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Sunday, April 13, 1636.

The early spring in Amsterdam was also rainy, with the humid air brought by the Atlantic westerly winds bringing valuable rain to the lowland plains of Western Europe, relieving the great drought that lasted for two years.

But at this moment, people are not full of joy because of the mercy of God. Because the Netherlands was suffering even more at this time, the Thirty Years' War was closer than ever to this bustling Western European trading port.

On the southern border of the Spanish Netherlands, several tentative attacks organized by the Dutch Governors' Union were repulsed by the local Spanish army; To the north, the Swedish army again penetrated deep into the German hinterland; To the east, the French army, led by Marshal La Fours, marched into Germany and fought with the Holy Roman Emperor; In the Italian battlefield in the southeast, the Spanish army continued to attack the Alpine passes guarded by the French team after the beginning of spring, in an attempt to open up the "Spanish Road"; Further south, the Spanish Army had crossed the border into France, and the French troops resisted and retreated in an orderly manner.

If there is a day when a real war can return to the rational negotiating table, then the Netherlands is now in a hopeless state of "war".

The price of the famous tulip bulbs, which were once hyped to a few thousand florins, has begun to decline continuously, and the futures market opened by Amsterdam financiers especially for tulip trading is in a haze, and speculators who have suffered heavy losses in contract delivery have even clamored for the Dutch Governors Federation to legislate a ban on the decline in the price of tulips in the market.

But no one could stop the tulip sell-off, which in the hands of the local and German billionaires in Amsterdam fell by more than 30% in just one month, and the millions of florin's fortunes evaporated and showed signs of continuing to fall.

Like the world economic crisis hundreds of years later, the crisis in Europe's financial markets led by the tulip bubble of the 17th century was even more chaotic. But even with such obvious signs of the bursting of the bubble, there are still people who continue to take goods from others through usury, and then wait for the situation to turn around. Probably no one believed that such a market decline would be as low as 1% of its peak, and the "foolish theory" once again left speculators in the financial markets at chance.

……

It's almost evening. After a busy day, Amsterdam finally stopped in the gradually increasing rain, and the number of vendors and pedestrians on the streets was much sparser, and many shops closed early due to the rainy weather.

Looking at the quaint Amsterdam futures market in the distance, Mi Gu leisurely took out a cigarette, still wearing a cool black trench coat, and the corners of his mouth were still a sly smile.

"Mr. Mi, more than half of our dark line agents have already shipped, do we still need to continue to sell?" Standing not far behind Mi Gu, Hua Mei diplomat in the Netherlands, Elson smiled and personally lit a cigarette for Mi Gu, looking respectful, "One and a half months." We've made at least $1 million and we've triggered a sustained downward trend. ”

Elson had to admire the domestic magnate in front of him who had personally manipulated the market crash, and according to his memory, the European Intelligence Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had infiltrated the tulip trade ten years ago, and only now did it really burst into hidden power.

"Continue to sell, anyway, the market has opened, and it will be completely tossed clean. It's a pity that the cost is still small, otherwise we could have taken out at least $5 million from the market this year. Miya puffed out the smoke and walked back to the hall nonchalantly. Leaned comfortably on the couch.

Mi Gu is 42 years old this year, and the former gold smuggler is now one of the most mysterious and confused traversers in China and the United States.

He is the largest partner of Svenbeau's "Atlantis Entertainment Group", the special commercial agent of the state-owned import and export group in Europe, and the senior business director of Banco Nacional Ultramarino. He is also the general office of European business hired by NORINCO Group and General Industry Group, and is the head of secret intelligence of the European Intelligence Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

With so many titles, Mi Gu has not cut off his chic life, and since he married a beautiful Portuguese wife thirteen years ago, Mi Gu has always spent two-thirds of the year traveling around Europe with his family. A third of the time is spent in the home country with nothing to do.

"By the way, Elsen, hasn't the Dutch Governors' Federation accepted our request yet?" Miya smokes a cigarette. I remembered what I was asked by Su Zining of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to come to the Netherlands this time.

