From Chief to Ball

The board of the Dutch Indian Company appreciated the young accountant's proposal, but the most serious problem appeared.

Why would the republic on the other side of the negotiation agree to this condition?

Chapter 35 Mutual Possibilities

From the perspective of the Dutch India Company, this is indeed a condition that the republic cannot accept at all.

Because everything in this plan is based on the fact that the Republic does not get involved in the spice trade, the Republic is willing to accept credit transactions, the Republic is willing to open up new routes from the east, and the Republic has enough goods to destroy the British cotton spice system. .

However, the Dutch Indian Company could not come up with effective compensation measures to make them accept this condition.Benefits are the same wherever you put them. You only think about others paying, and you don’t want to give something equivalent to yourself. There is no reason to accept it at all.

Moreover, what if the condition given by the British is to cooperate with them and monopolize the spice trade and share sales?The British will get word soon, maybe even the British ships are already in the Dover Strait by now...

Looking for business opportunities like Indian companies, there are also those businessmen who are dissatisfied with the monopoly policy of Indian companies in Amsterdam, as well as the business oligarchs in those cities.

The Netherlands is dominated by commercial capital, and China's batches of handicrafts are wealth to them.They monopolize the trade in the Baltic Sea and Northern Europe, merchant ships transship all the goods they need, they do not rely on and do not need the support of domestic handicraft industry, and not many people are willing to invest money in handicraft industry.

When the profit return rate of overseas investment and commercial shipping investment is more than [-]%, fools will invest money in some low-level handicraft industries.

In addition, this time Chen Jian also brought tea, porcelain and other goods monopolized by Indian companies.Although these two things are not mainstream trade yet, and the quality is far worse than Jingdezhen's aristocratic porcelain, but this is also a huge benefit.

If a series of preferential conditions can be reached, Dutch businessmen feel that they can make a lot of money with their own transportation system and business network.

At this time, the Chinese had no conditions to trade with other countries. They could not understand the language, had weak relationships, did not know who to seek bribes, and were not as familiar with shipping routes and waterways as the Dutch.

Therefore, the merchants hope that the parliament and the ruling party can immediately reach a trade agreement with Chen Jian. Some goods such as cotton cloth can be completely exempted from tariffs, or they can be charged very little tax, so as to attract them to trade in Amsterdam.

If the Dutch can guarantee contact with these people, and the goods are concentrated in Amsterdam, then they can still obtain high profits by virtue of their established business system.

As for the handicraft industry that is about to die or live, it doesn't have much say.The state belongs to oligarchs and bankers and sea merchants.

It seems that this condition is tempting, but the problem still exists.Can the fleet of these Chinese merchants be traded in Amsterdam only by virtue of the attraction of low tariffs?Instead of trying to find a way to trade directly with other countries?

All these negotiations always need to give up a part of the interests, but where to give up?

Moreover, although the trade of raw silk does not account for a large proportion of the Indian company's trade volume at this time, it also hurts the interests of the Indian company. Regardless of the Chinese people, will the directors of the Indian company be hindered?

……

Amidst various plans and conflicts, Chen Jian sent people to Amsterdam.

After the date was set, the same two "exhibition and sales fairs" that were familiar to Chen Jian and some of his employees, like women cooking, were held in the two places at the same time.

The news spread quickly, and the Netherlands was considered a religiously tolerant and open country at this time, and it was also a gathering place for philosophers, scientists, atheists, and other church heresies.

There are also a large number of nobles, envoys, merchants, and citizens who like to be lively.

These people only knew that a batch of novel goods had arrived here, but they had not witnessed those shocking scenes at the moment.

No need for anything else, a hot air balloon is enough to shock the citizens of the two cities and the visiting nobles.

Flying to the sky is the dream of human beings, not only the Chinese people will be crazy about it, but it is the same here.

But not only that.

The plate glass across the ocean was bonded together with glue and wooden frames, and a glass house was built, which was regarded as the top art in Europe at this time.

If only from an artistic point of view, this is nothing.But this is the first time that a transparent glass room that can accommodate three or five people to sigh with glass and wooden frame glue, exudes a luxurious and mysterious atmosphere everywhere.

Wide silver-plated glass mirrors are placed nearby, and distorting mirrors of various types are, as always, means of attraction.

The hot air balloon that launched pushed the atmosphere to the peak of madness, and the telescope that was three years earlier than Europe made many nobles indulge in the world that was brought closer.

So much so that when the news from here reached the battlefield in the south, Spinola, who had returned from Spain, was silent for a long time, and said with emotion: "Now, I can't see him, but he can already see me."

This he, of course, refers to Morris.

