Regarding Zhao Xuening's proposal, Liu Chongwen thought for a moment and was a little moved, but even more uneasy.
"It's not difficult to find people to do business with. There are many people who want to make money, but why does the President still need information about the Forbidden City?"
"Because I'm also worried that the Forbidden City will have any thoughts about Lan Fang and send troops to attack Lan Fang or something like that."
Zhao Xuening smiled and said: "If we could know earlier, we could also prepare earlier, right?"
"this……"
Liu Chongwen thought for a while and hesitated: "If the imperial court learns about Lan Fang and wants to attack Lan Fang, can the President defeat the imperial army?"
"I have never fought against the imperial army, so I dare not make false claims."
"Then if His Excellency the President is defeated, won't the old man also die?"
"There is nothing in the world that does not require taking risks. Mr. Liu is a businessman and should understand this truth."
Zhao Xuening shook his head and said: "If there is a good thing where you can reap the benefits without taking risks, I will definitely take it all instead of sharing the profits with Mr. Liu. Think about it, is this the truth?
What I can offer Mr. Liu is a possibility, one of the three burrows of a cunning rabbit, not some panacea of flesh and bones of the living dead. If I had this ability, do you think we would still be talking like this? "
Liu Chongwen was silent for a while, looked at Zhao Xuening again, and finally nodded.
"Those who engage in business are as clever as rabbits, and my ancestors will not deceive me. In this case, Your Excellency, the President, Liu Chongwen is willing to serve you."
"Lanfang Republic welcomes you to join us."
Zhao Xuening stretched out his hand, took Liu Chongwen's hand, and said slowly: "Since you have some backstage connections in the Thirteenth Industry, you might as well make use of them to find trustworthy people and people who are willing to use Lanfang as a team to work together.
While there is still time, you can buy some properties in Lanfang, arrange for some reliable people to stay there, and take care of things in advance. In this way, when the time comes, you can be considered prepared. As the saying goes, if you don't worry about the long term, you must worry about the near future. ah. "
"indeed so."
Liu Chongwen said slowly: "Your Excellency, the President, has made a foresight."
"That's not entirely true. The main thing is that there are people from the Thirteenth Industry in Lanfang. His experience made me feel something."
Liu Chongwen was surprised when he heard this.
"Oh? Are you serious about this?"
"This person's name is Tang Wenshan. I don't know if Mr. Liu knows it."
"Tang Wenshan?"
Liu Chongwen was surprised and said: "Brother Wenshan is in Lanfang? I always thought he was dead!"
"Do you know each other?"
Zhao Xuening said in surprise: "This is a coincidence."
"He and I are actually distant relatives. We have been on the fifth server, but we have some friendship. I once advised him not to get involved in the affairs between officials, but he did not listen to my advice."
Liu Chongwen sighed: "In the end, it was as I said. The gods fought, mortals suffered, the city gate was on fire, and the pond fish was affected... But I didn't expect that he actually escaped to Lanfang and was still alive..."
"Lan Fang can be a retreat, a retreat prepared for himself by those who want to live."
Zhao Xuening said slowly: "Mr. Liu, Tang Wenshan's jewels are in front of you. You must be careful and think carefully. You must not make any mistakes. You need to know that in the eyes of court officials, the death of a businessman is as good as the death of a businessman." Ants, no difference.”
When Liu Chongwen heard this, he lowered his eyes and nodded slowly.
"I know, I know..."
Liu Chongwen soon left the state government.
After Liu Chongwen left, Shimada Shinbei, who had been staying in the room next to Zhao Xuening to secretly protect Zhao Xuening, opened the secret door and walked over.
"My Lord, you said so much to him, aren't you afraid that he will go back and tell the Qing Dynasty officials about the matter? I think there is no need to let him know so much. It would be better to get rid of him!"
Zhao Xuening smiled.
"If he snitches, it's within my expectations. If he doesn't, it's also within my expectations. There's a 50% chance, why wouldn't I bet?"
"But what if the Qing government finds out and sends troops here?"
"Then fight."
Zhao Xuening said slowly: "To fight or not to fight is a matter of choice, with a 50% probability. Why not bet? Shinbei, military and national affairs are often very ambiguous. Many famous generals in history initiated actions. Sometimes, your own confidence is not even more than 40%. If your advantage is too great, the enemy will not fight you at all, but will run away.
The same is true between us and the Qing Dynasty. With our current strength, it is already a surprise to be able to win 50% of the possibility. If it is more, I will not believe it, whether Liu Chongwen really helps us when he goes back, or whether Taking advantage of the opportunity to report information is not fundamentally different to us. "
Shimada Shinbei was a little surprised.
"Could it be that you have already..."
