Chapter 1885 Maritime Trade

An Daoshi and others have personally witnessed the strength of Haihan Army in previous wars. It can be said that they embarked on this study abroad trip with admiration for the strong, but as for what they can learn in Haihan

They actually have no idea how many things will grow to what height in the future. However, the Fujian Ming Army is undoubtedly an excellent reference object. Considering the years of formation, equipment level, combat experience and other conditions, Fujian Ming Army

The Ming army was almost the limit for imitating the Haihan army.

Unlike Li Bo, who was a layman watching the excitement, An Daoshi had clearly seen during the exercise just now that the strength of the Fujian Ming Army was indeed far superior to that of his own army. Putting aside the level of equipment, the Ming Army performed well during the exercise.

It is definitely not possible for the current North Korean army to display uniform tactical movements and maintain battle formations during the march and retreat of the team. These details may seem inconspicuous, but at least they reflect the training level of a unit.

And when such a force steps onto the battlefield, these tactical details will help them exert stronger combat effectiveness.

Of course, compared to these aspects that can be improved through learning and training, Andao Shi is actually more envious of the advanced weapons and equipment of the Fujian Ming Army. Although the weapons are all provided by Haihan, the equipment of the Fujian Ming Army is in terms of performance.

They are all superior to the North Korean army, and the resulting combat effectiveness gap is difficult to make up for through training.

The root cause of this gap is, to put it bluntly, economic reasons. With the current economic situation in North Korea, it is difficult to build a strong army with real money and silver like Fujian. We can only learn from the training and management of the Fujian Ming Army first.

This may save you some detours in the process of building an army in the future.

Li Bo listened to Xu Yuzhuo's account of the battle experience of the Fujian Ming Army. Although he didn't know how exaggerated the other party was, he probably didn't dare to make fun of the Haihan Army, not to mention that there were officials from Haihan among the people present.

If all are true, then the actual combat effectiveness of the Fujian Ming Army should not be underestimated. At least judging from its previous performance in being able to deal with the Qing Army on its own on the Korean battlefield, its combat effectiveness is indeed not an exaggeration.

After talking about military affairs, the natural next step was to talk about the maritime trade that Fujian is proud of. The speaker was changed from Xu Yuzhuo to Dong Yanyun, Xu Xinsu's number one aide.

Zhangzhou, Quanzhou and Fuzhou in Fujian are all extremely prosperous traditional sea trade ports. Quanzhou is the starting point of the Maritime Silk Road. Although it was affected to a certain extent by the maritime ban policy during the two hundred years of the Ming Dynasty, the coastal areas of Fujian

The foreign trade volume of the Ming Dynasty still ranks first in the Ming Dynasty. Xu Xinsu was originally a maritime merchant. After he took charge of Fujian's coastal defense, maritime trade was greatly facilitated. Fujian's shipping and shipbuilding industries have greatly improved.

The development space has reached the highest point in history in just a few years.

Fujian's current largest trading partner is Haihan, and it is integrating with Haihan's shipping and trade standards in more and more details to provide maximum convenience for this kind of cross-border trade. For example, in Fujian's major

The Haihan Bank branch operating at the trade port, the jointly agreed fixed routes and shipping schedules, and the increasing number of standard-size containers used in shipping are all designed to save all kinds of troubles in bilateral trade.

Dong Yanyun admitted that the current situation in Fujian is largely due to the developed local maritime trade. Transnational trade not only brings huge profits to the Fujian authorities, but also allows them to have a combat force second only to Haihan.

The strong arm of the army.

Then Dong Yanyun talked about the trade relations between Fujian and North Korea. Although the two places were separated by a sea and the voyage was three thousand miles, Dong Yanyun believed that Fujian was North Korea's first choice trading port for establishing trade routes with the Ming Dynasty.

"The prince should also know that Shandong and Liaodong are both in the post-war recovery period, and most of the ports established by Haihan there are for military use and are not suitable as trading ports. As for Jiangsu and Zhejiang, although there is Zhoushan Dinghai Port as a trade distribution center, the local

The government's attitude towards cross-border trade is not stable. Even if some officials are willing to cooperate, it is often just for personal gain. The channels for goods entering and exiting the Ming Dynasty are not smooth. But we in Fujian are different. All trading ports obey Mr. Xu

In terms of command, whether it is transaction taxes or loading and unloading fees, there are unified standards everywhere, and the government will provide institutional protection to foreign businessmen."

