Flory asked, "Safe place, where?"

"We can deduce for ourselves. Ji Shengdian asked rhetorically, "If you were an early banker, how would you want to ensure the safety of your assets?"

"I would like to have my own armament to defend my estate. ”

"Yes, but if you have the armament, will it be useful?"

"No, you can't. Florie honestly admitted.

Before the Knights Templar opened their banking industry, they were a warlike armed group that played a prominent role in the Crusades. But in the face of the powerful royal power, there is no outstanding performance of resistance, and it is simply a touch of collapse.

"So it's not enough to just have your own armament, what else do bankers need?"

Flori pondered for a moment, "I think I need my own nest." ”

The arrest of the top brass of the Templar Order by France was a certainty. Because these people were scattered on the king's territory and under the jurisdiction of the officials of the kingdom, there was no room for resistance and escape when they found that others had suddenly attacked them.

If the Knights Templar had their own territory and defended themselves with their own armaments, they would at least be able to fight a defensive battle and not end up in a helpless position.

"So, the bankers learned from the fall of the Knights Templar, found a place of their own, and started running the world's financial network again. ”

"Where is this place?"

Ji Shengdian smiled, "The Netherlands United Provincial Republic." ”

"How could it be the Netherlands?" said Flory, in amazement.

"Think about it, why did the Netherlands, a small place, become the world's financial center for a time?"

"Because it's very open to capital, where all the capital in Europe goes, the natural financial industry is developed. ”

"Isn't that right? Ji Shengdian smiled, "Capital likes to gather somewhere." It means that this is the paradise of capital, and it is also the territory of capital. ”

Flori was stunned for a moment, "That seems to be the truth." ”

"And, you can think again, why is the Netherlands a republic?"

"Why?"

"This is in the same vein as the Republic of Venice, where the merchants specially created a system suitable for the transfer of capital. ”

The Dutch roots come from Venice. The origins of the Republic of Venice can be traced back to ancient Rome.

Although ancient Rome was a republic before and then an empire, due to the needs of the operation of the national economic system, it always maintained a developed commercial law and contract spirit, and naturally had a strong merchant class. When the Western Roman Empire collapsed in the fifth century AD, the whole of Europe entered the so-called Barbaric Middle Ages, covered by feudal domains large and small. In Italy, where the kingdoms were divided from the ruins of ancient Rome, merchants gathered in several places, including the Republic of Venice, to maintain their existence over and over again, while dreaming of restoring the world financial and commercial system of the Roman era. Although the scope of this "world". In those days, it was actually around the Mediterranean.

Five hundred years have passed in the blink of an eye, and even medieval Europe, which was regarded as barbaric by the merchants, has developed a vigorous vitality in the new millennium. Therefore, under the planning and operation of capital, especially taking advantage of the Pope's presence in Italy, the kings and lords who believed in Christ were encouraged to launch crusades again and again. In the process, not only did they grab an extremely rich amount of loot, but also selected some knights with outstanding military achievements. As a front office, we started a banking industry in Europe.

However, after two hundred years of efforts. The Knights Templar were harvested overnight by the combined power of the crown and the clergy, and the dream of building an international financial system was shattered.

The merchants gathered in southern Europe were depressed, but they continued to improve themselves. While promoting the upgraded version of the Crusades, the Age of Discovery, we will select a suitable place to serve as the world's financial and commercial center according to the new situation, and at the same time build the most powerful navy to defend it.

The reason why this center was the Netherlands and abandoned Italy was because of the Crusader 2.0 Age of Discovery. The main arena of world commerce has shifted from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic, so the hub must of course be located on the Atlantic coast. Therefore, the fact that the Netherlands was able to gain independence from Spain had little to do with the courageous struggle of the local people, but the European capital groups wanted to use it as a place to play.

As a result, the well-built Republic of the Netherlands became a world trade center like a rocket. The financial center of the world. With countless shipping fleets, he controls the main shipping lanes of the world, he is known as the coachman of the seas, and he has a navy that is not inferior to that of any country, preventing himself from being harvested by the royal power of the powerful powers.

It's just that the Netherlands was once again depressed to find that their sea power was indeed strong, but land power was still a tragedy. Although they were able to fight well at sea and the British, as soon as the French sent troops over land, the Netherlands, which lacked depth due to its small territory, were condemned to death.

As a result, the beautiful ideal of establishing an international financial hegemony system for the second time was shattered.

After being depressed again, the financial capitalists continued to struggle. They decided to bloom more, bet more, and not put their eggs in one basket. History is always so wonderful, and the object chosen this time is precisely the British who are the sworn enemies of the Netherlands. Thus, there was the Dutch consul William III, who took advantage of the civil strife in England to launch the Glorious Revolution across the English Channel. Since then, the capital group has also had a place in the UK, and the City of London has risen until it has become the heart of world finance.

In this history, the maids are limited to their knowledge and cannot understand it, the international students are limited to their age, and the noble ladies are limited to their experience. Only Flori and Ren can roughly understand what kind of context it is.

