New Shun 1730

It is basically impossible to reason with capital, as capital is profit-seeking in nature.

But sometimes it is possible to reason with businessmen, as long as the methods of reasoning include prison, fines, confiscation, exile, etc.

For example, Liu Yu has been trying to reason with landlords and gentry. If we have money, can we not buy land and hoard land to collect rent? Can we invest in foreign trade industries or industry and mining?

After talking for a long time, in the end, we still have to rely on the army, laws, dumping in Southeast Asia to artificially reduce food prices, increase nominal land taxes, and check the land to reduce the rate of return on hoarding and buying land, so that a large amount of funds can be used to improve land, industry and commerce.

Today's trade is similar.

Before, the Dashun official, the new school, and Liu Yu's faction had tried their best to reason with these businessmen.

Including the emperor's southern tour before the Macau incident and the Songsu military review, they were also one of the means of reasoning before the war.

The purpose of the fleet gathering is to convince these merchants that victory will belong to this side, so that they can buy war bonds, cooperate with Dashun's trade stranglehold and seize the European market.

From a rational point of view, this is a rare opportunity. From the end of Chongzhen to the present, the control of the British Navigation Act and the Navigation Law on the colonies has been lifted because of the threat of the French army landing in Britain.

The market of all British colonies, thanks to the deformed structure formed by the previous British Navigation Act, especially the heavy dependence on the mother country in industrial products, means that once the Navigation Act is actually lifted and the British Navy cannot effectively crack down on smuggling, then Dashun, a trade association with a perfect substitute, will get the greatest benefit.

France is not good, the price of French goods is too high, and there are not so many goods that can satisfy the British colonies that "cut off the two major commodity production areas of India and Britain" at once.

The rest of the countries are even worse, even if they expand production, it will not be so fast.

Only Dashun can do this, especially tea, silk, porcelain, etc., which are essentially exports but previously controlled by the British East India Company, can be directly seized by Dashun's commercial capital and shipping industry to achieve absolute control.

That's the reason.

However, if it is completely liberalized, capital may not cooperate with Dashun's strategy at all, because capital prefers a clearer profit direction rather than trying to take risks.

With Dashun's victory in India, Western European forces, except for Spain in Luzon, Portugal in Southeast Africa, and France in Mauritius, were basically expelled from the east of the Cape of Good Hope.

Especially in the trade in the Persian Gulf region, which was originally highly competitive, Dashun completely gained hegemony this time, and this hegemony was obtained by "naval warfare" as Lao Ma said.

Dashun's merchants are familiar with the Persian area. In addition, since ancient times, the Persian Gulf area has been the main area of ​​China's foreign trade, and there is a long historical tradition there.

With the rise of Dashun textual research in recent years, everyone knows that the "Xin Yatuo Luo Guide General Edict" written by Su Dongpo for the emperor is about the Persian Gulf region.

As the saying goes, the light of the sun shines on the grass and trees; even in the remotest place, it shines on everything. You have visited the imperial court, presented precious coins in person, enlightened the tribes, and brought ladders and ships every year. I would like to compare myself to the inner ministers, who are equally blessed by the rain, obey the new favorite, and think more about loyalty...

Compared with the more distant Europe, Persia has been rich since ancient times, which makes merchants more interested in Persian trade.

After the Dashun navy expelled the British forces east of the Cape of Good Hope in a hegemonic way and extended its tentacles to India, this trade line is obviously more in line with the taste of capital.

In Songsu, full of cotton cloth, Nanyang sugar, or other handicrafts, etc., go to the Middle East where the navy has eliminated competitive forces.

For example, Bujun, Busora, Muscat, Mocha and other places.

There, cloth, sugar, etc. have a profit of more than 50%.

After selling cloth and sugar, buy myrrh, frankincense, incense, dates, or horses needed by India.

Part of it can be returned directly to China.

The other part, such as goods needed by India, can be sold in India again.

After selling in India, load saltpeter from Bengal, raw silk from Rajshahi, cotton, cotton yarn, jute from all over India, etc. and return to China.

Whether it is medicinal materials, saltpeter, raw silk, cotton yarn, etc., they are all in short supply after returning to China, and the profit is not low.

Moreover, the most important thing is that the trade cycle is much shorter than going to Europe.

The same is to earn 100 yuan, one is a year and a half cycle, and the other is a half-year cycle. Which one will capital choose?

For the same trade, one return trip can only bring silver, and the other return trip can also bring trade goods. Which one will capital choose?

This is self-evident.

The most important thing is another point.

The news of the war in India has been sent back, and it is very clear.

But the news of the war in Europe has not been sent back yet, and it is not clear. Halfway through the journey, it was found that the Dashun navy was defeated and the British were arresting Dashun merchant ships everywhere. Even if they were not caught, they would really have to pay the price if they returned.

But the same thing still applies.

The Dashun military, the General Staff and the New School fought in Europe and across the Cape of Good Hope, not to let Dashun merchants run to Persia and India to make money.

If it was just to go to India and Persia to make money, then the war should have ended after Dashun captured India.

It is not necessary to ship dozens of battleships and cruisers that have been accumulated for nearly 30 years to Europe at a very high military cost.

