Back to Ming Dynasty with Industrial Revolution System

Chapter 1433 Borrowing and Privileges

Almost all the country gentry and nobles and big businessmen in the city of London know that the current king is very short of money and the royal family is on the verge of bankruptcy.

The fastest way for the king to get money is to reconvene the parliament to gain the support of the gentry, nobles and big businessmen.Therefore, most people are rumoring that the parliament that has been disbanded for ten years will be reconvened, and some people even learned from the ministers that the king has the idea of ​​reconvening the parliament.

However, Charles I suddenly fell silent, as if there was no movement suddenly, allowing the gentry and nobles everywhere to "plead for the people", Charles I never mentioned the reopening of the parliament.

This weird change has aroused a lot of public opinion, and the members who had expected the reconvening of the parliament were greatly puzzled.

Little did he know that in order to avoid convening parliament as much as possible, King Charles would rather borrow money from foreigners than surrender his power.

Zheng Zhibao came to London on behalf of the Fourth Fleet. He handed over the spoils to the Western Company, which then lent it to Charles I.The military behind the Fourth Fleet could use this to collect interest from Western companies, and Western companies could claim privileges from Charles I.Zheng Zhibao needed to make sure that the Western company used this batch of spoils reasonably and rushed from Portsmouth to London.

When Western Company and Zheng Zhibao came to see King Charles, King Charles was very pleased to summon them.

"I don't know what you're thinking about?" Charlie seemed impatient.

"After careful evaluation, we believe that you, the king, pay attention to credibility in your dealings with us. We are willing to provide you with a loan of 40 pounds, divided into three installments, of which the first installment is 20 pounds. The next two loans will be 10 pounds each," said Huang Xiushan.

"Are you willing to lend me 40 pounds?!" Charlie said in surprise.

He originally wanted to borrow 25 pounds from a Chinese businessman from the East, but he did not expect that the other party would be willing to borrow 40 pounds from him. This was beyond his expectation!
"More than that, we don't need interest on the 40 pounds lent to the royal family, and the royal family needs to repay 4 pounds every year, which can be paid within ten years." Huang Xiushan said.

"What's the price of not needing interest?" Of course, Charlie knew that it was not that simple for Huaxia merchants to agree to an interest-free loan, so he asked.

"We need three rights. One is mining rights. Our Western companies can buy coal mines and other mines from squires or nobles who own coal mines and iron mines. As long as the other party is willing to sell, we have the right to purchase. Of course For the output of the mine, we will pay taxes according to the prescribed tax rate, and have the same rights and obligations as other British businessmen."

"The second is the right to set up a Chinese language school. As our business here is getting more and more extensive, and some British businessmen have begun to sail to the east for ocean trade, I think if we can help British businessmen or apprentices learn Chinese, it will definitely be It will be of great benefit to their trade in the East, and it will also promote exchanges between our two countries."

"The third is the right to set up a newspaper. We can publish newspapers in the City of London and other important cities to publish current events. Whether it is the Chinese Academy or the newspaper, if we make a profit from it, we will pay taxes to the royal family."

Huang Xiushan proposed three privileges one after another.

Charles I listened to the three conditions put forward by Huang Xiushan, but he had nothing to do with the second and third cultural privileges. He did not feel that the establishment of the Chinese Academy and the establishment of the newspaper society would pose any threat to his rule.

The first mining right was somewhat difficult for Charles I to accept.

Although it is an agricultural society now, mineral resources are becoming increasingly important.Many Britons could not afford to use dwindling wood and began to use coal for heating. Iron ore was an important strategic resource, and iron ore was inseparable from the production of agricultural tools and weapons.At the same time, coal is also needed to smelt iron.

If a large number of mining farms are monopolized by wealthy Chinese businessmen, maybe Britain will become a vassal of China!
"I can accept the second condition and the third condition, but the first condition seriously damages our British interests. We need to maintain our ownership of coal mines and iron mines, and we cannot easily hand them over to foreigners for operation." Charlie I firmly said.

Huang Xiushan and Zheng Zhibao looked at each other. It seemed that they also imagined that Charles I refused to sell the mining rights, so they changed their tone and said: "We also know that His Majesty the King must consider the future of Britain, so what we want is limited mining. rights, not unlimited mining rights. We promise that the area of ​​mines we can acquire will not exceed a certain number, so that most of the coal mines, iron mines, and tin mines are still in the hands of the gentry and nobles. At the same time, we are not involved in the acquisition of copper mines , silver, gold and other precious metal veins."

Limited mining rights?Charles I looked slightly relaxed at this time.If the other party really just bought a few small mines, then it shouldn't pose much threat to the British market...

At least Charles I thought so, so he seemed to be able to convince himself to accept the loan.

That's 40 pounds, which is equivalent to the royal family's annual financial income!And it's an interest-free loan, which can be paid off in ten years!

I believe that even the big consortia in the City of London will not be more generous than this.

Mining rights are not given free of charge. Western companies also need to spend money to buy mines from gentry and nobles who are willing to sell the mines, and the ore produced must also pay taxes.

"An interest-free loan of 40 pounds... If we can stipulate the scope of the mining rights you have obtained, then I agree to sign a loan agreement with you." Charles I thought that he could obtain a loan of 40 pounds without going through parliament, but he still couldn't Resisting the great temptation, he made a concession.

The two parties finally made a corresponding compromise based on the consideration, and King Charles agreed to the three important rights of Chinese businessmen to mine, run schools, and publish publications in Britain.Perhaps Charlie himself did not realize that cultural rights were of little importance to him, but for the process of one civilization invading another, cultural intrusion is more subtle.

"Since you all can lend me 40 pounds, I wonder if I can hire your army to drive north to expel the Scots' Covenant Army? I am willing to use the future royal family's income to pay for your military operations." Charles I saw the troops from the East The generosity of merchants made more requests.

Since the English militia doesn't want to fight, the mercenaries from the East can already defeat the Scottish Covenant Army, right?Thinking of this, Charles I regretted why he had to go to the battlefield in person. It is more cost-effective to use the military expenses for starting the war to hire a smaller but more powerful Eastern army.

(End of this chapter)