1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 83 Business Opportunities Brought by the European War

Regardless of whether Zhang Guang is out of selfishness or justice, at least his proposal is highly feasible, and the Yazhou office really needs such a living facility now.So soon the working group passed the plan, and decided to make a request to the Executive Committee when contacting the base camp the next day.Moreover, Zhang Guang also said that he had worked as a plasterer on the construction site before. This kind of simple shower system can be installed by himself as long as the materials are provided by the base camp.

"It's really versatile!" Malico sighed: "There are so many people in the Ministry of Information Industry, why the executive committee chose you to join the working group, I now understand."

Of course, the bathroom construction plan was just a small episode, and everyone knew that they signed up for the working group and came to Yazhou, not just for enjoyment.It is the most important task of the working group to allow the products produced in Sanya to open up the market in Yazhou as soon as possible, to introduce as many people from Yazhou to Sanya as possible, and to guard against the coveted power of hostile forces.Regarding how to divide the labor and carry out the work, the working group has had many discussions before coming to Yazhou. Now it is mainly to check the various plans, and then add some details based on the actual situation that they have learned.

After breakfast the next morning, Malico and Mu Xiabai, Qiu Yuan and Feng Annan went to visit the two firms "An Fuxing" and "Fu Ruifeng" that had previously had business dealings. The first was to contact The feelings are familiar, and secondly, I also want to know how the sales of the goods delivered last time were during this period.He Xi was a little late and went out alone, without telling others where to go, he walked slowly and walked away.Zhang Guang went to the market alone, and he needed to buy some materials for making honeycomb, such as coal, charcoal, lime and so on.Zhao Xiaoruo stayed in the office to watch the house, and by the way, unpacked and classified some items that had not been sorted out the day before.

Malico and Mu Xiabai arrived outside the "An Fuxing", and a guy at the door came over and asked, "Are you two from Haihan?"

Before Malico could introduce himself, he saw the guy running into the store and shouted, "Boss, Haihan's master is here!"

Soon, the shopkeeper Zhang, who had dealt with Chuanzhong last time, came out to greet them. Although they were a little unfamiliar when they saw them, their strange clothes and short hair were exactly the same as the group of people who came last time. Came up to greet each other, exchanged names, and then welcomed the two in.

"If you don't come here again, you'll be looking for the door!" Manager Zhang took the two to the back hall and seated them. After tea was served, he said anxiously, "I wonder if the two of you will come to Yazhou this time. The glassware you traded last time?"

"Has the goods you traded with your bank been sold out last time?" Malico asked in disbelief.If this is the case, then the Executive Committee is likely to underestimate the consumption power of Yazhou.

"It was sold out in just a few days, and after that, there were still customers who came to the door. I don't know when you will be able to visit again. I went to Yazhou Water Village to find Master Luo, but Master Luo also said that he couldn't get it from you. Get in touch." Manager Zhang said happily: "By the way, as for the saltpeter, sulfur, coke and other items that you said last time that you need in large quantities, the company has also prepared a lot recently, and it can be shipped at any time."

"Wait." Malico was not overwhelmed by the good news from Shopkeeper Zhang, and asked with some doubts: "Didn't your company also sell the glassware of the Folang robot from Guangzhou before? The sales are so good, why is your company Haven't imported a lot before?"

"This is because I didn't make it clear." The shopkeeper Zhang explained apologetically: "It's like this..."

If it is only in Yazhou, the sales situation of glass products is not much different from the speculation of the Executive Committee. The sales target of this kind of luxury goods is relatively narrow. Based on the population of [-] in Yazhou, there are real luxury goods. People with spending power are only in double digits at most, and the sales of glassware in Yazhou have always been sullen.But this "An Fuxing" is not limited to the store in Yazhou. There are also stores in Danzhou and Qiongzhou Fucheng on the north side of Hainan Island. After the shopkeeper Zhang purchased goods from Chuanzhong, he divided some of the goods and sent them to the stores in the other two cities. distribution.Unexpectedly, after only a few days, someone came to the head office in Fucheng, Qiongzhou, and asked about the source and inventory of this batch of glassware. Only then did Manager Zhang know that the supply of goods in Guangzhou had been cut off for several months. Appliance prices remain high, and the inventory of Qiongzhou Fucheng Main Store has long been sold out. At present, there is no market for prices.

