Gao pragmatically decided to put aside the question of how to get rich. He would discuss it later. He planned to answer Zhang Yuangong's next two questions first.
Gao's pragmatic answer was simple: "If the previous monarch of Luzon can still be found, or if his heir can still be found, I, Emperor Zhaozhao, will naturally do what I can to survive and survive, and restore the country to Luzon."
Zhang Yuangong didn't ask why at all, he just nodded and asked: "What if I can't find it?"
Gao Jingshi said calmly: "There are people among the local barbarians who have outstanding reputations and admire our celestial dynasty like ducks... I, Beiyang, will provide long-term stability for the barbarians and appoint a person as their king. Then I will report to the emperor and grant him the imperial title."
"
Zhang Yuangong thought for a moment and said hesitantly: "Isn't it a bit arrogant?"
Gao pragmatic did not answer him directly. Instead, he glanced at Zhu Yingzhen and asked, "What about the general will of Chengguo?"
Zhu Yingzhen smiled and said: "How can I understand these things! However, since Da Sinong said it is possible, then I think it must be possible... Mr. British, what do you think?"
After Zhu Yingzhen's suggestion, Zhang Yuangong reacted immediately and said quickly: "Ah, yes, yes, yes, I think so too." As if he felt that saying this was not sincere enough, Zhang Yuangong added: "Your Majesty, that's right.
Bian’s advice to Da Sinong has always been accepted!”
As long as you understand. Gao Pragmatic smiled slightly and did not continue the topic.
In fact, he knew in his heart that this method was the most feasible. Although Luzon was not one of the "countries not to be conquered" designated by Zhu Yuanzhang, the Ming Dynasty's consistent habit was there. Even Chengzu would not directly treat it when he went to the West.
The "incorporation" of a certain place in Nanyang into the Ming Dynasty was nothing more than some measures based on restraint thinking, such as the famous "Xuangang Envoys in Old Port".
However, the Xuanwei Envoy Department is not a good plan in Gao Pragmatic's mind, because in Gao Pragmatic's eyes, Luzon is also part of "Southern Xinjiang". Since the Ming Dynasty would not regard it as its homeland, it would be useless to establish a Xuanwei Envoy Department.
significance.
To create a propaganda and consolation department that actually has no control at all, it is better to use Jinghua's method of controlling southern Xinjiang and establish a king for Luzon. Then Jinghua will continue to act as an advisory group in its practical sense.
The central court came to control the country.
This approach not only complied with the Ming Dynasty's consistent idea of "continuation of life and death", but also firmly controlled the real power without causing too much trouble to Gao Pragmatism. It was the best of both worlds.
After solving this problem, Gao Pragmatic returned to the problem of making money that Zhu Yingzhen mentioned before, and said: "As for how to make a fortune, it is natural to have a two-pronged approach."
Zhu Yingzhen asked with some suspicion: "Now that Luzon has changed hands, will the Spaniards come again? If they don't come, the gold and silver will no longer come from."
Gao pragmatic shook his head and said: "I have a lot of news about the Spanish. Generally speaking, Spain has made enemies on all sides and is now at war in three places. You two, with the billions of people in the Ming Dynasty, if we attack three Mongolia at the same time,
, what do you think?"
"This... Spain's enemies are as powerful as the Mongolian Tatars?" Zhu Yingzhen was immediately surprised.
Gao pragmatically said: "At least the Mongols don't have cannons, and Spain's enemies may not have fewer cannons. Let me put it this way, if Spain hadn't been able to get a lot of gold and silver from overseas, they wouldn't have been able to survive for a year."
Zhang Yuangong couldn't help but interjected: "I hear what you mean, Rixin, are you saying that the Spaniards are actually hanging on to their gold and silver now?"
Gao pragmatic smiled and said: "Actually, although there is a lot of gold and silver, it can be said to be an endless supply, but it is not enough to meet the consumption of the Spaniards. It's just that the situation of the Europeans is different from that of our Ming Dynasty.
