Chapter 2172

As one of the busiest ports in the eastern coastal area of ​​Ming Dynasty, Dinghai Port has hundreds of people arriving or departing every day. Some people are unwilling to leave this highly competitive port to find another way out, but at the same time, there are also more

People come here with the expectation of getting rich, convinced that they can make a career in this golden place.

Just as Yu Chengli and Gonzalez were saying goodbye, a blessing boat docked slowly at the dock next to them. A gangplank was stretched out from the boat and set up on the dock. Then an old man in his fifties wearing a black silk robe walked in front of several entourages.

Surrounded by people, he slowly walked ashore. Although the old man did not look amazing, the entourages around him were all wearing uniform clothes. At first glance, they belonged to a wealthy family.

However, there are too many dignitaries coming in and out of Zhoushan, and it is not unusual to have a group of servants with them, so the arrival of this group of people did not attract the attention of others, not even Yu Chengli and Gonzalez, who were not far away.

Pay more attention to the arrival of these people.

The men of the old man in black were already waiting at the pier, and the carriage was prepared in advance. The old man did not stop at the pier after getting off the boat. After boarding the car, the group quickly left the port and headed for the city.

"Have there been any new developments after the Haihan army in Zhoushan returned to camp? Did they have any definite news about the results of their previous expedition?" On the way, the old man began to eagerly ask his men stationed in Zhoushan about the current situation on the island.

This old man was Ma Zhengping, a Yangzhou salt merchant who visited Zhoushan before the East China Sea Fleet went out. He came to Sui Han on behalf of the Huizhou salt merchants in Yangzhou to seek peace with Haihan, and also to seek future cooperation opportunities. At that time, he was received in Zhoushan

His was Yang Yun, the chief commercial officer. The two parties negotiated relatively smoothly, and reached a cooperation intention on the development of the salt industry in Yangzhou. They even reached an agreement for Ma Zhengping to set up a business store in Zhoushan for long-term operations.

However, at that time, the senior officials of Haihan had already confirmed that they would send troops to attack Hirado. In order to ensure stability in the rear, Shi Diwen asked Yang Yun to suspend the approval of foreign businessmen's plans to purchase land on Zhoushan Island. As a result, the entry of Yangzhou salt merchants was temporarily blocked. Ma

After watching the military parade on Zhoushan Island, Zhengping returned to Yangzhou, leaving only two men to follow up in Zhoushan.

After the East China Sea Fleet returned, Zhoushan, which was under wartime military control, gradually returned to normal social order, and various temporarily suspended commercial activities began to restart. Ma Zhengping's men found out that the temporary restrictions on foreign businessmen had been lifted, and hurriedly

Sent the news back to Yangzhou. After receiving the news, Ma Zhengping rushed to Zhoushan as soon as possible, hoping to strike while the iron was hot and cooperate with Haihan officials in accordance with the previously negotiated conditions.

Before going to see Yang Yun, Ma Zhengping had to confirm the results of Haihan's East China Sea Fleet's overseas operations. If the battle was won, everything would be easy, but if Haihan's army was defeated, it might have to be repeated.

Been waiting and watching for a while.

These messages were not described in detail in the letters sent back to Yangzhou, so after Ma Zhengping got off the ship, he was eager to implement the relevant information first to judge what measures he should take next.

Of course, from Ma Zhengping's point of view, he definitely hopes that the Haihan Army can defeat the Japanese and completely cut off the source of weapons for the Shanshan and Shaanxi salt merchants in Yangzhou, so that the Huizhou salt merchants can have a chance to defeat their competitors.

The men who stayed in Zhoushan reported to him the recent news. The Zhoushan military had officially announced the victory of this overseas campaign, and there was reliable news that the Japanese port of Hirado was completely razed to the ground by the Haihan army.

"What? Hirado Port is gone?" Ma Zhengping couldn't believe it when he heard the news. Although he had never been to Hirado, he also knew that Japan across the sea mainly relied on Hirado Port for cross-border trade. Since then,

Almost all the various commodities shipped to Japan in the Ming Dynasty flowed into various parts of Japan through Hirado Port.

However, Haihan's troops sent out this time completely destroyed Hirado Port. Ma Zhengping felt that his imagination was too short, and he never expected that Haihan's troops would make such a big move.

"They... massacred the city of Hirado?" Ma Zhengping thought about it and seemed to think that this was probably the most likely scenario. Otherwise, it would be difficult for him to imagine how Haihan could raze a port city to the ground.

"According to the information that the villain found in the local area, the Haihan Army kidnapped all the local people after the war, and then burned Hirado Castle to the ground!"

