Chapter 2698

If the cross-border trade activities of Haihan merchants bypassing Tsushima were just private activities before, then Tao Hongfang's opinion on behalf of Haihan officials at this time is to clearly inform Japan of the future trade exchanges around the Korean Strait.

, Haihan will also take a share of the pie.

Regardless of whether Haihan's true intention is to support North Korea or to seek more benefits in cross-border trade, once he gets involved, it will threaten Ma Fan's trade monopoly in this region. To put it more seriously, this is very dangerous.

It may shake the foundation on which Tsushima Domain relies for its livelihood.

Zong Xiongtai has been dealing with Haihan people in Busan for a long time, and he has a relatively clear understanding of the power of Haihan commercial capital. He knows that it is difficult for Ma Fan to compete with Ma Fan in terms of purchase and sales channels, maritime transport capacity, organizational management, and trade scale.

Compared with the powerful Haihan merchants, its own advantage is only the special trade status obtained by the geographical location.

Kaihan merchants established the Busan-Nagasaki trade route early on, and later opened up routes to Osaka and other places via the Shimonoseki Strait. Since Kaihan merchants began operating these two routes, Tsushima feudal lords

The direct economic losses caused amount to hundreds of thousands of taels of silver every year.

But in the face of the continuous erosion of Haihan's business, Tsuima clan seemed to have no effective means of resistance besides swallowing his anger. It was absolutely impossible to use force. The Haihan armed fleet stationed in Sasebo Bay was no joke.

Yes, the once prosperous Hirado Port has been reduced to an ordinary fishing port with a sparse population just because it offended the Kaihan people. Although the Tsushima Domain has a certain economic strength, its military strength is far less than that of the Hirado Domain in its heyday.

I still don’t have the confidence to challenge Haihan head-on.

At this time, Tao Hongfang dared to make such a request. Of course, his confidence came from the huge armed fleet parked in Busan Port. When Zong Xiongtai woke up every day and stood in front of his bedroom window, he could see this oppressive fleet.

The fleet, even the Haihan flag on the mast can be seen clearly.

Faced with such pressure, how could Zong Xiongtai easily say "no" to the Haihan people?

"First of all, I do not think that the trade agreement between my country and North Korea needs to be renegotiated. If your king has such an intention, he should submit his credentials to our country through formal channels, make detailed requirements, and get our country's

After you agree, we can discuss and arrange the negotiation matters.”

The response strategy that Zong Xiongtai can think of at present is to divide North Korea and Haihan as much as possible to prevent the interests of the two from being tied together. Compared with Haihan, at least North Korea's follower will be easier to deal with.

Regarding Wen Zhihong's request, Zong Xiongtai kicked the ball back with a few words - you have to follow the procedures correctly first, and then come to me to talk. Of course, if you really follow Zong Xiongtai's words, then the two countries

The time required for high-level exchanges of opinions can be measured in months. If we really want to achieve results, it will definitely not take more than a year and a half. By then, Ma Fan will still have buffer time to slowly think of solutions.

response.

But it is difficult to use the same method to deal with the Kaihan people. Because Zong Xiongta has already learned that the Kaihan fleet will visit Japan next. It is said that Edo Castle, the seat of the shogunate, will also be one of the destinations. If

Unsurprisingly, the negotiation of trade relations between the two countries will inevitably become the main topic of this visit to Japan. If Ma Fan does not take the initiative, it may be difficult to intervene in the negotiations between the shogunate and Haihan by then.

"As for the Haihan Kingdom..." Zong Xiongtai glanced at his negotiating opponents and couldn't help but sigh at the youth of these Haihan officials: "I think the bilateral trade agreement between our two countries should be the standard instead of starting a new one.

A redundant tripartite agreement.”

Haihan and the Japanese shogunate had signed the "Sea-Japan Friendship and Trade Treaty" a few years ago, confirming that Japan would open many major ports to Haihan and allowing Haihan merchants to engage in trade activities in these areas. This was also the first step between the two countries.

One of the most important agreements to date.

However, the content of this agreement basically does not involve third parties. It is a relatively pure bilateral trade agreement, so there is no clear definition of the trade activities of Haihan merchants between North Korea and Japan. Zong Xiongtai raised this agreement

, that is, to make it clear that we are only willing to negotiate terms with Haihan alone, but we cannot bring North Korea in to join in the fun.

Wen Zhihong couldn't help but be a little anxious when he heard this statement. If North Korea was kicked aside, all his efforts would be in vain. Without waiting for Haihan to speak, he was the first to respond: "Master of the clan, you may

I have overlooked one point. Busan is about to establish the Haihan Exclusive Economic Zone. If there is no formal tripartite trade agreement to regulate the business activities of each company, then your domain, and even your country, may have future trade activities in Busan.

affected."

Zong Xiongtai frowned and said: "Master Wen, your statement is a bit unfriendly. It will not help solve the problem between us."

Now that Wen Zhihong had the support of the Haihan Mission, he naturally spoke forcefully and snorted coldly: "Although my words don't sound good, I'm thinking of everyone. If we don't set good rules, if there are any trade disputes in the future, the clan leader can't do it."

Come and trouble me!"

Wen Zhihong had negotiated with Zong Xiongtai several times before, but did not get a good look. Although he was not angry, there was nothing he could do to the other party. But with Haihan helping out in this meeting, Wen Zhihong was not afraid to speak out.

, at this time, he attacked Zong Xiongtai with a gun and a stick, and he suddenly felt very relieved.

He was even a little eager to anger Zong Xiongtai and make him refuse to continue negotiations. Haihan had interests in the tripartite talks. If Ma Fan refused to negotiate, he would definitely offend Haihan, and once Haihan thought that negotiations could not be passed,

To solve the problem, we should choose more direct and effective means to deal with Tsushima.

For the Busan government, if there is a better solution than reaching a tripartite agreement, it is of course to completely kick Tsushima out of the game. Without this troublesome middleman in the future, the revenue of the Busan government can easily be doubled several times.

Isn't it wonderful?

Seeing that the two parties were at war with each other, Tao Hongfang finally spoke again: "You two, the purpose of our talks today is to resolve differences, not to intensify conflicts. If we can't reach an agreement, I think everyone's interests will be affected to varying degrees.

Loss, this is probably a situation that you two don’t want to see, right? I think it’s better to put forward our own interests first, and then try to find common ground while reserving differences, and formulate a plan that is acceptable to all parties. What do you think?”
Chapter completed!