October 16, 1672, Chang'an (now Toowoomba, Australia), Dutch Embassy in Qi.

"There is no latest news from the Qi people yet." Andris Noppert, the general commercial representative of the Dutch East India Company in Chang'an, shook his head and said: "But I think the situation in Europe is extremely unoptimistic. Except for France

People are attacking the mainland of the Republic from the south, and the Archbishop of Münster and the Archbishop of Cologne are attacking us from the east. In addition, the British and French navies will threaten the southwest coast of the mainland from the sea. It can be said that our Republic is facing siege from all sides.

, a dangerous situation that could be destroyed at any time.”

"No, the free people of the Netherlands will not surrender, let alone put their lives and wealth under the autocratic rule of the French." Vincent Janssen, the ambassador of the United Provinces Republic to Qi, looked gloomy and gritted his teeth.

Said: "We will repel the French attack on land, and we will also crush the British and French coalition's maritime sneak attack on the sea. One hundred years

In the past, in order to fight for independence and freedom, we in the Netherlands resolutely launched a rebellion against the decadent and brutal Spanish rule. After a long and unremitting heroic battle, we were able to obtain everything we have now. Now, facing the military threat from the French, we still

We can achieve final victory...For freedom, we can give everything."

"Mr. Ambassador, although we all have a sincere love for the Republic and are full of yearning for freedom, it is undeniable that our United Provinces Republic is currently facing the biggest crisis in more than a hundred years." Andris Noppert

He said somewhat pessimistically: "The French are stronger than the Spanish.

More powerful, and having launched this war with the obvious purpose of annexing our republic of the provinces, Louis XIV's supremacy over the entire European continent, his endless claims for territory, his desire to seize and control all our wealth,

The greed shown has made no attempt to hide it."

"..." Vincent Janssen heard this and looked at Nopert coldly, "Have you lost confidence in the Republic? Are you also frightened by Louis XIV's hundreds of thousands of troops?

In comparison, the people of Qi have extremely firm and persistent confidence in our United Provinces Republic!"

"Ah?" Nopert was a little stunned, "...what did they say?"

"Qi Guo believes that in the face of France's hegemonic ambitions, European countries will definitely not ignore it. Especially when it comes to their own territorial security and huge economic interests, they will definitely intervene." Vincent

Jansen said quietly: "Do you think the Spanish will let the French seize the southern Netherlands?"

Area, and remain silent? Will the Austrian Habsburg dynasty watch the French extend their sphere of influence to the heart of the empire? Brandenburg-Prussia, the Duchy of Lorraine, and the Palatine Duchy, will watch helplessly

Will a powerful France, after swallowing up our Republic of the United Provinces, then set its coveted target on them?"

"..."Andris Noppert.

"There is also the selfish and repetitive position of the United Kingdom. Do you think that after being attacked by the navy of our United Provinces Republic, it will still stand firmly on the side of the French? Hum hum hum..., Sweden, Archbishop of Münster

, the Archbishop of Cologne can be bewitched and bribed by the French, but can’t they be bribed by our United Provinces Republic by paying huge sums of money?”

"The French have dispatched hundreds of thousands of elite troops!... Can we block their attack and wait for the situation to change?"

"His Majesty once said that in the future global hegemony, Europe will definitely be our strongest opponent and the biggest obstacle to the expansion of our Qi country's commodities. For this reason, our Qi country must take precautions and plan early to occupy the leading position in this era of great competition.

A first move. Fortunately, Europe has continued wars and disputes, creating an extremely favorable opportunity for us to make arrangements."

After the meeting, Wang Baixiang invited Cao Ning to ride a carriage to the "Baoxuan Tower" in the city for a small gathering to discuss how the two families should respond to the Mughal Empire's trade restrictions.

"Everyone, the world is very big, but the market that can accommodate goods is actually very small. Europe as a whole has a population of nearly 100 million, and it also has a certain basic handicraft industry and machinery manufacturing industry, especially in France, the United Kingdom, Spain, the Netherlands and other countries.

They are among the powerful countries in the world today, and their maritime strength is no less than that of Qi. At present, the goods they produce not only firmly occupy the Atlantic coast, but also penetrate into the east coast of Africa, Arabia, Persia and India.

Compete with our Qi country for the commodity market."

Of course, with the gradual increase in the number of Qi's merchant ships and the increasing influence in Europe, it is not ruled out that in the future, the Dutch will be left aside and they can personally export many domestic commodities to various European countries and regions.