In fact, it is not necessary to build so many warships in these 20 years. If it is just to seize India and keep the east of East Africa, then Dashun only needs 10 battleships. The extra money can be used to repair the Yellow River, repair the main general, repair the Liaohe River, resettle the grain transport personnel, provide disaster relief, etc.

Originally, in the First World War, Dashun's attitude had three factions: "no fight", "small fight" and "big fight".

And if you want to fight a big fight, you must figure out what Dashun's purpose is.

Since Dashun has chosen to send troops to Europe, it is obvious that the faction supporting "big fight" has the upper hand. And the reason why the faction of big fight has the upper hand is that at least they must have explained why they want to fight a big fight. Although it may be "reasonable", it may not be the strongest reason for "doing this".

And how to fight a big fight? How can we get the most benefits in Europe, where the influence is small and the garrison cannot be too large?

This is why Dashun forced Western trading companies to continue to increase merchant ships by government supervision and court control.

The Dashun faction believed that with the development of navigation and the increase of trade between the East and the West, the technological gap between the East and the West was shrinking sharply.

This shrinkage is even visible to the naked eye.

It is not just the spread of steam engine technology.

It is some of Dashun's characteristic trade products that Europe is imitating crazily, not just silk and porcelain, but also many more commodities.

Let's take an example of something that did not exist before Europe and is purely a genuine oriental characteristic product.

Lacquerware.

At least in lacquerware, Dashun's advantage no longer exists. French imitation lacquerware furniture is devouring the market of Dashun lacquerware at an astonishing rate.

Especially Germany's "Chinese lacquerware", at least seven out of ten are not made in China or Japan at all, but are purely imitations made in France.

In the early years, France had established the [Corporation des peintres et des vernisseurs], and they had sent a petition to the French government very early.

Moreover, in history, the French government's financial director wrote to the East India Company, clearly stating the content of "preventing compradors and supporting the development of domestic imitation products".

[I learned that the craftsmen in various industries such as fans, large wooden products, pottery, lacquerware, etc. that we began to imitate were extremely dissatisfied with your large-scale imports of such goods from China... Of course, I wrote this letter not to blame you, but more to remind you, so as not to harm you in the future...]

In addition to France, British carpenters also petitioned the government in 1741, requesting the government to ban the import of lacquerware and wooden products from the East, otherwise they would really not be able to survive, and the newly developed imitation lacquerware industry would also be finished.

This kind of handicraft, especially this kind of carpentry product that is considered a mid-to-high-end luxury product, is not too difficult for Europe to imitate. It is not that there are no carpenters in Europe. More importantly, the scientific experimental spirit makes reverse engineering very fast.

Jean-Felix Huatian, a royal carpenter in France, clearly named the chapter title "How to Imitate Chinese Lacquerware; How to Imitate Lacquer Boxes, Snuff Boxes, and Furniture" in his book.

A very famous thing is that Madame Pompadour spent 3,260 livres to buy a Chinese lacquer box from the famous Parisian dealer Du Weis. Madame Pompadour thought it was Made in China, liked it very much, and often showed it.

But in fact, this lacquer box is not only made in France, but also directly produced in Paris. The Gobelins region is the largest counterfeit center in France.

Madame Pompadour in Paris spent a high price to buy high-end foreign goods, but the story that this high-end foreign goods were produced in Paris is not magical.

This is also the reason why some people in Dashun actually hate France more. The things left by Colbert, whether it is mercantilism or domestic industrial substitution policy, have caused many people in Dashun a headache. The counterfeiting center of Gobelins is also Colbert's legacy.

Even basically, most of the so-called "Chinese lacquerware" in southern Germany is made in France.

Lacquerware, a real oriental specialty, is like this.

Not to mention the rest.

The logic of capitalism to defeat the enemy is not blockade, but dumping.

Only by dumping can the newly started industry of the other side be completely destroyed.

As for Dashun, once the war is over and the power in Europe is balanced again, Dashun will have no chance to dump in all directions.

So Dashun hopes to fight late, fight hard, fight a world war, and fight slowly.

And hope that the longer the fight, the better.

And it will not cooperate with France to land in Ireland, Scotland, or fight such outrageous things in the Channel.

Instead, it will prepare to fight and fight slowly.

In the process of fighting, expand trade.

In the process of fighting, seize the market.

Especially in this gap period when the British Navigation Act, which lasted for more than a hundred years, has actually collapsed and France's mercantilist policy has been interrupted by Prussia's physical means.

What is more necessary is that Dashun should gather all the merchant ships that can be gathered.

Within two or three years, with the help of war, smuggling, etc., some of Europe's fledgling industries, especially imitation handicrafts, will be destroyed.

This will require more ships and more goods.

Rather than letting these merchants go to Persia, Oman and other places to transport things like dates and Tianzexiang during this rare opportunity period.

This kind of money can be earned slowly in the future.

Now, go there and make more money in the future.

Merchants are inherently dissatisfied, but there is nothing they can do. Dashun merchants are not merchants of the East India Company, and they do not have the strength to force the government to force the North American tea-split to save the company.

Merchants don't want to listen, but they want to go to the Persian Gulf, but the consequences of not listening are still very serious in Dashun.