Gaspar Figg and Anthony Hines both remained silent and said nothing.
Because the question raised by William III was "fight or surrender", and what they heard was indeed "More money, more money must be added, more money greatly"!
The so-called Federal Republic of the Netherlands is actually a small country with a population of only 3 million, jointly ruled by business oligarchs and military oligarchs.
This country simply does not have the ability to fight a land war with France through national mobilization.
After all, France has a population of over 20 million, which is almost seven times that of the United Provinces of the Netherlands!
Moreover, the maritime trade on which the Republic of the Netherlands depends for survival requires a large number of strong men from the country to serve as sailors. If all the sailors go ashore to carry guns and fight, wouldn't all the good business of the Dutch be taken over by the English?
Therefore, the Army of the Federal Republic of the Netherlands is a combination of a small local standing army and a large number of foreign mercenaries, and a large number of foreign mercenaries cost money, a lot of money to hire!
The Federal Provincial Republic of the Netherlands has always been the best employer in the European mercenary market - other employers are shady bosses who default on military pay and even try their best to default on their debts. Only the Federal Provincial Republic of the Netherlands has never A conscientious boss who owes wages and doesn't default on his debts.
Historically, the Netherlands, a merchant country with few of its own people serving in the army, has had the strongest army in Europe for a long time, and the fundamental reason why it has produced famous generals like Nassau Morris is that it has the ability to make money!
The Netherlands' money-making ability comes from two sources. The first is of course the monopoly of free trade and overseas zero-dollar purchases. These days, the profits of intercontinental trade start from ten to eight times. Of course, this is gross profit, not net profit. , it’s hard to say how much the net profit will be. The Dutch East India Company, which engages in monopoly trade and purchases for zero dollars, can still lose money. Who can explain this?
However, the profits that were lost to the executives of the Dutch East India Company, but the money that fell into the hands of the executives were not deposited in foreign banks, but all flowed into those companies headquartered in The big banks in Amsterdam strengthened the Dutch financial system.
The reason for this is not because the executives of the Dutch East India Company are particularly patriotic, but because Amsterdam, the Netherlands, is still the financial center of Europe!
The financial industry in Amsterdam is the second source of Dutch banknote capabilities!
The reason why a country like the Netherlands can turn itself into a financial center is mainly because the rulers of various European countries in this era are basically "old kings". Putting bank headquarters on their territory is just waiting to be "forced loan" Go bankrupt!
Most of the wealthy city-states in Italy that gave birth to the Renaissance were reduced to poverty by the Habsburg family.
The French King's creditors, the Knights Templar, were even worse. Not only were their money gone, but their lives were also lost!
Although this matter has been going on for many years, the impact of this money- and life-threatening thing is really bad. It is not easy for Paris to become a financial center. Moreover, the people in the old district of Paris are so noisy that the Sun King himself avoids them, not to mention European financial capital?
The Kingdom of England, separated from the European continent by the English Channel, is not ideal either. Although the royal power there is not great, and Charles II cannot be the "Charla Lao Lai", the conflict between Protestants and Catholics in England is too fierce! Forty years ago, a very extreme Protestant Republic emerged. It not only chopped off the head of Charles I, but also punished the Catholics in England!
England was able to control its own Catholics forty years ago, but if it failed to do so, it would slaughter foreign Catholics and Jews in the future. Therefore, it is not suitable to become the financial center of Europe.
As for other European countries, there is no need to think about them. They are either too chaotic, too poor, or too weak to provide a protective umbrella for the financial capital that manages money.
Only in the United Provinces of the Netherlands, there is neither a king nor any religious conflicts. The domestic business atmosphere is strong, and all the people make money, regardless of other things. Moreover, the military strength of the United Provinces of the Netherlands is also quite strong. It survived Spain, withstood France, and defeated England. Therefore, Amsterdam has become the most favored city for European financial capital.
But the United Provinces of the Netherlands had an evil neighbor like Louis the Sun King!
From 1672 to 1678, they beat the United Provinces Republic for six full years. Although relying on William III's "ingenious plan" to use water instead of troops, the United Provinces Republic retained the best parts, preventing Amsterdam from being ravaged by the French. But the vitality of the Republic was still greatly damaged, and many bankers in Amsterdam also suffered heavy losses.
And now, how many years has it been stable? The Sun King Louis XIV is making a comeback!
And this time Louis XIV also learned bad things. He learned to despicably bypass the Dutch East India Company to do business with the Ming Dynasty. He also learned to rob the East India Company's spice islands. It is estimated that this one can get 200 million 300 million miles. Foer's net profit.
How terrible!
This is really not afraid of Louis being evil, but being afraid of Louis being rich!
Without this windfall, Louis could have beaten the Netherlands for six years with a fiscal revenue of 100 million livres a year, and also brought Spain and Germany with him! Now that the Netherlands has not yet recovered, Louis has made a fortune. What will happen next? I'm afraid even a fool can guess it.
The two representatives of the big Amsterdam businessmen were silent for a long time. At the end, they finally sighed and started talking about money with William III.
"Consult, it is also very difficult for businessmen in Amsterdam now!"
