While Wan Zheng's "Little Celestial Empire" outside London was there to explain to Li Ke how important North America was to the Ming Dynasty, King James II, who had escaped from the "prison" with the help of his supporters, finally stepped on the ship to flee to France again, and this time he was undoubtedly more fortunate not to be betrayed by a fisherman like the last time.

However, all this was what his son-in-law William wanted, and William did not want James to become a martyr, so he deliberately let him escape.

On December 24, Christmas Eve, King James II finally arrived in France safely. Unlike the hostility he suffered in England, as soon as he arrived in France, he was welcomed by the French king Louis XIV, who not only sheltered James, but also gave him a palace and a high income. And all this led to a very interesting situation - James II, the self-proclaimed king of France, took refuge on the territory of King Louis XIV of France. After all, since the Hundred Years' War, successive British kings after Edward III have proclaimed themselves kings of France.

But at this time, no one in the European countries had the leisure to ask about the joke, and everyone knew that the storm was just the beginning. After all, after James fled to France, Spain, the Papal States, and Modena supported James and his son, unless his cousin Louis XIV supported him.

War will definitely break out!

When James, who was in Paris, reaffirmed his legal status again and again, the Western Bank in Paris also welcomed a guest.

"I'm here this time because I have a business to talk to you about."

Sitting on the sofa, Wan Zhengyuan did not have the slightest politeness, but directly "introduced" the business.

"Oh? Thank you so much. ”

Jin Wen said angrily.

"The development of Western Bank over the years is all due to your help."

As the president of the Western Bank, he is very clear about the identity of the Western Bank, which is a bank on the surface, but in fact he is a special bank, which is the core of Daming's operation in Europe.

In the past 16 years, in addition to providing loans to European countries, and with the help of the rights and interests obtained from the loans, Western Bank has been actively expanding its business in European countries, and after years of careful arrangement, Western Bank has quietly penetrated into all aspects of Europe.

However, the envoys to Europe have always been one of the biggest contributors to the Bank, and it is with their help that the Bank has been able to lend to many countries and reap the rewards handsomely.

"Oh, look at what you said, President Jin, we are mutually beneficial."

Wan Zhengyuan looked at Jin Wenbo in front of him, although the two had had several contacts before, but Wan Zhengyuan knew his origin very well, Jin Wenbo was born in the so-called Jin family among the eight emperors of the Manchu Dynasty, and may even be the only survivor of the Jin family, and it was none other than his father who got rid of the Jin family and the other seven families.

Sometimes, the world feels too small.

"That's what you said."

Jin Wenbo responded, he still had a professional smile on his face, and his heart was also very calm, and he did not have the slightest wave because of the Wan family in front of him. He knew very well that everything back then was caused by the Jin family, if he didn't defect to the Manchu Qing Dynasty, if he didn't defect to Zheng Zhilong, how could there be that fate later?

If I had fled to Europe, I might have ...... Everything is fate.

"I don't know if the envoy came in person without any effort, what business did he introduce to you? In fact, you can just tell the London branch directly, and you will definitely try your best to satisfy you. ”

Compared with his interest in Wan Zhengyuan himself, Jin Wenbo was more curious about his intentions.

"Actually, what about me coming this time? I want to give you a chance! ”

Zhan Yan smiled, and then Wan Zhengyuan said slowly.

"Opportunity?"

"Yes, that's a chance! An opportunity for you to support a country's government! ”

"You mean London?"

Linked to the situation in the UK. Jin Wenbo's brows jumped slightly, and then he said quietly.

"The banks are not interested in what is happening in the UK, and we believe that our debt to the UK will be protected at all times."

In Jin Wenbo's view, Wan Zhengyuan is obviously here to help William be a lobbyist, every government needs money, even William is no exception, and even now William needs money even more, after all, he has just established himself in the UK, and he needs money in all aspects. As we all know, the most financially powerful bank in Europe is the Bank of the West.

Over the years, the total amount of loans in Europe has already exceeded 100 million taels, and it is a creditor in many countries, and if William wants to get additional support, he will inevitably need to borrow from Western Bank.

"William? No! ”

Shaking his head, Wan Zhengyuan said seriously.

"What I'm giving you is the chance to get you to support the rightful King of England!"

Legitimately King of England!

"You mean the one who fled to Paris?"

After asking rhetorically, Jin Wenbo's gaze changed when he looked at Wan Zhengyuan, didn't he know how that guy lost the crown?

As a banker, Jin Wenbo has of course been paying attention to the situation in Britain, and he also knows how James II has gone against the grain and lost the hearts of the people, otherwise his army would not have defected. If he had to choose him, he would definitely choose William instead of James, after all, the former was supported by the British aristocracy and the public, and as for the latter, at least from now on, there is no possibility of turning over. Unless he has the full support of France, Spain.

However, although Jin Wenbo is inclined to support the winner, due to reasons such as legitimacy, it is impossible for him to give substantial support to William at least until he actually wears the British crown, and of course, this does not prevent him from giving William a personal credit loan of 1 million dong through the Dutch branch.

But now, Wan Zhengyuan's suggestion made Jin Wenbo dumbfounded, almost looking at him dumbfounded, unable to speak for a long time.

Support James II?

What are he kidding?

"Is the envoy joking?"

Almost instinctively, Jin Wenbo thought Wan Zhengyuan was joking.

"Just kidding, look at what you said, I'm going to run so far and come and joke with you?"

I'm full! Just kidding, thinking so in his heart, Wan Zhengyuan took a deep breath, and then stared at Jin Wenbo and asked.

