Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 977 A Mess ([-])

1653年5月10日，6艘650吨级的笛型运输船、2艘300吨级的冷藏船在两艘风帆护卫炮舰的护航下，小心地停靠在须德海外的泰瑟尔岛一侧。在缴纳入港关税后，船队在荷兰人的指引下缓缓驶进了阿姆斯特丹码头。

This large port, where more than 2000 ships were moored in the past, is really a little dilapidated now. Morie looked around, and only saw less than a thousand ships of various types, which made him very emotional: During the war, It is a pity that Dutch commerce should have shrunk to such an extent.You know, this port used to control the trade of most of the grain, salt, salted fish, boats, and dairy products in Europe, and other kinds of commodities are generally gathered here to find buyers; in addition, Amsterdam also owns European financial institutions. Center, shipbuilding center, the largest second-hand ship base and a series of titles, it can be said that before the war, this city with a population of 15 to 20 was at the peak of glory.

But now all this is a thing of the past!The Dutch navy has never been able to break through the interception of the British. A large number of Dutch ships were taken away, and a large amount of materials either sank to the bottom of the sea or entered the warehouses of the British in London. Trade was greatly affected, the economy plummeted, and people's living standards declined day by day. Even the whole country is filled with a strong sense of insecurity.

It is conceivable how happy the Dutch were under such circumstances when the 10 ships brought by Moller Eel sailed into Amsterdam.Refined flour, butter, cheese, ham, wine, frozen fish, soybeans and other foodstuffs were stored in the cabin by category. The Dutch couldn’t wait to use pulley booms and animal-powered cranes to carefully lift these foodstuffs to the pier, and then one by one. sent to warehouse for storage.

During the year of blockade by the British, although Amsterdam was not full of starvation, the price of goods soared, and it was common for ordinary people to have enough to eat.Go and see the warehouses in Amsterdam where the goods were once overstuffed. In the past, once a ship docked, the goods would be bought immediately, and then it would take four or five days to unload the goods. Of course, the sales were not so fast, but the Dutch would Goods are placed in warehouses on the docks and slowly released, giving Amsterdam a reputation for always having enough goods to sell.

Amsterdam is such a place that collects, stores, and sells goods from all over the world. A super-large logistics warehouse, "a trade fair that goes on all year round", and a huge flow of goods, cash, and people are at the city's docks In and out, this has brought untold wealth to the Netherlands.

But now the inventory in many warehouses has bottomed out. Even though the price of old goods has increased several times, they are still snapped up, and new goods are replenished intermittently, which makes people very worried.The 10 ships of the East Coast People carried 4500 tons of various types of food. Although it is far from enough to meet the daily consumption of Amsterdam, it is still possible to save money and spend a month; and after more than two months, there will be more Another convoy arrived at the port of Vlissingen in Zeeland Province. This time the fleet was even larger, including 9 flute ships, 2 refrigerated ships, and 4 sail escort gunboats (the gunboat has a tonnage of 400 tons, and the spare cabin can also be used to transport goods), it is estimated that at least 6500 tons of various materials can be transported (some of which are food, and some are other commodities ordered).

The arrival of these two fleets is of great significance to the daily consumption and industrial production of the Netherlands and the two provinces of Zeeland, but it must not be underestimated.In particular, the first batch of food convoys arriving in Amsterdam directly provided them with a wide variety of commodities, enough to last them for a month. This was very important for the city to survive the material difficulties during the war. Grateful.

On the second day after arriving at the port, Second Lieutenant Morie Eel was received by Made, who had just arrived from The Hague.Ma De also just came to the Netherlands from Kaffa City not long ago. As the first diplomatic envoy of the East Coast Republic of China to the Netherlands, he has been really busy recently. He not only has to visit the high-level officials of the Dutch government, but also visits the Dutch and Zeeland provincial councils. Councilors from other important cities such as Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Vlissingen, Leiden, Holen, and Enkhuizen. These councilors are all influential businessmen. As a diplomatic envoy who also shoulders the important task of business promotion, Ma De dared not neglect at all, so he has been very busy recently.

In addition, he is also responsible for the preparations for the opening of the Amsterdam Commercial Station. If Mo San hadn't dispatched people from various commercial stations to support him, he would not have been able to take care of it at all.This commercial station was located on the wharf in Amsterdam, and Ma De directly paid for a small space, where there were ready-made cranes, ready-made warehouses, and even the loading and unloading workers were all available.The price is not very high, because the business in Amsterdam is currently in a downturn, and many warehouses are vacant. The controllers of these warehouses have to lower the rent significantly. In addition, Ma De has rented for ten years at a stretch, and the rent is even cheaper. up.

"Amsterdam's commercial station will be available in about a month, otherwise you don't have to bother." Ma De, who was wearing a striking tunic suit, shook Mo Lie's hand, then looked at the second-generation navy ensign and smiled. Said: "The younger generation has grown up, I am very happy. Your father is still teaching in the Fortress of the Racha Corps, right?"

"Yes, he likes to be quiet, and he is still taking care of the children there. He occasionally asks about various investments in the family, but usually my mother is in charge." Thanks to the Anglo-Dutch War, the prosperity of domestic industry and commerce has risen sharply recently, and the speed of import and export of goods has been greatly accelerated. I heard from my friends that the customs revenues of Luocha Port, Dongfang Port, and Qingdao Port are rising rapidly every month. This is really true. Great. Some small workshops and trading companies invested by my family also took advantage of this shareholder wind to make a small fortune, I really want to thank the British, hehe."

"You can only say this in front of me." Made laughed, then turned his head and looked around, and said: "The domestic industry, agriculture, and commerce are indeed booming, but the Dutch are not. Ha ha. But the British are indeed very prosperous now. I don’t know how many Dutch merchant ships they have captured. According to my inquiry, there may be 600-1000 ships. Although most of these ships are small tonnage offshore transport ships, but After all, the number of hundreds of ships is there. If the price of the ship is not included, the value of the goods alone may have reached several million yuan. Of course, if they have such a small achievement, it may not be enough to make up for the support of war funds. But so what? Everything depends on the long-term. They broke the economic oppression of the Dutch, gained many markets that were unimaginable before, and most importantly weakened the strength and prestige of their direct competitor, the Netherlands. It’s still profitable, and it’s a huge profit.”

"The Netherlands has fallen, everyone is full, haha, this is a joke that has been circulating in our navy recently." Moreel also responded with a smile, "The last time I heard a novel from the Second Fleet, the Dutch The Tulare Merchant Station has been officially handed over. The main building and ancillary buildings of the merchant station, several hectares of farmland, more than 1000 sheep, more than 600 cattle, less than 50 employees (mostly German mercenaries), and some goods in stock At a discount of [-] dong, it was sold to the New China Pioneering Team. New China has now assigned immigrants to settle down and grow cotton. Speaking of which, this time the Dutch have been tricked a lot and had to cut their flesh, but it is said that they insisted Refuse to sell Formosa Island and the Cape Town colony, hehe, I guess the British haven’t hurt you yet.”

"Don't talk about this in the future." Made patted him on the shoulder and said: "The national policy formulated by the executive committee is to unite the Netherlands to control the British. What we need to do now is to strengthen the relationship with the Netherlands. There was no such condition before, but now it is better." Easy to get on line with them through the Anglo-Dutch war, and even showed a little face, what are you waiting for if you don’t strike while the iron is hot and continue to deepen bilateral relations? You must know that the Dutch are strong in sales network, while we are strong in production capacity. The cooperation of the Genoese is a model, and the Netherlands is an oversized Genoa. This kind of cooperation is beneficial to China's industry and agriculture. Therefore, supporting the Netherlands and restraining the United Kingdom is the next long-term national policy, and it will be less in the future. Say a few words."

Mo Lieel nodded when he heard the words, and satisfied the educational desire of Ma De, who is a good teacher. This made Ma De very happy: "Recently, I met with Speaker De Witt in The Hague and mentioned strengthening the banking business between the two countries. Regarding the exchange, Chairman De Witt agreed in principle, but I have to negotiate with the Amsterdam Exchange Bank separately. This negotiation is not expected to be easy. The Dutch have always been arrogant, especially in their extremely powerful financial field. They admit that the various commercial papers of the Northwest Reclamation Bank, the United Industrial Credit Bank, the Commercial Clearing Bank, and the New World Friendly and Mutual Bank in our country, it is estimated that it will be very difficult without paying any price. Well, let’s not talk about it, let’s go to dinner first, this It is not something that can be negotiated in a short while, just like we invited the Dutch to open a commercial station in Qingdao Port, without going back and forth for several months to a year, such things are basically impossible Any idea."

After finishing speaking, Ma De and Mo Lieel boarded the special carriage brought from the east coast, and headed directly for downtown Amsterdam.Although there is a shortage of supplies in the entire city, the consumption desires of the rich have always been given priority.For example, in those high-end restaurants, no matter what the war outside is like, their kitchens will always have sufficient ingredients of all kinds, and they will never worry about running out of business.When ordinary people in Amsterdam are struggling with soaring prices and lack of food, there are always well-dressed people munching and eating in high-end restaurants-this is Amsterdam, the heart of capitalism, and a paradise for the rich.

(End of this chapter)