The Ming Dynasty did not revolutionize

Chapter 112 Louis XVI is very happy

Louis XVI was very happy. He had rarely been so happy since he became king, but this was the second time in the past two years.

The first time was a loan from the Ming Dynasty, and the second time was a peace treaty from the Ming Dynasty, both of which were related to the Ming Dynasty.

Lu Shiliu looked at the terms of the peace treaty and couldn't help but cheer:

"Great, that's great, it's better than I thought.

“The Ming Dynasty is actually willing to share so many Caribbean islands with us.

"The Ming Dynasty is truly a civilized country, it is generous and reasonable.

"After this cooperation in war and trade, we have established a true friendship with Ming Dynasty."

The French Foreign Minister, Count Charles Gravier, looked at the very happy king and hesitated for a long time.

In the end, the Ming Dynasty’s invitation to trade territory was brought forward.

The British and Spanish also knew about this invitation, and the key point was that the Ming Dynasty's envoys would also come to Europe.

This news will definitely not be kept secret in the end.

We can only speak out in advance and persuade the king in advance not to support this transaction.

After listening to the explanation and figuring out the purpose of the Ming Wu Wang, Louis XVI said almost instinctively:
"Brother Joseph's chance has come again. He has another chance to exchange Netherlands.

"I should go find the queen and ask her to go home and talk to Brother Joseph to discuss this deal."

The Holy Roman Emperor at this time, Joseph II, the ruler of the Habsburg Empire, was the eldest son of Archduchess Maria Theresa of Austria.

He was also the elder brother of Marie Antoinette, Queen of Louis XVI, and the brother-in-law of Louis XVI.

Louis XVI and his wife had a good relationship with this eldest brother.

Louis XVI initially seemed to have some psychological problems that prevented him from completing an actual marriage with his wife.

The two were officially married in 1770, but had no children until 1777.

Brother Joseph resolved the unknown troubles between the couple after he visited Paris incognito in 1777.

Joseph later called both Louis XVI and his sister complete fools.

In 1778, Louis XVI and his wife's first daughter was born.

In 1781, Louis XVI and his wife's first son was born, and was named Louis Joseph by Louis XVI.

The Netherlands that Louis XVI was referring to at this time was the Southern Netherlands.

The Habsburgs originally owned the entire Netherlands region, and the Northern Netherlands had long since become an independent country, usually referred to as Holland in translation.

The remaining Southern Netherlands, which later became Belgium, is now also a hot potato.

Although the area was quite wealthy, it was highly independent politically, and the Habsburgs' rule there was very weak.

The Habsburgs tried many times to free the Southern Netherlands and establish a truly independent friendly ally.

But it would be better to exchange it for other valuable territory.

The Habsburgs' most recent attempt had occurred just three years earlier.

In 1778, the Kingdom of Bavaria, which was close to Austria, became extinct, and the Elector of the Palatinate was supposed to succeed to the throne.

The Habsburg Holy Roman Emperor proposed that the Elector Palatinate cede Bavaria to the Habsburgs, and the Habsburgs cede the Southern Netherlands to the Elector Palatinate.

The Elector Palatinate accepted the deal, but Prussia and Saxony strongly opposed it.

Exchanging the Netherlands on the edge of Germany for Bavaria in the German region can greatly increase the Habsburg's control and influence in the German region.

Other Holy Roman monarchs, led by Prussia, feared that they would be marginalized.

In order to prevent the territorial transaction, the two monarchs even declared war on the Habsburgs.

However, this war was not fierce. Both sides were constantly mobilizing their troops, but there was no actual fighting.

They were all so busy harvesting Bohemian potatoes that it became known as the Potato War.

In the end, the anti-war forces in both countries played a role and pushed both sides to compromise after the potato war that lasted for a year.

The Habsburgs received a small portion of Bavaria and retained the Southern Netherlands.

Most of Bavaria was still inherited by the Elector Palatinate.

In the original history, it was not until the end of the Napoleonic Wars that the Habsburgs finally threw out the Southern Netherlands.

The Habsburgs took Milan and Venice, and the Kingdom of Belgium was finally established.

French Foreign Minister Gravier had long anticipated the king's reaction.

Although it should be impossible for the king to trade French land directly with the Ming Dynasty, he can support and contact other European countries to trade.

The Habsburgs in particular had a very close relationship with the King.

The cooperation between France and Ming Dynasty in this war left the king with a very good impression of Ming Dynasty.

Not only did they have Ming Dynasty specialties as loans, but they were also allocated several sugar islands in the end.

The king would instinctively assist in such a transaction.

Gravier was very helpless to persuade and remind the king:
“Your Majesty, Prussia and other German states cannot accept the Habsburgs acquiring Bavaria.

