Xinshun 1730

Chapter 768

Not long after Qi Guogong arrived in the Netherlands, he encountered a happy event.

It can also be regarded as witnessing what the Holy Roman Empire is called "neither holy, nor Roman, nor an empire".

The group of them had just arrived in the Netherlands for more than half a month when news came.

The United Kingdom and the Netherlands, in the absence of the Austrian representative, unilaterally signed a treaty with Prussia, recognizing Prussia's sovereignty over Silesia.

Prussia reciprocated by electing, as an elector, the husband-in-law of the Queen of Austria and the Grand Duke of Tuscany, Italy, as Holy Roman Emperor.

But this joy, the subsequent direction becomes interesting.

The Austrians were not satisfied, even though France had invaded the Austrian Netherlands, and even after the election of Hanover announced that if the emperor continued to fight against Prussia, he would cut off the aid to the emperor, the Austrians still did not give up and continued to fight against Prussia, vowing to die Defend Silesia.

"It really makes Shoutong talk. The contradiction between Austrian and Austrian law has decreased, and the contradiction between general and Austrian law has increased. In the future, it is really possible for Austrian law to stand together."

After understanding the situation here, Qi Guogong sighed at Kang Bushao who had followed him back to Europe.

Kang Buxiu has no official status, he is Liu Yu's aide.This time Duke Qi came to Europe to do this big event, and he needed someone to take care of him and advise him, so he asked Kang Buxio to be Duke Qi's private staff for the time being, in order to achieve his goal.

A group of people came to the Netherlands for a month, and there was no official person from the Netherlands to approach them.But there was no such thing as being expelled, and Dashun and his group were just watching the fun in Amsterdam.

Looking at the chaotic financial market, watching the various performances of those who failed to invest and retaliate against the society, and by the way, watching the vigorous anti-subsidy tax riots that are breaking out in the Netherlands.

Whether it's the internal chaos in the Netherlands, or Austria's refusal to accept mediation and continue to fight against Prussia, it's all good news for Dashun people.

Kang Buxio also agrees with Qi Guogong's opinion. It seems that once Silesia is cut off, the conflict between Pu and Austria will no longer be resolved.

After all, France is an outsider, and Puao is both within Shinra, and "internal fighting" is always more important than external wars.

This is of great benefit to Liu Yu's grand alliance plan.

With Prussia's withdrawal from the war, the conditions for Dashun to form an armed neutral alliance to engage in smuggling became more mature.

Dashun is in Asia, it is the Kingdom of Heaven.

But in Europe, if you want to get things done, you must consider the opinions of European powers.

In Asia, Dashun said that if this thing cannot be done, other countries will not be able to do it.In Europe, it's not even close.

The armed neutral alliance itself is against Britain, and of course there is no need to consider Britain's opinion.

However, since the views of Britain are not considered, the views of France must be considered.

The Netherlands is in complete chaos now, and France feels that it has a huge advantage. It is hard to say whether it will eat too hard then.

However, Prussia once again withdrew from the war, and the situation for France actually looked ugly again.As long as Austria finds that it lacks British pounds and silver shields and cannot beat Prussia on its own, it can only hold its nose and accept the cession of Silesia.

In this way, France has become itself facing a circle of enemy siege.At that time, there will definitely be some concessions on the issue of dealing with the Netherlands.

France is more likely to support the treaty proposed by Dashun: that is, the abolition of the Anglo-Dutch alliance, the expulsion of the Orange family into exile in the UK, the election of the Parliament, the entry of the Netherlands into the Alliance of Armed Neutrality, and the abolition of all Anglo-Dutch treaties.

Before Prussia withdraws from the war again, France may not accept Dashun's idea.

France feels that it has a great advantage: the Chinese ally destroyed the Dutch economy, the Prussian ally beat the Austrians to death, and they invaded the Austrian Netherlands.Who can defeat the Triple Alliance of China, Prussia, and France?With such a big advantage, how could the Netherlands be given such lenient conditions?

Why not occupy the Austrian Netherlands, let the Netherlands be a puppet state, let Britain give up the electorate of Hanover, and support the French-friendly Shenluo country as the emperor?
Therefore, the envoy led by Qi Guogong did not make a formal proposal to France at the first time, but chose to wait.

When the war is really over and France finds that not only does it not have such a big advantage, but it may be in a situation where it is surrounded by enemies, Dashun will come forward to mediate and expand its influence at the European Peace Conference.

