Xinshun 1730

Chapter 158 The Unsolved Trade Deficit
When Liu Yu's wife, Ben, arrived in Weihaiwei, it was already May, and he was already organizing a second trade trip to Japan.

This time he didn't have to go in person, let Lin Yunwen be the bow of the boat, and appointed a few confidantes to follow.

Today's barracks and naval academy have all moved to Liugong Island, which has begun to take shape. Originally, there was only one western soft-sailing ship, the Shuguang, but now there is an extra sister ship built.

The tonnage is not large, and the main purpose is to let the students be familiar with the operation of soft sailboats, and to recognize those cumbersome ropes and sail control skills.

Bering and others were not only an expedition team, but also a captain of the Russian Navy and participated in the Russo-Turkish War.The students have received practical education since they were young, so it is much easier to learn.

The first batch of 1000 recruits for the Army's new army has also been completed. This is the homework assigned to the 20-member staff squad before he left.

They arranged a series of trivial matters such as training, food, and recruitment during his departure, and made a plan. After he passed the review before leaving, he made a final decision and let them implement it.

This batch of new troops does not belong to him, and does not need to have a soul, so there are no storytellers, storytellers, or why to fight similar to the instructor's configuration.Besides, there is nothing to talk about, the reasoning does not make sense at all, but it is impossible to serve as a soldier if you have a few acres of land.

These recruits are just mechanically trained every day.

Guaranteed to have enough food every day, to be paid on time, and to be able to execute orders mechanically, is a strong army in this era.

There are no guns for the time being. After most people are recruited, they practice formation with sticks and divide left and right.

On July 7rd, Liu Yu was checking the grain storage situation of a newly built granary, when a buzzing bell sounded from the watchtower in the distance, it was a signal that an unknown ship was approaching.

"My lord, a large western ship appeared in the sea."

Soon, Wu Fangrui, who was on duty as an adjutant in the staff squad today, asked clearly the reason for the police call.

Hearing that it was a Western ship, Liu Yu was relieved.

These days, those capable of attacking China are still competing for India.I can't take down India, and I came to China just to see the excitement. Now the limit for sending troops here from Western Europe is 1000.

The remaining few who did not compete for India are all rookies.Without India as a transfer point and local soldiers, it is impossible to pose a substantial threat to China.

Western ships are common in the south, especially in Zhangzhou, Guangdong and other places, which is nothing new.

Here, there are two training ships in the port, which is nothing new, but this is the first time many people have seen such a large western ship.

Wu Fangrui consciously stood in front of Liu Yu, lowered her body slightly, and used her shoulders as a stand for the telescope.Liu Yu stared for a long time, watching the ship getting closer and closer, and finally could clearly identify the flag on it.

A flag in the shape of three stripes, with red sides and a white center, with a crown on top of three irises.

"Vessel of the French East India Company. My cargo has arrived."

With a murmur in his heart, he asked Wu Fangrui to convey that the two training ships, which seemed "little birds and people" compared to this large armed merchant ship, approached and asked each other why they came.

If they are coming for trade, report his name and they can be directly led into Hong Kong.

In recent years, the French, the British, and the Dutch have been as free as returning home in various ports in the south, and they have nothing to hide from these people.

…………

On the deck of the Argonaut, Duplex looked at the converted training ships of the two expedition ships approaching in the distance.

The large armed merchant ship of about 600 tons is much larger than these two expedition ships, and it has a condescending aura.

"Mr. Duplex, what do you think of this China trade?"

The captain of the Argonaut didn't pay attention to the two sailing ships approaching, but asked Duplex about his vision for the future.

Duplex looked flat and shook his head.

"The group in the Parisian salon, sitting there dreaming. Have you ever heard such fantasy poetry?"

Clearing his throat, Duplex read a long poem that was popular in Paris recently.A long, romantic poem full of fantasy.

"If we wear the brocades, silks, and Songjiang cloths of this rich empire, its people will certainly wear our woolens and velvets; if our mansions are furnished with furniture from China, Chinese The mansion will adorn our mirrors and clocks."

"We drink their tea, they drink our coffee, add our sugar cubes. They give us raw silk, and we give back wool and furs. They give us rhubarb, and we give them ginseng."

"Chinese oranges thrive in Europe, and European fig trees will survive in China. One day our flower beds will be filled with Chinese flowers, and Chinese flower beds will be filled with tulips, daffodils, tuberoses and apples. From them we learn to weave all kinds of fabrics, and from us they learn to build all kinds of ingenious machinery..."

After reading the lengthy fantasy poem, Duplex spit on the deck and said in a mocking tone: "Those who drink coffee in the salon only have fantasy. They don't know that for the whole of last year, we Only 40 livres were shipped to China; when we left China, we took 320 million livres with us."

"The biggest commodity we can trade with China is silver, and only silver. Not the woolen cloth, velvet, wall clocks and mirrors they imagined!"

"Captain, you must know that only gold and silver are exchanged for goods, and it will be overwhelming for countries that consume gold and silver. If there is no trade with China, the workers in the porcelain factory in Saint-Cloud will have more work, and there will always be more work. There will be stems and leaves of other aromatic plants instead of the fragrance of tea."

