Cutting 1719

Chapter 537 Porcelain and Guns

Changing the world structure may sound like an exaggerated big talk without any practical significance, but for everyone present, they have every reason to believe it, because with Da Chu's stature and the emperor's supreme authority, he Indeed it can be done.

Pierre, Alfred, and Ericsson looked at Ning Yu seriously, and did not rush to speak, but quietly waited for the next words.

"Huaxia is an ancient country with a very profound history, and it also has its own set of logic and rules. It tends to become more sharp and profound in dealing with the relationship between friends and enemies."

Ning Yu talked eloquently, "For friends, what we want more is to cooperate and share benefits. For enemies, what we hope is to use all our strength to attack them, and trample them on the ground completely."

"So who is the friend and who is the enemy?" Pierre said meaningfully, and he did not forget to look at the reactions of the other two while talking.

"Interests. Only the distinction between interests is the basis for the existence of friends and enemies."

Ning Yu looked deeply at Pierre, "There is a lot of room for cooperation between the Great Chu Empire and Great Britain today. It depends on whether your envoy wants to be a friend of Great Chu."

"Oh? You mean the Netherlands?" Obviously, the British ambassador Pierre Guber knew something about Ning Chu's current practices, and he wasn't particularly surprised at the moment.

Ning Yu didn't respond to this sentence, but just smiled slightly.Song Enming, Minister of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, then stood up and said, "Your Majesty, ambassadors, please come with me. We need a quieter place."

At this time, the Westerners in the Ruancui Building also began to gather together. Although the voices were not loud, it was really not suitable to continue talking due to the large number of people.

Under the guidance of Song Enming, everyone returned to the imperial city in a carriage, and walked into a hall in Dongyuan. There was a huge map of Ningchu hanging in it, but the information on it did not seem to be particularly detailed. .

After everyone was seated, Ning Zhonghai, Shangshu of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, came forward and saluted Ning Yu, then looked at Pierre and the other three, and said, "Ambassador Pierre, Ambassador Alfred, Earl Ericson , I believe everyone has a judgment in their minds about the current scale of trade between China and Western countries, and you should be more aware of some of the problems that exist today."

Since the founding of Ningchu, it has begun to strengthen business and trade issues. Among them, foreign trade is an aspect that Ningyu pays special attention to. It also specially arranges a company to engage in specialized maritime trade guidance, and its scale is also growing. At the end of the fourth year of innovation, The scale of foreign trade between Ningchu and Western European countries has reached hundreds of millions of silver dollars.

Just like the most important porcelain trade between China and the West at present, it is a huge transaction scale, and even Ning Yu cannot ignore the benefits involved.

Throughout the sixteenth to seventeenth centuries, due to the improvement of shipbuilding and the development of navigation technology, coupled with the expansion of currency economy and commerce, European countries have expanded from the Atlantic Ocean to the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean, among which the porcelain trade is the key point. , More than hundreds of millions of Chinese porcelain were shipped to the West in exchange for a steady stream of silver.

Although Chinese porcelain has a long history and was introduced to Europe very early, it was basically introduced indirectly through merchants in West Asia and North Africa at that time, and the quantity was very rare, and it was often given to kings and nobles as the most precious gifts, such as Ordinary people can't touch it at all, so there is a great market demand in the West.

In June 1573, two Spanish galleons sailed from the port of Manila to Acapulco on the coast of Mexico, carrying 6 pieces of silk, 712 pieces of cotton cloth and 11300 pieces of porcelain, with a total value of 22300 pesos, or 30 pieces of silver. tons, and its profit was as high as 7.5%, which opened the prelude to the "Manila Galleon Trade".

When the Netherlands ruled South Asia, the porcelain trade became more and more prosperous. In the first half of the 17th century alone, more than 300 million pieces of Chinese porcelain arrived in Europe. In the entire 2000th century, the Dutch shipped [-] million pieces of Chinese porcelain to Europe. , occupying a huge amount of trade profits in Europe, and the strength of the Dutch East India Company has also grown explosively.