"I am mentally prepared to go to war with the Qing Dynasty."
Zhao Xuening nodded and said: "Sooner or later, there will be a battle. The Qing Dynasty's reputation is so great that no one, including us, is afraid of it. Fear and unknown will sometimes violently amplify the enemy's advantage and infinitely reduce our own advantage. This is also a kind of psychological warfare.
As it happens, I don’t think the Qing Dynasty is so powerful that it is invincible. I think we have an advantage against the Qing Dynasty. At least in this sea area, the Qing Dynasty has no way to defeat us unless the British dispatch their navy. The main force, otherwise, I’m really not afraid. "
Shimada Shinbei hesitated: "Are you so sure?"
"I won't joke about Lanfang's future."
Zhao Xuening said with a smile: "It's just that if we lose the bet and the Qing Dynasty comes, Shinbei, I will trouble you to go to the battlefield with me."
"I will be wherever you are, and I will never let you get hurt in any way before I die!"
Talking about this matter, Shimada Shinbei immediately stood up straight and paid high respect and infinite loyalty to Zhao Xuening.
The next day, Liu Chongwen and representatives of businessmen from several other countries came to the state government. Together they submitted an application form to Zhao Xuening, writing down their current difficulties and what they hoped Zhao Xuening could help. They came to the Philippines with a procurement mission. During the current war, trade routes will inevitably be affected. They hope that Zhao Xuening can provide help and prevent them from losing all their money.
Different from yesterday, Liu Chongwen made more than a dozen requests for help. Apparently he heard what he said and took it to heart. Zhao Xuening was very satisfied with this and personally approved Liu Chongwen's request and asked his subordinates to help him complete these things.
In addition, Zhao Xuening was also more attentive to a series of requests made by the Japanese representative.
The Netherlands is the only European country accepted by Japan's Tokugawa regime. Only the Netherlands in the entire Western world can trade with Japan. It can purchase Japanese specialties and sell the goods it brings to Japan. Because it has everything exclusively, the Netherlands Teresa benefited greatly from these trades.
Now that the Dutch power has been fully occupied by Zhao Xuening, even if Zhao Xuening continues to let the Dutch act as representatives of Lan Fang and trade with Japan, it will inevitably arouse the vigilance and uneasiness of the Tokugawa regime.
Therefore, Zhao Xuening needs to convey goodwill to the Tokugawa regime through these Japanese businessmen to further ensure that the interests of the original Netherlands can be inherited by himself.
But it's not easy.
As the son-in-law of the former Governor of the Netherlands, Zhao Xuening knew a lot about the inside story of the trade between Japan and the Netherlands, and also knew why Japan was still willing to trade with the Netherlands during its isolation.
Long before the Tokugawa regime officially decided to seize the country, the Protestant Netherlands tried its best to sow discord between the shogunate and other Western countries, constantly slandering Spain and Portugal, saying that the missionaries of the two countries were using their Christian people to conquer Japan, and instigated the shogunate to expel own trade competitors.
At the same time, the Netherlands stated that it was a Protestant country and had no interest in missionary work. It pursued economic interests overseas. The Dutch people who arrived in Japan swore not to missionary in Japan, and even sent out artillery to help the shogunate army suppress the Catholic organizations on the island. Original uprising.
The Shimabara Uprising became the direct trigger for Japan to resent the West and promote the policy of seclusion.
After the lockdown, Dutch merchants showed amazing obedience. They announced that they would avoid praying and singing hymns in public, were willing to accept all kinds of controls, endured all inconveniences and humiliations, and attached themselves to the rule of the shogunate.
In the relationship between the Dutch East India Company and Japan, after a tortuous confrontation and game, the Dutch Governor in the East Indies and his team of commercial envoys actually accepted the status of a vassal led by the shogun. .
In other words, the team of the Netherlands East India Company was actually carrying out commercial trade with the shogunate as subordinates. They were soft-bodied and were very grateful to the shogunate after getting Dejima as a place to establish themselves. Head to Edo to curry favor with the shogunate.
This group of businessmen wore Japanese clothes in front of the general, performed Japanese kneels, sang Western songs, and danced Western dances, which greatly made the general and the Japanese present happy, thus further winning the favor of the shogunate.
It is precisely because of the huge difference in behavior between Spain and Portugal and other non-missionary countries that the Tokugawa regime allowed the Netherlands to conduct commercial trade with Japan, which was in a state of isolation.
After that, the Portuguese and Spanish who were the first to come into contact with the Japanese were driven away, leaving only the Netherlands.
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PS: I ate a bowl of Lanzhou Ramen in the morning, added an egg and two slices of luncheon meat, and my body got warm, so I’ll add another chapter~
