As a low-level clerk, it is not easy for Zhou Lang to meet Cornwall, the governor, except for worshipping in the church, he has only seen Cornwally once so far, that is, at the drinking party to celebrate the victory of the war in Mysore, and that drinking party was brought in by Father Victor, otherwise he still has no chance.

Even now, because of the creation of the Chinese East India Company, Zhou Lang has become a little famous in the British elite circle in India, and thanks to Henry Pitt, he has become a frequent guest at many aristocratic gatherings. Even so, it is limited to small private gatherings, and most of them are small salon-style gatherings. Zhou Lang still couldn't attend a formal gathering attended by high-ranking officials and dignitaries like Kang Huali, so he never had any contact with Kang Huali.

Naturally, it is impossible for him to understand Kanghuali, and all he knows is some of Kanghuali's deeds from other people's mouths, which is far from being true and intuitive from direct communication and communication, so his understanding of this negotiation opponent is almost blank.

But Zhou Lang may as well formulate corresponding countermeasures, he carefully analyzed Cornwally's character, for this typical British aristocracy, he has been in contact with a lot, and there are some commonalities in his character, such as arrogance, such as self-confidence, such as feeling good about himself, and thinking that he can dominate everything.

He believed that Cornwally's personality would have some similar traits to some extent.

Zhou Lang prepared carefully for three days, and three days later Henry Pitt came to spread the word that Cornwally had invited Zhou Lang to meet at the Governor's Palace.

Kang Huali met Zhou Lang in his office, he was not wearing civilian clothes, I don't know if he intended to stand strong, he was wearing a red general's uniform, a white silk embossed bow tie, and a wig roll on his head, looking at Zhou Lang with calm eyes, exuding a majestic momentum all over his body, calm and majestic.

Zhou Lang didn't care about the other party's momentum, he was wearing a formal tuxedo and a gentleman's hat on his head, he also looked like a dog, he also looked at the other party calmly, took off his hat and saluted the other party.

There was silence for nearly a minute, no one took the lead to speak, but the dark battle was already underway. Unlike Kanghuali, Zhou Lang didn't want to put pressure on the other party, to be honest, he had seen a lot of this kind of scene, and a large part of his first half of his life was spent in meeting investors, and he was sure that he had experienced far more business negotiations than Kanghuali. Although the turmoil experienced by Cornwall may be much more significant and severe than that experienced by Zhou Lang, the negotiation experience may not be as rich as Zhou Lang's.

Zhou Lang is not humble or arrogant with a very natural attitude, not deliberately to hide his nervousness, but he is really calm, which is the ability honed from the experience of meeting investors who think they are superior hundreds of times. But Zhou Lang is actually not a flat lake in his heart, and to be honest, he is a little excited, because this is the most important negotiation in his life so far, which can determine the success or failure of the biggest career he will do.

Zhou Lang suddenly saw a look of approval from Kang Huali's eyes, and then listened to Kang Huali speak.

"Do you really think your company can succeed?"

Cornwally smiled, his expression relaxed, he was already in his fifties, his relaxed face was more peaceful than that of a young man, and his expression was not so serious in an instant.

Zhou Lang didn't answer directly, but spread his hands: "Don't you invite me to sit down?" ”

Under Zhou Lang's calm gaze, Kang Huali smiled and admitted his faux pas, waved his hand, and a middle-aged servant standing next to him like a statue, with his chest high and his head longing to rise to the sky, bowed slightly, and moved a suede chair from the side.

Zhou Lang nodded lightly, but his politeness was ignored by the other party, and the butler's head was held high, and he seemed to be more arrogant than his master, which made Zhou Lang can't help but think of a sentence, saying that in the eyes of real nobles, apart from other nobles, there is only the sky, and civilians cannot enter the eyes of nobles.