"On the basis of consolidating and expanding the trade markets in the Red Sea and Egypt, and with the help of the friendly and cooperative relationship between Qi and the Ottomans, the Ottoman trading company should actively expand its sales channels in its homeland and along the Mediterranean coast."

"The people of Qi want to use your Dutch East India Company to establish a new trade route across the two oceans."

In view of the cotton fabric dispute between the Mughal Empire and the Qi State, which may cause unpredictable risks to the trade in the entire Indian region. The Qi State began to prepare to expand the direct route in the Indian Ocean, starting from the southwest and northwest areas of Hanzhou.

Industrial products such as cotton cloth were exported to South Africa, and then the goods were transported to Europe in a relay manner with the help of the transportation resources owned by the Dutch East India Company.

"In addition to giving us three million Hanzhou silver dollar loan assistance to the United Provinces, they also put forward several suggestions on how to combat overseas trade between Britain and France." Vincent Janssen said with a complex expression: "Moreover, once these suggestions are

Implementation will also greatly promote the development of your East India Company."

"With the rise of the textile industry, higher requirements have been placed on the power system. The steam engine, which was originally only used for pumping water from mines, was improved and upgraded and used in the textile industry. In the 20th year of Qianwu's reign (1662), Jianye

The first steam spinning mill was built in the city. After that, steam engines were used again

Used in metallurgical industry, railway transportation, machinery manufacturing, steamships and other fields. By the first year of Hanxing (1671), the number of domestic steam engines had exceeded 10,000. From mines to factories, from land to sea, machines were roaring everywhere.

, machines are turning and running everywhere."

"In the future, the scale of our industry in Qi will become larger and larger, more and more goods will be manufactured, and the market we need will become wider and wider. Japan, North Korea, Indochina and other countries and regions, with the rise of the Ming Dynasty,

Productivity gradually recovers, and the market dominance we once occupied will be restored.

Facing severe challenges; with more than thirty years of development and operation in the Nanyang region, its market has become increasingly saturated; the Mughal Empire in India also began to impose restrictions on our products due to trade deficits and competition from cotton; Arabia

, the market in Ottoman and other regions still needs further development."

"What weapon can stop the French ambitions?"

"This... is this to prevent the French from invading by drilling through the sea dam?" Andris Noppert's face turned pale. "Then even if the French are forced to retreat, then we as a whole in the Netherlands will not be able to invade."

What can be left?”

"Nanyang trading companies, Bangladeshi trading companies, Indian trading companies, and Persian trading companies will continue to deeply cultivate the local area, expand the market, and strive to enhance their competitiveness. At the same time, they must make full use of our country's strong geographical advantages and commodity advantages to increase the exclusion of all European countries except the Netherlands.

Business power.”

"Oh, God! The biggest misfortune of our United Provinces Republic is that it is too close to France and does not have a vast territory." Andris Nopert sighed sadly: "Then Qi will

What level of assistance will be given to us?”

“…new trans-oceanic trade routes?”

"...Freedom and faith!" Vincent Janssen said firmly: "I believe that even if you encounter all kinds of hardships and hardships, it will be far better than being a slave."

"However, this price is too high!" Andris Nopert shook his head and said: "I think that in the face of the powerful power of the French, in addition to the necessary strong counterattack, our United Provinces Republic should also try to fight with

They negotiate peace. Perhaps we can make some concessions to them to avoid a worse situation."

"Do you think, with their arrogant attitude, the French will agree to our request for peace talks?" Vincent Janssen said with a wry smile: "A week ago, the French delegation arrived in Chang'an.

His arrogant attitude was even intolerable to the people of Qi, so that

Their Majesty the Emperor has not received their plenipotentiary ambassador, and has deliberately left them aside. If we, the Republic of the United Provinces, want to negotiate peace with Louis XIV, I am afraid we will suffer more ruthless humiliation and ridicule. I believe that France

People will definitely do this.”

"Yes, the people of Qi want to bypass the traditional northern Indian Ocean route and directly transport the goods they produce and control to South Africa, and then transfer them to the European continent through your East India Company." Vincent Janssen said:

"In this way, you can shorten the distance of your original trade routes by thousands of kilometers.

time can be saved by more than two months. What is even more rare is that your East India Company can use this route to attack and weaken the Eastern trade of Britain and France, allowing them to transport tea, porcelain, cotton cloth, etc. back to the European continent.

