Chapter 736: The earliest trade tariff war

The four-nation meeting has its own plans. Especially Qin State, Qin State is particularly affected by the country's commercial organizations, especially military industrial enterprises. They urgently need a large number of military orders to maintain the production activities and operations of the factory.

South Korea’s ideas are very similar to Qin’s. That is to get a large number of orders for logistics supplies from Yan Guo. in this regard. Zhang Liang is calmer. He believes that at the moment the relationship between Qin and Zhao is close, Shangwen hates Guo Kai, but Guo Kai seems to be very close to Shangwen, because he was able to come to power, thanks to the help of the Qin consortium, so he is dealing with Qin. The attitude of the Chinese side is relatively clear, that is, excessive closeness. Therefore, at the conference table, Shang Wen sat down with the new prime minister of Zhao Guo. What is even more rare is that the prime minister is still discussing something with Shang Wen. Although Shangwen was reluctant to talk, it was a matter of state after all.

"I think we should send troops as soon as possible. Only in this way can we further win over, control, and comfort Yan Guo. If we don't send troops, then the money we have will be wiped out." Guo Kai said cleverly. .

"However, we currently only have a small number of combat units close to the State of Yan, and, as for the State of Qin, as you know, in this case, it is not easy to send troops with great fanfare. There is an agreement between you and the State of Yan. These are the two countries. It has been there for a long time," Shang Wen said.

"But at the moment, comforting Yan Guo is the most important thing at the moment." Guo Kai calculated like a businessman. Guo Kai’s idea is to make the first sum of money Zhao Guo should make from Yan Guo. If Zhao Guo wants to do what he said and continue to make some achievements, then he needs a lot of money. Money, but according to Zhao Guo's current situation, it is impossible to have so much money. Therefore, he first thought of his neighboring country, the country of Yan, the country of Qin is not very profitable, especially since the country of Qin has always been in an advanced state, it is not easy for the country of Zhao.

"I understand this, but you have to understand the fact that it is currently difficult for Qin State to use large-scale ground forces. Moreover, you have also seen the white paper of our military." Shang Wen waved his hand and said.

The White Paper, Qin State, is also the only country that can disclose its defense plan. The white paper is a kind of public written statement. Because it uses a white cover, it is called a white paper. Qin’s defense plan this year is to reduce military expenditures, and it is impossible for a large-scale battle to erupt. This means that Qin cannot use large-scale operations. Ground power.

"This year is the year for Qin to cut military spending. It is impossible for Qin to send troops with such a small amount of military spending this year. Even if there is military spending, we can pass a special bill, but the domestic opposition will be high, which will affect it. As for my future elections. You should understand this." Shangwen himself does not know whether he will participate in the future election of the prime minister, but this is a very good reason. Because no one will joke about their future. For example, the one sitting in front of Shang Wen.

"Well, I understand that." Guo Kai nodded. Shang Wen also nodded slightly, expressing his satisfaction that the other party can understand.

However, neither side currently has a good way to solve the current dilemma. South Korea hopes to join in, but seeing that the relationship between Qin and Zhao is not ordinary, Zhang Liang believes that his views need to be discussed privately, especially to obtain some war money from the Yan Kingdom War.

Representatives of Yan State are very anxious, but their bottom line is to protect the two major economic zones of Yan State. One is West Liaoning, East Liaoning, and the other is the area north of Yanshan Mountain. These two areas are the most important areas in Yan State. These two regions are currently the most developed areas in Yan State, one is coal mines and iron smelting bases, and the other is Yan State's gold and important trade area. These two regions are currently the two largest economic belts in Yan State.

These two economic belts are also capitals that Yan Guo can sit down and talk about. Yan State has abundant coal mines in western Liaoning and eastern Liaoning. These coals are open-pit coal, which is easy to mine and can be transported by rail to the northern states, cities and towns of Qin State. The coal mines of Zhao State are also targeted at Qin State. In the north, the two coal mines are competing fiercely. Zhao Guo wants to take this opportunity to squeeze out the market share of Yan State and achieve the goal of dominating the market. However, Qin will not let this happen, because there is absolutely no benefit after monopoly. What Qin needs cheap raw materials, not high-priced coal mines.

The four-nation meeting started under this kind of calculation from the beginning. All parties have their own goals, and they are very clear. It is very difficult to unify the interests of all parties. Shangwen is carefully following the suggestions of all parties while conducting private conversations. People always I hope to talk about these issues during the meal. And it's best if there is a lot of free change, for example, a buffet is good.

