Xinshun 1730

Chapter 237 The European Breach

In the 18th century, how could a Chinese get closer to the Swedes the fastest?The answer is simple, just scold the Russians.

China and Sweden are separated by only Russia.

With the help of the previous war against Russia and the pacification of the Western Regions, I bragged for a while and talked about Lenat.

"When you went to war with Russia, your king was defeated in Poltava and retreated to Turkey. Many people were captured by Russia. When I quelled the rebellion in the Northwest, several Swedes surrendered and hoped to return home. Among them The one named Renat was captured by Russia in 1709 and captured by the Junggar Mongols in 1718, and has been out of Sweden for nearly 30 years.”

"He wants to go back to his hometown. If possible, I hope he can go back to the country on your ship. The problem of the cost of the boat is not a problem, it is not a problem. Besides him, there are about seventeen or eight prisoners, all of them from Sweden. people."

The branch director thought that Liu Yu was planning to extort bribes when he came, but when he first heard that he scolded the Russians with him happily, and then talked about the return of the Swedes, the branch director was in a good mood and repeatedly said that the boat There is no need for Liu Yu to pay the fee in advance, and he can decide the matter of returning to China by boat.

This incident is an introduction, Liu Yu didn't want to talk about this incident, and the director of the branch library also wanted to talk about another thing.

After readily agreeing to the return of Lenat and other captives, the branch director also took the opportunity to make a request to Liu Yu.

"My lord, our company has always been eager for porcelain from your country. But the porcelain trade routes are monopolized by the Dutch, the British and the French. We can only get some low-quality porcelain. These porcelains do not sell well in Europe... ..."

The sub-curator did not tell the whole truth. It was not that these "inferior" porcelains did not sell well in Europe, but that Swedish companies could not sell them in Sweden, but could only sell them to smugglers in Spain or the Netherlands and Britain.

Among them, one of the founders of the Swedish East India Company was a former employee of the British East India Company. After retiring from the company, he worked alone.

Swedes are poor.

There is not so much silver sent to China in China, so the Swedish East India Company does not sell goods in Sweden, but sells goods to second-hand traffickers in Gothenburg.

In fact, a group of smugglers.

They are all East India companies. The Swedish East India Company is different from other places: they not only keep the identities of shareholders secret, but also tear up the waybill after each shipment to ensure that no one knows how much goods have been shipped. The identities of customers who buy goods are also kept absolutely confidential.

Why should client identities be kept private?Because the buyers are all smugglers.

The East India Companies of the Netherlands and the United Kingdom were all monopoly rights bought with real money. When the British company was at its highest, it paid an annual domestic tax of 1200 million taels of silver.

Naturally, the Swedish company will not be allowed to get the goods.

It's okay to talk about tea, but porcelain has its tricks.

The Swedes only came to Guangdong a few years ago, so they are naturally far behind the UK and the Netherlands.

The aesthetics of European porcelain is different from that of China, which leads to the so-called "ordered firing porcelain".

The pattern, shape, size, and shape all have to be transported by ship and handed over to the porcelain workshop for firing.

The Swedes could not open their doors in Guangdong, and the pilot and conductor of the maiden voyage was none other than the former British and now Swedish Sir Colin Cambier, who was once a prominent figure in the British East India Company.

As soon as he arrived in Guangdong, Yinghe naturally guarded him like a thief.

Guangdong and Fujian used money to get stuck in Sweden's neck a little bit, and the Swedes were newcomers, so naturally they couldn't find a way to order porcelain.

Western businessmen who trade in China are all clear about this matter.

When the Netherlands wanted to trade with Ming Dynasty, the Portuguese relied on the influence of the missionaries, which was all kinds of obstacles, so that the Dutch had nowhere to spend their money.At that time, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom were relatively immature, and they gave Yan Siqi, Li Dan and others tens of thousands of taels of "facilitation fee". I didn't think about it, even if Li Dan, Yan Siqi and others were not pirates, they really had a very strong relationship. , the end of the Ming Dynasty had its own national conditions here, and it took ten thousand taels of silver to accomplish such a big thing?In the hands of Master Jingcheng, how much will be left after handing over along the way?

Now the Dutch have also learned to be smart and know the specifications and channels for bribery.

Those who got in the car first naturally hoped to close the door and squeeze out the people who didn't get in the car.

Besides, no one else knows who the customers of the Swedish East India Company are. The Anglo-Dutch East India Company still knows it well.

Just like tea, the tea from the East India Company goes through formal channels, and after paying taxes, it is expensive at death.The smugglers don't use formal channels, the tea is the same tea, no one is stupid, why spend a lot of money to buy authentic products with tariffs?

This matter, the Swedish curator felt that it was a door that fell from the sky.

The Swede knows Liu Yu's name.

"The Chinese general who went to war with Russia", the old Tolstoy signed the Treaty of Adrianople in Turkey that made Karl XII very embarrassed. Liu Yu is still somewhat famous in Sweden.

Unexpectedly, the earl came to the Swedish business house on his own initiative and talked about the issue of Swedish prisoners of war. Naturally, he agreed and took the opportunity to mention it to Liu Yu. It's done.

Meaning, of course not less.

