The next day, when Colin Cumbier met with the leaders of the Free Trade again, he couldn't help but muttered a proverb in his heart.

“unvieuxchataimelesjeunessouris……”

Old-fashioned cats always like to catch immature mice.

In other words, it is to bully the soft and fear the hard.

Cambier thought to himself, "Why don't you go talk to the British East India Company, and the Dutch East India Company?" They are the ones who make big deals, but they don't dare to talk to them, but they stare at the weakest Swedish company to negotiate terms, isn't this an old cat picking on small rats?

The people who come to Stockholm either know Latin, some basic French, or some Russian, and the best of them can communicate in Latin.

In the previous contacts, Dashun had already put forward the idea of wanting to take a stake in the Swedish East India Company, which caused great opposition from the shareholders of the Swedish East India Company.

But not everyone is so stupid. Especially when Mantou and others said today that if they did not agree, Dashun might make adjustments in tariffs and supply, Cambier had to complain to them.

"Mr. Captain from China, in 31 years, I went to Guangdong for the first time as the head of the Swedish East India Company. Before that, I was also an employee of the British East India Company, and I had been to Fujian and Songjiang. ”

"It must be admitted that even if officials ask for bribes, China's ports are still the most suitable for trade, and we are willing to do business with China. Why change this policy now? ”

"Your goods only need to be sold, so why do you have to load them on ships? If Sweden could sit at home and have someone come to trade and bring in silver coins, we wouldn't take the risk. ”

"Even if you are well prepared, this voyage, there are still two people dead on your ship, such a risk, we Europeans can bear it, you don't have to take such a risk."

"You guys, just on the coastline of Guangdong and Jiangsu, just collect money."

Mantou smiled lightly and relayed a sentence that Liu Yu often said.

"Capital is afraid of a situation where there is no profit or the profit is too small. As soon as there is a proper profit, capital will be very bold. As long as there is a ten percent profit, it will be used everywhere; Twenty percent, it will be lively; Fifty percent of it will give rise to positive risk-taking; 100 percent, it will make people defy all the law...... If unrest and strife bring profits, it encourages them. Smuggling and the slave trade are proof of this. ”

"Without him, sitting at home and collecting silver, the profit is still not enough. Many Europeans die every year from malaria, fever, scurvy and shipwrecks. ”

Speaking of this, he smiled lightly: "We also want to have the opportunity to die chasing profits." ”

"This is not my personal request, but the capital of Songjiang, Fujian, and Guangdong wants to open this trade route. This is not the will of the individual, but the will of capital. Moreover, His Majesty did not want this hot money to flow into the trade of buying land. ”

"In the past, there was only real free trade in Dashun. But from now on, not anymore. I do not have the authority to decide on such a policy, I just want to convey the change of policy, and I hope that your company and the Swedish Parliament will send a sufficient level of people to negotiate. ”

"Since you have been to Guangdong in 31 years and have been awarded the plenipotentiary ambassador to China, you are the right person to go to China this time. I'm just telling you about the change of policy before you go, and I hope Mr. Cambier will make it clear to the Board and Congress. ”

Mantou is well aware of his duties, and the first task is to find a craftsman to make wood tar, and this has been done.

As for the negotiations, he is not responsible, but only responsible for bringing on board those who are qualified to negotiate.

If you look at it from a certain so-called "morality", this is really facilitating smuggling.

However, in Liu Yu's official words, this is called smuggling under monopoly power, and it is noble free trade.

Anyway, Dashun is not afraid of being dumped by foreign goods at this time, and a hundred years later, it will also rely on opium to smooth out the deficit, what are you afraid of now?

Faced with an ultimatum on his face, Cumbier could only patiently explain how difficult it was for Sweden's East India Company.

"Mr. Captain, you should know that Sweden is a small country and very poor. At the beginning of the establishment of the East India Company, Congress was extremely opposed to it, believing that it would overwhelm Sweden's fledgling textile industry. If Indian or Chinese cotton cloth enters Sweden, Swedish weavers will lose their jobs. ”

"Poor in their own right, and having fought the Great Northern War for many years, people do not want the luxury goods and cotton cloth of the East to be exchanged for the pitiful silver coins of Sweden."

"Congress considered it foolish to set up the East India Company. Silver coins in exchange for meaningless porcelain, silk, and tea. ”

"Say we, the people who lobbied hard to convince Congress."

