arriving here, he also gave Jin Shangjiu a rough report.

After learning about the trading center, I was quite curious about this kind of officially guided trading organization, so I readily agreed after being invited.

The Dinghai Port Trading Center was built much earlier than the shipyard. After Haihan occupied Zhoushan Island, the docks, military camps and trading centers were the first infrastructure to be built. The trading center was designed as a regional trade hub.

The center is by far the largest building complex on the island.

This trading center located on Zhoushan Island is not just a building, but is connected with the civil port on the eastern half of Dinghai Port. It includes more than 80 large warehouses, more than 300 shops, and more than ten large business warehouses.

, as well as official institutions and numerous supporting facilities, including the trading center and the Dinghai Port Management Committee, its area even far exceeds the garrison area of ​​the military port on the west side. The trading center is just a code name for this area, and in fact it will

It is more appropriate to regard this place as a highly concentrated business district.

Goods and merchants from all over the world gather here to complete various transactions under the supervision of Haihan officials. Not only can it be more convenient to find sources of goods and sales, but the interests of both buyers and sellers are more secure. Organizations like this are actually in Haihan

There were various trading ports under the Han Dynasty, but this was considered a larger trading center among the overseas colonies of Han Dynasty.

The impact brought by this is not only affecting countries other than the Ming Dynasty. As a trade distribution center for many countries in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, Dinghai Port's geographical location, trade policies, and supporting facilities are more suitable for trade fleets from the sea.

With the gradual improvement and improvement of the trade environment here, there is now a faint tendency to replace the trade status of Ningbo and Hangzhou. In the past, international trade that had to be completed in the Ming Dynasty has now mostly moved its trading location to Dinghai Port.

"Master Shi, when your country opens such a place on Zhoushan Island, aren't you afraid that the Ming Dynasty will take targeted measures?" Although Li Bo knows little about international trade, through Jin Shangjiu's previous introduction, he also knows that Haihan's approach will definitely

It made Ming Dynasty uncomfortable. After all, after these transactions were transferred overseas, it not only directly affected the government's tax collection, but also transferred a large amount of private wealth to Haihan for his own use. This kind of trade measure involves the vital interests of many people.

, Li Bo didn’t believe that Daming would have no reaction to this.

Shi Diwen smiled and said: "They have tried it a long time ago! But sorry, who has the final say depends on whose fist is stronger. It happens that our country is better at this aspect."

After Haihan occupied the Zhoushan Islands by force in 1633, they began to take over the international smuggling trade here, and gradually guided and incorporated it into the trade system they established. This control method made many vested interests in Jiangsu and Zhejiang areas dissatisfied at that time

, believed that the Haihan people were robbing meat from their own bowl. Although they could not defeat the Haihan navy with its powerful ships and cannons on the frontal battlefield, they also tried to use some administrative means to restrict the trade between their own merchants and the Haihan.

However, this attempt soon attracted fierce revenge from Haihan. The beheading operation carried out by Gong Shiqi and Gao Qiaonan in Hangzhou in the summer of 1634 killed several officials in Zhejiang official circles who publicly clamored to fight Haihan to the end.

At the beginning of 1635, Haihan concocted a fire at the dock outside Hangzhou, and took the opportunity to send troops to Hangzhou Bay, blockade the Qiantang River, and attack the city of Hangzhou, forcing the Zhejiang authorities to grant Haihan trade rights in Zhejiang.

right.

Haihan's direct and violent response was simple and crude, but it had an immediate effect. It made it difficult for the Zhejiang authorities to muster the courage to try to restrict Haihan's trade. Later, the local officials of the Ming Dynasty who joined this interest network also became more and more popular.

As time goes by, restricting Haihan has gradually become an empty slogan. Now everyone is busy reaping benefits from the trade system established by Haihan, and no one has even mentioned the matter of going against Haihan.

If Li Bo knew that the Ningbo magistrate was related by marriage to Mr. Shi in front of him, and that he also had many properties on Zhoushan Island, then he probably would not have asked such a question. Shi Diwen's answer sounded like

Haihan used force to resolve the trade dispute between the two countries, but in fact the methods Haihan used were not just war, and the private exchange of interests was not humane.

Li Bo had no doubts about Shi Diwen's boasting. He believed that since Haihan could defeat the Qing army on the Korean battlefield, and the current Ming Dynasty was not an opponent of the Qing army, Haihan's military strength should be superior to that of the Ming Dynasty.

Using force to resolve the matter is also a very reasonable choice.

However, his attention was quickly attracted by the prosperity here. Although he learned from Jin Shangjiu that Dinghai Port was a prosperous trading port, the actual situation here seemed to far exceed the definition of "prosperity" in his mind.

.

There are many foreign businessmen on the streets who are obviously different in dress and appearance from Han people. There are far more freight carriages plying on the road than in Seoul. The rows of shops on both sides of the street cover almost every industry that Li Mu knows, and there are several large business stores.

It's like a bustling city. If you only looked at the scene of this street market, Li Pu would definitely subconsciously think that this was a big city in the Ming Dynasty, but in fact it was just a trading market on an island in the East China Sea.

If Li Bo knew the trading volume here, he would probably be scared. The cargo throughput of this port alone has exceeded the total foreign trade volume of North Korea. And the annual transaction volume here is far more than

The total annual revenue of the North Korean treasury.

"All the products that can be bought with money in the Ming Dynasty can be found in this market! There are also many things that cannot be bought with money, and they are also available in this place." Shi Diwen introduced to Li Bo proudly.

