Dam Square is located near Amsterdam's port and is the heart of the city. There is a church erected in the heart of the three-inch human square, and around it there are buildings such as the Amsterdam Chamber of Commerce, the Dutch East India Company, the Stock Exchange, and the Bank of Amsterdam, but to the north of the square, there is a vast ocean.

The canals surrounding the square enclose the square one by one, forming a semi-circular city center of nearly 8 square kilometers, like a tulip in bloom.

The canal plan established by the town hall in 1612 not only greatly improved the city's transportation construction, but also made Amsterdam the most neat and simple city in Europe. Dozens of canals divide Amsterdam into seventy or eighty separate islands, which make it necessary to travel by boat, giving the place, like Venice in the south, the name of the city of water.

Peter. Natz sat in a dinghy and watched the rain fall like a dense line outside the roof, shattering the calm of the canal's surface. Although the direction of the ships was the most lively Dam Square in the city center in the past, but in such bad weather, there were not many people going out, and there were few boats on the canal. Natz enjoyed a rare unimpeded refreshment.

But, Peter. Natz didn't feel any pleasure. In fact, according to his thoughts, he would have preferred to have a slower ship today.

After returning to the Republic from the East, Peter. Instead of returning to the countryside, Natz bought a mansion in Amsterdam and lived there. After a lot of trading and maneuvering, he also got his wish to become the delegate of the Estates-General of the Dutch provinces, which is in a way quite a high starting point.

The republic formed by the amalgamation of the seven northern provinces of the Netherlands was not actually the product of a ripe fall, and the old aristocracy of the seven northern provinces initially opposed the king's extortions rather than attempting to secede from the Kingdom of Spain. But the Spaniards dealt with these old nobles with a bloody purge, which led to the creation of the Utrecht League, which rebelled against the king.

However, the seven northern provinces of the Netherlands, which were trying to break away from the Spanish rule, did not intend to choose a republic at first, but tried to find a noble and benevolent nobleman from the surrounding countries to be their king. Of course, all of them failed, and the provinces had to govern the country themselves.

The Estates-General of the Seven Provinces were the representatives of the rebellious king, and by this time they had become the leaders of the provinces and the Union. The Estates-General were originally an advisory council of feudal lords, a format that had existed for almost two hundred years. Although the Estates-General were composed of nobles and city agents, the agents were not elected by the people, but were elected by the city councils, and the Estates-General were formed differently in almost every province.

When the Union of Seven Provinces became a republic, although the representatives of the provinces advocated the equality of the provinces, the economic inequality of the provinces led to the political inequality of the provinces. The Dutch province provided 58 per cent of the country's public expenditures, Zeeland provided 22 per cent, and the two provinces provided 80 per cent of the Republic's expenditures.

Gradually, therefore, the organization known as the General Assembly of the Estates-General of the United Provinces, the power of the Dutch Province became more and more powerful. It is only by becoming an important figure and an important party in the province of the Netherlands that he will have a prominent position in the whole republic. For this reason, the Republic is also known as the Dutch Republic.

The Estates-General is the supreme authority of the Republic, and it has not only legislative power, but also a part of the executive power. As for the governors of the provinces, which originally represented the monarch, they are now hired by the General Assembly of the Estates-General.

The Prince of Orange and Frederick Henry, Earl of Nassau, finally took over all seven provinces after taking out many of the representatives of the noble party who opposed him, and thus put himself in power as the republic.

And the Speaker, whose power could rival that of Frederick Henry, now falls to the councillors who obey Frederick Henry.

Peter. Natz, however, had obtained the status of a delegate to the Estates-General of the Dutch provinces by virtue of the aristocratic party, and was worried about whether he would be liquidated by the Prince of Orange when he was summoned by the Council of Seventeen to ask questions about the war in the East.

Before getting any more news, Peter. Natz didn't even know how to answer the Council of Seventeen's questions. Although he returned to Europe from the East, he did not sever all ties with the country.

Even now, he is still communicating with Daming Central Bank and Bank of Amsterdam, trying to promote a comprehensive cooperation between the two sides.

Although the assets of Daming Central Bank have exceeded 100 million yuan, it still has to bow down in front of the Bank of Amsterdam. The Bank of Amsterdam, which has almost become the financial heart of Europe, has a deposit amount of 300 million guilders, or about 150 million Ming yuan.

The financing rate of the Bank of Amsterdam is only 2-3%, which is about 50% lower than that of the Bank of Amsterdam. The ultra-low financing interest rate made the Bank of Amsterdam the largest creditor in Europe, and even the army of the Kingdom of Spain had to rely on the Bank of Amsterdam to pay its military salaries.

