Chapter 2257

Since the conclusion of an alliance with the Haehan fleet on the Han River in 1636, North Korea has been trying to imitate Haehan and build a powerful armed force so that it can get rid of the long-term weakness of being surrounded by powerful enemies.

dilemma.

Haihan did not hide his secrets. He made it very clear that as long as North Korea provided money, not only could it buy weapons and equipment, but it could even train its troops.

This is the weakness of North Korea. The economic foundation of this agricultural country is very weak. In recent decades, it has been continuously invaded and plundered by Japan and the Manchu Qing Dynasty. Last year’s war almost destroyed the towns north of the Datong River.

All were destroyed, resulting in extremely tight funds for post-war reconstruction work.

Under the strain, North Korea had to use the many assets jointly developed by the two countries on the banks of the Datong River as collateral to borrow money from Haihan Bank to maintain the operation of the main institutions of the court and the post-war reconstruction work in the northern region.

Under such a situation, it is not easy to squeeze out a little budget from the finance to send a group of elite personnel to study abroad in Sanya. As for the military budget, it can only be compressed and compressed, streamlined and streamlined.

To order a large amount of arms and equipment from Haihan, North Korea will definitely not be able to get the cash at present. It can only use resources in exchange, or use asset mortgages in exchange for special loans issued by Haihan. But no matter which way it is, it is extremely difficult for North Korea.

Tough decision.

Li Zhi also knew that his country's financial situation was very bad, so when he heard the news announced by Tao Donglai, he was not as excited as others. They were holding real money and silver waiting for Haihan to start selling, while North Korea only

We can first check whether each company has replaced second-hand equipment for sale, just like they previously purchased a batch of old weapons captured from the Spaniards from Haihan. Although they no longer know which second-hand goods they are, they can repair them.

It can also be used as a supplement.

Of course, whether to buy it or not is another matter. As Haihan's ally and major military partner, North Korea certainly has the right to know the status of Haihan's foreign arms sales, so Li Zhen will not be absent from this kind of arms promotion.

display activities. If there are weapons and equipment at a suitable price, Li Zhen can actually use the remaining reserves in the royal family's treasury to buy some back in small batches - he estimates that the Haihan army has about one company of weapons and equipment, and he should

Still barely able to afford it.

Of course, such a small amount of weapons can't do much. They can probably only be distributed to officers who have received Haihan training so that they can become more familiar with the performance of the weapons. In this way, when a large number of troops are replaced with standard weapons in the future, commanders will be more responsible for the troops under their command.

has a clearer understanding of its combat effectiveness.

However, the current situation does make Li Zhi a little embarrassed. He is now standing with the young prince of Annan, Zheng Zha, the ambassador of the Champa Kingdom, Luo Ken, and the third young master of Furifeng, Li Nai. These few are discussing what to do next year.

How much arms did Haihan purchase?

"My company doesn't have much demand for this. I just need to purchase some muskets for the Golden Shield Convoy. By the way, I need to replace all the matchlock guns I bought in the early years... I estimate that three or four hundred will be enough. More than that will probably not be used.

." Li Nai made it clear in a low-key manner that Fulifeng would not compete with other companies for bulk orders, but even this was enough to make Li Xie next to him feel jealous.

Li Xie thought that the Golden Shield was just a bodyguard agency affiliated with Furifeng Company, and its efforts in purchasing weapons seemed to be better than those of North Korea. It seemed that the rumors from the outside world that the Li family in Guangzhou was a powerful enemy of the country were not completely unfounded.

Luo Ken said: "The third young master is really humble. I heard that Golden Shield Escort will set up a branch in Saigon Port of our Champa Kingdom this year. I guess it is not enough to buy hundreds of muskets. Haihan's exploration-class warship should also be

Will you buy a few boats?"

Although the war between Annan and Champa has signed an armistice agreement with the mediation of Haihan, the two countries have actually been secretly competing with each other, and border conflicts still occur occasionally. Zheng Zha snorted coldly after hearing Luo Keren's words.

He said: "Jin Dun has already set up a branch office in Vung Tau Port last year. When it is your turn in Saigon, it should be a small office under the branch office! There is no need to equip hundreds of muskets, Mr. Luo

It’s too overestimating!”