Li Pu recalled his experience of visiting the Zhangzhou Outer City Trade Zone the day before. What he saw was indeed what Dong Yanyun said. The market was prosperous and well-organized, and it was 70-80% similar to the situation in Dinghai Port. However, Fujian as a

Whether the trade destination is really better than Jiangsu and Zhejiang, Li Bo feels that this still needs to be verified. After all, he only has a superficial understanding of the trade situation between the two places, and does not know the role of the local government in it.

Why.

Moreover, Li Bo had a point of view in his mind. He believed that the people who really grasped the cross-border trade situation between these two places were probably the Haihan people. I remember that when he was in Zhoushan, Li Bo saw an article about the scale of trade along the coast of the Ming Dynasty in a certain issue of Haihan Times.

article, but at the time he did not realize the practical significance of the data listed in this article, but it should be of great reference value for the problem he is currently encountering. He will have to find that article and read it carefully when he has the opportunity in the future.

Take a look.

But one thing is undoubted, that is, the level of security that the Fujian authorities can provide to foreign merchants and fleets is certainly unmatched by the Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions. After all, Fujian has a naval force and aquatic armed forces that are known as the best in the Ming Dynasty.

Far better than the Jiangsu and Zhejiang Coastal Guard Stations, merchant ships entering and exiting the coastal waters of Fujian basically do not need to worry about safety issues - the last group of pirates operating in this sea area probably dates back three or four years ago.

It is difficult for the local garrison troops in Jiangsu and Zhejiang to provide the same conditions. Due to the lack of powerful armed ships, maritime security can only be maintained mainly by the Haihan East China Sea Fleet. In comparison between the two, it is naturally Fujian.

The navigation safety is more guaranteed.

Dong Yanyun quickly listed Fujian's advantages in maritime trade one by one. It is a traditional trading port. Now it has official support, safety is guaranteed, and various supporting facilities are complete. The only shortcoming is just

It’s just that the flight distance from North Korea is longer than that of Jiangsu and Zhejiang. But this shortcoming is only relative, because if you look at it from another perspective, the flight distance from Fujian to Haihan is shorter, and the transaction with Haihan will be correspondingly

Shipping costs will also be lower.

The reason why they spent so much time introducing Fujian's trade advantages to the North Korean mission is obviously that they hope that North Korea will use Fujian as its main trade destination in the future. Although North Korea's current international trade scale is not large,

However, Fujian believes that since both Hai and Han are optimistic about North Korea, it means that its development potential is huge and it is worth wooing North Koreans in advance.

After these years of cooperation, Xu Xinsu has great faith in the vision and judgment of the Haihan people. Of course, the work she is doing now is actually a side dish. The real main course is the previous troops sent to aid North Korea to help it retreat from the enemy. It is difficult for the North Koreans to express their gratitude directly.

In return, and in accordance with the wishes of Fujian, reaching in-depth cooperation in economic and trade seems to be one of the few ways North Korea can repay.

Li Bo also knew this very well. Before going abroad, his father told him that if he had the opportunity to meet Xu Xinsu, he should convey his country's gratitude. Of course, just verbal gratitude would definitely not be enough, so since Fujian wants to further consolidate the two places

Since the trade relationship between the two parties, Li Bo felt that it was understandable to meet the needs of the other party.

However, out of caution, he did not express his position immediately. He only said that he would note down the key points explained by Dong Yanyun, report back to the country, and persuade his father to accept Fujian's suggestions in the field of maritime trade.

This level of response already made Xu Xinsu very satisfied. He had not expected the Joseon Crown Prince to make any decision on behalf of his country at the moment. It was already quite good to be able to intentionally promote this matter.

In order to express her gratitude to the crown prince of Joseon, Xu Xinsu immediately presented Li Bo with a handmade flintlock gun. This thing is more suitable to be said to be a handicraft than a weapon. The gun handle and

The body of the gun is engraved with fine cloud patterns. But it is not just a handicraft. As long as it is loaded with ammunition, its power is enough to kill someone within twenty steps. This is a personal belonging of Xu Xinsu.

, giving it to Li Bo as a gift has a strong political meaning.

