In the fifth year of Chongzhen, the snow in the capital was obviously much earlier than in previous years, and snowflakes fell in the sky in late October of the lunar calendar, but the streets of the capital were still lively.

Residents of the capital who have become accustomed to the system of commuting to and from work, and merchants whose business models have also begun to change due to the changes in the city's economy, have made the shops in the capital that should have entered the off-season after the winter turn to maintain a thriving state.

Sitting in the carriage, Methwold loved the bustle of the streets, and the lively citizens of the capital often reminded him of the rude citizens of London. Although these Chinese quarrels are much more elegant, unlike the second half of the London City quarrel, which became a brawl, the vitality they showed in the quarrel was no different.

But another thing that makes him more fond of Beijing than London is that its public health is really better than that of the city, and it is rare to see human feces and slaughtered animals on the streets. Of course, according to the Chinese they employ, five years ago, Beijing's streets were also full of sewage, and the city's rivers were silted up into smelly ditches.

But this is not the case in Beijing today, where at least thousands of cleaners clean the streets every day, and even on snowy days, the snow is removed from the streets early in the morning to the side of the road to make it easier for cars and horses to walk. Living in such a city, top hats, capes and heels have become an ornament.

You don't have to worry about and urine flying in the sky, or you don't have to worry about stepping on some unspeakable filth when you walk down the street. Methwold felt that it was more inhabitable than King's Town, west of London. At the very least, his habits have been greatly changed by the city.

Brush your teeth and wash your face every morning, spray perfume before going out, drink hot tea or boiling water when you are thirsty, don't touch food directly with your hands when eating, bathe with hot water at night, and change a shirt and a pair of socks every day. Methwold sometimes lamented how he had endured the bad habits of life over the past few decades.

Even Robert, the director of the Beijing Commercial Pavilion, who has always been worried about China, has never objected to living according to the Chinese way of life. Of course, Robert also thinks so, because the Chinese lifestyle is so refined, it is difficult for the Chinese to adapt to the hard life at sea, which may be the reason why this oriental country could not start the Age of Discovery.

After seeing enough of the scenery on both sides of the street, Methwald finally leaned back on the soft back of the chair filled with cotton, and said quite contentedly: "It's just a trip to Shanghai, but it's like a long trip, the territory of this country is really vast." Was there any news in the capital when I left? ”

Robert shrugged his shoulders and said, "Of course there is news, the city makes news every day, and of course the biggest news is that the emperor has won another victory over the northern Tatars."

The Chinese thought it was about a Falkirk-style victory, but it seemed to me that it might just be a battle of Caravarok. Nevertheless, His Majesty the Emperor was able to gain the subjugation of several Tatar tribes and win a large territory for himself..."

A Falkirkian victory was a decisive battle in England's war to conquer Scotland. The Battle of Caravaroc, on the other hand, was an expedition that cost a lot of money but did not achieve any decisive results. Apparently Robert did not approve of this, and the Tatars in the north suffered a great defeat in this war.

Meswold said excitedly: "The emperor can repel those Tatars, which is good news for the company, and the company's current interests are tied to the Ming Dynasty."

Do you know what I found when I went to Shanghai to inspect the trade books of the Shanghai Commercial Pavilion? The company and the Chinese have finally drilled a truly productive oil well in East Sumatra, producing 200 barrels of crude oil per day, which will allow our local refinery to produce more than 100 barrels of kerosene.

The crude oil we produce is 5 cents a barrel, and the refined lamp kerosene costs 5 cents a dime per barrel, and it is shipped to Shanghai, Taiwan, Japan, and North Korea, at most, plus 5 cents of a barrel of freight. A pound of kerosene is worth a penny, enough to light for three nights, which is much cheaper than a candle.

A pair of the most common candles cost 3 cents, and a few can be lit for two nights with some savings, but cheap candles are not as bright as kerosene lamps, and they are harmful to the eyes. Now in Gangnam and Gyeonggi areas, except for those rich people who still use whale candles, ordinary people have begun to use the lamp kerosene we produce.

A large barrel of lamp kerosene is sold at 155 pounds, but the actual weight is slightly exceeded, and we set a wholesale price of 1.5 yuan per barrel, and the net profit is about 1.2 yuan per barrel. With the current output of 150 barrels of kerosene per day, it is a profit of 180 yuan a day. At 300 working days a year, that's 54,000 dollars, or almost 10,000 pounds.

And that's just the beginning, China alone has an insatiable demand for kerosene, and on the edge of Sumatra, there is also mainland India and the indigenous kingdoms. As long as we can find more oil, we don't have to worry about not being able to sell kerosene, which is black gold.

But without the help of the Chinese, we alone will not be able to defend the oil wells and refineries on Sumatra. The company and we personally account for 45% of the profits of the kerosene business, can we not support His Majesty the Emperor now? ”

Robert could only remain silent about Methwold's statement. His legal income is only 100 pounds a year, and as for the use of the company's resources to conduct his own business, it will bring him a maximum of 3 or 400 pounds, which is a great risk, after all, the ship will lose all in the shipwreck.

