Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 236 The Ottomans in Dongfang Port ([-])

Sure enough, as Gao Mo expected, although the Ottomans had some objections to the price, they didn't make any further entanglements, and then they proposed to offset part of the shipbuilding cost with real objects.After all, although Ottoman is a big empire today, it has not been very affluent financially. Especially after the Europeans opened up a route around the Cape of Good Hope in Africa to the East, the financial revenue of the Ottoman Empire plummeted.Therefore, it is not surprising that they propose to offset part of the payment in kind.

It is not unacceptable for people from the East Coast to offset part of the payment in kind, but this ratio and the choice of goods are very particular.For example, there is currently a lack of draft horses, camels (used in South Africa) and other livestock on the east coast, and these Turks have a lot on hand.Instead of spending money to buy from others in the future, it might as well barter with the Turks.Furthermore, wool, fur, copper, lead, tin, mercury, graphite, sulfur and other materials needed for industry are also acceptable on the east coast.

Of course, in addition to the above, the "slaves" with the most abundant resources in Turkey are the "bulk commodities" needed by the east coast.By the end of 1639, the national population of the East Coast Republic of China had grown to 4000 after nearly two years of vigorous expansion.But even so, the existing population is still far from enough.Industry, agriculture, military, and commerce are in need of population everywhere, and the appetite of each department is getting bigger every time, which makes the executive committee extremely headache.

Since the beginning of this year, a large number of indigenous peoples have been introduced from South Africa to the mainland in several batches. Up to now, more than [-] Khoisan or Xhosa people have been introduced in the form of labor dispatch.A large number of these South African natives were assigned to iron mines, coal mines, lime mines, cement factories, brick kiln factories, construction teams, farmland and other places, liberating a large number of free people on the east coast.And the various departments that have tasted the sweetness of using South African natives gradually began to ignore the voices of some cross-travelers who opposed the introduction of blacks and celebrities, and urged the Executive Committee to increase the intensity of introducing South African natives like an addiction.

However, the introduction of too many South African natives at once will eventually touch the sensitive nerves of many people in the country. The Executive Committee dare not speak easily about this. Besides, according to the agreement, these natives will return to South Africa after three years, and they cannot be like lifelong slaves for a long time. use.Therefore, the most fundamental solution is to introduce a large number of immigrants, and Ottoman Turkey is obviously a good "supplier".

The two parties discussed the details for more than three hours, and finally decided that half of the Ottoman shipbuilding cost would be paid in cash, and the other half would be deducted from materials and population. Made detailed regulations.In this way, it means that the East Bank has recovered the cost of shipbuilding in cash, and then the remaining materials and population will be for nothing.

So far, the preliminary negotiations on the cooperation agreement between the two navies have been completed, and the next thing to discuss is the agreement on the army side.To be honest, people on the east coast are not very interested in selling army equipment. There is no other reason here, the main reason is that they can't make a lot of money.You see, the two shipyards worked together to win the construction contract for six warships of the Ottoman Empire. The total amount was 36 yuan, and the profit was at least half. How much army equipment would it take to get it back?

At this time, the price of a Surr-style arquebus produced in the UK was about 18 shillings, which was less than one pound (4 yuan).The price of the flintlock is slightly higher, but not much higher.The latest discounted price of the 32-B flintlock rifle sold by the East Coast Republic is 5 yuan a piece, and the cost has been reduced to less than 2 yuan due to the use of a steam boring machine to drill the barrel, which means that a gun can earn 3 yuan.It seems that the profit margin is good, but the problem is that you can't sell much. Selling one or two thousand rifles at a time is a big business, and you only earn a few thousand yuan.

As with rifles, so with cannons.Even if the price of the "Tatan Cannon" has been raised twice, the current average income of each gun under 12 pounders is 30 yuan, and it is not enough to sell dozens of guns a year.The number of Army artillery sold on the East Coast in recent years is not large, and most of them are sold for political reasons.For example, artillery sold to the French government to support their war with the Spanish; for example, artillery sold to the British royalists to support their war with the Scots; for example, artillery sold to the Turks was used as a stepping stone to open up the local market.In addition, there are only artillery sold to Sweden, Poland and Russia sporadically in the early days, and their proportion is actually very small.

But now the Turks are asking to buy a large amount of artillery and armor to improve the army equipment to better fight the Austrians, Poles, and Russians. The people on the east bank must not ignore their requests.The good thing is that they won't be able to threaten the people on the east coast when they buy the weapons, and there's no need to make them unhappy, so they can sell them anyway, and they can make some money anyway.