At such a critical juncture when there is a lot of money but nothing to sell, the sets of glassware delivered by Yazhou "Anfuxing" immediately attracted the attention of the head office. I found out that the source of the goods was not the Folang machine. provided by people or red-haired Dutchmen, but never heard of "Haihan people".Of course, it doesn't matter who supplies the goods to the head shopkeeper. What matters is whether they can seize this wave of market and make a profit.So the courier of the head office rushed to Yazhou, and asked Manager Zhang to quickly organize the supply of goods and transport them to Danzhou and Qiongzhou Fucheng in the north.

Manager Zhang wanted to organize, but he couldn't get in touch with the Haihan people at all.When the Yazhou Action Team came to the store to discuss business last time, out of prudence, Schneider did not leave any specific contact information, but only said that he would visit Yazhou every month in the future.This is about to happen, but Mr. Zhang is so anxious that he is like an ant on a hot pot every day. He also specially sends Xiao Er to guard the door. If a Haihan person appears, he will report it immediately. scene.

It was only then that Malico realized that it turned out that the supply of goods in Europe was interrupted, which caused the current tight situation in the market.If it is true, as the shopkeeper Zhang said, even the market in Guangzhou is out of stock, then it is conceivable that Qiu Yuan and Feng Annan, who visited another "Furuifeng" at this time, should have encountered similar to their own. situation.As for why there was a large-scale out-of-stock phenomenon at this time, Malico, who spent time making up for the history of the 17th century before departure, just guessed it.

At present, the trade of glass products in East Asia in this period is basically monopolized by the Spaniards, but in fact, before and after the 17th century, the power of the Spaniards on the sea had shrunk rapidly, and both the transportation capacity and the armed force were not as good as before.

In 1588, Spain and the United Kingdom fought a sea battle in the English Channel that changed the history of the world. With more than 130 warships, more than [-] crew members, and thousands of ship-borne artillery pieces, the "Army Fleet", which has always been proud of the Spaniards, This battle suffered a devastating defeat, which almost ended in the annihilation of the entire army, and from then on, gradually gave up the status of "sea hegemony".

The Dutch War of Independence, which began in 1568, was another war that drastically consumed Spain's maritime power.This war lasted for 40 years. Until 1609, Spain, which had been dragged down by constant foreign wars, was forced to sign the so-called "12-year Armistice Agreement" with the Netherlands, which in fact recognized the Netherlands. independence of the republic.

However, the matter did not end here. The civil war of the Holy Roman Empire broke out in 1618, and then quickly evolved into a large-scale international war involving the whole of Europe. The defeat of the Fort dynasty and the signing of the "Contract of Westphalia" ended.As one of the European powers, Spain was naturally not immune. The Habsburg alliance it belonged to was the protagonist in this 30-year war. After Spain was dragged into this mud pit, it never stood up again.

In 1621, when Spain was trapped in the quagmire of war, the Dutch decisively went to war again.After the war between the two countries this time, they fought until 1648 in one breath. It was not until the signing of the aforementioned "Contract of Westphalia" that the two protracted 30-year wars in Europe and the 80-year war in Jose ended at the same time. war.

And just less than a year before he came to this time and space, the famous Spanish general Marquis Spinola won the most famous victory in his war career and captured the strategic location of Bleda in the Netherlands. This is also after the restart of the war. One of the few victories for Spain.By the way, it is worth mentioning that the famous painter Velazquez's masterpiece "The Surrender of Breda", its content is the scene of the surrender of the Marquis Spinola after the battle.

In order to defend this forward position, Spain had to call a large number of civilian merchant ships to ensure the supply line at sea - Spain and the Netherlands were separated by a long and narrow English Channel, while the United Kingdom and France on both sides of the English Channel were Spain's warring opponents at this time, so The supply lines were a nightmare for the Spaniards' logistics.Affected by this, the number of merchant ships sailing from Spain to East Asia was greatly reduced during this period, and corresponding various European-produced goods became scarce commodities in the East Asian market, including glass products from Europe.

Although the brutal war took place on the other side of the earth, it has inevitably had an impact on the commercial trade in East Asia at the moment when the age of great voyages has begun.Of course, in Malico's view, the effect of this influence is very positive, and it also provides Chuanzhong with an opportunity to make money. If the glass workshop can be put into production as soon as possible, at least the output in the short term will not worry about sales. of.Due to the leading production technology, the production cost of Chuanzhong has an overwhelming advantage. When the Spaniards return to East Asia after the European war, they will probably find that this market has already been occupied by the sudden emergence of the Haihan people.

If it wasn't for the executive committee to send a working group to Yazhou, then this market information would not know when it would be able to feed back to Chuanzhong, but now it only takes a few days to contact the base camp by radio to inform the market changes. The glass kiln can be put into operation, and this income is enough to earn back the expenses of the working group.

(End of this chapter)