"Tenth sister. Ren Xiaodie whispered, "I don't think it's very easy for capital to control the country." ”

"You are really talking nonsense, the state has violent power, and the rectification of businessmen has a natural advantage. Ji Aojian snorted, "Here in Europe, because of the fragmented distribution of countries, the power of any country is relatively limited, and the capital group has room to move in the international pattern. ”

Today, the UK is the world's financial center, which also shows that it is the most favored place for capital groups. The reason for this. First, the British royal power was congenitally insufficient, which was weakened once in the era of Magna Carta, again when Cromwell guillotined the king, and again when the Glorious Revolution weakened again, and after the establishment of the constitutional monarchy, it had lost the basis for restoring the centralized monarchy. The second is the United Kingdom's offshore balancing hand on the European continent. It is in their strategic interest to keep Europe in a state of disintegration, which is consistent with the desire of the capital group to separate and fragment European countries, so that the interests of the two sides can be tied and cooperated. Third, Britain's financial market and politician election campaigns have been infiltrated for 200 years, and both the financial economy and national policies have been controlled by capital groups to a considerable extent.

"Master. "It sounds like the capital is pretty safe." ”

"It's not enough, control doesn't mean peace of mind. Ji Shengdian smiled, "You want to." In a joint-stock company, the management level may often empty the board of directors, not to mention that it is only a partially controlled state power, which has the delicious flesh and blood that in turn devours capital at any time. ”

"So what's safer?"

"A country that cannot be completely controlled by capital can only be regarded as a business organization by capital groups, so it also needs a high-security safe. ”

"So where can it be a safe. ”

Ji Shengdian asked, "Have you ever heard of a permanent neutral country?"

"Yes, Switzerland is. ”

Switzerland is a mountainous country located in Central Europe. The terrain is dangerous and difficult to attack, and the resource elements are poor. The mountain people were not afraid of death, and at the end of the Middle Ages, the fighting power of Swiss mercenaries shocked Europe. So attacking this place is completely thankless and cost-effective. Not to mention who would attack Switzerland again after it became a permanently neutral country. There is also an additional layer of moral burden.

"Oh, I see. Flori's eyes lit up, "Switzerland is indeed the best place for safes." ”

Switzerland is poor and hard, difficult to attack by force, and much safer than the Venetian Netherlands. Coupled with the aura of permanent neutrality, it is really the safest place. And precisely because this place is a poor country and a small country, it is very suitable for buying and controlling by means of capital.

During the initial expansion of the Red Cross, it was able to leverage its reputation to run shadow banking with maximum efficiency. However, after the layout is completed, the main customer business can be handed over to the "safe deposit box" as a whole, and from then on, it can become a charitable organization as a real thing. Of course, this is not to say that the Red Cross completely eliminates other functions such as money laundering, at least it is a backup system that can be activated at any time.

Ji Shengdian nodded, "Switzerland is indeed good, but we now find that there may be a better safe." ”

Flory wondered, "What's better?"

"Mexico. ”

"Huh?" Flory wondered, thinking. Mexico's capital is located in the mountains of Central America, and Mexico is far from the European continent, so even if European land powers try to storm it at all costs, it will not be useful. As for the other powers in the Americas that could pose a threat to Mexico, only the United States has great power potential, but it seems to have been scrapped by the civil war, and the rest of South America has no place to come.

If you want to do that, Mexico really seems to be a better safe deposit box than Switzerland.

"But Master, Mexico is endowed with great powers. "If the country develops to a certain extent, the powerful forces will have their own ambitions, and it will no longer be suitable as a safe deposit box for international capital, right?"

"Why do you think that Mexico has great powers?"

"This country is a vast country, and it has just won a war, and the country is strong. ”

"However, the country is a combination of immigrants and indigenous peoples, and there is a lack of cohesion in terms of language and culture. Ji Shengdian smiled, "More importantly, although the territory is vast, the capital headquarters is mountainous, and many plains are located outside the mountainous areas, which are strategically easy to defend and difficult to overcome. ”

"So you think there will be a separatist movement in this country. ”

"In this world, there is a sacred right called national self-determination. ”

Ji Shengdian's expression was calm, "If a country only has mountainous areas, the scale of industrialization is destined to be limited, and it will not be able to become a big country and a powerful country in the future." ”

"I see. Flory nodded, "It seems that Mexico's future national power really doesn't have to worry about it." ”

"In addition to being safer, there is another reason that Mexico has conditions that Switzerland does not have. ”

"What is this?"

"The location of the trade hub. "When the Tehuantepec Canal is built, Mexico will be the third version of Venice and the Netherlands, and it will be the best version that is not afraid of the army." ”

"The canal that connects the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans?" asked Flory, "and make Mexico one of the centers of international trade, without worrying that it will increase its power and get out of control?"

"The power that comes with being in trade is a fragile thing, and it can be ended by locking it down. Ji Shengdian said with a smile, "Only when real industrialization is strong is the foundation of national strength." (To be continued.) )