Hassan proposed that the Sudanese Guards and the new Egyptian local army need to purchase a total of 1.4 artillery pieces of various types, 2.5 collar armors, and a small amount of sabers, engineering shovels and other items, with a total value of [-] ducats (about [-] yuan).Such a small amount of money is completely worthless compared with the navy's huge shipbuilding costs, so the two parties did not entangle in the price, and basically reached an agreement very quickly.

Through these two naval and military cooperation agreements, the Ottoman Empire will become the largest exporter and trading partner of the East Coast Republic of China starting next year.After all, the total amount of these two agreements is too amazing. With some spare canvas, artillery, and ship materials, there is no suspense that the total amount of the military cooperation agreement reached with the Ottoman Empire will exceed 40 yuan.

With an arms purchase order of 40 yuan, plus bilateral trade, it will not be a problem for the East Coast Republic to export more than one million yuan to the Ottoman Empire next year.You know, this year the East Bank sold 33 bolts of cotton cloth in France, plus some arms and leather goods, the total amount was only 75 yuan. Even if there is some increase next year, it is estimated that it will be difficult to break through the million yuan mark.As a result, the title of China East Coast Republic's largest trading partner is bound to change hands.

After the agreement was reached, the two parties had dinner together.The next day, December 12, at the request of the Ottomans, officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs led them to visit the Great Fish River Naval Shipyard located on the seashore outside the south city of the East Coast Port.

Regardless of the word "Navy" in the name of Dayuhe Naval Shipyard, it is actually a joint venture: Dongan Company holds 60% of the shares, the Ministry of Industry and Commerce holds 30% of the shares, and the remaining 10% is held by employees. to enhance their creativity and motivation.Don't underestimate this method. Many European shipbuilders are attracted by employee shareholding and dividends. This can be regarded as an advanced management system in this era.

There are two berths in the Naval Shipyard. The berth was vacant after the "Kunlun" transport ship was delivered to the South China Sea Transportation Company last month. Now it is time to start building warships for the Ottomans.This shipyard has more than [-] technicians, craftsmen and apprentices, and its strength is still strong.Although it is not as good as the Zhenhai Shipyard, which is the heart of the Government Affairs Council, it is also a well-known large shipyard, far from what the Spaniards or Portuguese shipyards in the New World can match.

As there are currently no shipbuilding tasks, the shipyard's technicians are giving vocational training to craftsmen and apprentices.They invited Viviani, a double researcher from the Institute of Mathematics of the Academy of Natural Sciences and the Institute of Ship Design, to explain the mathematical principles of ship design and construction.After training the craftsmen and apprentices in mathematics, Viviani also explained some superficial knowledge of fluid mechanics to the technicians in the shipyard, so as to improve their theoretical knowledge and build ships better.

Vincenzo Viviani, a young man from Florence, has shown unparalleled mathematical talent since he came to the East Bank with Torricelli a few years ago.After learning mathematics for a while at the Academy of Natural Sciences with several math teachers from the Transit Middle School, Viviani started to learn mechanics with some physics teachers.Having achieved good results in these two disciplines, he also applied what he had learned. He not only provided design guidance for some bridges and buildings built in China, but also went to two shipyards to participate in the demonstration and design of new warships, and gained a lot of Valuable knowledge and experience.

Today, this Italian boy, who is not yet 18 years old, has become a double researcher at the Institute of Mathematics and the Institute of Ship Design, with a bright future.For this reason, the National Intelligence Agency has secretly raised him to a first-level protection and surveillance target to ensure that he is firmly in the hands of the East Coast Republic.

Seeing hundreds of people sitting in the auditorium studying and training together, Hassan was very moved.He thought of the poorly paid shipbuilders and slave laborers in the shipyards of the Ottoman Empire, and then looked at the vigorous shipyard industrial workers in front of him, and couldn't help but sighed deeply.

The uniquely designed pulley booms, hydraulic forging hammers, advanced woodworking equipment, neatly cut ship materials and marine tar used in the shipyard all made him feel refreshed.The more he watched, the more he sighed, and the more he felt the backwardness and deep twilight of the Ottoman Empire.

Of course, Hassan and others were not allowed to visit some important locations and the latest machines.For example, the steam cutting machine, steam crane and other newly developed machinery in the workshop next door are the objects of absolute secrecy in the East Coast Republic.No matter how much money the Ottomans paid and how many warships they ordered, they would never have the opportunity to be led inside for a tour.

The visit ended in a hurry at noon, and Hassan and others from Ottoman were greatly shocked, and at the same time, they had full confidence in the fact that the people on the east coast could build excellent warships for them.In the next few days, they will be arranged to rest in the Oriental Hotel, and then wait for the East Coast Fleet to return to Suez Port in the second half of the month.After all, they have to quickly report the achievements to the country in detail.

(End of this chapter)