In October, it is very cool in the South Seas.

In the palace of Banten, the Sultan held a grand banquet to welcome the brother of the Han Emperor, Count Tongshan. At the banquet, the guests and hosts enjoyed themselves. Liu Jian enjoyed the respect of Banten very much, and in this Nanyang indigenous palace, he could feel the strength of the Han Empire more than in the Han Dynasty.

The real Vega Unai.

Liu Jian came with a huge ocean-going fleet this time, and he set off from the Pearl River estuary in Guangzhou and headed south along the coast, along the way to Haikou in Hainan, Beihai and Dongxing in Guangxi, Quang Ninh, Haimen, Ninan, Yanzhou, Puyang, Hue in Annam, Hoi An, Nha Trang, Cam Ranh and Puliango, and then sailed to the port of Brunei in Borneo, Singapore in the Malacca Peninsula, and then to Palembang in Sumatra, and then to the port of Banten in Java.

Most of the goods that departed from Guangzhou were already traded in the ports along the way, and today the ships are loaded with various commodities from the warehouses of the various port branches. Rice from Annam, iron from Borneo, tin from Malacca, sugar from Palembang, and so on.

Only a few of the cabins still contained the goods they had carried with them from Canton, barrels of porcelain, bundles of silk, and boxes of tea, and refined salt, sugar, spices, and wine, among which there were a lot of wire, nails, sewing needles, ironware, a fine batch of paper, and a lot of medicine, as well as some artillery and muskets for export.

These are extremely profitable goods, like iron wire and nails, which seem to be very ordinary, but they are very sought-after goods in the South Seas, and the profits are extremely high. Not to mention steel products such as steel pots and shovels produced by Dahan.

In addition, Liu Jian's fleet also transported many passengers. Passengers pay for ferry tickets, buy different ferry tickets according to different prices, and enjoy different treatments. The cheapest ticket is that you have to bring your own food when you get on the boat, you don't have a bed, and you even have to help with the work. A higher-level ticket can provide the same food as the crew, no work, and a hammock. If the ticket is more expensive, you can enjoy the same board and lodging as the officer. And the most expensive tickets can even have their own small cabin.

Different tickets enjoy different treatments, and the price varies greatly. The cheapest is only ten silver dollars to get from Guangzhou to Banten, and if you disembark halfway, it is even cheaper. And the most expensive, from Guangzhou to Banten Port, gets 100 silver dollars, which is equivalent to the income that ordinary people can save without eating or drinking for two years.

Although the fare is a bit expensive, the merchant shipping routes of the Nanyang Company are all over the South Seas, and the number of merchant ships is large, and it is extremely safe to sail back and forth all year round. Therefore, there are still many customers on their merchant ships, and this passenger service of Nanyang Company can also make a small profit every year.

Dahan is now actively exploring Nanyang, and many companies have begun to open branches in Nanyang, which has also caused a large number of employees to be sent to Nanyang from the local area.

At the banquet, Prince A Geng had long been very concerned about the goods brought by Liu Jian.

Nanyang's goods can be sold directly in the branch of Banten, or they can be sold directly in packages to Banten, and even an auction can be held to disperse the sales to the merchants of Banten.

However, Nanyang Company's goods are very good, and everything is very popular in Banten, so Prince Ah Geng proposed that he hope that Banten Kingdom will eat it all.

"Of course there is no problem." Liu Jian put down his wine glass and replied with a smile. Although some of the goods in that batch were actually sold to the branch, since he could sell them at one time, how could he refuse, anyway, Nanyang Company has now added a lot of ships, and the next batch of ships will come soon.

After the last time the imperial court dismantled a large number of naval ships, the Nanyang Company ate a large number of reduced ships. Many of these ships have been converted into armed transports with minor modifications.

Some of the gunboats and old warships, they even repaired them, and installed them in the newly expanded Nanyang Company Security Company, which was similar to the mercenary unit of the Dutch and Indian Company.

The strongest security company is the Maritime Security Department, which has more than 5,000 people, many warships and gunboats, and its strength is equivalent to a small ocean-going cruiser fleet. It has twelve decommissioned old cruisers, as well as quite a few gunboats.

This fleet also bears the name of the First Fleet of the Imperial Navy's Reserve, and the officers in the fleet are all reserve officers, and the captains of each ship are even on active duty.

The fleet is both the coast guard of the Nanyang Corporation and is also directly under the jurisdiction of the military.

The fleet has been patrolling the South China Sea for a long time, and will also regularly patrol the Indian Ocean and the Persian Gulf to combat piracy on the routes of the South Sea Company.

It is certainly expensive to bear such a large security fleet, but it also ensures the safety of thousands of seagoing ships of the Nanyang Company. With such a strong maritime security, the merchant ships of the Nanyang Company crisscrossed the oceans and kept coming and going.

Especially now, no more than before, the imperial court has its own port fortresses along the coast of Annam, as well as several major islands in the South Seas, which can allow the merchant fleet to supply without worry. Even ocean-going merchant ships in the former South India and the Persian Gulf were able to resupply and trade in the ports of other countries along the route, such as Kokang, India.