Therefore, during the period when the Dutch maritime hegemony was established, the porcelain trade between China and Europe was mainly controlled by the Dutch. Even countries such as Great Britain and France needed to be exploited by the Dutch when they traded with China. dissatisfied with the rest of Europe.

Now with the end of the three Anglo-Dutch wars, although the Netherlands has won the last two victories, the era of Dutch hegemony at sea is gone forever, especially the protracted land battle with France, which has caused the Netherlands to slow down. The development of the navy, strengthening the construction of the army, especially in order to ease the relationship with the United Kingdom, had to make commercial concessions.

But the problem is that the Dutch centipede, although not dead, has always occupied a leading position, especially in Southeast Asia and other regions, while Britain and France, which have just gained hegemony, have just entered Southeast Asia and have not yet carried out large-scale activities. Strength is also very limited.

To put it bluntly, the issues that Pierre and Alfred are most concerned about right now are completely inseparable from the Netherlands, and this is also the basis for the cooperation between the two sides in his opinion.

"Your Majesty, the trade between China and the West has always been the focus of attention of all countries, but since there are thieves like the Dutch, they shamelessly stole the interests that originally belonged to European countries."

The face of French ambassador Alfred was slightly red. In the just-concluded War of Spanish Succession, the Dutch provided an army of 14 for the anti-French Augsburg League, and they were also the party that sent the most troops. The Dutch were even angrier.

On the contrary, the British ambassador Pierre did not have so many emotions. The relationship between the UK and the Netherlands is too complicated, just like in the Augsburg League, the UK and the Netherlands became allies in order to oppose France, so the expression on his face Also very bland.

Ning Yu said softly: "Whether the Netherlands is present or not, it will not affect the trade relationship between Da Chu and other European countries, but at the same time, I hope that all countries can strengthen their trade relations with Chu, just like I did for this. One point, relevant bills have been specially customized.”

"What bill?" Everyone was a little curious.

Ning Zhonghai, Shangshu of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce standing aside, hurried forward, stood in front of the map of Dachu with a stick in his hand, and said softly: "Ambassadors, the scale of trade between Dachu and other countries has always been restricted. In addition to the impact of the external environment, there are some endogenous factors, such as the policy of promoting overseas trade is not sustainable enough, nor is it open enough—”

"Therefore, in order to better promote trade, our Great Chu decided to open more than ten trading cities such as Nanjing, Wuhan, Changsha, Zhenjiang, Anqing, Jiujiang, Yantai, and Tianjin in addition to the original Shanghai, Ningbo, Fuzhou, and Guangzhou. It also simplifies the relevant procedures of foreign trade, speeds up the steps of foreign trade, and can conduct centralized signing for the official foreign trade of various countries.”

Everyone was shocked when they heard it. Although Ningchu was trying to open up foreign trade in the past, after all, it was a few trading ports in the coastal area, but it is different now. Its open area has penetrated into the inland center like Wuhan. area, and even the capital of Ningchu, Nanjing, has become a trade center.

Pierre was even more surprised. He understood the status of Wuhan quite well. This city is the place where Ning Chu started, and there are too many secrets in itself, but now Ning Chu chooses to make it a trading city, which shows that Ning Chu Determination and strength in promoting foreign trade.

The Swedish ambassador Eriksson secretly made up his mind. In the past, Sweden has not been firm in carrying out China trade, and there are many concerns in it. Then this time, after he returns to Sweden, he must explain to the king the necessity of launching China trade. Sex, at least like Britain and France, form a Swedish East India Company.

Alfred also had a lot of excitement on his face. He gave a solemn courtesy to Ning Yu, and then said: "Your Majesty's heart is really incomparably broad. France will be Da Chu's forever friend."

Pierre and Ericson also saluted one after another, naturally saying the same thing in their mouths.

Ning Yu's face is naturally full of smiles, but he also understands in his heart that the so-called forever friends are pure nonsense. In the future, when Britain and France enter Southeast Asia on a large scale, conflicts will naturally arise. Of course, this does not affect the current friendship. .

"Everyone, the specific trade treaty will be negotiated with you by Ning Zhonghai, Shangshu of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce of the Great Chu. As for the relevant details, it is up to you to discuss it yourself."

