Pudman looked up at Gao Heng, trying to get some answers from his eyes, but he found that it was in vain. The young general in front of him had deep eyes, and no useful information could be seen from his eyes. Pudman gave up and whispered: "I would like to hear what the general has to say."
Gao Heng smiled and said: "Do you know there is a saying in the Central Plains that it is better to teach a man to fish than to teach him to fish?"
Pudman also often dealt with people from the Ming Dynasty in Luzon and Nanyang, but his Sinology attainments were not that high. Gao Heng's words sounded like tongue twisters to him. He immediately apologized: "Your Excellency, General, what did you say? It’s a bit too complicated, please forgive my ignorance.”
Gao Heng waved his hand and said: "The meaning of this sentence is very simple. It is better to teach others how to fish than to give others a fish. A fish can relieve temporary hunger, but what should I do after eating this fish? There must always be something It’s a skill to make a living.”
Pudman repeatedly tasted the meaning of Gao Heng's words. Suddenly, he raised his head and looked at Gao Heng. He seemed to understand a little, but his face turned red from suppressing it. Although he understood something in his heart, he didn't know how to express it in Chinese. .
Gao Heng's brain was running rapidly. After a few words of probing, he had basically figured out the bottom of Pudman. In this era of Nanyang, if he was a second-hand dealer, then the first-hand seller could only be a group. Gao Heng immediately said: " You want to get rid of the East India Company and go it alone, but you don’t have the capital. You’re in a dilemma. You can’t make a lot of money by going it alone, and you can’t get goods by going it alone. It’s impossible to use one or two cannons like yours to rip off customers. It’s not a long-term solution.”
The moment Gao Heng said the name of the East India Company, Pudman was really convinced. He never expected that the young general in front of him would understand his predicament so well. Since he could say this name, it showed that he He has a certain grasp of the situation in the entire Nanyang, and he cannot fool others in front of him.
Pudman said: "Your Majesty General, please give me some advice."
Gao Heng said: "It is better to produce it yourself than to get it from others. If you are short of supply, then we will create a supply. With supply and technology, we can completely build our own production base and transport artillery from Europa? Nearly crazy." . I produce it here and can ship it at any time. The transportation and labor costs are saved by more than half. The cost is naturally low and the product is competitive. Are you right?"
Gao Heng only spoke a few words, but the amount of information contained in them was about to explode. It was like a cannonball blasting directly into Pudman's head, shocking him so much that he couldn't close his mouth for a long time. Create your own supply and reduce costs? Product competitiveness? Some new concepts repeatedly hit Pudman's brain.
Pudman is an adventurous businessman. When these new concepts appeared, he keenly sensed a different meaning.
"What does the general mean?" Pudman still wasn't sure and asked tentatively.
"You should understand. My intention is very clear. You provide technology and part of the money, and I will provide people and land. Let's join forces. Aren't you Europas great at making firecrackers and artillery? This is a very good advantage, so We should cooperate," Gao Heng said.
"Your Majesty General, you are saying that we will make the artillery ourselves?" Pudman said in surprise. Then he shook his head and said: "Your Majesty General, you have to know that making artillery is a very complicated matter, and it cannot be done in one or two sentences."
Gao Heng said: "Then you underestimate the strength of our Chinese people. To tell you the truth, in my heart, the Chinese have the smartest minds in the world. As long as they want to come up with something, they can definitely do it. Not to mention that you still have samples, we just need to copy them. You have to know that I am now in charge of the entire land of Lang Son Province, including Xin'an Port, which is also under my rule. We still have tens of thousands of people. With the With the opening of the port, our population will increase. With just over one million people in the Netherlands, you can create such an economic miracle. In time, Ben will believe that we can too."
Pu Deman was shocked by Gao Heng's momentum. He did not expect that the young general in front of him would have such courage. If tens of thousands of people were in the Ming Dynasty, it would be just the number of a county. It sounds like nothing, just a drop in the bucket, but in Pu De It seems that Mann, a Dutchman, is already a very powerful lord in Europe with a population of tens of thousands. If it can reach the level of one hundred thousand, it will be no problem to establish a country. But is what this man in front of him said true? , is he worthy of belief?
