Li Zhaoji looked at Li Weijing with a somewhat complicated expression. He admired the ability of Li Weijing, a very gifted businessman with a strong sense of business, but only his partner, not his subordinate.

Even so, Li Zhaoji still praised and said: "Mr. Li, you will definitely leave your name in the history books in the future." ”

"Don't dare, don't dare." Li Weijing immediately replied respectfully, he would always remind himself in his heart that Li Zhaoji was just a nominal shopkeeper, and you should always treat him as a king.

Li Zhaoji said: "Developing the colony is actually like letting my son go to his in-laws' house more often.

Walking around burned, worried that the relationship between his son and his in-laws was not good, and he was divided. I moved around a lot, and I was afraid that my son and my in-laws would have the same heart. ”

Li Weijing and the others all smiled, and Li Weijing even said: "My lord can see it thoroughly. ”

The policy of the colonies is actually much the same. In this era, each country had strict control over its colonies, especially the foreign trade of the colonies. Among them, Spain is the most representative, according to Spanish regulations, colonies are only allowed to trade with the mainland, not with other countries, other countries' colonies, and even between colonies.

For example, Spain's colony in the Americas, the La Plata region, that is, Argentina, could not go directly to Spain. Its cargo travels through the savannah, over the Andes, and then to Peru, where it is boarded on a ship, traverses the Panama region, and then travels by sea to Spain.

The colonies had no status in the country, and the Spaniards in the Americas, even bricks, had to be imported from Spain.

Because of these regulations, smuggling became the main mode of trade in the colonies.

If the European countries were to manage the colonies, then the Borneo companies could only trade with Tamsui alone. Obviously, this would greatly limit the development of the Borneo colony, and for the shareholders, it would be a trade disadvantage.

And why Li Weijing and other Nanyang Chinese businessmen actively promoted the establishment of their own colonies, in addition to seeking a piece of free land, the most important thing is to establish a trade center under their own control, without sending people under the fence.

Lee said: "I've already thought about it, it's like carving a stone, we first have to cut out a shape with a big cut, and then slowly improve it, you say, right? ”

Li Weijing immediately said: "Yes, we also think about it in this way, first you work out a strategy, and then according to the actual situation, we will improve and supplement. ”

Li Zhaoji nodded and said, "First, I will restrict your trade partners. The Ming Dynasty, the Great Shun, the Manchu Dynasty, the Japanese and the Dutch East India Company, the Du Company, are not allowed to trade with you.

Of course, the Ming Dynasty is special, and Hong Kong is open to you.

In Annam and Siam, only our two partners trade, and they have a monopoly in Borneo and in their host countries. ”

Although they had long guessed that there would be such restrictions, Li Weijing and the others still felt disappointed.

The reason for such restrictions is to protect his own interests, Hong Kong and Tamsui are the two distribution centers for Nanyang goods and European goods built by Li Zhaoji, and if Borneo can directly trade with the three countries on the mainland and Japan, it will greatly damage the profits of the Oriental Trading Company and destroy its monopoly.

It is forbidden to trade with the Dutch East India and Du companies, because trade will produce transactions, and transactions will generate common interests. Lee had to make sure Borneo belonged to him and not slide to the Dutch East India Company.

"Second, I will limit the types of goods that can be traded. Iron and iron products, tea, porcelain, and gunpowder could only be imported from Hong Kong and Tamsui, and oil palm and pepper, two future Borneo commodities, could only be transported for sale.

In addition, the gold produced in the Bau Gold Mine is purchased by the Oriental Trading Company, and of course, I will give a reasonable exchange ratio.

What do you think? ”

Li Weijing nodded slightly, and Lin Liu also said that he had no opinion, after all, the Borneo company is still in a state of not having a single character, and there is no need to fight for a lot, even if it is just trade with some sultanates in Nanyang, it is enough for this company to gain sufficient space for development.

Shi Lang once again acted as the vanguard of bargaining with Li Zhaoji, and he said: "Master Li, I have a question. I would like to ask, what if Borneo companies are faced with security threats in the future that we can't solve? ”

"Be specific." Lee Siu Kee said.

Shi Lang thought for a moment: "For example, we were attacked by the Sultanate of Brunei and even its suzerain, the Sultanate of Sulu.

For example, what would happen if the Dutch attacked us? ”

Li Zhaoji smiled and said: "I am the protector of the company, if the former situation you said arises, then I will send my army and navy to help, of course, the company will bear the cost of this." If the company's enemies were the Dutch, the Oriental Trading Company would still provide protection and would not hesitate to declare war. ”

"A declaration of war?" Everyone exclaimed in unison, shocked by Lee's confidence and determination.

Lee said: "Yes, attacking Borneo is attacking Tamsui, I will declare war, this is my responsibility, and you must also abide by your obligations." ”

"Obligation?" Shi Lang was a little puzzled.

Li Weijing said: "Our obligations include keeping the Oriental Trading Company and Mr. Li's shareholding in Borneo Company confidential, respecting Mr. Li as the protector of all Chinese in Nanyang, and there are some other terms that I will tell you in detail in the future." ”

When Shi Lang heard this, he chuckled and said: "No wonder, you will pull me on the boat, if I don't want to participate like Zheng Zhibao, the end will definitely be a death." ”

Shi Lang knew a secret of the Oriental Trading Company, that is, the Oriental Trading Company once joined forces with the Zheng family to ambush the expedition fleet of the Dutch East India Company in the vicinity of the Zhoushan Islands. In the past, for the interests of the Zheng family and the safety of Zheng Sen, Shi Lang had to keep this secret, but the Zheng family was gone, Zheng Sen left Fujian, and the secret did not need to be kept.

