Chapter 2240
If you want to bribe someone, you must first offer a price that makes the other person's heart beat. At this point, Su Keyi seems to be unable to come up with any favorable conditions that would make Li Nai give up his principles.
As the largest foreign trade merchant in the Guangdong and Guangxi regions, Fulifeng does not lack a customer like the East India Company. Even if, as Su Keyi said, the East India Company's trade in the Guangdong and Guangxi regions was handed over to Furifeng as an agent, the profits from this part would still not be attractive enough to Furifeng.
What's more, Furifeng's main trade partner is Haihan. If he secretly breaks the ban and cooperates with the East India Company, it would mean betrayal of Haihan, unless the trade scale provided by the East India Company can completely replace Haihan and let Haihan be replaced. Fulifeng can really be profitable, and there may be a chance of realization, but this is obviously an impossible situation - Sanya is much closer to Guangdong than Batavia, no matter from which aspect Look, it is impossible for the East India Company to replace Haihan's trading position.
According to the usual method used by the East India Company, if inducement fails, it will of course be intimidation. This was the route taken in the armed confrontation with the Ming Dynasty in Penghu. However, this move is fine against opponents whose force level is inferior to that of the East India Company. However, Furifeng's backer is Haihan, and his subordinates are also in charge of the most powerful civilian armed organization in the southeastern coastal areas of the Ming Dynasty. Those who want to rely on force to threaten If you try to force Fu Ruifeng to submit, you will probably end up asking for trouble.
Su Keyi knew this well, so he would naturally not use such methods against Li Nai. Coercion and inducement would not work, and Su Keyi could not think of any better way at the moment.
With Li Nai's perspective, how could he not see through Su Keyi's purpose? If he hadn't seen that Su Keyi was a Han, Li Nai probably wouldn't have the patience to slowly deal with this topic with him.
Li Nai said: "I understand your eagerness to expand the scale of trade, but since there are corresponding rules now, it is better for us to act according to the rules."
Su Keyi nodded in agreement, but was extremely dissatisfied. It was clearly a Dutch businessman and a Ming businessman discussing trade cooperation, but they needed to follow the business rules set by Haihan. What kind of rules were these?
Who has the final say? After all, it all depends on whose fist is bigger and more powerful. If the East India Company had not been defeated in the armed conflict with Haihan, how could it be in such a passive position now? . Nowadays, Heihan is formulating the international trade rules in East Asia. No matter how unconvinced the Dutch are, they can only honestly abide by the rules set by Heihan.
"But under the rules, we should be able to find some compromise methods to further expand the existing trade scale, right?" Although Su Keyi agreed with Li Nai's view, he still tried to obtain more benefits for his employer. .
Li Nai responded: "This is easy to handle. As long as the goods are not on the restricted list, you can purchase them freely. All you have to do is increase the purchase volume. Furifeng will try its best to organize sufficient supply for you."
Of course, Li Nai understood that what the other party said was just an excuse, and the real purpose was to focus on those special commodities subject to trade controls. As for daily necessities such as rice, grain and oil cloth, there are no purchase restrictions. As long as the Dutch can afford the price, no matter how much goods they want, they can be sold to them.
The smile on Su Keyi's face was a little stiff: "Brother Li's words are reasonable. I will make suggestions to Batavia later to see if there are any needs, and then discuss with Furifeng."
"Then let's wait for the good news from Brother Su!" Li Nai smiled and raised his glass, seemingly unaware of Su Keyi's embarrassment.
Haihan's trade restrictions on the East India Company can be described as simple and crude. For all goods included in the restricted list, whether the East India Company purchases from Haihan or other Haihan allies, it must first obtain Haihan's permission, otherwise it will Haihan forcibly terminated all trade relations between the East India Company and the region.
Most of these restricted commodities are related to military use, such as steel, copper, saltpeter, etc. The purpose of the restrictive measures is of course very clear, which is to make it difficult for the East India Company's armed level to return to the state before the siege of Batavia in 1632, so that it can no longer pose a direct threat to Haihan in the South China Sea.
