There are many Chinese and Japanese businessmen in Hua Thonburi, and their businesses are very wide. Ping Qiu Sheng visited the Chinese shopping street in Thonburi. The low wooden houses lined up on both sides of the street are all kinds of shops. [Full text reading] Most of them are owned by Chinese and sell all kinds of groceries, from precious Chinese silk fabrics, porcelain, and handicrafts, to cheap daily groceries, to fruits, dried fruits, and even pickles and pickles. It can be said that without the large supply of daily necessities from China, these Southeast Asian "kingdoms" would live a semi-savage life.
The Chinese in the Ayutthaya Dynasty were very powerful, and the dynasty relied heavily on the industrial and commercial talents of the Chinese. Probably because King Uthong was of Chinese descent, Siam had always treated the Chinese more favorably and allowed the Chinese to live in Ayutthaya. In comparison, The Japanese and Portuguese could only live outside the city.
Because of this relationship, Chinese industry and commerce developed rapidly in the local area, and many people made a fortune. The ordinary Chinese busy in those short, dark shops might have tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of taels of silver in their business. trade.
Ping Qiu Sheng saw several Lingaoyi products in the shopping street here, ranging from straw hats, rum, "Australian" candy, sugar, paper... almost all the flagship products of Chuan Chuan Group are sold here. However, the quantity is small and the price is very expensive.
Commodities have their own mobility, either of high quality or low price. The fact that commodities can flow here automatically shows that the market for "Australian goods" is broader than he estimated.
Ping Qiusheng is very excited that there are so many Chinese businessmen with a large amount of capital and manpower, they are simply natural collaborators and fifth column! The two dynasties of the Ming and Qing dynasties had such a good overseas foundation, but they regarded overseas Chinese as "abandoned people". Not only did they do nothing, they even treated them as enemies. In the end, the southern part of the mainland, which was the life that the Chinese people should naturally have, was The space was given up to the monkeys.
However, Feng Shengyue's words poured cold water on Ping Qiusheng.
It turns out that there are many factions among the Chinese and they are hostile to each other. Throughout Southeast Asia, the relationship between the Chaoshan people, the Hakka people, and the Hokkien people is like fire and water, and conflicts will break out from time to time. In addition to the large area, there are also small townsfolk, and the clan power is also very strong. They form gangs and exclude outsiders, and even collude with local tycoons to attack dissidents.
This was not surprising in the 17th century when modern nationalism had not yet developed. It is not very possible for Ping Qiusheng to expect immediate help from the local Chinese. It may be more practical and critical to carry out trade with Chinese businessmen and use their business channels, but he still has to rely on his own people to do it.
Ping Qiusheng and his group only received warm hospitality from the Qiongshan Gang businessmen here. Although everyone generally does not regard Australians as people from the Ming Dynasty, since the Australians stay in Hainan, they can also be regarded as members of Hainan. Especially in recent years, Hainan merchants have made a lot of money selling Australian and Southeast Asian products back and forth.
The Qiongshan Gang has little influence among local Chinese businessmen and does not have much say. There is not much business to be done. The local guild leader invited Ping Qiu Sheng and others to have wine and listen to a play at the Qiongshan Guild Hall, and a lot of news was learned at the table. The influence of Chinese businessmen here is not only very large, but also goes deep into the interior. Chinese businessmen include not only large businessmen engaged in import and export trade, but also small traders dealing in commodities such as firewood, rice, oil, and salt. These small traders go deep into the inland and open shops in villages and towns that no one has ever heard of, selling goods and purchasing local products. , established a fairly extensive business network. In Ping Qiu Sheng's view, these small traders were much more valuable to the Senate than the maritime trade merchants at the port.
The envoy of the God King, Wo Luo Ong, soon came to Thonburi and met with Ping Qiusheng and his party. After several days of negotiations, the two sides reached a preliminary trade agreement: on the condition that the Senate sold weapons to Siam, the Senate was allowed to The Southeast Asian Company's ships, which were granted privileges by the Court, were anchored and traded in Thonburi and Pattani. Limit two large ships at a time. Vessels owned by Southeast Asian companies are exempt from berthing tax.
Merchants of Southeast Asian companies are free to trade with the merchants they are willing to trade in the two places. However, no one is allowed to enter the mainland of Siam without permission.
Merchants of the Southeast Asia Company can transport all kinds of goods without restrictions, but they must transport a specified number of weapons per voyage. They also have the right to transport any goods they want. Imported products are subject to import duties and weapons are exempted from payment.
Because it was the first time we arrived, the two parties had not yet established enough mutual trust. Ping Qiusheng did not make a request to open a local warehouse or business store. At the moment, they were not able to set up shop in Siam. Moreover, the other party might not agree if he proposed it. .
Both sides are satisfied that such a preliminary agreement can be reached.
