Chapter 293 Trade Negotiations (2)

Fujian in the Ming Dynasty was one of the important silk fabric producing areas in my country. As early as 1439, the imperial court set up a weaving and dyeing bureau in Quanzhou to produce tributes specifically for the royal family. Later, during the Jingtai period, Biheng, the magistrate of Fuzhou, also established a weaving and dyeing bureau locally. According to "Fuzhou Prefecture Chronicles" records that at that time, Fuzhou had to pay tribute to the royal family of 425 feet of silk and satin every year, and the raw silk used was 1,328 kilograms, all of which were apportioned and paid by the counties under its rule. In the middle and late Ming Dynasty, the silk weaving industry in Jiangnan gradually emerged, and its technical level and The output greatly exceeded that of Fujian, which directly led to the decline of Fujian's government-run silk weaving industry.

However, the decline of the government-run silk weaving industry does not mean that the local silk fabric market has shrunk because of this. On the contrary, in the early Ming Dynasty, most Fujian people used ramie to make clothes and did not consume much silk fabrics. But in the late Ming Dynasty, silk clothing

On the contrary, it has become the standard clothing for young people. For example, "Taining County Chronicle" records: "The only product of Taining is ramie. Apart from ramie, every trace of wadding must be easy to wear. Nowadays, the children of the rich people must wear silky clothes and colorful clothes."

Red and purple, long sleeves and big belt, I am proud of it. One person advocates it, ten people follow it, it is extremely extravagant."

Similar records are also recorded in detail in "Quanzhou Prefecture Chronicles". Especially in coastal areas, this change in clothing habits is very significant. The change in consumption habits has caused the silk market in Fujian not only to decline due to the government-run silk weaving

The industry has shrunk due to the decline of the industry, but it has greatly expanded among the people. Since Fujian's output is limited, a large amount of raw silk and silk are imported from Jiangnan every year. In "Batong Fujian Chronicle", "Xinghua Prefecture Chronicle", "Anhai

There are records of rich Fujian merchants purchasing large quantities of silk fabrics from the south of the Yangtze River. Tang Zhen, a thinker in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, once wrote: "Wu silk clothes from all over the world gathered in Shuanglin, Wu, Yue, Fujian, and even the islands, all came to the market. In May

They arrived carrying silver and were piled up like rubble. The villages in the south of Wu could benefit from millions of dollars every year." During this period, the total amount of cotton and silk imported from Jiangnan in Fujian every year can be called astronomical figures.

Of course, these raw silk and silk fabrics are not completely digested by the local market, and export is also one of their important destinations. Through the three major foreign trade ports of Fuzhou, Quanzhou, and Zhangzhou, Fujian's silk fabrics were exported to Japan and European markets in large quantities. Due to the Japanese pirates

The problem is that the Ming Dynasty banned trade with Japan for a long time, and Japanese merchants even had to go to Southeast Asian markets to buy Chinese silk. Smart Portuguese merchants purchased silk fabrics in Guangzhou and shipped them to Japan via Macau for sale, with the annual quantity ranging from one to three thousand tons.

No wait.

In the last two decades of the 16th century, half of the silver produced in Japan was exported abroad, and most of it went into the pockets of the Portuguese. According to historical data recorded in the 38 years from 1599 to 1637, Portuguese merchants from Nagasaki

The amount of silver shipped out actually amounted to more than 50 million taels, and most of this silver passed through the port of Macao and entered the Ming Dynasty and was exchanged for silk fabrics and other goods.

The situation in Europe is different. Western countries introduced sericulture from China as early as the Middle Ages. At this time, countries such as Spain and Italy in southern Europe had strong silk fabric production capabilities. However, because the price of raw silk in Europe is very expensive,

Organizing raw materials for production in the European market is far less cost-effective than importing raw silk from distant China. Therefore, the main import target of European merchants is raw silk as raw material, not finished silk fabrics.

Regarding this situation, He Qiaoyuan, a historian in the late Ming Dynasty, once commented on the Spaniards and the Dutch: "The two barbarians are all fond of Chinese silk and satin. There are no silkworms in their soil, so they can only use Chinese silk. When the lake silk arrives there, it will be able to weave fine satin, chiselled like flowers and scales, and it will be considered beautiful when worn. Therefore, one hundred catties of Chinese lake silk is worth a hundred and two taels of silver, and when it comes there the price can be two to three hundred taels. "

The profits made by the Dutch from purchasing raw silk from Fujian are also considerable. Currently, Xu Xinsu, the largest foreign trade supplier of raw silk in Fujian, supplies raw silk to the Dutch at about 140 taels per load. Not only is the transaction limited in time, but it also has to be purchased first. The Dutch are still eager to collect advance deposits. But after these raw silks are shipped to Japan, the profit is at least double. The price of raw silk in Manila is one hundred taels per load higher than in Taiwan. In order to obtain more The Spanish even took the risk to cross the Pacific Ocean every year to transport silver directly from the South American colonies to East Asia to purchase goods.

