In the process of negotiating with officials at all levels in order to place the appendage in Thailand, a small boat floated from Pattani, carrying letters from the Pattanii Merchant House, and arrived at Chen Jian's residence unimpeded. Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 ｉｎfo

After checking the seal of the letter, the messenger arrived at Chen Jian's room along with a Ming Dynasty merchant who had followed.

The businessman from Daming was in his thirties, and he was outside all the year round and above the extremely dangerous sea, and his face was inevitably a little arrogant.

The letter said that the merchant had a plan to trade and had a way to help communicate, but the merchant said that he was anxious, so he sent a small boat to Ayutthaya to meet Chen Jian.

The merchant sat sideways in a chair, and Jian Chen asked someone to bring tea, but he didn't ask directly about trade or anything like that, but asked with a smile: "What is the surname of the old man?" Where is the home? ”

The merchant also hurriedly got up and told his name, and Chen Jian said some things about sea risks, and the atmosphere gradually became familiar, but he still did not call him Brother Chen according to what Chen Jian said, but only called the governor.

After talking for a while, he turned to the main topic, and the merchant smiled and said, "If Your Excellency the Governor wants to trade, I have several options. ”

"But it doesn't hurt to say that. As long as it can be used, the promised gift is indispensable. ”

The merchant hurriedly thanked him and said, "If Your Excellency wants to trade, there are three strategies: upper, middle and lower. Then I will say, Your Excellency, you can choose one or the other. ”

Chen Jian laughed and said: "Since it is the upper, middle and lower three strategies, it must be the best policy, is it possible that it will also take the next policy?" In the past, although the horses were divided into upper, middle and lower horses, they could be on the middle, in the middle, and on the bottom, but after all, it was only a policy. ”

After holding it back for so many years, I can finally say a familiar allusion, knowing that it is not appropriate to use it here, but I still can't help but blurt it out. This is a very special feeling, and I know that there is a suspicion of vassal elegance when I say this, but I still can't help it.

It's like returning to your hometown after many years of absence, and even if your accent becomes weird, you always want to say a vernacular that is not a taste.

It's a kind of nostalgia.

The merchant just smiled, not surprised.

One is that Chen Jian's dress is different from Hongyi's but somewhat similar to himself, and the other is that his appearance is familiar and indistinguishable, so it is not abrupt at all. If the Hongyi people said this, it would be different.

"Your Excellency, the Governor, let's start with the best policy. Your Excellency took a walk in the Pattani Merchant House and inquired more about Fujian affairs, presumably you also had a plan in mind. If you want to trade, you have to Zhangzhou. It's just that the matter of Xiangshanao is ahead, and the governor will not agree if he wants to come. ”

Jian Chen was also worried about this, and the merchant said: "However, if you refuse to agree, you may not be unable to agree." To the south of Zhangzhou, there is an island called Penghu, which is far away from the coast. If you prepare in advance, wait until the end of July when the navy departs, and lead the warships and soldiers to seize Penghu and build a fortress...... I have also seen the warships and soldiers under the command of the governor, and the Fujian naval division will not be able to defeat them. When the autumn flood began, the Fujian sailors inspected Penghu and took this opportunity to propose trade. If you think about it, you will not agree, as long as you don't agree, you will open artillery bombardment and scare you. ”

Chen Jian frowned and said, "I want to trade, and I don't want to fight." ”

The merchant laughed and said, "This is called advancing and retreating." ”

"Losing Penghu is a great sin for the vassals. At that time, Your Excellency only needs to firmly occupy Penghu, and they will have nothing to do. If you don't advance, you can't go back. At that time, the governor can put forward conditions to give up Penghu and retreat to the generals. In this way, the vassals will not be responsible for losing their land, and they will gladly agree to the heavy bribes. Zhan Penghu is nothing more than a drunkard, just as a merchant needs to ask for a price to pay back when buying and selling, and this is also the case. ”

"If you want to retreat, take a step forward. After advancing and retreating, after all, I still entered. If you don't advance, you will retreat, that is, you will really retreat. ”

"Your Excellency can also plunder merchant ships along the coast, attack sailors, and disturb the coast. If you come, you may be able to recruit An. But the purpose is the same. ”

Jian Chen was noncommittal, and asked again, "What about the middle strategy?" ”

"I have a distant relative who has lived in Luzon for a long time. Escaped the killing years ago. Last year, the governor of Luzon had returned some of the looted property, and the governor had agreed not to pursue the matter. However, others do not know, but we know that the two countries that occupy Macau and Manila are originally one monarchy. ”

"The so-called father's hatred is with the same sky, the brother's hatred is not against the army, and the hatred of the traveling is not from the same country. That's exactly why. His Excellency the Governor may send troops to bombard Macao. When the time comes, it will be said that he was entrusted by the relatives who were killed, and he will be filled with righteous indignation at this time, out of righteous indignation. ”

Of course, it can also be said that some of the people killed are from your country. Anyway, they can't tell the difference if they look the same. Revenge by blood relatives is a matter of course, and as for Macao, which was hit instead of Luzon by mistake, you can also say that you can't tell the difference between the two countries being the same king and the two countries doing their own politics. ”

"At that time, Macao has conquered, occupied this place, and engaged in many bribes, or it may be able to imitate Macao's old things and become a port of commerce. It's just that in this way, I am afraid that the imperial court is worried about the instability of the people. Moreover, the governor of Luzon had already returned some of his belongings, and the matter had been settled, and it was unreasonable to make waves again, although there was a reason for blood revenge, I am afraid that the court would fear that the rest would follow suit. So, this is the best way to go. ”

Without waiting for Chen Jian to ask, the merchant said: "If you say that the next policy is to send an envoy to ask for tribute." This is the most difficult thing, so it is the next step. ”

Jian Chen knocked on the armrest of the chair, and said with a smile after a long silence: "Judging from your own maritime merchant, which one do you prefer?" We don't have to think about our gains and losses, just look at it as a maritime merchant. ”

The merchant hesitated for a while, saw that Jian Chen was always staring at him, and finally said, "Of course that's the best policy." There are two strategies in the middle, and the business benefits, what do we have to do with our maritime business? ”

"Originally, a piece of silk crossed the sea to Luzon, Manraka, and Japan, and made a lot of profits. If the Governor can buy trade directly in the port, we maritime merchants will not make much money. The Governor's ships are more powerful, and there is no need to worry about the attack of the pirates, which we cannot compare. If the sea is open to trade, the governor can buy goods directly in Zhangzhou, then the governor eats meat, and we can only drink some soup. ”

"It's different if it's far away. If the big man is expensive, we maritime merchants will go to the big man; If Luzon is expensive, we will go to Luzon; If Manraka is expensive, then go to Manraka. You compete with each other, and we gain from the sea. ”

Jian Chen nodded and said, "That's right. Depending on the interests of the individual, the problem will be solved differently. In this way, let's go first, and if it doesn't work, then talk about other ways. Presumably, you are also familiar with the hydrogeography of the vicinity, and you also know the languages of various states, and you have some connections on the shore...... Regardless of the upper, middle and lower three strategies, you have to contribute more, and there is naturally a lot of gold and silver that was said at the beginning, so please take more pain. ”

He asked someone to bring up the little deposit he had promised, and put his hands into the hands of the merchant, so that the merchant could stay for the time being and pay a certain amount of money every month. He was promised to protect the ship as part of the company's vessels.

The merchant was overjoyed by this and thanked him. In his eyes, Chen Jian's fleet is in his eyes, and what he is most afraid of in foreign trade is being plundered. It is a pity that the sailors of the imperial court are only in the near sea, and they cannot retaliate, and there are many risks in navigating the open sea.

Jian Chen's promise was a surprise, and it was more important than the gold and silver that Jian Chen had promised.

The merchant said: "If you want to drive the best strategy, there are not many opportunities this year, so you have to prepare now." It takes time to get to Penghu from here, and if you catch up with the spring and autumn flood soldiers, there will be trouble. Only from the end of June to September, when the flood troops had withdrawn, was the best time. ”

"What if you miss it?"

