Xinshun 1730

Chapter 319 True Power

Liu Yu thought, free trade?This is not necessarily the case, but for a member of the royal family, it is rare to think of such a step.

If the emperor wants to raise money, the easiest way is to open up trade with Western countries and control the monopoly privileges by himself, which is not only convenient for taxation but also a part of the profits of the goods.

Basically, this has no harm to the domestic handicraft industry.

Whether or not it is open to trade does not affect how many goods Westerners buy. What restricts the trade volume of Westerners now is their own country's mercantilist precious metal accumulation policy, and the scale of the handicraft industry depends on how big the market is.

The world currency at this time is not the dollar paper after the disintegration of the Bretton Woods system, but real gold and silver.If you import less goods, you can reduce the outflow of precious metals in your country. If you are stronger, others will be weaker. Western countries are pursuing this idea and vigorously increasing tariffs.

Liu Yu doesn't want to engage in trade, but wants to go out and take the initiative in trade, even if it depends on the face of the weak Swedes at this time.

Relying on smugglers in Gothenburg, is it free trade?

Hard to say.

Sometimes free trade is just wishful thinking, just like Dashun at this moment.

At this time, I really wanted free trade, but my own wishful thinking about free trade did not allow Britain to release the tea tax, amend the Manchester Textile Regulations, abolish the Navigation Regulations, dissolve the East India Company and abolish monopoly rights.

It is useless to think.

In the brochures that Li Yan had read, Liu Yu just casually did not choose to explain what constitutes free trade: anyway, there is no need to explain, Dashun does not need tariff barriers at this time, and probably said that there are no tariffs Barriers are free trade, if they exist, they are not.Of course, it is not defined that way, but it is enough.

He wanted to remind Li Yan again.

At this time, Li Yan was also looking at Liu Yu eagerly, hoping to get a comment from Liu Yu, such as "The Seventh Prince is really smart".

What he said, he consciously regarded it as catering to Liu Yu, but also as his own words from the bottom of his heart.

However, Liu Yu did not open his mouth to praise, but talked about another matter.

"Does the Seventh Prince know that the Netherlands is in Batavia in Southeast Asia?"

Li Yan immediately recited the content of the book, and said: "Batavia, south of the equator, about 6 degrees south latitude, there is no Big Dipper here. If the capital is the world, this place is about 10 degrees west longitude, It is the same as Tianbaofu in terms of east and west. The land is hot, the four seasons are like summer, there are many rains and high tides, and malaria occurs frequently. The land cane sugar, spices, etc. Since the previous dynasty, people from the Chinese dynasty have settled down south to avoid the difficulties of eight mountains and one river in Fujian. .”

These are all the contents of the booklet. Li Yan has a good memory, and the booklet is written with Dashun as a reference as much as possible, but it is easy to memorize.

Liu Yu didn't dare to write about things like latitude and longitude when writing a pamphlet.If the longitude and latitude do not take the capital as the world, but Weihai, then it is purely looking for trouble.

When Li Yan finished reciting, Liu Yu had already let out a sigh.

"The previous dynasty retreated and did not trade with the Netherlands. Therefore, since the apocalypse, if the Dutch wanted to get goods, they had to ask the Chinese maritime merchants to go to Batavia, and even sponsored Li Dan, Zheng Zhilong and others to hijack cargo ships bound for Manila. At that time, only Going to Bacheng by boat, not only the fair trade, but also a lot of cloth and spices, so that we can go again next time."

"After the opening and closing of the dynasty, the Dutch built business houses in Fujian, Guangdong, Jiang and other places. Since then, if Chinese businessmen went to Bacheng, they were often confiscated and their goods were seized. Now there are even rumors that the Dutch think that there are too many immigrants from the Chinese dynasty. , want to kill and get rid of."

"What does the Seventh Prince think?"

Without even thinking about it, Li Yan replied subconsciously: "Chen Tang of Ziru Han said: Those who commit crimes against strong Han will be punished even if they are far away."

"I understand what Ying Suobo means. If the Han and Tang dynasties opened the Western Regions, the soldiers would walk, ride horses, or drive camels. But Bacheng is far away, and it cannot be reached by warships. It is impossible to go on foot. Therefore, the switch of the dynasty seems to be It is more like free trade than the previous dynasty, but if there is no navy, it is completely free trade, which has actually encouraged the western barbarians to feel confident."

"The Dutch may think, anyway, you want my silver; or, anyway, if you don't sell it to me, I can transport it to Bacheng by sea, or borrow the loopholes of other countries' business houses. Therefore, kill them as soon as they are killed. , you can't fight, you have nothing to fear, so what is there to be afraid of?"

"Even if this dynasty cuts off the trade with the Netherlands, as long as it continues to switch and allow Nanyang trade, there will always be people who send goods to Bacheng. navy."

This is a good point. Of course, Liu Yu took it out of context. The reason why the Dutch want to exclude Chinese in Batavia is not that simple.

It's more like the company's policy has gone wrong, and the sugar industry needs to "layoffs". At this time, the layoffs are to let the Chinese in the plantation starve to death. They are afraid that they will resist before they starve to death, so they will be massacred in advance, and naturally they will not resist.

But Li Yan doesn't need to know these things at this time.

At the age of seventeen or eighteen, it is the time when the head is full of fanaticism. It is much easier to instill a few words "even if you are far away, you will be punished" than to clarify the essence of it.