On the issue of the Netherlands, Ning Yu did not directly raise it, because in the current Southeast Asia, the strength of Britain and France is not enough to pose a great threat to the Netherlands, and they will not go to war with the Netherlands for the benefit of Da Chu.

Therefore, at this time, under the previous trade treaty between Dachu and Britain and France, there is actually a hidden agreement, that is, Ningchu will be responsible for completely eliminating the influence of the Netherlands in Southeast Asia, so as to guarantee trade with Britain and France. On the one hand, support Ning Chu, such as the relevant intelligence of the Dutch East India Company.

However, Ning Yu paid more attention to the negotiation with Sweden. He sent someone to invite Earl Eriksson to the imperial study alone, together with Cui Wancai, the chief assistant of the cabinet, Yu Zhijing, the deputy director of the staff department of the Privy Council, and the equipment department. Deputy Minister Xu Chengliang and others held talks.

Earl Eriksson felt a little uneasy. In the past, when Sweden was strong, it was impossible for its national power to be comparable to that of Ningchu today. In the current period of Sweden's decline, it is even more impossible to compare.

"His Majesty the Emperor, the King of Sweden asked me to bring you a letter, hoping that it will be the beginning of the friendship between the two countries."

Earl Eriksson handed over the letter while talking, and after Ning Yu took the letter, he also had a smile on his face, and asked the translator to read the text briefly after the translation, and the content inside was actually very Simply, I hope that Ningchu can become an ally of Sweden and fight against Russia together in the future.

Ning Yu pondered for a while, and said: "Thank you for the kindness of the King of your country, but the alliance needs to be considered more."

Earl Eriksson was a little anxious, and whispered: "Your Majesty, after the end of the Great Northern War, Sweden suffered a shameful defeat, but this defeat was caused by the whole of Europe, and the Russians are just a despicable and shameful thieves who stole our territory—"

Speaking of this, Earl Eriksson's tone was very firm, "Sweden needs revenge, and more importantly, a strong ally, while Europe is not reliable. Only His Majesty the Emperor is the real enemy of the Russians."

Cui Wancai said, "Earl Eriksson, Da Chu and the Russians are not at war right now."

"But that day will come soon, won't it?"

Ning Yu laughed dumbfounded. It seems that in the eyes of Europeans, Ning Chu and Russia are almost endless enemies. This is very different from Europe. It is indeed coming.

It's just that the matter of forming an alliance is unacceptable to the current Ningchu, because the binding of the alliance is not conducive to Ningchu's interests in Europe, and Sweden can't come up with a more powerful bargaining chip at the moment.

Ning Yu shook his head and said, "Da Chu will not choose a covenant, but welcomes friends. You must know that Da Chu has always been very kind to his friends."

Seeing Ning Yu's resolute attitude, Earl Eriksson sighed slightly, "To tell you the truth, the Swedes need revenge, and one day in the future, the war between Sweden and the Russians will break out again. With His Majesty's help, this day may come sooner."

"Hahahaha, it's not helping Sweden, but mutual assistance and mutual benefit between the two countries."

Ning Yu smiled and said: "Currently Da Chu will vigorously develop foreign trade, not only to sell a large amount of porcelain and tea to Europe, we also need technology and raw materials from the West, as well as Western markets. In this process, our country More favorable trade policies can be given to Sweden, such as low tariffs for the two countries.”

"What about military cooperation?" Earl Eriksson was still a little unwilling.

Ning Yu smiled, "Military cooperation can be carried out step by step. For example, the two countries can send military observation teams to each other to learn from each other's experience. Especially the relevant information on fighting against Russia is urgently needed in Chu. If your If China can provide some materials for learning, my country can pay some rewards."

Earl Eriksson nodded, and he was a little relieved. Although the covenant was not reached, he at least understood Ningchu's determination to fight against Russia. When the Chu-Russia war broke out in the future, Sweden and Ningchu would naturally be able to Form a de facto military alliance.

Thinking of this, Earl Eriksson was also very excited. He said softly: "Of course all of these are fine. In the future, there will only be more and more cooperation between Sweden and Da Chu."

(End of this chapter)