"Your Highness, the economy of Amsterdam has been very depressed in the past few years. This time we encountered the robbery of the Spice Island and the illegal trade incident of Faming. I am afraid that many honest and hard-working businessmen in Amsterdam will go bankrupt again."
Well, the capitalists in Amsterdam have no money left!
Can the Federal Republic of the Netherlands still want it?
After hearing the words of these two business representatives, William III's face darkened: "Gapas, Anthony, I want to tell you a sad story about China. In China, there once was an emperor named Chongzhen. He suffered something bad during his reign. With the invasion of foreign enemies and internal uprisings, the country's finances also collapsed, and it was impossible to spend money to recruit the army.
Later, when the army of a rebel leader named Chuang Wang was about to invade Beijing, he had no choice but to ask the wealthy nobles and bankers in Beijing to donate money to recruit troops. But those short-sighted guys were unwilling to pay. As a result, Beijing was quickly captured by King Chuang. Those nobles and bankers who were unwilling to pay ended up in the hands of King Chuang's army. They were tortured and forced to surrender. All their property was lost, and many people lost their lives!
But there is definitely no emperor like Chongzhen in Europe, at least not in France! What did King Philip IV of France do when he had no money to spend? I think Louis XIV’s ability to make money is no worse than Philip IV! "
Philip IV was the French king who destroyed the "Knights of Creditors" without repaying his debts. He was the predecessor of Louis XIV!
William III then said: "And I will not become Chongzhen.
I hope that you two and those millionaires in Amsterdam will recognize the reality that the Federal Republic of the Netherlands is the only country that can protect their huge and unexplained wealth from infringement! If Louis becomes master of Amsterdam, you will lose everything.
But I won’t. I won’t lose too much, because I was never the king of the Netherlands, and I still have Mary! "
At this time, the two representatives of Amsterdam businessmen were dumbfounded.
Why is this still happening? The dignified governor of the United Provincial Republic of the Netherlands, faced with Louis XIV who had made a fortune, was actually prepared to abandon his country and people and run away to England to eat soft food. And this soft food seemed to be quite delicious.
Because William III's wife, Princess Mary, is the second in line to the British throne. And her uncle, Charles II, is old and in poor health, and is about to die. And her father, James, is already very old and probably doesn't have many years left to live.
The crown of the British bastard is waving to William III!
And this William III happened to be the only person who could possibly save the United Provinces of the Netherlands!
Thinking of this, Anthony Hines, Speaker of the Amsterdam City Council, had no choice but to ask William III: "Your Highness, how much do you want?"
William III said: "I will take as much as Louis has, otherwise I will not be able to defend the Republic of the Netherlands." He looked at the two representatives of Amsterdam's wealthy businessmen in front of him, "How about it? Do you have any idea?"
Gaspar Figg and Anthony Hines exchanged glances and nodded together.
"There is a way!"
"We can distribute the national debt to the wealthy families in Amsterdam."
William III asked: "Apportion the national debt? At least 200 million guilders of national debt must be apportioned, right? Are the wealthy families in Amsterdam so easy to talk to?"
"We take the lead!" Gaspar Figg said, "The two of us take the lead, and the other families have to follow."
Anthony Hines said: "As much as we buy, the ten richest families in Amsterdam will have to follow. If they follow, other families will have to follow. Otherwise, the citizens of Amsterdam will think that they are unpatriotic! If they are not patriotic, the consequences will be Very seriously, the Werther brothers died because they were unpatriotic!"
John de Witt, one of the Witt brothers, was the leader of the Republic of the United Provinces of the Netherlands before William III. He served as Grand Chancellor for many years. However, during the Franco-Dutch War, he was unable to resist Louis XIV's army and was prepared to negotiate for peace. He was overthrown by Dutch patriots and a military coup in The Hague, and his brother Nelius was imprisoned for opposing William III.
Then a group of Dutch patriots took advantage of John de Wit's visit to the prison and suddenly broke into the military prison. They took the Wit brothers out of the prison and tortured them to death on the streets of The Hague. The bodies were also cut up and fed. dog!
Although the United Provinces of the Netherlands is a republic without an emperor, the oligarchs are actually quite dark!
William III, the military oligarch, finally laughed: "Gaspar, Anthony, you are my friends, and I will not let my friends suffer. Therefore, I will use military funds to purchase all the national debt you bought!"
France, Palace of Fontainebleau.
Louis XIV did not stay in the Louvre Museum in Paris for long. After welcoming the Ming Dynasty envoys and the Qing Dynasty soldiers, he returned to the Fontainebleau Palace outside Paris - staying away from the people in the old area is good for physical and mental health. This is the secret to Louis living so long!
The Ming dynasty and the Qing celestial soldiers also left Paris. The former followed Louis to the town of Fontainebleau, where the Ming embassy in France was located - Louis XIV did not want anything to happen between the people of his old district and the Ming dynasty. More contact
The 3,000 elite soldiers of the "Fu Ji Da Qing" were temporarily stationed in a military camp on the outskirts of Paris. After contacting Fuquansky in Moscow, they would arrange for those "Qing troops" to go to Moscow. This time the Qing Jun Ke really let it slip. Not only did he enter Paris, he also had the opportunity to enter Moscow! And before entering Moscow, we probably have to pass through Istanbul and Kiev.