It must be said that he was still very moved by Gao Heng's proposal. What limits the development of Pudman's business is the supply of goods. He cannot get better, first-hand supply, so the price cannot be lowered and the goods are not competitive. If it is true, as Gao Heng said, that they produce these artillery pieces themselves, then they will become the direct sellers, which will have an advantage over the East India Company.
Seeing that Pudman was thoughtful, Gao Heng knew that he had been persuaded. In fact, Gao Heng's conversation with Pudman was impromptu. He had not thought of this level at first. After all, he had just taken over Lang Son Palace and Xinghua Army still has a lot to do in the land of Xin'an Port. But they actually saw so many Westerners in Xin'an Port, which aroused Gao Heng's thoughts.
The Age of Discovery, which began in the 15th century and ended in the 17th century, is mentioned in the history books of later generations as the exclusive property of Westerners. After Zheng He's voyages to the West, there were no large-scale navigation activities in the East. This cannot be It is a great pity not to say so. It also indirectly created the established fact that China lagged behind the West for hundreds of years.
So, now that I'm here, can't I change everything? Who the hell said that great voyages were the exclusive preserve of Westerners? I wanted to step in and break this myth. But it is definitely not possible to rely on one's own strength. The East India Company itself cannot contact them now. Even if it does, people of such a large scale will not look down on itself. And once it is linked to the East India Company, it will inevitably become The next Pudman is restricted in every aspect.
In this case, it is better to go it alone. Just meet this guy named Pudman and ask him to help you acquire technology and talents. You may not be unable to achieve a career. If you can't get artillery, you can first get firecrackers. Isn't the Europeans' firecrackers good at it? Copy a lot of articles in the world. To see if you can copy, you will copy the homework directly. Not only copy, but also write better than the original, and see who wins in the end.
Gao Heng said: "Mr. Pudman, in order to show my sincerity, I want these two cannons of yours, one for ten thousand taels, as a gift from me to Mr. Pudman for our cooperation."
Pudman's heart was beating fast. He knew that this young general was direct, but he didn't expect him to be so direct. Did he get 20,000 taels of silver now? Pudman was excited and said, "Your Majesty General, you are really great. May God bless you. OK, I am willing to cooperate with you."
Gao Heng stopped what he was saying and said: "As businessmen, we are the first to make ugly remarks. At present, this matter is just an idea I proposed. As you said, if we really want to build a firearms factory, we still need technology and equipment. , talents and other aspects, it is foreseeable that in the early investment stage, it is impossible for us to make money. It is like gambling. Maybe we will make a huge profit, maybe we will lose everything. If you can accept it, we will sign a contract. It’s limited to five years, and if not, you can quit now and just pretend we’ve never met.”
There is a battle between heaven and man in Pudman's mind. As a businessman, he certainly knows that Gao Heng is right. As long as there is business, there are risks. No one has smooth sailing and makes money all the time. Pudman thought of the arrogant faces of those in the East India Company, of the various grievances he had suffered in business, of the fact that his dream of becoming a rich man had never been realized when he was young, and of the fact that no one had ever looked down upon him because he was too weak. I cooperated with myself, and now I finally met a lord with some strength. This may be my best opportunity in the East.
Pudman gritted his teeth and stamped his feet, "Dear General, I am willing to serve you. I think our cooperation will be very pleasant."
Gao Heng laughed and patted Pudman on the shoulder. In fact, Pudman was forty years old and much older than Gao Heng. But at this moment, in front of Gao Heng, Pudman was like a younger brother. "Okay, Mr. Boudman, our contract has been reached. Please rest assured that in the past five years, Ben will do his best and we will build the factory together."