Profits on commodities such as cane sugar have been significantly reduced and have even become unprofitable."

——

"Thirty years ago, our Qi State made an improved version of the water-powered spinning wheel based on the pictures and texts in the "Agricultural Book", which more than doubled the weaving efficiency. Within five years, we also introduced a manual spinning machine, all of which

It was changed to hydraulic drive, which increased the spinning efficiency by 15 times. Twenty years ago, after continuous upgrading and renovation of the hydraulic loom, the weaving efficiency was increased by 20 times. When the highly efficient doffing machine was launched ten years ago

Later, the entire cotton textile industry upstream and downstream basically realized mechanized large-scale production."

"The Qi people's suggestion is..." Andris Nopert heard this and immediately showed strong interest.

"In addition to accelerating the colonial expansion of South Africa and Indian Ocean islands, African trading companies must also actively establish direct routes to the Indian Ocean and fully cooperate with the Dutch East India Company to sell a large number of our country's industrial products, especially cotton textiles,

Entering the West Coast of Africa and European markets..."

In Wang Boxiang's view, since the Bangladesh trading company separated from the Indian trading company seven years ago (1665), it has developed rapidly with the help of the prosperous Bengal region and Ceylon. In less than a few years, the trading volume of the trading company has exceeded

To achieve eight million Hanzhou silver dollars, there is a strong tendency to surpass Indian trading companies.

"When it comes to the discriminatory trade policies of the Mughals, the cabinet government and our Bangladeshi business community have the same response strategy, which is to not fall out with each other as long as they can. Everything is based on peace, without affecting our products.

In the case of import, try to adopt a gentle and tolerant attitude. After all, the scale of trade between our two companies in the entire Indian region is close to 20 million Hanzhou silver dollars, and our market position is very important. Haha... none of us can live with money, yes

Bar?"

Qi Yuanshan, the deputy prime minister of the cabinet, raised his head and looked at the more than 20 heads of major domestic business companies present. His face did not show excitement, but instead showed a bit of solemnity.

"With the continuous expansion of the large-scale machinery industry, Qi State has not only basically got rid of the shackles of traditional handicraft industry in the textile industry and realized mechanization, but also realized the replacement of humans by machines in many fields such as transportation, metallurgy, and machinery. Our Qi State

Relying on large-scale machine production, with a population of less than six million, it has created wealth and materials that are greater than the tens of millions of people in the Ming Dynasty. Based on this, the wealth of our country Qi can be the highest in the world."

"The dams we have been building for hundreds of years!"

"It must be possible." Vincent Jansen said: "We have built countless fortresses on the border areas of the Federal Republic. They could resist the Spanish invasion decades ago. At this time, they will definitely be able to resist the French.

ambition. Even if we reach the worst situation, we still have a powerful weapon that can be our last resort."

Therefore, when Wang Baixiang learned that the Mughal Empire had imposed high tariffs on Qi cotton, besides expressing his anger immediately, he did not react too violently, and also informed the shopkeeper in Bangladesh that

and the stewards issued instructions not to provoke the Mughal Empire government, lest they lose the current excellent development situation.

"Master Wang, do you think the cabinet government will just watch the Mughals boycott the cotton produced in Qi? This time we tolerated it, and next time they will target our imported tea, porcelain, clocks, sugar, and hardware.

tools, or even all product categories, what should we do?

?" Cao Ning sneered and said: "I know that in the face of the high tariffs imposed by the Mughals, your Bangladeshi trading company can switch its cotton sales channels to Ceylon, Arakan and the Taungoo Dynasty, and you can also make a lot of profits. So.

, you can ignore the Mughal resistance measures for the time being."

"Just wait and see, when the market layout in Persia, Arabia, the Red Sea, the Mediterranean, and the Ottoman region is completed, and the newly opened two-ocean trade routes are put into operation, the goods we currently sell to the Mughal Empire will have a temporary replacement.

market, then it will inevitably be time to take action against it.”

"The Mughal Empire was a big country with a population of tens of millions, and an army of millions. If our Qi country had to go on an expedition, we might not be able to get a good deal!"

"We are not going to conquer or destroy the Mughal Empire." Cao Ning said with a smile: "We just need to beat it up, knowing how powerful our Qi country is, and force it to open its market door. Besides, Your Majesty,
Chapter completed!