For the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Dutch West India Company, William. For Uzerlix, the arrival of the Chinese mission was simply the arrival of an angel from the East. When Song Xiance, on behalf of the Ming government and the Four Seas Trading Company, clarified the false rumors that the Ming Dynasty had seized the East India Company's Spice Islands in the Amsterdam market, the shares of the East India Company and other companies that had fallen because of the rumors began to recover rapidly.

The company is investing 1.5 million guilders to jointly develop wild rubber forests in the Amazon basin. The shares of the West India Company, which had been unattended, were immediately sought after by the market, and the Amsterdam Chamber of Commerce began to buy a large number of shares of the West India Company.

The West India Company, which had been struggling since the previous year, was able to extricate itself from its financial difficulties in just one week and regain the hope of the people of the Republic. And William. Uzerlix has finally retained his position as chairman of the board.

The Dutch West India Company, founded in 1621, was originally formed to break the monopoly of the Dutch East India Company on overseas trade. The company was initially blocked by the Spaniards and moderates in the Assembly of the Republic, and it was not until Prince Morris cut off the head of the Speaker of the Assembly of the Republic that the West India Company was formed.

But it was for this reason that the West India Company was seen as the Prince's sphere of influence from the beginning. In order to prevent the prince from receiving financial support from the West India Company, the Assembly of the Republic and the East India Company had been trying to seize the leadership of the West India Company.

So in the 1623 equity competition, the Council of the Republic and the East India Company defeated the princely merchants with an investment of 1 million guilders and became the largest shareholder of the West India Company, thus stumbling over William. Uzelix's foot.

Prince Morris's generals were obsessed with attacking Spain's financial resources in the Americas, so that the West India Company had no interruption in naval warfare since its founding. They fought either the Spaniards in the Caribbean, the British and the French for control of the Caribbean, and eventually Brazil and the Portuguese.

The excessive war caused the West India Company to consume a lot of resources, and the shareholders of the company refused to invest more. Thus, while the West India Company's generals occupied most of Brazil, the company's directors found that the company had fallen into substantial bankruptcy.

William. Although Uzellix tried his best to lobby the Assembly of the Republic, the other side said that unless William . Uzellix relinquished his position as chairman of the board of directors and relinquished control of the West India Company, otherwise it would be difficult for the Republic to invest more. It was precisely because of the opinion of the Republican Parliament and the directors of the East India Company that the merchants of the Amsterdam Chamber of Commerce also lost confidence in the West India Company and refused to continue to support William. Uzerlix's plan to save the West India Company.

Before the arrival of the Chinese, William. Uzerlix had fallen into despair, but he did not expect the Chinese to save him, which really made him grateful to the Chinese mission, so after the dust settled, he invited Song Xiance, Zhang Guoji and others to his family banquet.

From Peter. Natz's residence heads to William. On the Uzerlix house, you also have to take a boat to get there. Zhang Guoji and Song Xiance took a boat. Natz and the others were on another boat.

In the drizzle, the boats rippled on the blue waves of the canal, and Zhang Guoji felt as if he had returned to Suzhou. However, Suzhou's canals are not as neatly dug as the canals in Amsterdam. And the streets of Suzhou are never short of crowds and hawkers, but Amsterdam's canal residential area is extremely quiet, and only the square in the city center is a bit lively.

Of course, the population of Amsterdam is difficult to compare with Suzhou, Suzhou City is the most prosperous place in the south of the Yangtze River, even in recent years, the rapid development of Beijing is difficult to compare with Suzhou, this is a large city with a population of nearly one million in the early Ming Dynasty, and it is also the representative of Jiangnan.

However, quietness also has the benefit of being quiet, such as Zhang Guoji and Song Xiance sitting on the boat chatting, and there will be no interference. As an elite among the Jin merchants, Zhang Guoji, who has worked hard in the south for half his life, feels that his brain is still enough, and he can still despise the other party's shallow knowledge for ordinary citizens.

But in front of Song Xiance, he was really convinced. Just by virtue of Peter. The information collected by Natz, coupled with the analysis of the European trade between Europe and Asia by the representative of the Four Seas Trading Company, was able to formulate such a grand plan and easily adjust the appetite of the Dutch, which Zhang Guoji thought he could not do.