Shi Lang could have informed the Dutch and ruined the relationship between the Oriental Trading Company and the Netherlands. But when Shi Lang joined the Borneo company, he still needed to keep it secret.

"What I value is your ability, Shi Lang, if I want to keep that secret, I can kill you." Li Zhaoji said indifferently.

"It's just one thing, why do we accept you as the protector of the Chinese, even the Zheng family has never received this honor." Shi Lang asked.

"This is to avoid violating the Hong Kong Treaty signed between the Oriental Trading Company and the Dutch East India Company, but in essence it is to protect the Borneo Company," Li said. ”

In the Treaty of Hong Kong, the Oriental Trading Company and the Dutch East India and Du Company recognized each other's spheres of influence, and Lee Siu-ki recognized that the East India and Du Islands including Borneo were the spheres of influence of the Dutch, and that military operations and expansion were no longer carried out within the Dutch East India and Du Islands, in exchange for the Dutch not building new colonies in the area north of Taiwan Island.

Obviously, Lee Siu Kee's stake in the Borneo Company and his support for its colonial activities in Borneo were in violation of the Hong Kong Treaty, so the company's partners were required to keep it secret, but in order to obtain the protection of the Oriental Trading Company, all Chinese in the Borneo Company were to accept Lee Siu Kee's protection.

In this way, in the event of a direct conflict between the Borneo Company and the Dutch East India Company, Li Zhaoji could help them as a protector of the Chinese.

Shi Lang asked: "Can I think that if there is a conflict between the Oriental Trading Company and the Dutch East India and Du Company, the Borneo Company will also be involved, right?" ”

"Wouldn't you have been involved without the Borneo Company?" Li Zhaoji asked with a smile.

Shi Lang was speechless, not to mention that there was an Oriental Trading Company, and even if there was none, when the colonists saw the Chinese as a threat, they would carry out massacres and persecution operations.

"Alright, the meal is over, and things are pretty much done. Do you still have questions? Li Zhaoji asked.

Everyone shook their heads, and Lee Siu Kee said, "Then let's take action and gain a foothold in Kuching as soon as possible." ”

Li Weijing and the others retired one after another, and when everyone went out and Li Zhaoji got up to rest, Lin Liu suddenly turned back and said: "By the way, Lord Li, I am on the order of Mr. Su Minggang to tell you the news that the Dutch may collude with the Manchus, and it seems that the Manchus are the enemies of the trading company." ”

Li Zhaoji said: "Now the Manchus are the enemies of the Han Chinese. ”

Lin Liu didn't have any feelings about this, and said, "I'm only responsible for taking the words and retiring." ”

With the end of the chaos of Chongzhen's seventeenth year, the political pattern on the Eastern Continent has undergone a complete change. The triumph of the Manchus, the Great Shun and the Ming Dynasty turned the foreign policies of all three countries upside down.

As the Manchus gained access to former ocean trade participants such as Zheng Zhilong, they gained a fuller understanding of the world beyond Northeast Asia. In order to deal with the Oriental Trading Company, it is also necessary to cooperate with the Dutch East India and Du Company.

Although Dashun got the north, but did not get the copper ore of Daming, the country quickly fell into the dilemma of lack of copper, and the demand for buying copper made it also open to the outside world.

The same is true for Daming, Shen Yulong always wants to check and balance the Oriental Trading Company, and the newly established Daming Shanghai Customs also needs someone to send taxes to the door.

Obviously, the relationship between the Dutch East India Company and these three companies will inevitably involve the interests of the Oriental Trading Company, and the two sides will need to conduct new negotiations to protect the interests of both parties.

Therefore, Li Zhaoji was not surprised that the Netherlands wanted to collude with the Manchus.

After arranging a few partners in Borneo, Li Zhaoji immediately took a boat to Songjiang Prefecture and changed to a small boat to go to Huating County, where Songjiang Prefecture was located.

Here, He Bin had been in contact and correspondence with the merchants of the Ming Dynasty for a long time, and the few ledgers provided by Li Zhaoji directly brought him new weapons.

Just as He Bin guessed, someone concealed the amount of the loan with the Zheng family, and He Bin, who got three account books, quickly found out four people and asked them to pay ten times the compensation, otherwise they would be excluded from the new trade order.

"During my time in Songjiang, I found two problems in the Zheng family's accounts, which could not be solved, so please show the treasurer." He Bin asked Li Zhaoji to board the carriage and said in a deep voice.

Li Zhaoji nodded: "Let's talk about it." ”

"The first problem is that some businessmen who owe loans to the Zheng family sent the money to Nanjing and returned it to Zheng Sen after the collapse of the Zheng family. I also got a receipt from Zheng Sen, I have checked it and confirmed that it is correct, and Yan Pingbo is also willing to testify.

How to solve this part of the account? He Bin said.

Li Zhaoji asked: "Why did they return the money to Zheng Sen?" Even if the money is handed over to Zheng Cai, Xia Guoxiang, or even that Wen Bailing, it is more suitable than Zheng Sen. ”

"Conscience." He Bin said: "There are a total of seven people who do this, they don't want to owe money to others, and they heard that Zheng Sen fought a vicious war with the Dongyu in Liaodong, and they are loyal to the Ming Emperor, so they are willing to pay him back." ”

Li Zhaoji patted his head: "I actually forgot that there are still good people in this world."

This money is directly cancelled, there is no need to pursue it anymore, these seven people can directly get a loan from the Oriental Bank, the amount is the same as in the Zheng Zhilong era, if they can't get a mortgage, they don't need to use hostages as collateral. ”

"Yes, the second thing is the Dutch East India Company. I found out that the Zheng family owes money to the Dutch East India Company. He Bin said.

"How can this be, the Zheng family is so rich." Lee Zhaoji couldn't understand it at all.

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