Chapter 1883 What happened in Zhangzhou

In terms of Li Pu's personal experience, he felt that the attention he received after going abroad seemed to be far more than when he was at home. No matter in Zhoushan Island controlled by Haihan or Zhangzhou City under the Ming Dynasty, the authorities gave him and his

He led the team to receive a high standard of reception. For example, he sent troops to clear out an area of ​​the city for his trip. Li Bo had never enjoyed such treatment when he was in Seoul. At most, he would be greeted by a team of honor guards when he traveled.

The soldiers are just clearing the way.

Such preferential treatment also greatly satisfied Li Bo's vanity. Although he has the status of the crown prince of Joseon, he is still a young man who is not experienced in diplomacy after all. Even if he knows that the other party's attention may be for some purpose,

I deliberately do this to win my favor, but I still feel a little happy about it.

Originally, Xu Xinsu also considered setting aside a house to receive Li Bo and his party, but after searching for it, there seemed to be no suitable house in Zhangzhou City. The reason was that Xu Xinsu himself had not renovated the house extensively, and others would do so even if they had money.

Due to his status, he did not dare to build large residences in the city to avoid being suspected of overstepping. The consequence of this delicate situation was that the most luxurious residences in Zhangzhou City were all located outside the city, and distinguished guests like the Prince of Joseon were arranged to enter the city.

There is obviously something wrong with living outside the home.

In the end, after weighing various conditions, we could only choose the current compromise solution, using the highest-grade inn in the city as the temporary residence of Li Bo and his party.

Although it is an inn in name, the quality of this inn is indeed not bad. The courtyard where Li Shu is staying is by no means the courtyard of an ordinary inn, but an exquisite Suzhou garden-style courtyard designed by a famous Jiangnan master. It is not usually open to the public.

It is only used to receive distinguished guests, and sometimes it may not be open once a year.

Li Ming knew nothing about Suzhou gardens, but this did not prevent him from feeling the care put into the design of this courtyard. The water surface, pond shore, rockery, and pavilions were all integrated into the small courtyard.

Lotus flowers are planted throughout, the pond bank is densely covered with vines, and the paths are surrounded by green bamboos, creating a natural scenery in a narrow space.

Xu Xinsu sent his trusted staff member Dong Yanyun to take charge of the check-in affairs of Li Bo and his party. Dong Yanyun was born as a scholar and had followed Xu Xinsu for so many years. He was already familiar with the work of welcoming and sending Li Bo inside.

Introduce him to the various design intricacies of this courtyard.

"Your Majesty, don't look at this courtyard, which is relatively plain, but every plant, tree, brick and tile here is almost all shipped from Suzhou, two thousand miles away... Look at the rockery in this pond, it is of real value.

The shipping fee for the Taihu stone to Zhangzhou alone is as high as thousands of taels of silver... The plaque on this pavilion is handwritten by Mr. Ning, the Minister of Culture of Haihan. This is a rare item that cannot be bought on the market..."

Li Bo was secretly surprised as he listened. If the other party wasn't bragging, then the cost of building this courtyard would be astonishingly high. Xu Xinsu had indeed spent a lot of money to arrange for herself to live in such a place.

Although Xu Xinsu built such a high-end reception place in Zhangzhou City out of the objective needs of her own development, she also made reference to the setting of Haihan Guest House in the design and construction process. Especially in terms of service, Xu Xinsu personally provided

After experiencing the service quality of the Yingbin Hotel in Sanya, they brought their feelings back to Zhangzhou and required their own reception venues to follow this standard.

This courtyard looks like a Chinese-style courtyard, but inside it uses a large number of furniture and sanitary ware made in Haihan, etc., striving to make the residents feel comfortable in every detail. Every room is equipped with clear and translucent glass windows.

, Li Pu couldn't help but sigh in his heart about the wealth. It's no wonder that the Fujian Navy was able to buy ships and cannons in batches from Haihan. This is really not a shortage of money!

Although the environment where Li Bo lived in Zhoushan was not bad, compared with Zhangzhou, it can be described as simple. After Dong Yanyun left, Li Bo leaned on the soft sofa chair and drank the food that had just been delivered to him.

I felt like this place was a little smaller, but it seemed more comfortable to live in than Gyeongbokgung Palace. Legend has it that Haihan people are the most particular about enjoyment, but it seems that the high-ranking officials of the Ming Dynasty were not bad in this regard!

