Xinshun 1730

Chapter 922 The Return
In the second year of large-scale development of Nanyang in Dashun.

Just after the Dragon Boat Festival, Liu Yu, who had just finished dealing with a strange foreign trade dispute, washed his face and was ready to go to the pier to meet Qi Guogong and his party who came back from Europe.

The Clippers from Nanyang have returned first, notifying the news that Qi Guogong and others have arrived in Nanyang, and they are expected to arrive today.

The first batch of cargo ships from the Western Trading Company came back with him.They set off the year before Dashun developed the Nanyang plantation, arrived in Europe in the winter of the first year when Dashun developed the Nanyang plantation, and then returned this year.

How much they earned, how much profit margin they got, the situation in Europe, the armed neutral alliance launched by Dashun in the peace talks after the war of Austrian succession, and the results of these should be known this time.

The clerk who was recording beside him was still waiting to record the handling opinion of the foreign-related trade dispute just now, with a half-smile on his face.

Because the trade dispute to be dealt with is so bizarre that it makes people dumbfounded.

The Andros family of Groen Island entrusted the Prussian Emden Royal Company to burn a batch of custom-made porcelain in Dashun. They wanted to put the family crest on it and use it as porcelain for family banquets.

The coat of arms of Europe is a mess, with strange colors. The housekeeper of this family may have some brain problems, so he can just draw it out, but in the end, he uses letters to mark "red", "blue", "purple" and the like on the pattern.

In order to save money, I found a workshop for firing porcelain.This porcelain firing workshop is a new workshop, the master's craftsmanship is good, he jumped to work alone, but how can he understand foreign language?

So words like "red" and "blue" were used as patterns.

The quantity is not much, about 600 pieces.But this workshop is a small workshop, newly established, it is also the first foreign business, these more than [-] pieces of porcelain are related to the survival of this small workshop.

Naturally, the Prussian Emden company refused to accept it, saying that it was different from the pattern we gave; the porcelain firing workshop said nonsense, it was clearly the same, look at this letter, which one of us drew the wrong one?

This kind of nonsense is unprecedented, and Dashun Law certainly does not have it. It has to be managed by Liu Yu, who constantly improves many regulations on trade and foreign issues.

In fact, this incident did not happen once. In fact, a similar incident happened more than ten years ago: a batch of porcelain commissioned by the Netherlands, when the design was reviewed, the reviewer wrote "agree" under the design. , and signed his name.

As a result, when the porcelain was fired, the word "agree" and the signature of the reviewer were also burned on it.

Now that something like this happened again, it was naturally dumbfounding.Perhaps, this is also the necessary situation for communication between two completely different language systems.

After washing his face, Liu Yu casually said to the clerk: "Make a note of it and issue a notice. Tell all countries about the design problem, go to the trade office, and after a special translator clarifies it, you can contract it out. Let the trade Organize a small department at the department level, recruit six clerks, and be responsible for drawings, translations, art, contracts and other issues."

"Tell the Prussian Emden Company that this is their problem. Of course, the Chinese porcelain masters don't understand foreign languages, but their eyes are the same, and they can distinguish red, blue, and purple. He doesn't directly draw the colors of the coat of arms, but just a word. Who is to blame for this? If they don't agree, they will use their company's deposit to enforce it."

"Also, all future contracts will be in duplicate. One in Latin and one in Chinese. French is also acceptable. The rest will not work."

The clerk repeated the recorded things, and after confirming that they were correct, he asked again: "My lord, the British East India Company has sent someone again to ask if they can be released from surveillance?"

This is a monthly occurrence. Liu Yu counted the days and said, "Okay, tell the British East India Company, I understand. There is no need to say anything else."

"Yes."

After receiving such an ambiguous answer, the clerk knew that he might have to drag on, so he had a good idea and hurriedly withdrew.

Liu Yu washed up here, changed his clothes, asked someone to prepare a guard of honor, and went to the pier to meet him.

As soon as he arrived, local officials, large and small, and customs officials also arrived.

Behind these officials are the shareholders of Western Trading Company. In fact, they are even more anxious than these officials, even more anxious.

