Chapter 234: Thonburi

Thonburi had many Chinese and Japanese merchants, and their business was very extensive. Ping Qiusheng browsed the Chinese shop street in Thonburi. The low wooden houses lining both sides of the street were all various shops. Most were opened by Chinese, selling all kinds of goods, from precious Chinese silk fabrics, porcelain, and handicrafts to cheap daily necessities, fruits, dried fruits, and even pickles and preserved vegetables. It could be said that without a large supply of Chinese daily necessities, these Southeast Asian “kingdoms” would be living a semi-savage life.

The Chinese influence in the Ayutthaya Kingdom was very strong, and the dynasty relied heavily on the industrial and commercial talents of the Chinese. Perhaps because King Uthong was of Chinese descent, Siam had always treated the Chinese relatively favorably, allowing them to live inside the city of Ayutthaya. In contrast, the Japanese and Portuguese could only live outside the city.

Because of this relationship, Chinese industry and commerce developed rapidly in the local area, and many people made great fortunes. The ordinary Chinese who were busy in those small, dark shops might be running businesses with a trade volume of tens or hundreds of thousands of taels of silver.

Ping Qiusheng saw several Lin’gao-produced goods in the shops here, from straw hats, rum, “Australian” candies, white sugar, paper… Almost all of the transmigration group’s flagship products were sold here. However, the quantity was small, and the price was very expensive.

Goods have their own mobility. Whether it’s high quality or low price, the fact that goods can automatically flow here shows that the market for “Australian goods” is broader than they estimated.

Ping Qiusheng felt very excited. There were so many Chinese merchants, with a large amount of capital and manpower. They were simply natural collaborators and a fifth column! The Ming and Qing dynasties had such a good overseas foundation, yet they regarded overseas Chinese as “abandoned people,” not only doing nothing but even treating them as enemies, and finally handing over the living space that the Chinese should naturally have in the south of the mainland to the monkeys.

However, a few words from Feng Shengyue poured cold water on Ping Qiusheng.

It turned out that there were many factions among the Chinese, and they were hostile to each other. The relationship between the Chaoshan, Hakka, and Minnan people in the entire Southeast Asia region was like fire and water, and conflicts often broke out. In addition to the large regional groups, there were also small hometown groups, and the clan power was also very strong. They formed their own gangs, excluded outsiders, and even colluded with local tyrants to attack dissidents.

This was not surprising in the 17th century when modern nationalism had not yet developed. The possibility of Ping Qiusheng getting immediate help from the local Chinese was not high. It was perhaps more realistic to start trade with Chinese merchants and use their commercial channels. The key things still had to be done by his own people.

Ping Qiusheng’s group only received a warm reception from the Qiongshan merchants here. Although everyone generally did not regard the Australians as people of the Great Ming, since the Australians were staying in Hainan, they were also considered a part of Hainan. Especially in recent years, Hainanese merchants had made a lot of money by trading Australian goods and Southeast Asian products back and forth.

The Qiongshan group did not have much influence among the local Chinese merchants and did not have much say. Their business was not large either. The head of the local association invited Ping Qiusheng and others to a banquet at the Qiongshan guild hall, where they heard a lot of news. The influence of the Chinese merchants here was not only large but also extended deep into the inland. There were not only large merchants engaged in import and export trade, but also small vendors selling daily necessities such as firewood, rice, oil, and salt. These small vendors went deep into the inland, opening shops in villages and towns that no one had ever heard of, selling goods, purchasing local products, and establishing a fairly extensive commercial network. In Ping Qiusheng’s view, these small vendors were much more valuable to the Council of Elders than the maritime merchants who were based in the ports.

The king’s messenger, Worawong, soon arrived in Thonburi and received Ping Qiusheng’s party. After several days of negotiations, the two sides reached a preliminary trade agreement: in exchange for the Council of Elders selling weapons to Siam, the Southeast Asia Company, which was granted a special charter by the Council of Elders, was allowed to dock and trade in Thonburi and Pattani. The limit was two large ships each time. The ships of the Southeast Asia Company were exempt from anchorage tax.

The merchants of the Southeast Asia Company could freely trade with any merchants they wished in the two places. However, they were not allowed to enter the inland of Siam without permission.

The merchants of the Southeast Asia Company could import all kinds of goods without restriction, but they had to transport a specified quantity of weapons on each voyage. They also had the right to transport any goods they wanted. Imported products were subject to import tax, except for weapons.

Since this was their first visit and the two sides had not yet established sufficient mutual trust, Ping Qiusheng did not request to open a warehouse or trading post locally. For the time being, they did not have the ability to establish a presence in Siam, and even if he had asked, the other side might not have agreed.

