PS: Happy New Year to everyone!

"What we need to discuss now is how to carry out my lord's will to the letter, and at the same time keep your company's spice trade going."

These words seem to depict a wide thoroughfare road for Basten, Edwin and others, but if you look closely, the bridge on this road is a bridge deck without slabs.

It's very simple, you admit that this Java Islands is under the jurisdiction of my Southern Ming Army, and we will go to the island ourselves to clean up those Sultans and other characters. The premise is that we will sell you the spices we produce, such as cloves, cardamom, cinnamon, etc., to ensure that the source of your goods to Europe is not cut off.

However, the price will not be as cheap as it was when the Dutch controlled it themselves. It only costs more than twice as much.

After listening to An Tianhong's solution, Basten and Edwin couldn't help frowning, this plan sounds good, it not only solves the sovereignty issue of the South Chinese Army over the Java Islands, but also takes into account the actual problems of the Dutch East India Company. However, in this way, the cost and profit margin in the spice trade will have to be greatly adjusted, and even there will be a diving plunge! Although the Dutch claim to live on land below sea level, they are not very fond of diving.

"My lord, is there no other way? Or can it satisfy General Li and allow our business to continue? ”

The two East India Company negotiators were staring at the little stars of expectation, hoping to get a relieved answer from the mouth of the man who was always smiling.

It's a pity that this reply never came out of An Tianhong's mouth.

"Your Excellency. Why do you have to occupy the islands of Java? We have been here for decades, and we are well aware of the stubbornness of the people on the island, and in order to buy cloves and other things, we have fought against the natives of the island many times, and we have lost tens of thousands of casualties. ”

"If you must occupy the Java Islands, you must be prepared for heavy casualties, I am afraid that the soldiers of the South Central Army will be exhausted in the jungles of Java."

Half fact, half menacing account of the difficulty of the Dutch conquest of the Java islands, Edwin hopes that these circumstances will scare An Tianhong and the Nanzhong army behind him.

In fact, tens of thousands of people were killed and wounded. But not Dutch. Rather, it was the indigenous people of the island who refused to grow a single crop according to the will of the Dutch. Every rebellion was brutally suppressed by the Dutch, with many casualties.

"It's okay! Our mines, forestry farms, lumber yards, and shipyards all require a large number of slaves to work, and they resist. It's just the right time to capture slaves to fill the gap! ”

"Huh?" The two negotiators unanimously voiced the same voice. They seem to have found a new business opportunity from An Tianhong's words!

The South China Army is short of labor. Lots of cheap labor!

"If I were to go back and inform my family, in Africa, there was a great deal of capture of the indigenous people throughout the East Indies. Is it possible to get more benefits by long-distance trafficking to Nanzhong and selling it to the Nanzhong Army? ”

Mr. Basten and Mr. Edwin began to rack their brains for the world's human resource redeployment.

However, a huge problem lies in front of the two men, if the negotiations cannot be implemented according to the will of the South Chinese Army, then the Manraka waterway will also be closed to the Dutch, and every day of closure will cause huge losses to the Dutch and create huge opportunities for the British.

"If there is a way for the South China Army to have sovereignty over these islands, and we have the right to operate these products, then we can have the best of both worlds."

There was a deathly silence in the chamber of the Pavilion, and both sides of the negotiations fell into silence. It's just that An Tianhong is closing her eyes and recuperating, and even snoring in a low voice, which transcends the barriers of language and race, making the two gentlemen, Basten and Edwin, who are worried about how to solve this problem, quite annoyed but helpless.

"Ann-sama! Ann-sama! ”

A man dressed as a soldier beside the Han hurriedly broke into the hall.

He hurriedly rushed into the conference hall, and very impolitely woke up An Tianhong, who was discussing with Zhou Gong and his old man how to interpret dreams and other academic issues.

"What?! And so it was! ”

An Tianhong, who was disturbed by someone's dream, was naturally a little unhappy, but seeing that it was the personal soldier beside Shouhan who knew that something was going on, it was not easy to have a seizure, so he had to ask the pro-soldier who came to report the news.

"My lord has a guest here! Please come over! ”

"Oh? Who? ”

"I don't know, it's also a red-haired person, what England!"

The pro-soldier spoke in a thick Fujian Quanzhou accent, speaking quickly and urgently, and kept urging An Tianhong to go to the lord's living room to accompany him to meet him.

