"Mary, do you know what the specialties of America are?"
Zhu Cixiang didn't seem 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?"
Gold and silver treasures... Zheng Zhilong looked at Emperor Zhu in surprise, "Your Majesty, are we going to rob the Spanish gold and silver mines? Those are the lifeblood of the Spanish Kingdom!
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 Germany. If we rob the gold and silver mines in New Spain, we 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. The Americas, and then the Netherlands, England, France, Germany, Italy, which have developed manufacturing industries, all became cheaper, and even China got a little advantage.
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 all the powers in Europe!
Of course, Emperor Zhu was not afraid of fighting in the Chinese circle. But the battlefield has to be moved to Central America... The Europeans are so 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 and silver mines of New Spain. I only want the west coast of North America north of San Diego."
That's roughly where the California gold mines are, 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 Cixiang 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 have peace talks with Spain... The fight now is for future talks. And future talks, Of course we must negotiate for freedom of navigation in the Pacific!”
"Freedom of navigation in the Pacific?" Zheng Zhilong frowned. He had never heard of anything about 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 too overbearing!" Mary Mancini nodded repeatedly.
Zhu Cixiang smiled and added: "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 changed, our transoceanic passenger ships 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 carrying people, porcelain, silk, and lacquerware back to transport gold and silver. If he wanted to balance the shipping in the Pacific, he had to find more Products of.
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 a good fight in America...Although the Spaniards were defeated in Japan, they are still a world empire, and the gold and silver of America Mines are our lifeblood and we won’t give up easily.
Moreover, Spain has colonized the Americas for more than a hundred years. Now New Spain has hundreds of thousands of white and mixed-race people, and there are even more indigenous Indians to exploit. So Spain can organize tens of thousands of troops in America!
And we only have a few dozen people in America, which is not enough... and we can't count on the navy. The Nanyang Fleet has to support the Battle of Siam and transport rice back. The Dongyang Fleet only has a few ships in total, and it still has to look after the sea around Japan. If the war against Duny breaks out, and troops are sent to blockade the sea outside the customs and Korea, at most they will only be able to dedicate two or three 800-ton ships to the Americas. How many people can they pull? After much deliberation, I can only rely 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 of the boat 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 certainly could not be entirely borne by the imperial court, because the imperial court could not 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 another fifty taels of investment must be added. One hundred taels per person, one million people is one hundred million... It is not impossible to afford this money. In history, the Qing Dynasty spent 70 million to conquer Jinchuan and Jinchuan, and fought Zhungeer for dozens and hundreds of years. Yes, the total cost is no less than 100 million.
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. How can it be worth it?
These sites look bigger than Jinchuan and Jinchuan!
But the problem is that Jinchuan and Jinchuan are within the territory of the Celestial Empire. No matter how much money is spent to reform the land, it is correct. The west coast of North America is the other side of the ocean. It will be 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 the chosen neighbor next door...
Therefore, Zhu Cixiang 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 capitalless... 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?"
This must be asked clearly!
Zheng Zhilong himself is the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue. The Ministry of Revenue does not have a "North American colonial budget". Moreover, 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 finances of the Ming Dynasty court were extremely tight, and they could not afford millions or tens of millions to invest in America!
"This..." Zhu Cixiang thought for a moment, "Whoever benefits will invest! Let the investors pay for the shipping fees!"
"Investor?" Zheng Zhilong frowned even more. He is a big capitalist and 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 be ranked second! But he could never figure out how colonizing America had 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 country... If I contribute more, I will be the big boss of the United States, and if I contribute less, I will be the small boss. All shareholders will be based on The manager elected by the number of shares is called the big shopkeeper!"
Is this okay?
Zheng Zhilong stayed there, not knowing what to say for a moment. The little pony Mary Mancini who was accompanying him smiled and said: "My lord, the leader of this country you mentioned must be called the Grand Treasurer of the United States of America from now on?"
