Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 1112 The Good Times of Diplomats ([-])

Baron Balboa obviously did not get enough authorization, so he could only sit unhappily and watch Zheng Yong leave.The next thing he will do is probably to return to the port of Dunkirk in the Southern Netherlands, and then take a ship back to Spain, report the situation to Philip IV, and then listen to the great Catholic ruler's holy speech. cut.

As for whether it will happen or not, Balboa dare not say, he privately thinks it is unlikely.According to the negotiation record sent back by Baron Bravo and the performance of Special Envoy Zheng Yong just now, Baron Balboa concluded that the people on the east coast have a claim on the land, which greatly reduces the possibility of the matter—the land in La Plata has been lost Although they are all semi-arid grasslands with poor soil quality according to legend, they are vast and include the Strait of Magellan—even the Drake Strait is controlled by the people on the east coast (recently, the East Coast Republic officially made the Drake Strait Clarke Strait was renamed the Josey Strait to commemorate the brave man who first discovered and sailed through this strait)-the geographical location is extremely important, which has caused quite a shock in the country.If some land is ceded to the people on the east coast now—then no matter whether it is the Negro River to the 42nd south latitude area or Puerto Rico Island, there is absolutely no possibility of passing through the country in a short time, so Balboa feels that this matter is probably yellow , I can only look for an opportunity to mention it later.

Not to mention Baron Balboa's disappointing return to Dunkirk, Zheng Yong, the plenipotentiary diplomatic envoy of the Great East Bank, is sitting in a carriage and heading for The Hague at this time. He is visiting His Excellency DeWitt, the speaker of the three-level parliament. Of course, I will not forget to meet with you famous merchants throughout the United Provinces.

The avenue from Amsterdam to The Hague is extremely spacious, and whether it is the three-level council or the Dutch provincial council, a large amount of funds are allocated for repairs every year, so the road surface is in very good condition, and the flat, wide, and dry road does not look like At this time, Europe feels a bit like the national highway on the east coast.

The carriage that Zheng Yong was riding at this time was also quite special. Not only did the shock absorbing springs adopt the latest technology products in the East Coast (the service life was much longer than before), the axles were also made of stronger and stronger steel. materials, even the sliding bearings have been replaced with ferromanganese bearings with higher processing precision (ball bearings have not been able to be put into practical use on a large scale for so many years), and the wheels are also solid rubber tires that are unique on this planet, so Zheng Yong This special car is driving on a road with good road conditions, it is like flying - not to mention the speed, the comfort is simply beyond all other carriages on this planet.

And this kind of carriage produced by the Southern Vehicle Factory has now gradually entered some wealthy households in the United Provinces through the introduction of Zheng Yong, and has entered more businessmen in the United Provinces through their second introduction.Don't doubt the competitiveness of this kind of car. Almost all European cars on the market are inferior to it in terms of performance. What's even more shocking is that because many parts are machined, the cost of this kind of car from the East Coast is also low. Being controlled under the same kind of goods, even after long-distance sea transportation, its cost is still not higher than that of European horse-drawn carriages, which undoubtedly gives exporters and agents higher profit margins.

After arriving in The Hague, because Speaker De Witt was arguing with people in the parliament about increasing naval investment—the Orange faction strongly opposed this—he had no time to receive Zheng Yong for the time being, so someone Zheng was invited to join A certain business salon had a detailed discussion with many wealthy Dutchmen, including members of the Tripp family.

The content of the discussion was very complicated, among which Zheng Yong was undoubtedly concerned about two things.One concerns the export of goods from the east coast to the Netherlands, such as grain, cheese, refined flour, wine, leather, soap, soda ash, textiles, steel bars, machinery parts, and all kinds of goods, especially machinery parts and steel Article, these two types of commodities are the most valued on the east coast, because they directly hit and suppress the European industrial production capacity, and are extremely important in the long run; as for the textiles that originally accounted for a large proportion of the east coast's exports There are more and more items of goods exported from the east coast, and their proportion has dropped again in recent years. At present, it has only accounted for a quarter. Although it is still extremely important, it only represents the past, not the future, and is very sensitive ( There is fierce competition with the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Italy, etc.), it is no longer worth the effort of the people on the east coast to open up the market.

As important as maintaining the traditional commodity market, it is undoubtedly the opening of new markets, such as the Brandenburg-Prussian market that the Dutch promised to give up (in fact, the Netherlands only promised that the merchants on the east bank and the Dutch merchants have the same right to compete. But this is enough), DeWitt Speaker has made it clear before that he will fulfill his promise to reward the East Coast for standing on the side of the United Provinces and cooperating with its actions in the "Northern War" that is now in full swing.