He couldn't help but joke, and said to the housekeeper, "Please bring me a cup of green tea." If not, a cup of coffee. ”

The British like black tea, but Zhou Lang prefers not black tea to show that his position is different. This is also a kind of negotiation trick, and careful people can find that the negotiation pictures broadcast in the news are often sitting at one end of the negotiation table, indicating that they are opposed to each other, and when the contract is signed, they will definitely sit at the same end, indicating that the differences are resolved.

Zhou Lang sat down, Yu Guang caught a glimpse of the housekeeper's expression was very unnatural, and after peeking at the master, he went to make tea with an unwilling expression.

A cup of green tea was quickly delivered, although the British liked and black tea, but as a continental country, the French were the same as the Chinese, at this time they also liked green tea, until the British defeated Napoleon and completely dominated Europe for decades, the British tea drinking culture conquered the French, and the French began to drink black tea. With France as an important customer, it is not surprising that the East India Company, as Europe's largest tea supplier, stocked some green tea. However, the governor's palace also had green tea, which surprised Zhou Lang a little, which was originally a means to joke about the housekeeper and ease the tension of the negotiations, but now it seems that it has become a way for the British to show their strength.

Tea came up, and the silence ended.

Zhou Lang didn't touch the steaming cup of tea, and the ghost knew what the disgruntled butler would put in it, and he couldn't drink it if he spit.

"Tea is a good thing!"

Cornwall's interest rate spoke first. Since the Europeans completely opened up the sea and land of the East, the profits of the windfall spice trade have fallen rapidly, but another commodity has sprung up, and in recent decades, tea has become more and more popular in Europe, and even the tariff revenue provided by the tea trade has become the largest single tax of the British government.

Zhou Lang responded: "China is a good place. ”

China before the Industrial Revolution was really a good place. Especially for Europe, which is a commercial civilization, China's various resource endowments are too enviable. Before the industrial age, even if Westerners created the first real world market in human history through the Great Voyage, China was one of the biggest beneficiaries of this world market. The reason is simple, China has the best traded commodities in the world before the industrial age.

Before the days when shipping could be so cheap that freight costs were negligible, there were only a dozen commodities that could be traded in the world, the largest of which were textiles, luxury goods and specialty products. In the field of textiles, Chinese silk has been a monopoly for 2,000 years, which gave birth to the famous Silk Road. When sericulture technology was introduced to India, Persia and even Europe, Chinese porcelain quickly became a luxury coveted by Europeans, who once thought that porcelain was polished with precious stones, so the name of China is the same name as porcelain in English. After the technology of firing porcelain was also mastered by Europeans, it had reached the Age of Discovery, and the unique drink tea of Chinese quickly led the world trend, becoming the first of the three major drinks that are more elegant than coffee and healthier than alcohol.

It is worth mentioning that whether it is silk, porcelain or tea, it is not the kind of scarce resource products, it is not the gold and silver deposits that are getting less and less, and it is not a gemstone that can be met but not sought, and it is basically a commodity that can control the output. Although porcelain is processed with porcelain clay, the reserves of porcelain clay in the world are not scarce; Not to mention silk and tea, which are entirely renewable resources based on agriculture and can be produced as much as you want.

Because it can be provided in large quantities, it has ensured China's long-lasting trade surplus for thousands of years, whether it is mining by the Westerners, looting at sea, or squeezing the American Indians, in short, a large part of the gold and silver they get is finally sent to China, various data are inconsistent, at most it is estimated that more than half of the world's silver production flows into China, China is called the silver black hole.

The only pity is that China has such a good trade advantage, but it has not turned the trade advantage into a technological advantage, or into a capital advantage, and China has neither taken the lead in entering the capitalist society, nor has it started the industrial revolution, which makes foreigners feel incredible.

But in any case, China at this time was still a huge silver black hole, and Westerners still had to ship gold and silver to China in exchange for goods from China, and before the visit of the Magalny mission, the mainstream of the West still considered China to be an extremely rich gold country.

So Kang Huali couldn't help but nodded, and even showed a look of envy, China's conditions are too enviable.