That night, Li Pu fell asleep amidst the faint smell of incense. He slept soundly for the first time in a long time since leaving his homeland. If his entourage hadn't woken him up from his sleep, he would have been able to sleep until the afternoon.

According to the schedule, Li Bo and Xu Xinsu will go to inspect the local trade market today. Naturally, they cannot keep the other party waiting for this matter. However, after a good sleep last night, Li Bo is very motivated today.

Similar to what Li Bo saw on Zhoushan Island before, the commercial area outside Zhangzhou is also located near the port to facilitate the handling and loading of goods. However, perhaps because it has been developed for a longer period of time, it seems to be more prosperous than Zhoushan.

Worse than that.

"Currently, the sea trade ports in Fujian are mainly concentrated in Zhangzhou and Quanzhou. However, in fact, the goods shipped and imported from here are far beyond Fujian. Inland Jiangxi, Hunan, Hubei and other places will also use this place as an external port.

channel of trade.”

Xu Xinsu accompanied Li Bo to visit the business district and introduced the local trade situation to him in detail.

Xu Xinsu started out as a smuggler in his early years. If he hadn't been forced by Zheng Zhilong due to market competition and joined the Ming army for self-protection, he might still be doing his job today. Of course, he would make a fortune in the officialdom

After that, the trade relationship between Xu Xinsu and Haihan could no longer be defined by smuggling. After the fall of Shibazhi, Xu Xinsu quickly achieved a situation of covering the sky with one hand in Fujian, and Haihan's personnel and goods were not allowed to enter or exit the country.

As a result, the cross-border trade between the two parties has become open.

After joining the international trade system led by Haihan, Xu Xinsu quickly tasted the benefits. The huge benefits brought by cross-border trade allowed him to have sufficient funds to build an armed fleet and an ocean-going fleet, and continue to expand his trade routes.

Expanded to a larger area. Even places as far away as Batavia on Java Island, trading fleets from Fujian have already visited.

For Xu Xinsu, since North Korea is the new development direction that ally Haihan is optimistic about, it is natural to quickly keep up with the pace and look for opportunities to make a fortune. The two sides have previously reached a preliminary agreement on trade issues in Seoul, but Xu Xinsu believes that this agreement is just

It's just some basic content. He hopes to show his economic strength by hosting the crown prince of Joseon this time, and make the Koreans realize that economic and trade cooperation with Fujian is a reliable choice, so that in the subsequent trade exchanges

Expand the scale and scope of cooperation.

Li Ming soon noticed that the trade atmosphere in Zhangzhou seemed to be more liberal, or the management was rougher - this was compared to Haihan's more thorough and meticulous management system. But in terms of prosperity, it was indeed not inferior to

In Zhoushan Dinghai Port, you can also see bustling caravans from various countries and piles of various goods on the streets.

It is worth mentioning that Li Bo noticed that Haihan Bank also exists in the business district here. According to Xu Xinsu, Haihan has established bank branches in Zhangzhou for six or seven years, and now more and more banks

Businessmen and multinational commercial institutions have realized the convenience that banks can provide in international trade, and are willing to choose safe and efficient financial institutions such as banks to manage their funds. Since Haihan Bank has very strong funds and a powerful country

Force is used as a guarantee, so its reputation is far beyond that of ordinary banks and banks.

"Haihan Bank...is it really that easy to use?"

Faced with Li Bo's question, Xu Xinsu also told him frankly that these days, many businessmen doing cross-border trade are no longer willing to accept cash. First, the weights and measures of different countries are different, and the fineness of silver is different. It is difficult to have a unified standard.

It is inconvenient and unsafe, but the currency issued by Haihan Bank does not have these problems and is extremely convenient for settlement, so it is naturally sought after by various banks.

Of course, this special currency must be guaranteed by strong credit and abundant funds. It is difficult for private financial institutions to achieve this level. Therefore, from a market perspective, Haihan has basically no competitors in this business field.

Li Bo had very little financial-related knowledge in his mind, so even if Xu Xinsu explained it, it was difficult for him to understand how Haihan used such a financial institution to influence the trade and markets of various countries, let alone how Haihan could have done so.

This controlled an astonishing amount of funds. But since savvy businessmen feel that Haihan Bank is a trustworthy institution and can bring more convenience to trade, then the Haihan Bank in Seoul must also play a similar role.