However, during this period, the local raw silk production in Fujian was not actually large, and the quality of Fujian silk was not as good as that of Jiangsu and Zhejiang. The main raw materials for the silk weaving industry came from Huzhou, Zhejiang, and the production centers were mainly concentrated in the three foreign trade ports of Fuzhou, Quanzhou, and Zhangzhou. .Fuzhou specializes in the four-layer fabric "modified brocade", Quanzhou is famous for its rich variety of silk fabrics, and Zhangzhou is characterized by its ability to imitate. The most famous domestic Su silk and Lu silk can be imitated in Zhangzhou, even by The velvet that flowed in from abroad quickly became a "copycat" in Zhangzhou. It can be said to be the "Huaqiangbei" in the silk weaving industry.

At this time, although the status of the private silk weaving industry in Fujian was not as high as that of Wuyue in the south of the Yangtze River, it was still considered one of the important production areas in the country. Xu Guangqi quoted Guo Zizhang, an important minister of the two dynasties, in his "Agricultural Policy Complete Book" as saying: "The opportunities in the southeast are three Wu and Fujian. , The most popular people in Yue, get the cocoons from the lake." Chuan Chuan Group has been developing the idea of ​​​​sericulture industry and silk fabric trade since the end of last year. Although Wuyue is good, it is a little far away, while Fujian is relatively much closer. Of course, the most important thing is The most important thing is that there is a super local snake named Xu Xinsu in Fujian who can be exploited.

When the Executive Committee decided to export weapons to support Xu Xinsu's resistance to the "Eighteen Zhi" more than half a year ago, it had some intention of using Xu Xinsu to gain convenience in Fujian in the future. As the construction process of the Sanya area progressed, the Executive Committee The society finally began to have enough energy to pay attention to some projects that did not have the conditions for development at the beginning of time travel - such as the sericulture breeding industry and the related silk weaving industry that require silkworm species adapted to the current time and space environment.

Although the silkworm breeds and silkworms produced in Fujian are not as good as those in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, they are better adaptable to the tropical monsoon climate of Hainan and are more practical for the Chuanchuan Group. People from the Ministry of Agriculture have reported to the Executive Committee The Association has stated that as long as it takes one or two years to carry out breeding and reproduction, it should be possible to cultivate local silkworm species suitable for Hainan's climate - of course this is almost an ideal progress, and the actual progress will not be determined. It only depends on the progress in Fujian, but also on the development status of the Chuan Chuan Group on Hainan Island, because the areas suitable for sericulture are mostly in the central and northern parts, and currently do not fall within the Chuan Chuan Group's sphere of influence.

Of course, at the beginning, we still have to solve any problems first. Breeding and promotion can be carried out slowly. Anyway, the current problem of Chuan Chuan Group is not that there are no export channels, but that various products have serious insufficient production capacity. It will not be possible for a while.

It was necessary to count on the production of silk fabrics to revitalize the economy.

Dong Yanyun's answer is not particularly exaggerated. The time Xu Xinsu transports raw silk to the Dutch every year is probably before the Haihan militia went to Vietnam. Now that a month has passed, Xu Xinsu sells all the raw silk on hand.

There are almost 7,788. It is definitely hopeless to purchase bulk goods from Fujian at this time.

Dong Yanyun didn't want the three people to think that he was looking for excuses, so he continued: "If you are really interested in purchasing silk fabrics, I can try to purchase them from Jiangsu and Zhejiang on your behalf, but it will take longer and the price will probably be higher.

high……"

"Mr. Dong, we don't plan to buy raw silk or silk fabrics for the time being. What we want is local silkworm seeds in Fujian." Tao Donglai simply stated his intention.

"Silkworm seeds?" Dong Yanyun was stunned for a moment before saying: "Are you planning to... plant mulberry and raise silkworms in Yazhou?"

"Where we raise sericulture is not the point. The point is whether you can provide us with the help we need." Tao Donglai was not interested in discussing technical details with Dong Yanyun.

