Win the Ding 1617

"What we need to discuss now is how to continue your company's spice trade while fully implementing my lord's will."

These words seem to describe a wide thoroughfare for Basten, Edwin and others, but a closer look reveals that the bridge on this road is a bridge deck without a bridge deck.

It's very simple, you admit that the Java Islands are under the jurisdiction of my Ming Southern Central Army, and we will go to the islands to deal with those sultans and other characters.The premise is that we will sell you cloves, cardamom, cinnamon and other spices to ensure that your source of goods exported to Europe will not be cut off.

However, the price, of course, will not be as cheap as before when the Dutch controlled it themselves.Only need to increase more than twice the cost at least.

After hearing An Tianhong's solution, Basten and Edwin couldn't help but frown. This solution sounds good. It not only solves the issue of the South China Army's sovereignty over the Java Islands, but also takes into account the Dutch East India Company's Practical problems.However, in this way, the cost and profit margin in the spice trade will be greatly adjusted, or even plummeted!Although the Dutch claim to live on land below sea level, they still don't like diving.

"My lord, is there no other way? Or can we satisfy General Li and keep our business going?"

The negotiators of the two East India Company were full of expectant little stars, hoping to get an answer that would let them breathe a sigh of relief from the always smiling population in front of them.

Unfortunately, this answer never came out of An Tianhong's mouth.

"My lord, why do we have to occupy the various islands of Java? We have been here for decades, and we know the stubbornness of the people on the island. In order to buy cloves and other things, we have fought against the natives on the island many times, causing countless casualties. Ten thousand people.”[

"My lord, if you must occupy the Java islands, you must be prepared for heavy casualties. I am afraid that the soldiers of the South Central Army will be exhausted in the Java jungle."

It was half fact, half threat, and told about the difficulty of the Dutch conquering the islands of Java. Edwin hoped that these situations would scare An Tianhong and the South China Army behind him.

In fact, it is true that tens of thousands of people were killed or injured, but it was not the Dutch, but the natives on the island who refused to plant a single crop according to the will of the Dutch.Every time there was an uprising, they were brutally suppressed by the Dutch, causing many casualties.

"It doesn't matter! Our mines, forest farms, timber farms, and shipyards all need a large number of slaves to work. They rebelled, and they can just capture slaves to fill the vacancies of insufficient manpower!"

"Huh?" The two negotiators made the same voice at the same time. They seemed to have discovered a new business opportunity from An Tianhong's words!

There is a shortage of labor in the South China Army, and there is a lot of cheap labor!

"If I go back and inform the family members that in Africa, in the entire East Indies, the local aborigines are captured wantonly, trafficked to Nanzhong, and sold to the Nanzhong Army. Wouldn't it be possible to get more benefits?"

Mr. Basten and Mr. Edwin began to rack their brains for the adjustment and deployment of human resources in the world.

However, a huge problem lies in front of the two of them. If the negotiation cannot be carried out according to the intention of the Nanzhong Army, then the Manga Waterway will be closed to the Dutch. Every day it is closed will cause huge losses to the Dutch. Great opportunity for the Brits.

"If there is a way to let the South China Army have the sovereignty over these islands, and we have the right to operate these products, then we will have the best of both worlds."

The meeting hall of the Huitong Hall fell into a deathly silence, and both sides of the negotiation fell into a state of silence.The only difference is that An Tianhong is closing his eyes and resting his mind, even snoring in a low voice. This sound transcends the barriers of language and race, making Basten and Edwin who are thinking about how to solve this problem The two gentlemen were quite annoyed but could do nothing.

"Master An! Lord An!"

A man dressed as a soldier next to the guard rushed into the hall in a hurry.

He rushed into the conference hall in a hurry, and very rudely shook An Tianhong awake who was discussing academic issues such as how to interpret dreams with Duke Zhou and his elders.

"What's the matter?! It's like this!" [

An Tianhong who was disturbed in his dream was naturally a little unhappy, but seeing that the soldiers around Shou Han knew something was going on, it was not easy to get angry, so he could only ask the soldiers who came to report the letter bitterly.

"My lord, there are guests coming! Please go over there!"

"Oh? Who?"

"I don't know, but they are also Hongmaoyi people, and they are from England!"

The soldier spoke with a strong Fujian Quanzhou accent, speaking quickly and anxiously, and kept urging An Tianhong to go to the lord's living room to accompany the interview.

