Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 1360 Traveling to South Guangdong

On February 1664, 2, when the Jiangxi diplomatic mission led by Sun Wu set off for Nanchang, the armed transport ship "Thousand Islands" had just arrived at the wharf of the Haizhu Island Commercial Station in Guangzhou Prefecture, thousands of miles away. After the bow and tail anchors were lowered, Shao Shuguang, the executive deputy general manager of the Bank of Taiwan, hurried out of his cabin with a tired look on his face.

Speaking of today, the Bank of Taiwan has become more and more a "freak": the superiors have given a lot of preferential policies, granted trade concessions, leased armed transport ships to you, and mobilized large households to invest in There are deposits or something here, but they are unambiguous when they reach out to you. For example, Liao Xiaoyao asked the Bank of Taiwan to provide ships, supplies and money for his pioneering mission at the mouth of the Udi River. For example, someone from Sakhalin Liang asked Taiwan The bank provided low-interest loans for it to renovate the wharf and roads. For example, Shao, who had just been busy in Formosa Island for a long time, was urged to go to the Pearl River Estuary by an order to serve as the newly appointed member of the Southern Exploration Team. Captain Jiang Zhi Qingjiang is extremely busy at work—in fact, this is also normal. Since the Bank of Taiwan enjoys so many benefits of monopolizing trade, it should also be a pioneer for the government's overseas colonization and trade. High consciousness?Especially after the jurisdiction of the Far East Blackwater Pioneering Team was divided into three and administratively independent of each other, the Bank of Taiwan should take advantage of the convenience of its own business to act as the glue between the three jurisdictions and play a greater role.

"Mr. Shao, this is the purchase list of the Haizhu Island Commercial Station last year. The four major items of raw silk, tea, porcelain, and medicinal materials are listed on it. Most of the goods sold to us are businessmen who are closely related to the Huiguo government. However, the number of ordinary small businessmen with no connections is also increasing. We follow the instructions of the trade and buy them at a uniform price without distinguishing between them. However, I heard that a merchant ship of the British East India Company docked at another port last year to purchase Commodities were mentioned by a small businessman from the Liangao area. The general there was originally from the Huiguo government, but in recent years, he was disobedient after being divided and drawn by the Nanming court. From this point of view, Will there be the figure of the Nanming boss behind the British East India Company's merchant shipping..." Han Ku, the person in charge of the Haizhu Island Trading Station, put stacks of documents on the table and turned them over to Shao. Shuguang looked at it and said cautiously.

"Very good, the news you inquired about is good." Shao Shuguang carefully poured out some yerba mate tea from the tea pot, glanced at the document on the table, and said indifferently: "Liangao area , it has always been a poor country, and the businessmen who can go there are not necessarily powerful people. Of course, it is a different matter if they are the family members of some officials in the Nanming government. But it doesn’t matter. Some small businesses on the corners and corners, and a few East India Company ships slipped through the net, which will not affect the overall situation. Our focus at this stage is to firmly control the Haizhu Island Commercial Station, and make friends with the Huiguo government. , vigorously build a network of relationships and contacts, and strive to get more sources of goods into your hands. In this way, whether it is a Dutch red-haired or a British guy, who can shake our position?"

With the delivery of oriental goods worth more than 50 yuan with the East Coast last year, at the same time, the trade with the Dutch East India Company is also a huge profit, although it also pays extra for the actions of the three major pioneering teams in the Far East. In addition to spending a lot of messy expenses, they also undertook the daily maintenance expenses of several warships stationed in Macau Port. However, the profits of Taiwan Bank are still very impressive, with net profits reaching as much as 24 yuan. With a dividend of more than 12 yuan—the Bank of Taiwan, with the support of various preferential policies, has indeed become one of the most high-quality enterprises in the Far East of China East Coast Republic.

What's more, as the people on the east coast in Guangzhou, Huizhou and other places have increasingly tight relationship networks and trade networks, Taiwan Bank's shipments will only continue to grow, and its turnover will also rise steadily. This company is in a period of rapid growth , is still far from reaching his peak state.Those local guys who had the opportunity but didn't dare to invest in Taiwan's banks back then must be regretting it now, but who made you not have the insight to see the future?

