Chapter 196 New Treaty Port
"When did the imperial court fight with them over there?"
When Xu Guangqi heard Chen Cao asking about the people behind him, he added to the conversation he had just had with De Vries: "Master Marquis, it's not the court. There was a water bandit on the southeast coast last year. The leader was Zheng Zhilong. They gathered seven or eight thousand people and went rampant. On the southeast coast, we fought a naval battle with the Dutch on Dongfan Island in August last year, and they were defeated by Zheng Zhilong in that battle."
Zheng Zhilong...
Chen Cao knew it now, and then he carefully remembered that Zheng Zhilong only surrendered to the court in the first year of Chongzhen: "What happened after the Dutch lost?"
"They said they were forced to sign a trade agreement with Zheng Zhilong, who was entrenched on Dongfan Island, and made peace with Zheng Zhilong at the price of three million taels of silver per year."
After Xu Guangqi finished speaking, he smiled politely at De Vries. Chen Cao nodded before speaking in Ming dialect: "I will put aside Mr. De Vries's conditions for the time being. I will first explain this to you envoys from the Three Kingdoms. Benefits of shipping companies in Shanghai County and City;
The imperial court has authorized me to preside over the shipping department of Shanghai County and City, specializing in trade with the countries in Europe and America. As the three of you saw when you came here, the convenience of the ports of Pudong and Puxi, the calm water, and the spacious seaway are obviously easy. Yes, it is no problem to dock a large ship of 10,000 tons at Pudong Port;
In addition, after the establishment of the Shanghai County Special Economic Zone, it is also very important to deal with the three most concerned trades. A tax-free zone can be established here. The most important point is that I can allow you to set up your company in Shanghai County, but the tax will still be Payment must be made as usual. Except for specific tax-free goods, the tax rate for other goods will not exceed the 30% established by our Ming Dynasty. "
The three of them were shocked and set up a duty-free zone, which would not exceed 30%. This meant that they could earn more from every trade with the Ming Dynasty.
Although Andre is a soldier, he is also a real military businessman: "Mr. Marquis, our country wants to set up an embassy here. I wonder if your country can agree?"
The establishment of the Tongwen Guan actually restricted the rights of the Thai and Western countries abroad. Chen Cao nodded when he heard this: "The embassy must be established. I can make the decision on this. In addition to the embassy, I can also make the decision around the embassy. We will plan a concession for you three countries within a radius of one mile to facilitate the accommodation and life of your own businessmen after arriving in Shanghai."
"Mr. Marquis, can troops be stationed in the concession?"
"Of course not..."
The current Ming Dynasty is not the Qing Dynasty that accumulated weakness. The important purpose of Chen Cao's concession was to make money, not to betray his country.
However, the Portuguese envoy Fetri, who occupied Haojing, did not take it seriously, because since last year, they had actually occupied Haojing, opened up their own concession there, and set up police and defense troops.
Seeing this, Colonel Andre said: "Dear Mr. Marquis, Portugal has already established an army in Hao, why can't our country do the same?"
Chen Cao looked at Andre with sharp eyes: "Don't get confused, the special zone is not a place where you can station troops, and the concession is not a place where you can do whatever you want."
Several people had heard about the power of this new marquis of the Ming Dynasty. Moreover, Portugal had signed many agreements with the Ming Dynasty when it occupied Haojie, among which the military agreement was a key point.
"The security of the concession is up to you. You can set up police, but the scope of the concession police's powers shall not extend beyond the concession. The security of the concession is the responsibility of our Ming army. If you come to do business, I, the Ming Dynasty, will naturally protect your safety. Otherwise, If your safety is compromised, how can we, the Ming Dynasty, establish the role of a great country in front of the other countries in Thailand and the West?"
After Chen Cao finished speaking with a smile, he looked at the three of them: "In this way, you three countries can make a lot of money in our Ming Dynasty. Moreover, you three are the first batch of people I have found. I heard that the English The Ottoman Empire and the Turkish Empire also want to trade with our Ming Dynasty, and envoys from the Holy Roman Empire arrived at our Ming Dynasty at the end of last year. If..."
Chen Cao did not finish what he said, leaving the envoys of the Three Kingdoms to consider the final connotation.
There are so many countries in Europe and the West, and the three of you are among them. The emerging maritime country Britain is also a potential stock.
Fetri stood up and bowed to Chen Cao: "Dear Mr. Marquis, on behalf of Mr. Erli, I only want to express to you that I, Portugal, are willing to cooperate with Mr. Marquis and obey all arrangements in the Shanghai Special Administrative Region."
The Portuguese's power in the Ming Dynasty was only in the Hao border, and they had been oppressed by the Netherlands for many years. When Spain and the Netherlands had enmity, what they had to do was to try to ensure their rights in foreign countries. Now Chen Cao gave The conditions are not too harsh. Having an additional trade coast is much more comfortable than living in Haojing.
Andre naturally agreed. As a veteran maritime power, after the rise of the Netherlands, their colonies in Asia have become fewer and fewer: "If we can follow what Mr. Marquis said, I think Mr. Erli will not refuse..."