"It should be even more unacceptable for a giant like Ming to interfere in the German region.

"Whether the Ming wanted to acquire Bremen from Hanover or the Netherlands from Habsburg, they would definitely oppose it.

“They might even declare war outright again.

“The point is, this deal would not have been good for the Habsburgs either.

"In the Ming Dynasty's territorial exchange proposal, the most important price offered was not Canada, but the surrounding benefits generated by Ming Dynasty's commodity trade.

"But the Netherlands was originally on the edge of the Habsburg-ruled area, far away from the core Austrian region.

"After the Habsburgs handed over the Netherlands, they were unable to gain any corresponding trade benefits.

“The Habsburgs’ naval power was relatively weak, so even if they took Canada it would be of no use.

"At the same time, the Netherlands is adjacent to France, and bringing the power of the Ming Dynasty here will do us even less good.

“We have just suppressed Britain and improved our position on the continent.

"We shouldn't let Da Ming in at this time."

Louis XVI said somewhat uncertainly:

“Didn’t the Ming Dynasty just want a piece of land that would facilitate direct trade with European countries?

“It’s only by placing it next to France that we can have better cooperation and trade. Just give me the distribution rights in France.

"Moreover, your Excellency's words make me feel that this deal seems to be the most beneficial to us in France.

"Our navy can... help Brother Joseph and help him maintain the Canadian region.

"The Netherlands is right next to France, so the resulting benefits will also benefit France.

“Moreover, the Ming mainland is far away in Shenzhou, and the power it can exert on the European continent will definitely be very limited.

"The limit is to be able to arrange for 20,000 to 30,000 people to stay in Europe permanently.

"The actual strength will definitely be far weaker than that of European powers like France and the Holy Roman Empire."

Gravier had to admit that the king's brain was not completely useless.

Encouraging the Habsburgs to accept the deal and hand over the Southern Netherlands to the Ming Dynasty was indeed very beneficial to France.

The marginal benefits of the Ming Dynasty's trade center in Canada and the Netherlands can be obtained for free.

Gravier sighed again and said:
“Your Majesty, we cannot just look at the present.

“These trade and territorial interests are only minor immediate interests.

“The long-term and sustained influence between countries is the force that can change the landscape of the European continent.

"And influence is not necessarily directly related to combat effectiveness." Now there are many countries in Europe, many intellectuals and aristocrats who yearn for the distant Shenzhou.

"Including our French scholars.

"If the Ming Dynasty builds the Daming City in the Netherlands, it will attract these capable talents from our country, which will be very detrimental to the technological development of our France.

“Also, to win a war, you don’t necessarily need a very large army.

"The Ming Dynasty only sent 30,000 troops to North America this time, but it has already achieved amazing results.

"Giving the Southern Netherlands to Ming will greatly increase Ming's influence in Europe.

“Future European affairs will have to take into account the attitude of the Ming Dynasty, which will make future diplomatic activities more complicated.

"So, Your Majesty, for the long-term interests of France, I strongly advise Your Majesty not to help Ming Dynasty complete territorial transactions in Europe."

Louis XVI felt that what Gravier said made some sense, but it did not have a strong sense of reality:

“Well, I accept your reminder that we really shouldn’t complicate the issue.

"But this deal was never meant for France. The best trading partner is still the Habsburgs.

“What we worry about and consider, Brother Joseph must also consider.

“We should still inform Brother Joseph in advance so that he can start considering how to respond and whether to accept it.

"Your Excellency, please arrange for an envoy to go to Vienna."

Gravière couldn't refuse this reasonable arrangement:
"Your will."

Louis XVI got rid of his troubles and his spirits rose again:
"What we should do now is to quickly take over the island that we deserve, right?"

Gravier said this time at once:

"Yes your majesty, we should complete this matter as soon as possible and restore our strength and trade revenue in the Caribbean."

Louis XVI stood up and said:

"Go and call His Excellency Count Grasse, and have him lead our fleet to Central America to take over the land that belongs to us, France!
"Then get ready to welcome the upcoming Ming Dynasty delegation. They should bring the second batch of goods, right?"

Gravier glanced at the de facto finance minister, Jacques Necker, and reluctantly agreed:

"Yes."

Jacques Necker, who had been silent, also nodded:

"Yes, Your Majesty, we will have a second income soon, thank you for the generosity of the Ming Dynasty."

Louis XVI also said with great emotion:
"Business cooperation with Daming is the most correct choice we have made."

Jacques Necker is much luckier than he was in history. He still serves as the de facto French Minister of Finance in the name of Treasurer.

Because his position was relatively stable, he did not suffer a complete political failure.

