A considerable contribution to his success came from the Teochiu Chinese trading community of the region, on whom Taksin was able to call by virture of his paternal relations. In the short run, the Chinese trade provided the foodstuffs and goods needed for the warfare that enabled Taksin to build up his fledgling state. In the long run, it produced income that could be used "to defray the expenses of the state and for the upkeep of the individual royal, noble, and wealthy commercial families."[75]