Therefore, when he was alone on this boat, Zhang Guoji glanced at the cronies who were rowing, and couldn't help but ask Song Xiance for advice: "Brother Song, although this matter has been completed, there are still a few things in my heart that I don't understand very well, can you ask Brother Song to solve my doubts?" ”

Song Xiance, who was looking at the drizzle outside the boat falling into the river, glanced back at Zhang Guoji, and said casually: "After drifting on the sea for more than a year, we have braved so many winds and waves together, if there is anything you can't say, you can just say what you want to ask." ”

Zhang Guoji subconsciously arched his hand to him, and then said: "According to Your Majesty's will, this Dutch East India Company has always been the target of my Ming Dynasty's suppression, even if it maintains peace with them this time." So why did Brother Song let them participate in this big plan and gave them the monopoly trade right of rubber products? ”

Song Xiance's body swayed slightly as the ship moved forward, he stretched out his hand to pick up the rain outside, completely ignoring the fact that his sleeve was also wet, he just played with the rain while replying to Zhang Guoji: "The Ming Dynasty and Europe are thousands of miles apart, how can the information in Your Majesty's hands be comparable to the real Europe we have heard and witnessed?"

Since Your Majesty has given me the power to act cheaply before leaving, we naturally have to correct some of the inaccuracies in Your Majesty's judgment. How can you rigidly act according to Your Majesty's plan, wouldn't that be a move to carve a boat and ask for a sword?

The reason why the Dutch East India Company was regarded by His Majesty as a priority target was because the Dutch East India Company's influence in Asia and the Indian Ocean was too great, which had hindered the momentum of the development of our Ming maritime business.

However, although the Dutch East India Company was strong, do you think the United Republic of the Netherlands is strong? ”

Zhang Guoji thought for a while and said: "The strength of the republic is still good, after all, they have blocked the attack of the Spaniards for so many years. I thought that the strength of the republic was about equal to that of the Qing Dynasty. ”

Song Xiance glanced back at him, then shook his head and said, "It's a lot, if the Spaniards and the Republic were not separated by a France, it is estimated that the Republic would have died long ago."

Faced with a great enemy like Spain, the monarchy and the republic were still arguing internally, and the country's banks were lending to the enemy government to feed the enemy army that was attacking its own country, which, even if it now seemed like cooking oil, would sooner or later die from its own short-sightedness and the greed of merchants. ”

Zhang Guoji frowned and thought for a moment, before he asked tentatively: "Brother Song thinks that the winner of this war will be the Spaniards?" ”

Song Xiance smiled and said, "No, the soldiers are expensive, but they are not expensive for a long time." The Spaniards had lost hope of victory, and they had been going to win. If they had borrowed from France in the name of attacking the United Republic of the Netherlands, or had forced France to choose a side in the name of the Catholic League, the war would not have lasted so long.

Instead of taking advantage of the internal chaos in France, the country* or tying up their chariots gave the French time to recuperate. Now that all the participating countries are exhausted, the French army has become the key to determining the outcome of this war.

By the time France had entered the war the previous year, the victory had already gone to the Protestant League. For example, the French defeated the combined forces of Spain and the Holy Roman Empire near Paris last year, and the French won the Franco-Spanish naval battle that broke out in August this year, and now the Spaniards have almost been expelled from French territory.

The cardinal of France was so accurate in judging the situation that I would love to meet him. ”

Zhang Guoji didn't take Song Xiance's last sentence to heart, he was still a little puzzled, so he asked: "Since the Spaniards can't win, who will destroy the republic?" ”

Song Xiance replied without thinking: "Of course, it is France, the territory of the republic is small, but its maritime strength is second to none in Europe. Therefore, the only way to destroy the republic is to fight a war on land.

The Orange family, the ruling family of the Republic, starting with the first generation of silent William, the second generation of Maurice of Nassau, and the third generation of the current Frederick Henry are in power, and the father and son can be regarded as excellent military commanders.

But with such a small country as the Netherlands, how can there be such heroes from generation to generation? Four or five generations later, if the Orange family can defeat the republicans in China, it will inevitably move from martial arts to civil governance. In a country with a small territory like the Republic, without a genius military commander, the French would lose both sides even if they invaded, and the Republic would have been defeated because of the excessive casualties of the young and strong. ”

Zhang Guoji naturally wouldn't ask why France wanted to attack the republic, and he still knew this sentence. Even Spain, the suzerain, refused to let go of the rich republic, let alone France, which was a close neighbor.

However, he was worried about his plan, and asked: "If the republic is to be annexed by France sooner or later, will our cooperation with the Dutch not be in trouble in the future?" ”

Song Xiance nodded and said, "It will indeed be a trouble in the future, but it will not be an opportunity." Merchants have no motherland, and the republic can't protect them, but the Ming may not be able to protect them.

If we make the right choice, the French will win on the battlefield and we will win financially. Under the threat of war, Dutch merchants will surely choose to take refuge in a safe country..."

Zhang Guoji tried hard to understand the meaning of Song Xiance's words, but he soon gave up and asked Song Xiance instead: "Then what about the British side?" Do we want to continue to work with the British to form a central bank? ”