"If you miss it, you will have to wait another half a year until the winter flood is evacuated. In half a year, logging and building a wall, there is a fortress to rely on, and a thousand people can be three thousand. If not, you can't hold on. ”

Chen Jian only said that he would think about it again, and asked the merchant to tell him about the situation in the vicinity, as well as some news that he had heard that was not true or false, and told the rest of the fleet to listen.

Half a month later, negotiations with Thailand had progressed, and the Portuguese warned the King of Thailand, who forwarded the warning to Jian Chen as a sign of sincerity.

The content of the warning is nothing more than asking the king of Thailand not to accept the people of the republic, which obviously has some meaning of force and coercion.

Chen Jian is not afraid, the Portuguese are already exhausted to deal with a Dutch with this little strength here, and if he mixes up like this, he can also play tricks.

With this as a result, some of the original negotiations progressed rapidly.

When the people in the fleet were excited, Jian Chen called some high-ranking personnel in the fleet and representatives of all parties together to discuss the future development direction of this trade.

After these days of inquiry, systematic analysis and summary, some scattered information is summarized into a lot of useful information by inductive and deductive methods.

A representative of the Nanyang Trading Company pointed out the possible direction of profiting from trading here, and expressed his opinion in the internal discussion, but this view was not to Chen Jian's liking.

"Ladies and gentlemen, that's what I think. Now, it is clear that the trade here is two completely different regions from our trade with the Viceroyalty of Europe, Africa and Spain. Just like the Indian company in the Netherlands, our trade focus is not India. In view of the agreements signed between Mr. Chen and the Dutch with the Nanyang Trading Company, and in order to make it more convenient for us to do something in the future, our company can be called the West Asia Company, or the Sino-Japanese Company. ”

Hearing this, Jian Chen felt a little uncomfortable, but he didn't say anything out of politeness.

As I said to the businessman before, different perspectives lead to different interests, and the views on some things are completely different.

Seeing that there was no objection from the crowd, the man continued: "Trade here is self-contained. Based on the information gathered so far and some of Mr. Chen's analysis, the problem is already clear. If it were just trade, we could bring our handicrafts here by the Pacific route, and as long as we stood firm, we could squeeze out the rest of the goods that competed with us. ”

"If you want to make a profit, don't get involved in the spice trade in the early stage. Take this as a foothold and be a transit business between China and Japan. When we gain a firm foothold, we can monopolize the trade here, whether it is handicrafts, grain, or spices that we do not set foot in for the time being - for us, there is no need for a monopoly, only that no one else is allowed to monopolize it, and a large number of spices will be in oversupply, and they will not be profitable, so they can only choose to retreat. And our foothold from the beginning was not spices, so we can play with ease. ”

The man looked up at the crowd and said in a non-startling voice, "It's just that there are many ways to get income, so why do we have to focus on the transshipment trade?" Is it possible to invest less and earn more in other ways? ”

"In addition to trade, there is also a means of exploiting the natives. According to my analysis, this is a higher investment than normal trading. A thousand soldiers can get a profit on the transshipment of goods at the cost of tens of thousands of silver coins. ”

As soon as the words came out, everyone present was quite surprised, and they didn't know what this person wanted to say.

This is a person who is already well-known in the fleet, and when he was at the end of the world, as the representative of the trading company, he vetoed Chen Jian's plan to emigrate and colonize in the name of the company, and at the same time put forward the idea of the slave trade.

From the rational point of view of cost, empty loading, maximizing the use of any voyage, wind direction, ocean currents, etc., this person's original opinion is pertinent, if it is purely based on profit.

This is a talent, but the talent that Jian Chen dislikes and fears the most, this kind of person has learned some of the tools that Jian Chen has been promoting, but has not used these tools where Jian Chen wanted.

It's like dragon slaying can slay dragons, but if you learn it well, you can protect yourself from being slaughtered, just look at how you use it. The same is true for interest analysis, inductive summary, logical deduction, and investigation and analysis, and if they are used in a biased way, the most senior colonial leaders will come to the fore.