Daming 1805

Chapter 448 Pursuit of fairness and unspoken rules and economic and trade cooperation
Zhu Jingyuan's last request was actually nothing to talk about.

Wedemeyer went back again to report to Emperor Nicholas of Lucia.

First explain Daming’s requirements, and then add your own analysis and suggestions:

"The cooperation method proposed by Daming at the end, the terms themselves don't seem particularly unfair.

"The cost of oil resource exploitation in the early stage was already high, and Daming actually provided us with technology transfer.

"In the first 20 years, it seems quite reasonable to take some more share to offset the cost of Daming.

"The 20-40 split for the next [-] years, and the same as the production split after [-] years, seems reasonable.

"But the problem is that although we don't know whether there is oil under the land of the Daming Kingdom east and south of the Urals, we also don't know the amount of oil reserves on both sides.

"But according to Da Ming's cooperation method, it is obvious that Da Ming's side does not develop at all, which is the most beneficial to Da Ming.

"If the contract is signed according to the current terms, regardless of whether there is oil on the side of Da Ming, Da Ming may develop passively.

"More importantly, even if there is no oil on the side of Ming Dynasty, even if Daming is actively developing negatively, we, Lucia, can't respond in the same way, we can't develop negatively.

"We need oil from the Volga region because we currently do not find enough oil resources in other regions.

"Daming has abundant oil resources in other regions, even if the oil in the Ural-Volga region is completely abandoned, it will not affect Daming's oil resource supply at all.

"We can't expect more from Ming's side, and Ming is open to developing and sharing with us.

"You can't expect to encroach on Ming's interests under any circumstances, this is an important principle in today's diplomacy.

"So the guiding direction for us to sign a cooperation treaty should be to pursue fairness as much as possible. Only fairness can prevent us from suffering big losses.

"So we should put forward a final amendment request to add a supplementary clause for periodic amendments to the contract."

After reading the report, Nicholas fully agreed with Wedemeyer's suggestion. The goal of cooperating with Daming is not to suffer any losses, so after thinking about it for a while, he replied to Wedemeyer to follow his ideas.

Two days later, Daming and Lucia met again, and Wedemeyer put forward his final proposal:

"Technology is developing extremely rapidly in today's world, especially the internal combustion engine and petrochemical related industries.

"At the end of the world wars, we could not have imagined the state of our oil and gas turbines.

"What the world will look like ten or even 20 years from now is unimaginable now.

"So we suggest that the contract can be signed according to the current plan, but a special explanation should be added.

"After the contract is signed, it is revisited every ten years.

"If the development of technology and situation in the following ten years does not lead to a major unfair situation in the original contract terms, then the revision will only update the signing date and details.

"On the contrary, it is necessary to make amendments to the terms that cause major injustice and sign a new version of the contract.

"This revised clause also urges both of us to let go of our concerns and devote as much resources and energy as possible to the in-depth development of local resources.

"If Daming is willing to uphold a fair and just attitude and cooperate with Lucia in the development of oil resources, then we can start drafting the contract itself now."

The meaning of Wedemeyer's last sentence shows that it is his last request. If Daming accepts it, he can sign the contract.

Lin Zexu didn't dare to make a hasty decision, so he took Wedemeyer's reply and asked Zhu Jingyuan for instructions:
"The people of Lucia are very clear about their position, and they don't have any illusions about taking advantage.

"If I insist on distributing income according to a fixed time and a fixed ratio, and at the same time do not allow subsequent supplementary amendments, then in the eyes of the Lucia people, we are clearly going to be negatively developed.

"Unless we directly use force to exert pressure, the Lucians will definitely delay and prevaricate further.

"That's why the student suggested that if His Highness is not prepared to use force, then he can accept the terms of the Lucians."

After reading it, Zhu Jingyuan smiled helplessly and nodded:

"Since Lucia is so calm, that's the only way to sign this contract..."

Then Zhu Jingyuan replied to Lin Zexu, asking him to accept this supplementary amendment.

So far, Daming and Lucia have finally reached an agreement on the issue of cooperation in the development of oil resources in the Volga-Ural region.

Wedemeyer breathed a sigh of relief after receiving Lin Zexu's response.

Daming can accept his proposal, which shows that Daming is really willing to cooperate, rather than simply grabbing resources.

Wedemeyer's spirit relaxed:
"Thank you Daming for your understanding, so now let the clerical staff sort out and compile the contract documents?"

Lin Zexu nodded slightly:
"The contract shall be subject to the plain text."

Wedemeyer, of course, did not comment. It is common practice to sign transnational contracts in Ming Dynasty.

Instead, Wedemeyer inquired about something else:
"May I ask Mr. Lin, is Daming Airlines stepping in to provide technology and participate in the development?"

Lin Zexu shook his head:
"Da Ming Airlines will not come forward. It is Daming Royal Petroleum Company. They will contact you later."

Wedemeyer was a little surprised. This cooperation was obviously hosted by Prince Dashi, but Prince Dashi's company did not show up.

In fact, within the scope of Ming Dynasty, some unwritten unspoken rules have been formed in the operation of the oil industry.

Judging from the official regulations, Daming's oil industry is still franchised for the time being.