The Swedes were led by former employees of the British East India Company, and the meaning of this is still clear.

It’s just that there was really no connection before. How many years has the English, Dutch and Spanish Portuguese been in Guangdong and Fujian?How does a newcomer to Sweden compare with others?

Now that there are connections, it's just a matter of money.

When Liu Yu heard what the store director said, he held back his laughter and murmured to Tian Ping. Tian Ping laughed and said, "He didn't say anything before. As I said earlier, as long as the money is in place, I will take care of it. Brother Shouchang is still more famous than me, tsk tsk."

After laughing twice, Liu Yu turned his head and talked to the curator of the Swedish business house.

"This matter...is easy to handle, but not easy to handle. Please forgive my wording. How about this, you tell your chief curator, and I will handle this matter for you. But there is a condition."

"When you go back, I will send a boat to follow. The cargo is our own. Of course, your employees and sailors here can also collect 5000 taels of silver and borrow our boat to load it. It is your private cargo. .Our ship will follow you to Gothenburg. You will help sell the goods, and your company can take part of the profits."

"As long as you agree to my condition, I will take care of customizing porcelain for you."

"Our ship also sent Renat and others back to the country by the way, and used this as a reason to go with you. What do you think?"

With this incident, Liu Yu just mentioned what he wanted to say.

Wanting to open a gap in Europe and explore the way, he has thought about many options.

Britain and the Netherlands are definitely not good. The relationship between France is better, but it is even worse.

The French have no business sense.

The good relationship with Dashun is not only because of a large number of missionaries who hold the title of academician of the French Academy of Sciences, but also because France centralized power in the era of Louis XIV. It is the European country most similar to "Dashun" in Europe, and it is also a standard land power. .

The two sides have a common language on some matters.

In terms of the management of overseas colonies, the French group of people is almost like the thinking of the Dashun officialdom group, and they really want to "reform the land and return it to foreign countries".

Just like the French colonial leader Duplex who met with Liu Yu in Liugong Island before, he was the first colonist to engage in local soldiers in India, and his policy was learned by the British; in addition, he was also the first Colonists thinking about profiting from taxation in India instead of trade.

France is the only one in Europe that can drive the East India Company to the point of insolvency, which is a shame for trade.

Let the French be the old driver and lead the way, it is really brain rust.The French themselves still don't understand it.

Neither sold nor lasted.

After much deliberation, Sweden is the most suitable.

First of all, the Swedes have a market for smuggling, and they have a good relationship with the rebels in North America and the silverfish in England and the Netherlands.

After all, the customer information is absolutely confidential.

Smugglers are the way out for Dashun to sell goods in Europe.

Formal channels are not available, the Anglo-Dutch Spanish law all have trade protectionism, and warships cannot be forced to switch on and off, so naturally they have to rely on smugglers.

Furthermore, the upcoming war of succession to the Austrian throne, without even thinking about it, will inevitably lead to an economic depression in Dashun.

When Europe hits a dozen, silver is cut off all of a sudden. The Jiangnan economy, which is supported by so many export goods every year, is bound to have problems.

The reduction of consumption is one aspect of the war, and the more important point is that the war in Europe is not just fought on land.

Britain will definitely send ships here to rob Spain's treasure ships and attack French merchant ships; the same is true for France, which will sneak attack Dutch and British merchant ships.

Under the huge risk, the East India Company will certainly reduce the number of ships during the war.Once a cargo ship is captured, almost 10 taels of silver will be wasted.

Liu Yu doesn't know much about the Swedish East India Company, but he does know a very famous ship, the Gothenburg.

It sank when returning to Sweden from Guangdong, and then rebuilt another ship in 2005. The first voyage went to Guangdong, and the King and Queen of Sweden went to Guangdong to welcome them.

The ship was expensive, it had a large displacement, and it sank at an interesting time, right around the time of the War of the Austrian Succession.

Liu Yu guessed that the Swedes spent a lot of money to buy a thousand-ton merchant ship like the Gothenburg, and then ran hard to Guangdong... Obviously, it was because the war of succession to the throne in Austria started, and the sea was fought from Europe to Luzon, from When Luzon hits the Americas, the merchant ships of the belligerent countries will definitely be affected.

Sweden, after Sweden was crippled by Russia, has no ability or glory to participate in European wars, and must be neutral.Naturally, taking advantage of the opportunity of war in Europe, they worked frantically overtime to transport goods from China to Europe.

This is an easy-to-understand logic.

During the war in Europe, Dashun's foreign trade volume dropped sharply, and the Chinese merchants who stocked up on goods would inevitably cut prices and sell them off.

Europe is at war, and the merchant ships of the belligerent countries are affected, but this is not an overall war, but a war for the nobles to fight for power. The nobles and the rich still have to eat and drink. The demand for silk and porcelain will not disappear because of the war. , The supply exceeds the demand, and the price will definitely increase.

In Dashun, there is a big sale and the price is lowered; in Europe, the supply exceeds the demand, and the price is raised.

Such a good opportunity, if you don't take advantage of it, you will be blind for nothing.

The Swedes probably took advantage of this loophole and frantically built ships to transport goods.Liu Yu naturally wanted to seize this loophole.

The Swedes are a good breakthrough.

(End of this chapter)