He said: "If the prince wants to buy any Ming property, you can have it arranged."

There were a lot of things that Li Pu thought he wanted to buy, but unfortunately he was too short of money to ask for it. Because of the poor economic situation in North Korea after the war, he went to study abroad this time, and his funds and accompanying personnel were cut again and again. Although

King Li Zhu said that he would try to raise some funds for him, but at the moment Li Zhu really had no spare money to use, so he could only restrain his desire to shop first.

However, Shi Diwen's words made Li Bo think of another question: "Master Shi, since you can attract a large number of Ming merchants to do business here, wouldn't you also be able to attract many Han people to make a living here and then be recruited as

Send immigrants to settle in your country?”

When it comes to immigration issues, Shi Diwen is more cautious. He knows that the immigration negotiations between Haihan and North Korea have not achieved ideal results. North Korea is quite wary of this and is not willing to allow Haihan to recruit immigrants in North Korea.

Shi Diwen believed that Li Bo's question was probably a test.

"Our country has a huge demand for population, and the immigration application window is always open. However, there are corresponding requirements and restrictions on whether you can obtain Chinese nationality. Not everyone can immigrate to our country." Shi Diwen still took the approach.

A more conservative attitude answered Li Bo's question: "In addition, doing business and recruiting immigrants are two different things, and the prince cannot confuse them together."

Seeing that Shi Diwen seemed a little unhappy about this, Li Bo quickly apologized: "I made a mistake, Master Shi, don't blame me."

Shi Diwen didn't want to have too much discussion with Li Bo on the immigration issue, so he took the initiative to change the topic: "Your Majesty, why don't we go to a few shops together to see if there is anything that the Crown Prince likes?

I'll make a gift as a souvenir of the Crown Prince's visit to Zhoushan Island."

"How can this be done?" Li Bo quickly declined: "Master Shi is too polite!"

Shi Diwen waved his hand and said: "The prince and I hit it off as soon as we met, and I originally planned to give him something, but I didn't know the prince's personal hobbies very well, so I just asked the prince to choose on his own. The prince, don't shirk anymore, just treat it as a gift to me.

A face."

After Shi Diwen said this, Li Bo couldn't refuse anymore. At that moment, the local official in charge of commercial affairs led the way and started to visit the business district.

Li Bo soon discovered that Shi Diwen's previous introduction was not a boast. The various products sold here were indeed very rich, and some of the products from the inland areas of the Ming Dynasty had never even been heard of. However, after shopping for a while,

But he really didn't see anything good that could make him fall in love at first sight.

Seeing this, Shi Diwen took the initiative and asked: "Is the Crown Prince interested in the things produced by our Haihan? Well... I mean things other than weapons."

Li Ming said: "Someone brought two sets of glass stationery produced in your country to the palace as tribute. My father liked them very much, and later gave one set to me. I heard that this is one of your country's specialties, and the variety is

There are so many, I really want to see how many styles there are.”

Shi Diwen nodded and said: "This is easy to handle. There is a special store in the trading center selling our products, so I will take the prince to have a look."

For high-level people who pay attention to elegance, the high-end glass stationery produced in Haihan is undoubtedly a valuable work of art for collection. Although the technology of making glass is nothing new in this era, the glassware produced in Haihan is not only in craftsmanship but also in craftsmanship.

Even Western merchants have stopped shipping glassware from Europe to this country in recent years, and glassware from other countries except Haihan is basically invisible in the Ming Dynasty market.

Before Haihan opened the door to trade in North Korea, merchants from North Korea and the Ming Dynasty brought Haihan products to the North Korean market. Some of the more exquisitely crafted items were sent as tribute to Gyeongbokgung Palace. As for this kind of products,

Whether the tribute was for personal career or came from the instructions of some special departments in Haihan, even Shi Diwen may not be clear about this.

The Haihan product display area located in the trading center occupies three floors, and the content basically includes all categories of Haihan's export commodities. Of course, weapons and equipment sold to foreign countries will not be displayed here.

You can only see it by moving to the garrison base on the other side of the military port.

Haihan's current export commodities are mainly divided into two categories: industry and agriculture. Industry is mainly mass-produced daily necessities, while agriculture is mainly products after deep processing. So far, Daming is still Haihan's main export

Market, and about 80% of Haihan's products sold to the area north of the Yangtze River are shipped through Dinghaiport, so the variety of goods here is quite complete, even no less than the trading center of Victory Port.

After Li Bo stepped into the shop displaying glassware, he was dazzled by the various bright vessels here. Then he realized that the glassware he had seen before was too crude and could not be compared with the exhibits here. He

Soon he saw the same type of glass stationery collected in Gyeongbokgung Palace, but there were more styles and colors to choose from. Not only did he have the crystal clear styles he had seen, but there were also various colorful colors and gold-painted ones.

Inlaid with silver, so luxurious.

Then Li Bo's attention was quickly attracted to the glass mirror. In fact, there are several glass mirrors made in Haehan in Gyeongbokgung Palace, but the size is much smaller than the exhibits here. Especially those made of

A full-length floor-length mirror inlaid with several smaller plane mirrors made Li Ming almost unable to move his feet when standing in front of the mirror. This was the first time in his life that he could truly see his appearance from this angle, which brought him great joy.

It's a different kind of impact.

"Does the Crown Prince like this mirror?" Of course Shi Diwen saw Li Bo's emotional changes and took the initiative to ask him what he meant: "If the Crown Prince likes it, I will have someone prepare a mirror like this in Sanya before he dies.

The son’s residence.”
Chapter completed!