Chapter 189 Wei Yuan Meets with Envoys From Overseas Countries

Sometimes seniority is more important than merit.

If Wei Yuan succeeds in starting a business, Xu Changzhi will definitely be ranked first, followed by Guo Hao, Chen Daniu, etc.

For example, Yang Huairen, who changed his career halfway, even if he holds a high position, will be ranked behind Chen Daniu and others in terms of rank or meritorious service.

Soon, Lin Zhaoyuan left the barracks and led a hundred soldiers of the Manjia Camp to the capital.

During his absence, Wei Yuan received envoys from various countries.

It is worth mentioning that the Japanese envoy Ping Zhongsheng has not left the Great Zhou, but went to Yangzhou, where he stayed for a while.

Envoys from overseas countries all go to Suzhou and Hangzhou, or at least to the major capitals in the southeast.

Only Ping Zhongsheng went to Yangzhou, which confused Wei Yuan.

In the largest restaurant in Fuzhou, Manxianglou.

Wei Yuan warmly entertained envoys from overseas countries, accompanied by Cai Xiang, the transport envoy of Fujian Road.

The entire restaurant was booked by the latter.

The meeting with the envoys of various countries was probably to finalize the shipping, so Cai Xiang and even the officials of Fujian Road seemed to attach great importance to it.

They brought the famous wines and chefs from all over Fujian Road to the Manxiang Tower, and the hospitality was of the highest standard. Although it was far inferior to the state banquet, it was also very rare.

Originally, Wei Yuan planned to meet with the envoys of various countries after Fan Chunren arrived in Fuzhou.

As a result, Fan Chunren wrote a letter saying that it was feasible to let Fuzhou take the lead in opening the shipping.

He agreed with this very much.

The reform of the salt tax in Hangzhou has reached the last moment, and he needs to help Haizhou, otherwise there are many forces in Hangzhou, and Haizhou alone may not be able to cope with it.

Fan Chunren has a very good relationship with Haizhou. The two of them were Jinshi in the same year. Based on their friendship, they also have to help Haizhou finalize some things.

As for the shipping, Fan Chunren is not a fool. He knows in his heart that Wei Yuan cannot be avoided.

Moreover, it is not appropriate to abandon Fuzhou's unique advantages because of some conflicts of interest.

So, let's just use Fuzhou as a pilot.

In public and private, Fan Chunren believes that what he did is not wrong.

With Fan Chunren's letter, Wei Yuan received the envoy himself. As for Cai Xiang, he was just a person who came to make a scene and had nothing to do with the situation.

But Cai Xiang and the officials from Fujian Road who came didn't think so. At this moment, they were all very excited, thinking that this overwhelming wealth was finally received!

In the box of Manxianglou.

Wei Yuan, who was sitting at the first seat, looked at the envoys from various countries and asked with a smile:

"Which places have you visited in the southeast of my Great Zhou these days? What did you see? What did you feel?"

The envoys from various countries responded one after another:

"Respected General Wei, I am from Zhenla. I went to Hangzhou and saw your country's paradise. It is very beautiful, and the people living there wear beautiful clothes."

"I am from Persia. I also went to Hangzhou. The tea soup there. It should be tea acrobatics. It is very beautiful, very mellow, and very delicious."

"I went to Suzhou, visited Taihu Lake, and fished there. The people of Suzhou are very enthusiastic."

"."

With the translators sent by the court, there is no big problem in communicating with envoys from various countries.

After all, the Great Zhou is the Celestial Empire, and many overseas countries come to pay tribute every year.

Therefore, Zhao Zhen asked some people to learn the languages ​​of various countries in case of emergency.

Wei Yuan smiled and said, "In fact, places like Jiangning Prefecture, Fenghua Prefecture, and Shouzhou are all very good. There is a saying among the people of Dazhou that every ten miles, the dialect is different, and every thousand miles, the customs are different."

"You are welcome to go there more often when you are free. After you go back, tell your people about the beauty of the prefectures of Dazhou and welcome them to come to Dazhou from thousands of miles away."

The opening of sea transportation means that the people of overseas countries can come to Dazhou to play at any time. They just need to report to the local government.

After all, merchants from overseas countries can also come to Dazhou to do business.

Bring their most advanced things to Dazhou.

At that time, Dazhou was considered to be tolerant and broad-minded.

The court was eager to eliminate the threat of Japanese pirates because it wanted to ensure the safe arrival of merchant ships from overseas countries in Dazhou.

Otherwise, who would dare to go out to sea after being harassed and robbed by Japanese pirates for a long time? Who would dare to come to Dazhou for foreign merchant ships?

"General Wei is right. I plan to return to Johor this autumn, and in March next year, I will bring my family here to have a good look around Da Zhou."

"I heard that General Wei will stay in Fuzhou, so I stayed in Fuzhou for a few days. The people here are very nice and the scenery is beautiful."

"Although Fuzhou is not as wealthy as Hangzhou, it has its unique advantages."

"."

Several people spoke one after another.

Since Wei Yuan led his troops to the southeast, he stayed in Fuzhou the longest.

Even if they didn't have to guess, they knew that this place must be extraordinary and must be related to sea transportation, so they all came here in advance.

Only the Japanese envoy Ping Zhongsheng was slow. He stayed in Yangzhou for a long time and just arrived today.

