The man with red hair and blue eyes and wearing a silver-white pointed military helmet is a Dutchman.
After the Battle of Liaoluo Bay, through Zuo Hua's efforts, contacts were established between Shandong and the Netherlands.
The Dutch have always dreamed of opening the door to the Ming Dynasty and conducting business with the richest country in the world.
Now that Shandong is willing to open its arms, the Dutch are overjoyed.
Anthony Van Diemen quickly reported the situation back to Batavia, which attracted the attention of the East India Company's top brass.
After emergency deliberations, the Batavia Parliament finally authorized Anthony Van Diemen as its representative, and at the same time dispatched seven merchant ships to form the first trade mission.
This small fleet was loaded with cargo from the Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Europe and the Americas. It set out from Batavia, passed through the Taiwan Strait, and then headed for Shandong.
When passing through the Taiwan Strait, Anthony Van Diemen happily paid the toll to Zheng Zhilong.
As long as Zheng Zhilong received the money, he kept his promise. He was not embarrassed and did not ask about the Dutchman's whereabouts.
The Dutch fleet passed the Taiwan Strait and headed north along the East China Sea coast of China.
If nothing else happens, they will definitely be able to reach Shandong.
But just as they entered the Yellow Sea, they encountered the third wave of fleet heading south from Shandong.
A strange fleet appeared within its sphere of influence, and Shandong immediately became vigilant.
E Honglue gave an order, and the navy mobilized collectively to surround the Dutch fleet.
After the two parties contacted and communicated, E Honglue thought that Zuo Menggeng was in Songjiang Prefecture anyway, so he simply asked the Dutch to turn around and follow him.
"Dear Commander-in-Chief Zuo, we deeply respect your open attitude. I have brought enough goods with me this time, hoping to gain your friendship."
Looking at Anthony Van Diemen, Zuo Mengeng's thoughts had already drifted to Batavia.
That archipelago, which is hot all year round, rich in products, and extremely important in geographical location, is also the first island chain in the mainland.
Being controlled by the Dutch is really unacceptable.
But on the surface, his smile was extremely normal.
"We in Shandong advocate commerce and have always believed that the exchange of talents is beneficial to everyone. Mr. Diemen has come all the way, and we deeply appreciate this friendship. Please rest assured that everything is open here. The Dutch will continue to do so from now on.
You can freely travel between Songjiang Prefecture and Shandong in the future, and we fully support your business activities."
After receiving Zuo Mengeng's personal assurance, Anthony Van Diemen breathed a sigh of relief.
This voyage was originally of a tentative nature.
After all the dealings with Akito, the Dutchman was not sure whether Zuo Hua's promise had any effect.
Now it seems that this new group of forces on Chinese soil is really different.
From now on, the goods in the hands of the Dutch will finally have sales channels.
When they learned that the Dutch merchant ship had arrived in Songjiang Prefecture, the local merchants took notice.
Don’t think that since the Ming Dynasty banned the sea, the people of the Ming Dynasty knew nothing about overseas.
Ocean smuggling has continued for hundreds of years.
Although most products produced in China are shipped out and sold around the world, it is obvious that foreign goods will also enter China during this process.
As the largest cotton spinning base in the Ming Dynasty, Songjiang Prefecture was obviously one of the largest participants in this smuggling trade.
Therefore, people here have a deep understanding of the value of Western goods.
"Since both of you are interested, I propose to set up an open product exchange meeting. Both of you will bring out your own products for public display. No matter who has a favorite product, they can negotiate freely."
Zuo Mengeng's idea received enthusiastic support from everyone.
Anthony van Diemen was a little more careful.
"Dear Mr. Commander, how much tax do we need to pay for the trade conducted here?"
Anthony van Diemen was very grateful for the sincerity shown by Shandong, so he took the initiative to raise the issue of tax payment.
Zuo Mengeng asked: "How much tax do foreign merchant ships pay in Batavia?"
Anthony van Diemen understood what he meant.
"According to the regulations of the Batavia Congress, every merchant ship that docks will be taxed 10% based on the amount of its cargo."
He thought Zuo Mengeng would say that Songjiang Prefecture should also tax in the same way.
Unexpectedly, Zuo Mengeng frightened him as soon as he opened his mouth.
"The tax levied here is 5%, which is a one-time levy. All subsequent transactions will not be subject to additional taxes."
Anthony van Diemen was completely dumbfounded.
Even with his grasp of business knowledge, he couldn't figure out why Zuo Mengeng was so generous?
Zuo Mengeng just smiled and did not explain any more.
No one in the world today understands the impact of tariffs on business better than him.
Because the enthusiasm on both sides was high, soon... a product exchange meeting was established along the Huangpu River.
Businessmen from Songjiang Prefecture and even the surrounding areas heard the news and came here one after another, hoping to buy some of their favorite overseas products.
The same local merchants and nearby merchants also brought their goods in the hope of selling them.
The product exchange meeting has become extremely prosperous from the beginning.
Zheng Sangui came to Songjiang Mansion and originally wanted to find some sales. When he saw the news about the product exchange meeting, he thought about it and went to sign up just in case.
Unexpectedly, I got the permission right away.
On the opening day, Zheng Sangui brought Shu Brocade to the site, found his stall, and placed the goods on it.
Seeing the sea of people and the endless flow of people in the entire venue, he couldn't help but feel a little more eager.
"My God! This is so beautiful! This should not be a masterpiece in this world!"
Two Dutch businessmen were walking around in the venue. When they saw Zheng Sangui's Shu brocade, they immediately held it in their hands and kissed and touched it, as if they were crazy.
Zheng Sangui could not understand a word of the words that were pouring out of his mouth.
This made Zheng Sangui a little nervous, fearing that the two Dutchmen would steal something and run away.
Fortunately, there was a translator nearby.
"These two Dutch businessmen are asking you for a price."
Hearing this, Zheng Sangui cheered up. Just when he was about to make a quotation, the translator promptly reminded him.
"When these goods are sold overseas, the price will increase tenfold or a hundredfold, so shopkeeper Zheng might as well add more when quoting."
Is it really?
Zheng Sangui was doubtful.
However, since the translator was Chinese, he gained his trust even more.
He thought for a moment, suppressed his excitement, and stretched out two fingers.
"Two hundred taels! A piece of cloth costs two hundred taels."
The translator conveyed it to two Dutch businessmen, who were completely stunned when they heard it.
Without saying anything, he stretched out his hand.
Zheng Sangui didn't know why and could only look at the translator.
The translator's expression was not very good.
"They said the deal was done, and they will go back to withdraw the money now. I hope shopkeeper Zheng will stop doing transactions with other people."
Zheng Sangui understood it as soon as he heard it.