At this time, Saigon, which belonged to the Champa Kingdom, became Ho Chi Minh City in later generations. It was only more than a hundred miles away from Vung Tau Port, which belonged to the Annan Kingdom. While Vung Tau Port was close to the sea, Saigon was located inland on the upper reaches of the Saigon River. If shipping was convenient,

In terms of nature, Vung Tau Port does have a lot of advantages. Because of this, in the process of competing for the first maritime hub port at the southern tip of Indochina, Champa and Annam refused to give in to each other.

Although Jindun is just an escort agency for transporting goods, wherever Jindun goes, it means where Furifeng's business network extends. And only through trade can these remote ports develop rapidly. This has already happened through Sanya, the most populous city in the world.

The good example has been fully confirmed. Whether it is Annan or Champa, they all hope that the next Sanya Port will appear on their territory.

In fact, as part of the return provided to Hai Han that year, Vung Tau Port is an area jointly managed by Hai Han and Annan. It is nominally the territory of Annan, but it is actually operated and managed by Hai Han, and a small part of the income

It will be assigned to Annan as the rent here. Of course, this complicated ownership will not prevent Zheng Zha from regarding Vung Tau Port as Annan’s asset and using it as a tool to disparage his competitors.

Although Champa is on the weaker side in the competition between the two countries, it is now also a member of the international alliance created by Haihan. Therefore, Luo Ken did not intend to swallow Zheng Zha's ridicule, and immediately counterattacked: "You don't have to be like this.

I’m excited. The cooperation between our country and Furifeng is of course not just as simple as the opening of a branch for Golden Shield Escort. I’ll look back in a few years and hope you can still laugh at that time.”

Compared with natural ports such as Da Nang, Quy Nhon, and Cam Ranh, Vung Tau's natural conditions are not unique. It is just that its geographical location is just at the mouth of the Saigon River, and Hai Han has not yet formed an alliance with the Champa State.

Lao Vung Tau serves as the trading hub of Hai Han in the southern tip of Indochina. However, due to its geographical conditions, it can only be constructed as a trading port and is not suitable for large-scale construction and development around this location.

Although Saigon is located dozens of miles inland from the coastline, it has the wide Saigon River as a shipping channel. In addition, the local Saigon City is a populated area, and the surrounding fertile Saigon Plain is enough to feed millions of people.

, so after Hai Han established diplomatic relations with Champa, he made Saigon one of the development targets.

The plains near Saigon are very suitable for building large-scale farms and plantations, and the raw materials provided by these basic agricultural industries can drive the local deep-processing industry of agricultural products, thereby greatly improving the local economic level. Of course, this process is easy to say, but in reality

It will take several years to see results.

However, with the successful example of Hai Han, it is relatively easy to promote this agricultural development model locally. Commercial capital led by Hai Han has enclosed a large amount of land near Saigon, often covering thousands of acres, and then hired local laborers

Come and cultivate these lands.

Well-informed merchants like Furifeng with a keen sense of smell will naturally not miss out on great investment opportunities. At this stage, opening a branch of Golden Shield in Saigon may not bring much business from the local area, but the existence of Golden Shield

The significance is not entirely to make profits by escorting valuable goods, but also has a very important role to protect the safety and interests of Furifeng during its local operations.

Wherever Golden Shield opens, there will be important interests of Furifeng. This has become a well-known common sense in the international trade circle. Even if ordinary people don't know it, people like Zheng Zha and Luo Ken certainly don't understand it.

The symbolic meaning of this signal. Even Li Zhen, who had only been in Sanya for less than a year, could imagine that this matter was probably not what Zheng Zha disparaged.

Luo Keen knew very well that Saigon's future development would inevitably surpass that of Vung Tau Port, which was inherently deficient, so he had the confidence to let Zheng Zha come back to look at what is happening today in a few years.

However, such a dispute inevitably put Li Nai in the middle. As the manager of Jindun, he had to awkwardly dissuade the two from continuing to argue: "Listen to me, Jindun is just a small business.

I can’t believe that you two care so much! Jindun does want to open a branch in Saigon, but certainly not all the guns he plans to buy will be sent to Saigon."

Zheng Zhu said: "The third young master is honest and candid, unlike some villains who are secretive. Of course I believe you."

Luo Ken said: "Whether it's Furifeng or Jindun, it's the last word to make money. In two or three years, when we look at the business situation, the third young master will definitely be proud of the decision he made!"

Li Nai quickly changed the subject and said, "Then what weapons and equipment do you plan to purchase?"

