unclear

Chapter 1255 Capitalist

Why, in addition to the Ministry of Rites, the formal counterpart department, Silva was specially appointed to participate in welcoming visits from foreign monarchs? This is an example of Hong Tao's ability to know how to use people.

Although the Ministry of Rites had taken the opportunity to visit and send envoys to various European countries in recent years to learn about local customs and practices, it still had too few information channels compared to the pure European aristocrats. Especially when it came to the affairs and people in the aristocratic circle, it only knew the superficial aspects but not the essence.

It was not that they were not careful and hard enough in their work, nor was it that their working methods were wrong, but rather that there were cultural differences. Not to mention the officials of the Ministry of Rites, even Hong Tao could not fully adapt to the life and habits of European aristocrats.

Silva can make up for this deficiency. Although he is just a poor noble, he is still a noble after all, and his ancestors were once glorious. The most important thing is that he has the traditional thinking mode of the aristocracy in his mind, which outsiders cannot master through a short period of study.

"Cornelius Beck... Can the mayor of Amsterdam put such great pressure on the governor?" Hong Tao picked up the visitor list, found the corresponding name on it, and still found it hard to believe after reading the notes at the back.

"Your Majesty, please be patient and listen to me slowly..." Silva not only spoke Chinese very well, but also learned a lot of the behaviors of Ming Dynasty officials, especially his patience and patience. Sometimes, Hong Tao was disgusted by this and wanted to kick him in the face.

"Wang Chengen, good tea and good cigarettes..."

But I managed to hold back every time, mainly because this fat guy, apart from following the crowd in his manners, was not very slick by nature, and he did a good job in completing the tasks assigned to him.

If you can work conscientiously and responsibly, without being corrupt and forming cliques, what else do you need? If all the officials of the Ming Dynasty can consciously do this, Hong Tao will immediately abdicate and find a beautiful place in Annan to build a farm.

It would be great to go fishing, hunting, or sailing around the world. Who wants to be this broken emperor, trapped in the Forbidden City all day long? If you want to go to Qipan Street, you have to plan it half a year in advance. In a sense, it is not as free as an exile.

"Thank you, Your Majesty... Cornelis Beek is a businessman in Amsterdam. His grandfather started out as a grain trader, and his father got involved in the shipping industry. His business was very large, and gradually became the core business family of Amsterdam and even the Netherlands.

The family had shares in both the East India Company and the West India Company, and had a lot of say in the spice, sugar and slave trade. Currently, there are two representatives of the Beek family. Cornelis is only the younger brother. He also has an older brother named Andries, who is the speaker of the Dutch Provincial Parliament.

It can be said that the influence of the Beek family in the Netherlands is very great, even the Prince of Orange cannot ignore it. In addition, the Beek family is not alone. Andries's wife is from the De Graf family, and Cornelis's wife is from the Tripp family.

The ancestors of these two families came from Antwerp and moved north due to religious issues. The De Graf family mainly engaged in banking, while the Tripp family focused on mining and metal smelting.

Currently, the Tripp family is not only the largest arms supplier to the United Provinces Republic, but also includes Sweden, the Kingdom of Denmark and many German nobles in its customer list. Its products include artillery, muskets, ammunition, armor and so on.

In addition to their common interests in business, the three families are all Republicans and have been on the opposite side of the Orange family since the time of William I. It is definitely not a coincidence that Cornelis accompanied the prince on a long tour of Batavia and visited Ming Dynasty together, and it is even less likely that he was assigned by the prince. He wanted to hang all the Republicans. "

Drinking the tea given by the emperor and smoking the emperor's imperial cigar, Silva finally felt comfortable and spoke more fluently. He talked about the origin of Cornelis and the huge interest group behind the Bick family. His eloquence was comparable to Hong Tao, and he also spoke without a script and basically did not interrupt.

"Good fellow, a shipping family, a financial tycoon, and an arms giant, Hendrick should be under some pressure. It seems that every family has its own problems. Let's wait and see what tricks they are going to play by coming to me from afar.

If your health allows, you can spend more time with them these days and learn as many details as possible, so that I can be more targeted. Oh, yes, it’s best to bring Oyani with you, I’m afraid you can’t handle it alone. Don’t trust Cohen too much. Sometimes you have to put personal feelings aside when you stand in his position. "

After listening to Silva's explanation, Hong Tao basically believed his previous speculation. With three big families that controlled the economic lifeline and held positions of real power as opponents, the Prince of Orange's life was indeed not easy and the pressure was indeed not small.

But this amount of capital is still far behind the Ming Empire, and it is unlikely to be able to play any tricks. But in accordance with the principle of knowing yourself and the enemy, you can despise them strategically, but you must pay attention to them tactically. Then add another general, a husband-and-wife combination, and see how it works.

On the second day of the Lunar New Year, every household was still immersed in the New Year's celebration. Except for a few commercial streets and market places, there were few people on the streets. It happened that the northwest wind blew on this day, as sharp as a knife, blowing on the face painfully. If there was food and drink at home, no one would be willing to come out to suffer.

However, on the official road between Tongzhou and the capital, there was a large group of people hurrying along. Judging from their attire, they were officials, but the common people along the way could not understand why they chose to travel on this day. Didn't the government have a holiday?

"I have been an official for decades, but this is the first time I am still busy with official business on the second day of the first lunar month. If this continues, I am afraid I will have to retire in a few years." There is indeed no holiday. There are two men and one woman in the first eight-wheeled carriage. Yang Sichang, the Minister of Rites, looked at the moisture frozen on the glass by the low temperature and couldn't help laughing at himself.

"That's too much. According to Ming Dynasty law, officials of the third rank and above can only resign when they are 65 years old. Minister Yang is now full of energy and vigor. I heard that he won the first prize in the badminton competition before the festival. Why would you want to leave?"

Sitting opposite Yang Sichang was a fat black man. There was nothing unusual in his speech, but it was a pity that one could not see his face. His gray-green eyes and curly beard spoke of his owner's bloodline all the time.

"What's the use of being healthy? Not to mention Minister Yang, I have often been exhausted and exhausted over the years. I always feel like I'm being whipped. There are 45 branches in the mainland and overseas territories of the Ming Dynasty, and 22 branches in various countries. The accounts every month are complicated and overwhelming.

Europe has only started a few years ago and has not had time to consolidate, but now we have to go to the New World to open up new land. If we cannot reach an agreement with the Europeans on the world order, the first to bear the brunt will not be Enniao Port or Fao Port, but the European branch of the Sun Moon Bank, and me, the Prime Minister of the Sun Moon Bank!"

As soon as Silva finished speaking, he was refuted by Oyani. Her menopause seemed to be a bit long, and the symptoms were quite obvious. After a few words, sweat appeared on the tip of her nose, her chest was heaving violently, and she was very emotional.

(End of this chapter)