New Shun 1730

Liu Yu has seen a lot of intrigues.

At present, foreign enemies first think about trapping "our own people". This is almost the norm in the courts of various countries at this time, and China and the West are no exception.

It's just that today Liu Yu really didn't want to make the "own people" in the Netherlands cheat each other.

Count Bentinck envisioned the Regency faction to trick the Orange faction. If Liu Yu knew his inner thoughts, he would definitely laugh at Count Bentinck for being too conservative.

It was really not on the same level as the pit he imagined.

But it cannot be said that what Bentinck thinks is unreasonable. Even if the Netherlands chooses to be neutral, it is tantamount to taking sides.

The internal divisions in the Netherlands are too serious, and internal chaos is almost inevitable when it comes to choosing between being pro-British or pro-French.

However, at this time, many Dutch people have not yet accepted their fate, or have not gotten used to the fact that the Netherlands is no longer a big country.

Social consciousness always lags behind the material foundation. There are still many people in the Netherlands who believe that the Netherlands should be a big country that can catch up with the Premier League and France.

This is the basic condition within the Netherlands for this coup. Without this psychological foundation, and with the mentality of knowing that we are a small country even if we are equal to death, paying tribute is not a big deal. Only citizens with dignity will fiercely oppose this matter.

Liu Yu didn't expect William of Orange to accept the tariff agreement he proposed. He still placed his bet on Prussia's betrayal of the alliance and the trap of France.

The British side has been appeasing and mediating. Once Austria accepts British mediation and cedes Silesia to Prussia, the Orange faction will definitely be able to get British intelligence first. After all, it is the relationship between the father-in-law and the son-in-law, and the British will also count on it. The Netherlands is paying for Austria to fight France.

He was here to deliver "ammunition" to the Orangemen.

"Are you sure you won't accept tariff agreements and free trade treaties?"

Count Bentinck thought that the regent oligarchs would definitely not accept it anyway.

Anyway, the situation here is different from that in Russia. On the Russian side, Elizabeth herself wants to be in power, while on the Dutch side, she can be in power but doesn't want to jump into the fire pit.

"My Lord Marquis, this matter is related to the core interests of the Netherlands, and no one can accept it. However, your other proposal is that it is suitable for trade... With all due respect, as a big country, your country is the strongest in the East. It is not impossible for the East India Company to establish a suitable trade relationship with your country. "

Liu Yu could tell that Bentinck was playing tricks and smiled lightly: "Don't you think I don't know? The East India Company has independent diplomatic rights. When the time comes, will the East India Company pay tribute? Or will the Netherlands pay tribute? The difference here is Too big.”

"The Holy Emperor sent me to visit the countries of Europe this time just to spread the power of Heaven to distant lands. If it is just a tribute from the East India Company, what's the point? I can't explain it to the Emperor."

"I am here just to let the European countries recognize the Celestial Empire and know its majesty."

"The Netherlands has only two options: either tribute trade will spread the power of China; or a tariff agreement will benefit China."

"We can't let it go on like this. You have gained both practical benefits and reputation."

"Before, all countries sent envoys to the capital, but you, the Netherlands, sent a special envoy from the East India Company."

"When the emperor found out, he was extremely angry. I originally thought that the special envoy of the East India Company was the special envoy of the Netherlands, but thanks to envoys from other countries who made it clear, the emperor only knew the difference. How could he not be angry?"

This can be regarded as a clear explanation for why he is so "harsh" to the Netherlands. If you really want to talk about it, that's really what it is.

Both Britain and France and Russia, which had great conflicts of interest with Dashun, sent official envoys.

Only the Netherlands got an envoy from the East India Company and went there.

If this matter were really broken down and explained clearly, it would definitely cause a lot of dissatisfaction in the court.

Although Catholicism has been banned in Dashun, Catholic missionaries have basically monopolized exchanges between China and the West for more than a hundred years. The reputation of the Netherlands is really bad.

Coupled with many previous convictions, if it is true, some people must be clamoring to cut off trade with the Netherlands.

Legally speaking, VOC is not so much a company, but more like a dependent country of the Netherlands, or to be more precise, a vassal town or a military envoy.

It can have an army, set its own taxes, and conduct its own diplomacy.

If the East India Company pays tribute to Dashun, the Netherlands will not only not lose face, but also gain a lot of face: this can be regarded as equal to the most gorgeous crown in the East.