At present, only the imperial consortium owned by the royal family, the newly established Daming consortium owned by the imperial court, and Zhu Jingyuan's Daming Airlines, only these three companies have the right to develop and operate.

Of course, the consortia of the royal family and the imperial court have nothing to say, as long as they can manage industries in the Ming Dynasty.

Daming Airlines is the most special, and should not have the right to develop it.

When Daming Airlines was registered, the entire aviation industry had not yet formed, and the management level was still very crude.

Coupled with Zhu Jingyuan's special status, he directly obtained the management rights of all aviation-related industries at that time.

This of course includes "aviation fuel", and aviation fuel is a petrochemical product.

So Daming Airlines indirectly obtained the right to develop and operate oil resources.

Under the franchise model, licensed companies can operate.

Strictly speaking, it is not illegal for Daming Airlines, which has obtained the right to operate, to participate in the development of the oil industry in any region.

But this is also very close to the gray area.

When the imperial court sorts out and revises the management regulations on the business scope of relevant enterprises in the aviation industry, it can request Daming Airlines to re-register its business scope, and at the same time revoke Daming Airlines’ right to operate oil.

It's just that the emperor of Ming Dynasty doesn't have this idea at present, and neither do the officials of relevant departments.

Most people think that Daming Airlines is the second royal consortium.

This is the same as the Dashi Kingdom does not need to withdraw its domain at all, it can be regarded as a Huangzhuang managed by the Prince of Dashi.

However, Zhu Jingyuan himself has high political sensitivity.

Ordinary people and officials may not care about the difference between Daming Airlines and the royal consortium, but the royal family certainly does.

The benefits of Daming Airlines are exclusive to Zhu Jingyuan and can not be distributed to other royal family members at all.

Zhu Jingyuan has already received [-]% of the dividends from the royal family of Xintianfu, which has made people jealous to the extreme, and now he is still enjoying the benefits of the oil resources of the Dashi Kingdom, which is impossible without arousing envy.

Zhu Jingyuan was favored by the two generations of emperors Zhu Zhongliang and Zhu Jianyan, and he was equivalent to the most favored child in the family.

Although in this situation, even if Zhu Jingyuan was domineering outside, the other members of the royal family had nothing to do.

But that will definitely affect Zhu Jingyuan's image and reputation.

Not only will it damage my impression in the minds of my father and grandfather, but it may also cause trouble for managing the clan in the future.

I have been away for many years, so there is no guarantee that no one will give me eye drops by the side of my father and grandfather.

Zhu Jingyuan couldn't guarantee that his father and grandfather really didn't suspect him at all.

At the same time, father and grandfather may be able to place a heavy bet on themselves based on the experience left by the emperor Shizu, but others in the royal family and court will not.

I was regarded as the default heir by the royal family and the court. Apart from being favored by the two generations of emperors, it was also a very important reason why I had no obvious stains.

If you are favored but not sensible, others may have nothing to do, but you can choose not to cooperate.

Only by being favored and sensible can you truly receive what everyone expects.

So after Zhu Jingyuan took advantage of the loophole, he was very conservative in the management of Daming Airlines' business scope in the oil industry.

The directly developed oil resources are limited to the territory of the big food country.

The oil resources of the Great Food Kingdom are already the most abundant in the entire Ming Dynasty, and Zhu Jingyuan is very content.

Outside of Dashiguo, Daming Airlines usually only provides technical support, at most it is responsible for exploration and drilling.

Subsequent daily mining and operation work is usually handed over to the royal consortium.

Now there is the imperial court's official Daming consortium.

This is the first unwritten unspoken rule in oil exploration and extraction.

Then there is the development of petroleum resources in the vassal state.

Countries such as Xianbei, Kazakhstan, Khiva, and Persia are foreign vassals, and their independence and autonomy are higher than those of the big food kingdom.

Foreign vassal monarchs can operate the oil industry in name.

For the oil fields located in these foreign domains, the direct development income of course belongs to the development company.

Of course, the development company has to pay taxes, and the taxes belong to the monarch of the vassal state.

In the end, the vassal king mainly "paid tribute" to the Ming emperor.

This tribute is not just a matter of buying some local products, and the Ming emperor after the Renwu Dynasty did not want local products.

Instead, according to the actual situation, one to thirty percent of the local tax is required.

Looking at it comprehensively, if the foreign vassal monarch develops oil and petroleum by himself, the Ming emperor can only get [-] to [-]% of the tax paid by the oilfield development company to the vassal state.

Of the total income generated by the vassal state's oil resources, only a few percent may eventually fall into the hands of the Ming emperor.

A few percentage points of income from an oil field is of course a huge wealth for ordinary people.

But for the Ming emperor, it was very inconspicuous in the income report.

But this is only a theoretical situation.

In practice, when foreign monarchs discovered oil in their territories, they would take the initiative to seek cooperation from the Daming Imperial Family Consortium, the Daming Government-run Consortium, and Daming Airlines to develop it.

One is that they have enough sensitivity, and the other is that they do not have enough technology.

The royal consortium directly participates in the development and operation of oil fields, and usually takes half of the proceeds, equivalent to [-]% of the shares.

