The weather in June 1645 was still cool in the Ottoman Empire. On the pier of Smyrna Port (Izmir), one of the country's largest foreign ports, Mo San, sitting on the second floor of a café, is fascinated by the scene inside the port. Two cargo ships from the Netherlands, one after the other, were slowly approaching the berth next to the dock, and the two ships were beautifully shaped and had a length-to-width ratio of about five to one. It's not a big proportion, but it's a revolution for the traditional Dutch boats, which combine wave-breaking performance and speed, as well as a certain structural strength of the hull, and have no problem sailing in the Mediterranean.

"Nima, a copy of the domestic ship type. The Dutch opened up the idea of flying clippers, and with their strong shipbuilding skills and industrial strength, they will not be able to transport spices in the future. Grass, even the design of the schooner has been copied, three-masted schooner, your sister, the Dutch will turn the sky in the future. Mo San cursed quietly while drinking coffee, his gloomy face surprised Hornisian, who was sitting opposite.

He glanced outside, his face changed, and then he cursed in French, "How come the Dutch have such ships?" What a damn one! Although it is not as beautiful as the fast cruisers of the Egyptian fleet, it is quite good. But they can't hold too many guns on a battleship, and they can't hold too much cargo when they are transports, so I suspect they're bringing in some sought-after goods. ”

"What is the scale of business in your country today?" Mo San turned his head to Hornisian and asked.

"In the past, business was so good that we were able to buy almost half of the entire Smyrna port. Of course, it's not bad now. Hornisian waved his arm. Exaggeratedly: "When the war with the Venetians started before. Austria, Spain, Portugal, and the Italian states of the Apennines would blockade us, and only the Dutch, English, and French would trade with us. The largest share of trade was the Dutch, followed by the English, and the French did not have a decent share. ”

"In those years, the Dutch brought cotton, glass, guns, armour, grain, and everything that could be sold to the port of Smyrna, while the English focused on the sale of Indian calico and woollen wool. The Dutch's supply and transportation capacity was so strong that His Majesty the Sultan of the time issued a special order to give preferential treatment to Dutch merchants. Their trading house in Smyrna Harbour covers an area several times larger than that of the English. This continued until your arrival a few years ago. Hornisian gently stirred the fragrant coffee with a spoon and continued: "You have ruined their cotton business. In those years I have seen a lot of Dutch shippers who came in full of cotton cloth and returned disappointed, and their cloth was not at all as good as yours in terms of quality, colour and price, and the gap was perhaps as far as that from Kaffa to Alexandria, so they failed. ”

Mo San smiled lightly and did not speak. Over the years, more and more cotton cloth was exported to the Ottoman Empire by the people of the East Coast. Although the consumption level of the people in this country is not as high as that of France, after all, this country has a population of more than 30 million, and the potential market is huge. According to statistics, in 1643, 560,000 pieces of cotton cloth (calico, calico, dyed) were sold to France on the east coast. During the same period, the cotton cloth sold to the Ottomans had only just reached more than 100,000 due to factors such as limited capacity.

By 1644, cotton cloth sales to France had declined dramatically for various reasons. It can reach 400,000 horses a year. Just when the whole East Bank was a little depressed, the Ottomans stepped up at the right time, and they bought more than 250,000 pieces of cotton cloth of various types throughout the year. Although it still can't close the gap between them, it has greatly reduced the sales pressure of East Coast cotton.

And this year, according to the customs export data of the port of Racha in the first three months, it is not difficult for the Ottoman Empire to consume more than 300,000 pieces of cotton cloth in the whole year, or even reach 350,000 horses. As for the French market, it is as declining as ever, with annual sales expected to fall below 300,000 horses, and it is likely to be overtaken by the Ottoman market for the first time, losing the title of the largest cotton market on the east coast.

The rise of new markets has given the East Coasters great comfort in not having problems in the domestic economy because of the decline in the major markets, which they cannot afford. The Ottoman market was also growing along with markets in Portuguese East Africa, Angola, Brazil, La Plata, Florida, Charcas, Chile, etc., although these markets have a small number of people with spending power, and together they contribute less than 50,000 horses to new sales on the East coast. And it was the vigorous development and rise of these new markets that prevented the financial income of the people on the east coast from falling rapidly, so that they had a certain amount of capital to start a cotton trade war with the Dutch and the French.

