Ming Zuo

Chapter 725
The red-haired, blue-eyed man with the silver pointed military helmet is Dutch.

After the naval battle of Luowan, through the efforts of Zuo Hua, a link was established between Shandong and the Netherlands.

The Dutch have always dreamed of opening the door of Ming Dynasty and doing business with the richest country in the world.

Now Shandong is willing to open its arms, which really makes the Dutch overjoyed.

Anthony van Diemen quickly passed the situation back to Batavia, which aroused great attention from the top management of the East India Company.

After urgent discussions, the Batavian Parliament finally authorized Anthony Van Diemen as the representative, and at the same time sent seven merchant ships to form the first trade mission.

Loaded with goods from Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Europe and America, this small fleet departed from Batavia, passed through the Taiwan Strait, and then headed for Shandong.

When passing through the Taiwan Strait, Anthony van Diemen happily paid the toll to Zheng Zhilong.

Zheng Zhilong, a land tiger, will keep his promise as long as he takes the money.There was no embarrassment, nor did he ask where the Dutch were going.

The Dutch fleet crossed the Taiwan Strait and headed north along the coast of the East China Sea.

If nothing else, they will definitely be able to reach Shandong.

But when they entered the Yellow Sea, they encountered the third wave of fleets heading south from Shandong.

A strange fleet appeared in its sphere of influence, and Shandong immediately became vigilant.

E Honglue gave an order, and the navy dispatched collectively to surround the Dutch fleet.

After the two parties contacted and communicated, E Honglue thought that Zuo Menggeng was in Songjiang Mansion anyway, so he simply asked the Dutchman to turn around and come with him.

"Respected Commander Zuo, we deeply respect your open attitude. I have brought enough goods this time, and I hope to gain your friendship."

Looking at Anthony Van Diemen, Zuo Menggeng's thoughts had drifted to Batavia.

The archipelago, which is hot all year round, rich in products, and extremely important in geographical location, is also the first island chain of the mainland.

Being controlled by the Dutch is really unacceptable.

But on the surface, his smile was extremely normal.

"We in Shandong advocate business and trade, and have always believed that it is beneficial for everyone to exchange talents. Mr. Diemen came from a long distance, and we are deeply impressed by this friendship. Please rest assured that everything is open here. The Dutch from now on You can travel freely between Songjiang Prefecture and Shandong in the future, and we fully support your business activities."

With Zuo Menggeng's personal guarantee, Anthony Van Diemen breathed a sigh of relief.

This voyage was originally tentative in nature.

After all, having dealt with the Ming people so much, the Dutchman was not sure whether Zuo Hua's promise would work or not.

Now it seems that this group of new forces on Chinese soil is really different.

In the future, the goods in the hands of the Dutch finally have sales channels.

Knowing that the Dutch merchant ship came to Songjiang Prefecture, the local merchants were moved upon hearing the news.

Don't think that since Ming Dynasty banned the sea, the people of Ming Dynasty know nothing about overseas.

Ocean smuggling has been going on for hundreds of years.

Although most of the products produced in China are shipped out and sold all over the world, it is obvious that foreign goods will enter China in the process.

As the largest cotton spinning base in Ming Dynasty, Songjiang Prefecture is obviously also one of the biggest participants in this smuggling trade.

Therefore, people here have a deep understanding of the value of Western goods.

"Since both of you are interested, I propose to set up an open product exchange meeting. Both of you will show your products to the public. No matter who has a fancy product, you can negotiate freely."

Zuo Menggeng's idea has been enthusiastically supported by everyone.

Anthony van Diemen is a little more careful.

"Mr. Commander-in-Chief, how much tax do we need to pay for the trade here?"

Anthony van Diemen was very grateful for the sincerity shown by Shandong, so he took the initiative to raise the issue of tax payment.

Zuo Menggeng asked: "How much tax do foreign merchant ships pay in Batavia?"

Anthony van Diemen knew what he meant.

"According to the regulations of the Batavia Council, every merchant ship that docks will be charged a [-]% tax based on the amount of its cargo."

He thought that Zuo Menggeng would say that the Songjiang Mansion would also be taxed accordingly.

Unexpectedly, Zuo Menggeng frightened him as soon as he opened his mouth.

"The tax levied here is [-]%, a one-time collection. All subsequent transactions will not be taxed additionally."

Anthony van Diemen was completely dumbfounded.

Even with his mastery of business knowledge, he couldn't understand why Zuo Menggeng was so generous?
Zuo Menggeng just chuckled and didn't explain further.

No one in today's world understands the impact of tariffs on business better than he does.

Because both sides were enthusiastic, soon...the commodity exchange meeting was established by the Huangpu River.

Merchants from Songjiang Mansion and even the surrounding areas were all moved by the news and rushed to buy some favorite overseas products.

The same local merchants and nearby merchants also brought their wares, hoping to sell them.

The exchange of goods will become extremely prosperous from the very beginning.

When Zheng Sangui came to Songjiang Mansion, he originally wanted to find some sales outlets.Seeing the news of the trade fair, he thought about it, and signed up just in case.

As a result, I did not expect to get permission all at once.

On the opening day, Zheng Sangui brought Shu Brocade to the scene, found his own booth, and placed the goods on it.

Looking at the crowds and streams of people in the entire venue, he couldn't help feeling a little more eager.

"My God! This is so beautiful! This shouldn't be a masterpiece!"

Two Dutch businessmen were walking back and forth in the venue, and when they saw Zheng Sangui's Shu brocade, they immediately held it in their hands and kissed and touched it, as if they were insane.

Zheng Sangui couldn't understand a word of the endless words in his mouth.

This made Zheng Sangui a little nervous, for fear that the two Dutchmen would grab something and run away.

Luckily there is a translator by the side.

"These two Dutch merchants are asking you for a price."

Hearing this, Zheng Sangui cheered up.Just when I was about to make a quotation, the translator reminded me in time.

"When these goods are sold overseas, the price will increase tenfold or a hundredfold, so shopkeeper Zheng might as well add more when quoting."

Is it really?

Zheng Sangui is skeptical.

But the interpreter is Han Chinese, so he gained his trust even more.

He thought for a while, suppressed his excitement, and stretched out two fingers.

"Two hundred taels! Two hundred taels of silver for a piece of cloth."

The translator conveyed it to two Dutch businessmen, who completely listened to their eyes.

Without saying a word, he stretched out his hand directly.

Zheng Sangui didn't know why, so he could only look at the translator.

The translator doesn't look too good.

"They said it was a deal, and they will go back to get the money now, and hope that shopkeeper Zheng will stop making deals with other people."

Zheng Sangui understood as soon as he heard it.

Sell ​​cheap!

(End of this chapter)