Back to the end of Ming Dynasty to be a warlord

Chapter 437 Negotiations
The Zheng family sent a large amount of information about the Dutch East India Company.

Yang Chao also seized the time to read through these materials before negotiating with Nassau.

The Zheng family is still very cooperative these days, especially after they left Jiangxi last time and were beaten up by the Qing army, the Zheng family seemed to understand that land is not suitable for the Zheng family, so they began to contact Yang Chao more actively. There is a posture of wanting to form an alliance.

Yang Chao was happy to accept Zheng's kindness.

It is not easy to obtain the information sent by the Zheng family this time, because it is a copy of the East India Company's operations in Asia, and it is impossible for insiders to see it.

But it is not a top secret. After all, the East India Company is a joint-stock company. In the stock market in Amsterdam, they have to announce their performance, but in Asia there is no such obligation. It is impossible for Zheng to go to Amsterdam to inquire about news, so he can only use the Acquired by those who bought the East India Company.

They got this information by bribing a clerk of the East India Company in Batavia. After copying a copy, they sent it to Yang Chao immediately.

"very good!"

The information is detailed and rigorous, and it is the operation of the East India Company in the past three years.

The East India Company established 35 strongholds in Asia, including Japan and Taiwan, and Japan and Taiwan turned out to be the top two strongholds. Japan's revenue accounted for 30.00% of the total revenue20.00, and Taiwan accounted for [-]%[-] and more.

Taiwan accounts for more than a quarter. The profit that the East India Company earns from Taiwan every year is as high as 40 Dutch guilders, which is equivalent to four tons of silver. This is only profit, except for new investment and operating expenses. The importance of the Dutch.

Because Taiwan's occupation by the Netherlands has always been a thorn in Yang Chao's heart. Yang Chao will not let the Dutch occupy it as he wished, but now it seems that Taiwan is very important to the Netherlands, so it is not so easy to take it back.

Other things worthy of Yang Chao's attention include some situations, such as the place where the East India Company imported the most silk fabrics was not Daming, but India.

Regardless of whether it is cotton cloth, raw silk, or silk, the East India Company's import volume in India is several times that of China. The specific reason is that Yang Chao has adopted high tariffs. Indian companies have pushed towards India. Anyway, Indian silk is better than Western silk, and it can be sold at a high price when brought back to Europe.

However, what the East India Company imported in Daming was the highest quality raw silk and silk, which were obviously sold as luxury goods, and the target customers were those nobles.

In fact, India is a country that is very similar to China from ancient times to the present, such as the huge population, such as the prosperous economy, and even the production. Second, even in some areas, India is still ahead of China for a long time.

For example, cotton textiles did not really develop in China until the Ming Dynasty, because at the beginning of the Ming Dynasty Zhu Yuanzhang ordered every household to plant cotton, and one mu of cotton was planted in five acres of land, which led to a substantial increase in cotton production in the Ming Dynasty. Clothes gradually began to change from linen to cotton, and then cotton went to the common people on a large scale.

And India has been a big cotton textile country in history, because just like silk originated in China, cotton originated in India, and they naturally have natural advantages.

Moreover, India's climate is warm, its rivers are abundant, its geography is dominated by plains, and its agricultural production is much more favorable than that of China. Although the area is only a quarter of that of Ming Dynasty, the area of ​​arable land is three times that of Ming Dynasty. They are more qualified to operate this kind of business. There is a lot of draft, long sunshine hours are required, and labor-intensive cotton production.

The battle between the dragon and the elephant!
Yang Chao couldn't help being surprised. He didn't expect that the dragon-elephant dispute that people in later generations like to talk about started in ancient times.

But the specific content is not very detailed yet, Yang Chao has to continue to pay attention, but the Indian issue must be put on the agenda.

Three days later, in mid-June, Nassau finally invited Yang Chao, hoping to negotiate on the East India Company's trade issues.

"Honorable Earl, on behalf of the East India Company, I hope to obtain the following monopoly operation patent authorization!"

Patent authorization at this time often refers to trade rights. For example, the Dutch East India Company was granted exclusive trade privileges in the East India region by the Netherlands.

Unexpectedly, the Dutch took their ideas on themselves, and even hoped that they would also provide them with some privileges.

"Duke of Nassau, what kind of privilege do you need?"

Yang Chao asked first to see what goods the Dutch were interested in. These days, Nassau has been around Nanjing all over the place, so maybe he thought of new goods by himself.

"Earl Loyalty, the East India Company hopes to obtain the exclusive right to operate Daming green tea, to sell porcelain to Europe, and to import Daming silk fabrics!"

Yang Chao chuckled: "Duke of Nassau, you keep only making demands. Could it be that you think that I, Daming, owe you the Netherlands, and what do you plan to exchange?"

Power and obligation are equal. If you want to gain power, you have to pay the obligation. However, the Dutch, like their descendants for centuries, rely on the fact that the Orientals do not understand international law. The treaties signed are full of burdens that the Orientals need to bear. Obligations, without mentioning their own obligations at all, and the most basic one of the treaties signed between Westerners is mutual reciprocity.

Nassau couldn’t help being taken aback when he heard Yang Chao’s rhetorical question. He really hadn’t thought about this question. The experience of the Dutch in India, Burma, Japan and other eastern countries, the easterners don’t seem to care about the so-called equivalence issue at all. It was the Dutch who begged, and then the Eastern monarchs would look at their face and agree to something casually, and the Dutch could rely on this little privilege, and then amplify it infinitely through commercial means, and finally extract a huge amount of money. Profits come.