"Even if the East India Company was finally allowed to be established, Chinese goods would not be allowed to be sold in Sweden, only to third parties."

Mantou is right, and Mr. doesn't expect to sell it to you Sweden. How many people are there in Sweden? How much tea can I buy?

"Mr. Cambier, don't worry. We can also guarantee that we will abide by this rule and will never sell it privately. We want cooperation, a stake, not a direct trade in Gothenburg. ”

As he spoke, he thought to himself, even if you open Gothenburg as a port now, we will not agree. If we don't fly your flag, the Dutch will rob us in the future.

It's not that you can't spend a little more money to buy a flag from your neutral country. It's all okay to talk about, but I'm not going to talk to you right now.

"Our capital is far from that of the Netherlands and England. The British and Dutch governments had regulations prohibiting private individuals from engaging in trade in the East, and only the East India Company could engage in this monopoly. ”

"As a result, there are a lot of special features in our business. The information of the customer shall be kept absolutely confidential, and the identity of the shareholders shall be kept absolutely confidential. ”

"Although we destroy the ledger after each voyage, many of the people in Congress who do not have the opportunity to take a stake are disgruntled. They all want a piece of the pie – although at first, they were against it, but now they don't have a ledger and can estimate how profitable we are. ”

"If it is open to you to participate in shares, some people in Congress who do not have shares will definitely oppose it. It's really hard to do. ”

It is a one-size-fits-all truth. Sweden is within the four seas, and naturally this phrase is also valid in Stockholm.

Once Chinese shareholders are allowed to participate in the shares, many people in the Swedish parliament who have not invested in the shares will ask: Why would we rather allow foreigners to participate in the shares? Why are the accounts of the East India Company not made public? Why not give us the opportunity to take a stake?

A great opportunity to make money, rather with friends than to the countrymen? What is this?

Originally, there were many such voices, and in addition to the Swedish merchants and aristocrats, the British and Dutch merchants who had invested in the shares, and the ledger could not be made public in any way.

The Dutch and British, who braved the ban on their nationals from participating in the Asian trade ban, could not shake the existence of the East India Company in legal standing, and placed their hopes on the Swedish East India Company. They gave a lot of support to the royal family, and they also bribed many members of the parliament, although they destroyed every ledger by covering their ears and stealing the bell, but even covering their ears and stealing the bell was effective.

Now, if Chinese businessmen are allowed to participate in the shares, without even taking the step of covering up their ears and stealing the bell, there will inevitably be a large number of "hat parties" in Congress who demand that the list of shares of the company be made public, and that those British and Dutch shareholders be expelled so that they can participate in the shares.

Colin Cambier knows very well that the opposition in Congress will find many reasons.

In addition to the equity turmoil, there were many people who opposed the establishment of the East India Company in the first place, and they knew very well what the poor textile industry in Sweden, regardless of China, would look like in the face of the impact of India's handicraft industry alone.

The ban promulgated by the British strictly prohibits the British from wearing cotton cloth, how can Sweden dare to compare the textile industry with the British? The British textile industry can't beat India, and India's cotton cloth can't be sold to China, and the huge gap between them, even if it is tens of thousands of miles away from the sea and loss, will also collapse the Swedish textile industry.

Some of these people were engaged in the textile industry, and they had seats in the Parliament, and they believed that national industry should be protected, exports should be expanded rather than imports, import tariffs should be raised, and Swedes should be allowed to wear expensive and inferior domestic goods than cheap goods.

Though...... At the beginning of its existence, the East India Company promised not to sell it in Sweden, but to resell it to third parties. But...... How could it be so thorough? If it gets bigger, and those members of Congress who are engaged in the local textile industry take advantage of the problem, the company will also have a hard time: at least, it will have to spend a lot of money to bribe and lobby in Congress.

The current situation is not easy to come by, and it is in a delicate balance. Whether it is to cover up the ears and steal the bell or to play on the topic, breaking this balance may bring many uncertain factors.

Of course, this uncertainty can still be solved by money and bribery.

Cambier also knows that it is useless to just be reasonable and sell miserably. As soon as China made a move on tariffs, Sweden's East India Company would collapse. Sweden is not the Netherlands or the United Kingdom, and there is no strong power in India, Persia, the South Seas, or even Africa, and half of the company's high-profit business is with China.