For the monarch of the vassal state, this of course reduced a large part of his income.

But without the participation of the Royal Consortium, they may not get half of it, and they will not feel at ease if they get it.

Only by distributing half of them directly to the Ming royal family can they feel at ease.

This is the second unspoken rule.

Now the Volga-Ural oil and gas region is expected to cover the Ming side in Xianbei and Kazakhstan.

But in terms of the specific cooperative development plan, the representatives of the two vassal states came to observe completely in the form of attendants.

In theory, the relationship between the foreign domain and Ming Dynasty was realized through the loyalty of the monarch of the domain country to the Emperor of Ming Dynasty.

Therefore, the oil fields of these two vassal states are of course operated by the imperial consortium, not the Ming consortium of the Ming court.

Lin Zexu is familiar with Zhu Jingyuan's habits, and fully understands Zhu Jingyuan's attitude. This is also one of the many reasons why Lin Zexu followed Zhu Jingyuan, so now he also directly replied to Wedemeyer.

Although Wedemeyer was a little surprised, it was Daming's own business.

Lucia could only cooperate with which company Daming arranged to participate in, so she didn't ask too much.

The issue of oil development was basically settled, and the two main representatives, Lin Zexu and Wedemeyer, changed the subject. .

After a short break, we began to discuss the railway bridge on the Shenou continent, the establishment of a free trade zone along the railway, and the establishment of a joint venture trading company by multinational monarchs.

Compared with the issue of oil development, the final cooperation plan is relatively easy to discuss.

It does not involve the development of specific strategic resources, and pure monarch-level trade cooperation makes it easier to achieve a relatively fair cooperation plan.

Especially when Zhu Jingyuan did not blindly pursue interests, but cared more about the cooperation itself.

However, the way of negotiation has also changed, because it is not that Da Ming and Lucia are cooperating alone, but that Da Ming, as the initiator of the cooperation proposal, now invites Lucia to join.

So Lin Zexu directly took out the prepared documents and made the draft cooperation plan according to Zhu Jingyuan's intention.

While Lin Zexu let Wedemeyer read the document by himself, he also verbally explained the key clauses in it:
"Initiated by Ming Dynasty, with the participation of Lucia, Prussia, and France, select appropriate railway lines among the main east-west railways in their respective territories to connect with each other.

"Da Ming chooses at least four cities along the country's railway line, Lucia chooses at least three cities, and Prussia and France choose at least two cities to set up free trade zones.

"His Majesty the Ming Emperor, Lucia, Prussia, and the French monarchs jointly invested in the establishment of the Shenou Royal United Trading Company to operate passenger and freight transportation and trade business on the corresponding railway lines.

"The trains of the corresponding companies do not need to implement border inspections when crossing the national border, and the passengers and goods on the trains can freely get on and off the trains in the urban free trade zones established by various countries.

"Unless you leave the designated free trade zone, no visa is required for personnel activities, and no customs duties are required for goods transactions.

"However, when the corresponding personnel and goods leave the free trade zone and enter other areas of cities in any country, they need to show their official documents for inspection and pay import duties on the goods they carry.

"Individuals who go shopping in free trade zones of other countries can enjoy certain tax exemption or tax reduction treatment if they purchase specific commodities below a certain amount and amount.

"Non-governmental merchants from Daming, Lucia, Prussia, and France can open wholly-owned firms and factories in the free trade zones of other countries, which will be managed by the Free Trade Company Zone Management Committee.

"Ottomans, Austria, Italy, Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and other countries can sign and join the free trade agreement according to the same standard, and the royal family of the corresponding country can also invest in Shenou Trading Company.

"If the above countries join the agreement, Ottoman, Austria, the United Kingdom, Spain, and Italy must set up at least two free trade zones in cities, and Portugal and the Netherlands must set up at least one free trade zone."

Wedemeyer listened to the explanation, flipped through the documents, and found no major problems for a while.

Although it is the first time to connect transportation lines and set up a free trade zone, cooperation at various economic levels is a typical operation of Daming in recent years.

Economic cooperation seems to be very fair. In fact, it must be more beneficial to Ming, but if other countries do not want to oppose Ming, then it is not a disadvantage.

However, the longer the cooperation time and the deeper the cooperation method, the harder it will be for other countries to oppose Ming and break free from Ming's economic and trade network.

Politicians in Western countries such as Lucia basically understand it, but in most cases they have no choice.

The cooperation between Taixi in Zhu Jingyuan's previous life was led by France and Germany.

Not only are there two leaders in this system, but there is also Britain outside the system who is doing things.

So even if Taixi's own cooperation direction itself is fine, there are various problems in actual operation.

In the current world, Da Ming is the absolute master, the only superpower alone.

Daming's initiative to promote cooperation with other countries will of course be much easier than the cooperation with Western countries in Zhu Jingyuan's previous life.

　Yesterday, the time was tight, and the writing in the last paragraph was quite messy. After updating at the stuck time, I went back and rewrote the last 1000 words, and added a few hundred more words.

　　Friends who were chasing the update at that time can take a look back to make sure that what they saw yesterday is the latest version.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)