There are many small countries, and they have wars and cooperation with each other. They fight with some countries and cooperate with some countries.
The Spanish are at war with the Netherlands, the French, and the English. But at the same time, it is of the same lineage as the Austrians (here it means that the Habsburg dynasty is divided into Spanish and Austrian branches), so naturally it is
Allies. There is another country. Although it is small, it is extremely rich due to its developed commerce. Its name is Genoa, which is the money bag of the Spanish..."
"Money bag?" Zhu Yingzhen asked: "The Spaniards often blackmail them?"
"But it's not blackmail, in fact it's a loan." Gao Pragmatic thought for a while and realized that the two princes might not be able to understand it unless the matter was explained more clearly. After all, in their eyes, the emperor was the richest in the world, how could it be possible?
Borrowing money from others? There is no such thing in Ming Dynasty.
Gao Pragmatic had no choice but to pick out a few examples of European banking families in the Middle Ages and tell them about them. In fact, around this era, the Petrucci, Bardi, Medici and Genovese families were all leading banking families.
Comparable to Italian bankers was the Fugger family of the Holy Roman Empire.
However, since he was talking about Spain, the Petrucci, Bardi, Medici and other families were highly pragmatic and he did not intend to introduce them. He mainly talked about the Fugger family and the bankers of Genoa who were closely related to Spain.
The sixteenth century began in the 14th year of Hongzhi's reign in the Ming Dynasty. During this period, Europe's economy and population were expanding. Major monarchies such as Spain, France and Britain were constantly fighting for economic and military hegemony. There were only 25 years in this century.
Large-scale war. During this period, Antwerp was the main financial center for most of the time.
Frequent wars have stimulated the demand for loans. Due to the development of the credit market, interest rates have also dropped accordingly. The short-term loan interest rates for the royal family are roughly between 6-18%. In emergencies, the interest rates will climb to more than 24%. Bankers are still the main lenders
People, but the royal family also borrows money through the exchange.
From the end of the 15th century to the first half of the 16th century, the Fugger family of South Germany seized the advantageous position that Italian bankers once had. Starting from loans to the Habsburg royal family, the Fugger family, which started in the textile industry, gained
There are a large number of mining rights for silver, copper, and iron ores in Central Europe and America. They can also engage in American trade and even have the right to mint currency.
This family successively took refuge in two Holy Roman Emperors of the Habsburg family. Its wealth reached its peak after the 1610s. As a business family, its political influence was unparalleled at that time.
In the 14th year of the Ming Dynasty (1519), the Fugger family spent 850,000 gulden (the currency popular in South Germany) to bribe the elector to ensure that Charles V of Habsburg could defeat another candidate.
King of France and became Emperor of the HRE.
After the success of Charles V, the area he ruled included Spain, the Spanish Low Countries, the Holy Roman Empire (nominally), Austria, most of Italy, Alsace, Spanish American colonies, etc. The European continent can compete with Habsburg
The only dynasty that faced off was the Valois dynasty in France.
The vast area under his rule also brought endless war burdens to Charles V. In the famous Italian War, both the Spanish and French armies had to cease war many times due to lack of funds; in order to defend the Christian world, Charles V also
The war started with the Ottoman Empire, which was at the peak of its national power, so the emperor had to constantly borrow money to maintain his rule and maintain the war.
From 1518 to 1572, the interest rates on short-term loans (called asientos in Spain) provided by the Bank of Fugger to the Spanish royal family were generally between 10-16%, and during periods of financial stress, the interest rates rose to 24-52%. During the same period, the royal family
The interest rate for financing from the Antwerp Exchange is between 6.25-31.5%, and the cost of the exchange is obviously lower. Many bankers actually borrow money from Antwerp and Lyon at low interest rates, and then loan it to the royal family at high interest rates.
In 1556, after owing a huge debt of 20 million ducats, Charles V passed the throne to his son Philip II. (Note: If you do not worry about the equivalent purchasing power, simply converting the gold content of ducats, this is equivalent to more than 140,000 ducats.
