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One of the things that Stuart also inquired about, that is, Geng Jingzhong also sent people to the European continent before, but it was not a caravan from Fujian, but with their European merchants back. Although many craftsmen were recruited from Europe, they did not trade in any other way. It's just that from this point of view, Geng Jingzhong's side still hopes to get the right to trade in Europe, as long as his own country, the Netherlands, takes the lead first, and he thinks that it will be very attractive to His Excellency the Metropolitan Governor in front of him.

The countries of continental Europe at this time were all about trade surpluses, or as much as possible to pull precious metals into their pockets, and this remained unchanged until the eighteenth century. Otherwise, there wouldn't be so many treasure hunters looking for treasure ships that have sunk in the sea for hundreds of years, and those ships are all ships of gold! In the years of the European voyage, no less than 1,000 tons of gold have flowed into the European continent, which is an extremely staggering figure.

This maritime trade right is also very simple to say, in the eyes of ordinary people, it is just to buy and sell with each other, you buy, I also buy; You sell, I sell, nothing strange. But in the eyes of Europeans, this is indeed a remarkable thing, to give a simple example, if you ask a person three or four hundred years later what business is the most profitable, they will definitely tell you in unison that it is a "monopoly"!.

That's right, it's a monopoly. As long as you have a monopoly on something. Even if you're selling cow dung. You can also make a lot of money. The most typical is the current domestic salt and iron monopoly, which is not allowed to interfere in all dynasties, so the price of salt has been very high, so smuggling is very popular, but this is also to rob the blood and sweat of the people! For so many years, the people of the European continent have been so active in promoting colonialism, with the aim of plundering the world's resources and precious metals. After the beginning of the Age of Discovery, first Portugal. Then came Spain, the Netherlands, England and other countries on the European continent, and they divided one sphere of influence after another around the world.

China's trade with Europe began hundreds of years ago, but it is far from comparable to what it was hundreds of years ago. At present, the current trade is in a surplus on the Chinese side as a whole. The trade surplus refers to the fact that in a certain unit of time (usually calculated on an annual basis), the two sides of the trade buy and sell various goods to each other, import and export each other, and Party A's export amount is greater than Party B's export amount, or Party A's import amount is less than Party B's import amount, and the difference is called trade surplus for Party A. On the contrary, for Party B. It's called a trade deficit.

Generally speaking, in terms of the interests of both sides of the trade, the party that gets the trade surplus is the one who takes advantage, and the party that gets the trade deficit is the one who suffers. Think of it this way, trading is about making money. The side with a trade surplus is a net profit; On the other hand, the side of the trade deficit is paying a net amount of money. Just as now, the Chinese side hardly needs to import anything from Europe, and Chinese goods, such as silk, porcelain, and tea, are the favorite of the European aristocracy and the common people, for which European merchants have to spend large sums of money to buy from the coast of China. China, on the other hand, does not need foreign goods, because the natural economy is the magic weapon to defeat the enemy. Therefore, the trade is outperforming. A lot of money is pouring into the pockets of the Chinese, so that in the long run it is the Europeans who will suffer.

But at this moment, every time a European caravan comes to China, it will definitely make a lot of money if it is smooth, so even if a discerning person sees the drawbacks, it will not stop the crazy merchants. A typical example is in front of us, when the price of Chinese silk fabrics in the Mexican market is only one-third of that of its Spanish counterpart, while in Peru it is only one-ninth. In Asia, the price of Chinese silk fabrics in Southeast Asia is one-third of that of similar products in the Netherlands, and between one-quarter and one-third of European products in Europe. European linen fabrics in the Mexican market are almost eight times more expensive than their Chinese counterparts. Just last year, a caravan of the Dutch East India Company purchased a batch of raw silk from Fujian at a price of 5 guilders per pound, and shipped it back to the European market at 18 guilders per pound, with a gross profit margin of 360 percent.

When Geng Jingzhong studied history in his previous life, he clearly remembered that it was recorded in the history books that because European goods were really difficult to compete with cheap and high-quality Chinese goods, the Spaniards, Portuguese, and later the Dutch and British who entered the trade with China had to buy Chinese goods with silver coins, and the huge foreign trade surplus was maintained until the eve of the rise of the opium trade in the early nineteenth century.

At this moment, the European colonizers were still trading by sea, moving the resources distributed throughout the world and any luxury goods that they could see to their own countries, brandishing muskets and cannons to monopolize the routes of maritime trade, frantically plundering what they thought they needed. And this qiē relies on the so-called maritime trade in front of us. Now Stuart has thrown out the big bait of the right to trade at sea, just to tell Sù that Geng Jingzhong will give you a ticket to this game now, but if you want to get it, you have to pay a certain price.