"They have met several times in a row, and they have always denied that this was a spontaneous act of the West India Company." Elson shrugged his shoulders and said that he had not been idle in the past few days, "But they did not refuse to continue the negotiations, but hoped that we would allow the West India Company fleet to withdraw first." ”

"Spontaneous behavior? It is impossible for a country to invest in the West India Company with a stake of more than 1.5 million guilders without any national instructions, not to mention that the fleet of the West India Company that invaded Brazil this time is still their Vice Admiral Tromp. Miya waved his hand disdainfully, as if he had known the other party's verbal tricks, "Tell them that we have decided to continue to send more troops to Brazil by land and sea, and it may be on a larger scale than the Irish war, and if they do not want to believe the reports of the South American war, then we can continue to wait for their observers to go to Brazil and see for themselves the battle that took place in Recife." ”

"Then why not put military pressure directly on the Dutch mainland?" Elson frowned, as if he couldn't figure out why the country would go around in circles to solve Brazil's problems.

"In business, since they always think of themselves as businessmen to talk about politics, that's the best. I don't think Congress wants to hurt trade interests because of an all-out war, and now they're still our big customers, and we're still business partners. Migu said, smiling and pointing to the guide, "The West India Company has gambled with all its might, and there is not much of a bargaining chip, what we have to do is to make them pay the price they deserve for this recklessness, instead of killing or dying." ”

"Mr. Elson, the Prime Minister and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs have sent a joint message asking you to sign for it and forward it to Mr. Mi." A consular clerk knocked on the door at this time, walked to the center of the living room with a document in his hand, and saluted politely to Mi Gu on the sofa.

"Oh, am I entitled to read it first......" Elson was the first time he had received a message from the Prime Minister, and seemed a little flattered. Looking at Mi Gu, who was smiling silently, Elson, who was also about to be 40 years old, was actually embarrassed.

"Thank God, that's great news! Congratulations. Mr. M, Your Excellency Prime Minister hopes that you will return to your country as Secretary of Homeland Security! After scanning a few lines of the message, Elson hurriedly signed his name and handed it to Migu.

"That means I've been dismissed from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs...... You should take over the position of European Intelligence Director. Looking at the other party's elated appearance, Miya guessed something else.

"Yes, I am temporarily in charge of the European Intelligence Division. Your Excellency the Prime Minister asks you to return to your home country as soon as you receive the telegram, just as the merchant ship Mochizuki is moored in the port to load its cargo, and will return to the Azores in three days. "Elson is in a very good relationship now, and after so many years, he is finally a core senior official of the powerful Chinese and American Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Although the face is still the same cool smile. But Miya was already muttering in his heart. For no other reason, this important position suddenly became vacant, and Liu Yun, the previous helmsman of the Department of Homeland Security, must have committed some kind of moth. However, if you want to say who can take over the Department of Homeland Security now, you probably look at the whole Huamei, and it is Miya himself who has this qualification and work experience.

"Well, my wife and children are still on vacation in Emden, and I hope you can get them home safely later. Also, come to the Huamei Merchant House in the city tonight, there are some jobs that must be handed over to you. "Didn't show any affection. Miya pinched the latest appointment and got up to say goodbye.

……

When Migu received the message, it was still noon in Manchester City in North America.

After working overtime, Qi Jianjun dragged his tired body back home, and his wife Qu Hong was guarding the three children to tutor at home. Although the 51-year-old Qu Hong only had a level of initial Chinese before the crossing, in this 17th-century Chinese America. She still plays her due social and family responsibilities.

"It's the weekend, and the kids should be allowed to go out." Qi Jianjun changed his shoes and said with a smile to the old and three young people sitting in the living room.

"Daddy!" The three children all turned their heads at the same time, and the eldest of them, Qi Guoguo, was already bigger than the two parents. And because of the voice change period, it seems that the urn is angry.

"Hehe, still talk about me. Aren't you still at work on Sundays? Okay, listen to your dad, I won't be tutoring today. Qu Hong smiled and made a gesture, and the children at the coffee table cheered quietly.

The eldest son, Qi Guoguo, is 16 years old this year, and his grades are very good, and he will face the graduation college entrance examination next year.

