Chapter 3490
Chapter 3490
Chapter 3490
In Li Yi's mind, of course only North Korea is Hai Han's most loyal ally and partner. There are no boundaries or limits to the cooperation between the two countries, and there should be no efforts to conceal the other party.
But this is just his personal idea. Judging from the current situation, Hai Han does not seem to intend to include North Korea in its current strategy toward Japan.
Li Yi could only secretly comfort himself that this must involve some extremely important grand layout, and the Executive Committee did not notify North Korea in advance in order to avoid leaks.
But in his heart, he still wanted to ask the Executive Committee immediately to understand the cause and effect of the matter and why North Korea was excluded.
But his reason kept reminding him that such inquiries might be regarded as an offense by the Executive Committee. After all, how could a vassal state openly question its sovereign?
Li Bai had no idea that his father's thoughts would be so complicated. Seeing that his father remained silent for a long time, he finally couldn't help but speak: "Father, the trip to Japan for inspection must take into account the schedules of politicians from various countries. It is inevitable that we must investigate and understand the willingness of all parties to participate. I think we will have to wait until the forum event begins before announcing the corresponding arrangements."
Li Yi came back to his senses from his deep thoughts and nodded slightly, saying, "That makes sense, it must be like this!"
Li Yi's feeling of uneasiness continued until the next day. When he met with King Zheng Zao of Annan, he asked him indirectly about his recent schedule. He found out that Zheng Zao seemed unaware of Hai Han's arrangement to organize a visit to Japan for the guests attending the meeting. He felt a little relieved.
Annan and Korea are the two vassal states with the closest relations with Hai Han. Since Annan was not notified in advance, this proves that Korea's status and treatment were not lower than Annan, and at least it was treated equally.
Zheng Za, who was unaware of the situation, obviously did not have as many worries as Li Li. He excitedly talked about Hai Han’s expansion in various directions in the South China Sea in recent years and the many benefits it brought to Annan.
Currently, the two major regions of Luzon and Xingdao in the South China Sea are constantly expanding their territories. The resulting demands for manpower, materials, funds, etc. are difficult to meet solely with support from Hai Han. Therefore, Hai Han’s attitude towards help from vassal states is that the more the better.
Taking this opportunity, Annan followed Hai Han's footsteps and gradually expanded its presence in Southeast Asia.
The Zheng Shipping Company, which is controlled by the royal family, has now opened trade routes from Annan to more than a dozen countries in Southeast Asia, and the economic benefits generated from this are also considerable.
Of course, what makes Zheng Zao even more proud is that Annan's international status is rising with the development of trade activities, and it is beginning to be regarded as an influential "big country" by countries in the region. This is exactly one of the goals that two generations of Zheng monarchs have been striving for in the past thirty years.
Li Yi remembered reading the news in the newspaper yesterday about the Hai Han Special Operations Division entering Ceylon Island, so he asked Zheng Zao if he knew the details of the matter. This topic made Zheng Zao even more excited.
"Speaking of this, although our country was unable to send troops to help due to the long distance, we were fortunate enough to participate. Last year, our country dispatched more than 100 cargo ships to the Strait of Malacca to assist in the transportation of supplies. The number of migrant workers sent there to build the port has added up to 3,000 to 4,000 people."
“General Qian Tiandun’s troops have now established a stronghold west of the Strait of Malacca. Our Kingdom of Annan will be able to participate in the management of the trade routes that have been monopolized by Westerners for the past hundred years!” Li Yi was surprised and envious. Annan’s geographical location did indeed make it easier for it to participate in Hai Han’s expansion southwards and westwards at sea.
There are many countries in Southeast Asia, so it is not difficult to find partners for cross-border trade. All we need to do is wait for Hai Han to open up trade routes, and Annan, who follows behind and contributes manpower and resources, will naturally benefit greatly.
In contrast, the surrounding environment in Northeast Asia where North Korea is located is not so ideal.
To the north of the Korean Peninsula is the territory of the old enemy, the Qing Dynasty. The deep feud between the two countries cannot be resolved at all. For a long time, each country has regarded the other as an enemy and has expressly prohibited any trade activities with the other.
Japan, to the southeast, is also a close enemy of North Korea. There have been many large-scale wars between the two countries in history, and North Korea was even nearly destroyed at one point.
Although some cross-border trade activities have been resumed through Busan Port and Tsushima Domain, the scale is still very limited, and the fiscal revenue that can be brought to North Korea is not too much.
Further south is the Ryukyu Kingdom, but Ryukyu is just a small island country. It is too small and the trade between the two countries is not very profitable.
Originally, trade with Ming was going well, but as Hai Han took full control of the mainland coastline, trade with Ming was forced to be completely cut off. Countries further south were very far from North Korea, so direct trade activities were even less frequent, and most of the goods were transferred through Hai Han and other countries.
After all, North Korea's main trading partner is actually the suzerain state, Hai Han. But since it is the suzerain state, North Korea can't get too much profit from it - it's good enough that you don't have to pay tribute every year, do you still expect to get more from the suzerain state?
In addition, there is a huge gap in trade between industrial countries and agricultural countries, and the commodity trade between North Korea and Hai Han has basically maintained a trade deficit all year round. They can only rely on exporting manpower to reduce the trade gap.
Although Li Yi also wanted to expand the scope of trade to further south, firstly, North Korea's shipbuilding industry was not well developed, and most of the large cargo ships that could truly adapt to ocean conditions had to be ordered from Hai Han; secondly, North Korea was an agricultural country with relatively limited resources, and it was difficult for it to open up overseas markets like Hai Han by relying on a large number of industrial products.
After Li Yi told North Korea about the dilemma it was facing, Zheng Zao quickly gave him an idea: "How difficult is this? Our country was also an agricultural country in the past. But as long as we open up the mining rights of various mineral deposits to Hai Han and allow them to mine in our country, they will naturally build roads and ports connecting the mines one by one."
"After the production starts, downstream industries such as smelters and metal processing plants will also take root in the local area. In order to ship more products out, a shipyard will even be built locally. The industries that can be driven by this will be much more profitable than farming."
Li Yi sighed, "Actually, similar operations also occurred in our country. When Hai Han built the Taedong River base, they handed over the iron and coal mines along the coast to them for mining and operation. However, due to the domestic political turmoil, these industries did not develop well."
What Li Li was reluctant to say was that most of North Korea's valuable mineral deposits were in the northern part of the peninsula, and now the areas including the mines and factories along the Taedong River were all managed by Li Hao in Pyongyang. Not much of the income could flow into the national treasury, so Li Li naturally could not enjoy the many benefits brought by industrial development.