Pudman couldn't help but nodded, and then, as if he had thought of something, he said to Gao Heng: "Your Majesty General, you just mentioned talents. This is how it is. At the port on Haidong Road, I still have a few people from the church. Friends, they are missionaries, but they also know something about equipment. Although I don’t know their true level, I believe they will be willing to meet a great person like the general."
Gao Heng narrowed his eyes and looked at Pudman for a while, making Pudman feel a little uncomfortable. Gao Heng knew what he was talking about. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, many missionaries were active in the East in order to spread Christianity to the East. However, it was obvious that their missionary work was not going well.
On the one hand, Eastern culture is basically based on Chinese culture. To put it bluntly, it is the Chinese cultural circle. Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism are the mainstream. This is true whether it is China, Goryeo, Japan, Annan and surrounding countries. Western Christianity is not the same. It's hard to work in these areas.
Therefore, later missionaries also changed their tactics and took the route of using utensils to attract crowds and then preaching. For example, dioramas, diorama clocks, etc. were all introduced from the West during this period, and these missionaries made great contributions. In order to cooperate with the missionary work, they often received systematic study in the church, including astronomy and calendar, Western medicine, firearms manufacturing, etc., and dabbled in all aspects of knowledge, just to win the favor of the Eastern rulers.
Obviously, these so-called missionary friends that Pudman mentioned must have a relatively poor life and run into obstacles everywhere. Those who can hang out with people like Pudman are definitely not successful people, but there is a problem. Not big, maybe he has real talent and learning.
"Well, I will stay here for a few days. You can send someone to pick them up. I am willing to meet them." Gao Heng said.
A few days later, a small merchant ship docked at Xin'an Port. This was one of the ships in Pudman's caravan. In order to show his sincerity in cooperation, Pudman specially let the ship go to Haidong Road to pick him up. These friends. Just like the taxi drivers of later generations, it is very uneconomical to make an empty trip. After all, those Western sailors are not Pudman's domestic slaves. They are employers and employees, and they have to pay wages, even if they don't bring them with them. For goods, a trip costs money.
When the merchant ship returned to Xin'an Port, Pudman immediately trotted to find Gao Heng. The original Annan military camp in Xin'an Port had been opened up as a temporary garrison for the Xinghua Army. Because Xin'an Port was a port, the Annan people did not build a city in Xin'an Port. During the construction of the city, the entire Xin'an Port was open, with only a small barracks.
Therefore, Gao Heng expanded the barracks. In the future, Xin'an Port, as the only outlet to the sea on his territory, will be very important. The most important thing is that he is afraid that the Annan Navy will block it. For this, he has to turn to the Ruan regime to let them Contain Zheng's navy. On land, you must station at least one battalion to ensure the safety of the port, so expanding the barracks has become a necessary option.
When Pudman came to see him, Gao Heng was inspecting the progress of the barracks expansion. When he learned that the man had arrived, Gao Heng immediately mounted his black stallion and rushed to the dock. When I arrived at the place, I saw that there were already several Francois wearing black priest uniforms waiting there. Although he didn’t know much about the rules of the church, he had watched a lot of TV and movies in later generations, and he also knew that clothes of different colors seemed to represent different statuses of priests. For example, for a cardinal, red clothes were a symbol of a higher level, and black clothes It should be a low-level priest.
Pudman came forward with Gao Heng and immediately said to everyone: "This is what I told you, the great lord of northern Annan, General Gao Henggao."
The leading missionary, a bearded missionary in his forties, immediately stepped forward to greet him and said: "Dear General, my name is Bumig, from the Iberian Peninsula. Behind me are my companions. I am very happy to see you."
Gao Heng is also a fan of the five major leagues, especially La Liga, which he loves to watch. This guy named Bumig is from Iberia, which is either Spanish or Portuguese.
Gao Heng looked at the group of people and fixed his eyes on the last person. This person was very young, at most twenty years old. He kept staring at him, as if he wanted to see through him.
Upon seeing this, Bu Mige said: "I'm sorry, General, he is very young and not very polite. Nan Huairen, why don't you come to see me?"
"Who?" Gao Heng was suddenly stunned.