Because Dashun has really cheated France a lot.

First, Dashun opened the port to allow the British fleet of George Anson to berth, which resulted in a big victory for the British in Luzon.Although it seems to have nothing to do with France, in the ensuing Indian War, George Anson's fleet could directly support India from Luzon, and Dashun's declaration of war against the Netherlands also freed Britain from worrying about Dashun's interference. Lost all Indian colonies.

Then there is the ginseng and mink fur trade reached between Liu Yu and France, which is even more detrimental to France.The French navy is really bad, and the colonial policy is really bad.Originally, France didn't know its strategic goals. Is it going to North Italy?Striving for the lowlands of the Netherlands?Going hard in India?Or go to North America?
After Liu Yu made such a move, France was even more confused.The value of North America has been greatly improved along with the Sino-French ginseng mink fur Dongzhu trade.But France is indeed no match for Britain in North America.

And with the increase in trade value, Britain was also jealous and started war against France in North America.

This makes France seem to be advancing triumphantly now...but in fact, it has been pitted miserably.

As long as Prussia withdraws from the war, France will have no advantage. In future negotiations, it cannot put too much pressure on Britain and the Netherlands in exchange for the interests of India and North America.

Now, although Prussia withdrew from the war again, the Austrians were still not convinced and wanted to continue fighting on their own.

France has not yet seen Liu Yu dug this big hole for France, so it will accept it if it doesn't get better at this time.

Therefore, Qi Guogong felt that if he lived in the Netherlands for a long time, it would take at least two or three years to achieve his goal.

Firstly, waiting for the situation in Europe is no longer a surprise. All countries are really unable to move, and when they have to sit down and negotiate, Dashun's peace conference proposal can only be passed.

Secondly, it is still necessary to wait for a group of Dutch people from Dashun to return to the Netherlands, and let them use their own experience to tell the strength of Dashun in the Netherlands, so that the Dutch parliament faction can make up their minds.

As for now, just wait.

The Dutch don't take the initiative to find them, and they won't take the initiative to find the Dutch.

However, shortly after Britain and the Netherlands recognized Prussia's sovereignty over Silesia, a very Chinese-style invitation was sent to Duke Qi's residence in very standard Chinese.

The guests were entertained by the merchant class in Amsterdam, some figures from the parliamentary faction.

This is not an official invitation, because the Netherlands is no longer an era of non-government. William IV is the official consul of the seven provinces, and he is still in power for life, and can even be hereditary.

Except that he is not called the king or the Grand Duke of the Netherlands, he is basically no different from the king.

William IV hadn't come forward to invite them, and these people who came forward to invite them were not considered official figures in the Netherlands.Even if there are mayors and speakers of the city of Amsterdam, it is not an official banquet.

Due to Duke Qi's status and diplomatic standards, only William IV is eligible for official banquets. This is a basic diplomatic rule.

Looking at this very Chinese-style invitation, Qi Guogong couldn't help laughing and said: "The Dutch have been doing business in the Celestial Dynasty since the previous dynasty. If you really have the heart, it is still possible to get an invitation like this. It's just that when I came here last time , do the Dutch have such an invitation?"

Kang Buxiao said with a smile: "When the Marquis of Whale came last time, he was full of murderous intent. It was either free trade or joint trade, and the Dutch refused to bow their heads. Although there were banquets, the format was still Dutch style. Duke, it seems that the Dutch The merchants can no longer sit still."

Qi Guogong also knew that with these messy things in Europe, he should listen to Kang Bushao's advice more.He thought for a while and asked, "Zhongxian, what do you mean by Dutch merchants?"

"Returning to the Duke is mostly a test. They also know that it is impossible for Nanyang to come back. However, the business still has to be done. Business is done with everyone, and I hope the Heavenly Dynasty will forgive me."

Kang Buxio felt that the Dutch were not stupid, and they certainly couldn't be so stupid as to think that they could take Southeast Asia back by treating them to a meal.

Inviting dinner at this juncture must be to test Dashun's attitude in the future.

Because of Dashun's consistent attitude before, it is really not very friendly to Britain.But France, France is simply not capable of eating all the spice trade. French merchant ships are not enough to transport French goods, and Dutch merchant ships are needed.