"This... is not difficult to do, but what are the specific requirements?" Dong Yanyun secretly breathed a sigh of relief. It was much easier to send silkworm seeds than to shipwrights, and there was no need to worry about affecting his own industry.

As for whether the Haihan people really breed sericulture on Qiongzhou Island, and the production of raw silk will have an impact on Fujian's silk fabric industry, Dong Yanyun is not worried at all - both silk fabrics and raw silk are in short supply in the Fujian market. If Haihan people

If the Han people can really make things happen, then Fujian will be able to have a stable source of goods in the future, so why not?

Tao Donglai took out a piece of paper and handed it to Dong Yanyun: "This is our request for silkworm seeds."

Dong Yanyun looked at it and saw that several silkworm seed production areas were specifically designated on it, and it also specified which growth stage of silkworm seed and the required quantity. In addition, mulberry trees from various places must also be sent one-to-one tree seeds for selection.

In addition, the Haihan people also proposed to hire a number of experienced sericulture farmers from Fujian's sericulture areas, a number of weavers familiar with silk fabric production techniques, loom samples, etc. Although the items are a bit cumbersome, the requirements are not excessive. After all, they are all

Something related to the sericulture industry.

After reading it, Dong Yanyun nodded slightly and said: "It is not difficult for you to ask for these items. I can agree to it now. After returning, we will prepare these items and send them to Victory Port as soon as possible."

"That's best. After receiving the silkworm seeds from you, we will give you a certain amount of arms procurement share as appropriate." Tao Donglai was also quite satisfied with Dong Yanyun's answer, but that didn't end there.

Even if it's over: "There is one more thing that we have a relatively large demand for. I hope you can find a way to provide us with the supply."

"Mr. Tao, please speak!" Dong Yanyun has now figured out the way of the Haihan people. If he wants to buy their arms, he must first agree to a series of exchange conditions. Otherwise, even if he has cash in his pocket, he will lose all his money.

Can't even buy it.

"We heard that Xu Daguan has a lot of trade contacts in Japan, so we hope to import copper ore from Japan through Xu Daguan." Tao Donglai paused and emphasized: "We can exchange copper for us.

arms!"

Dong Yanyun's eyes suddenly lit up when he heard this: "Really? Mr. Tao must not amuse himself!"

"As long as it's copper ingots with good purity, you can get as much as you want!" Tao Donglai immediately gave him another reassurance.

In the industrial construction of the Crossing Group, copper is needed as raw material in quite a few places, but the copper reserves brought during the crossing are very limited, which will definitely be difficult to meet the needs of industrialization. The only copper mine on Hainan Island is in Shilu, where

Due to the large requirements, the development plan is still on paper and will not be officially implemented for a while. The largest copper exporter in East Asia during this period was Japan.

As an island country with poor mineral resources, Japan is lucky enough to have relatively rich copper resources. Large and small copper deposits, including Ashio Copper Mountain and Besshi Copper Mountain, are evenly distributed from Kanto to Shikoku and Kyushu.

The geological belt, which is about 800 kilometers long and dozens of kilometers wide, has very rich reserves. During the Ming Dynasty, Japan exported a large amount of brass to the Ming Dynasty. By the 1680s, Japan's copper output once ranked first in the world.

Therefore, when the executive committee was thinking about copper mines, it immediately thought of Japan as a source of goods.

However, poor mineral resources will still be a disadvantage after all. Although Japan produces gold, silver, and copper, it lacks the tin ore to cast bronze. Therefore, they even lack the ability to cast copper coins themselves - the hardness of pure copper is too soft, and preservation is a big problem.

So Japan had to export brass to the Ming Dynasty every year, and then exchange it for copper coins cast by the Ming Dynasty at a discount for domestic circulation and use. Until Toyotomi Hideyoshi unified Japan at the end of the 16th century, the main circulating copper coins in Japan were still "Yongle Tongbao".

Anyone with a little bit of economic savvy can imagine how profitable the business of minting coins is. However, Chuanchuan Group plans to import a large amount of copper, not to mint coins and then sell them back to Japan, but to actually use them for the development of its own industry.

Those who are most urgently urged are the Military Police Department and the Shipping Department. The bronze cannons to be developed by the military industry department and the corrosion-resistant "naval brass" required by the shipyards all require a large amount of copper as raw materials for production. Another of the alloys used to make these items

For this kind of tin metal, the Liaison Office in Guangzhou has found a supplier in mainland China, namely the "Haifeng Hao" trading house from Huizhou Prefecture. Currently, more than ten tons of tin ore are transported from Huizhou to Guangzhou every month, and then transferred to Shengli Port.