After the Ming Dynasty's mission was settled, Ming Dynasty Associate Minister of Nanyang and Ambassador to European Countries Jia Guozhu and Jia Liuye were invited to the Palace of Fontainebleau - Louis XIV wanted to discuss with him face to face the alliance between the two countries and the development of trade through North America. question.
"Mr. Ambassador, can you understand my French?"
In the throne room, King Louis XIV of France asked Jia Guozhu in slow French.
"Okay," Jia Guozhu nodded and replied in rather stiff French, "I started learning French two years ago. I also learned Latin before, but I didn't speak it very well."
As an ambassador, he should not have talked to Louis XIV in French, but the problem is that there are too few people in the Ming Dynasty who can speak French, and it is impossible to provide Jia Guozhu with a high-level interpreter. Moreover, Li Zhongshan did not trust Western missionaries, so he simply asked Jia Guozhu to find Westerners who could speak French and understand Chinese in Malacca and set up a "foreign language school" on Bintan Island.
And Jia Guozhu is the best student in this foreign language school. The French translator he brought was his classmate, and his French was far worse than him.
As for Louis XIV, there are no talents who can speak fluent Chinese. There are some such talents in the Holy See. But he doesn't want the Holy See to get involved, because once the Holy See gets involved, it's probably going to involve talking about freedom of preaching. There's no way to talk about it!
Therefore, today's negotiations can only be carried out with both parties speaking French.
"Mr. Ambassador, I think we can decide to open two schools first, one in Paris to teach French people to speak Chinese. One in Paris, France, and one in Nanjing during the Ming Dynasty." French Foreign Minister Marquis de Croissy At this time, on behalf of Louis XIV, the first clause requiring consensus was proposed.
"As you wish," Jia Guozhu said, "we have no objection." He paused and then said, "Your Majesty the King, Your Excellency the Foreign Minister, I think our two countries need to further strengthen trade exchanges. Between our two countries Establishing continuous, stable trade that bypasses the Netherlands would be the greatest weakening of the Netherlands!"
The Netherlands was founded on trade, and the Netherlands' trade was most profitable from China-Europe trade and the spice trade! If the dividends from the Sino-European trade and spice trade are gone, the Netherlands' financial strength will be greatly reduced.
"But how should we establish sustained, stable trade between our two countries that bypasses the Netherlands?" asked the French Foreign Minister.
"Trade can be carried out through the land of North America." Jia Guozhu said, "We also propose the establishment of a vassal state jointly controlled by the Ming Dynasty and France to jointly maintain land trade in North America."
"Your Majesty," little Colbert, who was also in the throne room, said to Louis XIV, "the route proposed by the Ming Dynasty has certain feasibility. It starts from the west coast of the North American continent, crosses the Rocky Mountains, and reaches the center of North America. The Mississippi River Basin, then went south along the river to Louisiana. Finally, it reached the French port of Brest by sea.”
"Is it profitable to go around in such a large circle?" asked Louis XIV.
"Yes." Jia Guozhu said, "It may not make much money, but it can make the Dutch unprofitable!"
"Haha," Louis XIV said with a smile, "Letting the Dutch earn less is a victory. By the way, you just said you would set up a vassal state under the joint control of our two countries?"
"Yes... an American empire!" Jia Guozhu said, "If I remember correctly, there is another name for the New World called America, right?"
"The American Empire?" Louis XIV tasted it, but he still found it distasteful, "Why is it called the American Empire?"
"What would you call it if not an empire?" Jia Guozhu asked, "You can't call it a republic, right?"
Republic? It sounds harsh! Louis heart said: The empire is better!
"Does the empire have an emperor?" Louis asked again.
"Yes, of course there is an emperor." Jia Guozhu said with a smile, "Without an emperor, how can it be called an empire?"
"Who will be the emperor of the American Empire?" This is what Louis is most concerned about.
"By the Ming Emperor..."
"Huh?" Louis looked unhappy.
"I'll do it with you." Jia Guozhu finished his words quickly.
"Do it together?" Louis XIV was puzzled, "How?"
"The Ming Emperor will be the Western Emperor of the American Empire." Jia Guozhu said, "Your Majesty, you will be the Eastern Emperor of the American Empire. In this way, the American Empire will be one country, with two emperors and two courts... When necessary It can be divided into two.
Your Majesty, the reason why we propose the establishment of one country, not two, is because most of the North American continent today is sparsely populated and cannot support one country, let alone two.
And after the power is dispersed, it will be difficult to resist the Spanish invasion... Therefore, it is more beneficial to establish a country. After all, we are stronger together! "
Louis finally smiled. He didn't care about the issue of having a few American emperors, he only cared about it now. Who will be the emperor?
Louis thought to himself: It's not bad to be the American Emperor. Before I became the Emperor of Western Rome, I became the Emperor of the Eastern American Empire first... The Emperor of the American Empire looks pretty awesome too!
(End of chapter)