"Haizhu Island Commercial Station is our foundation, Han Ku." Shao Shuguang finally made the yerba mate tea, and then sat back in his chair leisurely, turning his gaze to the subordinate standing in front of him respectfully , smiled slightly and said: "As for Macau, hehe, you might as well leave it to the Portuguese in the future, which is also a bargaining chip. Hehe, I want to see how the city of Macau, which has cut off most of its trade, will look like depression? How many of these tens of thousands of residents can be left?"

"Mr. Shao, do you really want to return Macau City to the Portuguese?" Han Ku was a little surprised when he heard this, and said, "Although Macau City is not big, its location is still very good, and it has many years of business tradition. Ye Duo, if it is handed over to the Portuguese, what will happen in the future, you have to be careful!"

Han Ku, the son of a small landlord in the countryside of Suqian, after a successful political speculation by his father and grandfather, has now become the head of the Haizhu Island Commercial Station of the East Coast Republic of China by virtue of his outstanding talents.On weekdays, most of the people who come and go are the mansions of dignitaries or wealthy businessmen in Guangzhou and Huizhou—even Li Chengdong, the Duke of Huiguo, invited him to a banquet—and enjoyed the benefits of all the masters. It is really tied up with the interests of the Bank of Taiwan, so he is extremely unwilling to affect the business of this large syndicate. He also sincerely hopes that the business of the Bank of Taiwan will flourish. The Portuguese were a little taken aback.

"What did you say!" Shao Shuguang rolled his eyes at Han Ku, and said lazily, "What do you mean I hand over Macau to the Portuguese? I don't have that right! To put it bluntly, it's not that the members of the Executive Committee think that Macau is not It is not a place that must be occupied and quickly, but a bargaining chip that can be used for trading, so there is a saying that Macau will be returned to the past. But then again, if our Haizhu Island Commercial Station can win over the supply of goods, the navy ships will be in The patrols on the ocean are diligent, so what difference does it make if Macau is given to the Portuguese? How many businesses can they do throughout the year? How many Macau people can be supported by the profits of these businesses? Haha, not many! work, so why are so many people still staying here, waiting to starve to death?"

"Trees move to death, people move to live! These people can't find a job in Macau. I heard that most of the people who sailed from Portugal to Macau were people who could not make a living at home. Besides, many people have married and had children in Macau for more than one generation. , it probably doesn’t matter in Portugal, so most of these people will not be able to return to Lisbon...” After years of continuous study, Han Ku’s vision has become wider and wider. He only heard him say: “Then, Mr. Shao , you mean that since these Portuguese people can’t make a living in Macau, we can also hire them to work for us?”

"It is impossible now, but after the peace negotiations between East and Portugal are completed, many people will definitely turn this corner. After all, there is no source of income, and it is not an option to always sit and eat. You still have to find a new way. Work." Shao Shuguang lifted the lid of the teacup, took a sip of yerba mate tea, and said with a smile: "But you can also try to disregard some Portuguese in shabby clothes and looking hungry in Macau. People, these people should not be able to hold on anymore, go spend some money to recruit some people-remember, people with strong bodies, I don't want old men and children-send them to Dengzhou to receive study and training, in the future I will Still useful."

"I understand, Mr. Shao." Han Ku nodded clearly immediately, and said solemnly: "After handing over some of the work at hand to the deputy, I will start to handle this matter, and I will definitely choose young and strong By the way, how many people should be rated as this person?"

"The more the better." Shao Shuguang put down the lid of the teacup, waved his hand, and said casually: "But don't have too many, no more than 1000 people, you can advance their one month's wages first, and let them pay the salary that they need. Wipe their asses, and then send them to Yantai for intensive training. Now the whaling, fishing, and animal (sea animal) industries in the north are booming, and there is a great demand for manpower, so these people are sent to Yantai. Going to work there should be quite competent. Well, although those are run by government companies, it is also our duty to take the initiative to share the government's worries. It costs a little money to recruit these people, forget it, don't Then go up to report the account. Ah, I almost forgot, 1000 people may not be enough, let’s add another 1000 people, a total of 2000 people will be recruited! Before Commander Jiang Zhiqingjiang was in power in the Amur River region, he kept telling me about Huma Fort The gold mine lacks a large amount of labor. Now that Commander Liao is in power, he will face these same problems. Then recruit [-] more Portuguese (including their mixed descendants) and send them there, so that they can dig gold there to support themselves. It’s great, I don’t have to wander around in the city of Macau, and I’m so hungry all day long, I’m doing this for their own good, people always have a job...”