And these tin ores have already begun to be put to use - the production department has trial-produced a batch of lead-tin alloy last month to make movable type for printing. As long as the chemical department's printing ink trial production is successful, they can start printing on their own.

Some promotional materials and literacy books.

In addition, the power coverage area mainly based on Tiandu Industrial Zone also requires a large amount of copper to erect transmission lines. At present, the power used in Base No. 1 and the port area still relies mainly on photovoltaics, which is obviously not in line with the Executive Committee’s

The goal is to build Victory Port into a "livable town". As for copper's use in machinery, metallurgy, and light industry, it is even more extensive. To put it more seriously, if the copper supply cannot be solved well, it will be enough to reduce the cross-country group's

Industrialization has been slowed down for several years.

Comparing the price of copper in the Ming Dynasty at this time, although the import from Japan was relatively far away, even with transportation costs, it was still about one-third lower than the copper price in the Ming Dynasty. If purchased in bulk, the cost could be spread much lower. For

This is a very cost-effective deal for a large copper user like Chuanchuan Group.

However, Dong Yanyun still has some doubts about this: "My master did have a lot of trade relations with Japan in the early years, but in recent years, the Japanese are more willing to do business with the red-haired people. We may need to wait until we return to Fujian to inquire about further news."

.”

Dong Yanyun's words were confusing, but the three people here understood what he meant. At first, Li Dan, a great merchant, controlled the vast majority of Japan's trade with the Ming Dynasty. After Li Dan's death, Xu Xinsu and Zheng Zhilong inherited his rights respectively.

The heritage of mainland China and Taiwan, and the resources of Japan are also divided between the two families. Now Xu Xinsu and Zheng Zhilong are fighting fiercely. As an outsider, Japan will naturally have the meaning of sitting back and watching the tiger fight. At this juncture, if Xu Xinsu can find

When the Japanese conduct large-scale transactions, the attitude of the other party is more unpredictable.

Ning Qi then answered: "Mr. Dong, in order to show our sincerity, I will give you a fortune. Have you ever heard of Hamada Yabei?"

Dong Yanyun shook his head and said: "I have only been active in Fuguang, Jiangsu and Zhejiang. I don't know much about Japan. I would like to hear the details."

Ningzaki briefly told him about Hamada. Hamada Yahei was a Japanese maritime merchant. When he went to Taiwan to buy raw silk in 1626, he had a conflict with the Dutch East India Company. The next year, Hamada

After returning to Japan, he met with the shogun Tokugawa Iemitsu and tried to persuade the Edo shogunate to oppose the Dutch. In the spring of 1628, Hamada once again led hundreds of Japanese to Taiwan. This time, the Dutch came directly and severely.

A large amount of weapons and gunpowder were seized from the ship, all the people, ships and cargo were seized, and Hamada himself was imprisoned.

Ning Qi stopped when he said this. Dong Yanyun looked at him confused and said, "Why don't you continue, Mr. Ning?"

Ning Qi thought to himself that the next thing has not happened yet, how can I leak the secret casually. At that moment, Ning Qi coughed dryly and said: "After Mr. Dong goes back, he can remind Xu Daguan to pay attention to the changes in Taiwan. If everything goes well

, Within this year, both Japanese and red-haired people will take the initiative to seek help from many high-ranking officials."

Dong Yanyun wondered: "Why did Mr. Ning say this?"

Ning Qi smiled mysteriously and said: "This is a secret, it must not be leaked!"

Ning Qi pretended to be a ghost, but in fact, the matter was worthless. After Hamada was imprisoned in Taiwan for a few days, he led his men to take forceful action and broke into the residence of Peter, the chief executive of the Netherlands in Taiwan.

, and took his son as a hostage, and then returned to Japan together. After Hamada returned to Japan, he immediately imprisoned Peter's son and closed the Dutch business building in Hirado, Japan. After that, the trade between Japan and the Netherlands declined.

It fell into a state of interruption. It was not until 1629 that the headquarters of the East India Company, which was deeply aware of the seriousness of the situation, ordered Peter to be removed from his post and sentenced him to two years in prison. This was not over until 1632, when the Dutch escorted Peter to Japan and handed him over to the shogunate.

After the imprisonment was executed, trade between the two sides was restored.
Chapter completed!