Chapter 2240

If you want to bribe someone, of course you first have to offer a price that makes the other person's heart flutter. 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 areas would be handed over to Fulifeng

Agency, this part of the profit is still not attractive enough for 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 means betrayal of Haihan. Unless the trade scale provided by the East India Company can completely replace Haihan, 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 coercion. This was the route used in the armed confrontation with the Ming Dynasty in Penghu. However, this method is not bad for opponents whose military level is inferior to that of the East India Company, but Furui

Feng'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. If you want to rely on the threat of force to make Fu Ruifeng submit, you will probably end up asking for trouble.

Su Keyi knew this very well, so naturally he would not use such methods against Li Nai. Coercion and inducement would not work, and Su Keyi really 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 it weren't for the fact that Su Keyi was a Han Chinese, 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 negotiating trade cooperation with a Ming Dynasty businessman, but he needed to follow the business rules set by Haihan. What kind of rules were these?

Who has the final say? 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?

.Now the international trade rules in East Asia are set by Heihan. 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.

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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 quantity. Furifeng will do 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 special commodities that were subject to trade controls. As for daily necessities such as rice, grain, oilcloth, etc., there were no purchase restrictions. As long as the Dutch could afford the price,

No matter how much goods you want, you can get them and sell them to them.

The smile on Su Keyi's face was a little stiff: "Brother Li's words make sense. 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 level of Pakistan in 1632.

The state before the Siege of Davia prevented it from posing 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.

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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 whom he can feel close to. As for Schneider's slightly strange origin, Thomas thinks it is

Not surprisingly, 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 people 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!"

After hearing Thomas's words, Schneider smiled 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 your merchants. Some people

In-demand goods may even be 40 to 50% higher. Don't you know this? If our country transfers the trade share that originally belonged to the East India Company to your businessmen, then this part of the premium income will be your country's.

Can businessmen also accept it?"

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 reduce their profits in order to maintain the same selling price as the Portuguese.

Of course, the transaction prices of bulk commodities are commercial secrets. Even if the Dutch can vaguely guess that their trading conditions are worse than those of the Portuguese, there is no accurate information that they can use as bargaining conditions. So in recent years, in

, relying on the preferential treatment enjoyed by the allies, the Portuguese actually occupied a considerable advantage in the commercial competition with the Dutch.

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 Haihan's point of view, this proposal is understandable, but for Thomas, he also has to

Faced with the same lack of information - the transaction conditions between the Dutch and Haihan are also commercial secrets. How big the premium is is just a number casually mentioned by Haihan.

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 have been greatly affected, so your country's overseas income has also declined. 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.

Revenue. But the war will compress the consumption capacity of your country's domestic market. Even if merchants are willing to ship more rare commodities back from the East, not so 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 from the East."

Thomas did not expect that the information Schneider possessed would be so detailed. 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

Is it in peace? Maybe you want to say France, but the French have also joined the war now, haven't they? 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's participation in 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 restrained themselves.

lived, and sent troops under the command of Prime Minister Richelieu to join forces with Sweden to fight against the Habsburg Empire. France's official participation in the war also symbolized that the Thirty Years' War entered the fourth stage, that is, the stage of pan-European melee.

By this time, the major countries on the European continent had been involved in this protracted war, and many countries had become battlefields. The impact on commercial activities was huge, and the trade routes between many countries had been completely destroyed.

Cut off, even the daring 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 make other countries 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.

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"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 in Europe, the Dutch are fighting to the death with the Spanish. In a sense, they are helping

Your country achieved independence, didn't it?" Schneider said jokingly.

"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 on a global scale for a long time, much earlier than the Thirty Years' War. At least in Thomas's mind, he would never agree with it.

Our country and the Netherlands were divided into the same camp because they both had a common enemy, Spain.

"Okay, but anyway, in the near future, the Dutch may be a big help to you. I don't think there is any need to rush to kill them all." Seeing Thomas's righteous words, Schneider refused to agree with 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 warships, ultimately lost 43 ships and about 6,000 men in the naval battle.

Killed in battle. Because of Spain's defeat in this war, it was unable to reestablish its naval superiority until the beginning of the 18th century. The Netherlands thus replaced Spain and became the most powerful naval force in the world in this era - of course, at sea

After Han 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.
Chapter completed!