Investors like them have no doubts about whether the Western Trading Company can make money.As long as it is not for huge profits, it is impossible for these Westerners to come every year at the risk of such a high death rate.

Just, how high will the rate of return be?How big is the difference between collecting money sitting on the ground and selling goods to other people's doorsteps to earn second-tier dealers' money?
Thinking of such a super high rate of return, everyone couldn't help itching.

In addition, most of the plantations invested in Nanyang will have to wait two or three years to see the real return.And many returns are also closely related to trade with the West.

Especially those that grow coffee and cocoa.Dashun basically doesn't drink these things.It can even be said that there is almost no drink.

Cocoa is used as a medicine to "soothe the nerves and invigorate the yang", plus a bunch of exotic ingredients such as fennel, star anise, and anis, it has a pure medicinal taste.

Everyone is not used to drinking coffee. Dashun has no cafes, but there are teahouses, which also bear some political significance of Western European cafes and beer halls.

A group of people have been waiting here since the morning, thinking about the money that was thrown in one by one, let alone sore eyes, even if the neck is stiff, they can wait.

As soon as Liu Yu came over, these businessmen hurriedly saluted. Seeing the expressions of these businessmen, Liu Yu smiled and said, "Don't be nervous. Didn't I tell you that the news from the fast boat from Nanyang was short but also Very clear."

"Goodness!"

"As for the exact profit, we have to wait until the ship lands and let the accountant check it out. Besides, when we arrive in Nanyang, what else is there to worry about?"

"Today, getting from Nanyang to Songjiang is as easy as a child finding his way out of his mother's womb."

Liu Yu wasn't worried about the trade this time in his heart, he knew the situation in the Netherlands correctly, and since the reply was Shang Shan, it was obvious that the trade was extremely successful.

The business channels in the Netherlands are there. The soft assets are worth at least 1000 million taels of silver. The smuggling channels are ready-made.

The merchants were very anxious, seeing Liu Yu's composure, they couldn't feel at ease.

Although it is light and handy, it is inevitable that all kinds of thoughts of "not afraid of ten thousand, just in case" will arise when the matter is at hand.

It seems like the gutter capsized and the boat went back from Europe to Nanyang, but it sank on the way back from Nanyang?
This kind of not-to-know-what-if idea becomes stronger and stronger as the day approaches.

At this time, the people watching in front shouted: "I see the mast of the ship! I see the mast of the ship!"

This cry immediately mobilized everyone's emotions.We all know that even if we see the mast of the ship, it will be a long time before the ship actually docks and the accounts are settled, but at least we can feel at ease.

Liu Yu sat there and rested for a while, and he didn't stand up until the afternoon when the ship was gradually approaching and the escorting fleet from Nanyang had already started to fire its guns.

The welcoming guards of honor also began to get busy, and several major shareholders and members of the board of directors of the Western Trading Company were also allowed to follow behind Liu Yu.

A few soldiers carried a huge glass case with a lock made by a skilled craftsman underneath. The fleet's ledgers would be sealed in this glass case, and the accounts would be made public when the shareholders' meeting was held.

Of course, as a supervisor, Liu Yu will get a copy in advance.It is convenient for internal audit and advance calculation, plus there are some high-end porcelains from special official kilns monopolized by the emperor in the small treasury, which is not high-end porcelain that businessmen can get.

The cannons on the shore also began to fire salutes. There is a good pier here, and the ship can berth directly. It doesn't need a lot of labor to pull it over by small boats like when it was a mission to Ryukyu.

The winch driven by the steam engine has replaced the manpower to pull the rope to the shore. The steam engine of Dashun is always used in some weird places that have the least impact on the past.

As the boat got closer, the smaller boat began to pull the larger boat's ropes to the shore.After being hung on the winch driven by the steam engine, the big ship began to slowly approach the pier.

The first ship must be the ship of Qi Guogong and other official personnel. There is no doubt about it.

After the guard of honor was ready, Duke Qi disembarked.What is different from before, or what reflects Dashun's emphasis on overseas trade, is the person holding the ledger who follows Duke Qi.