He just wants to explain this truth clearly and bargain with Dashun: Is the smuggler's connections considered equity capital? Does lobbying and bribery on the part of Congress count as equity capital?

Mantou didn't bother to listen to the other party's voice, and he was not responsible for negotiation, but just smiled: "Only by checking and balancing each other can there be a basis for cooperation." Without Chinese goods, your company will go bankrupt; Without your outlets, neither can our merchants profit. Wouldn't such cooperation be beneficial to both sides? ”

"As for the various details, I won't talk about them, you can go to the Celestial Empire and talk to the people of the imperial court. Only now, I wonder, could Congress change the terms of the East India Company? Or, can you make sure Congress agrees before you go? Back and forth, at least two years, the court will not wait for you for two years. ”

"Besides, didn't you just say that it is difficult to raise capital? I dare not say that the share capital of one or two million taels of silver can be raised in Dashun in an instant. As long as there is enough profit. ”

This last sentence is not bragging. Dashun is not short of silver at all, but silver does not have a means of concentration and circulation, or it is the court of Dashun that lacks silver.

The household government is not a central bank, and it can't even understand the degree of support, but the emperor has the idea of enclosing the big fat pigs in Songjiang, which makes it easy for capital to be enriched.

As long as the profit is sufficient, with the name of the trading company and the accumulation in the past, one or two million taels of silver is still less.

At present, the capital of the Swedes is still insufficient, at least the number of merchant ships is not enough, and the European smugglers have not yet reached the point where they cannot eat their goods. The Swedes are short of cash, and Dashun has money here, which is a match made in heaven.

Mantou thought to himself that this negotiation is just a mess, and if you don't accept it, I will close the trade.

Saying that the conditions are not said now. The first thing to be done now was to determine whether Congress could amend the East India Company's regulations.

Sweden's East India Company now has a lot of restrictions, such as the need to use Swedish ships to provide orders for Swedish shipyards and increase employment; For example, in wartime, the fleet of the East India Company was placed under the command of the navy, and all merchant captains were equal to naval officers.

Like what...... At any time, it will fight to the death with the Russian Baltic Fleet.

These regulations are not something that Cambier can decide, and they have to go through Congress. If Congress does not relent, even if Kambir goes to Dashun, the terms discussed will be meaningless.

Mantou also knows that although the Congress is different from Dashun, there is one thing that can definitely be solved: money.

It's just that there is still a need for a channel. To give bribes, you have to have a relationship and someone to introduce you.

"Mr. Cambier, I know that you are the initiator of the East India Company. Before you go, please make the following preparations. ”

"Split the East India Company and separate the trade business with China. The cooperation between the two sides is to fix the proportion of goods. Dashun's merchant ships would not be under the control of the Swedish navy in wartime, but in return, if war broke out between Russia and Sweden, Dashun could mediate. ”

"The initiative is in your hands, because you have a market; But also in our hands, because we have the supply. Together, there are two benefits, and there are two injuries when divided. ”

"As for Congress, I think that if you can bring about the formation of the East India Company, you must have a way of bringing about a change in the Act. Money...... Not a problem. If our businessmen are allowed to take shares, the company's business is their business, and they are proficient in bribery. Believe me, the businessmen in Dashun are well aware of the value of bribery, and they are by no means stingy in their bribery. ”

The conditions that can be said at this time must not be the final conditions, but the conditions that can be repaid on the spot.

In the early stage, it may be necessary to cede more benefits to Sweden, mainly considering that Sweden will remain neutral in future European wars, and Britain and the Netherlands will not rob Swedish ships because of their demand for Swedish copper, iron ore and wood tar.

If there is really a fight on the Nanyang side, if the banner of Dashun is hung, it may be robbed by the Dutch as soon as it comes out of Malacca.

This time it is not only to borrow the shell of Sweden, but also to borrow Swedish connections and markets. As long as this gap can be opened, even if the businessman does not pay, Liu Yu is willing to pay a bribe.

Besides, how could the merchants of Dashun not know the truth that "the yamen is open to the south, and there is no reason not to come in if you have no money"? Isn't Congress just a yamen?

When Cambier heard such conditions, his heart also moved slightly, and he understood that these conditions must not be the final conditions, and this is not impossible to discuss.