Eighth year of Chongzhen

Chapter 543 The Dutch Considerations
"John, I don't know how you feel after visiting the capital of the Ming Empire in the past few days?
What I want to say is that I was extremely shocked when I visited the sanatorium established by the Ming Empire today. This kind of humanitarian brilliance, even the Netherlands, which we think is very civilized, has not achieved it. The empire has a strong sense of identity!
After returning to the country, I will make a solemn suggestion to the governor, to imitate the form of the Ming Empire, and build this kind of recuperation center in the Netherlands, which is specially responsible for housing the homeless.

The scenery of the Ming Dynasty is really pleasing to the eye, a simple tree stump is as beautiful as an exquisite oil painting! "

After having lunch accompanied by Fang Yongzhi, Van Bronhorst and Pahlavit returned to the room where they were staying and chatted.

Standing in front of the half-open flower window, admiring the elegant bonsai outside the window, Van Bronhorst held a cup of black tea in his hand, sighed after taking a sip.

"Dear Fanny, I very much agree with your opinion, the Ming Empire government has done a very good job of embodying humanistic care!
I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but Mr. Fang said that the Ming Emperor’s own silver was spent in these gathering places in the capital of the Ming Kingdom!

oh god!What a noble and great thought this is, it is really incredible!How generous the great king was to his subjects!Fanny, I plan to bring his portrait back to the Netherlands when I meet with His Majesty the Emperor, and let the nobles in our country have a look at what this benevolent monarch of the mysterious East looks like! "

Compared with Van Bronhorst's praise of Daming, Pahlavit did not hesitate to praise him, but all his praises were concentrated on Zhu Youjian.

When he heard that the four nursing homes in the capital cost 10,000+ taels of silver every year, and that the money was spent by Zhu Youjian from his own wealth, Pahlavi's admiration for the Ming emperor spontaneously arose. When mentioning the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, he also had an awe-inspiring look on his face.

"I am also very eager to witness the honor of this monarch. Unfortunately, we did not bring a portraitist this time. After the audience, we may be able to request a portrait of His Majesty from the Ming Empire government.

Everything about the capital of the Ming Empire amazed me except the great Emperor.

In a big city with a population of 100 million, the roads are so neat and tidy, and the shapes of their buildings are so aesthetically pleasing, everything seems to be designed by God himself!
In Europe, silk clothing that only the upper class can wear is actually the clothing material of ordinary people here; similarly, white porcelain and expensive tea are also very common consumer goods in the Ming Empire. To be as rich as their capital is really a miracle that only God can create! "

Van Bronhorst turned around with the exquisite teacup and sat opposite Pahlavit, admiring the lifelike pictures of summer lotus flowers on the teacup while sighing sincerely.

"Dear Fanny, as far as I know, there are still many poor people who can't eat in the huge Ming Empire. The regime of the Ming Empire was also seriously threatened and hurt by the revolutionary rebellion.

However, everything looks better now, the face of a country's capital represents their overall image, and the scene before our eyes is not false prosperity.

As a trade representative of the East India Company, I can think that the consumption of commodities in the capital of the Ming Empire alone is a huge figure, and this has not been added to the prosperous giant cities in the south of the Ming Empire. Isn’t this exactly what we have been looking for? Is it a stable and prosperous market?

Therefore, this visit allowed us to see a brand new world, and also opened a door for us in the Netherlands and the East India Company.We must seize this opportunity to carry out comprehensive trade and cooperation with the Ming Empire, and promote the rapid growth of our Dutch wealth, so that we will have more money to invest in more advanced manufacturing, and our ships will be more advanced. Bigger, the power of the cannon will be stronger, and it will be more powerful to protect our wealth from being robbed!

Fanny, in the next negotiation, we must make concessions and changes, otherwise, we will not get any profits and benefits from this rich country! "

Pahlavit stood up, looked directly into Van Bronhorst's eyes, and stated his point of view in an unquestionable and changing tone.

Because the current negotiation situation is very unfavorable to the Netherlands, they have already deeply felt the Ming government's persistence in Taiwan's ownership. If they want to conduct comprehensive trade with Ming, then they must be flexible on the Taiwan issue.