In fact, the current situation in Macau City is a bit like what Shao Shuguang said just now, that is, almost all foreign trade has stopped now—nonsense, there are no ships, so naturally there will be no trade—Macau City A city prospered due to trade suddenly declined at a speed visible to the naked eye. Officials were silent one by one, businessmen were downcast one by one, craftsmen sat on the mountains all day, sailors were coolies begging to survive, the whole city seemed to be trapped in the world. General among the doomsday.

It can be said that if there were no churches (usually donated by wealthy businessmen or officials) to regularly distribute some free and cheap food to everyone, there would have been a large-scale famine in the city.But even so, the city of Macau cannot afford to sit and eat for a long time, so many people are hungry and full now.This can be seen from the fact that a large number of Portuguese signed up when the people from the east coast recruited laborers to build the Haizhu Island Commercial Station in Macau City. These people are really not having a good life.

Therefore, Shao Shuguang asked people to recruit poor people in Macau to go fishing, dig gold, and process seafood in the north. It was basically unexpected that they could not find enough people.As for whether these people will obey the rule of the people on the east coast in the future and work for the east coast sincerely, hehe, if you go to a place like the outer northeast, can you still let yourself go?There are plenty of ways to deal with you!In the end, when you take root in the local area and have a family and children, it will basically be digested.

"The future position of Macau City—I mean the position after the management is handed over to the Kingdom of Portugal—is probably still a middleman in trade between mainland China and Southeast Asia, that is, businessmen in Macau will come from the East Indies, Burma, India, and the Middle East. The goods are shipped to Macau and delivered with our Taiwan bank, and then we give them a certain amount of Chinese goods or blackwater goods in exchange according to the situation, so that they can complete a trade - of course, this is when we give priority to supplying local manufacturers goods." Shao Yaoguang adjusted a more comfortable posture on the chair, and then continued: "That is to say, we are developing Macau City as our commodity agent and free supplier. All their trade They will all be meddled by us, scraped a layer of oil, and we can even interrupt their trade at any time. In this way, perhaps the city of Macau no longer needs so many people now. A considerable part of the population in this city is destined to die because The scale of trade has decreased and unemployment has left. And we are now taking the burden and reducing weight for the future decline of Macau City in advance, in fact, it is for their own good, so as to save the situation in the city from becoming chaotic.”

"I understand, Mr. Shao." Han Ku nodded, and took note of Shao Shuguang's opinion carefully. At the same time, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief. The future of Taiwan Bank should not be affected. The income of one-year bonds should also be guaranteed.

On February 2, Shao Shuguang, who hastily dealt with some of the affairs of the business station, asked people to pick up various goods from the warehouse, and then took a dozen entourages and guards, took a small boat ashore, and headed towards the city of Guangzhou. and go.On this trip, he will visit the big names in Guangzhou one by one, including Huiguo Gong Li Chengdong, talk about family affairs, lesbian relationships, and spy on intelligence - this last point is especially important, because Captain Jiang of the Southern Exploration Team wants to take this opportunity Know some of Nanming's internal situation in order to provide a reference for certain future decisions.

Afterwards, Shao Shuguang will visit the rich and famous businessmen in Guangzhou and Huizhou one by one according to the directory in hand, to discuss the procurement of goods this year, and at the same time learn more about them through the intricate relationship of their group. The intelligence of the Southern Ming society was also sorted out and analyzed by officials of the General Administration of National Intelligence to provide a basis for some future decisions.After finishing his work here, he still has to take a boat to Zeelandia Port on Formosa Island to discuss this year's sugar and rice purchase business with Kuiyi, the governor of the Dutch East India Company. In short, there are still a lot of things to do Waiting to do it, really busy!

Seven consecutive updates, more than 3 words, the first time in history!Everyone passing by, don't miss it!Please flood me with rewards and monthly tickets!

(End of this chapter)