Wo Luo Weng was quite ambitious. He was very interested in "Australians" or, as the Ming people called them, "Kon people". Especially the rumors that they possess powerful force.
He became very interested in the two ships coming from Southeast Asia Company. Although he did not go out to visit the ships for safety reasons, he still managed to observe them closely from other ships. From the outside, there was not much difference between the two ships and those Chinese merchants' ships, except for the layout and layout of the deck buildings. Except for slightly different masts, the hulls are exactly the same. Even a "land man" like Wo Luoweng knows that these two ships are just ordinary large Chinese ships, but the traces of modification by the Australians are still quite obvious, especially the new and old materials.
Armament was one thing that particularly interested him. The rise of the Tai people has a lot to do with their emphasis on force. The Thai military, the Khmer administration and the Chinese industry and commerce were one of the three pillars that formed the Ayutthaya dynasty. Generally, Chinese merchant ships are rarely equipped with artillery. Only those ships of the British, Dutch and Portuguese are equipped with artillery. But these two ships flying the "nine-dan flag" were equipped with artillery on the deck: black, short and thick, not very similar to the Western artillery he had seen before. Obviously, once this kind of artillery is fired, the huge projectiles it fires will cause more serious damage to the enemy.
In addition, he was also very interested in the "matchlocks" equipped by sailors. Wolotai was familiar with matchlocks: the Burmese, the archenemy of the Ayutthaya Dynasty, used matchlocks extensively, while Siam basically relied on imported matchlocks. Since the Australians can generally equip sailors with such weapons, they obviously have enough guns.
Through the opportunity of his men to deliver water and food to the ship, Woluowong obtained more details: For example, the appearance of this gun is more beautiful, the appearance is smooth, etc. In addition, this kind of gun does not seem to use a match rope: because it carries a match rope on its back. Sailors who carried guns never carried matchlocks. The matchlocks wrapped around their bodies were a distinctive feature of the matchlock gunners.
Although he really wanted to experience the power of this novel weapon, he had never encountered a suitable opportunity. It wasn't until a banquet that he took the opportunity to express his wish to see the power of this gun. Ping Qiusheng immediately asked someone to fulfill his request.
When a special shooter of the special reconnaissance team shot a clay pot meters away with a high-precision Minie rifle marked by Jr., all the natives present were stunned by the range of the matchlock gun. At best, it could hit As for what you can hit beyond 50 steps, it depends purely on luck. It is simply unheard of for one shot to hit from such a long distance.
Wo Luo Weng asked if he could purchase such weapons, which was naturally rejected. However, Ping Qiu Sheng suggested that they buy artillery: to show that what he said was true, he ordered his ship to bombard an island in the bay. .
The sound of the 68-pound iron shell falling on the reef was astonishing, with fragments of the reef flying and smoke rising into the sky. This suggestion was immediately agreed by Woluowong. He immediately asked Southeast Asia Company to transport such a cannon and supporting ammunition on the next voyage, and also provide gunner training services.
As for the price, he didn't even ask. He only said that he would pay with whatever goods the Australians needed. Obviously, the arms trade is a hugely profitable industry.
Two weeks later, the fully loaded fleet began to return. This time Ping Qiu Sheng brought all kinds of goods and all were sold out. All 1,500 Type 1631 machetes were sold to Woluoweng. The main force of Pasetong is probably around the people. After all the replacements, the consumption of 1,000 guns per year is reasonable, and the needs of the people must also be taken into consideration.
According to the discounted price, one tael of a 1631-style machete, plus Australian sugar and various groceries, totaled nearly 30,000 shi of rice. Some were transported with the fleet, and some were left in the warehouses of local Qiongshan gang merchants, waiting for transshipment by ships.
When Ping Qiu Sheng was busy, he made kind wishes to Quark from time to time: hinting to him that this place was not peaceful, and the Senate was in great need of the rice and minerals here. If he was interested, he could also set up a business station here, even if it was Looking after the scene for the Australians is also equivalent to setting up a trade window for the British East India Company, although the British East India Company prefers Pattani.
Ping Qiu Sheng did not trust Wo Luo Weng. Quark also has great ambitions, but he is first and foremost a businessman who thinks about making money, and his credibility as a businessman is recognized by the Senate. On the premise of seeing huge benefits, Wo Luowong will probably do what he did against Japanese businessmen back then.
Here again, Ping Qiusheng announced to local Chinese and Japanese businessmen: Rice, potash mines and timber here are as much as there is in Lingao. As long as businessmen here are willing to serve the Australians and can transport goods directly to Lingao or Sanya, they can get generous rewards. He also doesn't want Quark to monopolize the trade here. After all, once it is released, this place will be the territory directly under the Traverse Group, and it is not reassuring to have food control in the hands of anyone. ! .
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