"This bottle is no worse than that made in Venice!" Browaut couldn't help but exclaim, playing with the bottle of the Sanya Special Cuvée.

"In the past two years, Venetian glassware has been unsellable in Daming. Van Longen, who is more familiar with the market, explained: "The glassware produced by Haihan is no worse than the goods in Venice in terms of technology, and their production volume and freight cost have great advantages, and the goods in Venice can be forced to death in terms of price." Not only us, but even the Spaniards and Portuguese have rarely trafficked glassware to Daming in the past two years. ”

In terms of production technology, the production skills mastered by Venetian glass craftsmen in the 17th century must not be comparable to that of Haihan, who has accumulated more than 400 years of technology. Although there are no professional glass craftsmen in the group, but with a rich theoretical knowledge base, Haihan glass products still show no less than the level of imported products in a very short period of time, and the speed of production capacity increase is also directly proportional to the growth rate of the labor force under Haihan, from the three-digit level of monthly supply to the four-digit level. In addition, the distance between Qiongzhou Island and the mainland is much closer than that between Europe and the Far East, and the cost of freight for glassware produced in Europe cannot compete with that of Haihan goods.

The factors that contribute to the popularity of Haihan glass products in the market are not limited to this, at least there are two reasons that Fan Longgen does not particularly understand, one is Haihan's product development and innovation ability, and the other is Haihan's unique commercial promotion methods.

From the very beginning of the production of zuò glassware, Haihan developed a wide variety of glass stationery for the Ming literati, and these practical glassware were naturally more likely to be favored by consumers than glass ornaments used purely for decoration. And the various fancy promotional routines specially designed by the business department for this purpose are tricks that businessmen in this era can't even think of to break their heads. In just two or three years, the cultural circles of the two southeastern provinces have risen to take pride in the use of Haihan glass stationery. For the famous Daming literati in these areas, it is normal that there is no Franc machine at home to sell glassware to Daming, but if there is not even a piece of Haihan glass stationery, it is really a bit of a decline.

This consumption trend led by the cultural circle soon had an impact on all levels of society, and the glassware produced by Haihan quickly stole the market share of what was originally a European product. The Portuguese did not care about this, because they had already gained more trade opportunities after establishing commercial relations with the Haihan, and the benefits they could have obtained were far greater than the trafficking of glassware from Europe to the Ming Dynasty. The Spaniards and the Dutch suffered, for whom there was really one less profitable trade, and it was unlikely that they would be able to snatch the market back from the Haihan by guò technology.

Of course, these Western colonizers, who could not go deep into the territory of the Ming Dynasty to trade like the Haihan people, did not realize the real advantages of the Haihan in a short period of time, and when they still thought that the Haihan people were relying on production and geographical advantages to seize the market, the Haihan people had already relied on more advanced technical means to consolidate their position and sales channels, and no longer left them with an opportunity to take advantage of.

After opening the bottle and tasting this wine from Haihan, the three Dutchmen spoke highly of it. It's no wonder, after all, Sanya's special cuvée is the finished product that imitates the brewing method of rum, and in the time and space before the time, rum was a very popular drink in Europe and the United States.

However, in this time and space, even the Dutch, who have traveled almost all over the world, have yet to taste this distilled spirit made from sugarcane rhizomes. Although Christopher Columbus brought sugar cane to Cuba on his second voyage to the Americas, and thus began the history of sugar cane cultivation in Cuba, it was not until the beginning of the 18th century that Europeans discovered that the local natives used sugar cane juice to make zuò for medicinal purposes, and were inspired to develop soju. Cuba began to produce rum on a truly industrial basis until the mid-19th century, when advanced technologies such as the steam engine were introduced.

And the rum imitated by Haihan is based on the authentic taste of Cuba. Of course, it is impossible to produce a kind of wine that is more than seven years old, or even as long as 20 years, at present. The products are basically fragrant wines produced from sugarcane juice raw materials, and there are also a small amount of strong aroma types prepared with sugarcane syrup, such as the bottle of "Sanya Special Brew" in Brovo's hand.

"This is not the same as the taste of liquor from Daming. This wine ...... It's sweet!" Brouwer gave his comment after another drink: "This may be made from some kind of fruit."

"It's sugar cane, Mr. Brower. The Haihan people grow sugar cane in large quantities on Qiongzhou Island, and according to the information we have received so far, at least tens of thousands of people are tending to their large sugar cane plantations. Van Longen explains. Although it was the first time he had drunk this wine, he had already heard many rumors about this fruit wine.

"The Haihan people grow so much sugar cane on Qiongzhou Island?" asked Spikes, a little puzzled, "Isn't their sugar production also amazingly high?"

Spikes' cousin was also a Dutch maritime merchant who owned several sugar cane plantations on the other side of the globe in the Caribbean, with thousands of slaves, so Spikes generally knew what the size of a large plantation was. Tens of thousands of people worked on sugar cane plantations, which was at least the size of the plantation that could only be owned by the union of more than ten plantation owners in the Americas. The Haihan had only been in Qiongzhou for just over four years, and Spikes was a little skeptical of the information Van Longen had provided.

Fan Longgen was silent for a moment before he said: "In fact, a kind of white sugar produced by Haihan is now a hot commodity in the Guangdong and Fujian markets, and those rich officials and wealthy businessmen will buy this kind of sucrose produced by Haihan with higher purity and sweetness. I used to taste this kind of white sugar when I was in Dayuangang, and I have to admit that they also have some unique features in the sugar making process. ”

"Can't our plantation produce the same quality cane sugar?" asked Spikes, incredulous. The Dutch have not been operating plantations in the tropics for as long as the pioneers of southern Europe, but they have been around for decades, and Van Longen's claim is a bit shocking.

