Chapter 380 Influence
Probably starting from the Han Dynasty, or even earlier, Arab merchants had already taken root and done business in Guangzhou.

Why are Arab businessmen able to travel thousands of miles to do business in China?
The reason may not be difficult to guess. It is simply that the land in the Arab region is too barren.

There are deserts and Gobi everywhere. How could it be possible to feed such a large population in ancient times?

Because they were near the sea, they could not help but develop navigation technology. Their business scope eventually reached not only Western Europe, but also the Far East.

In the past, maritime trade was indeed synonymous with Arabs.

However, now, people from Fuzhou and Quanzhou, whose land is not much richer than that of the Arabs, are going to sea one after another.

This Maritime Silk Road is no longer exclusive to Arabs.

even……

In recent years, some merchants from Fuzhou and Quanzhou in the Song Dynasty have traveled to places as far away as Rome and Africa.

So you can imagine what it would be like when we heard that the sea route between the Mediterranean and the Red Sea was opened.

What a business route this will be that is full of business opportunities.

Immediately!

Countless ships set sail.

The Da Song Ocean Shipping Insurance Company, headquartered in Quanzhou, is also considering whether to add new insurance business in the future.

After all, you have to know that it is very easy to encounter shipwrecks when sailing and doing business. Sometimes, a careless mistake, such as running aground, may cause the ship owner to go bankrupt.

In order to better alleviate the pressure on all seagoing merchants, Zhao Xin launched the ocean-going ship insurance business at the right time.

Through the help of a large number of actuaries, the number of ships that have suffered shipwrecks, their geographical distribution, and the amount of property lost have been counted over the years.

To date, a relatively complete insurance system has been formed.

of course!

For example, this is the first time to go to the Mediterranean Sea.

How to insure this and how big the market is? Ultimately, they have no idea yet.

But those ship owners all hope to add corresponding insurance items.

Then they can only tell them first and wait and see.

But one thing is certain.

There is definitely no shortage of buyers, including in Constantinople and Africa.

But then again.

The amount of raw silk and silk that can be produced by planting mulberry trees and raising silkworms in the southeastern area of ​​the Song Dynasty alone is very limited.

Unless more land can be acquired, it will still be impossible to increase the output.

Currently, the only land that can be used for growing mulberry trees and raising silkworms is probably some land in Ryukyu.

But that’s not enough.

There may be a little bit in Guangzhou.

However, it is estimated not to be too much.

So in the end!

If you want to make money, it will not be possible without a source of raw materials.

finally……

Everyone’s attention then turned to Australia and America.

Australia’s climate is actually not very good, and it is too remote. In the end, it seems that only America is left.

of course!

There is so much land in Europe.

There are also many businessmen who plan to directly transplant their own mulberry planting and silkworm breeding technologies.

But this requires communication with the local king.

In fact, growing mulberry trees and raising silkworms also require a lot of skills.

Especially when even the seasons and climate are different.

If they are not properly cared for, both the mulberry trees and the young silkworms will get sick.

By the time……

It is hard to say whether this will result in losses.

But one thing is for sure!
With the opening of sea routes from the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea.

Whoever can come out on top first will definitely make a fortune.

And it’s not just silk.

There is also tea and many other products.

For example, Solange is a major sugar-producing country, and Westerners like to eat sugar.

Since the opening of the sea routes between the Mediterranean and the Red Sea, large amounts of sugar have been immediately shipped to Europe.

and……

Even things like coffee, cocoa, etc. were also shipped over.

This immediately made a lot of money.

Even when it comes to selling cotton cloth, the Song Dynasty may not be able to compete with Solange.

Of course!
Even if they are both cotton cloth, cotton cloth from different places has different characteristics.

If you want to make more money, you still have to constantly improve your competitiveness and improve the quality of your products.

For example, as for the embroidery in the southeast of the Song Dynasty, even if Solange wanted to do the same, she would probably not be able to catch up even if she tried her best.

But there is no doubt!
If your goods are indeed good and can really be shipped to Solange or even to Constantinople, there will definitely be people willing to buy from you at a high price.

And actually…

First of all, Solange was not the first one to reap the huge dividends.

