Xinshun 1730

Chapter 301
Radical politicians in Sweden need a five-year pacification of Russia; the directors of the East India Company choose to share part of the profits instead of going bankrupt; Dashun needs to open the European market to stand firm and is willing to pay a certain price.

The three parties talked for a while, and reached an agreement on a certain bottom line.

The bottom line is acceptable, but Karl can't give a definite answer right away.

He is not yet the Minister of State, even though he is confident that his radicals will be able to take power in this year's Congress, but he has not yet.

Bad name, bad words.

The process that should be followed still needs to be followed, and a bold idea popped up in Carl's mind.

You can set a bottom line for the East India Company.

If, all goes well, and his radical faction takes control of Congress this year, then he can recognize Cambier's negotiations in China.

If there is an accident, the conditions negotiated by Kambier in China have no legal effect, and Sweden can directly refuse to recognize it.

In the eyes of politicians, if Sweden backtracks, Dashun has countermeasures, which can cut off trade and increase Sweden's export tariffs.

But that doesn't matter.

On the contrary, if there is an accident and the radicals fail in this congress, then all the responsibilities will be borne by the current Minister of State Arvid.

This is undoubtedly a means of killing two birds with one stone.

Cut first and play later, resulting in established facts, which can be ratified by Congress later.

If the change of term is successful, when Cambier returns from China, he, the radical new minister of state, can use it as a propaganda of his own achievements: Look, I have reached the anti-Russian alliance of Switzerland, France and China, and I am the guardian The interests of the shareholders of the East India Company have been preserved.

Now that Cambier has found this place, it is obvious that within the East India Company, some kind of common consciousness has been reached.

Unlike the British and Dutch East India Companies, the Swedish East India Company's ledgers are not made public, and the books are destroyed as soon as the ship arrives.Therefore, there is no need to face fierce and large number of small shareholders.

As long as the major shareholders agree, the small shareholders can't afford to make waves—they don't even have the right to know the profit. As long as they ensure that their income is higher than the Dutch national debt or British national debt, it is worth investing in.Otherwise, in Sweden, is there any value-added investment direction for saving money?You can't learn from the king, raise silkworms in Sweden, right?
This bold idea in Carl Gillentberg's mind, like nettles sprouting in spring, soon filled the heart, driving away the rest of the weeds with those poisonous burrs.

As for the shipbuilders, this can be done with money.And this money can be used as a condition for negotiation, and the merchants of Dashun will pay it to lobby Congress to amend the monopoly regulations.

After thinking for a while, he decided that the mantou was just conveying some kind of intention, and he was indeed not qualified for the final negotiation.

So Mantou was asked to leave first, leaving only Kambier, the representative of the East India Company, to discuss this private issue.

"Sir Colin, since you are the plenipotentiary representative for negotiating with China, what is the bottom line given by the Secretary of State?"

Carl, who was not the Minister of State at this time, asked about it. This should be regarded as a secret, and some things cannot be discussed publicly.

"The Secretary of State did not give me a specific bottom line. He said that I only need to be responsible to Congress and abide by the monopoly regulations of the East India Company. Such negotiations are bound to be meaningless, and they will definitely return in vain. .”

"If I abide by the East India Company's monopoly regulations, it means that Chinese merchant ships cannot participate in equity and can only be built in Sweden; the owner of a Chinese merchant ship must accept a Swedish military position and be controlled by the Swedish Navy during the war... ...Obviously, this is unacceptable to the Shun Empire."

"If they can't accept it, they will inevitably take countermeasures. Increase export tariffs to Sweden, increase the port entry tax for Swedish ships, and even close Swedish factories."

"The bottom line of the Secretary of State is ambiguous, and I will bear all the responsibilities."

Cambier is very clear-headed. The current Minister of State Arvid does not want to take the blame, and the bottom line given is pure nonsense.

It is necessary not to violate the Swedish law, but also to ensure the survival of the East India Company. Isn’t this nonsense?
No matter what conditions he reached in China, it was wrong in the end.

Allowing Chinese businessmen to buy shares will violate Congress; not allowing Chinese businessmen to buy shares will cause the company to go bankrupt.

The fact that the Minister of State does not have to take responsibility and can blame him is childish politics.

The title given to him is Plenipotentiary Representative for Negotiations with China, but what can he negotiate with?The rope at the back is tied so tightly that you will die if you go left, and you will die if you go right.

Therefore, Cambier did not expect to be entangled in the current Congress at all. He pinned all his hopes on the reorganization of Congress, supported the radicals in power, drove away Arvid, and replaced him with a politician who was closer to the East India Company, that is, This Carl Gillentberg in front of me.

Deliberately revealed helplessness, waiting for Karl to express his position.

"I have to say that our Lord Arvid's foreign policy is weak and stupid. There are too many corrupt people like him in Congress."

"If I were the Minister of State, I would agree to many conditions of the empire. It is better to eat turnips than to be hungry."

Karl expressed his attitude very cryptically.

"Sir Carl, the East India Company also believes that some of the foreign policies of the Congress are too moderate. At least, for the East India, overseas interests cannot be profitable without the support of China. Instead of calling it the East India Company, it is better to call it Sweden. Chinese companies. This is reality."