Naturally, in order to maintain its reputation, the French royal family will not publish the French royal financial report as it did in the past and expose the spending situation of the royal family and the nobility.

Because the war with Britain ended early, and more importantly, with the loan support from the Ming Dynasty, France's financial situation was much better than the same period in history.

The first loan from the Ming Dynasty to France was not delivered until last year when the war was basically over.

The loan was no longer useful for the war itself, but it could help the French king earn commercial profits and fill the hole left by the war.

Jacques Necker, who made a significant contribution to this, remained in a rock-solid position despite continued attacks from his political opponents.

Because he can really make money for the king now, no matter how much others attack him, it will have no practical effect.

The Ming Dynasty's loan was not directly given in silver dollars, but in the form of Ming Dynasty goods. This plan made Necker see a huge business opportunity.

If the Ming Dynasty gave silver dollars directly to the king, they would just be spent in vain and might not have much effect.

However, the plan to deliver goods can turn the king into the French agent of Ming Dynasty goods.

This turns it from simply spending money into an opportunity to make money.

Although it is impossible for the Ming Dynasty to deliver goods at the factory price, it will be significantly lower than the original market price in France.

In the past, Ming Dynasty commodity trade might have to pass through several hands before it could be shipped to France.

The ships of private merchant caravans are small and few in number, so the risk of accidents is relatively high. Any loss could be the loss of the entire ship, and there is also the possibility of being robbed by pirates.

Therefore, private businessmen must increase their profit margins as much as possible.

After these goods have gone through numerous hardships and dangers to reach France, they still have to first fall into the hands of French merchants.

French merchants had to process it again and mark up the price significantly before it could finally be delivered to the final customers, such as the French king and nobles.

Now the Ming caravans deliver the goods directly to the king.

The Ming merchant caravans would often have hundreds of large ships setting out at the same time, and their merchant ships all had watertight compartments, so it was not easy for them to be lost as a whole.

The probability of cargo damage is much lower than that of European civilian merchant ships.

The key is that the main fleet of the Ming Dynasty court directly escorted the entire journey.

Not only could the pirates not steal goods, they also had to worry about being directly wiped out by the Ming navy, or being robbed by the Ming navy in turn.

This caused the transportation and risk costs of Ming Dynasty goods to drop drastically.

This squeezed out a huge profit margin.

The bulk of the profits went to the Ming court and Ming merchants, but the King of France also received a certain proportion as a collaborator.

When Louis XVI saw the final price given by the Ming Dynasty, it was less than one-third of the price he had paid in the past.

In the past, when merchants did business with aristocrats like Louis XVI, they would boast about how expensive and precious the raw materials were, and how exaggerated the risks of transportation were.

Because labor was worthless in the feudal era, they could only brag about the price of raw materials.

Otherwise there is no reason to sell at a high price.

Now Louis XVI got the raw materials directly at a very reasonable price, and he only needed to pay a tiny processing fee to get the finished product.

Louis XVI found the price unbelievable and cursed the merchant.

At the suggestion of Jacques Necker, Louis XVI directly set up a company to sell Ming Dynasty products.

Although Louis XVI's purchase price was much lower than that of ordinary merchants, he followed Jacques Necker's advice and ultimately did not give any concessions to his aristocratic customers.

On the contrary, the price is one-fourth higher than that of similar products on the market before.

Because the things sold by Louis XVI were authentic official products of the Ming Dynasty, endorsed by both the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty and the King of France.

These things are luxury goods in themselves. The nobles buy them not just for use, but more for psychological satisfaction.

Therefore, the price of the commodity itself is not the most important thing. The recognition of the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty and the King of France is more important.

Louis XVI made a fortune from this.

But the more critical issue was that it allowed Louis XVI to gain in-depth knowledge of the industry and learn the normal prices of Ming Dynasty goods entering Europe.

I know that the merchants in the past made several times the profit in the middle.

In fact, Louis XVI himself, Jacques Necker and others, and Zhu Jianxuan himself, did not realize one problem.

This series of events changed the nature of Louis XVI's identity.

He is transforming from the most traditional feudal aristocracy to a new aristocracy that directly participates in industrial and commercial operations.

The traditional feudal aristocracy collected taxes from agriculture and land for commercial consumption, and knew almost nothing about business.

In an era of sustained development of industry and commerce, agricultural income will continue to decline relative to industry and commerce.

No matter how they accumulate taxes or continue to exploit the already poor farmers, they will eventually be unable to make ends meet.

Only by directly participating in industrial and commercial operations can one understand the internal conditions of industry and commerce.

Only in this way could Louis XVI gradually master the ability to manage industry and commerce while reaping actual business profits.

(End of this chapter)