As long as it can reach a cooperation with the Bank of Amsterdam, Daming Central Bank will be able to enter the financial industry of European countries through the channel of the Bank of Amsterdam.

This matter is of course of great benefit to the Daming Central Bank. For Natz, it's also a good opportunity to make money and get networked. Without the Ming Central Bank behind him, the directors of the Bank of Amsterdam were not interested in paying attention to him as a small man.

In Peter. As Natz was still flipping and wondering what attitude he should take towards the Council of Seventeen, the dinghy stopped with a slight jolt. Reminded by the boatman behind him, Peter. Natz found himself at the canal docks in front of the East India Company.

He took a deep breath of cold air, couldn't help but sneeze, and then carefully stood up with the wooden pillar on the side, then gathered his cloak, and crossed the stone steps of the canal pier with the hat on his head in one hand, and walked into the rain curtain.

The rain rolled down from the brim of the hat made of beaver skin and the cloak made of mink and did not soak into Peter. Nats's underwear should go. After boarding the canal docks, Peter. Natz saw the copper VOC sign at the entrance of the East India Company, and he walked quickly over without hesitation.

In the company's second-floor conference room, Peter. Natz saw the directors sitting at a long, dark red table, but only fifteen people were present.

The chairman of the board of directors, who was sitting on the north side of the long table, said to his colleagues on either side: "Mr. Lie and Mr. Niehoff have something to do and cannot attend the meeting today, and since Mr. Natz has arrived, shall we begin?" ”

The directors nodded in agreement with the chairman's proposal, and the chairman of the board asked Peter Brown. Natz asked the first question: "Mr. Nats, you are the representative of a company that has signed a trade cooperation agreement with the country, and you are also the person here who knows the most about the country.

That's why we've called you here today to learn more about the affairs of the state. First of all, we want to know: can Batavia resist the force of the host country, and how much force does the company need to invest if it wants to force the country to submit? ”

When Peter. As Natz sat down in front of the directors, his hesitant mind suddenly settled. Because he finally came to his senses, the continuation of the war between the company and the country would only cause him great losses.

Peter, who figured it out. Natz was silent for only a moment, and then he spoke: "If it is used for comparison, then the country in Europe is about the same as the national strength of the Ottoman Empire. Moreover, in the East, the country has always been the suzerainty of the neighboring countries.

The country and Batavia are at war, and there is no suspense about the war on land. Only the war of the sea is about half to half of the winning rate of the two sides. But with the help of the other members of the Association of Canada, then Batavia's most optimistic estimate is to hold the fortress of Batavia..."

The directors expressed their gratitude to Peter. Natz threw out question after question, and Peter. Natz tried his best to raise his assessment of the country, trying to dissuade the company from continuing to use force.

Of course, they don't know now that this battle has caused Batavia to lose almost seventy percent of its sea power, and even the Batavia fortress has not been able to hold it. The Spice Islands, which were considered the heart and soul of the company, are now more than half of the company's own.

And the ships that informed Europe of this information are still running wildly.

The interrogation lasted almost four hours, until it was dark and an exhausted Peter was exhausted. Natz staggered out of the door of the East India Company. He glanced back at the company's signboard, then looked east, and muttered, "I've done my best, I hope you play better, don't let the directors of the company take risks..."

The second-floor conference room is now filled with the stench of tobacco, and nearly four hours of questioning have also exhausted the 15 directors and can only rely on tobacco to refresh themselves.

The rotating chairman of the board of directors finally coughed flawlessly, got up and walked to the window and opened the window, where he breathed in the fresh air and said to his colleagues: "What Natz said can basically be verified with the information we have gathered, and then we should vote on whether to send troops to Asia." ”

Before his words could be settled, a director objected: "According to Natz, the number of troops sent is small, but it is just a bite to give the family an extra bite; If there are a large number of troops, who will pay for this military expenditure?

After all, the company's main business is to conduct trade, not war. Like the West India Company, although they could plunder the ships and colonies of the Spaniards, they basically lost money every year from their establishment to the present, should we also learn from them? ”

"Don't talk about military spending, just the news that we are at war with the country may cause panic in the market and cause stock prices to plummet.

In addition, the profits obtained by Heguo trade accounted for 38.7% of the company's total profits last year, exceeding the profits of spice trade. Are we going to fight like this? ”

"If you want me to say, send an envoy to Batavia. The situation is in our favor, and we support the continuation of the war; If the situation is not in our favour, hand over the governor of Batavia to the people of the country, and restore peace between the two sides..."

After much heated debate, the fifteen directors finally reached an agreement to send an envoy to Batavia to follow the latest situation. Of course, maintaining the company's trade with other countries and its monopoly on the spice trade is a top priority.

This book is from:

This book is from: