Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 567 Army and Finance ([-])

Silvio secretly took the few silver coins that the Dutch sailor put in his palm, and slowly boarded the Dutch merchant ship "Tesyer Shoal" that had just anchored, and began to inspect the cargo loaded in the cabin.

"The high-quality Swedish copper, Polish lead, and English tin are all tax-free strategic materials. Well, Captain Couette, please go to the wharf over there to wait for unloading and go through the formalities. I must congratulate you for making a good deal , The market for these materials is very good now, and you have made a lot of money." After sampling some cargo boxes, Silvio immediately said with a smile to a 50-year-old Dutch captain.

"God should give me some good luck." Captain Couette's wrinkled face showed a lot of fatigue, maybe this voyage consumed too much energy for him, "My four ships full of spices and sugar are in the Stranded in the shallows near Tethyr, then sunk in a storm, I went from a millionaire to a wretch with a lot of debt. It took me ten years to pay off my debts, and now I am paying off my debts. To be able to sail far, I have to earn the money back."

Captain Couette is an old friend of the East Coast people. He was the one who brought the first Calvinist immigrants from Switzerland. Today, many people in the East Coast still remember him.It’s just that he was unlucky. Ever since he made a fortune selling porcelain from people on the east coast, Captain Couette first squandered money like land for a while, and then bought four old ships (Amsterdam is the largest old ship market in the world. ), after recruiting sailors, they played a triangular trade between the Netherlands, Dutch Brazil, and West Africa.It's just that this guy's luck was really bad, and he was reluctant to pay expensive marine insurance fees, so after a misoperation and a storm, he changed from a rich man to a negative man.

After spending ten years as the captain of others to pay off his debts, Captain Couette regrouped and rented an old ship again to start his own business.At the same time, he was also favored by fate. A Dutch businessman resident in Gothenburg not only decided to hand over the goods to him for transportation, but also promised him a [-]% profit, provided that he successfully transported the metal to the east bank and pulled it back from there. A shipment of wheat is delivered to the port of Nantes.

Captain Couette bravely accepted this task, and after three and a half months of difficult sailing, he finally arrived at the port of Rocha, which has become the largest trading port on the east coast.There were 14 ships moored sparsely at the wharf of Rocha Port, 10 of which were flying the flag of the United Provinces, which seemed to explain a lot of problems.

Copper, lead, and tin are urgently needed strategic materials on the east coast, ranking among the top ten in the zero-tariff trade catalog all the year round.After the trade officials at the port weighed the materials, they quickly issued a ticket for Captain Couette to pick up the goods in the Racha Bulk Trade Center.This is a barter bill that can only be used in Rocha Port. It says that the bearer can receive a certain amount of goods with the ticket. For example, what Captain Couette needs to receive is [-] tons of wheat—— It is half of the maximum cargo capacity of the "Tesyer Shoal".

Of course, the metal Captain Couette brought was not equivalent to the wheat, so he could also receive a corresponding amount of East Coast silver dollars.But only the most stupid people will return to Europe with a shipment of precious metals. Captain Couette is certainly not an idiot, so he decided to purchase some standard metal farming tools and tools on the east coast, and then return to Europe to sell them. These are sold in France and England. A bestseller, the local farmer or rancher will gladly shell out money for a quality metal farm implement.

However, what Captain Couette wanted most was wheat. After all, in this era, both Paris and Madrid were extremely short of food at this time.Not to mention the successive years of civil war in England, the intermittent grain export has long since ceased. On the contrary, a large amount of grain needs to be imported from Poland, which further exacerbates the food crisis in Europe.In Amsterdam, which is probably the largest grain trading market in the world, grains have been running at a high level since they peaked almost seven or eight years ago.

At the same time, wheat prices on the Udine Grain Exchange benefited from a sharp drop in wheat harvests in Sicily and Acaria, but remained at 15 Venetian liras per hectolitre, roughly 30 liters at the current exchange rate. More than [-] yuan/ton, which is roughly the same as the domestic government purchase price on the east coast.But you must know that just two years ago, due to the poor wheat harvest in Sicily and the floods in northern Italy, the price of food in the Udine market experienced large fluctuations.More importantly, the so-called Udine grain market is completely forbidden by the Venetians, and only the Fengyu Office (grain reserve agency) in Venice can buy it at this price, and a grain of grain will not flow into the North Sea and the Western European countries.

At this time, in Madrid and Paris, the internal food crisis of these two major Latin countries is spreading day by day. Even if the Netherlands imports a large amount of Eastern European grains from Danzig and Arkhangelsk at low prices, it is still difficult to fill the gap .Although the food shortage this year is not as large as in previous years, and the price of wheat is no longer the sky-high price of 60, 70 or even 80 yuan (converted into East Coast currency) (you have to have friends to buy it at this price, and the black market price is higher), but it is still It fluctuates in the range of 60-65 yuan, and there is no slight downward trend.Moreover, there are rumors that the domestic situation in Poland, which is known as the granary of Europe, is unstable and some riots may occur. Therefore, the price of food in the Amsterdam market now has a sufficient reason to rise. Several large wholesalers who dominate the grain market are still watching the situation.