People from the company went to check the sealing paint and wax seal on the box. After more than a dozen people testified that there was no problem with the thing, they opened the glass cover held by the soldiers on the shore and put the box containing the ledger into the glass cover. .

The army escorted the ledger to leave first, placed the ledger in the company headquarters building, and then affixed the seal of the official supervisory committee.

After all this is done, the businessmen are truly relieved.What they are most worried about is the account book issue. They have dealt with the British, Dutch and Swedes a lot, and they are well aware of the fraudulent accounts there.

As for other things, these big businessmen have seen it before. It is normal to make money and lose money when doing business.As long as the accounts are clear and profits are disclosed, they will feel at ease.

Although there is such a big fanfare and a bit of formalism, this deliberate form is sometimes more important than the substance.

The form of the company continued to proceed in an orderly manner. Liu Yu and other officials went back to the official residence to rest in front of Qi Guogong.

Liu Yu is not worried about whether the company is profitable, but he is still impatient and eager to know the situation in Europe.

Qi Guogong has been on the boat for a long time, and he is not too young, so his spirit is not very good.

Although on the way back to rest, Liu Yu wanted to ask a few times, but finally held back.

After walking for almost halfway, Qi Guogong suddenly said: "You are gradually calming down, how can you hold your breath? I saw that you hesitated to speak several times. I wanted to talk to you directly, but I wanted to see if you could do it. How long can I endure it? It's a joy to be able to endure it until now."

Hearing how relaxed Qi Guogong said, Liu Yu smiled and said: "Traveling on a boat will eventually suffer. Although it is not as good as a sailor, the sea is boring and turbulent. My father-in-law is tired all the way. Even if I want to, I feel that everything has been settled. Even if I know, There is no way to change it. I wanted to ask a few times, but finally I still have some self-cultivation skills, so I held back."

Qi Guogong laughed, and gave a thumbs up: "Don't worry, the things you care about are basically good news."

"I lived up to the entrustment of the emperor. I spoke at the Aachen Peace Conference. This is the first time I have spoken at this kind of peace conference. It should be said that I do not insult the prestige of the country. But it should not be necessary to be neither humble nor arrogant. This word. Because it has nothing to do with us. The Nanyang issue is not within the scope of the War of Austrian Succession. It is a matter between us and the Netherlands. If we don’t talk about it, we don’t need them to admit it. I’m just talking about it. Nonsense, talking about anti-piracy and anti-private plundering."

"It's a bit embarrassing to say it, just like a group of eunuchs said that brothels are going to be banned."

This metaphor is quite common. Liu Yu imagined a group of countries without privateering ability to frantically support anti-piracy and anti-private piracy at the conference; and the scene where pirates and privateering powers such as the Netherlands, Britain, France and Spain did not say a word, I also felt a little bit ridiculous.

Probably, this is like the feeling of a group of small non-nuclear countries in later generations suggesting the complete destruction of nuclear weapons.

However, according to Qi Guogong's meaning, it should be very smooth.

"By the way, father-in-law, have you taken care of the Danish affairs?"

The Duke of Qi laughed and said, "Is there no reason to commit a crime? This kind of thing is the simplest."

Liu Yu laughed and said: "Wonderful! Seeing that it is the season for new tea purchases, I am about to pinch the Danes. Last year, the English and Portuguese were banned, and Denmark will be banned this year. I think the situation is not a small one, but a great one. Ah. With one faction and one faction, the trade can be expanded.”

He didn't even ask how Duke Qi made the "crime he wanted to impose", because it was meaningless, as long as he wanted a reason, he could always find it.It's just a formality, and this kind of thing is just a formality in Europe. In fact, there is no need for a formality in Dashun.There is neither a parliament nor a congress, and whoever is banned will be banned, and opium will be banned if opium is said to be banned.

The main thing is to save the face of the Celestial Dynasty, and pay attention to a righteous name.This requires a reason, at least when it is recorded in the history books, there is a reason.

Liu Yu, who couldn't wait any longer, immediately called the officers of the Customs Corps in the distance.

"Go to the Danish business house and maintain order. The people from the customs also went there immediately and told them that all goods will be subject to an additional 25% export tariff. As for the reason, their envoy will convey it to them!"

(End of this chapter)