Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 1234 Competition ([-])

"Great Khan really gave me a problem." Gao Wen just took a sip of the coffee imported from New China, and said with a sigh: "In recent years, the mainland has requested to gradually reduce the introduction of immigrants from the old continent, especially those male non-citizens. Now that Grail Khan has come to us, things are very troublesome. These tens of thousands of people, should we accept them or not? If we accept them, let’s not talk about the violation of local policies, including transportation and food For expenses, we have to be mentally prepared to support more than 150 million yuan; and if we don’t accept it, then Grail Khan is bound to blame us. I heard that he is a man of temperament. I hate you everywhere, and the consequences of offending the Great Khan are unpredictable, among other things, our long-planned Black Sea trade strategy may suffer a major setback."

The so-called Black Sea trade, roughly speaking, is to increase the shipment of goods on the east coast of the Black Sea and the Sea of ​​Azov.These places are densely populated and have a low level of industry, so the competition for goods on the east coast is not very fierce. As long as the local dignitaries and agents are dealt with, they can basically be sold everywhere without hindrance.Not to mention that the Black Sea is the back garden and granary of the Ottoman Empire. It has great influence. Many countries along the coast such as Moldavia, Wallachia, Crimea and even the inland Transylvania and Ukraine radiate The duchies of Georgia and Georgia are all under the direct or indirect control of the Ottoman Empire, which undoubtedly facilitates the expansion of commercial power here on the east coast.

Moreover, these regions are not without purchasing power. Not to mention Moldavia, Ukraine, and Transylvania, which have been devastated by war for several years. Take the Crimean Khanate, which has a stable domestic situation, as an example. The country uses A large number of slaves were plundered, and countless farms were set up on both sides of the lower reaches of the Dnieper River, both sides of the lower reaches of the Don River, and the coastal areas on the northern coast of the Sea of ​​Azov. Wheat, barley, rye, oats, peas, sunflowers, hemp and other crops were widely planted, and animals and other crops were widely cultivated. Together with fat and leather, they were exported to the Ottoman Empire in large quantities and gained a lot of income. This is actually one of the reasons for the strong power of the feudal lords in the country.Of course, the operation and management of these farms are very rough and backward in the eyes of people on the east coast—after all, they are from the grasslands—and they are not even as good as the manors set up by the Poles next door, but this is a more advanced method than extensive animal husbandry after all. Otherwise, how do you think the 50 people (excluding slaves) of the Crimean Khanate are fed?

In the plan of Gao Wengang and others, the three major rivers that flow into the Black Sea and the Sea of ​​Azov, the Dnieper River, the Don River, and the Danube River, are the main channels for the expansion of goods on the east coast. Through these rivers and their tributaries that are in good shipping condition, all kinds of goods are sold cheaply. It is the ultimate goal pursued by Gao Wengang and others to import to various places and subtly expand the influence of the East Bank while obtaining economic benefits.

Among the three rivers, the Dnieper River is temporarily in a state of turmoil due to the turmoil in the area it flows through. There are only docks in Mogilev, Orel, Shklov, Smolensk, Kiev, and Zaporozhye. The economy in the basin has been greatly reduced due to the devastation of the war. In previous years, a large amount of wood, stone, salt, tallow, resin, and honey were transported from the upstream to the downstream, and then a large amount of grain, leather, hemp fiber, tobacco, and fruit were transported from the downstream. However, in the ten years since the Cossack uprising and the outbreak of the Polish-Russian War, the entire middle and upper reaches of the Dnieper River have been completely smashed, and this trade route has basically been abandoned.

However, Gao Wengang and others did not intend to give up completely. They insisted that after opening up the joints of the Crimean Khanate and the Ukrainian Cossack Emirate, they would use the agents developed locally to transfer cloth, tobacco, sugar, alcohol from the east coast goods such as iron products, arms, dyed leather goods, high-grade candles, soap, porcelain, soda ash, rubber products, high-grade flour, carriages and their parts are exported to the banks of the Dnieper River and its tributaries, and then imported slaves, honey, lead-tin ore , graphite, sulfur, willow bark and other commodities needed by the east coast, it is believed that once the trade starts, the local primitive natural economy will be powerless to resist, because most of the east coast people sell their own unique or highly competitive commodities ——The premise is to find a powerful agent, otherwise all talks will be suspended.

Compared with the Dnieper, the conditions of the Don River are much worse-perhaps the worst of the three rivers-the river is more difficult to navigate, mainly because the river is shallow, there are many shoals, and it is often easy. divert.However, this river also has its own advantages. Its upper reaches are the black soil region of Russia, which has a high grain output and is relatively developed. Although the middle and lower reaches are grassland regions, the population is not very rich, but the trade of livestock, wool, leather, and tallow is also very frequent. It’s not that it has no purchasing power, and it can also communicate with the Astrakhan area in the Caspian Sea, and then radiate to Persia and Central Asia. It has achieved great development. Nearly a thousand flat-bottomed wooden boats, barges, and rafts pass on the river every year, and the total value of transported goods exceeds 19 million rubles. Even if this era cannot be compared with that of more than 800 years later, the commercial potential must not be impressive Neglect, if you do it well, it shouldn't be a problem to earn 100 to 40 yuan a year.