But this is not important. Liu Yu's original intention is not to care about this false reputation. He just wants to speak clearly and lay a foundation for the future.

If the day comes when Prussia betrays its alliance and Britain and the Netherlands declare full-scale war on France, I am afraid that the Orange faction does not have enough "political sensitivity" to take advantage of this opportunity.

The opportunity Liu Yu is waiting for is external conditions.

Once Austria accepts British mediation and first cedes Silesia and declares a truce with Prussia, Britain and the Netherlands will definitely become excited. Without Prussia, if they fight France together, isn't that going all out?

But relying solely on these external conditions, the Orangemen still need a chance to come to power. That is, even if Prussia breaks the alliance and makes peace privately, France will still have an easy time fighting Austria and the Netherlands.

Normally, only when the regents were beaten by France and the Dutch mainland was threatened, would the Dutch people in despair let William of Orange "dress in yellow" and lead the Dutch army to defeat France.

But, that would be too late. It would take at least three to five years, and there would be a lot of variables.

So he had to use this external condition to create opportunities for the Orange faction internally.

Now it seems that the Seven Provinces Governor is a fire pit, and the Orange faction does not want to jump into it.

First, the Franco-Prussian alliance is advancing triumphantly, and now entering the game firmly on the side of Britain is a brain problem.

Second, the Russian matter is still in the mist, and all countries are speculating on what agreement Liu Yu and the French ambassador have reached with the Russian empress.

This is the time difference Liu Yu is looking for.

Once the Russian empress shows her policy of governing the country and will not accommodate France, all countries will understand that Liu Yu may have been "tricked" by the empress.

And if Prussia breaks the alliance and makes peace alone, the Seven Provinces Governor at this time will not be a fire pit, but a perfect throne, and the regents are not stupid. Once the situation changes, they will be tough on France.

Without Liu Yu creating an opportunity for the Orange faction to create internal public opinion, it will not be so easy for the Orange faction to come to power.

Now that he has made this "honor of the state" issue clear, he is giving the Orange Party ammunition to incite public sentiment in the future.

Once the external situation changes, he will take advantage of the opportunity that the Orange Party is pro-British and can know earlier than the Regent Party that Prussia has accepted British mediation, so that the Orange Party can see the opportunity and kick out the Regent Party with the heavy ammunition of "tribute trade is insulting the state".

By then, if the situation changes, the Orange Party will change from "not wanting to come to power" to "wanting to come to power".

If the situation changes, the Regent Party will immediately become "sitting on the fence and not offending anyone" and become "declaring war on France for the glory of the Netherlands".

At this time, the big public opinion bomb created by himself can help the Orange Party get ahead.

However, now, Earl Bentinck does not want to express any opinion on this.

On the contrary, he tries his best to downplay the matter.

Because he didn't think it was a good thing to come to power at this time, he could not only not use it to criticize the Regent Party, but also had to speak for the Regent Party, lest the people were dissatisfied and had to push the Orange Party to power.

If the emotions were really stirred up, and the people insisted that the Orange Party come to power to fight for the "dignity of a great power" for the Netherlands, should they come to power or not?

If they don't come to power, the people will be disappointed, and they will probably no longer have hope in the future that the Orange family can lead the Netherlands back to the golden age in their hearts.

If they come to power, whoever comes to power will die. At least the current situation is unsolvable. We can't declare war on France when the Franco-Prussian alliance is advancing triumphantly, right?

Now the anti-French alliance has not officially declared war on France, but has sent troops and money in the name of the "State Rescript" army, and has repeatedly reiterated that it is not a declaration of war on France, but just to keep its word and defend the implementation of the State Rescript.

Unless the Franco-Prussian alliance collapses, no one dares to officially declare war on France, and can only play this kind of secret edge ball.

"My Lord Marquis, if you say so, I think you can also get what you want from the Grand Speaker. We are not opposed to the trade. If you think that the tribute of the East India Company is inappropriate, the Netherlands can certainly choose to pay tribute."

"We will not sell out the core interests of the Netherlands. Of course, we will not attack the Regents for this matter. This is the only thing we can guarantee."

"If you really just want a tariff agreement, then you can only find another way."

"If you are worried that we will take the opportunity to attack the Regents for reasons such as "national honor", then you don't have to worry at all."

"Your Highness William is only the governor of three provinces, and he will abide by the laws of the Republic and will not sell out the interests of the Republic for the crown."