Portugal and Spain have stated that they will not refuse, and now only the Netherlands is the only country. De Vries has expressed his views to Xu Guangqi before, and everyone is willing to be harmonious and make money when doing business.
"Dear Mr. Marquis, the North Shanghai Road is not guaranteed to be safe. I think Mr. Cohen is not too willing to engage in free trade with your country."
Xu Guangqi looked at Chen Cao: "Master Hou, last year's naval battle was when Yan Siqi and others were sailing to Dongfan to transport Zhangquan immigrants, and there was a conflict with the Dutch fleet that was transporting supplies to Dongfan Island at that time;
Yan Siqi had four to five hundred ships in his hands. Zheng Zhilong also came to help in the war. I heard that the number of ships participating in the war was as high as 600. In addition to the supply fleet, the Dutch fleet also had three escort ships..."
"Three ships?" Chen Cao was shocked. In the past, he thought he was bragging when looking at history, but now it seems that it is indeed the case. It is expected that Zheng Zhilong's victory in the Luowan naval battle was also because his warships were more than a thousand large, and the Dutch The national warship was only twenty, but it was still being suppressed and beaten. If it had not been a suicide attack by a fire ship in the end, there must be a question mark as to whether the battle would have been like this.
"Yan Siqi's ship was smashed to pieces by the Dutch's Hongyi cannon. He was said to be dead. His fleet was taken over by Zheng Zhilong."
After Xu Guangqi added the last word, he whispered in Chen Cao's ear: "Their three-masted soft-sailed warship can run very fast, and it can install eight 12-pound red barbarian cannons."
Chen Cao thought privately that the tonnage of the Dutch three-masted warships at that time was about 500 tons. Although his own ship of several thousand tons was large, it could not help the opponent's warships to be flexible. If it could really scare the opponent in the early stage of the battle, But in the later stage, he was a living target, and he couldn't make enemies with the Dutch in front of him.
"You tell them that I have come forward to ensure their safety on the North Shanghai Road, and ask them to immediately arrange for the establishment of an embassy in Shanghai County. Also, they are allowed to build their own trading companies in Shanghai County. The number cannot exceed three. Let them Choose the best.”
If Shanghai County wants to successfully open Fu, it must allow these foreign-funded enterprises to settle in. Shanghai County with fresh blood mixed in can attract more foreign investment, and the business under Chen Cao's name can be launched as soon as possible.
"Mr. Marquis, I wonder how our three countries can trade with your country?" De Vries asked first: "As long as the safety of the sea route is guaranteed, we in the Netherlands are willing to contract all your country's porcelain business. In addition, we can also follow the agreement during the Wanli Period. Provide artillery assistance to your country."
The Dutch's main trading partners were the Roman Empire and the Ottoman Empire on the European continent. These two large empires spanned a large area and made a lot of money.
Portugal and Spain also trade with them. If the Dutch take up all the porcelain exports, they will have nothing to gain.
Not long after, the three groups started arguing. After listening to the translation, Chen Cao knocked on the table to signal them to be quiet, and then said calmly: "Quiet, all three of you. From now on, we are in a cooperative relationship. Naturally, we must let everyone know." You can all make money. Of course, I, the Ming Dynasty, cannot lose money. Therefore, in view of your view of the trade level of the Western and Eastern countries, I have specially set up a bidding system;
To put it simply, starting from this year, the three major trading items of porcelain, silk, and tea will be marked as tons in your Thai and Western calculations. Whoever bids more will get how much goods. "
The bidding system is very popular in Europe and the West. It originally originated in the Netherlands and then spread throughout the European continent.
Seeing that the envoys of the three countries understood what he understood, Chen Cao continued: "These three major items are subject to centralized trade twice a year, in July and December respectively. You will trade the remaining small-scale trade items by yourself. Apart from these three major items, The trade in goods is duty-free goods.”
The three of them all nodded in unison. The three major items were the top priority. They all knew that the remaining goods would be tax-free, allowing them to earn certain benefits from them.
"Mr. Marquis, how are the bidding amounts for the three major items set up and what is the goods trade tax rate?" Feiteli had already taken out his notepad at this moment. This is the key point.
Upon seeing this, the other two people quickly took out their notepads, fearing that they had missed some key points.
"The bidding amount starts from one million taels of silver, the currency of our Ming Dynasty, and the minimum bid guarantee is three hundred tons." Chen Cao said word by word: "After the bidding is successful, based on the production value supply of the year, the minimum price of the three hundred tons will be For production goods other than those produced, a tax rate of 30% of the total value of the goods will be charged.”
The three of them have been calculating, and Chen Cao has calculated carefully. One million taels are guaranteed for the bid of 300 tons of goods. According to the Thai people's love for the three major items, they can still earn at least 60% from it. After the subsequent production and purchase You can also earn half of it, so everyone can earn.
Seeing that the three of them were all smiling after the calculation, Chen Cao couldn't help but smile too, and asked someone to pour tea for the three of them. Then he smiled and said: "I always like to be harmonious and make money when doing business. I don't care about the dirty things among you three countries. But whoever does unethical things when doing business with me, our Ming Navy troops are not vegetarians either."