Although the East India Company is completely over this time, it is not yet certain whether it will be disbanded in the future or what.However, the merchant class still hopes to seize the opportunity to make a fortune through the spice trade.

Duke Qi thought that this was probably the case. He threw the invitation on the table and said with a smile, "So, today we can scare them. This will make it easier for Shou Chang to realize his plans in the future."

…………

In a manor in Amsterdam, 17 gentlemen from the East India Company anxiously waited for the arrival of Duke Dashun Qi.

The company is over.

But they are not finished.

Because the East India Company, from the very beginning, was a limited liability company.

This is an innovation that frees board members from personal obligations and responsibilities for the company's debts.

With the arrival of the Dashun Mission, the East India Company spread the word that these matters could be resolved through negotiations with the Chinese.

Coupled with the violent agencies in Amsterdam, which used administrative means to suppress the run, they finally stabilized the crazy investors and debt collectors outside.

However, this is only temporary.

If only investors, the entire financial market in the Netherlands could not have such a big tsunami.

The share capital of the East India Company has not changed much in recent years, basically stable at the original share capital of about 800 million taels of silver, and has not issued additional shares.

There is no direct relationship between the original share capital and the company's market value.In order to protect the interests of shareholders, the East India Company neither raised shares nor issued new shares whenever it was short of money.

Instead, by issuing bonds.

One side of the bond has no equity, and those bonds are not stocks. They are just normal borrowed money from the East India Company, and the principal plus interest will be returned at that time.But it has nothing to do with dividends.

If you really talk about the market value of the East India Company, it must be far more than the original share capital of 800 million taels.Not to mention a hundred times, there are ten times.

This can be seen from the bonds issued by the East India Company over the years.

The bonds issued by the East India Company are now 12 times the original share capital.However, before Dashun went to Nanyang, no one had ever doubted the reputation of the East India Company, and the reputation level was very, very high.

If you want, the D/E ratio can reach 20 or even 30, and the credit level is still the highest.

The current financial market is not so regulated.

The East India Company never borrowed money in Holland, only issued bonds.This point is very clear, the East India Company never borrowed money in Holland.

Borrowing money is borrowing from others, and issuing bonds is issuing bonds yourself, whether you like to buy them or not.

The Netherlands 200 years ago was similar to Dashun. If you wanted to borrow money, you had to pay an annual interest of 20%. The Netherlands also had a 30% annual interest to borrow national debt.

However, after all, the Netherlands is the cradle of finance today, and they created the prototype of the rating system: as long as you pay back the money and interest on time, you can get a loan with a lower interest rate.

The Netherlands has no formal national debt, because there is no official Dutch state.The bonds issued by various provinces, municipalities, and East and West India companies are also regarded as a kind of national debt in a sense.

From the 200% annual interest rate 30 years ago, it has been falling all the way in these years, and has dropped to the lowest 40% 4 years ago.

This also made many people rush to buy the bonds issued by the East India Company.At the very least, it is stronger than buying 4% treasury bonds.

The stock of the East India Company has been rising steadily, because the dividend payout has always remained at around 20%.This is already a very high rate of return in the Netherlands - why are Dutch financial capitals so keen on lending to other countries?Why is France and the Netherlands at war, but also buy French treasury bonds?Why did they try their best to give loans to British factory owners knowing that the start of the British handicraft industry would squeeze the Dutch handicraft industry? Because the interest rate in the Netherlands is too low.

Why are interest rates so low in the Netherlands itself?
The Netherlands is different from Dashun. Dashun can buy land, which is definitely much better than buying government bonds.

Mainly because of the continuous decline of the Dutch physical industry.

Secondly, the industries that make money are all monopolized, such as the East India Company, West India Company, tax package, marine insurance industry, etc. Even if you have money, you can't get in, and basically don't issue new shares.

Just like the East India Company, if it does not issue bonds, but issues new shares, it will be bought out on the same day.However, the East India Company does not issue new shares, only bonds, and they like to buy or not.Bonds, not stock funds, do not need to pay a super high annual interest rate of 20%, but give an annual interest rate of about 5% according to credit ratings.

This is the fundamental reason why Dashun's voyage to Nanyang directly led to the financial turmoil in the Netherlands.To some extent, the bonds of the East India Company can also be regarded as a kind of national debt of the Netherlands.Dashun not only destroyed the East India Company, but also directly destroyed the solvency of the "national debt" of the Netherlands.

(End of this chapter)