Xu Xinsu has understood the operating principles of this bank very early, but he knows that only Haihan can do this business, and others cannot imitate it. Although he is also quite familiar with the huge capital flow controlled by Haihan Bank.

He is coveted, but he understands that Haihan people will not allow other competitors that can threaten him to appear in this industry. In recent years, private banks in Fuguang, Jiangsu and Zhejiang have either gone bankrupt or been acquired by Haihan Bank. This industry is changing.

He was integrated by Haihan quietly. Xu Xinsu could see Haihan's plan, so he didn't want to play the role of a stumbling block, and just honestly developed in the field he was good at.

Xu Xinsu quickly figured out the depth of Li Bo's knowledge. Since the other party didn't understand the art at all, there was no need for him to teach Li Bo a lesson.

As for the products on the market, Li Bo has actually seen at least half of them in Zhoushan, and most of the products he has never seen are local specialties. The products Haihan sells in the Fujian market are also similar to those he saw in Zhoushan.

.However, Li Pu knew that there were actually some Haihan goods in Fujian that were not available in Jiangsu and Zhejiang—for example, weapons equipped by the Ming army in Fujian.

Li Bo had long noticed that the weapons and equipment of the Fujian Ming Army were significantly different from the Jiangsu and Zhejiang Ming Army he saw in Zhoushan. The clothes of the Fujian Ming Army that went to Korea were closer to those of the Haihan Army, with short lapels that were light and easy to move.

The Ming army in Jiangsu and Zhejiang still wears old-style Ming army uniforms mainly composed of cloth armor and cotton armor, which has higher protection but is quite bulky.

When Li Bo was in Zhoushan, he took the opportunity to ask Shi Diwen about the reasons for the differences between the military uniforms. The answer he got was that the difference in weapon performance caused the different tactics used by each army. If the weapons have good performance, they can

If the combat distance is firmly controlled outside the enemy's killing range, relatively less protection is required. Weapons with poor performance may engage in hand-to-hand combat with the enemy on the battlefield, so a better weapon must be used.

Just protective armor.

If we use this as a reference, the combat power of the Haihan Army is undoubtedly the most powerful. Li Bo has indeed never seen generals wearing metal armor in the Haihan Army. And the Fujian Ming Army can imitate the Haihan Army and promote this

This kind of lightweight military uniform shows that its combat effectiveness is better than that of the Ming Army of Jiangsu and Zhejiang. Of course, it must be much stronger than the North Korean army that has just begun to equip Haihan standard muskets.

Li Bo wanted to know how Xu Xinsu established a relationship of mutual trust with Haihan and asked Haihan to help him train and arm a powerful army in Fujian. If North Korea could afford the price, how could it get Haihan to do so?

He also liberalized the sale of these high-end weapons to North Korea. Of course, Li Bo also knew that he could not ask directly about this somewhat sensitive issue, otherwise with Xu Xinsu's friendship with the Haihan people, he would betray himself if he turned around.

We can only observe everything here carefully and find the answers to the questions ourselves.

On the third day after arriving in Zhangzhou, Li Fu was invited to go to sea with Xu Xinsu and went to the Zhongzuosuo City where Yongning Guards belonged to watch military exercises.

"The Zhongzuosuo City on Xiamen Island was built during the Hongwu period. It has undergone many reconstructions and expansions over the past two hundred years. The most recent one was a reconstruction provided by the Haihan Army six years ago.

plan, and then it took two years to complete the project. The person who designed the reconstruction plan for Zhongzuosuo City must be known to the prince, and he is General Haihan Qian Tiandun."

Li Bo was indeed a little surprised when he heard Xu Xinsu's introduction. He didn't know much about Xu Xinsu's past interactions with the Haihan people, but he could also imagine that he would bother a big man like Qian Tiandun to design a reconstruction plan for the city and fortress.

It shouldn't be something that can be done with money. The two sides had such a relationship six years ago. It's no wonder that the Haihan people are willing to sell more advanced weapons to Fujian.

"It seems that Sir Xu and General Qian have a very deep friendship!" Li Bo sighed.

Xu Xinsu nodded and replied: "Back then, the pirate Shiba Zhi got the support of the Dutch, and the 30,000-strong army approached the coast of Fujian. Even Zhangzhou City was infiltrated by Shiba Zhi's people. If General Qian hadn't sent troops to help me,

After retreating from the enemy, people in Fujian may now have the surname Zheng instead of Xu!"
Chapter completed!