Dahan is building a trade alliance in Southeast Asia with Dahan as the leader.

Both the sick Sultan and Prince Ageng were very interested in the Nanyang Trade Circle plan proposed by Liu Jian. According to Liu Jian's words, in the future, some ****** will be set up in Nanyang countries such as Dahan, Banten, Mataram, Johor, Aceh, and Pattani.

The ****** is classified as a non-tariff zone, with a zero-tariff policy, allowing foreign businessmen to freely reside and engage in related businesses, and all residents and tourists enjoy preferential tariffs.

What are the benefits of such ****** for the host country?

The benefits are obvious, after the establishment of the ******, the port has obvious attraction to shipowners and cargo owners, which can expand the throughput of the port and greatly improve the transit function of the port.

To be more specific, ****** is actually the development of entrepot trade. And in today's maritime trade, entrepot trade is actually more profitable. Through relay entrepot trade, it is more time-saving, cost-saving and faster capital turnover than that direct trade.

If Dahan and the Nanyang countries can sign a contract and each set aside some important ports for ******, then the trade between Dahan and Nanyang will be faster and smoother in the future.

The free port zone can also attract foreign businessmen to invest in the establishment of some processing industries, develop service industries, and promote the port economy. On the surface, some tariffs are lost, but in reality there is much more. Of course, the prospect is that there are many ****** to join, so that the scale effect can be formed.

However, the loss of tariffs is actually not much, after all, ****** is only outside the customs territory. If the goods are only processed and transited at the port, they are indeed not taxed. But if he ends up selling to the mainland outside the ******, he still has to collect customs duties.

Moreover****** it is possible to designate an entire port and city as a free zone, or just a free zone within the port.

Dahan hopes to establish a Nanyang Trade Alliance, so that Dahan's imports and exports can be larger. Whether it is an export or an import, it can save a lot of tariffs through various ports for replenishment or trading.

"Dahan has planned to set Singapore, Malacca, Manila, Brunei and the coastal areas of Annam, Hoi An, Puyang, and Quang Ninh as ******, and will even set Hong Kong, Macau, Xiamen, and Penghu as ******, in addition to Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Haikou, Dayuan, Quanzhou, Shanghai, Yangzhou, Tianjin, Qingdao, Dalian and other ports, will also be set out of the free port zone. As long as they join the Nanyang Trade Alliance of Dahan, the merchant ships of the member countries will enjoy zero tariffs and free residence, investment, and work when entering the free port zone of Dahan. ”

"If we buy artillery, muskets, and warships from Dahan, can we also enjoy tariff-free treatment?" Prince Ageng asked.

Liu Jian smiled slightly.

"Your Royal Highness, of course. Actually, I have a better suggestion, if the Han can seize Batavia, then the entire Batavia port area and urban area will be set up as a free port zone in the future. The goods of the Han Dynasty in Batavia will be duty-free. Even the imperial court had planned that after the capture of Batavia, we would build a large shipyard there, as well as an artillery and gun factory, and Banten would be able to enjoy ****** preferential treatment if he bought warships and guns from Batavia. Compared with buying warships and arms directly from the Han mainland, it is expected to be at least 30% cheaper. ”

Prince Ah Geng asked, "I wonder how many cannons and muskets the Han can sell us every year, and how many warships can be sold to us?" I'm not talking about the arquebuses, or the armed merchant ships. I know the equipment of the Han army blockading Batavia, and you cast the kind of artillery out of steel, which is lighter than the bronze cannon and has a longer life than the iron cannon. Your flintlock muskets are much better than those of the Netherlands, and as for your ships, the first-class battleships with more than 100 guns are really very beautiful and mighty. ”

In order to resist the Dutch in recent years, the Banten people also began to build European-style sailing ships, but they lacked sufficient technology, and they could only build three-masted merchant ships of four or five hundred tons, which could only be loaded with more than 40 guns at most. And their artillery technology is not good, they can only cast stupid and heavy copper cannons, as for muskets, their casting technology is still stuck in the era of arquebuses.

Prince Ah Geng was not opposed to joining the Han Dynasty's Nanyang Trade Alliance, and he could also see the great benefits that could be brought to Banten if this Nanyang Alliance was established.

But if Banten wants to agree to the Han to conquer Batavia for the Dutch, and even take over all their colonial strongholds in the South Seas, and even ask them to send troops to help them attack Batavia, then the Han will have to come up with more benefits.

Prince Ageng did not object to the capture of Batavia by the Han Dynasty, but he also had his own demands, and he hoped to be supported by the advanced weapons of the Han Dynasty and strengthen the army of Banten. As for what the Banten army will do after it is strengthened, it is nothing more than to fight Mataram for control of Java to the east, or to attack Lampung across the strait and expand the territory.

Liu Jun answered him very directly, "As long as Bandan helps the Han to seize Batavia, and when the Han sets up a ****** in Batavia, a shipyard and a gun factory will be built, and at that time, we will sell as much as Bandan wants to buy!" (To be continued.) )