Li Bo didn't have anything to give Xu Xinsu in return, so he took off the self-defense dagger from his waist as a return gift. This dagger couldn't be said to be particularly valuable. It was Li Bo who made him the crown prince.

One of the utensils given by the emperor, it is usually kept in a box, and Li Bo only wears it as an accessory on a few formal occasions.

Xu Xinsu was very happy after hearing Li Bo's introduction to the origin of the dagger. She believed that this temporary exchange of gifts symbolized that the mutual trust between North Korea and Fujian had reached a new height.

Donate a thousand taels of silver to show support and encouragement.

This amount of money was not much for Xu Xinsu, but for the North Korean mission, which was already short of funds for studying abroad, it was no longer a small amount. After a few words of refusal, Li Bo still handed over Xu Xinsu's kindness and thanked him for it.

The impression of Fujian has increased a bit. When I was a guest in Zhoushan earlier, the local government did not give gifts and money like this. The comparison between the two parties was a judgment call. Li Pu thought to himself, and then wrote a report to his father.

At this time, I should say a few kind words for this Fujian native emperor.

After staying in Zhangzhou for four days, the North Korean mission set off again, but their next stop was not the south, but Magong Port in Penghu, on the side of Taiwan Island in the Fujian Strait opposite Zhangzhou. This was arranged by Haihan long ago

Having designated the place to visit, Li Bo must have no choice but to follow suit. The Fujian Navy once again took on the escort mission, escorting the North Korean fleet from Zhangzhou to Magong Port, four hundred miles away.

Penghu was once occupied by the pirate gang Shibazhi before Haihan arrived. Haihan's army drove Shibazhi out of the place in the Battle of Penghu in 1632 and unceremoniously took the island as his own.

.After that, they successfully entered Taiwan with the help of Penghu as a springboard. They first built Kaohsiung Port in the south, and then attacked the two ports of Tamsui and Jilong at the northern end of Taiwan Island, driving the Spanish out of this area.

Currently in charge of Penghu is the military general Yu Yao. He has not moved since he was transferred from the Guangdong Office to Penghu in 1633. However, although the office location has not been moved, Yu Yao's position has actually remained stable in the past few years.

Zhong Yousheng. The area under his jurisdiction is far more than the Penghu Islands. The entire Fujian Strait and waters, including Jilong Port and Kaohsiung Port, are considered his jurisdiction.

After the pirates in this sea area were cleared, the main target of defense was actually the Western colonists. However, the Dutch have kept a relatively low profile in recent years and have not used the Taiyuan Port under their rule to cause trouble. The Spanish

After being expelled from Manila Bay this year, he has fled further south, and has basically lost the possibility of returning to Taiwan Island in the short term. Therefore, at present, Penghu’s defense pressure is minimal, and there is basically no need to worry about large-scale hostility.

Armed forces entered this sea area.

In fact, every time Haihan carried out large-scale military operations in the northeast, troops had to be mobilized from the south. Penghu was the target of deployment every time because its defense tasks were not heavy and it was close to the allies' base camp. Last year

During the Liaodong Spring Offensive, the Haihan Army deployed a large number of troops to fight on the front line of the Jinzhou Isthmus. Most of the troops in the Penghu Defense Area were also removed, leaving only one battalion of the army and less than ten combat ships in the entire defense area.

One battalion may sound like a lot, but there are several places in the Penghu defense area that must be defended: the Jinguashi gold mine near Jilong Port, the Chushuangkeng oil production area in Miaoli, and the slave plantation near Kaohsiung Port in the south.

Each of these places was divided into company formations, leaving only one infantry company in Magong Port.

Yu Yao is very optimistic about this. The security situation in the Fujian Strait and Taiwan Island is generally improving. As long as the warlike native tribes on Taiwan Island don't cause trouble, there will be no pressure if there are fewer garrison troops. Not to mention the various population centers.

There are also militia organizations, and if necessary, they can at least pull out a temporary infantry battalion, which is enough to deal with small-scale armed conflicts.

As for the sea, to be honest, Yu Yao did not think that there were still forces in this sea area that dared to take action against Haihan. The only outsider, the Dutch, had been cautious in recent years, lest they give Haihan an excuse to expel them from Taiyuan Port.

The navy and the Fujian navy form mixed fleets from time to time to patrol inside and outside the strait, which will also have a certain deterrent effect on the young people.
Chapter completed!