The Van Bronhorst family has a huge influence in the Dutch government. This visit to Ming Dynasty, Van Bronhorst came as an extraordinary and plenipotentiary ambassador. That is to say, as long as he and Pahlavit reach an agreement, Then he can sign relevant documents and agreements with Daming on behalf of the Dutch government.

Facing such a huge market, Pahlavit felt that as long as the conditions of the Ming government were not excessive, they should give up ownership of parts of Taiwan on the premise of obtaining greater benefits.

"Dear John, I understand your suggestion. However, we have been operating in Taiwan for more than ten years, and we have made great efforts and sacrifices. If we do not get a very suitable answer and conditions from the Ming government, it is impossible to abandon Taiwan. accepted!
In the next negotiation, we can only give up Taiwan when we strive for greater interests than Taiwan! "

Facing the aggressive Pahlavit, Van Bronhorst bowed his head and pondered for a long time, then raised his head and looked at Pahlavit with firm eyes and said.

"Fanny, don't forget why we came to the Ming Empire!

800 of us have been wiped out by a second-rate army of the Ming Empire!The Taiwan Strait is only [-] nautical miles away from the mainland of the Ming Empire. As long as His Majesty the Emperor of the Ming Empire orders, Earl Zheng will use their ships to send a large number of Ming troops to the island of Taiwan. Then our city of Zeelandia and the Dutch citizens inside, You will face a very bad situation!
Mr. Fang already mentioned yesterday that the elite army of the Ming Empire has wiped out the Tatar armed forces that threatened them in the north. In other words, the Ming Empire will no longer be threatened in the north, so their elite army can continue to flow This is a powerful armed force of more than 10 people!
Perhaps you will say how strong our city of Zeelandia is, how powerful our cannon and muskets are, but, my dear Fanny, we have an army of less than a thousand men on the island!And our mainland is 1000 nautical miles away from the east, and our armed forces have to defend against other neighbors with malicious intentions, so we can't help Zeelandia at all!
If we use naval protection, then we will completely turn against Earl Zheng, and our interests in the Far East will be seriously damaged. Such a chain reaction will cause our Netherlands to suffer unbearable losses!Such consequences are simply unimaginable! "

Pahlavit looked at Van Bronhorst without showing any weakness, and continued to express his views, without giving in at all because of the firm tone of the other party.

"Well, I admit that your analysis is very reasonable. However, we cannot take the initiative to propose to abandon Taiwan in the next negotiations. This is the only hole card we can use. If the Ming government officials are not smart enough, our Hole cards may play a bigger role!
Another point, if the Ming government officials are not as enlightened as we imagined, then we will get nothing from this negotiation! "

Pahlavit’s deduction finally made Van Bronhorst unable to hold on, but he still hoped that Ming government officials were both stupid and enlightened. This paradox made him feel at a loss for a while.

"Dear Fanny, your conclusion is also what I am worried about. The Ming government officials I know are indeed very conservative and stubborn. They have a natural fear of the sea. All of this depends on whether the negotiations can go smoothly. huge obstacle.

However, judging from the sudden setting up of customs in the coastal waters by the Ming Dynasty, things may not be as bad as we imagined!

Anyway, we ask Mr. Fang to start negotiations as soon as possible! "

Van Bronhorst's words also made Pahlavit, who was full of confidence, hesitate, but this hesitation was only for a moment. In the blink of an eye, he regained his confidence in hoping to achieve his goal.

"Oh, by the way, dear John, we seem to have forgotten our ally, Mr. Monta, maybe we should try to communicate with Spain to see if we can join forces to gain more benefits from the negotiations. What do you say?"

Van Bronhorst suddenly thought of the long-forgotten Etro, so he spoke with a little hope.

"Oh, dear Fanny, please don't have any contact with that proud dwarf. Ming government officials are obviously very tired of our Spanish friends. I think we should negotiate with the Ming government alone!"

　Thanks to Sisilove2008 for the reward.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)