In this situation, they naturally would not tell the truth. Zheng Zha laughed and said: "According to our country's practice, of course we buy some of each kind."

"Buy every kind...Is the young prince buying vegetables in the market?" Luo Ken still remembered the festival just now, and immediately mocked Zheng Zao.

Zheng Zhuo sneered and said: "I, Annan, have military expenses, so I can buy whatever I want. You don't have to be so jealous!"

Seeing that the two men were about to bicker again, Li Nai quickly turned to Li Zhi who was watching the excitement and asked: "May I ask, Your Majesty, what are your country's arms purchase plans?"

When he mentioned this question, both Zheng Zha and Luo Ken stopped angrily. This was not only a matter of diplomatic etiquette, but they also really wanted to understand the degree of dependence of North Korea, a northern country, on Haihan weapons through a few words of information.

Of course, Li Zhi could not tell the truth, so he could only respond vaguely: "Our country only experienced a war last year. Now it is at the time of post-war reconstruction. There are many places where money is needed. I probably won't spend it on purchasing weapons for the time being."

How much is it?"

Zheng Zha said: "Your Majesty, what you said is wrong. Last year, your country asked Haihan for help because of its lack of military strength. Then the coalition forces went north to assist your country in the war against the Qing Dynasty. Now that the war has come to an end, the Qing Dynasty must be full of ambitions.

If it is not lost, it will come to trouble your country sooner or later. Building a strong army is the top priority. What's more, your country has also sent a group of soldiers to Sanya for further study. Isn't the purpose of it is to form a new army after returning to China?

Army?"

What Zheng Zha said sounded very reasonable, and Li Zhen had no way to refute it for a moment, so he could only say with a wry smile: "What the young prince said makes sense, but every family has its own scriptures that are difficult to recite. It is not that easy to form a new army."

Things..."

Li Zhi is unwilling to expose his shortcomings in front of outsiders, but discussing this topic will indeed make him feel very embarrassed.

Fortunately, Li Nai saw his dilemma and took the initiative to help him out: "The country is based on the people. Your country should solve the problems left by the war first after the war. This is also a manifestation of the king's love for the people. This is very good."

Li Zhi glanced at Li Nai gratefully, nodded and said: "Last year's war caused hundreds of thousands of civilians in our country to have their homes destroyed and displaced. I believe you have heard about it. If the livelihood problems of these people cannot be solved as soon as possible, then there will be

There may be great chaos. To say something that may offend the third young master, the Ming Dynasty has been experiencing constant civil strife in recent years. Isn't it because the people's livelihood has not been solved well? "

Li Nai responded: "It doesn't matter, this is a fact. The armed refugees in the Central Plains are like locusts, emptying out wherever they go, resulting in more and more places that cannot engage in agricultural production, and this also creates more people.

Refugees. The imperial court cannot help so many people, and the refugees will take desperate risks in order to survive. They will burn, kill and loot under the command of a few evil people, making the local situation worse and worse. Your country's approach of helping refugees first should be effective.

To prevent chaos like the Ming Dynasty from happening."

Li Nai has discussed the internal and external troubles of the Ming Dynasty with Haihan senior officials many times, so he has a thorough understanding of this issue and can give his own opinions from a more objective perspective. As for the war situation in Korea last year, in Haihan

There were numerous detailed reports in the official newspapers, so the people present were familiar with the situation at that time, and understood that what Li Xie said was not false.

As for why Zheng Zha believed that strengthening military construction was more important than appeasing the civilians and organizing post-war reconstruction, it was because the special historical environment of Annan at that time was different from that of North Korea. At that time, Annan had the strong support of Haihan, and Haihan

In order to develop itself, the Han Dynasty collected a large number of homeless war refugees from Annan and sent them to Hainan Island for resettlement.

This measure relieved Annan's pressure on people's livelihood after the war to a certain extent. In addition, he used multiple ports in exchange for Haihan's strong support in weapons, equipment and personnel training. Therefore, Annan's armed strength after the war simply improved by leaps and bounds.

The speed is increasing. The reasons for this are complicated, but from Zheng Zha's perspective, Annan did spend more resources on military construction after the civil war than on people's livelihood, and it also achieved quite good results. It's just that Annan spent more resources on military construction than people's livelihood.

Such an approach is unlikely to be used in North Korea, which has a completely different situation.
Chapter completed!