"Stuart, to be honest, this is a bit of a surprise to me, but this right to trade at sea is a very discreet subject for any country, but neither you, nor the governor Neskars, who sent you here, have the right to make such a promise! That should be the power that only your king has, hehe, are you kidding me" Geng Jingzhong said with a sneer on the corner of his mouth after thinking about it.

Seeing that the other party's face gradually turned cold, Stuart hurriedly said: "Of course it is not His Excellency the Grand Governor, the Governor and his family in Europe have a great voice in our Netherlands, if he puts forward this proposal, ninety percent of them will be able to get through, and it will be very beneficial for us in the Netherlands to establish a good relationship with you, at least we have a strong partner in this distant Asia!" ”

"Hehe, good!" Geng Jingzhong smiled and said, "Actually, I also know the current situation in the Netherlands. It's a worrying situation. England and France join forces against you Holland. Tut-tut, it's still a question of whether I can resist it, even if your governor wants to ally with me now, I can only send a caravan to Europe and not send my navy, does your governor consider this? Geng Jingzhong thought that this Stuart had been sent by Nescas, the Dutch governor of Batavia, to make peace and seek an alliance, so he asked in passing.

"Oh, no, no, no, though the Governor would love it. But he doesn't mean to pull you into the war in Europe. Stuart hurriedly denied it, and then he reacted quickly: "Oh God, Your Excellency the Grand Governor, you actually know that our European continent is at war, and you also know that Britain and France are jointly attacking our Netherlands?" "This shocked Stuart too much, it's like Jason is not a prophet, these days even said that there have been few European caravans in the East in the past six months, and no one should be able to bring the news of Europe here at this time!

"Hehe, I naturally have my sources. If you only want to do business with me, I would welcome it, and the standards of European merchants in my country are based on those of local merchants. As long as you pay your taxes normally! Well, that's it. There is a proverb among our people that time is money. We are thousands of miles apart from Fujian, and it will take more than half a year to make a round trip, so I am going to send a mission with your men to the Netherlands to meet your majesty the king. In the end, Geng Jingzhong finished his request and then followed: "By the way, I almost forgot to ask, what did your governor send you here to want, it can't be selfless giving."

"This" Stuart looked around, and felt that it was difficult to speak, but thinking of the explanation of the governor Neskas before leaving, and thinking of his own country, Stuart gritted his teeth and said: "Your Excellency the Grand Duke, some time ago we found something that surprised us, that is, the soldiers under your command are equipped with a new type of rifle, and we are very shocked by the sophistication of this rifle. In this rifle I have seen the greatness of your craftsmen and the fact that your country is far ahead of any other country in the world in manufacturing technology, which makes the Governor and my colleagues feel sincere admiration. ”

"Damn, it turns out that these red-haired devils are really weasels giving New Year's greetings to chickens, and they are not happy and kind! They've taken a fancy to our Minnie rifle! Geng Jingzhong, who was listening intently, immediately understood the purpose of Stuart's trip, and several high-ranking members of the Ponytail Army around him immediately glared angrily.

Looking at the faces of the other party gradually getting colder, Stuart sighed helplessly in his heart, how could he not know the difficulty of the purpose of this trip, and compare his heart to his heart, if he had such an advanced weapon, the ghost would hand it over. This is not only the greed of a colonial ruler, but also the fate of their country, seeing such a new weapon that can multiply the combat effectiveness of the Dutch army, they really can't even sleep if they can't get their hands on it!

Feeling the temperature in the side hall drop to freezing in an instant, Stuart's lips squirmed a few times and finally spoke: "Your Excellency, General, I know that the next request will be presumptuous, but I can swear to the Lord Almighty, we have no intention of offending you or your country in the slightest. The new musket of your army can be said to be of milestone significance, it is very important for any army, and I take the liberty of making a rude request to you, that is, can you teach us how to make this musket, of course, as a report, we will pay a transfer fee that you are satisfied with! After Stuart said these words with apprehension, he quietly looked at the Governor of the Ming Kingdom, who was bowing his head and drinking tea, waiting for the other party's answer.

After a long time, Geng Jingzhong finally raised his head and said to Stuart with a smile: "Mr. Stuart, since you also know that this request is very presumptuous, you should know how difficult your request is for us. If you were to say that you would teach another country how to make the latest weapons that threaten national security? "Geng Jingzhong really has a fire in his heart, this guy is really an excellent diplomat, first throw a bait and let you eat it with joy, and then talk to you about tricky things. And the expression is in place. Talent. What a talent!