"Nonsense! I have such a big thing here. You come to ask me to meet some red-haired barbarians from England, and make loud noises in front of others. How can this be possible! Leaking military planes, you are going to accept the crime or I will go Convicted?!"

The soldier didn't dare to lift his head after being reprimanded by An Tianhong. After a while, he replied, "They may not understand."

"Yeah! That's right! You will arrange someone later, and invite the general staff to have a tea break. The two gentlemen here also arrange people to bring tea and snacks, don't be negligent!"

While arranging a warm reception for the representatives of the East India Company, An Tianhong kept on stepping.He left in a hurry, went to Shou Han's signing room, and accompanied him to receive the English guest that the soldier said.

And the personal soldier was not idle, and led several colleagues to sit in the side room, and ordered them to bring tea, snacks and fruits for everyone to enjoy.

"Does he think we can't understand what they say when we leave Tongtong?!"

Edwin sneered, and began to chat with Basten in the Dutch native dialect.

Because of the maritime trade with merchants mainly from Zhangzhou, Quanzhou and other places, the Dutch and Spaniards are no strangers to the southern Fujian dialect. Some missionaries even compiled a comparative dictionary based on the pronunciation of the southern Fujian dialect. Both sides can use the dictionary to understand. the opponent's intention.

Just like the famous "Pearl in the Palm of Fanhan Heshi", it has become a bridge between the two languages.Moreover, there are many Dutch and Spaniards who have learned and mastered the Hokkien language for their own business needs.

Edwin and Basten are one of a kind!

"What the hell are these Albion doing here?!"

Annoyed, Basten paced the room quickly.

"There is no other reason. The purpose should be to see that we were defeated by Governor Li at sea. We plan to share a cup of the delicious broth made from our corpses at this time!"

For two days in a row, An Tianhong and Li Shouhan didn't show up. When they went to the General's Mansion to ask to see Governor Li, Uncle Qin, the concierge, always said, "The General has orders. I have a lot of business recently, so I don't see any guests!"

In desperation, the two had no choice but to go back to the Huitong Hall with their entourage.

"Sir, is it because the sovereignty of the Java Islands and the right to operate and price spices are uncertain, so the general will drag it on until the British beat us in the mall?"

"No! Although the British traded with General Li for as long as we did, after all, the British's maritime strength is far inferior to ours. The general is a person who values ​​practical interests. If he intends to kill us or attack us The lower city of Batavia has already commanded the army to go south!"

In a very secret room in the Huitong Hall, there are dozens of copper pipes around the wall, stretching toward the depths of the wall, like strange spirit snakes, desperately trying to get into the wall.

The two leaders of the Business Statistics Office and the Investigation Office, Niu Qiandao and Mu Yagou, have led seven or eight experts to work here for several days. Since Basten's negotiating team settled in the Huitong Hall, their efforts The monitoring activity has begun!

The copper pipes with good sound transmission effects are pre-buried into the walls. This kind of houses with special equipment are arranged for delegation members without exception. When they talk in the Dutch native dialect indoors, the two The Dutch experts in the big intelligence agency immediately interpreted in a low voice, and the dexterous writers recorded these words, sorted them into a book according to the time and the identity of the speaker, compiled them, and handed them over to the relevant people for sorting out.

Therefore, here, Shouhan can know what the Dutch say every day, and what topics are discussed.

"You can tell the lord to let Mr. An come out to contact them! These Dutch people are about to collapse, if they don't come out, the drama will be over!"

Mu Yagou still has that weird accent, which always makes people think that he is Chinese spoken by a native in the mountains.

"I also think so. The heat is just right, and Mr. An should be allowed to appear!" Niu Qiandao, who is known as Killing Thousand Swords in private, also has a kind smile on his face, as if he is an old man who sells sweets on the street. Grandpa is generally kind.

So, when An Tianhong appeared in front of representatives Basten and Edwin the next morning with a red face, the two gentlemen almost dropped the soup bowls in their hands, and rushed forward to strangle this guy to death!

"Mr. An, Master An, where have you been these past few days?" Basten pretended not to know.

"Oh! A few old friends came to visit me from afar, and stayed with them for a few days, and just sent them away yesterday. So I came here to visit you two. How are you resting these few days?"

"Okay! I love your big head ghost!"