"His Majesty Ibrahim is disappointed that you have refused to sell the battleship Bayezid, as is the Pasha of the Navy. Otherwise, you can open trade halls in Smyrna, Suez, Thessaloniki and Burgas, and you can even set up offices in Istanbul, Kaffa and Odessa. In the future, if the relations between the two countries are further improved, it is almost certain that these three affairs will be able to carry out trade activities, but it is a pity that you have given up, and I suspect that even God cannot bear to see such a discordant ending. "Well, now, your trading posts are limited to Suez and Smyrna, and the office in Kaffa is also severely restricted. You now have to make an appointment to meet Nasukhpasha in Istanbul, which is terrible. ”

Hornisian had reason to be sad, for he was at this time the largest agent of goods from the east coast of the Ottoman Empire, high-quality and cheap white cotton, brightly colored calico, beautiful dyed leather clothing, eye-catching dyed leather bags, leather gloves and boots without a hint of peculiar smell, whale skins and soaps for the upper class. It can be said that in addition to not being able to act as an agent for the sale of ships and guns, Hornisian almost monopolized the civilian market.

Of course, that was only the initial situation, his backers Egyptian Pasha, Navy Pasha and Nasukh Pasha did not have the ability to cover the sky single-handedly, they could not dominate this lucrative business for a long time, and obviously the people of the East Coast were not willing to put their eggs in one basket. Therefore, in the past two years, the people of the east coast have gradually come into contact with the Sultan teacher Cynsi. The merchants behind the scenes, the comprador group led by the Empress Dowager Kosem, the Sultan of Kosem, and the army led by the Guards Aga (commanders) were powerful, and they signed supply agreements with them. In this way, the people of the East Coast seem more detached in this country, at least they can be familiar with all the forces and the appearance of friendliness.

"It is regrettable that, after comprehensive consideration, my Government has put this proposal on hold for the time being. Of course, this does not mean that this deal will no longer take place, and perhaps when the situation in the country changes significantly, our government will restart this arms sales agreement. Mo San opened his mouth and said a piece of nonsense, in fact, he himself didn't know the process of the rejection of this agreement, and whether it would be restarted again in the future, at this time he could only say that.

"It's a shame. The expansion and reconstruction of the four ports from Istanbul to Edirne, the mining railway of the Kafa iron ore mine, and the port of Suez must not forget the huge commercial benefits brought by the opening of the four treaty ports, and the tariffs of these treaty ports are negligible. "Hornisian is still a little haunted, and maybe he and the people behind him are disappointed. However, the people on the East Coast have their own considerations, and they have to carefully decide every policy based on the international situation they are facing, and this is not something that can be decided by tapping their heads.

However, Mo San is actually quite optimistic about the prospects of this deal going through in the future. After all, there are real commercial interests there, and the major domestic enterprises and the new Chinese colonies are looking forward to it. The only concern of the Executive Committee in disagreeing with the sale of the battleships was probably the reaction of Spain, Austria, and Venice, and if the people on the east coast did sell such weapons of mass destruction to the Ottomans, they would surely be extremely hostile to Spain, and the international environment would deteriorate rapidly. If it really comes to this point, then it is not worth it, so it is better to hold off and wait and see the situation first.

Of course, Mo San couldn't directly express these concerns to Hornisian, and he could only use Ha Luha to comfort him at this time. The two of them chatted while drinking fragrant coffee. At this time, the Dutch merchant ships on the dock had also begun to unload, which was a package of things packed in a special bag, which looked relatively high-end.

"The coffee beans that come from the West Indies, grown in small quantities by the Dutch, sell for a lot in big cities like Istanbul, so it's no wonder they use these boats to transport them." Hornisian glanced out the window, and then suddenly said, "By the way, have you started to grow this kind of thing?" ”

"Yes, I started planting more than half a year ago." Mo San nodded. He also saw it from the summary of domestic affairs handed over by the merchant ships on the east coast, and it was indeed a good business to get it done. Because of the prohibition of alcohol in the Islamic world, they have a huge demand for coffee, which has almost become a necessity for many people's lives, so the business opportunities here are indeed huge.

"That's good." Hornisian nodded, "In a few years, we can do this kind of business." Trust me, you're going to make a lot of money. (To be continued......)