Both sides were satisfied with reaching this preliminary agreement. Worawong was quite ambitious. He was very interested in the “Australians” or, as the Ming people called them, the “short-hairs.” Especially the rumors of their powerful military force.

He was very interested in the two ships that the Southeast Asia Company had brought. Although he did not propose to visit the ships for safety reasons, he still managed to observe them from other ships nearby. From the outside, these two ships were not much different from those of the Chinese merchants. Except for the layout of the deck buildings and the slightly different masts, the hulls were exactly the same. Even a “landlubber” like Worawong knew that these two ships were just ordinary large Chinese ships that had been modified by the Australians. The traces of modification were still quite obvious, especially the newness of the materials.

The armament was something he was particularly interested in. The rise of the Thai people was closely related to their emphasis on military force. The military of the Thai people, the administration of the Khmer, and the industry and commerce of the Chinese were one of the three pillars of the Ayutthaya Kingdom. Ordinary Chinese merchant ships rarely carried cannons. Only the ships of the British, Dutch, and Portuguese were equipped with cannons. But these two ships flying the “Nine-Dash Flag” both had cannons installed on their decks: black, short, and thick, not very similar to the Western cannons he had seen before. Apparently, once these cannons were fired, the huge cannonballs they launched would cause more serious damage to the enemy.

In addition, he was also very interested in the “matchlocks” equipped by the sailors. Worawong was very familiar with matchlocks: the mortal enemy of the Ayutthaya Kingdom, the Burmese, used matchlocks extensively, while Siam’s matchlocks were basically dependent on imports. Since the Australians could universally equip their sailors with this weapon, they obviously had enough guns.

Worawong obtained more details by having his men deliver water and food to the ships. For example, the appearance of this gun was more beautiful, the surface finish was high, and so on. In addition, this gun did not seem to use a matchcord, because the sailors carrying the matchlocks never carried matchcords on them—the matchcords that matchlock gunners wrapped around their bodies were originally a significant feature of theirs.

Although he was very eager to experience the power of this new weapon firsthand, he never had a suitable opportunity. It was not until a banquet that he took the opportunity to express his hope to see the power of this gun. Ping Qiusheng immediately had someone satisfy his request.

When a special marksman from the special reconnaissance team used a J+-marked high-precision Minie rifle to shatter a pottery jar 150 meters away with one shot, all the natives present were stunned. The range of a matchlock was at most 50 paces, and what it could hit was purely a matter of luck. To be able to hit a target at such a distance with one shot was simply unheard of.

Worawong proposed to buy this weapon, which was naturally refused. However, Ping Qiusheng suggested that they buy cannons. To show that he was not lying, he ordered his flagship to shell a reef in the bay.

The impact of the 68-pound iron cannonball on the reef was astonishing. Fragments of the reef flew, and smoke rose into the air. This suggestion was immediately agreed to by Worawong. He immediately requested that the Southeast Asia Company transport such a large cannon and matching ammunition on their next voyage, and also provide the service of a gunner instructor.

As for the price, he didn’t even ask, only expressing that he would pay with any goods the Australians needed. It was obvious that the arms trade was a very profitable industry.

Two weeks later, the fully loaded fleet began its return journey. This time, Ping Qiusheng had sold all the goods he had brought. All 1,500 Type 1631 machetes were sold to Worawong. Prasat Thong’s main force was about 4,000 men. After re-equipping them, there would be a consumption of 1,000 per year, and the civilian demand also had to be considered.

According to the valuation, one Type 1631 machete was worth 1 tael, and with the Australian sugar and various miscellaneous goods, a total of nearly 30,000 shi of rice was exchanged. A portion was transported with the fleet, and a portion was left in the warehouse of the Qiongshan merchants to await transshipment.

In his spare time, Ping Qiusheng often patiently tried to persuade Quark, hinting that this place was not peaceful, and that the Council of Elders was in great need of rice and minerals here. If he was interested, he could set up a trading post here, even if it was just to watch the place for the Australians, and at the same time, it would be a trade window for the British East India Company—although the British East India Company preferred Pattani.

Ping Qiusheng did not trust Worawong. Quark also had great ambitions, but he was first and foremost a merchant, concerned with making money, and his reputation as a merchant had been recognized by the Council of Elders. Worawong, on the other hand, was likely to do what he had done to the Japanese merchants in the past when he saw a huge profit.

Ping Qiusheng also released a message to the local Chinese and Japanese merchants here: Lin’gao would take as much rice, potassium salt ore, and timber as they could get. Any merchant here who was willing to serve the Australians and could directly transport the goods to Lin’gao or Sanya would be richly rewarded. He did not want Quark to monopolize the trade here. After all, when they were free, this place would be the direct territory of the transmigration group, and it was not reassuring to have the food supply controlled by anyone.