After dealing with the affairs of Amsterdam, Zheng Yong sailed east on an old ship he had bought. On 10 April, after paying the strait fee in the Sunde Strait, the ships entered the Baltic Sea and then made a short stop in the port of Danzig (to receive the last group of traders to evacuate men and supplies). After being urged by the Poles, Zheng Yong had no choice but to leave Danzig and head for the port of Riga.

After the closure of the Danzig merchant post, the Eastern Republic lost the market of Poland, a huge country with a population of 10 million (the population of Ukraine and Northern Livonia and part of the Baltic coastal territories had fallen significantly, at this time only about seven or eight million), what should the business in this small bathtub of the Baltic Sea do? How should the foreign policy of the East Coast be implemented? Now these questions are inevitably on Zheng Yong's mind.

"There is nothing to do in Poland, there are a bunch of poor misers and insensitive serfs!" Schneider, the former head of the Danzig merchant station and one of the first immigrants (Swiss-French) on the East Bank, said indignantly, the wrinkles on his face twisted into a ball. He had been sitting for several years in the position of head of the Danzig merchant station, and had a good income, and now he was ordered to close by the Poles because of some diplomatic incidents, which made him breathe. Although he is still the head of the Arkhangelsk merchant post in the future, how can the bitter cold Muscovy be compared with the rich Baltic Sea? Not to mention that the income of the trading station is likely to be not high two years in advance, which will greatly affect his own income and future promotion, so he really hates the Poles completely.

Zheng Yong glanced at him, secretly thinking about it. This Schneider is a favorite of Golmo, who has been in the Baltic Sea for many years. Earlier than Zheng Yong. He recruited and trained more than half of the employees of the trading posts in Riga and Danzig. The qualifications are very old, and they are still loyal to the East Coast. Perhaps the only drawback is that his hands and feet are not very clean, and after working in Riga and Danzig for so many years, his net worth is not 10,000 but 8,000. Some time ago, someone in the Danzig merchant station also told him that this Schneider had secretly deposited a large amount of money in the local branch of the Amsterdam Exchange Bank, which shows this.

However, considering that he was a veteran of the diplomatic and trade system, Zheng Yong thought about it again and again and thought that he did not know about it. After all, the Danzig commercial station has been thriving under Schneider's management over the years. In the last full fiscal year (1647) before it was closed, the trading station generated a net profit of 180,000 yuan, ranking fourth among the ten European trading stations on the east coast, second only to Bordeaux, Smyrna, and Caffa, and higher than the prosperous Toulouse and Florence.

Therefore, after considering all this, Zheng Yong decided that it would be better to send Schneider to Russia, so that he could use his flexible skills and excellent ability to open up new markets for the East Coast. Anyway, the Arkhangelsk trading station was destined to be unprofitable in the first few years. I'm not afraid of what tricks he plays. Moreover, Mo San decided to strengthen economic and trade ties with the Russians a while ago. to put pressure on the Poles.

There are a number of cooperation projects being discussed between the two sides, such as the supply of high-quality steel to Russia on the east coast, which will help improve the quality of Russian iron products (farm tools, weapons, etc.); For example, the East Coast will also provide Russia with more high-quality and inexpensive cotton cloth, which is not much more expensive than the linen cloth worn by the serfs at the bottom, and much cheaper than the woolen cloth worn by the upper classes, which provides an alternative for the Russian middle class; For example, the East Coasters may also set up a small shipyard in Russia, the Little Star Shipyard, to build small, high-quality fishing boats for Russia to improve Russia's fishing technology and production.

Of course, the last one still needs to be approved by the East Coast mainland, and Mo San does not have the right to promise such a big benefit to Russia, you must know that the Russians have been out of the civilized world for a long time and are very hungry for advanced technology from the West. If they do not provide sufficient benefits, then they should not think of the East Coast setting up a shipbuilding enterprise in Arkhangelsk.

In general, Mo San is very interested in a market like Russia, which has a population of 16 million (the number before the annexation of Astrakhan, which is now more than enough), but has just been developed by the United Kingdom and the Netherlands (late development means that there are fewer vested interests, and there is less resistance to entering this market on the east coast). Coupled with the pressure on Poland, there are still many common interests between the East Bank and Russia, and if it were not for the Ottoman Empire's views, perhaps the cooperation between the two sides would have deepened.

Schneider is not very old (less than forty years old), his ability is not weak, and his vision is okay, so it is only fitting to kick him to Russia to fight the front station. And when the Arkhangelsk side is almost in order, find a way to ask Mo San to transfer this gentleman back to China, which will be beneficial to everyone.