"Nonsense! I have such a big deal here. But you came to ask me to see some red-haired man from England, and you made a loud noise in front of others, how can this be done! Leaking military aircraft, are you going to take the blame or am I going to take the blame?! ”

The soldier didn't dare to raise his head when he was reprimanded by An Tianhong, and after a while, he replied, "They may not understand." ”

"Hmmm! Also! You will arrange for someone to invite a few things to a tea break. The two gentlemen here also arranged for someone to bring tea and snacks, don't be lazy! ”

While arranging for the representatives of the East India Company to be hospitalized, An Tianhong kept at the same time. hurriedly went out of the house, went to Shouhan's signing room, and accompanied the reception of the English guests in the mouth of the soldiers.

And the pro-soldier was not idle, led a few colleagues to sit in the side room, and ordered someone to serve tea, snacks and fruits for everyone to enjoy.

"Did he think we wouldn't understand them if we left Tongshi?!"

Edwin sneered, and unscrupulously began to talk to Basten in his native Dutch dialect.

Because of the maritime trade with merchants from Zhangzhou, Quanzhou and other places, the Dutch and Spaniards were no strangers to the Hokkien dialect, and some missionaries even compiled a comparative dictionary based on the pronunciation of the Hokkien dialect, and the two sides could use the guò dictionary to understand each other's intentions.

It's like the famous book "The Pearl in the Palm of the Palm of the Fanhan Together". Be a bridge between two languages. Moreover, there are many Dutch and Spaniards who have learned and mastered the Hokkien language for their own business needs.

Edwin and Basten are one of them!

"What are these damn Albions doing here?!"

Basten paced quickly back and forth in the room in annoyance.

"There is no other reason, the purpose should be to see that we have been defeated by this Governor Li at sea, and I plan to get a piece of the delicious broth made from our corpses at this time!"

For two days, An Tianhong and Li Shouhan did not show up, and when they went to the General's Mansion to ask to see Governor Li, Uncle Qin in the porter always said, "The general has orders, and there have been a lot of official affairs recently." No visitors! ”

In desperation. The two had to take their attachés back to the hall.

"Sir, is it true that the sovereignty of the Java Islands and the right to operate and price spices are uncertain, and the general will drag it on until the British bring us down in the mall?"

"No, it won't! Although the British and General Lee traded for no shorter time than we did. But. After all, the British are far inferior to us at sea. The general is a man who attaches great importance to practical interests. If he is going to take our lives or take the city of Batavia. He had already commanded the army to the south! ”

In an extremely secret room in the guild hall, there were dozens of copper pipes around the walls, reaching into the depths of the walls. It was as if they were strange snakes, desperately trying to burrow into the walls.

The two leaders of the Business Statistics Office and the Investigation Office, Niu Qiandao and Muya Dog, led by seven or eight good players, have been working here for several days, and since Basten's negotiation team settled in the Huitong Pavilion, the monitoring of them has begun!

The well-transmitted brass pipes were embedded in the walls, and the specially equipped houses were invariably arranged for the members of the delegation, and when they spoke freely in the Dutch dialect indoors, the Dutch speakers of the two intelligence agencies immediately whispered the words, and some of the handy scribes recorded them, arranged them into a book according to the time and the identity of the interlocutor, and then compiled them and handed them over to the relevant people to summarize and sort out.

Therefore, Shouhan here is able to know everything that the Dutch say and discuss every day.

"You can tell the lord and let Lord An come out and contact them! This group of Dutchmen is already about to collapse, and if they don't come out again, the fire of the play will be over! ”

The wooden tooth dog still has that weird tone, which always makes people feel that he is a native of the mountains and forests who speaks Chinese.

"I also think that this heat is just right, and it should be for Lord An to appear!" Niu Qiandao, who is privately called Killing a Thousand Knives, also has a kind smile on his face, as if he is a grandfather who sells sweets on the street.

So, when An Tianhong appeared in front of the two representatives Basten and Edwin with a red face the next morning, the two gentlemen almost threw away the soup bowl in their hands and pounced on this guy to strangle him!

"Mr. An, Lord An, where have you been these days?" Basten pretended not to know.

"Oh! A few old friends came to visit him from afar, and they had been with them for a few days, and they had just been sent off yesterday. I'm here to visit the two of you, how many days are you resting? ”

"Good! I'm good for you big-headed ghost! ”

Mr. Edwin cursed in his heart, and threw the most vicious and dirty words circulating among the Amsterdam boatmen and dock workers to An Tianhong. It's a pity that An Tianhong can't understand or hear.

"Do you have any comments on our negotiations?"

"With regard to the third of the conditions for negotiation proposed by your army, we believe that we can recognize that the sovereignty of the Java Islands belongs to the Southern Central Army of the Ming Dynasty and to the rule of Governor Li. However, you must acknowledge that the spices produced in the Java Islands are exclusively operated by our company. Do not hand it over to a third party! ”

Obviously, this article is specifically aimed at the British who "appeared" in Hue not long ago.

"You have such sincerity, I personally think it is very good, very appropriate. However, it is not enough! ”

An Tianhong shook her fingers, shaking in front of Basten and Edwin's eyes.

"Today we are talking about the implementation rules of Article 3. 1. Our South China Army shall garrison troops on the islands occupied by your company in order to exercise jurisdiction. Second, if your company does not currently control the island, do not go. With our army here, it is not convenient for you to go, what kind of spices do you need, just prepare silver dollars. Third, during the annual purchase season, your company should purchase the goods at the price set by our army and pay the money to the troops stationed on the island. ”

Rao is Basten and Edwin are already mentally prepared for the most cruel, but, in the face of such conditions. I couldn't help but feel the urge to kick the table over.

"Fourth. An appropriate fee is required to purchase the spice franchise each year. That's not a lot of money, but it's about 150,000 pounds when converted into your coins! Oh! No! It's your guilders! How much? ”

Damn it! Sure enough, it was those Albions of England who came to make trouble! I'm going to buy an exclusive franchise for £150,000 a year!

"I wonder what your company thinks?"

An Tianhong's expression is completely like a bad boy who lures an ignorant girl to work in a special industry.

"One hundred and fifty thousand pounds? The silver dollar for the Southern Central Army should probably be around 1.8 million yuan, and those damn Albiang actually paid such a big price."

"Can they afford to pay that much?"

Basten and Edwin were constantly calculating the purpose of their rival British. Quickly analyze their economic strength.

Forget for a while. A smug smile appeared on Mr. Basten's face.

"Ann-sama. I wonder if Governor Lee agreed to the British's proposal? ”

Seeing that Basten so directly dismantled his "mask", An Tianhong, as a qualified diplomat, actually had no shame on his face. It's still the same as usual.

"What Englishmen? There are no Englishmen at all! ”

"Oh! I am only proposing to your army as a personal friend of Governor Lee, and according to my knowledge and grasp of the economic power of the British in this region, their so-called annuity of 150,000 pounds is absolutely a beautiful bubble, and these Albion swindlers cannot come up with so much money! I calculated for them that if they offered 50,000 pounds, they would still have the ability to pay and make a profit! If you say 150,000 pounds, their profit is very pitiful, it is simply impossible! ”

"That's it! In the currency of your army, fifty thousand pounds is about six hundred thousand silver dollars. Your army only needs to sell the right to operate the annual spices to obtain these incomes, what a good thing! ”

As they spoke, the roles of the three people unconsciously changed, and Edwin and Basten began to change from Little Red Riding Hood to the queen who seduced Snow White, trying to make An Tianhong eat the apple in their hands with all the rhetoric.

(Oh!) The analogy seems to be a little inappropriate, how can An Tianhong, who has five willows with long hair fluttering on her chest, not Snow White, right?! ）

"Then your company also thinks that it is reasonable to obtain a spice franchise for 50,000 pounds or 600,000 silver dollars a year?!"

An Tianhong suddenly began to fight back aggressively, attacking the shield of the son with the spear of the son, "Your company also thinks that such a price is reasonable?" ”

Basten didn't expect that the other party would set a trap here and wait for him, and besides, he thought he was a hunter and was happily taken as a prey by others!

"This!?"

"If your company admits that the price of £50,000 a year is reasonable, and that it has the ability to pay and the appropriate profit you say, then our next negotiation will be much easier! My lord commanded me not to treat my friends as unthinkable. We'll reciprocate the favor too! An Tianhong appropriately threw a huge bait.

Hearing this, Basten and Edwin kicked each other with their leather boots under the table, trying to communicate with each other.

"We're just going to double the price of your original purchase price!"

Another mortar shell landed on the Bastens' lines. They were dizzy, and their eyes were full of Venus.