Mr. Edwin cursed wildly in his heart, and threw all the most vicious and dirty words among the boatmen and dock workers in Amsterdam to An Tianhong.It's a pity that An Tianhong couldn't understand and couldn't hear it.

"What do you gentlemen have to say about our negotiations?"

"With regard to the third item of the negotiation condition proposed by your army, our company believes that we can recognize that the sovereignty of the Java Islands belongs to the Great Ming South Central Army and is under the rule of Governor Li. However, your army must recognize that the Java Islands The spices produced are exclusively operated by our company. They must not be handed over to a third party for operation!"

Apparently, this one was specifically aimed at the British who "appeared" in Hue not long ago.

"You have such sincerity, I personally think it is very good and appropriate. But it is not enough!"

An Tianhong shook her finger, shaking it in front of Basten and Edwin's eyes.

"Today we are talking about the implementation rules of the third article. First, our South China Army will station troops on the islands occupied by your company to exercise jurisdiction. Second, don't go to the islands that your company does not currently control. Yes, our army is here, it’s not convenient for you to go, just prepare silver dollars for any kind of spices you need. Third, your company must purchase according to the price set by our army during the annual purchase season, and pay for the goods Pay to the troops stationed on the island."

Rao Basten and Edwin were already prepared for the cruelest thought, but, facing such conditions, they couldn't help but have the urge to kick over the table.

"Fourth, you need to pay an appropriate fee every year to buy the franchise of spices. This fee is not too much. If it is converted into your coins, it is about 15 pounds! Oh! No! It is your Dutch guilder! It is probably How much is it?"

Oh shit!Sure enough, those Albion from England came to make trouble!Going to buy an exclusive franchise for a fee of £15 a year!

"I don't know what your company wants?"

An Tianhong's expression is exactly like that of a delinquent boy who lures a young girl to work in a special industry.

"15 pounds? It should be about 180 million yuan to replace the silver dollars of the South China Army. Those damned Albion actually paid such a high price."

"Can they afford such a large price?"

Basten and Edwin kept calculating the purpose of their opponents, the British, and quickly analyzed them against their economic strength.

After a while, a smug smile appeared on Mr. Basten's face.

"Lord An, I wonder if Governor Li agreed to the British proposal?"

Seeing that Basten exposed his "mask" so directly, An Tianhong, as a qualified diplomat, unexpectedly showed no shame at all, and his face was still normal.

"What Englishmen? There are no Englishmen at all!"

"Oh! I'm just making a suggestion to your army as a personal friend of Governor Li. According to my understanding of the economic strength of the British in this area, their so-called £15 annuity is absolutely a beautiful bubble. , these Albion liars can’t afford so much money! I calculated for them, if they ask for 15 pounds, they still have the ability to pay, and they can also make a profit! If [-] pounds, their profit is It's pathetic, it's impossible!"

"Exactly! According to your army's currency, 60 pounds is about [-] silver dollars. Your army only needs to sell the annual spice management rights to get these incomes. What a wonderful thing!"

During the conversation, the roles of the three changed unconsciously. Edwin and Basten began to change from Little Red Riding Hood to the queen who seduced Snow White, trying to make An Tianhong eat the apple in their hands with all their rhetoric.

(Oh! The analogy seems a bit inappropriate. An Tianhong with the five willows and long beard floating on her chest is not Snow White, right?!)

"Then your company also thinks that it is reasonable to obtain the spice franchise at a price of 60 pounds or [-] silver dollars per year?!"

An Tianhong suddenly started to fight back aggressively, attacking Zizhishield with Zizhispear, "Your company also thinks this price is reasonable?"

Basten didn't expect that the other party would set up a trap here waiting for him, and he thought he was a hunter, and was happily treated as a prey by others!

"this!?"

"If your company admits that the price of [-] pounds per year is reasonable, and has the ability to pay and the appropriate profit you said, then our next negotiation will be much smoother! My lord ordered that you can't treat your friends for yourself We will reciprocate!" An Tianhong appropriately threw out a huge bait.

Hearing this, Basten and Edwin kicked each other with their leather boots under the table, trying to communicate with each other.

"We only intend to double your original purchase price!"

Another mortar fired fell on Basten's line of defense.The blast made them dizzy, and their eyes were full of gold stars.

Obtaining the exclusive right to operate the spices of these islands at a price of [-] pounds, and double the price to purchase them, although it seems that there is a lot of loss, but normal trade can be carried out from then on.Moreover, in this sea area, the ships of the East India Company can travel smoothly, and the benefits brought about by this cannot be estimated.

When the two were thinking about how to speak and whether to continue bargaining, another mortar shot fell.

"Your Dutch ships can transport cotton, wheat and other crops on the way to Nanzhong, and we can provide you with cotton processing trade."

What is incoming processing?According to the modern trade theory, the businessman of one party provides all raw materials, auxiliary materials, parts, components, accessories and packaging materials, and provides equipment when necessary, and the processing unit of the receiving party performs processing and assembly according to the requirements, and the finished products are sold by the other party. Collect labor payment, if the other party provides the relevant equipment, the price of the equipment, the undertaker will use labor payment to repay the business.

This kind of thing is actually not new in the Ming Dynasty in this era. Machine households and weaving households in Songjiang and Zhejiang have long cooperated with merchants. The merchants provide raw materials, and the machine households follow the requirements, styles, and quality put forward by the merchants. to make.The top executives of the South Central Army are no strangers to this business, but this group of Dutch foreign players is very novel!

However, they know the great benefits of cotton cloth!

Purchasing cotton cloth from the east coast of India and selling it in Southeast Asia is a way for the Dutch to make money. At the same time, they purchase high-grade cotton cloth from the Bangla area and export it to Europe.In 1619 AD, the value of the cotton cloth traded goods reached three tons of silver, and only two years later it reached eight tons of silver.In the later period, the annual trade volume is calculated in millions of horses!

Even if Shou Han wanted to give up such a fortune, the shopkeepers of the Han Yuan Company would not give up.Thousands of fruit dismounted looms are like thousands of hungry beasts looking for raw materials to fill their stomachs.

"Can we obtain the exclusive rights or agency rights of the cotton cloth produced in Nanzhong in Europe?!"

Edwin asked ahead of Basten. There was no way, his wealth was far behind Basten. In order to narrow the gap as soon as possible, he had to be ahead of Basten.

"No! As I said, we will provide you with the corresponding amount of cloth within the specified time. And it is manufactured according to your requirements!"

This kind of temptation completely destroyed the psychological defense of the two Basten.

To his United Provinces interests!To his East India Company interests!As long as we can make the most profit in the war in Europe, I don't care who he trades with? !

There are wars everywhere on the European continent. As long as there is a war, cotton cloth is needed to make military uniforms and flags. A large amount of wealth will be concentrated in the hands of a small number of people through trade. Such an opportunity, the two gentlemen Basten and Edwin I will never let it go!

"Your army is sure how much cotton we can provide, and you can pay us the corresponding cotton cloth within the time agreed by both parties? And the quality and style are consistent with our agreement?"

Faced with this business, which is like the arms trade, which can open the treasuries of European kings, Mr. Basten's voice became a little hoarse.

"Well, you have also dealt with our South China Army for many years, don't you still doubt our credibility?"

An Tianhong blinked narrowly at Basten and Edwin, "Two representatives, can we sign a peace treaty between your company and our South China Army?"

Edwin, who was dizzy from the sudden burst of happiness, signed his name on the peace treaty text with a beautiful cursive hand.

"Okay! From now on, your company will no longer be hostile to our South China Army."

An Tianhong clapped and laughed, smiled, and suddenly stopped smiling.

"Ah! I forgot a major event. The cotton processing trade seems to have been forgotten to be included in the treaty. What do you two think should be done?"

An Tianhong's pretentiousness was a model of molestation.Mr. Basten and Edwin?Fan?Germany?Mr. Sa is about to cry!

"We ceded New Holland to you, and handed over the Java islands that we spent decades of hard work on. We have to pay you 60 silver dollars every year for the right to operate spices, and the price of spices has doubled. .Each ship of the East India Company costs 2000 silver dollars as a toll. In addition to paying customs duties, trade activities from the east of Ceylon can only use your currency. Did it, isn’t it just to get all those golden and white things into your own warehouse? But you want to write the cotton processing trade into the treaty?”

Seeing the expressions of the two of them as if they had eaten rice, An Tianhong couldn't help but feel very happy.

"It's just a joke, you two can do whatever you want?"

Thank you Holy Mary!

Immediately, Basten and Edwin seemed to hear the bells of churches across the European continent ringing in their ears.

"I wonder when the general will be able to sign this treaty?"

"My lord has been busy with military affairs recently, so I can't take care of it!" (To be continued.)