When Stuart heard this, he became anxious, and hurriedly said: "Oh, Your Excellency the Grand Dut, we in the Netherlands will never threaten your safety, you must know that we have come to the far east only to spread the glory of the Lord to the whole world, and we all yearn for peace, don't we?" What's more, you know it, Your Excellency. My country is being invaded, and therefore we urgently need this rifle to improve our combat effectiveness, so I ask for your understanding and help! ”

As soon as he heard the colonizer's envoy swear an oath to yearn for peace, even Geng Jingzhong, who was angry in his heart, could hardly help laughing, these colonists who enslaved other peoples with muskets and bayonets actually longed for peace. This can't help but remind Geng Jingzhong of the Yankees of later generations who shouted anti-terrorism while spreading soldiers to the world. But after hearing it, this guy is mainly for his own country, which makes him a little impressed!

However, Geng Jingzhong still shook his head slightly: "Okay! Even if what you say is true, but as a responsible ruler. I must not pin the security of the country on that illusory verbal promise, which is irresponsible to the country and the people! Listening to Geng Jingzhong's resolute tone. Stuart was disappointed for a while, but he still did not give up and said: "Your Excellency, I think we can sign a contract with the witness of the Lord, and you should be relieved if you have a contract, right?" ”

"Contract?" Geng Jingzhong smiled disdainfully: "Your Excellency Stuart, haven't you heard a word?" The so-called contract is to be broken, as long as there is enough interest. Does a thin contract really bind your government? Listening to Geng Jingzhong's words, Stuart and the people behind him were silent, although they were very reluctant, but they had to admit that His Excellency the Eastern Governor was telling the truth. As long as there are enough benefits, they can even sell their souls to the devil, let alone a contract.

Seeing Stuart's disappointed eyes, Geng Jingzhong was also secretly happy in his heart, but of course he would not tell the people in front of him, what he hoped was that Europe could continue to be chaotic, which would be the most beneficial to him. And at this time, Geng Jingzhong was not prepared to completely reject these Dutchmen like this, of course, the method of making zuò could not be given to them, but some of the finished guns could be sold to them, and the sales would not be less than their latest rifles, and the old ones would be fine.

For example, the old rifle from five years ago, although it was also flintlocked, but there was no rifling, and it was not a Mini bullet, but there was still ammunition for the order. The service life of such a musket is also very good, but the range is not as far as it is now, and it can only hit a distance of 100 meters, but even this is far better than the rifles hunted by various European countries at this time. There are more than 20,000 such old rifles stored in the Mawei Army warehouse, and more than half of them have been replaced by new rifles for a period of time, but if you pick out the ones with a small wear and tear, you can continue to use them, and if you estimate it, there must be seven or eight thousand of them.

"Your Excellency, it is with great sincerity that we wish to cooperate with you, and if you can help us, you will surely have the friendship of all our Dutchmen. And with the help of our Dutch, you can be sure of a successful future trade with Europe! "Stuart continues to work on it.

"You mean, if I don't give you this way to make rifles, then I won't be able to enter the European market, will I? Don't forget, there's still a British fleet on the Philippine side? Two British caravans have also come in the past year, let's go back and contact the British! Geng Jingzhong said with a hint of disdain at the corner of his mouth. Threaten me? No way!

"No, no, no, I didn't mean that!" Stuart hurriedly explained.

Geng Jingzhong interrupted him with a wave of his hand and said, "Stop, no matter what you mean, my rifle making method will not be sold to you." However, "

"But what?" Stuart seemed to see a turning point, and hurriedly asked.

"Huh!" Geng Jingzhong smiled: "Although I can't sell it to you, the finished rifles and bullets can be sold to you in a batch, and I think the inventory in my hand should be able to equip a lot of your army!" ”

"Really?" Stuart was overjoyed, this result was already the best that could be achieved in front of him, but he also hurriedly asked: "I don't know how many rifles His Excellency can sell us, and what is the price?" Although he asked, his mind was already alive, if this rifle was in his hands, they would definitely take it over and study the imitation, with their country's technology, it should not be too difficult to imitate such a rifle.

"Hehe, the price is not expensive, but this amount is a bit large. If you really want to buy it, you must buy all this stock in my hands, or you won't talk about it! ”

"Please! Let's buy them all! After a moment's consideration, Stuart immediately accepted the plan.

"There are a total of 20,000 rifles, each with fifteen Fujian silver dollars, and each gun is equipped with three hundred rounds of unique bullets, and five large silver dollars for every 100 rounds of bullets, a total of 600,000 Fujian silver dollars, your own silver dollars can be exchanged at my bank, I think you Dutch merchants should be very familiar with this!" (To be continued......)