As a world power in complete decline, and also a seafaring power, it is impossible for Spain not to see the benefits and future of steamships, which will greatly change the history of the world's shipping if they sail on the four seas.

It's just that Spain is now in an economic crisis, and many things are already powerless, and in addition to the fact that the Thirty Years' War in Europe has almost emptied the treasury, but they still want it very much in the face of the temptation of steamships.

Once the Dutch get a sailless boat, you can imagine how bleak Spain's future will be, and it is very likely that the remaining little maritime capacity market will be eaten by the Dutch.

In a manor house in Vienna, Yu Bowen and a group of his retinue were placed in a castle that imitated medieval Rome, and for the Holy Roman Empire and its allies, Australia was simply their savior, and the importance of treating Australians well was without words.

The Spanish envoy Carlos, as the head of the European Consul General, also attended the celebration banquet, and in order to strengthen the relationship with the Australians, the Spanish king selected many valuable gifts from his royal treasury and presented them to Yu Bowen.

"Mr. Consul, it is a great pleasure to see you in Vienna, a gift that His Majesty has entrusted me to bring to you." Carlos smiled and pushed a small wooden box in his hand in front of Yu Bowen.

"His Majesty is really so gracious that he asks you to bring me a gift every time. But this gift is not easy to receive, as a friend I still have to ask what His Majesty wants. In fact, you can basically guess it without asking Yu Bowen. It was nothing more than the news that the Dutch were working together to build steamships reached the ears of the Spaniards.

This is simply great news for them, once the Australians really cooperate with the Netherlands, Spain will be too late to enter, so even if he takes out his favorite jewelry and gives it to Yu Bowen, the king of Spain can only cry.

The jewels and diamonds that Carlos brought with him were obviously very valuable, as can be seen from the small wooden box in which he was displayed, which was made of agarwood, and the carving was clearly carried out with oriental elements.

"Consul. It seems that you are very interested in this box, and the origin of this box has a certain relationship with your ancient Oriental country, which was given to the Governor of Luzon by you Orientals. Then the Governor presented it to His Majesty. ”

"Oh, huh?" Yu Bowen picked up the box and took a closer look, and found that in addition to the precious agarwood wood, the carved pattern on this box was actually a five-clawed golden dragon. If it weren't for the royal family. It's just some people with ulterior motives who say that it was made.

But now the box is not the point, the focus is on how the Spaniards want to cooperate, according to Yu Bowen's understanding, they are in the middle of an economic crisis, there is not much cash to invest directly, if the only capital, is the vast colonies around the world.

"Spain also has a lot of shipyards, and there are no fewer in the Netherlands. I think the consul should know that you have been there in person. ”

"Yes. Spain also has a lot of shipyards, but when it comes to shipbuilding, it's probably not as high as the Netherlands. Yu Bowen is not wrong at all, the reason why the Netherlands was able to defeat Spain during this period mainly relied on shipbuilding technology, and the Dutch invented the big-bellied merchant ship, which could carry more goods to the greatest extent in the transportation process.

Spanish sailboats, on the other hand, were still traditional, except that the cabin design had not changed, and almost every ship was equipped with a cannon, and in the strict sense of the word, the Spanish construction was more inclined to armed merchant ships.

Of course, the Spaniards also had some autumn winds from time to time, so it was more suitable for them to need to arm merchant ships, as for the Dutch, there was basically no such tradition.

This is the fundamental difference between the two countries, so the Dutch shipyard was chosen, but one thing is undeniable, Spain's shipbuilding technology should still be quite good, but at this time, because of the negotiations, Yu Bowen will not admit it.

"No, no, Mr. Consul, I think you must have misunderstood, Spain can also build the ship you said you need, if we cooperate will definitely be better than the Dutch, the Dutch technology accumulation is not as good and deep as you think."

"Really? The Spanish Empire also wants to obtain the right to co-produce steamships, Carlos, I can tell you one thing first, all production ships must be built in Australian territory, which means that co-produced ships will not be built in Spain itself, can your Majesty the King accept this condition? ”

This condition can be said to be that the Dutch have not yet responded, and it is obviously under consideration, after all, the shipyard is built on its own territory, and everyone will have some scruples.

Sure enough, after hearing Yu Bowen's conditions, Carlos was almost silent, although he was authorized to be in charge of full power to negotiate, but this did not mean that he could decide everything, and he had to consult the king on many things.

"Consul, I can't give you an answer to your terms, but I will report to His Majesty the King on the terms of your cooperation, but I don't know if the Dutch have agreed."

Although he couldn't agree, Carlos didn't forget to continue to inquire about the opponent's situation, after all, knowing what the opponent thinks is conducive to his own negotiations.

"Hehe, well, the Dutch didn't reply, but I'm sure they'll give us an answer soon, and if you want to cooperate with us, you'll have to hurry, but forgive me for taking the liberty of cooperating with Spain."

After all, no money is in vain to talk about it, this is not Yu Bowen's snobbery, they will be the same with Spain, if they don't see the strength of Australia, how can they choose to cooperate.

"This, this, I wonder if Consul Yu can introduce me to one or two, because we don't know how much a steam engine costs after all."

"Well, of course, I have a price list here, which is the price of the horsepower of the steam engine used by the current large and small ships, the price of a steam engine with the smallest horsepower is generally at least between 30,000 and 50,000, and if it is a steam engine used by a large ocean-going ship, the horsepower will be relatively large, and the price will be between 150,000 and 250,000."

Carlos gasped at the price of the offer, which was a low price, and the more ships he built, the more money he would invest, but he felt it was necessary to invest this money for the sake of Spain's future, even if it was worth convincing His Majesty to sell his personal jewels. (To be continued......)