"Regarding this question, I also asked the local plantation of the master, and it can be done, but it is very labor-intensive and costly, and the cost will be nearly twice as high as the price of Haihan white sugar. Van Longen's tone was also very frustrated.

If the cost of making zuò is much higher than the selling price of others, then no one will be stupid enough to spend money to produce such a product. As a result, there is no doubt that the income of the sugar cane plantations under the name of the East India Company will also be affected accordingly.

"Isn't our sugar cane plantation in Dayuan no longer able to operate?" Brouwer thought of something more, and immediately inquired.

"In fact, when I went to Dayuan six months ago, the local sugarcane plantations had already begun to partially switch to other crops, and the farmers thought that they had little chance of competing with the Haihan people in this area. According to some Ming insiders, the Haihan people have mastered more technology in agriculture than the Ming Dynasty, and some immigrants even believe that their farming methods are miraculous. A taste of helplessness began to appear in Fan Longgen's words: "I don't know if it's a miracle skill, but after the Haihan people settled on Qiongzhou Island, they really haven't heard of famine or anything like that in the local area." They even recruited a large number of immigrants in Guangdong to transport them to Qiongzhou Island by providing food for disaster relief, which shows that their food supply is very sufficient. ”

"Where the hell did these monsters come from!" For a competitor who seemed to be stronger than him in every way, all Spikes could do so far was to spit out in disbelief.

Mayor Jonk cautiously interjected, "I've heard some Ming merchants say that they are from the other side of the sea in the east, and they are thousands of miles away from the Ming Dynasty. ”

"It's just fooling people who don't know the truth. Brouwer shook his head and said, "Those Ming maritime merchants have only been to Batavia and Malacca as far as this, and as for the other side of the sea in the east, they have never been there, but we know what the situation is like there. There is no civilized country on that continent, let alone the existence of the Haihan Kingdom. ”

But where they came from is a mystery. Van Longen took over and said, "I've asked people before, but the information I can get is much the same as what Mr. Jonk said. No one knows exactly where they came from, the only thing that can be confirmed is that all the big iron ships they took when they arrived on Qiongzhou Island are still docked in Shengli Harbor, and that kind of iron ships are not what we can build now. ”

"They have been tossing very hard in Fujian in the past two years, and maybe it will be them who will fight us head-to-head in the future, not the sailors of Daming. Brower said with a gloomy face.

Unbeknownst to Brower, two months earlier the Haihan militia had engaged in the first exchange of fire between the two sides in the history of the Dutch East India Company. And Haihan had no intention of calculating, coupled with the advantage of strength itself, and won a big victory in this encounter, and the Dutch on Ambuna Island did not even escape from the net, so that Batavia did not receive the slightest rumor. However, it has to be said that Brouwer's vigilance is still commendable, and he has already detected the ambition of this emerging force to expand abroad from the various behaviors of Haihan.

"Yes, they have provided military assistance to the Fujian government, not only selling a large number of weapons to the Fujian government, but also helping them train the army, which has made Zheng Zhilong's situation very embarrassing. Spikes knew a little about the company's plans in the local area, and at this time, the wine came up and the conversation began: "The Governor originally intended to support Xu Xinsu, but this guy is not so reliable after he defected to Daming. Then he was ready to support Zheng Zhilong, but this guy was not angry, and he couldn't beat Xu Xinsu for a few years. Now that the Haihan people have intervened, Zheng Zhilong's army is even more difficult, and the scope of the sea channel is getting smaller and smaller. ”

The following paragraphs will be updated later, and the following paragraphs will be updated later

"Where the hell did these monsters come from!" For a competitor who seemed to be stronger than him in every way, all Spikes could do so far was to spit out in disbelief.

Mayor Jonk cautiously interjected, "I've heard some Ming merchants say that they are from the other side of the sea in the east, and they are thousands of miles away from the Ming Dynasty. ”

"It's just fooling people who don't know the truth. Brouwer shook his head and said, "Those Ming maritime merchants have only been to Batavia and Malacca as far as this, and as for the other side of the sea in the east, they have never been there, but we know what the situation is like there. There is no civilized country on that continent, let alone the existence of the Haihan Kingdom. ”

But where they came from is a mystery. Van Longen took over and said, "I've asked people before, but the information I can get is much the same as what Mr. Jonk said. No one knows exactly where they came from, the only thing that can be confirmed is that all the big iron ships they took when they arrived on Qiongzhou Island are still docked in Shengli Harbor, and that kind of iron ships are not what we can build now. ”

"They have been tossing very hard in Fujian in the past two years, and maybe it will be them who will fight us head-to-head in the future, not the sailors of Daming. Brower said with a gloomy face.

Unbeknownst to Brower, two months earlier the Haihan militia had engaged in the first exchange of fire between the two sides in the history of the Dutch East India Company. And Haihan had no intention of calculating, coupled with the advantage of strength itself, and won a big victory in this encounter, and the Dutch on Ambuna Island did not even escape from the net, so that Batavia did not receive the slightest rumor. However, it has to be said that Brouwer's vigilance is still commendable, and he has already detected the ambition of this emerging force to expand abroad from the various behaviors of Haihan.

"Yes, they have provided military assistance to the Fujian government, not only selling a large number of weapons to the Fujian government, but also helping them train the army, which has made Zheng Zhilong's situation very embarrassing. Spikes knew a little about the company's plans in the local area, and at this time, the wine came up and the conversation began: "The Governor originally intended to support Xu Xinsu, but this guy is not so reliable after he defected to Daming. Then he was ready to support Zheng Zhilong, but this guy was not angry, and he couldn't beat Xu Xinsu for a few years. Now that the Haihan people have intervened, Zheng Zhilong's army is even more difficult, and the scope of the sea channel is getting smaller and smaller. ”