As for last year, following the fleet of the Ming and the Netherlands to rob the Japanese, bringing himself 20 years of income at once, this kind of good thing is not much. Although the Spaniards and the Portuguese opened the door to colonialism for European countries, the current Britain is not qualified to compete with Spain and the Netherlands for the richest colonies, so it can only honestly engage in entrepot trade or smuggling activities, and of course, it can also carry its head and try its best to rob the merchant ships of Spain and the Netherlands.

However, the East India Company, which was invested by British aristocrats and merchants, obviously did not allow those captains to rob so blatantly, after all, it would cause wars between countries. Therefore, after establishing a commercial relationship with the Ming Dynasty, it was able to obtain a fixed colonial income, which was a rare good news for the British East India Company.

Although Sumatra was not yet a British colony, it was clear that the British were planning to make it their first colony in Southeast Asia when oil bubbled up on the land. In addition to the benefits that oil can bring to the company, the most important thing is that the sale of kerosene can solve the company's biggest problem, the shortage of cash.

Although China's goods were excellent, Britain could not balance the trade between the two sides with many special products, so it could only use hard currency to pay for the shortfall, and it was obviously impossible for Britain to support such a trade activity for a long time. The role of oil made Methwald, Robert and others realize that this is the best commodity to fill the trade gap.

After the carriage had gone some way, Robert finally spoke: "I am not disgusted with China, but I think that China is different from the surrounding Asian indigenous countries, and it is a civilized country like us in Europe.

However, it is precisely because it is such an excellent civilized country that I am worried. Mr. Methwald, you said that without the assistance of the Chinese, we would not be able to keep the oil wells and refineries in Sumatra. So I want to ask you, after losing us, will the Chinese be able to keep them? ”

Methwald thought for a moment before slowly nodding and saying, "I think the Chinese should have no problem." ”

Robert spread his hands and said: "This is the worrying place, the Chinese can enjoy this piece of food alone, but they are willing to share it with us, if we exchange situations with the Chinese, are you willing to share the benefits of oil with those Chinese?" ”

Methwold was silent, and Robert continued: "We have been in contact with His Majesty the Emperor for so long, and I am sure Your Excellency is well aware that His Majesty the Emperor thinks more like a European monarch than an Eastern monarch.

Like us, he agreed that the wealth of the state belonged to the state and the people, not to the private property of the monarch personally. That is why he does not give us outsiders the wealth of his country in exchange for our praise of his reputation for kindness and generosity.

For such a monarch, every fortune he gives must be marked with a price that we cannot know yet, and perhaps it is not until we pay the price before we know how much we will pay for today's gains, and this is not something we should be worried about? ”

The carriage stopped, and Methwald looked out the window and found that he had reached the door of the merchant's house, and he pressed the doorknob with one hand, and turned to Robert and said, "Maybe what you said is right, but it is better to worry the shareholders of the company about such a troublesome matter."

We don't have to stay here for the rest of our lives, as long as we can bring profits to the shareholders of the company, they don't care about any trouble in the future. China and Britain are so far away, even if there are any real traps, it is impossible for Britain to suffer any real losses.

I think you should tell me more, is there any news on the ASEAN side? ”

Robert got out of the carriage with Methwold, and said after him, "Perhaps your Excellency is right, and I hope that such a bad trouble will not happen during our term of office."

As for the Tokyo, the Spaniards seemed to have suffered a small loss in Japan, and their garrison at Iwami Ginzan was driven out by the Japanese. The representative of the Spaniards proposed to ASEAN to punish Japan, but the rotating chairman vetoed it. ”

Methwold suddenly stopped, turned his head and asked cautiously, "Who vetoed the Spaniard's proposal?" ”

Robert quickly replied, "It's the Dutch." The Dutch believed that according to the agreement, the Spaniards should have retreated from Silver Mountain a long time ago. And the Japanese did not use weapons, but only wooden sticks. So this is obviously a spontaneous act of the Japanese people, not an organized attack by the Japanese government. The Chinese and Portuguese agreed with the Dutch. ”

Meswold's eyes blinked a few times before he said: "This is really interesting news, so the Spanish representative just swallowed this breath?" ”

Robert sneered and said, "What else else?" Although the Spaniards had a Philippine colony in Asia, it would be nice if they could hold on to it. They alone could not conquer Japan. The Spaniards, however, held a grudge against the Dutch, believing that they were deliberately humiliating His Majesty, and it seemed that there was going to be another conflict between the two sides. ”

Methwold smiled at first, but was quickly stunned, and then he regained his smile and said, "The Dutch are so proud, so proud that they have forgotten where they are." All right, Mr. Robert, I need to wash up first, please tell the cook to prepare me a piece of food. After washing up, I want to have a good meal. ”