Therefore, under such circumstances, it is no wonder that all Dutch merchant ships that come to the east coast, without exception, do not give priority to buying wheat or even miscellaneous grains (sweet potatoes, potatoes, sorghum, corn), and they will only buy some when there is no other way. Textiles (high tariffs to enter the European market) and metalware (including pig iron and steel bars).Captain Couette has a certificate from the Dutch West India Company—this is the key factor for him to enjoy a 40% profit, so he successfully obtained the qualification to receive [-] tons of wheat at a price of [-] yuan per ton.

"We don't even have the right to set prices for wheat. It's a shame!" Director Han Gang of the Luocha Bulk Trade Center accompanied Qiang Quansheng, director of the State Administration of Precious Metals, who came here for investigation, and said depressedly: "Last year's purchase price is still Five and sixty yuan, this year it suddenly dropped to 60 yuan, which is a big gap. The Dutch West India Company, as our monopoly partner in wheat export, explained that last year's grain was exported to the West, which grows cash crops. It is from India, so the price is higher. This year, the export target is Europe, so the price is relatively low, but this is just what they say, and we cannot effectively supervise the flow of wheat at all.”

"Recently, the outflow of domestic silver has been too fast, and the import of materials has soared. The treasury of the Ministry of Finance is about to bottom out. Minister Nie greeted me to see if I can use the reserve gold stored in the Army's No. 9 Prison. Before the end of September this year Send 40 yuan in cash to the Ottoman Empire through Xinhua Port, and the silver ship will set off in three months. However, due to the war this year, the centralized escort system has been implemented, and the normal chain of fund return has been disrupted. She is afraid that the Ministry of Finance will account for it The bottom line came to an end, so I was notified in advance. Alas, to be honest, the current batch of gold is less than 20 yuan, and it was originally intended to be repaid to the merchants in La Plata. The current situation, the country's financial difficulties ah."

"Didn't a lot of cash be seized a while ago?" Han Gang asked first, but he soon smiled wryly as if thinking of something: "I almost forgot that the Navy built a lot of auxiliary ships in one go, and because of The pensions, bonuses, and so on that were spent more due to the war, this little money plus the proceeds from the auction, almost all went in. Now it is only possible to exchange some money for the La Plata wheat that has not yet been sold. ?”

"Who says it's not?" Qiang Quansheng took a document from the secretary behind him, flipped through it and said, "Last year, the government's fiscal revenue was about 228 million yuan, of which state-owned enterprises handed over profits (trade income ) is about 200 million yuan. It is worth mentioning that the trade income (including infrastructure services) of the Ottoman market has reached 100 million yuan, accounting for 50%; grain exports are 10 yuan; various income taxes and business taxes are 14 yuan, and property taxes are not good. The tax is only 3 yuan; the tariff is even less, only a ridiculous 1 yuan."

"It sounds like a lot." Han Gang made a rare joke.

"The expenditure is even bigger. Last year's fiscal surplus was only 4.9 yuan." Qiang Quansheng's face was full of wrinkles, and he said in a voice of gnashing his teeth: "Last half of last year was a time of peace. Expenditures have actually reached 132.8 million yuan, accounting for 58.2% of the government's fiscal revenue. The land and sea armies have raised 8300 soldiers. Let alone the army, the navy, a gold-swallowing behemoth, already has 41 large and small ships with a gross tonnage of nearly 1.88 tons , The training is so frequent, accounting for 63.4% of military expenditure! If such a system and such military expenditure do not start a war, I can’t even imagine how to maintain it.”

"This year's foreign trade situation is definitely not as good as last year." Han Gang said in a very positive tone, "Although the navy has organized a centralized escort, it will still be greatly affected after all. The decline in fiscal revenue is certain. But military expenditures, this year will definitely It is more than last year, and it is estimated that there will be a lot more. After all, the navy will have several auxiliary ships, frigates and so on to enter service, and the financial expenditure will not be skyrocketing."

"That's the problem!" Qiang Quansheng said a little irritably: "Now is the time when the whole country is unanimously engaged in foreign wars. Anyone who jumps out at this time and accuses the military expenditure of being too high is a national thief. Worry! In order to import war and production materials, The outflow of domestic silver is accelerating, and if you don’t think of a way, you may not be able to support it.”

"So the export of wheat is going to be released?" Han Gang asked speculatively, "But in this way, domestic food may be in short supply."

"Obviously the best solution is to end the war as soon as possible, but it's impossible," said Qiang Quansheng, "and it's not cost-effective from an economic point of view. We spent so much money to raise such an army armed to the teeth Is the military just for watching? Investment also needs to be based on efficiency. The annual military expenditure is so high that we have to get back some of our capital. However, it is certain that wheat exports will be liberalized to slow down the speed of silver outflow. Take it slow."

(End of this chapter)