"Mary, do you know what the specialties of America are?"

Zhu Cixi seemed not to know what the specialties of America were, so he asked the question to his little foreign horse, Mary Mancini.

The little pony giggled: "Your Majesty, you really don't know what the special products of America are? The special products of America are gold and silver!"

Zhu Cixiang stared at Zheng Zhilong again and asked: "Old Taishan, what do you think of bringing back some gold and silver treasures? Is it enough for shipping?"

Zheng Zhilong, who held the gold and silver treasure, looked at Emperor Zhu in surprise, "Your Majesty, are we going to rob the Spanish gold and silver mines? That is the lifeblood of the Kingdom of Spain!"

Moreover, only a small part of the gold and silver obtained by the Spanish in the Americas remained in their own hands. Most of it was earned through trade with the Netherlands, England, France, Italy and the German countries. If we rob

If you take advantage of the gold and silver mines in New Spain, you will probably cause public outrage!"

Spain was the "spreader boy" of the Age of Discovery. They searched for gold and silver in New Spain with all their conscience and blood and sweat, and then risked being shipwrecked, robbed, and suffering from scurvy to transport the gold and silver out of New Spain.

The Americas, and then the Netherlands, England, France, Germany, Italy, and even China, which have developed manufacturing industries, all got cheaper.

The Netherlands, England, France, and Germany all relied on the Spaniards to distribute their wealth and make gold and silver to complete the primitive accumulation of capitalism.

If the Ming Dynasty really seizes the gold and silver mines of New Spain, it will be beaten by the great powers from all over Europe!

Of course, Emperor Zhu was not afraid of fighting within the Chinese circle. But the battlefield had to be moved to Central America, where the Europeans would be very close!

And how many people can Daming send there?

Zhu Cixiang smiled: "I know, I know how could I not know? I have no intention of seizing the gold or silver mines of New Spain. I only want the west coast of North America north of San Diego."

It is roughly where the California gold mines are located, home to North American ferrets, the world's largest open-pit copper mine and rich oil resources.

However, these things have not been found yet, let alone developed, and Zhu Cihong does not intend to play a prophet in front of Zheng Zhilong, so he will not mention these things.

"Old Taishan," Zhu Cixiang said again, "Since I have no intention of digging up Spain's lifeline, of course I am prepared to engage in peace talks with Spain now for the sake of future talks. And future talks must of course lead to a Pacific Ocean.

Free sailing!”

"Freedom of navigation in the Pacific?" Zheng Zhilong frowned. He had never heard of freedom of navigation in his life.

Zhu Cixiang said: "Yes, it is freedom of navigation! Why should we occupy such a large Pacific Ocean and prevent others from leaving? The Spanish are too overbearing! Mary, don't you think so?"

"Yes! They are so overbearing!" Mary Mancini nodded repeatedly.

Zhu Cixi smiled and said: "As long as there is free navigation, then we can use silk, porcelain, lacquerware and other commodities to transport gold and silver back from New Spain. In this way, the Pacific route can be turned around. As long as the route can be turned around

, our transoceanic passenger ship will not return empty, and the cost can be reduced."

Zheng Zhilong's brows were still slightly frowned, because he knew that it was impossible to balance the ships transporting people, porcelain, silk, and lacquerware back to transport gold and silver. If he wanted to balance the shipping in the Pacific, he must find more

of goods.

Not to mention whether these commodities can be unearthed, even if they can be found, it may not be possible to produce enough products overnight!

Zhu Cixiang looked at Zheng Zhilong and was still a little hesitant, so he said to him: "Old Taishan, we have successfully fought the Spanish in America. Although they lost in Japan, they are still a world empire, and the gold and silver mines in America are their lifeblood.

Will not give up easily.

Moreover, Spain has colonized the Americas for more than a hundred years. The white and mixed-race population in New Spain now reaches hundreds of thousands, and there are even more indigenous Indians that can be used. Therefore, Spain can organize tens of thousands of troops in the Americas.

!