Speaking of this, Duplex shrugged his shoulders mockingly, spread his hands with a smile and said: "But you and I belong to the East India Company. For our profit, we can only increase the import of Chinese goods. As for the silk weaving in Lyon factories, the pottery factories at Saint-Cloud, if one day they all go out of business, our East India Company will be able to make more money."

The captain also laughed, and responded: "Yes, that is something that His Majesty and the prime ministers have to consider. And what we have to consider is profit and profit. As a Frenchman, I hope that the porcelain factory in Saint-Cloud Better and better; as an employee of the East India Company, I hope that the porcelain factories in Saint-Cloud will close down sooner."

"Of course, I am an employee of the East India Company first and a Frenchman second."

Duplex nodded, smiling, wondering who wasn't?
This is not the first time that Duplex has come to China. Duplex's father is a director of the East India Company, so Duplex, who is only 33 years old this year, has a higher starting point and a broader stage since he was born.

The French are not good at trade.

A trading company authorized to monopolize China's trade and then go bankrupt...France is the only one.

The first French ship to come to China was the Amphitrite. About 30 years ago, Bai Mingyuan, a missionary in the court, was acting as a substitute. Although it was a merchant ship, he boasted that it was sent by Louis XIV to protect it. Missionary" Royal Ship, to demonstrate the noble status of missionaries.

By the way, for the sake of preaching, Bai Mingyuan also described trade as "tributary". Since it is a tribute, it should be paid according to the tribute, and the result was a mess.

The French and the British are deadly enemies again. They stopped in the port of Guangzhou. They were obviously merchant ships, but they really regarded themselves as imperial ships. Because the British merchant ships passed by without saluting them, the group of French jumped off the ship and beat the British. After a meal.

There was a lot of trouble, tribute and merchant ships were mixed up, the manager wanted to make money, missionaries like Bai Mingyuan wanted to take the opportunity to preach, and the knights on the ship wanted to take the opportunity to beat up the British...

Make it into a four different, the result can be imagined. In 1712, the first French company to authorize Chinese trade was insolvent and forced to dissolve.

Ten years later, a new company took over the monopoly on trade with China.

Shortly after the establishment of the new company, the 28-year-old Duplex came to the fore. Because his father was a director, the 28-year-old was able to take full charge of the East India Company's trade with Guangdong that year, making the East India Company's trade in Guangdong that year The profit margin reached a staggering 140%.

Many people know that, given time, this Mr. Duplex is a strong candidate for the governor of the East India Company.

This time, Duplex was sent to China, which shows that the company attaches great importance to this matter.

As Duplex said, when the Argonauts came to China last time, they only brought 80 livres of silver coins, because after searching for a long time, they really didn't know what to sell in China, and it seemed that any goods could be sold not good.

When returning, the Argonaut bought all the silver coins in China, such as tea, raw silk, Songjiang cloth, wallpaper, rhubarb, lacquerware, porcelain, and a lot of medicines for promoting blood circulation and removing blood stasis such as Vajra vine and white vine.

The empty ship still has a 140% profit, which looks good, but in fact the East India Company has a lot of money to spend, and it is difficult for the company to spend so much cash for trade with China.

And the trade between China and China cannot be carried out without gold and silver.

This time the company sent Duplex, hoping to reverse this completely passive situation and at least find a new trade that can bring the surplus closer to the deficit.

This time, the cabin is filled with muskets, cannons, gun mounts, gun carriages and other goods.

Duplex was sure that the ship's cargo would yield enough gold and silver.

But for the longer-term prospect of Sino-French trade, it is not optimistic at all.

Through that letter and some inquiries, Duplex knew that the Chinese general he traded with was only in his early 20s, but he had already defeated the Russians on the banks of the Lena and captured the soldiers he had seen in Paris. The Russian Negro, Peter's godson.

Judging from the contents of the letter, this general surnamed Liu knew the situation in Europe very well. No matter what means he used to collect the information, it was undoubtedly correct and hit the nail on the head.

This person is very clear about the advantages of China in trade, and the disadvantages of France.As for the arms trade, Duplex is convinced that an organized country that has not yet disintegrated will definitely hold the military industry firmly in its hands.

Now China seems to be trying such a change. The arms trade can be sold once or twice, but after that?

After that, what did France rely on to trade with China?

To Duplex, China is like a monster, a dragon that likes to collect gold coins.And Guangdong is the mouth of this giant dragon, gold coins are constantly falling in, but never seen out of gold coins.

Duplex is not optimistic about trade, but he is full of expectations for the conclusion of the Sino-French alliance.At least in Southeast Asia, France is currently unable to compete with the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. If it can introduce a force to contain the British and the Dutch, it will undoubtedly be beneficial to his "French India" plan.

He was thinking about the content of the transaction along the way, and when the ship guided the Argonauts into the port and saw Liu Yu who greeted him, Duplex was still shocked by Liu Yu's youth.

The same is true for Liu Yu, neither did he expect that the French East India Company would send such a person, nor did he expect that this great colonial leader would be so young at this time?

The name of this person can be regarded as thunderous, but it is usually used as a foil and background board...

As a foil, what stands out is his enemy, the British bandit-adventurer Clive, who is not afraid of tigers when he is a newborn calf.

(End of this chapter)