Thinking of this, Zheng Yong raised his hand to interrupt Schneider's chattering complaints, and then changed his smile and said: "Stationmaster Shi, now that the Danzig commercial station has been forced to close, China's commercial development in the Baltic Sea has been hit hard. At present, all the tasks of generating income are pressed on the Riga trading station, you are an old Baltic, is there anything good to build? ”

Schneider looked up out the window at the bustling crowd on the banks of the Daugava River, Latvians dressed in festive attire. From time to time, some tall Swedish soldiers walked through the streets, and the people on both sides of the road ignored them, and Northern Livonia (Livonia north of the Daugava River was ceded to Sweden by Poland, and Southern Livonia was the Duchy of Prussia, which is still a vassal under Polish control) had only been separated from Poland for many years, and now the inhabitants of the area have become completely accustomed to the rule of the new master, and one cannot help but sigh at the impermanence of the world.

"The Baltic Sea is a complex region, and in general it is sparsely populated and rich in resources." After a moment of silence, Schneider turned his head and said slowly: "There are mainly the following countries around this bathtub, Denmark, Sweden, the Duchy of Prussia (Brandenburg-Prussia, a vassal state of Poland), Poland, the Duchy of Moscow - of course, this country has lost its access to the Baltic Sea, and these countries are all of the Baltic Sea. Now that we have lost the Polish market, we have to work on Denmark, Sweden and Moscow. However, Denmark is currently in fierce competition with the Dutch and the Hanseatic League, and given the good relations between the two and our country, I do not think it is appropriate for us to get involved at this time, otherwise it will cause unnecessary trouble. ”

Seeing Zheng Yong's head nodding, Schneider's confidence increased greatly, and he continued: "As for Sweden, this country has received eye-catching war dividends in the previous thirty years of war, in addition to the huge amount of reparations, it is the German territory on the Baltic Sea coast (including Pomerania, Mecklenburg and other places), the northern coast of Poland (except for the ports of Putzk, Danzig and other places) and half of Livonia, which almost turned the Baltic Sea into its inland sea. The country's population has also jumped to around 2.7 million people (1.2 million Swedes, 500,000 Finns, and 1 million Germans, Livonians, Lithuanians, Poles, Norwegians, etc.), making it an emerging market that cannot be ignored. ”

"This market was first developed by the Hanseatic League, such as the construction of Stockholm, but the situation has changed a lot in recent decades with the strong intervention of the Netherlands. The Germans were losing ground and the Dutch were pressing, but the main markets they were fighting for were Pomerania and Sweden proper, while Finland and Livonia, with a population of more than 1.5 million, were clearly underdeveloped, and if we entered the region, we might avoid fierce competition with the Dutch. As long as we don't get involved in the ship's plank, mast and asphalt business, which was favored by the Dutch merchants, the market is basically left to us. We can bring in cheap steel and textiles from the country, which we have done very well through the Guò Riga trading post, and the next step is to expand further in both the north and south, i.e. to Finland in the north and Prussia in the south, so as to cover the whole region before the Dutch and Germans enter in large numbers. ”

After 1597, Dutch merchant ships entered the Baltic Sea, which was controlled by the Hanseatic League, and gradually gained a monopoly on shipping. In recent years, according to the Sunder Strait, about 2,000 Dutch ships enter the Baltic Sea every year, and most of the entire Baltic Rim has been integrated into the Dutch commercial network. Dutch merchants were constantly stationed in various cities, Dutch banks were constantly opened in various ports, and Dutch ships were constantly coming and going in various seaports and river ports, and the entire Baltic Sea provided about half of the Dutch profits.

Now, there are only some corner areas left for outsiders to intervene, that is, the Finland and Livonia regions that Zheng Yong and Schneider are discussing.

"Entering Finland and Prussia will still cause more or less hostility among the Dutch, but at present, the profits will not be so much. Swedes have been discriminated against by the West for many years, so they have a pathological psychology of spending a lot on what they wear. Many Westerners can't afford to wear wool or are reluctant to pay for it, but they sell it well, as if not doing so is not enough proof that they are also civilized. Hehe, but how many Swedes can afford this wool when it's so expensive? In my opinion, our cotton cloth should be in good demand, especially those unique dyed and calico, which are of good quality and low price, and will definitely make the Swedes covet them. As for the Dutch, don't worry for the time being, we will coordinate our interests with them, and their investment will be focused on timber, ship's implements, salt, livestock, and grain, and they will not have much to do with us, and they will be able to fool around for the time being. If it really doesn't work, let's wait until they officially protest. Zheng Yong thought about it for a while, and then made a decision, "However, it would be safer if we could attract some Dutch businessmen to join our business." Well, Stationmaster Shi, could you please help me contact De? Mr. Hale, Mr. Spillink, and Mr. Trupp, they said that I had important business to discuss with them. Forget it, I'll visit it myself. They are our important partners in the future, and we must show enough sincerity so that the business can last for a long time. (To be continued......)