In addition to these, the kerosene lamps that can be placed on both sides of the carriage for night lighting, and various small toys that use the center of gravity to confuse the vision, also amazed the citizens.

But the most amazing thing is photography. The simple and monotonous black and white photos have set off a craze after another. Those street scenes and portraits that are more realistic than any painter's paintings all demonstrate the power of science to change the world. .

Of course, there is also a "Photography Collection" that has been prepared in the fleet. The photos in it are all carefully selected by Chen Jian, with the simplest annotations.

For example, the children who were looking forward to the return of the sea-going ship won the first photography art award. Just a few words of annotations gave the dull black-and-white photos an artistic flavor.

The most numerous photos in the "Photography Collection" are the few photos deliberately selected by Chen Jian.

The Nan'an mining area is densely covered with wooden rails like snakes, the horse-drawn mine carts filled with ore are posed for photos, the most prosperous neighborhood in Mincheng, the batch of remodeled slum buildings in Mincheng, docked at the pier at noon The ships used to calculate marine insurance, the coastal forts in Mincheng, the huge fortress in the coastal bastion area of ​​the capital, the National People's Congress buildings in the capital... and the iconic, elevated canal diversion channel of the Nan'an Canal.

There is nothing more visually shocking than photos. When this photobook was spread, countless people wanted to take a look.

People always imagine that there is a mysterious country in a distant place that put an end to all the pain here, and it is the same here.

The less you understand, the more mysterious and yearning you are.And all the photos that can be left in the photo album are carefully selected by Chen Jian. The half-hour time required for the exposure at this time also ensures that the characters are dull or serious, and they are willing to be photographed by people who have learned photography skills. The scenes are bound to be shocking.

People in Amsterdam or The Hague have seen the market.Some have been to the Spice Islands, some originally lived in Granada, some lived in Paris, and some came from the north to serve in the Morris Army...

But even if they have seen the market, even if the world they have seen is already half of the world, they still can't be stingy with any words of praise in front of these deliberately selected shocking things.

Guns, art, cities, architecture... When all these are available and beyond people's senses at this time, the mysterious and imaginary power becomes an indelible first impression.

The mysterious kingdom is like Atlantis in the ancient Greek legend, and what Chen Jian strives to show is exactly the scene in Sir Francis Bacon's fantasy work that reveals the supremacy of science and utopian socialism.Even if that book had not yet been published, there is no doubt that this is the extreme state of scientific supremacy that one can imagine at this time.

For a time, those oaths that seemed strange in the fleet became a new attempt and fashion.The odd-looking tableware has also become a symbol of elegance.Drinking tea, which had just begun to become popular among the fleet, quickly became a more elegant pastime.

When exchanging cultures with each other, there is never nobility or inferiority in some behaviors, it just depends on whether the civilization is strong or not, sometimes even strength is not needed, only a kind of mystery is needed.

The most ordinary citizens can't figure out how to weave these cotton cloths, which are far beyond the limit of what the arms can reach.

The most ordinary businessman is full of interest in the stock exchange and futures exchange spoken by the crew members who can speak a few words of Dutch, and even has some coincident wishes.

The most ordinary nobles can't figure out why there are no hereditary nobles in this mysterious country, which is incomprehensible and incomprehensible.

The most ordinary officer could not figure out how to keep morale from collapsing in the face of the salvo of this densely packed army.

The most unusual people finally understood that Chen Jian was planning to expand his influence, relying on the Dutch fleet to spread what happened here, waiting for businessmen from Britain, France, and even Venice in Lisbon to come here to communicate.

As a result, the negotiations that had been deliberately delayed by Chen Jian quickly got on the right track.

Chen Jian's conditions also began to be introduced, all of which had to be completed before people from other countries came or Chen Jian left.

The conditions are secretive, you need to come and go, the bottom line has been determined.

Signed a treaty with the Netherlands on the ownership of the colony and the territorial waters of the high seas recognized by the two countries, and wooed the United Kingdom, France, Denmark and other countries to sign.The Netherlands has signed to allow the activities of the International Federation of Life-saving and Healing Charities in the Netherlands.The Chinese Republic expressed moral support for the independence of the Netherlands and allowed the arms trade.

Recognize the treaty signed between the Netherlands and the princes of the Spice Islands, acknowledging their right to sail and monopolize spices there.But correspondingly, the fleet of the Republic has freedom of navigation and passage, and must not be blocked.

The Chinese Republic gave up the trade of spices transshipment to Europe, at the cost of the Dutch Indian Company's ports in Asia, and the Republic's fleet had the right to dock.It can accept the inspection of the Netherlands and guarantees that there will be no spice smuggling.