Benting carefully considered the current situation and wanted to test Liu Yu's true thoughts.

Liu Yu deliberately kept silent for a moment, as if his real intention was this.

Although the silence was only a short moment, in the eyes of Earl Bentinck, it seemed to explain Liu Yu's true attitude.

This short silence also gave Earl Bentinck a great deal of confidence, and he felt that he had seen through Liu Yu's true thoughts.

Perhaps Liu Yu was not stupid and should have known that tariff agreements and free trade were absolutely impossible. He just didn't want the VOC, a subordinate regime of the Republic of the Seven Provinces, to pay tribute, so he put pressure on both sides.

Or perhaps Liu Yu tried to replicate the coup in Russia, thinking that William was also trying to ascend to the position of governor of the Seven Provinces, so as to use tariff agreements and free trade to exchange for the support of Liu Yu, the master of the coup.

In any case, Earl Bentinck was determined not to agree to the tariff agreement, and clearly expressed that "this is not bargaining, it is really a firm refusal."

Earl Bentinck certainly didn't understand tribute.

He thought that this might be a problem of legal documents. The difference lies in the official seal on the legal document. Is it the company seal of the East India Company? Or the national seal of the Republic of the Seven Provinces?

But in fact, tribute is by no means a simple question of whose official seal is printed.

Liu Yu didn't say it clearly. He had to wait for an opportunity to tell the whole of the Netherlands the truth, and even notify European countries, but it would never be now.

Now, just remind them. Big news is yet to come.

After a moment of silence, Liu Yu showed a little disappointment and deliberately asked: "Is there really anyone who can resist the temptation of the throne of the Seven Provinces Governor?"

Earl Bentinck immediately said: "My Lord Marquis, you may not understand that the Orange family's love and loyalty to the motherland surpasses everything."

"There are some bottom lines that we can't trade."

Liu Yu thought, yes, too loyal, so loyal that William II went to England to be the king and used Dutch blood to feed England, he was really loyal to his motherland; so loyal that the entire faction did its best to destroy the legend of the "Batavia Republic before the Commonwealth of Nations" and the formation of the Dutch community.

He was full of contempt and wanted to laugh, but his face still made a look of surprise and admiration for a moment.

"In other words, we can never reach an agreement on the tariff agreement, right? I'm not here to bargain today. If you don't agree, I'll really leave. And there will definitely be no second chance."

He took out an attitude like going to a street stall to buy something, pretending to leave, expecting the stall owner to keep him.

However, this time, before Earl Bentinck could say anything, William, who had not spoken much, expressed his meaning of "goodbye, no farewell".

Liu Yu did not stay, and left unhappily and with great fanfare.

He came and left quickly, which inevitably led to two kinds of speculation.

Either he happily reached some secret deal with the Orange Party.

Or, nothing was agreed upon and the negotiations broke down directly.

However, this kind of speculation hardly appeared in the upper class of the Netherlands.

Liu Yu had just got on the carriage, and Earl Bentinck had sent someone to communicate with the oligarchs of the Regent Party about the purpose of Liu Yu's visit.

He explained in detail what Liu Yu talked about, what conditions he put forward, and how William firmly rejected Liu Yu's temptation.

Although there were many contradictions between the Regent Party and the Orange Party, the Orange Party did not want to wade into the muddy water at this time, nor did it want to be used as a gun by Liu Yu.

The most important thing was that the Orange Party notified the Regent Party that they would not take the opportunity to cause trouble because the tributary state had insulted the national dignity.

The two sides did not have much mutual trust, but they were all the upper ruling class, and at this moment, they stood together without any prior agreement.

The Orange faction was worried that the Regent faction would take the opportunity to cause trouble. If the matter was really delayed, who knew what Liu Yu would do.

We are all shareholders. If Dashun really cut off trade with the Netherlands, no one would feel good.

Who would have a problem with money? Especially in a country like the Netherlands where money is status.

Grand Speaker Anthony was not surprised after receiving this news.

And he also believed in the sincerity of the Orange faction. Even if the two sides did not have any political mutual trust, this specific matter involved the interests of both parties, and the interests of both parties could be rarely consistent, so there was no need to doubt it.

"As expected, no one could sign a tariff agreement with the Dashun Empire. Now, this Marquis who controlled everything in Russia and changed Russia has returned in disgrace. Now, he finally knows how to talk."

In the face of the summoned directors of the East India Company, the Grand Speaker commented.