Liu Yu nodded approvingly for this answer, and asked again: "The silk, silk and porcelain wool in today's dynasty are all low in price and high in quality. There is no problem with free trade in this dynasty."

"If one day, the porcelain and cotton cloth of the Westerners are cheaper than those of the present dynasty... If there is free trade, tens of millions of people who make a living by spinning and burning will be unemployed. What will happen then?"

Li Yan really didn't think about this issue, or this issue has not been considered by the rulers of the Chinese family since ancient times.

After Emperor Wu of the Han emptied the Western Regions, did foreign products tend to favor the Central Plains?

Although there is Japanese satin in the famous satin of Dashun, although the name is called Japanese satin, it may also come from Japan, but the production of Japanese satin ranks first in Fujian, second in Sichuan, and third in Japan.

Not to mention that Li Yan is still young, even the old foxes in the court who have been through the world for a long time, if you tell them about dumping, they will definitely not understand, because it has never appeared in history, so they have no way to think about it.

Li Yan felt that this question was really weird. He was about to say it was impossible, but after thinking about it, he thought: Ying Suo Bo asked me what to do if such a thing happened, but he didn't argue with me whether it was true or not. possible.If I am obsessed with "whether it is possible", I am going in the wrong direction.

"What Ying Suobo assumes, if there is such a day, will be closed doors and high taxes to protect the industry and commerce of the dynasty. Although the celestial dynasty does not emphasize industry and commerce, Emperor Taizong of this dynasty also said that scholars, farmers, commerce, and industry are one of the four peoples. Besides, even if we don't say This, I also know that cheap grain hurts farmers. Cheap grain hurts farmers, and cheap silk hurts workers."

Liu Yu asked again: "Then what if the Westerners attack by boat and force me to open the door for trade?"

Having said this all the way, Li Yanfu thought to his heart, and suddenly figured it out.

"I see! The Navy is neither for free trade nor for mercantilism."

"It's about the policy of the imperial court. The navy must be able to maintain the policy of the imperial court. Military orders come from the emperor; government orders come from the Temple of God. If the government orders free trade, the navy has the ability to switch other countries; the government orders require mercantilism, and the navy has the ability Let a foreign ship never get close to the shore."

"If the Sixth Division of the Son of Heaven attacked Chu and said: Do not pay tribute to Baomao; it is also like the three armies of Chu who attacked Sui and said: I am a barbarian. Free trade and mercantilism mean that they do not pay tribute to Baomao and me. You are famous; the navy is the Sixth Division of the Son of Heaven and the three armies of Chu.

"The time, the situation. I said before that the navy is for free trade, but it's just this moment. But at that moment, if it remains the same, then it's time to wait for the sword."

Liu Yu was very satisfied with this answer, thinking that you can finally tell the difference between the Heavenly Dynasty of Benevolence and Righteousness and imperialism.

So he laughed and said, "Don't worry, the Seventh Prince. I have something that can be called that moment, just like this moment. Please come with me, and let the Seventh Prince see what real power is."

Hearing Liu Yu's laughter and feeling the approval in Liu Yu's laughter, Li Yan was very excited.But just now I saw this 64-gun battleship salvo, which is not considered real power in Liu Yu's eyes, so what kind of shock will real power be?
With this expectation, he followed Liu Yu ashore, and walked into a heavily guarded compound in a small mountain valley south of Weihai.

Li Yan thought that he would see something more shocking than a battleship, but when Liu Yu, under the guidance of a group of craftsmen, opened a piece of utensil covered with red cloth, Li Yan was stunned.

The thing in front of me doesn't look magnificent or grand, it seems to be just a hydraulic tool.

Thinking of the shock of the battleship salvo, Li Yan wondered if this thing could destroy dozens of miles in one shot?It doesn't look like a cannon either.

Looking at Liu Yu's excited expression again, Li Yan tentatively asked: "Ying Suo Bo, this is... this is what you call real power? What is this?"

Liu Yu slowly uttered two words in a very calm but excited tone.

"Boring machine."

"Uh……"

Li Yan didn't know what a boring machine was. After asking for a long time, he realized that it was indeed a tool used by blacksmiths, which could cut iron and copper.

Not only can it not be corrupted for dozens of miles, but it may not be as easy to kill as a dagger.

So, this is real power?And that battleship that can shoot salvos, in Liu Yu's opinion, is just a waste of 10,000+ taels of silver for training craftsmen?

Li Yan is a little confused, what does a boring machine do?Why is this thing more powerful than a battleship?

Touching this guy who is mostly wood, he couldn't help laughing and said, "I think this thing can turn stones into gold? Forgive me for being stupid, Eagle Sobo, I really don't know where its power lies?"

What Liu Yu said was "at that time, at that moment, at this very moment", Li Yan understood that the meaning of this thing is that this thing can make Westerners' goods cheaper than those of the heavens.But before talking about cloth and silk porcelain, it was difficult for Li Yan to connect this iron-drilling thing with cloth and silk.

Moreover, it was really irreconcilable with the shock, even if he felt that Liu Yu took it very seriously, he couldn't help but make a joke.

This joke made Liu Yu laugh for a moment, and he didn't explain where the power of this thing is, but said the most inferior use of this thing.

For example, boring the barrel.

(End of this chapter)