Obtaining the exclusive right to operate spices on these islands for 50,000 pounds, and doubling the price, although it seems to be a lot of losses, can be traded normally from now on. Moreover, the East India Company's ships could travel unhindered in this area, and the benefits brought by this were immeasurable.

The two were thinking about how to open their mouths and whether to continue bargaining when another mortar shell fell.

"Your Dutch ships can transport cotton, wheat and other crops on the way to Nanzhong, and we can provide you with cotton processing trade."

What is contract processing? According to modern trade theory, it means that a merchant on one side provides all raw materials, auxiliary materials, parts, components, accessories and packaging materials. If necessary, the equipment shall be provided by the undertaker processing unit as required, and the finished product shall be sold by the other party, and the undertaker shall collect the labor payment, and if the other party provides the relevant equipment, the price of the equipment shall be repaid by the undertaker.

In fact, this kind of thing is not new in the Ming Dynasty in this era, Songjiang, Zhejiang area of the machine households, weavers have long cooperated with the merchants, by the merchants to provide raw materials, the machine owners in accordance with the requirements of the merchants, style, quality of the production. The top brass of the South China Army are no strangers to this business. But this group of Dutch oceans is very new!

But. But they know the great benefits of cotton!

Sourcing cotton cloth from the east coast of India and selling it in Southeast Asia was a way for the Dutch to make money, while purchasing high-end cotton cloth from the Punggara region and shipping it to Europe. In 1619 the value of the cotton trade reached three tons of silver, and only two years later it reached eight tons of silver. In the late stages. The annual trade volume is calculated in millions of horses!

For such a note of wealth. Shouhan even if he wants to give up. The shopkeepers of the Han Yuan firm will not give up. Thousands of drooms are like thousands of hungry, screaming beasts, searching for raw materials to fill their stomachs.

"Can we get the exclusive right or agency right to operate cotton cloth produced in Nanzhong in Europe?!"

Edwin preemptively asked in front of Basten, but there was no way, his wealth was too different from Basten. In order to close the gap as much as possible, he had to get ahead of Basten.

"Nope! As I said, we will provide you with the amount of cloth within the specified time. And it's made according to your requirements! ”

Such a temptation completely destroyed the psychological defense of the Basten two.

Go to his United Province interests! Go to his East India Company interests! As long as we can make the most of the most profits in the war in Europe, I don't care who he trades with what?!

The European continent is full of wars, as long as there is a war, cotton cloth is needed to make military uniforms and flags, and a large amount of wealth will be concentrated in the hands of a small number of people through guò trade, such an opportunity, Basten and Edwin two gentlemen will never let go!

"If you are sure how much cotton we can provide, you will be able to pay us the corresponding cotton cloth within the time agreed upon by both of us? And the quality and style are consistent with our agreement? ”

Mr. Basten's voice became a little hoarse in the face of this, which could open the coffers of the kings of Europe, like the arms deal.

"This, you have also dealt with my Nanzhong Army for many years, do you still doubt our reputation?"

An Tianhong winked at Basten and Edwin, "Two representatives, can we sign a peace treaty between your company and our South China Army?" ”

Edwin, dizzy from the sudden burst of happiness, signed his name on the text of the peace treaty in beautiful floral letters.

"That's it! From now on, your company will no longer be in a state of hostility with our South China Army. ”

An Tianhong applauded and laughed, smiled and smiled, and suddenly suppressed his smile.

"Yikes! Forget a big thing, the processing trade of cotton with supplied materials, it seems that forget jì is written into the treaty, what should the two of you do? ”

An Tianhong's pretentiousness is a flirtatious fan. Mr. Basten and Edwin? Fan? Morality? Mr. Sa is a little crying and has no tears!

"We ceded New Holland to you, and ceded the islands of Java, which had taken decades of hard work, to pay you 600,000 silver dollars a year for the right to operate spices, and to double the price of spices. Each East India Company ship costs 2,000 silver dollars as a toll, and in addition to the customs duties, trade from the east of Ceylon can only be carried out in your currency. But you want to write the processing trade of cotton into the treaty? ”

Seeing the two of them looking like they had eaten rice fields, An Tianhong couldn't help but feel happy in his heart.

"It's just a joke, what do you say you should do?"

Thank you to the Virgin Mary!

Suddenly, Basten and Edwin seemed to hear church bells ringing in their ears across the continent.

"I wonder when the general will be able to sign this treaty?"

"My father-in-law has been entangled in military affairs recently, so I can't take care of it!" (To be continued......)