But now the loyal earl does not intend to use the privilege as a reward, but needs to exchange it with other things.

"I don't know what price the Earl of Loyalty wants the East India Company to pay for this privilege?"

Nassau simply asked back.

Yang Chao smiled and said, "Craftsman, I need the East India Company to help me recruit a group of craftsmen, including craftsmen for shipbuilding and cannon casting."

Yang Chao never had any reservations when he finished speaking, because he didn't want to expose his thoughts all at once, so that he would be passive.

Nassau shook his head: "No, no, if you need ships, our East India Company can provide them in large quantities."

Yang Chao said: "You can only send a few ships a year. I need a lot of ships, and I need them urgently."

Nassau said with a smile: "This point has been considered by the company for Earl Loyalty, so our company has decided to open a large shipyard in Taiwan. It will be able to supply ships to the Earl for a long time by the end of this year at the latest. If the Earl is willing, we hope that we can sign a contract." A standing order!"

Yang Chao was a little surprised, but then he was relieved. The East India Company already had shipyards in Asia, but they can only repair seagoing ships. I have never heard of it being able to build large ships. However, the Dutch are the country with the largest shipbuilding capacity in the world. If they are willing to slightly modify the ship repair base in Asia, it is not a problem to use it to build ships, but they need to send a group of shipbuilders.

Regarding the purchase of warships from the Dutch, Yang Chao feels that it is not an obstacle at this time. So far, the Longjiang Shipyard has not been able to replicate the large Dutch ships. If it is to form a large-scale production capacity, it is not known how many years it will take. , and Yang Chao needs to develop maritime trade, so he naturally needs his own fleet, which is only limited to the Yangtze River estuary, which is obviously not enough. At least he needs to have the ability to cruise to Japan and Vietnam, otherwise he can only rely on Zheng Zhilong to protect the Mekong River. of the colonies.

So Yang Chao nodded and said: "I can consider this, but it must be based on the premise that the East India Company can help me recruit cannon-casting craftsmen, otherwise I will not want a ship from the East India Company."

Military industry must be independent. Yang Chao has more than 1000 cannon craftsmen in Xinjiangkou, but the manufacturing capacity is limited to small-caliber general cannons and other infantry cannons. Manufacturing capacity, to form manufacturing capacity, the fastest way is to hire experienced craftsmen.

Nassau sighed: "I'm sorry about this. The Netherlands' cannon-casting technology is not strong. The cannons on the Dutch warships are all purchased from the British and Swedes. Please forgive me for not being satisfied."

Yang Chao didn't know if this was an excuse, but Yang Chao would never believe that the Dutch didn't have cannon-making skills.

Yang Chao snorted, "Let's leave it at that. Let's talk about other issues."

Yang Chao made up his mind to tie the issue of sea-going ships and cannon casting together, but that doesn't mean Yang Chao would be unwilling to negotiate other trade issues. This is a matter of mutual benefit, and Yang Chao attaches as much importance to it as the Dutch.

Nassau had a regretful expression, but immediately made other requests.

"The East India Company hopes that the earl can reduce the export tariff, at least to [-]% of the two goods of porcelain and raw silk. The current tariff on these two goods exceeds [-]%, which is extremely unreasonable. Very unfair to the East India Company."

Three times the tariff, in fact, Yang Chao has already lowered it a lot. You must know that the earliest supply to Zheng Zhilong was five times the market price, which is equivalent to charging four times the tariff.

Yang Chao said: "There is no need to lower the tariffs on porcelain and raw silk. Large-scale export of goods may not be of any benefit to me. On the contrary, it will greatly increase the price of silk and porcelain, making porcelain and silk unaffordable for the people of our country."

Nassau said: "No, no, Earl, you are wrong. If the tariffs are lowered, the scale of trade will increase on a large scale, and the tariffs you collect will increase greatly."

Yang Chao said: "A large amount of silver may not be a good thing for me. The price of grain in Nanjing has risen two to three times compared to five years ago. This is necessarily related to the excessive import of silver. I think the Duke of Nassau will not ignore this common sense." Know."

Nassau couldn't help but change his expression. He didn't expect Yang Chao to know this kind of financial knowledge, which was really rare among the Eastern monarchs at this time. This made Nassau a little surprised, and he didn't expect it at all before.

"Well then! The East India Company also doesn't want to export too much silver to your country. So we want to trade goods for goods."

"No no no! The East India Company's goods are not popular in Daming, and there is no market for you here."

"If the Earl is willing, I believe that the people of Ming Dynasty will like our goods."

"Change the topic!"

Yang Chao was impatient to argue with Nassau word by word, he had to firmly grasp the rhythm of the negotiation.

Nassau said: "Then if the above requirements are not met, the East India Company hopes to obtain the right to freely enter and exit the Daming port."

Yang Chao said: "There is no need to negotiate on this point. I can allow your merchant ships to dock at Wusongkou and Nanjing, but you can freely enter and exit all ports. This point is absolutely non-negotiable."

Nassau said: "Then as a replacement, the East India Company hopes to obtain a piece of permanent land in the Zhoushan Islands to build warehouses!"

Yang Chao snorted, "Dream!"

The Dutch still want to build a colony in Zhoushan, which is really unreasonable!

After Yang Chao finished speaking, he immediately left with a flick of his sleeves.

The first negotiation was terminated.

(End of this chapter)