"For Britain and the Netherlands, although we owe a lot of debts to the Dutch, you know, the Dutch are very trustworthy in doing business. When the Netherlands was at war with Spain and France, Dutch merchants could transport food and gunpowder as long as they gave money. To the castle of the French."

"Even if we expand our business, it will cause dissatisfaction between Britain and the Netherlands, but... But in fact, you also know that from the first day of the establishment of the Swedish East India Company, Britain and the Netherlands have been dissatisfied. Our diplomatic note to the United Kingdom, The British sent it back unopened at all; the Dutch were about the same. Since they are already dissatisfied, there is no problem for us to expand our business."

From the perspective of a businessman, Cambier calmly analyzed the situation of the East India Company at this time.The Dutch's "reputation" is still very tenable in Europe. Even if it cannot be established, with the capital of the merchants of the Shun Empire, they can completely repay the Dutch bonds with interest.

Of course, it is best not to pay it back.It is the uncle who owes the money. The more debts, the more worried the Dutch will be. If the principal is repaid, the Dutch will be less worried.

Moreover, the current problems of the East India Company are mainly two points.

Less capital, fewer ships, less cargo.

In China, suppressed by the deep-rooted Dutch, British, French, Spanish, and Portuguese there, they cannot get high-quality tea and porcelain.

If the Dashun businessman can take a stake, he can indeed solve both of these problems.Whether it is the Dutch guilder or the Spanish silver dollar, the stock in Guangdong and Fujian is no less than that in Cadiz or Amsterdam.

Last year, Merchant Shipping ordered firing porcelain, which also showed that doing business in Dashun, with official background, let you live and you can live, let you die and you have to die, let you get the goods and you can get the goods, so that If you can't get the goods, you can't get the goods.

These issues, he and those not too stupid directors of the East India Company made it clear, and now he needs to make it clear to the person in front of him who is likely to be in charge of the Congress.

This is not for Karl to understand, but for Karl to speak when he is questioned in Congress.

"Sir Colin, your words are very reasonable. The profits of China's trade should not be monopolized by Britain and the Netherlands, and Sweden should have a share. Moreover, this does not contradict our radical mercantilism policy. As long as you promise, you will not Will sell Chinese textiles in Sweden, I think this should be the only bottom line granted to you by Congress."

"As for the others, as a businessman, your first goal is to pursue profits, and you are also the founder and first shareholder of the East India Company. I think you can clearly choose your interests during the negotiation."

"Congress should be for it, not against it."

At the end of the story, Karl can't say too clearly, after all, he is not the Minister of State, and his radicals have not yet controlled the Congress.

But he has given Kambier the bottom line: as long as the textiles are not sold in Sweden, the rest can be discussed.

"However, the interests of some members of Congress may be damaged. This may require a certain degree of compensation. This may also be a condition for negotiating with the Chinese."

Cambier fully understood.He figured it out, the Congress was going to meet this year, and the radicals were likely to win a big victory, so he didn't need to listen to the ambiguous bottom lines given to him by the old minister of state.

One emperor and one courtier.

The most likely new minister of state in front of him has given himself a new bottom line, and this trip to China will be much easier.

Then, the rest is bribery.In other words, lobbying.

After the conversation ended, Cambier met with Mantou again, and after vaguely expressing the conditions, he immediately returned to Gothenburg to resolve the equity distribution of the separation of the Chinese business that shareholders are most concerned about.

Mantou couldn't return to Gothenburg immediately. When he came, he brought some gifts to the King of Sweden.

Since the Son of Heaven knows this, it is impossible for them to come empty-handed in a country of etiquette. Naturally, he gave a lot of gifts, so he has to wait here for the King of Sweden to return the gift.

The gifts from the emperor are expensive and heavy.

Those who are noble must first conform to the etiquette system.The Celestial Dynasty does not recognize Sweden as an empire. According to the county king's ritual, the red sandalwood lacquerware is the top, and some ritual vessels made of white jade and sapphire are all single. I guess the Swedes don't understand it, and they may not think it is valuable.

The most important thing is a three-piece set of porcelain, silk, and tea. These can be sold at a good price in Sweden, and the Swedish king must return corresponding gifts.

Fortunately, the king of Sweden is the Earl of Hesse of Shinra, and he has a lot of territories, so he will not be unable to give corresponding gifts.

While waiting for the Swedish king to collect gifts, two pairs of exquisite blue and white open pots, four high-quality Japanese satin, twenty fans with a backlog of trade with Japan, two Japanese knives, a set of red lacquer chrysanthemum petal plates, six groups Pu'er tea and other gifts were sent to Karl Girondberg's mansion.

In addition to these gifts, he also gave a stock in token of 2000 taels, indicating that when he becomes a shareholder in China in the future, Karl’s share will be directly invested in the Swedish East India Company, and the dividends will be used as an annuity for him after retirement. Interest on the Gothenburg building of the Swedish East India Company.

Not afraid of giving gifts, but afraid of not finding the right person for giving gifts.It seems that this Karl Girondberg is a worthy gift.

(End of this chapter)