But it is the Arab area west of Solange.

nowadays……

Spices from the Arab region can be shipped directly to all parts of Europe.

It’s just that spices were once regarded as medicines and precious items by the European Pope. Now that the Pope’s authority is almost gone, it is unknown whether these spices can still be sold today.

Of course!
Although the Pope is no longer with us, there will definitely be a newer class to replace him.

As long as these people still want to buy spices, there won’t be any problem.

In fact…

The people of the Song Dynasty also loved spices very much.

Currently the whole of Europe, including the Arabian Peninsula and Africa.

The population size of the Song people, including those of mixed blood, was probably about two to three million.

And if they are purebred Song people, then we can only say that there are even fewer of them.

But there is no other way!

after all……

What these soldiers finally captured were definitely other people’s women, although some of their own women also came all the way to Europe.

But the number of these is still too small.

However, if the grasslands and nomadic peoples are included, the scale of the Song people may be even higher.

The news that the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea had been opened was known not only to the Song Dynasty, but also to Goryeo and Japan.

Although Japan has developed quite fast in recent years, it is still far behind other countries.

of course!

Since the Kanto Plain has not yet been fully developed, there is naturally no need for Japan to expand outward.

Unlike Goryeo, which had no room for development as early as the Tang Dynasty, its customs were mainly to save money.

In recent years, with the development of Xiaosong Island, Goryeo has gained some additional resources overseas.

But it was just some supplementary food and silk.

For things like chickens, ducks, and sheep, it is hard to say whether they will get any better development.

However, Goryeo does not necessarily have to raise its own.

after all……

There is now a railway connecting the Liaodong region and Goryeo.

Goryeo could also obtain some supplies on the grassland directly through foreign trade.

In fact…

In today’s Song Dynasty, apart from the relatively developed maritime trade in the southeast.

In areas like Tianjin, Dengzhou, Laizhou, etc., the trade volume is not small at all.

But it’s true!
Apart from ginseng and other things, there is really nothing valuable in Korea.

Therefore, in recent years, Goryeo has also planned to export population and labor.

If this were put to orthodox Confucianism, it would probably be considered immoral.

however……

Regarding exporting labor, it was Zhao Xin who talked about it himself.

This is an idea that our ancestors came up with.

Of course! Maybe Zhao Xin was actually afraid of being scolded, so when he was alive, he didn’t explicitly tell anyone that you can do this.

Just saying…

If all else fails, use this trick!

Now that the routes to the Mediterranean and the Red Sea have been opened, this is actually a great benefit to Goryeo to some extent.

Just to be honest, even if the route is opened.

From Goryeo all the way to northern Rome, and then from northern Rome back to Goryeo, the round trip would take at least two or three years at the fastest.

This is assuming there are no accidents on the way. If something unexpected happens, the journey will be even more difficult.

to this end……

This forced Goryeo to consider relocating the entire country.

Even if you measure the area of ​​Xiaosong Island, it is much larger than Goryeo.

only……

After all, Xiaosong Island is an overseas territory, and its level of development is far less than that of Goryeo mainland.

Besides, Xiaosong Island has been hit by constant natural disasters, such as volcanic eruptions, typhoons, and floods. These have, to a certain extent, prevented them from moving the capital.

The land of Goryeo today is probably the kind that is tasteless to eat but a pity to throw away.

We can only make do with what we have.

Nowadays, it only exists as a place for producing grain and silk.

The Goryeo side didn’t even dare to manage this land too well.

After all, you have to run it really well.

What if future generations, or the city lord here, rebel independently and do not obey the orders of the court? What should we do then?
therefore……

Even after so many years, there has not been much progress in the infrastructure on Xiaosong Island.

Just maintain a situation that is neither too bad nor too good.

Anyway…

With so many Silla maids around, every day is enough to make you live a life of drunkenness and dreams.

As for Europe…

Maybe he didn’t want the people behind to come, or maybe the land was almost divided.

Anyway…

The people in Europe didn’t say how well they were doing and then try to pull people over.

But it’s true!

When Europe started to be short of manpower, they actually asked Korea for help.

On the local side, with the attitude of alleviating the pressure on the country, many people were sent there.

nowadays……

It is estimated that there are about 200,000 to 300,000 Koreans in the northern part of Italy.