Ma Zhengping was shocked when he heard this. Transporting all the locals away was much more difficult than massacring the city. Are the Haihan people really willing to spend so much effort to clear them out?

"Is the news true?" Ma Zhengping felt that this matter should be implemented. Maybe the Haihan people were just exaggerating to deliberately expand the results of the war.

"When the East China Sea Fleet came back, it loaded a lot of Japanese ships, and many local businessmen also evacuated to Zhoushan with the fleet. The villain went out of his way to get to know some Han Chinese who came to Zhoushan from Hirado, and they all said the same thing.

The Haihan people indeed evacuated Hirado. Many Japanese were transported to other places for resettlement, and at least a thousand people here in Zhoushan were assigned to various towns."

Ma Zhengping still doesn't know Haihan well enough, otherwise he should know very well how much Haihan needs manpower. Taking away all the local people after the war is not a trouble for Haihan, but part of the spoils. From then on

In the long run, these people are even more valuable than the property looted locally by the Haihan Army.

Although the Haihan Army had not included the local population of Hirado in its combat plan when it started its operation, it found that such a big fruit was right in front of its eyes at the end of the war, and it would be a shame not to pick it, so it temporarily revised the plan.

All the local people were taken away. During this period, although confrontation and resistance among the immigrant groups were inevitable, they could not cause much trouble under the strong control of the Haihan Army.

These Japanese were transported to Zhoushan and then distributed to various villages and towns for resettlement. This was done openly, so this was no longer a secret locally. What's more, businessmen like Yu Chengli could move around the local area without restrictions and interact with them at will.

With people in contact, the actual situation in Hirado naturally spread among the people very quickly. Ma Zhengping's men wanted to collect relevant information, and it was easy to find many people who had experienced it, and the credibility was fully verified.

After his subordinates finished telling how they obtained the news, the carriage had already arrived at the hotel where they were staying. Ma Zhengping did not rest and continued to inquire in detail about the local situation.

According to what Ma Zhengping knew, the muskets owned by the Shanshan salt merchants were provided by the Japanese in Hirado. Whether the actions of the Haihan people completely eliminated the source of weapons for the Shanshan salt merchants was a must for him.

Important information for implementation.

However, information about the Hirado Arms Workshop is already within the scope of military secrets. Even the weapon craftsmen captured by Haihan from the local area have been relocated separately, so almost no relevant information has leaked out to the outside world. Although Ma Zhengping's men are in Zhoushan

I tried my best to inquire, but without access to senior military officials, there was no way to learn this key information.

This can't help but make Ma Zhengping a little disappointed. If he wants to find officials to get information, he will have to spend a lot of time. The only official he knows now is Yang Yun, and Yang Yun is not an officer. He is in charge of business activities.

Ma Zhengping felt that even if he found Yang Yun, it would be difficult to get the exact information.

However, Ma Zhengping came to Zhoushan this time to handle follow-up matters, and he had to visit Yang Yun. He thought that maybe Yang Yun could introduce some officers to him. Of course, if he could get in touch with Yang Yun's boss, General Shi,

That would be the best. As soon as he said it, Ma Zhengping asked his men to prepare the gift list and greeting cards, and then go to see Yang Yun after dark.

The reason why he had to wait until dark before going was, of course, because Ma Zhengping did not want to go to Yang Yun's office to show his face, but planned to go directly to his home for a private visit. In this way, the discussion between the two parties could be more straightforward, and

There is no need to limit the topic to the scope of work.

"Boss Ma, long time no see. How are you?"

Later that day, Ma Zhengping finally met Yang Yun. Seeing that the other party's attitude was still quite cordial, Ma Zhengping felt relieved and said, "Thank you, Mr. Yang, for your concern. I recently returned to Yangzhou and just arrived today."

To Zhoushan."

After greeting each other and sitting down, Yang Yun asked straight to the point: "Boss Ma came to see me right away when he arrived in Zhoushan this time. I don't know why?"

Ma Zhengping said: "Firstly, I brought some Yangzhou specialties here, and I wanted to say hello to Mr. Yang. Secondly, I wanted to ask for permission to buy land and build a business store in Zhoushan. Thirdly, it was the cooperation that I had agreed with Mr. Yang before.

Matters, do you need to make any changes?"

Seeing that Yang Yun went straight to the topic, Ma Zhengping stopped beating around the bush and told the other party his intention. Of course, the souvenirs he sent were not worth a few dollars, but they were just things to hide from others. The real gift was actually five hundred yuan.