Wei Yuan was also very curious about this.

"I heard that the Japanese envoys did not go to Suzhou and Hangzhou, which are known as paradises in our Great Zhou, but stayed in Yangzhou for a long time. I wonder why?"

Through the translation of the accompanying official of the Honglu Temple.

Ping Zhongsheng quickly responded: "I heard that General Wei is from Yangzhou, so I want to see what kind of beautiful place can produce a hero like you."

Wei Yuan narrowed his eyes, "Who did you hear about my hometown?"

The hometown of Wei Yuan and his brothers and sisters is in a county town on the border of Yangzhou, called Guangling County.

This place is quite famous. In the past, Wu and Chu fought in Guangling.

Ping Zhongsheng said: "I heard many nobles in the capital talk about it."

Although Guangling County, Yangzhou is Wei Yuan's hometown, Wei Yuan does not have a strong sense of belonging there.

Even, he regarded Daizhou as his hometown and did not consider Guangling, Yangzhou.

A few dozen miles south of Guangling is Youyang, which is Sheng Hong's hometown.

"So, you deliberately went to my hometown to inquire about me? I wonder what you found out?"

Wei Yuan's face was gloomy.

Facing the Japanese who kept showing goodwill to him, he just couldn't get a bit of good feelings.

In his previous life, he hated the people of that place.

If he heard that a Japanese married a Chinese woman, he would shake his head and sigh.

Why did a dignified Chinese son and daughter marry a wild monkey?

Ping Zhongsheng may have felt that Wei Yuan's face was not right, so he quickly stood up and bent over and said:

"Please forgive me, Lord Zhongyong, I didn't ask you anything, but went to Guangling where you lived in your childhood."

"There are many people with the same surname as you there. We bought a lot of gifts and gave them to them. They are all very happy."

The Japanese have always been like this, and they pay great attention to some small details.

But they are the people who pay the least attention to big things.

When they are good to you, they are hypocritically good, and when they are bad to you, they wish they could tear you into pieces.

Ping Zhongsheng believed that Wei Yuan disliked him because of the warriors he brought.

In order to ensure that the weapons were safe, he wanted to use this method to please Wei Yuan.

However, Wei Yuan was not fooled by this.

"You have spent a lot of money. Later, I will send someone to return the gifts you bought to you in cash."

After that, he did not allow Ping Zhongsheng to say anything, and talked about other things.

"Before coming here, I heard that you all intended to take this opportunity to trade with Liao and Xia."

"I cannot make the decision on this matter. I need to report to His Majesty of our dynasty."

"But, what the two countries have, our Great Zhou has, and what the two countries do not have, our Great Zhou also has."

"I will not investigate what you are thinking about in wanting to trade with Liao and Xia. In fact, the two countries are very far away from the southeastern coastal area of ​​our Great Zhou."

"If we trade with you through our Great Zhou's sea transportation, I am afraid that the merchant caravans of the two countries will find it difficult to arrive here safely."

Maritime transportation, if done well, is a good thing for the country and the people.

If it is not done well, it will rise to the political level.

As the Southeast Recruiting and Appeasing Envoy, Wei Yuan could not have ruined his political future for a little bit of possible merit.

In theory, the Great Zhou was temporarily in a state of truce and peace with the two countries, and trade between the three countries was becoming more frequent.

With Wei Yuan's status, he could allow some merchant caravans from the two countries to go out to sea.

This would also allow the court to gain some profits.

But there was no need to provoke these disputes, because his main battlefield in the future would be in the court and on the borders of the three countries.

If he had too close a relationship with some merchants from the two countries at this time, it was inevitable that someone would bring up old accounts in the future.

In the political field, those who can go a long way are always those who cherish their feathers before they have achieved success.

Otherwise, if they encounter a political storm, their life's hard work will be wasted at any time.

For example, the case of the two kings.

If the two kings had behaved in a way that reassured Zhao Zhen from the beginning, and if the forces involved in the case of the two kings did not participate in the struggle for the throne, there would not have been such a big prison.

After hearing Wei Yuan's voice, the envoys of various countries nodded in agreement,

"If we can have economic exchanges with Liao and Xia, it would be even more appropriate. Even if we don't, it will not hinder the trade with your country."

"This matter is entirely up to you, General Wei."

"."

Wei Yuan is the host and the pillar of the southeast.

If we want to promote trade cooperation among countries as soon as possible, everyone has to act according to his face.

Wei Yuan glanced at Cai Xiang, who was sitting in the first seat on the right in front of him.

The latter immediately understood and whispered to someone behind him: "Give the order and serve the wine and food."

Later, as the wine and food were served,

Wei Yuan raised his cup and smiled to the envoys of various countries:

"After drinking this cup of wine, we can discuss the issue of sea transportation."

"I have taken a rough look at the business contracts that various countries want to sign with our Great Zhou, and there are no major problems."

"As for the sea transportation tribute regulations with other countries, you proposed that you should personally select our Great Zhou merchant caravans and state government offices for cooperation, which I think is inappropriate."

"The cooperation between merchants is a free tribute, and I don't ask."

"But when it comes to business between countries, which people, which merchant caravans, where the goods go out to sea, and where they go out to sea, it is up to our Great Zhou to decide."