"Support William! Almost everyone thinks that William has won, first of all, he has the support of the British aristocracy, and secondly, the support of the British people, at least the vast majority, and this also means that it is difficult for James to regain the throne again, unless he has the support of France and Spain, but, as we all know, the fleets of the French and Spaniards are not opponents of the British at all, and the two countries are unlikely to fight for James and the British, and will only give him some support, so, from this point of view, you should definitely support William, Am I right? ”

Jin Wenbo didn't speak, just sat there and looked at Wan Zhengyuan, he knew that since the other party said so, there must be something to say, otherwise he didn't have to speak for William at all.

Just as he guessed, after a few seconds of pause, Wan Zhengyuan continued.

"But what do you get by supporting William? What do banks get? It's nothing more than interest, that's all, a million? Million? How many more? It is impossible to have more, as for other rights and interests, there is not the slightest possibility, and, as far as the information currently available, the British aristocracy is already dissatisfied with the operation of the Western Bank in Britain, and it is unknown whether William will target the bank, but one thing is for sure, in this upheaval, the benefits that the bank can obtain are very limited, at least if you choose William! ”

After a slight pause, Wan Zhengyuan smiled.

"After all, everybody likes to be in the company of winners, which also means lower returns. Do you think that's the truth? ”

High risk, high reward!

Leaning back slightly, leaning on the sofa, Jin Wenbo did not speak, he looked at Wan Zhengyuan, thinking about his proposal, at this time, what appeared in his mind was not the level of the rate of return, but his father, the Jin family and the other seven imperial merchants.

Why did they support the Manchus back then?

Isn't it because the rate of return for supporting the Manchu Qing is higher?

High risk means high reward!

At least in those years, each of them had received unprecedented returns, arguably unmatched by any businessman, but what was the point?

In the end, everything was wiped out with a paper order, and even the Jin family was wiped out.

Looking at Jin Wenbo who was sitting there pondering, Wan Zhengyuan could vaguely guess what he was thinking, maybe he was thinking about the Jin family and the past of the Jin family.

Wan Zhengyuan is no stranger to Jin Wenbo, he is the son of the Jin family, and it was under his single-handed planning that the eight imperial merchants escaped from the capital, originally according to his plan, they would go all the way to Europe along the coast and settle in the Netherlands or somewhere. If this plan is realized, perhaps, now the Eight Emperors Chamber of Commerce will become the richest man in a European country. But they chose the Zheng family halfway and chose Zheng Zhilong, what happened later?

Father sent their heads to Qinghe, to His Majesty, and of course more than half of the family business of the eight families. It was from that time that Wanjia became extremely rich, all of which is not a secret in Daming, and it is almost a well-known thing. And Jin Wenbo was the only survivor of those people, because he was not in Fujian at all, he was in Liaoning at the time.

Such speculation, will Jin Wenbo miss it?

Wan Zhengyuan suddenly realized that perhaps, he chose the wrong object, not because of anything else, but because the past of the Jin family would make Jin Wenbo choose to refuse.

"Make the ......"

Without waiting for Jin Wenbo to speak, Wan Zhengyuan interrupted him and did not give him a chance to refuse.

"Perhaps, you will ask, why did I do this!"

Meeting Jin Wenbo's gaze, Wan Zhengyuan explained.

"First of all, we can see that no matter what England chooses, the Irish will support the Catholic James, not William, and even if the English Parliament declares William king, the Irish parliament will not follow the English parliament, if nothing else, they will declare James still king, which also means that James II will have broad support there, and the Irish will be more willing to support a Catholic as king than the Protestant king, which is undoubtedly ......"

Since 1541, when the King of England was also King of Ireland, Ireland has gradually been infiltrated by England, but the religious issue has always been the biggest problem between the two, Ireland is mainly Catholic, England is mainly Protestant, and religious issues have led to constant conflicts between the two. This is also the basis for Wan Zhengyuan, Jin Wenbo does not doubt this, he has been in Europe for more than ten years, and he knows very well how important religion is in the daily life of Europeans. Under the influence of religion, the Irish would have sided with James II, but it was not enough.

Seeing that Jin Wenbo didn't speak, Wan Zhengyuan knew what he was thinking, so he continued to explain.

"The support of the French, the support of the Irish, of course, is not enough, after all, the support of the former is limited, the strength of the latter is weak, but this is only the premise of our support for him, what is the other reason for supporting him? Because the loser will do whatever it takes, as long as he can regain power! ”

Staring at Jin Wenbo, Wan Zhengyuan said in a tempting tone.

"What we can get by working with the winner is very limited, interest, just interest, but what if we work with the loser? A man who is already doomed to lose the crown, he is doomed to lose everything, so what is there not to trade? You know, these deals are just ...... for him."

"It's just a blank check!"

Jin Wenbo smiled.

"I can imagine what kind of promises James will make and what kind of treaties he will sign, but you must know that these are empty promises, and they will not be kept."

"Impossible to cash in? Are you kidding? ”

Wan Zhengyuan's eyes widened and said with some excitement.

"How is it impossible to cash, for others it is impossible to cash, but for us, for the Ming Dynasty, what is impossible to cash, our fleet is the guarantee of cashing that check, of course, maybe not needed, after all, our goal is not just that, with the support of the bank, James can hire a large army, maybe he can't afford to take back England, but if he exists in Dublin for a day, Britain will be divided for a day, and there will be two Britains in the world, one London, one DublinThey tear each other apart, and the war is to stop them from expanding outward, and ......"

Chong Jin Wenbo smiled slightly, and Wan Zhengyuan threw out another bait.

"With James's treaty, perhaps, we can get all of North America, and in the future, in that colony or the fief of a certain prince, the bank can get unimaginable returns, don't you think? From a business perspective, who should you work with? ”

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