Win the Ding 1617

Sure enough, for this kind of Lumi blunderbuss, which is extremely exquisite in appearance, but extremely difficult to process, and because of its fatal weaknesses such as high processing cost, long manufacturing cycle, and low output, it cannot be equipped on a large scale with the army. Koprulu, the messenger of the Ottoman Empire, is also Treat it like a chicken rib.

Therefore, at the beginning of the talks between Lisi and the two missions of the Ottoman Empire and the Kingdom of England, when the two sides put forward their respective requirements, Koprulu straight to the point proposed to purchase a large number of various weapons and armor made in Nanzhong.

"Our country is unanimously optimistic about the armored weapons produced by your place. If possible, all the 1 soldiers and horses recruited in the Japanese country are willing to equip them with armored weapons at your place. It is best to have no less than [-] firearms during the period. Soldiers. In addition, we are going to buy at least fifty cannons. To deal with those heretic castles."

Koprilu opened his mouth very loudly, and immediately threw out a huge order to the Southern Guangdong Army. 3 cold weapons, 1 guns, and fifty cannons for siege. There is no doubt that the Ottomans have seen the power of cron guns and mortars and used them to deal with the Balkans. The aristocratic castles in the peninsula and the mountains of central and southern Europe are the most suitable.

However, when he said these words, he was standing next to Winstanley, the envoy of the Kingdom of England. It was a bit embarrassing to hear these words.

Except for soldiers, horses and weapons, the rest are relatively normal trade items.

food!grease!Alcohol!tea!cloth!silk!porcelain!And sugar blah blah blah!

It is the main variety exported by the Southern Guangdong Army's foreign trade.Especially food! (Don’t tell me that the staple food of the Turks is pasta. The territory of the Ottoman Empire at this time is far from what the current Turkish chicken can match. The great empire spanning three continents in Europe, Asia and Africa is really not built. Even if they eat noodles themselves Eat rice. Many newly conquered areas, such as Greece, Hungary, Mesopotamia, and the countries on the Balkan Peninsula, like to eat rice. They can import rice to feed them and save money. Wheat for yourself.)

As for the export of rapeseed oil, tea, cloth, silk, porcelain, sugar, etc., it can increase the finances of the Southern Guangdong Army a lot.Well, it seems that Ottoman at this time believed in Muhammad, so why would he import a large amount of alcohol?

(Don’t forget. Their predecessor Sudan died of liver cirrhosis caused by alcoholism. With such a Sudan, would the mainstream society in the country reject alcohol?)

Especially now that there's war, spirits.It can be used to treat wounds, so it needs to be imported in large quantities!

"We will naturally organize the export of these commodities that your envoy wants. However, I don't know what currency your envoy will use to pay the price?"

For the export of bulk goods such as grain.It has always been the Southern Guangdong Army's weapon to exert its influence quietly and control other people's regimes. There is no way, people have to eat.The only one who can live by drinking dew is Zhizhi.Today, several major grain-producing areas in the Nanzhong region have had several good years in a row, and the warehouses such as Guancang, Changping, and Siwucang are full of rice. There is an urgent need to export old grains to replace them.

These old grains are transported to the seaside day and night and loaded onto ships.It was transported north to Shanghai, Dengzhou, Tianjin and other places, and then transferred to the inland by grain merchants related to the Southern Guangdong Army.Take advantage of the huge food price difference between the mainland and Nanzhong to earn huge profits, and at the same time, provide various raw materials for Nanzhong's factories.It is also a scene of prosperity in the south of the Yangtze River.

From the year of Longqing to the end of Chongzhen, hundreds of millions of taels of silver flowed in from overseas. However, there were often famines in the south of the Yangtze River. This is a strange phenomenon.The main reason is the crops in the fields in Suzhou and Hangzhou, which have the reputation of "ripe in Suzhou and Hangzhou, and the world is full".It was replaced by raw silk, raw cotton, etc.

Someone in the Ming Dynasty once wrote: "Suzhou, in the past, there were very few people chasing after the end, but now the number of people who go to agriculture and change to industry and commerce is three times that of before. It's two or three. Roughly speaking in terms of ten of the common people, six or seven of them have gone to farming."

The temptation of business has attracted local people.They have switched to cash crops, relying on the sale of raw silk, cotton yarn, cotton cloth, etc. to buy food. In this era of relatively backward transportation, buying food across regions can easily cause a food crisis, especially when food shortages are caused by natural disasters. The Jiangnan area also suffered extremely serious blows.

