"What about England?" Zhu Cixiang did not immediately reply to the French envoy Kirk Bell, but asked about Britain's needs, "Does England need a loan from Ming Dynasty?"
"If the interest rate is right, England also hopes to get a loan." Marvell certainly will not refuse a low-interest loan.
Although the financial situation of the government of the Republic of England is far better than that of the Kingdom of France, wars in Europe these days often last for decades, and there are times when no matter how wealthy the owner is, he cannot withstand it.
The fiscal revenue of the Republic of England under Cromwell's leadership was about 2.4 million pounds per year. One pound was one pound of silver, which was about the same as the twelve "bank taels" of the Ming Dynasty. Two million four hundred thousand pounds was about two pounds. Eighteen million taels of silver. It is more than double the fiscal revenue of France. It is indeed rich!
However, England's fiscal revenue of less than 30 million taels is nothing compared to the Ming Dynasty's 100 million to 110 million taels (a considerable part of which is rice and noodles).
From the perspective of fiscal revenue, the current Ming Dynasty is really worthy of the title of the Celestial Empire!
The legend that the Ming Dynasty is very rich, in the view of Zhu Cixiang, a financial expert, is just credibility!
And credit...is the real foundation of banking!
Therefore, Zhu Cixi very much hopes that the banks of the Ming Dynasty can provide loans to England and France... Even if the interest is not high, even if there is a certain risk of bad debts, it is still worth doing.
"Of course the interest rate is appropriate!" Zhu Cixi said with a smile, "And our bank in Ming Dynasty will provide a total loan amount, called a credit line, to large customers with good reputations. Within the credit line, borrowers can borrow money according to their own needs. Apply for a short-term or longer-term loan at any time, and the credit line can be recycled. After the short-term loan is repaid, the credit balance will increase accordingly. Considering the current financial situation of the Republic of England, I recommend that you apply for a loan from a major bank in Ming Dynasty. The large credit limit can be used at any time when needed.”
This seems like a good idea!
Marvell is a Puritan politician who is very calculating. Of course, interest must be calculated when borrowing money, but he soon discovered a problem.
"Your Majesty, the distance between England and China is too far. A round trip will take at least several months."
"This is a problem..." Zhu Cixiang pretended to think for a while, "How about this...let us, the two largest banks in the Ming Dynasty, jointly invest in opening a bank in Europe to provide services to England and How about France and France providing loans?”
Emperor Zhu turned to look at the French envoy Kirk Bell and said with a smile: "Mr. Envoy, if Bishop Mazarin and His Majesty Louis XIV agree, then a loan of five million taels will not be a problem, and the interest rate must be very reasonable! "
Kirkbell nodded quickly, "I think they will agree!"
How could one disagree? Five million taels of silver! The equivalent of twenty to thirty million francs... How many mercenaries can be exchanged for? With this military expenditure, His Majesty's army might be able to take down the entire Spanish Netherlands!
Zhu Cixiang smiled and nodded, then looked at Marvell: "I don't think His Majesty the Lord Protector will refuse, right?"
"Of course not." Although Marvel felt it was inappropriate, he couldn't think of any reason to refuse.
Zhu Cixi smiled: "That's good... our three countries have reached a very critical consensus!"
Seeing Emperor Zhu very happy, Lu Zhenfei, Qian Qianyi, Wu Sanfu, and Huang Binqing who were present could not help but frown.
It’s easy to borrow money but hard to get debt!
Especially when lending money to a country on the other side of the region, so far away... there is no way to force the debt! If France and England default on their debts, won't millions of taels of money be wasted?
This business is going to be a loss!
Zhu Cixiang also looked at these people out of the corner of his eyes. He saw that all of them frowned and were a little disappointed. Ming Dynasty has been capitalizing for more than ten years. Why don't you know the huge value of Ming Dynasty's banking industry entering Europe? Woolen cloth?
Banking industry! In addition to lending, it can also absorb savings, issue bonds, and engage in remittances and currency exchanges... It can even issue bank notes (banknotes), and there are golden fingers that create money through the multiplier effect.
How much credit does it have to be able to allow Ming's banks to open in Europe and become creditors of France and England, the two first-class European powers?
And the money lent to Britain and France will not all be wasted - that is money lent to the country!
Although Louis XIV, the Sun King who spent money recklessly, is likely to become a deadbeat, he will not fail to pay back a dime. At most, he will only pay back the interest and not the principal.
But it doesn't matter, as long as he can still be the Sun King of Europe, and as long as France can still lead the European trend for a period of time, this deal will not be a loss!
As for the money lent to the Republic of England, there is no problem. Charles II did not dare to default on the loan after he came to power... This is England's national credit!
Moreover, the war between England and the Netherlands is not over yet. They will not push Ming to the Netherlands for two to three million.
Besides, England also has money, and there is no shortage of two to three million taels of silver.
So this is definitely a good deal!
In addition, and most importantly, the "loan intention" reached between Zhu Cixiang and the French and British envoys... was not really about giving away the money!
Are there still many people in the financial circle of later generations who use various "intentions" to deceive people?
Therefore, Emperor Zhu will not bargain with the French and British at all now. You can just say how much you want to borrow - the emperor has the intention, but the emperor is not responsible for lending. You have to go to the bank for loans.
And banks in Ming Dynasty cannot open branches in Europe, because branches will spill risks to the head office. Under today's communication conditions, it is impossible to open a branch halfway across the world, and the risks cannot be controlled at all, so we can only open a publicly owned joint-stock bank in Europe. This bank failed, which means it lost millions of principal... And opening a new bank cannot be completed in ten days and a half months, so Louis XIV and Cromwell You have to be patient and wait slowly.
But before they get the money, this Ming Dynasty joint-stock bank will become famous for lending to Britain and France...
Such a good deal, but these senior officials of the capitalist Ming Dynasty are still looking sad. You don't know how to do it!
Fortunately, not all of the high-ranking Ming officials present were frowning, there was even one who was smiling.
When Emperor Zhu found Duke Luo, he smiled as if he had picked up money - finally there was someone who knew what he was doing! Emperor Zhu thought to himself: It seems it’s time to let him join the cabinet! Go back and split the Ministry of Rites, take out the Department of Foreign Affairs to form the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and let Grand Duke Luo be the Minister.
"Grand Duke Luo," Zhu Cixiang looked at Grand Duke Luo who was smiling and asked, "What should we discuss next?"
"Your Majesty, we will discuss the American issue next," Luo Dagong said.
Zhu Cixiang nodded, "Actually, our country established a colony in the northwest corner of America a long time ago, called the Xinzhou Protectorate."
What? Did you colonize America a long time ago?
When exactly?
Was it early when Columbus discovered the New World?
After Zhu Cixiang's words were translated into French, Kirkbell and Marvell (he was a great and educated poet, of course he knew French) were shocked.
Seeing the surprised expressions on the two foreign devils' faces, Zhu Cixiang smiled and said: "Of course, our country's Xinzhou Protectorate, now called the American Protectorate, only covers the northwest of North America... .Don’t you know? In fact, there is a huge peninsula in the eastern part of North America and China, which is what you call the northwest of Asia. The two peninsulas are only separated by more than a hundred miles of sea, and they are easy to pass. of.
So as early as the Tang Dynasty, our explorers had been to the Northeast of the New World, and they also appeased the local indigenous people on behalf of the Tang Dynasty emperor... Therefore, the Northeast of the New World has been our land of China since ancient times.
England and France have no objection to this, right? "