"So we're very eager to open up trade with China."

Cornwally said that the British mentality, on the one hand, is that they will be bled at the imaginary wealth of China, but on the other hand, they have never been able to form an advantage in trade with China, and they have always had to trade with China because of a deficit. They are paranoid that it is not because the Chinese do not want British goods, but because the Chinese government is deliberately obstructing, as the Europeans have been doing for centuries: restricting the import of goods from other countries and encouraging the export of their own goods. This mentality ended up leading to two opium wars.

Zhou Lang replied casually: "Yes, China and India, as the two largest countries, the most populous and the richest in the world, if the trade between the two countries can be carried out smoothly, I think the wealth created will be immeasurable." ”

Zhou Lang just didn't talk about his company directly, nor did he talk about the restrictions of the East India Company, he was waiting for Kang Huali to take the initiative to speak, and he wanted to take the initiative in negotiations.

Cornwalli found this, he was in an advantageous position, and he didn't have that concern, and he finally got to the point.

"I heard you're buying boats?"

"Yes."

"The East India Company can do the shipping on your behalf, and we have the ability to underwrite all the goods you can offer."

Cornwalli said.

Zhou Lang shook his head slightly, if the transportation and trade were controlled by the East India Company, then what was the difference between the British retail merchants who set up this company to trade with India and those Hong Kong merchants? It can only be subject to the East India Company.

In fact, his purpose is not to make money, otherwise this may not be a win-win cooperation model, as long as he can get goods from China, underwriting to the East India Company is actually the easiest, profits and funds are guaranteed, Wu Bingjian like the thirteen lines of merchants can be rich enough to prove that cooperation with the East India Company is a shortcut to make a fortune.

But the problem is that Zhou Lang did not set up his own East India Company for the purpose of making a fortune, he valued the power brought by the East India Company, a powerful organization that integrated politics, diplomacy and military, which was his most powerful weapon to overturn the world.

And all this was the benefit of entrusting trade and transportation to the East India Company.

So Zhou Lang refused very resolutely: "I'm sorry." I am very optimistic about our future trade and do not believe that the current capacity of the East India Company will be able to meet our needs, so we must build our own fleet. We can bring a steady stream of precious Chinese goods to India, and of course we are happy to work closely with the British East India Company. I'm sure your company will welcome us to trade, just like the Dutch in Batavia. ”

Zhou Lang's tone was calm, but in fact, he was secretly threatening, and clearly told Kang Huali that he had more than one partner to work with, and he was in a hurry to cooperate with the Dutch.

Cornwally nodded: "Of course, we very much welcome Chinese merchants to trade in India. And I personally and the company are very optimistic about the prospects of your company, so I sincerely hope to invest in your company. ”

Zhou Lang said happily: "Of course, the company has great respect for enthusiastic investors, and also welcomes powerful investors such as the East India Company to invest in the shares, which is also an encouragement to us." ”

Kang Huali probably didn't expect Zhou Lang to be so happy, he even stiffened for a moment before opening the price code, I don't know if this price code was temporary.

"The company needs 30% of the shares, and we are willing to pay 30,000 pounds."

Zhou Lang shook his head: "Your joke is not funny, the company has just carried out a round of share expansion, and we have introduced an investment of 100,000 pounds, and we have paid one-tenth of the equity." I hope you can give us a professional assessment. ”

Cornwally smiled: "The company can provide capital that ordinary shareholders cannot provide, such as merchant ships, and I can give you a merchant ship at once, plus thirty thousand pounds." ”

Zhou Lang said with a smile: "One hundred thousand pounds, plus three merchant ships with a deadweight of no less than one thousand tons and equipped with the necessary artillery." Our company is willing to pay 20% of the shares. ”

After some bargaining, the two sides reached an agreement that the East India Company would provide two armed merchant ships, with a total armament of not less than 40 guns, one planting 500 tons and the other 800 tons, and at the same time paying 50,000 pounds sterling in exchange for a quarter of the shares of the Chinese East India Company.