Just when the four northern countries were discussing how to help Yan State repel the Qi army. The State of Chu in the south was not idle either. Qin's special envoy finally sent Qin's letters to Shouyang of Chu, which was very difficult. The special envoy of Qin State changed from a train to a car. The car was difficult to walk on the dirt roads of Chu State. He was quickly changed to a horse-drawn carriage. The horse-drawn carriage was very bumpy. Although Qin State's horse-drawn carriage paid great attention to the shock absorber effect, it was still unable to resist The dirt road of Chu is difficult to follow. Especially where it rains. This turned the special envoy of the State of Qin into a clay figure.

Later, it was the local two-wheeled carriage of Chu, and the ox cart solved the problem. The two-wheeled vehicle sent the special envoy of Qin to Chu with its extremely high adaptability. The letter was sent to the entire aristocratic real power class of Chu State. This class held a large number of private soldiers, various local powers, and at the same time controlled the most profitable business activities in Chu State.

Although the kingship has not been emptied, the overall cohesion is not strong. This is also one of the important reasons why Chu was destroyed by Qin. Although Chu is large, it is useless if its cohesion is not strong. Although Qin was not as big as Chu in the beginning, its population was not as big as Chu, and the number of soldiers was similar, but the cohesion of Qin was very strong. This is also one of the important reasons why Qin can be strong. Qin State has a strong cohesive force, especially the current development momentum of Qin State is strong.

The content of the letter is to hope that the State of Chu can rectify the problem of water piracy in the Yangtze River. At the same time, I also hope that Chu State can strengthen the port construction. It needs to be pointed out that because of the road conditions, Qin State’s proposal for the concession has not been passed on, and only the port construction issue has been communicated. This question is extremely superficial. And the content obviously has the characteristics of leaning towards Qin.

"Qin State is trying to grab our business." said a Chu nobleman.

"Qin State has strengthened its port facilities. Our ship was able to dock before, but theirs could not. If their ship can dock, in comparison, only two ships of Chu will be able to reach one of Qin's ships. Obviously our Chu State is at a disadvantage, and such a request absolutely cannot be agreed." The Chu aristocrat who spoke analyzed said.

"This is indeed the case. Qin's merchant fleet can't dock for the time being, but our wooden ships can. However, a comparison between the merchant ships of the two countries can show the results."

"Qin's commercial ships have twice the carrying capacity of ours, and at the same time, they are faster than us. In this way, the goods we transported from Qin have not yet been sold, and Qin's goods have been unfolded. What is our advantage? Docking, loading and unloading speed is fast, but compared with the speed of Qin State Merchant Ship, we absolutely cannot. Now that the terminal facilities are repaired, we are not easy to make money. People of Qin State are going to cut our financial way." An emotional nobleman Said loudly.

"Yes, the taxes and fees paid by the ships of Qin State going to and from the Yangtze River in Chu State should also be increased. Only in this way can our local business be better done." A short Chu State nobleman proposed loudly.

"Yes, that's it, raise the tariff." The other nobles agreed. This proposal has won the approval of many nobles, and this is probably the first idea to put forward a tariff trade war. And Qin Guo himself did not understand why such a situation was caused.

The nobles of the Chu Kingdom absolutely did not want their own interests to be harmed, and Qin's first letter did not take this into consideration, and later letters realized this and sent them in a timely manner. Shangwen also understands that if all countries have learned trade tariff wars, then trade wars can be endless. This was something Shang Wen didn't want to see at first, and at the same time he tried his best to avoid it. What he didn't expect was that the situation that Shang Wen carefully avoided would still happen.

The ideas of the upper class of the Chu aristocrats were too advanced. This was far beyond Shang Wen's expectation. In fact, this was just the thinking of the upper-class aristocrats in Chu State. As for the specifics, they still need to weigh. For example, Qin's attitude and what measures Qin Congress will take after they provoke Qin, it is not time for the two sides to tear their skins apart. And the current situation is also very good. The nobles can still make money, and the people of Qin have not negotiated with the people of Chu because they can't make money.

But this is just the idea of ​​the nobles of Chu, and the Chu people underneath don't think much, especially those merchants who don't have any support. They don't care about it, because the business of making money is monopolized by these nobles. The slave trade that has not yet been monopolized is the slave trade, and they tasted the sweetness from the slave trade and began to expand their business quickly. The people of Qin did not understand that these people of Chu brought so many slaves from there, and the price was also There are many discounts.

However, the merchants of Chu State thought of another way to make money quickly, that is, on the return journey, transporting various industrial products of Qin State. These industrial products can also make a lot of money by buying a land along the Yangtze River. . The golden line of Yangtze River trade is slowly kicking off.