However, the directors of the East India Company were still worried.

"Sir, the tariff agreement and free trade will certainly destroy the East India Company."

"But the Kanhe trade is not a good thing either."

"It took the company a long time to finally strengthen its control over Batavia with the help of the tea incident of the Ostend Company."

"Once the Kanhe trade is opened, Batavia's status will rise again. Once the direct trade is cancelled, trade with China must rely on Batavia's power."

The Speaker also knew that this incident would indeed contribute to the rise of local forces in Batavia, and the control of the local area was already difficult.

Now that Dashun is doing this, it is equivalent to reducing the control of the central government over Batavia, which was established with great difficulty.

Originally, it was planned to use the tea incident as an opportunity to gradually abolish the status of Batavia as a transit port, so that the company headquarters could slowly clean up the already corrupt Batavia through direct trade.

Now that the direct trade is definitely going to be cancelled, the company headquarters in Batavia really dare not move.

"If you can only choose one of two bad things, I think it is better to choose the one with less bad consequences. What is the attitude of the company's board of directors on this?"

The director of the East India Company said helplessly: "The board of directors can't do anything about this. We have lost trade with Japan and it is impossible to lose trade with China. The company can't afford such a loss."

"It took the company a hundred years to finally gain the advantage of trade with China. It also paid a huge price to monopolize tea. No matter what, we can't give up."

"The Federal Parliament must agree to the conditions of Dashun. The only thing we can do is to strive for some favorable conditions for us in terms of the quantity and form of trade."

The director of the East India Company said "to agree", not "should agree" of a suggested nature.

The Speaker also understood the power of the East India Company, but did not agree to the East India Company's request outright. Instead, he asked what the "favorable conditions" that the board of directors of the East India Company hoped for were.

"Your Excellency, the Speaker, Liu Yu's speech in Batavia was quite strong. He wants to take full initiative in trade, including establishing a joint fleet to crack down on smuggling and eliminating smuggling as much as possible, so that Dashun can fully grasp the initiative in trade."

"Once smuggling is controlled, Dashun will use their monopoly on trade goods to gain the initiative. And they can sanction us at any time in the future."

"The East India Company should not be controlled by others."

"So, at least we can't agree to Liu Yu's plan to form a joint fleet and station anti-smuggling patrols."

"In this way, if something happens, we can still use smuggling to ensure the supply of goods."

The board of directors of the East India Company still grasped the key points of this matter, but the Speaker Anthony did not agree, but warned the East India Company.

"In fact, the Federation Provincial Council may not be able to hold lengthy talks and consultations with Dashun on this matter, nor will it choose to confront Dashun on this matter. Even if the Marquis has run into trouble with the Orange family's arrogance and arrogance, It’s reduced a lot, but we still don’t have the initiative.”

"Moreover, the Federation Provincial Council will choose to agree to Dashun's conditions as soon as possible and handle this matter as low-key as possible."

"The Orange family has agreed that they will not cause trouble by saying that their status as a tributary country is an insult to the country."

"The board of directors should also be aware that there are many people in Amsterdam alone who are dissatisfied with the East India Company's monopoly, not to mention the entire seven provinces."

"The Orange family and we rarely stand together. But we also have to face another force. The Orange family will not take the opportunity to cause trouble, but the other force may not."

"So, let's keep this matter as low-key as possible and don't delay it any longer. Although Liu Yu's arrogance has been suppressed this time, I'm afraid he won't give up so easily."

"The Marquis' behavior is very strange and difficult to understand. Once we argue too much about details, such as smuggling, we cannot meet his requirements..."

Anthony sighed and asked: "Once the Marquis really cancels trade and imposes an embargo on us in anger, can you imagine the turmoil in the Amsterdam stock market after the news comes out? Can you imagine the investment When reporters learn that trade with China is banned and that additional troops and ships may even be built to maintain smuggling routes, will there be any panic in the stock market? "

"So, taking advantage of his arrogance being suppressed, he will not insist on the opportunity of tariff agreement and free trade, and try to reach an agreement worthy of trade as low-key as possible."

"Sign as soon as possible and send him away instead of provoking him."

"What he did in Russia makes me feel a little panicked. It seems that he is dejected now, but the initiative in negotiations is still in his hands. He can't get a tariff agreement, and he is already quite dissatisfied. How can he possibly join forces in the United Nations? Concede on the issues of anti-smuggling and trade initiative?”