My Pen Pal Zhu Yuanzhang

Chapter 261 A Bigger Goal

"I've gone to so much trouble to explain to you the characteristics of Brahmanism. Of course, it's not just for Champa, but to prepare for a bigger goal."

Huh? A bigger goal. Zhu Yuanzhang was shocked. Li Han's idea about Champa had already made him very interested. Now that he heard this, he became even more excited.

"Do you know where Brahmanism came from?"

Old Li, you are asking this question even though you already know the answer. You just said it yourself, it is Indian Brahmanism, so it must be India.

Suddenly, Zhu Yuanzhang was stunned. He understood Li Han’s meaning in an instant, but he found it hard to believe for a moment. Was Old Li’s appetite even bigger than his?
He is actually setting his sights on India now?

Suddenly, he thought of his previous correspondence with Li Han, which talked about Siberia, Australia, and even the distant Europe and America.

Combined with the world nautical map that Lao Li sent to him, he was not introducing the world to him, he was setting goals for the Ming Dynasty!

This ambition is really too big!
But, I, Old Zhu, like it very much!
Fortunately, Old Li was not the emperor, otherwise, with his temper, he would have been a real warmongerer. I'm afraid that all the places where the sun and the moon shine would have been the territory of the Ming Dynasty.

"You should have guessed it without me telling you, Old Zhu. That is India. Today's India is more of a geographical concept than a country. Although there have been empires with impressive names such as the Maurya Dynasty and the Kushan Empire in history, they have never achieved true unification like China.

Today's India is a combination of many kingdoms, princely states and tribes. It is a state of division and separatism, with political turmoil and constant wars. Facing such a situation, don't you want to do something, Lao Zhu?"

Zhu Yuanzhang chuckled and said, "Look at what you said. I, Zhu, also want to turn the Indian Ocean into the Ming Ocean!"
“Although there are many religions coexisting in India, such as Buddhism, Islam, and many unheard-of strange religions and even more strange primitive beliefs, Brahmanism is still the main belief.

Therefore, the control of Champa can be seen as a rehearsal before taking action against India, accumulating some valuable experience. "

That’s right, that’s the truth!
"As the saying goes, knowing yourself and your enemy is the key to success in every battle. Now that we have understood the general situation of Champa, let's take a look at how important trade is to Champa."

It must be important. Look, they have even sent envoys to Yingtian Prefecture, Zhu Yuanzhang muttered.

"From a geographical point of view, Champa is located below Annan, with the sea to the east and Zhenla to the west. According to the Ming Dynasty's standards, both Annan and Zhenla are so poor that it would make people cry. Forget about doing business, as there is not much to trade.

Therefore, if Champa wanted to obtain more things, the only country it could trade with was the vast Ming Dynasty. "

Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help but slap his head. It's all about geography!

Why do I always forget to think about things from a geopolitical perspective?

“Before that, the only trade route between Champa and Ming passed through Annan, and Annan and Champa had been fighting for nearly a hundred years, which meant that the land route was completely unblocked, and the pitiful volume of maritime trade was completely negligible.

Now that the Ming Dynasty has taken control of Annan, Champa will surely seize the opportunity to reopen the land trade route. I think Champa should have sent envoys to Yingtian Prefecture by now, right?"

Haha, this Old Li really has calculated everything. Zhu Yuanzhang was a little surprised. If he was not familiar with the situations of various countries and was not well versed in geography, who could have calculated it?

But if I can’t figure it out, I’m not Lao Li.

“Champa is a remote and poor place, but for the Ming Dynasty, it is a treasure land. In addition to having an excellent seaport, more importantly, it is extremely suitable for growing sugarcane!” Sugarcane means white sugar. With Li Han’s explanation, Zhu Yuanzhang gradually built a plan to trade with Champa in his mind.

Taking advantage of Champa's suitability for growing sugarcane, they purchased sugarcane from Champa at a low price, transported it back to Ming Dynasty, made it into white sugar, and then sold it to Champa. When the time was right, they could also set up a sugar factory directly in Champa to reduce transportation costs.

This is what Lao Li calls the trade scissors gap. The British are best at using this to reap the wealth of various countries.

When I first read Lao Li's book, I was quite indignant about the way the English used this method to reap the whole world, and I thought that the English were greedy.

I didn't expect that I would take the initiative to think about this and use it to design foreign countries. Why am I secretly happy about it?

"Champa has sugarcane, and Ming has the technical advantage of making white sugar, so the sugarcane and white sugar trade is a good entry point.

Old Zhu, have you thought of the Englishman's theory? Let's upgrade this theory."

Upgrade, what does it mean?
Zhu Yuanzhang was stunned. Could it be that Old Li had a more vicious... No, no, it should be a strategy that is more beneficial to the Ming Dynasty?

"Compared to the British colonizing the world, conquering by force first and then controlling by trade, the Ming Dynasty now has an inherent advantage, that is, these foreign countries, such as Champa, are begging to come to trade. So first of all, the Ming Dynasty saves the cost of using force and can easily open the door to trade with other countries.

Taking this as an opportunity, the Ming Dynasty could unite with the nobles of Champa to establish sugarcane plantations in Champa. For example, the Ming Dynasty could provide funds and technology, while the high-caste nobles of Champa could provide manpower and labor to create a joint plantation and sugar factory.

The Ming Dynasty held about 60% of the shares, and Champa held about 40% of the shares, in which they shared the dividends. The human resources were managed by the Champa nobles.

I know what you are thinking, Lao Zhu. The manpower is controlled by the nobles. Will they play tricks on us? Don't worry, the Ming Dynasty can completely control these nobles with just two moves!"

Zhu Yuanzhang smiled awkwardly. I really can’t hide what I’m thinking from Old Li!
However, what are the two tricks that Lao Li mentioned? I, Lao Zhu, can guess. One of them must be that the Ming Dynasty has mastered the secret of sugar-making technology and used it to balance the nobles, right?
"The first of these two moves is called trade channels. The sugar produced in Champa must be sold by the Ming Dynasty. This way, the decision on how much to ship and how much to sell for is completely controlled by the Ming Dynasty!

Moreover, only the Ming Dynasty has the qualifications and strength to control the trade channels. After all, part of the sugar is consumed internally by the Ming Dynasty, and the other part depends on the Ming Dynasty's maritime transportation power to be transported to various countries."

Wow, the trade channel trick is really a good one. Why didn’t I think of it? It seems that Old Zhu is not really a businessman.

So what is the second trick?

Zhu Yuanzhang became even more curious.

"As for the second trick, you are actually very clear about it, Old Zhu. It is the performance appraisal system!"

Cruel, you are cruel enough!
Zhu Yuanzhang wrote a big "admiration" to Li Han in his heart. The performance appraisal system was now torturing those small nobles in the Ming Dynasty.

If this method is used on the nobles of Champa...

Wow, Zhu Yuanzhang has already imagined that scene, how exciting it must be!
(End of this chapter)