However, Chairman DeWitt agreed, but it does not mean that the matter has been completed. Zheng Yong still has to communicate with merchant families with special interests in the local area, such as the Tripp family and the De Haier family—such as how to transfer, Exchanging benefits and so on, this is very meticulous and tedious work, and it is also a great knowledge; in addition, Zheng Yong has to go back to Amsterdam after a while to negotiate with some bankers (such as the shareholders of the famous Amsterdam Exchange Bank) The key point is how the commercial system on the east coast can be smoothly integrated into the bank payment and exchange system established by the United Provinces. It’s not as simple as you pulling a shipment of goods and I’m ready to deliver the cash—this only exists in your imagination—businesses of a small scale must be transferred through bank accounts, whether in the Baltic Sea, Whether it is the North Sea or the Mediterranean, it makes no difference.

During the business talks, some Dutch businessmen also secretly complained about the rampant pirates in the Caribbean, and a large number of smuggling merchant ships from Britain, France, the Netherlands, Portugal, Denmark (Malaysia) and other countries "disappeared", which led to the market in the Viceroyalty of Peru, Kingdom of Spain. All kinds of goods were out of stock in a large area, and they were finally occupied by the East Coast goods from the Southern Railway.Who is Zheng Yong? He ignored the accusations and complaints of some United Province businessmen, but he was already vigilant in his heart, secretly thinking that it would be better to do less of such things in the future.Didn’t the Spaniards just invite the East Coast Navy to station in Puerto Rico? If this is true, then the East Coast Navy will have to pay attention to tactics when patrolling various routes in the future: the real pirates will naturally be severely cracked down. As for the British, if they can ensure that the news will not leak, they don’t mind sending their ships to the bottom of the sea. As for the smuggled merchant ships from various countries, especially from the United Provinces, it depends on whether the situation is open. Otherwise, it is always not beautiful to start a dispute.

After chatting and farting with these businessmen for several days, on November 11, Zheng Yong finally met the supreme ruler of the United Provinces and the speaker of the three-level parliament in a farm in the suburbs of The Hague (in fact, The Hague itself is a large rural area) John DeWitt.This politician, who just married Elizabeth of the Bikel family lately, looked exhausted at this time. Perhaps the endless wrangling with the Orange faction MPs had greatly consumed his energy. Zheng Yong always felt that his The spirit is not as good as it used to be.

However, Speaker DeWitt's voice was as firm as ever: "Britain and France formed a secret alliance last year. You have also seen that after two years of fighting with us, the British are still dispatching fleets to attack North Africa despite their high debts. The Moors, the Spanish in the Caribbean, and even the port of Cadiz in Spain are simply arrogant. Their highly inflated self-confidence and the impulse to expand make the current British extremely aggressive. Sweden brazenly invaded Poland, There may not be any British people behind them. After the De Haer family and the Tripp family failed to sell enough arms to the Swedes, the Black Country region of the United Kingdom quickly stepped up, and boatloads of weapons and military supplies were taken from the Swedes. London transported to Gothenburg, which can be seen from the collection of tolls in the Sond Strait in Denmark. It can be said that without the British, Sweden, whose industrial production capacity is extremely weak, could not prepare for war so easily."

"People on the east coast, you have done a great job, especially standing with the glorious United Provinces on the issue of maintaining the existing order in the Baltic Sea (this order is extremely important to the Netherlands, because the Baltic Sea provides half of the Netherlands' profits). Be wise, believe me." Speaker De Witt said gently, "Elector Frederick of Brandenburg has agreed to the request of merchants from your country to enter the local business, and has given the same preferential tax rate as the merchants of the United Provinces. It is a reward for you. Don't look at me with that kind of eyes. Elector Frederick is naturally not of one mind with Sweden. Their previous alliance with Sweden was just an alliance under the city caused by the siege of Berlin. Now Poland, Russia, etc. China is already secretly discussing an agreement to armistice and jointly deal with Sweden, it would be too stupid for Elector Frederick not to take sides at this time, even though he had already sworn allegiance to the King of Sweden because of the title of Duke of Prussia."

"The Swedes' destruction of the order in the Baltic Sea has been contained, and Russia will also be punished. Poland must restore most of its territory. This is the bottom line of the United Provinces, which cannot be destroyed by anyone." Speaker De Witt said, "Sweden's affairs are united. The provincial capital will find a way to solve it, but I’m afraid you will need your country’s help on the Russian side. I heard that you have a good relationship with the Ottoman Empire and the Crimean Khanate. Can you invite Sultan Muhammad and the Great Khan to send troops to fight against Russia? Please think about it, my friend. As long as you can persuade them to curb the Russian ambitions, then the United Provinces will also join in the operation of sending indentured slaves to your country, how about it?"

"It's a very good deal. I'm willing to try it, but I don't guarantee success." Zheng Yong immediately replied happily.

(End of this chapter)