And we only have a few dozen people in America, which is not enough, and we can’t count on a navy. The Nanyang Fleet has to support the Battle of Siam and transport rice back. The Eastern Fleet has only a few ships in total, and we still have to take care of it.

In the sea around Japan, if the war against Dhoni breaks out, and troops are sent to blockade the sea outside the customs and Korea, at most two or three 800-ton ships will be sent to the Americas. How many people can they pull with them? After thinking about it, I can only

Relying on commercial transportation.

Lao Taishan, I asked the Royal Chamber of Commerce to provide one million taels, your official bank will also provide one million taels, and let Sha Ship Company also provide one million taels. Together, we will establish a Pacific ship company and purchase one or two hundred dedicated Wanshi passengers.

What do you think about transporting troops and immigrants to the Americas?"

"How to calculate the freight?" Zheng Zhilong asked.

"Based on the head count," Zhu Cihong said, "Based on the heads shipped to the New World! Is fifty taels enough for each person?"

The cost of colonizing America must not all depend on the imperial court, because the imperial court cannot afford it. Fifty taels is just the shipping fee. In order for the immigrants to settle on the other side of the ocean, at least an additional investment of fifty taels is required. One hundred taels per person, one million

A person can't afford even 100 million yuan. Historically, the Qing Dynasty spent 70 million yuan to conquer Jinchuan and Jinchuan, and fought Zhungeer for dozens or hundreds of years. The total cost was no less than 100 million yuan.

The cost of conquering Jinchuan and Jinchuan is almost the same as occupying a dozen states in the western part of the Chosen Kingdom, plus the province of British Columbia. Isn’t it a worthwhile investment?

These sites look bigger than Jinchuan and Jinchuan!

But the problem is that the Jinchuan and Jinchuan are within the territory of the Chinese Empire. No matter how much money is spent to reform the land, it is correct. The west coast of North America is on the other side of the ocean. It is difficult to keep it within the territory of the Chinese Empire forever!

It is very likely that there will be an independent country in the future and the United States will be our next door neighbor.

Therefore, Zhu Cihong could not use the court's money to spend endlessly on the New World. He could only find a way to turn the colonization of America into a profitable business.

Of course, a business as big as the colonization of America cannot be without capital. This is an "asset-heavy" business!

So the initial investment is essential!

But who will come up with this investment?

"Your Majesty," Zheng Zhilong thought again, "Who will pay for the shipping fee?"

You must ask this clearly!

Zheng Zhilong himself is the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue. The Ministry of Revenue does not have a "North American colonial budget". In addition, due to the war with the Spanish in the past two years, there are also a lot of construction projects, and the provinces recovered in the north are still within the "free period", so

The Ming Dynasty's finances were so tight that they couldn't spare millions or tens of millions to invest in America!

"This," Zhu Cixiang thought for a while, "Whoever benefits will invest! Let the investors pay for the shipping fees!"

"Investor?" Zheng Zhilong frowned even more. He is a big capitalist, the richest man in the Ming Dynasty. He is as rich as anyone in the country. In terms of business experience in the Ming Dynasty, he can definitely rank second! But he can't figure out how to colonize America.

It has become a business.

"Your Majesty, who will invest?"

Zhu Cixiang patted his chest, "I want to invest! I want to invest in one, the United States of North America!"

"The United States? What country is this?"

"The United States is a joint-stock country!" Zhu Cixiang explained, "Do you know about the joint-stock system?"

"I know, I know it's said in the Commercial Law."

Zhu Cixiang smiled and nodded: "That's the same idea. Just turn the trading company into a state. If I contribute more, I will be the big owner of the United States. If I contribute less, I will be the small owner. The shareholders will elect the managers based on the number of shares.

Just call him the big shopkeeper!"

Is this okay?

Zheng Zhilong stayed there, not knowing what to say for a moment. Mary Mancini, the little pony who was accompanying him, smiled and said: "My Majesty, the leader of this country you mentioned must be called the Grand Treasurer of the United States from now on?"
Chapter completed!