The second daughter, Qi Zuping, is 13 years old this year, and she is still a second-year student in a national middle school, with average grades, but her adoptive mother Qu Hong is very competitive and plans to let her be admitted to an Ivy League high school in the future. There is no other reason, because Qi Zuping is a mixed-race European, she is too alternative in this family, and her personality is relatively cowardly, if she does not have a good social identity in the future, it is difficult to be recognized by "a certain group".

The third son, Qi Zumin, is the biological son of the two, 12 years old this year, only in the first grade of middle school, and is Qu Hong's most hopeful child, but his academic performance is the worst among the three children. Qu Hong was worried about her biological son's future, and even in order to make up for her son's lessons at home, Qu Hong herself picked up the books that had been lost for many years and was "reading".

The children soon ran out of the house under the leadership of the boss Qi Guoguo, leaving Qu Hong busy pouring tea and serving hot dishes for her husband. Unlike other families who hire a large number of domestic servants, Qi Jianjun and his wife gradually like a quiet and ordinary life after they grow up with their children, except for a Chinese old mother who does laundry and cooks and an elderly European gardener, basically Qu Hong takes care of every qiē in the family.

"Old Qi, you will be sixty in three years, there is no need to be so tired, right?" Looking at her husband's face, which has obviously aged much over the years, Qu Hong blushed slightly while serving vegetables to the other party, "Now the children are still young, and it will take a long time to become independent." I don't have any skills, and now I see you supporting this family......"

"Hehe, it's coming, I'll be relaxed in a while." Qi Jianjun smiled indifferently, but there were a few traces of loss clearly printed on the bottom of his eyes.

"Really...... Are you really going to go down? That's a good thing......" Seeing that her husband was a little lonely, Qu Hong was a little flustered, and she couldn't find anything to comfort her with her low level of education.

"There is still more than a month before the House of Representatives is re-elected, and the cabinet is going to be reorganized. Qi Jianjun raised his head, looked at the living room with a bright window, and sighed, "After more than ten years as prime minister, I guess I am not familiar with my home and the cabinet government building, and this home is all run by you alone." ”

"It's all changed...... Wouldn't that go wrong? The honest housewife, who had no idea about national affairs at all, was also a little nervous, "Then will you arrange other things to do after you come down?" ”

"Hehe, it can't be said that all the departments that can be determined at present are the Ministry of Transportation and Construction, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Homeland Security, the Ministry of Finance, and the Ministry of Police......" Qi Jianjun thought for a while, and still revealed his bottom to his wife, "Zhou Yi and Liu Yun have made it clear that they will not continue to serve as cabinet ministers. I heard that someone is mobilizing Su Zining to be the prime minister, but this kid is unwilling, and he doesn't even want to be the foreign minister, Yan Xiaosong will replace him this time, and it is estimated that Shi Wenbo will be recalled from the Azores as a deputy minister. Today, Liu Yun has officially resigned, and I have sent a letter to Mi Gu to ask him to return to China to take over. Liu Xin has offended too many people this time, and it is estimated that he has no hope of staying in the cabinet, and the next Minister of Finance is estimated to let Zhou Qifeng take over......"

A series of future department personnel changes, the more the couple talked, the more gloomy the atmosphere in the living room became.

"When I leave office, we will go to Heping City to live, where the environment is good. And the family farm has been entrusted to someone else to take care of it, so it's time for us to pick it up ourselves. In the end, Qi Jianjun squeezed out a smile, and seemed to have finally calmed down.

"It's so easy to say, in two years from the Senate election, I guess you won't be able to sit still again...... There are not many people who can worry about your part. ”

Although her husband's age of 57 seems to be not small, it is the most golden age for a politician who is professionally engaged in politics. Qu Hong knows her husband's thoughts well over the years, and she has also seen the other party's reluctance complex from the beginning.

Qi Jianjun smiled wordlessly, noncommittal.

Laughter was heard again outside the living room, and it seemed that the children had wandered down the street and returned. The eldest son, Qi Guoguo, probably bought something strange, which caused his daughter Qi Zuping and younger son Qi Zumin to scream. (To be continued)