During the period of Zhu Yuanzhang, the price of one stone of rice was two cents and five cents of silver, which was equivalent to 250 cents of copper coins. In the middle of Ming Dynasty, it rose to five cents. This price remained for about a hundred years, and did not rise to seven cents until the end of Wanli. , unless there is a catastrophe, never more than one or two per stone.

From the 12th year of Chongzhen, the price of rice in Suzhou, Hangzhou and other places has been hovering between two and three taels. It is a normal year to buy a tael of rice for two silver, and it is a little nervous. If a tael of rice exceeds one tael of silver, there will often be famine.

Just imagine, if the entire middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River depended on the grain and rice transshipped from Nanzhong, what would it be like?

Several times when the court chiefs intended to be unfavorable to Li Shouhan, the Southern Guangdong Army immediately threatened to withdraw the grain ships, and at the same time cut off the north-south water transport, which immediately made the price of rice in prefectures and counties in the north and south of the river soar, and the price of japonica rice was five taels of silver per stone. Money, each stone of wheat has also risen to three, two, five or six dollars, which immediately made the government and the public speechless.The threat of food is more severe than tens of thousands of troops.

"Just ask your place for a quotation. My Sultan of the Ottoman Empire has entrusted me with carte blanche." Koprilu said confidently, "As for the payment method, as long as your place proposes it. You can use silver dollars from your place. I, Ottoman Whether it is gold coins, it can be written in the treaty.”

It is also the unanimous goal of the Southern Guangdong Army to gradually expand the scope of circulation of silver dollars.If it can be implemented into the trade with the Ottoman Empire, it will naturally expand the use radius of thousands of miles at once.

"Okay! Then use the silver dollar issued by our Southern Guangdong Army as the unit of measurement for the trade between your country and our Southern Guangdong Army."

A major event fell to the ground in just a few words. From then on, the silver coins issued and minted by the Southern Guangdong Army will appear in the treasury of the Ottoman Empire as the only method of pricing and settlement in the trade activities between the Ottoman Empire and the Southern Guangdong Army. In the treasuries of governors, pashas, ​​and Arab tribal chiefs, among the cash boxes.

"I am also willing to accept such a settlement method for the trade between England and the Southern Cantonese Army!" Although it was a little hoarse, Winstanley's words were recorded meticulously except for the copywriter who was responsible for the record.Unfortunately, it was automatically ignored by the officials present.Compared with the trade activities with the Ottoman Empire, England has too few bargaining chips, and it is a very light weight on the balance of the Southern Cantonese Army.

What's more.Koprilu immediately threw another heavy weight!To cooperate with the Southern Guangdong Army on political issues and diplomacy!

"My Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, I will respect your country's rights in India. India is your land. My Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, I respect all the rights of His Royal Highness Duke Lee in India and the surrounding waters."

This initiative of the Ottoman Empire was naturally sent to Li Shouhan immediately.

For His Majesty the Sultan's behavior of selling teammates.Li Shouhan, who was drinking tea and chatting with his in-laws, children, son-in-law and several confidants, couldn't help smiling.

"This time, on the Indian Ocean, the navy of the Ottoman Empire should never come again!" From then on, the navy of the Nanyue Army could completely control this sea area, blocking the sea passages from Tianzhu to the outside world.Then, the various strongholds established by the army along the coast can make great strides to advance inland.Those disobedient lords can be immediately turned into slaves.Those who are obedient, but their geographical location and production are too important.It is also impossible to stay in the world, or to serve Lord Shiva or see Allah!

"Father, why did Osman suddenly give up this large sea area? Give the Indian sea to my Nanyue Army?" Zheng Sen was a little puzzled, even if he wanted to show his favor to the Nanyue Army, he didn't have to pay such a big capital, right? ?All it takes is for the two militaries to maintain a friendly attitude at sea.Why give up the fight for control of the entire Indian Ocean?

"Second brother, you just saw that this generation needs to show favor to me. But you never thought that the current focus of this generation is not on the eastern front, but on the west. The Ottoman sultan wants to compete with the kings of the European countries to unify the countries. Naturally It is to rely on the power of the sea. If there are a large number of ships and artillery forces competing with our army on the eastern front for control of the Indian sea, wouldn’t it be a useless weapon? That’s why this envoy generously showed us Good. It is also to transfer troops to the west to fight against the European countries!" Shi Lang, who returned from traveling abroad, naturally knows much more about the outside world than Zheng Sen, and his analysis makes sense.Li Shouhan and Zheng Zhilong also nodded in approval.

The so-called throwing peaches and plums in return for Qiong Yao.Since he took the initiative to show his favor and gave up such a large piece of land, if Li Shouhan, the commander of the Southern Guangdong Army, hadn't expressed anything, he would have been invisibly overwhelmed by the Ottoman Sultan in terms of tolerance.

"Brother Zong, you send someone to Lisi. Tell them my words. The arms trade with Ottoman will be given a very good discount. In addition, the tariff is based on the tax rate between us and the mainland. It is worth five cents a hundred. Yes!"

After these words were reported to Koprilu by the negotiating officer of the Division of Rites, a smile with a bit of frenzy and joy appeared on his thin face.

"I don't know what price you plan to sell the firearms with me Osman?" Koprilu began to care about practical issues.

The officer in charge of negotiating with Coprilu from Li Si gave an order in a low voice, and an attendant went to the guards outside to fetch a firecracker. The ammunition in the gun barrel was taken out, and the completely harmless gun was placed on the negotiating table.

As for the firecrackers of the Southern Guangdong Army, Koprilu has come into close contact with them more than once these days, and even took them and used them a few times.I appreciate this kind of firecracker that is no less powerful than Lumi blunderbuss, and can also be used as a short spear with a thorn on the blunderbuss.

"Excuse me, your envoy, how much does it cost to make one of your country's firecrackers?"

"Converted to the currency of Nanzhong, it is about 150 silver dollars!" (The cost of the original Lumi gun from the Ottoman Empire has never been found, so we have to use the cost of the Ming Dynasty. Please forgive me.)

A strange smile mixed with contempt appeared on the face of the official of the Rites Department. He called Koprulu's official title very affectionately, "Master Kuer, if my lord uses the price of two guns made in your country, sell them to You have thirty firecrackers, what does your envoy think?"

In other words, the money spent on making one Lumi gun can buy fifteen standard fire guns from the Southern Guangdong Army!

This immediately made the Ottoman officials such as Koprulu very happy. At a cost that even the Sudanese Guards could not fully equip, they could pull up a firearms force of tens of thousands.This credit, this temptation is too great.

A general of the Southern Guangdong Army who served as a negotiating interpreter took advantage of the time when he was making tea in the Koplulu teacup, and whispered to him in his ear: "Out of the fifteen, five are for you. How to control it, please show me."

How to control, the meaning is obvious, it is to ask Koprulu whether he wants money or something else. This is a common kickback issue in the international arms trade.Generally speaking.Pay at least 5.00% of the contract amount.

Therefore, friends who have read the above paragraph should understand why the factories established by the Westernization Movement in the late Qing Dynasty collapsed rapidly after 1927.Heavy industry, which could have manufactured [-]-ton rounds and heavy artillery, collapsed even more quickly.The reason is very simple, you can make anything by yourself, where can the bosses in Nanjing find someone to ask for kickbacks?The so-called "building is worse than renting, and renting is worse than buying" is the truth.

It's a pity that the soldiers at the grassroots level don't even have enough bullets.You can only use your flesh and blood to meet the shells and bombs of the Japanese invaders.What's even more hateful is that the iron ore used to make these bombs may be the iron ore exported to Japan by the Hanyeping Company, or even manufactured in the arsenal in the Northeast.

The flesh and blood of patriotic officers and soldiers became the bricks and tiles of a certain lady and her family's mansion on Long Island, New York.

Sure enough, such tricks are common in ancient and modern China and abroad.Hearing the promise made by the Southern Guangdong Army to him, Koprilu nodded slightly, but his eyes scanned the members of the mission.

"Please don't worry, my lord. Since my lord has such intentions, my lord's entourage will naturally make some embellishments." That Tongshi also has a delicate heart, so he immediately dispelled the last doubt of Koprulu.

"Give my regards to His Royal Highness the Duke. Ask him to arrange the ships with the fire guns, and I will inform His Highness the Duke of the port of arrival."

With these firecrackers in hand, there are those mercenaries who are not afraid of death.Coprilu is full of confidence in his future and achievements.

The following negotiation activities went very smoothly.

As the plenipotentiary representative of the Ottoman Sultan, Koprilu magnanimously positioned the import and export tariffs of both parties at a tax rate standard worth five percent.Moreover, it is a one-way tariff collection.In other words, only when exporting to each other, it is enough to pay the import tax once at the customs tax card of the other party.As for anything else.Sorry, no.

During the negotiation period, the Southern Guangdong Army sent someone to go to the country of Wa and recruited [-] mercenaries. It was explained to Mr. Coprilu in advance that these mercenaries would inevitably suffer death and injury when they were transported by sea, and the number of losses was reduced from Make up for the excess of [-] posts.Anyway, they signed a life-and-death contract.These people had already received pensions before going to sea.

As for whether the extra 1 people should be handed over to His Majesty the Sultan, the Southern Cantonese Army did not say, and Koprulu seems to have forgotten to mention it.

Regarding the main trade varieties of the two parties, an extremely detailed catalog has been formulated.All products approved for export by the Southern Guangdong Army are listed on it.As for Ottoman, the commodities exported to Nanzhong are much less.

It's just horses, swords and so on.However, there were a few things that Coprilu had never thought of, which made him quite surprised, but also very proud.

"Your envoy, it is said that the Misr area is known as the country of cotton. Why not export the cotton from this area?" the negotiating officer of the Southern Guangdong Army asked Ke Pululu kindly, pointing to an area on the map.

The area he was referring to, Coprilu could see clearly, was the plain of the Nile.

In Arabic, Egypt is called "Misr", which means "vast country" in Arabic.Also known as the country of the pyramids, the country of cotton.

Although it has been expanding and promoting the planting area of ​​cotton in the mainland through various means, it has tried every means to acquire cotton, a vital raw material.However, how to feed those astonishingly hungry and insatiable fruit off the horse looms has always troubled the top leaders of the Southern Guangdong Army.On the one hand, there are huge benefits brought by exporting cloth, and on the other hand, there is an ever-expanding gap in raw materials.Just thinking about it gave Li Shouhan and the others a headache.

"How should the price of cotton be calculated?" Koprilu didn't care about anything else. He only cared about what he could get in exchange for these white and fluffy things when they were transported to the port of Nanyue Army.

"This is a product that is ready to go. I can't guarantee it. However, if you sign a long-term supply contract, if you want to buy a bag of cotton, you can exchange it for a firecracker, a steel knife, or a piece of armor. It shouldn't be a problem."

Hearing of such a generous price, Coprilu's eyes were almost red.He was going to write immediately to the governor in Egypt.If he is asked to immediately expand the cotton planting area, even if it is possible to turn the entire Nile Plain into a cotton field for growing long-staple cotton! "At that time, I will use Nanzhong's rice to trade cotton with him!"

Master Koprilu muttered viciously in a low voice.

The other major trading commodity was accidentally discovered during a feast with Zheng Sen, Shi Lang and others.

At the banquet, when Coprilu learned.The second son-in-law of Duke Li in front of him put down the rebellion in the Nanyang Islands in just half a year, and turned an archipelago that was constantly attacked and killed into a peaceful world.For such a military exploit, Lord Coprilu greatly appreciated it.In his view, this is tantamount to the great feat of the Ottoman Empire in pacifying the Balkan Mountains.

Um?Looks like I saw something strange again.The envoys of the Ottoman Sultan praised Zheng Sen, Wu Liuqi and others for massacring and enslaving Muslim brothers?

"His Majesty the Sultan intends to appoint me as governor of other provinces. Right now, I don't know where I will be sent. But today I learned of the outstanding military exploits of the second son-in-law, and I appreciate your army's superb fighting skills. When I go back, I will ask His Majesty the Sultan for orders. As the governor of the Balkans, he also manages the Greek region. It is impossible to say that the experience of your army should be promoted in the Balkans."

After saying this, Koprulu raised the gold cup in his hand and toasted Zheng Sen from a distance, "The general is mighty!"

Zheng Sen was very proud of Kepurulu calling him the second son-in-law. He stood up, drank the wine in the glass, and then said with a smile: "Master Kepurulu. I found out that you Ottoman is suppressing bandits. There has always been a problem in the world. This may be why you have been unable to deal with the Balkans, and the rebellion in this area has continued, holding back a large number of your troops, consuming countless food and money, and slowing down the development of your Ottoman Empire and the Western Expedition pace!"

"I would like to hear the details!" Hearing that this young nobleman who had successfully suppressed bandits was about to comment on the bandits suppressed in the Ottoman Empire, Koprulu immediately put down the wine glass in his hand, as if humbly receptive.At the same time, he signaled the officials beside him to carefully record what Zheng Sen said.