What's more beneficial is that Boris, a businessman representing the will of the Russian authorities, has come to Kaffa Port many times to visit people on the east coast. They are eager to trade with the Black Sea-Azov Sea. The mouth of the sea is in the hands of the Ottoman Empire, and the business is intermittent, which makes people feel very uncomfortable.However, perhaps after the two countries end the state of hostility, this embarrassing situation will be eased-in any case, the willingness of the Russians to do business is very strong, which is more important than anything else.

Among the three major rivers, the Danube, whose lower reaches are controlled by Ottoman and its vassals, probably has the most commercial potential in the short term.This large river runs through the entire Ottoman Rumili region—one of the richest regions in the country. From a human point of view, as long as you find the right relationship and choose the right agent, then this is definitely a "golden channel" that can see benefits in the short term.

In fact, people on the east bank have been importing goods to the upper reaches of the Danube for a long time. This can be seen from the annual shipments of the Burgas Trading Station. A large number of agricultural tools, cloth, wine, leather goods, soap, and horse-drawn carriages pass through this The river was sent to the towns upstream, earning a lot of money to buy slaves, which is a great contribution.The so-called Black Sea trade strategy proposed this time is just to fix, systematize, and deepen the existing trade route.

"Forget it, I'll go to Baekchisalai to discuss with Grail Khan in these two days. Tens of thousands of slaves, it is absolutely impossible not to buy at all, because it will greatly offend Grail Khan, but if they really eat all of them , even if the price is low, we cannot afford it in the short term. You know, we have already owed a lot of loans to Jewish businessmen, Greek businessmen, and Armenian businessmen, and the total principal and interest have already exceeded 25 yuan. Besides, this is not in line with the major policies of the local government.” Gao Wengang quickly made a compromise decision, and planned to speak in detail when he met with Grail Khan. As for the effect, we will talk about it later. After all, even if you are afraid of offending Grail Khan, the Crimean Khanate still relies on the east coast, and at worst, everyone can bargain—well, maybe you can pick some exquisite gifts from the warehouse of the commercial station and take them to Bekchisa Lai, I believe this can somewhat soften Da Khan's attitude.

"High Commissioner, there is another question. Recently, many English businessmen have come to Istanbul. I heard that Sultan Mehmet and Vizier Koprulu have given them certain courtesy and plan to expand the trade franchise of these British businessmen—this month ( At the beginning of December, two British ships were loaded with various types of cloth and shipped them to the port of Smyrna. I heard that the sales were good. When these merchant ships returned, they took away a lot of raisins, wool, and raw silk, and I believe these Wool and raw silk will soon again be sold to the Ottomans in various textiles. Commissioner, although woolen fabrics make up a small share of our textiles, I think this matter must be taken seriously, as it is a sign of the accelerated expansion of the textile industry in England. And it may compete with our country in the future. Now the sheep farming industry in Patagonia is booming, and the wool production is increasing day by day. Sooner or later, the domestic and overseas markets will not be able to absorb all the wool products, and they will inevitably be exported in large quantities. There will be competition with the British and even the Dutch, so we'd better pay attention to it in advance." Because Gao Wen had been staying at the Florence Merchant Station in Tuscany to deal with the backlog of affairs, and had just returned to the Ottoman Empire, Malati I feel that I need to remind him again, as for how to make up my mind, it is not my business.

"Very good, Malati, your information is very valuable, and you have a heart." Gao Wengang immediately said approvingly when he heard the words, and asked the servant to bring a cup of coffee with a strong aroma to Marathi, and then said: "British man Let’s not be busy, Koprulu Daweizi is a shrewd person, since he gave British merchants trading concessions, there must be a reason. Perhaps, he also does not want to see the market of the Ottoman Empire being monopolized by a few countries Well, the introduction of more foreign businessmen is not harmful to Ottomans. On the contrary, the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. After all, the Ottoman Empire also has its own national interests, and it is impossible to be controlled by anyone, and no one can control this huge country Well, what we should focus on now is to carry out the Black Sea trade strategy I mentioned. Among them, the Crimean Khanate (the cavalry of the country was often invited by the Ottoman Empire to enter the lower reaches of the Danube for conquests, and it has considerable influence on the area. Control) is the top priority of the business and must be taken down! Compared with this matter, everything else can be put aside for the time being.”

(End of this chapter)