Two gold. The ratio of gold to silver in the Ming Dynasty is 1:10, which is equivalent to more than 1.4 million taels of silver in the Ming Dynasty. But please note that at this time, not much American gold and silver has flowed into Europe, and the price revolution has not yet begun. The actual value of gold
Very high, so it's really a huge debt.)
However, in the second year of Philip II's accession (1557), Spain, which did not want to repay the money, declared bankruptcy. France, which was also heavily in debt, also declared bankruptcy in the same year. To make matters worse, the Spanish royal family declared bankruptcy a few years later in 1560.
Declared bankrupt again in the year.
In 1562, the banking consortium headed by the Fugger family was forced to agree to the royal family's debt restructuring plan. Their short-term loan of 7 million ducats was converted into long-term government bonds (juros, guaranteed by government taxes) with an interest of 5%, but
The market value of such bonds is much lower than their par value.
In this case, the Fugger family obviously lost money, but fortunately they received other compensation: a monopoly on Spain's military procurement and the mercury mine in Almaden. Therefore, the Fugger Bank did not collapse due to debt default, but as a
Commercial Bank, their family suffered huge losses in capital and credibility.
After 1560, Fugger's bank continued to participate in the Spanish royal family's loans, but at this time the main lender was already the banking family of Genoa, and Fugger's proportion was very low.
Gao Pragmatic did not talk about the decline of Fugger Bank in the future, after all, that has not happened yet. Of course, Gao Pragmatic is very clear about the reason. The long-term reason is that the large amount of silver imported from the Americas starting in the 1950s severely reduced the source of funds for the family bank——
Profit from silver trading. The more direct reason is that during the Thirty Years' War in the seventeenth century, the Holy Roman Empire was devastated, the economy declined, the population dropped sharply, and the Fugger family disappeared.
After Fugger and other Deutsche Banks suffered a heavy blow, the Genoese people devoted all their efforts to the financial industry. During this period, the Genoese banking families that controlled the European financial industry included the Spinola family, the Doria family, the Centurion family, and the Grimaldi family.
The Spinola family and the Doria family have been the dominant players in Genoa politics since the 1370s. They are also the core of the Genoese system that finances the Spanish royal family.
The Spanish Empire was still heavily armed during most of the reigns of Philip II, Philip III and Philip IV (1556-1665). There was almost no peace during Philip II's term, so war expenditures
As a result, foreign debt continues to rise.
By 1667, the total debt of the Spanish royal family reached a staggering 180 million ducats. The royal family's income fluctuated greatly and was increasingly unable to keep up with the growth of debt.
In addition to the severe inflation caused by the price revolution during this period, an important reason for the sharp increase in war costs was the military revolution that took place in Europe in the 1620s. The maturity of matchlocks and guns increased the proportion of firearms in the army, and the importance of artillery
The power also promoted the emergence of a complex and solid city defense shuttle system. The strengthening of defense not only increased the material investment of the defender, but also caused the attacker to invest more.
After the gunpowder military revolution, one of the decisive factors in winning long-term wars was the government's financing ability. Gao Pragmatic knew this very well, so he would increase the proportion of firearms and equipment in the army while finding ways to make money all over the world.
Although Spain has a steady influx of silver from the Americas, in fact the importance of silver income to the royal family's finances is not as great as imagined. Before the Eighty Years' War (1568-1648), the income from the Netherlands was more than the royal family's.
Any single item of income is higher, including American silver.
After the Netherlands War began, the Spanish army's expenditure in the Netherlands had exceeded the tax revenue contributed by the Netherlands, and the Netherlands became a negative asset in the financial sense of the Spanish Empire.