Even recently…

Goryeo in Europe may still be eyeing Venice.

First of all, the Merchants of Venice are indeed too cunning and can easily make people unhappy.

Secondly, if they could eliminate all the Venetian merchants and occupy the original seaport themselves, then they would have an outlet to the sea and the possibility of making money.

Anyway…

There is definitely no need for Venice to exist anymore.

Now, the three Korean brothers in Europe just lack an excuse to start a war.

even……

They all want to swallow up the whole of Italy.

It would be even better if we could swallow the entire city of Rome!

This year.

Japan began to send envoys to Europe.

Goryeo also takes a look at how the three European brothers are doing.

The main thing is that it is convenient now, you can go directly to the bottom in a boat.

If it were like before, where we still had to travel by land and change boats, I guess no one would be willing to come.

Although Australia is a late-developing country, it has also received the news.

However, Australia will naturally not be too interested in this, mainly because they can’t even finish eating kangaroo meat now, and they are even too lazy to eat it. You can imagine how good their living conditions are now.

While going to Europe for inspection, envoys from Japan and Goryeo also inspected Srivijaya, Jiaozhi and Australia respectively.

It is estimated that this inspection will take at least five or six years to complete.

When we arrived in Jiaozhi, there was nothing much to say about it.

Because Jiaozhi hardly participated in maritime trade. Even if it did, it would usually be that you came to me, I would designate an area for you, and then you could sell things freely and I would collect taxes.

This is mainly because Jiaozhi has to control a large territory of the Pagan Dynasty and its numerous subjects, and also has to fight against the many small tribes and forces that still exist in the Southeast Asian peninsula, so it has no time to take care of things at sea.

Therefore, after arriving in Jiaozhi, Japan and Goryeo could only say that they had a low opinion of Jiaozhi.

It’s very prosperous though.

But after all, I feel a little behind.

And when Japan and Goryeo arrived in Srivijaya…

Be reasonable!
This really shocked them a bit.

Although many predecessors have written about the prosperity of Srivijaya’s trade in books, when it really happened, I still felt that this prosperity was a bit too much.

The essential……

There are many, many buildings here that you may not have even seen, and this is because rubber was produced here, developed here, and was first promoted and used here.

Some streets in Srivijaya’s urban area have even been electrified.

Inside the palace, it is even possible to stay lit all night long.

This is too exaggerated!

To know……

Even in the Song Dynasty, there might not be such ability.

In addition…

Srivijaya also has tractors, real tractors, the kind that can pull thousands of kilograms of cargo.

And there are cars!
This is even more incredible!

of course!

Now it is all hand-kneaded and cannot be mass-produced. Moreover, with the current rubber output, it cannot be mass-produced, so it can be said to be extremely precious.

It will probably take another ten to eight years of research.

Maybe, in places like the Song Dynasty, Goryeo, and Japan, there are also such places.

Just saying one thing.

Having a car is not enough without diesel or gasoline.

With the current level of technology, we can only say that even if you are given thousands or tens of thousands of cars, to be honest, it is not easy to replenish your diesel and gasoline.

All I can say is that it would be quite difficult to replenish it.

Unlike Srivijaya, it is available locally.

The uniqueness of Srivijaya really shocked the envoys from Japan and Goryeo.

As for Australia…

That would be even more of a envy and jealousy.

What’s the matter with these vast wheat fields and grasslands?

Although Australia is not as good as imagined.

But the fact that they could eat and drink as much as they wanted was enough to make Korea and Japan, who did not have enough to eat and drink, extremely envious.

Why didn’t they get the technical support from the Song Dynasty?

can only say……

This is not fair at all.

But if you think about it, it actually makes sense.

If no one needs to work, then what will the people do?

When dealing with the people, you should give them more things to do so that they won’t cause chaos.

In addition…

If these things are really introduced, it may further accelerate land annexation.

Then the people’s lives might become even worse.

This is not alarmist.

Probably only wealthy businessmen and nobles can master these tools.

Then would those wealthy businessmen and nobles be kind enough to buy machines to help your people farm and not charge you for it?
Just think about it and you will know that it is absolutely impossible.

(End of this chapter)