The bargaining is carried out in a very relaxed state of mind on both sides, because from the beginning of the bargaining, in fact, there is no conflict between the two sides, a little more shares, a little less shares, in fact, Zhou Lang doesn't care, one more ship, one less ship, one more pounds, less than 10,000 pounds, in fact, Kang Huali doesn't care, if the two sides insist more, the other party will give in, but it is not necessary for both parties, because after the offer, it means that both sides have a tacit understanding of some unspoken rules.

What kind of unspoken rules?

The East India Company did not crack down on the unspoken rules of Zhou Lang's Company, did not create unreasonable obstacles for him, and treated the other party with a more equal attitude.

In fact, Zhou Lang made detailed preparations before he came, he was ready to confront Cornwalli strongly, and it was only one thing to threaten the Dutch, and he planned to take out the worst hole card He planned to give up operating in India and go back to China directly, and he even planned to tell Cornwallis that the reason why he registered in India first was because Cornwalle also understood the reason why the Chinese government did not pay enough attention to business, but Zhou Lang would swear that he could find a way to get through the relationship with China's high-level officials, and if it didn't work for two years, One day, the relationship will be bridged, and once the Chinese top brass realizes the convenience of trade and grants Zhou Lang exclusive trade concessions with India, the two sides will become direct competitors.

But Kanghuali did not embarrass Zhou Lang on the issue of ships, which means that Kanghuali gave up using administrative means to suppress Zhou Lang's company, so all problems are not a problem. And Zhou Lang easily agreed to the East India Company's shares, which was absolutely helpless, because Cornwalli said politely, but this was the condition of the East India Company.

Therefore, if one party does not suppress and one party allows the other party to take shares, it is equivalent to solving all other non-commercial obstacles.

The result came so easily that many of Zhou Lang's rhetoric and preparations could not be taken out. Zhou Lang believed that Kanghuali must have prepared many means, but Zhou Lang easily agreed to let the East India Company take shares, and Kanghuali could not say it.

The reason why both of them gave up the carefully prepared hole cards, to put it bluntly, they found that the other party was an expert after meeting, especially Kanghuali realized that Zhou Lang was not a person who easily compromised through Zhou Lang's performance, and he was not an opponent who could be suppressed.

And Zhou Lang ignored a political factor, Cornwall's background has always been a politician, he was a commander when he was an officer, and he was a governor after arriving in India, his identity is not a pure East India Company high-ranking official, from his heart I am afraid that he thinks that he is a public official of the British government, a servant of the British king, and his priority must be political interests.

What is Cornwall's greatest political interest? What was the biggest obstacle to the reforms in India, to eradicate corruption within the East India Company, to take back private trade, and to regain the monopoly of trade to the East India Company? It is those who have vested interests, and they are the children of the major shareholders and nobles of the East India Company who are hungry for profit but have great energy.

The imaginative company created by Zhou Lang to specialize in trade between China and India appealed to the ambitious and greedy young officials, and if they could find a new avenue for investment, it would certainly be a great relief for the East India Company to prohibit them from trading privately in India.

This is the biggest reason why Cornwallis easily agreed not to obstruct Zhou Lang's company, the reason why it has to set up some difficulties is because Cornwallis does not want to see the trade between India and China, one day completely out of control, if Zhou Lang's business is smooth, then the East India Company can continue to exert influence on Zhou Lang as a major shareholder.

Zhou Lang could only see that the East India Company's shareholding was in the hope of influencing or even controlling his own company, but he did not think of those political factors, because so far he thought more from the perspective of a businessman, from a commercial point of view, even if he considered those political issues, he still had a commercial mode of thinking.

But one thing Zhou Lang knows very well is that the introduction of the East India Company is a big trouble in any case, which means that he must carry out his own actions under the shadow of the East India Company in the future, which is undoubtedly dancing with wolves, seeking skin with tigers, taking chestnuts from the fire, and finally succeeding.