Haihan banknotes. Now that Yang Yun has accepted the gift, Ma Zhengping can calm down and discuss these topics with him.

But regarding the musket trade, Ma Zhengping did not bring it up immediately, and planned to decide whether to ask based on the situation later.

Yang Yun responded: "If Boss Ma has not changed his mind, then of course we welcome Boss Ma to open a business store in Zhoushan for long-term operation. Just take time to go to the Business Office to go through the relevant procedures. As for our cooperation, I remember Boss Ma

At that time, he said that he would go back to Yangzhou to discuss with other salt merchants, but I don’t know if there is any result?”

When the two met last time, they roughly discussed cooperation matters in the salt industry. The main content was that the future purchase channels for Yangzhou salt merchants should be mainly from the salt farms affiliated to the Zhoushan Colonial Zone. Haihan Salt is located in Yangzhou Salt

The proportion of business sales volume must be maintained at more than 70%.

Of course, the "Yangzhou salt merchants" referred to in the agreement do not include the Shanshan-Shaanxi salt merchants group in Yangzhou, but specifically refer to the Huizhou salt merchants represented by Ma Zhengping. After all, the relationship between Haihan and the Shanshan-Shaanxi salt merchants has already

Basically irreconcilable, and Huizhou salt merchants are a relatively good partner. Haihan also needs such channel distributors to open up the sales of Haihan salt in the area north of the Yangtze River.

Ma Zhengping said: "After I returned to Yangzhou, I gathered together the salt merchants I knew well to discuss the plan proposed by Mr. Yang. There is no problem with the general direction of cooperation. It is just that a large amount of sea salt must be purchased from Zhoushan from the beginning to maintain the 70%

This sales case will make it difficult for us to deal with the Guanyang Salt Factory!"

Yang Yun smiled and said: "Boss Ma doesn't think that I don't know anything about the salt industry in Yangzhou, right? This won't affect the quantity of goods you purchase from the official salt field. How can anyone make things difficult for you!"

Boss Ma was exposed by Yang Yun face to face. Fortunately, he was thick-skinned and did not panic. He gave another reason: "My counterparts in Yangzhou are worried about unstable supply in Zhoushan, so they feel that they still need to maintain the original supply."

channel."

Yang Yun said with a slight expression on his face: "We propose to start cooperation at a ratio of 70%. This is to leave an escape route for you and allow you to continue to maintain the relationship with the Guanyin Salt Farm, so as not to be completely disconnected and make it difficult for you to operate. I want to say

Supply, even if there are a few more Yangzhous, we can supply them all, so why is the supply unstable?"

In the past, most of the salt sold by Yangzhou salt merchants was purchased from the official salt field using salt guides. The salt merchants paid the government to obtain the salt guide, and then used the salt guide to the salt field to distribute the salt, and then transported the salt to designated areas for sale.

The real value is not the salt, but the salt that is the certificate of qualification for selling salt.

A portion of salt is worth three hundred pounds, but the actual salt sold by salt merchants is often more than this amount, and the extra amount is extremely profitable private salt. The salt merchants are so rich, their wealth

A considerable part of it actually comes from the tricky operation between buying and selling.

The cooperation plan discussed by the two parties before was that while Yangzhou salt merchants purchased salt from the government, they would also purchase salt from Haihan in proportion. Each portion of salt would require 700 kilograms of salt from Haihan. In this way,

, behind each piece of salt is three hundred kilograms of official salt and seven hundred kilograms of private salt. It is not surprising that a salt merchant who is good at operation can sell a thousand kilograms of salt for one piece of salt, but not every salt merchant has it.

You have the courage and ability to dare to operate like this.

If all these salts can be sold, it will naturally be a lucrative business, but salt merchants must also consider the risks involved. If they find it difficult to ship, they can only reduce the amount of private salt purchased. So Ma Zhengping’s

What he meant was that he hoped that Haihan could reduce the purchase ratio, and it would be best to let the Yangzhou salt merchants decide the purchase volume on their own. But he did not dare to directly put forward such a condition, so he could only express it in a roundabout way.

Seeing the hesitation on Yang Yun's face, Ma Zhengping had no choice but to explain: "Master Yang, Yangzhou is the salt capital of the world. Countless pairs of eyes are staring at big salt merchants like us. If we break the rules, our lives will not be the same."

It's better. How about... adjusting it to 50%?"

Yang Yun did not reply to his suggestion, but asked: "Is Boss Ma worried that the enemies in Yangzhou will report you to the government if they know the source of your goods?"

Ma Zhengping smiled awkwardly and said, "Mr. Yang obviously sees that this is indeed possible."
Chapter completed!