"I have also heard the Japanese volunteer soldiers say that there are two main reasons for the rampant banditry in the Balkans. One is that the high mountain fortresses are difficult to conquer. The other is that the people have a lot of livestock and are good at living in the mountains. Then there are high mountain bunkers in front of them. If they are stationed for a long time, they will run around everywhere, making it impossible for the officers and soldiers to defend themselves.”

Zheng Sen's words just hit the crux of the long-term unrest in the Balkans.Immediately, Koprilu became awed by the young nobleman in front of him.

"When you suppress bandits, you always regard the armed enemy army as the target of combat, not the civilians. This is not good. You only pay attention to fighting the army and don't pay much attention to destroying the enemy's war potential. You must know that the wild fire is not exhausted, and the spring breeze Blowing and growing again. If you want to completely turn the barren land full of weeds and thorns into a grain field, you have to work hard to dig out the roots!"

Zheng Sen obviously drank too much, and he babbled endlessly.

"What if your army slaughtered cattle and sheep in the spring, slaughtered people in the summer, burned crops in the fall, and swept up the mountains in the winter? How about it? It won't take long for these rebel armed forces entrenched in the mountains to stand it! If you think it's too cruel to do so, 嚄, you can collect families and merge villages?! Collect the livestock in spring and the population in summer. In this way, after you control the population and livestock in the countryside, those mountain fortresses will be ripe peaches! People always want You need to eat and drink, and you need to supply the soldiers! Even if you don’t pick them, they will fall by themselves. Remember, Corvo, it’s not about fighting the army, it’s about cleaning up law and order and fighting against bandits. Eliminate the enemy's war potential. Form a large number of crusade teams and security forces, carry out the collection of families and villages to fight against Jinniu, and at the same time form a large number of maintenance groups to maintain law and order."

Hearing Zheng Sen's drunken words, Koprulu felt as if he was enlightened, so it was so!

"Second brother, you've drunk too much! Stop talking nonsense! Show up in front of distinguished guests!" Shi Lang put on a posture like a big brother-in-law, and scolded Zheng Sen a few words, it seems that he didn't intend to let Zheng Sen see this Teach others the skills of the family.

"Your Highness! Second Highness! Master and Madam, please go to the back hall!" A servant woman hurriedly came from the inner house, interrupting Zheng Sen's momentum to argue with Shi Lang.

"Congratulations to His Royal Highness! The eldest miss is happy, and the second miss is also behind. Master and madam, please go over quickly."

Koprilu, who originally planned to take out more scriptures from Zheng Sen's mouth, could only sigh with regret as he looked at the back of him rushing away excitedly.However, with his political wisdom, he has learned a lot from drawing inferences from one instance.

"We can use the prisoners of war conquered from various places to carry out slave trade with your place! One adult slave can be used to pay the price of half a bale of cotton!"

With the firm experience of pacifying the Balkans and other long-term rebellious regions, Koprulu has another commodity for trade on the negotiating table.

Accountants and craftsmen from Venice, Arabs from North Africa, blacks from East Africa, and various ethnic groups in the Balkans were driven into the cabin by Ottoman warriors with long knives and whips, and they were continuously transported to the East.

In addition to the population trade, the Ottoman Governor in Egypt strictly implemented the will of His Majesty the Sultan and turned all the fertile land in the Nile Valley and Delta into cotton plantations.Among them, the area of ​​cotton fields near Cairo and the delta area is the largest, almost reaching more than [-]% of Egypt's arable land area!

The soil of this land is alluvial soil and saline-alkali soil in arid areas.The climate in this area is dry and hot, with strong sunshine and 360 days of cloudless days every year. In addition, irrigation is convenient, and the soil is flooded with silt every year for fertilization. It is easy to obtain high-yield and high-quality cotton. It is most suitable for planting long-staple cotton and medium-staple cotton.

"Anyone who dares to go against His Majesty's will and not grow cotton is a traitor! They are all slaves!" The Egyptian governor, who is loyally promoting His Majesty's cotton planting in exchange for military equipment, food and other urgently needed supplies, also learned from popular science Lu Lu has obtained great benefits.Boxes of gold coins and hundreds of firecrackers quietly entered his treasury.

Bags of cotton were loaded onto ships and transported eastward around the clock.On the sea, they met westward ships transporting rice, gunpowder, armor weapons, and cloth.

The round trips brought raw materials and labor to the Southern Guangdong Army, and provided strong support for the Ottoman Sultan's conquest of European countries.

At this time, Coprilu had already cleaned up the Balkans, developed plump wings, and began to plan for his family's major affairs.However, that was a few years later. (~^~)