However, the direct beneficiaries of this restrictive measure are far more than just the Heihan family. The Dutch's old rivals, the Portuguese, who are also from Europe, are of course happy to see this happen, and have been secretly promoting the implementation of relevant restrictive measures. .
At the same time that Su Keyi hosted a banquet for Li Nai, Thomas, the Portuguese minister in Sanya, also had a secret meeting with Schneider, the chief steward of the Haihan Ministry of Commerce, in another place in the city.
For Thomas, Schneider, who has a face of mixed Chinese and Western descent and can speak a little Portuguese, is the only high-ranking official in Haihan who he can feel close to. As for Schneider's slightly strange origin, it is not surprising to Thomas. The Portuguese have settled in Macau during the Ming Dynasty for more than half a century, and there are many mixed descendants of Portuguese and Han Chinese there.
Although Thomas also learned a lot of Chinese while stationed in Sanya, he was not as fluent as his native language after all. Although Schneider was not of Portuguese descent, he could speak Portuguese, which made communication between the two parties much easier.
The purpose of Thomas' meeting with Schneider today is to hope that Heihan can further increase trade restrictions on the Dutch East India Company and expand the goods on the restricted list from military-related to a wider range.
"Mr. Schneider, if your country can increase trade restrictions on the Dutch, it will help promote the friendship between our two countries. The part of the trade affected by your country can be transferred to our businessmen. Once completed, more Portuguese businessmen will come to your country and build a maritime Silk Road between the East and the West!" Schneider smiled after listening to Thomas's words and said: "Your Excellency's idea is very good, but There is still a problem. The prices of various commodities obtained by the Dutch through us are at least 10% higher than those of merchants in your country. Some products that are in short supply are even 40 to 50% higher. You will not be unclear about this. Right? If our country transfers the trade share that originally belonged to the East India Company to your merchants, can your merchants also accept this part of the premium income?”
The problem Schneider mentioned is the difference in treatment between allied countries and non-allied countries. The Dutch often have to pay higher prices than the Portuguese to purchase the same goods from Haihan. The increase in procurement costs weakens the price competitiveness of the goods. In order to be able to successfully sell those goods on the European continent, the Dutch can only lower their prices. The profit can be kept at the same level as the Portuguese's selling price.
Of course, the transaction prices of bulk commodities are commercial secrets. Even if the Dutch can vaguely guess that their trading conditions are inferior to those of the Portuguese, there is no accurate information that they can use as bargaining conditions. Therefore, in recent years, the Portuguese have indeed gained a considerable advantage in the commercial competition with the Dutch by virtue of the preferential treatment enjoyed by their allies.
What Schneider meant was to let the Portuguese bear the economic losses that Haihan might suffer, and then talk about the transfer of trade shares. From Heihan's point of view, this proposal is understandable, but for Thomas, he also has to face the same lack of information - the transaction conditions between the Dutch and Heihan are also commercial secrets. How big is the premium? It's just a number casually spoken by Haihan people.
Thomas said: "Mr. Schneider, maybe we can consider other ways to make up for your country's losses, such as expanding the scale of trade between us and using more transaction volume to bring more profits to your country."
Schneider smiled and said: "The idea is a good idea, but it may not be as easy to implement as you said. As far as I know, your country's colonies in Brazil have been greatly encroached by the Dutch in recent years. The gold, gems, and cane sugar produced locally , grains are greatly affected, so your country's overseas income is also declining. In addition, I heard that an armed uprising broke out in your country's Eivor region last year due to tax issues, and the Spanish are deploying troops to try to quell your country's uprising. Resist. The future direction of this war may be beneficial to your country’s independence, but for now, the war will only worsen your country’s fiscal revenue.”