In fact, due to too many enemies and frequent wars, except for Spain and the Americas, all other territories of this colonial empire became negative assets.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click the next page to continue reading the exciting content! As the first consecutive bankrupt in the history of European royal (sovereign) lending, Philip II went bankrupt four times, but he should be blamed for the first two
Father Charles V. His successors Philip III and IV continued to play the bankruptcy game, going bankrupt five more times in 1607, 1627, 1647, 1653, and 1662.
Zhu Yingzhen and Zhang Yuangong finally understood the concept of bankruptcy. When they heard that Philip II and his son had gone bankrupt several times, they couldn't help but look at each other. Zhang Yuangong shook his head: "This emperor has done a terrible job. If he behaves like this, where is his face?"
Put it aside?"
Gao Pragmatic emphasized: "Philip II is not an emperor."
"It's almost the same as a king, that's what I mean." Zhu Yingzhen said disdainfully: "A three-year-old child understands the principle of repaying debts. It is only natural that a father's debts should be repaid by his children.
Regardless of whether they are emperors or kings, these two father and son are still the kings of a country, right? It’s okay to ask someone to borrow money, but it’s okay to default on the loan! It’s true that they are barbarians, without any courtesy or honor.”
Zhu Yingzhen was more concerned about the money in front of him and interrupted: "I understand what Rixin means. You are saying that the King of Spain used the endless overseas gold and silver as collateral to find these hot... hot loans to fight the war.
.
But he also knows that this alone will not work, so the money that should be earned must be earned, and any opportunity to make money must not be missed. Since they really need our goods to sell to Europe to make money, that means that even if Luzon loses
Even now, you still have to come to Luzon to do business with us, otherwise the losses will be even greater - is that what you mean?"
Gao Jingjing laughed and said: "If Cheng Guogong has a clear mind, he will be clear. I admire him."
"Hey, hey, don't say that. If you hadn't explained it, how would I have known these inside stories? I can't even tell what the Spaniards did after they lost Luzon. In the end, you, Gao Situ, are the most powerful. You are so good from thousands of miles away.
You know everything about these small barbarian countries, and I am really convinced."
Zhang Yuangong seemed to be a little confused and asked: "One thing I still don't understand is that since Philip II has such a bad reputation, why are wealthy people like Geno still willing to lend him money again and again?
?Isn’t it true that he threatened to confiscate your home and exterminate your clan?”
"You must have not understood just now. What Rixin means is probably this: Spain is like the Qin State, which fights here and there all day long, while this hot little country may be small, but its people are rich...
...Of course everyone likes money, and it is impossible for Qin to fight at will. After all, Qi, Chu, Yan, Han and other countries will not agree, right?" After Zhu Yingzhen finished speaking, he looked at Gao Pragmatic and asked: "Probably this is it.
Do you mean it?"
Gao Pingshi smiled and said: "It's probably similar."
Zhu Yingzhen was very proud, but Zhang Yuangong rolled his eyes at him and said, "I understand your analogy, but you didn't explain my question: Why does this small country always lend money to a powerful Qin who doesn't talk about credibility? Do they think that
Can this strong Qin unite the six countries?"
This time Zhu Yingzhen didn't dare to say nonsense. He coughed lightly and then stopped responding.
Gao pragmatically said: "To use the example of Duke Cheng, under the melee among the countries, this small country has no place to spend its money, and any investment may be reduced to ashes. And as I just said, these kings borrow money
The interest rate is very high, so small countries would rather lend it to them...what if they win the war?"
"Oh..." Zhang Yuangong seemed to understand now. But Zhu Yingzhen was too lazy to dwell on this issue. He changed the topic and turned the question back: "Okay, okay, since we know everything about these small barbarian countries, we don't need to
You care so carefully. I just want to ask now, when will this battle be fought, and we will send troops... No, how many ships and servants will each of us send?"
After a pause, he added: "Also, what are some profitable projects that can be divided after the fight?"
----------
Thanks to book friend "Cao Mianzi" for your reward and support, thank you!
Thanks to book friends "Shen Domination 2", "Yan Yunhe", "Cao Mianzi", and "Lyloveww" for their monthly support, thank you!