"Based on these circumstances, I have reason to believe that your country is in the midst of very bad internal and external troubles. Except for slightly better trade conditions in the East, it is difficult to expect that colonies in other parts of the world can bring more economic benefits to the country. However, the war will reduce the consumption capacity of your country's domestic market. Even if merchants are willing to ship more rare goods from the east, not many people will be able to buy them. In other words, your proposal to expand the scale of trade. , in my opinion, it is difficult to achieve. Businessmen are not stupid. If they sense that the domestic market is shrinking, they will no longer purchase large quantities of expensive silk and porcelain in the East.”
Thomas did not expect that the information Schneider had was so detailed, and he even doubted for a moment whether a Portuguese businessman had acted as Haihan's spy.
But the inferences made by the other party based on this information made it difficult for Thomas to refute. He could only respond quietly: "There are many countries in Europa, and the goods we transport there will also be sold to other countries. Mr. Schneider, You don’t have to worry about the sales of these products at all.”
Schneider said: "Mr. Thomas, we are old friends, and we should be more honest with each other. Since I even know the situation in Portugal, don't I know the war situation on that continent? Please tell me, which country In peace? Maybe you want to say France, but the French have already joined the war, right? There is no environment suitable for cross-border trade, and businessmen cannot change the situation there. ”
The Thirty Years' War was in full swing on the European continent. With the French joining the war, Spain faced greater war pressure. After Denmark, Sweden, and the Protestant princes of the Holy Roman Empire were all defeated, the French finally could no longer hold back and sent troops under the command of Prime Minister Richelieu to join forces with Sweden to fight against the Habsburg dynasty. France's formal participation in the war also symbolized that the Thirty Years' War had entered the fourth stage, the stage of pan-European melee.
By this time, all major countries on the European continent had been involved in this protracted war, and many countries had become battlefields. The impact on commercial activities has been huge. The trade routes between many countries have been completely cut off. Even the bold Portuguese may not dare to brave the flames of war to go to the war zone to sell the goods they purchased from the East, let alone It is possible for countries to cease fighting.
Due to the information transmission methods of this era, Thomas may not be as clear about the current situation in Europe as Schneider. After hearing this conclusion, he could only sigh secretly, knowing that his words would be difficult to impress this well-informed senior official Haihan. .
"Actually, I know that the relationship between your country and the Netherlands is very delicate. You are competing for natural resources, key waterways and colonies around the world. But on the continent of Europa, the Dutch are fighting to the death with the Spanish. In a sense, they are helping Your country is independent, isn't it?" Schneider quipped.
"Mr. Schneider, your statement is not appropriate. The war that broke out between the Netherlands and Spain was not to help our country achieve independence. Even if it objectively played such a role, our country will never admit that it is on the same side as the Netherlands. On the battlefield...it’s just that we all happen to have the same enemy!”
Regarding this issue, Thomas did not dare to be careless and quickly clarified his position. Portugal and the Netherlands have been competing against each other on a global scale for a long time, much earlier than the Thirty Years War. At least in Thomas's mind, he never agrees that his country and the Netherlands are divided into the same camp because they both have a common enemy, Spain. .
"Okay, but anyway, in the near future, the Dutch may be able to help you a lot. I don't think there is any need to rush to kill them all." Seeing Thomas's righteous words, Schneider stopped talking to him. Continue to struggle on this topic.
In the original history, the Dutch navy defeated the main force of the Spanish fleet in the Battle of the Downs in October 1639. The Spanish fleet, consisting of 77 battleships, ultimately lost 43 ships in the naval battle, and about 6,000 men were killed. Because of its defeat in this war, Spain was unable to reestablish its naval superiority until the early 18th century. The Netherlands thus replaced Spain and became the most powerful naval force in the world in this era - of course, after Haihan appeared in this time and space, this statement may no longer be true.
Therefore, Schneider's claim that the fighting in the Netherlands would help Portugal get rid of Spanish rule and regain its independence in the future is not unfounded.
(End of chapter)