Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 2454 Another way to participate

"So many scrapped gun barrels and gun barrels? Tsk tsk, how much does it cost." On July 1702, 7, the head of the Fourth Mixed Regiment was sitting in front of a commercial station on the east bank at the Tessel Shoal in Amsterdam .

His dark blue school uniform is very eye-catching on Tethyr Island where people come and go.People who don't know may think that he is a mercenary of the Dutch government. He used his spare time before joining the war to have fun in this bustling dock area.Look, isn't he holding a wine bottle in his hand?Drunk mercenary, hurry up and enjoy the last days of your life.I went to the meat grinder in the Southern Netherlands, and it would be nice to come back with missing arms and legs. How many people have been sleeping in that cold and damp quagmire forever.

Lieutenant Colonel Yang Chengdong didn't know what these people thought, nor did he mind their attitude.For these poor people who are shrouded in the cloud of war, their wealth is shrinking day by day, and their living standards are declining day by day, all he has is sympathy.He has also been to Tethyr Shoal many times, but as far as observation is concerned, Tethyr Island in 1702 was far less prosperous than ten or 20 years ago.

In the previous golden years, most of the imports here were daily necessities consumed by ordinary people and production materials used in industry, such as salt from Portugal, ore from Sweden, cloth from England, metal products from the east coast, ship tools from Russia, and grain from Poland. , French seafood and Danish livestock, etc.These commodities circulate here, but most of them do not enter the Dutch market, but are resold by Dutch merchants to other places for huge profits.

But now?Such goods continue to be imported, but the quantity has been greatly reduced, replaced by weapons and ammunition, military equipment, and a large number of machinery and equipment, in a word, all in preparation for war.What's even more frightening is that a large number of merchant ships have been recruited by the army, not to let them go to war, but to help the navy and army transport materials and personnel, and even the material transportation of allies is undertaken by them, which will definitely affect commercial activities .

Furthermore, a large number of adult males were conscripted, either joining the army to fight on the front line, or serving as militiamen guarding places, or serving as heavy soldiers to transport supplies.For this reason, the economies of the two provinces of the Netherlands and Zeeland, the economically important cities, have been greatly affected. The most prominent manifestations are the serious shortage of labor force in the market, the insufficient operation of factories, the lack of port capacity, the soaring prices of various materials, and the overall economy.

Yang Chengdong feels sad for the Dutch at this time.To be honest, the people of this country are quite capable, open-minded, prosperous in culture, and super sensitive in business sense.Although the de-industrialization of the country makes him not very fond of it, the flaws are not hidden. Such a small country and such a small population can make the current achievements, which is already very good.Don’t you see how many countries with a population and a territory much larger than the United Provinces are at the mercy of Amsterdam?If the Dutch are willing, they can even exert all kinds of influence to bankrupt your country's economy, cause people to riot, and in serious cases, it is not impossible to be invaded by foreign enemies and lead to national subjugation.

But the war with the French severely weakened the Dutch.Every time there is a war, the wealth accumulated by this country in the past 100 years will be consumed.After a few times, no matter how thick the family property is, it will be tossed clean.After all, people are not machines, they will be afraid, they will be afraid, and when they can't see the future of the country, people with money and skills will emigrate.Anyway, the economic environment in England has been very good in recent years, and various industries have developed rapidly. It is a time when capital and technology are very thirsty, and the Protestantism is still a country there. Isn’t it just right for the Dutch to immigrate there?

Yang Chengdong stayed in Tethyr Island for a few days, and saw more than 30 well-dressed male and female passengers on a merchant ship carrying goods to England.The people on the pier were no strangers to it, and they told Yang Chengdong clearly that those people sold their properties in the Netherlands and emigrated to England.Many people have opened factories or shops there, and have operated various industries generously.The most speechless thing is that the factories opened by the Dutch in England produced a large number of goods and sold them back to the Netherlands, earning huge trade income.

Think about it, immigrants took capital from the Netherlands, set up factories in England, jobs stayed in England, taxes stayed in England, and in the end they squeezed out funds from the Netherlands again by exporting goods. No wonder the Hague government is very dissatisfied with this. Yang Chengdong, an outsider, feels unfair for them, let alone everyone with a stake in it?

But the United Provinces have nothing to do with the status quo.The invasion of France is the most realistic threat. Under this premise, they cannot do without the help of the English. They can only bleed and cut their flesh to attract England to their side.So you can see that in the face of the economic pressure of the English, the Dutch can only retreat step by step, and they are vigorously poached and plucked.Perhaps one day, when the wool is bald and England is fattened up, the United Provinces will be reduced from a Continental power to an insignificant country.But what can I do?It's all the French's fault!

The people on the east coast also had a secret exchange with the United Provincial Government on this issue. The result—well, no result. The Dutch are still doomed to make concessions to England. This is a geopolitical decision and has nothing to do with it.However, the Dutch have also consciously strengthened their economic cooperation with the East Coast to slow down the speed of fattening England. The iconic practice is their grain purchase contract for the next two years-don’t doubt, no one in the Netherlands grows grain now , Even commercial crops were abandoned on a large scale because of the lack of labor—the largest share was handed over to the national grain reserve depot on the east bank. The total purchase amount exceeded 6000 million dong, about 2000 million yuan in legal currency.

The Ministry of Agriculture on the East Coast was naturally ecstatic to receive such a huge order.They contacted the Ministry of Transportation immediately, and through them, they implemented the grain transportation matters: the East Coast shipping giant South Sea Transportation Company will mobilize 25 steamships to Amsterdam, Vlissingen, Enkhuizen, etc. in the United Provinces. The main port transports grain.Steamships have large capacity, fast speed, strong adaptability, and relatively small loss during transportation. The contract can be completed within one year.

The grain procurement contract has been implemented since this year, and the second batch of grain transport fleets of the South China Sea Transportation Company has just arrived at the port of Vlissingen in Zeeland Province to unload a large amount of wheat (the destination port of the first fleet is Amsterdam).Yang Chengdong was not at the scene at the time, but later it was said that it was quite a sensation. One after another, 20-ton steam ships lined up to unload the life-saving food.The Dutch who are known as "sea coachmen" are almost stunned. Today, only England, France and parts of North Germany have relatively reliable paddle steamers in Europe. Seeing the [-]-ton all-steam-powered ships of the East Coast People, there were more than [-] ships in the first place, and I immediately wanted to die.

Only at this time did the Dutch realize the strength of the East Bank more deeply.Although they have heard a lot of things before, and the upper echelon has collected a lot of information, no data or information is as shocking as what they saw with their own eyes!Just imagine the hills of boats blaring their whistles and sailing into the port, unloading sacks of grain and barrels of flour onto the docks.There was so much cargo in the hold that the dockworkers hadn't unloaded much into the night, which was quite a shock.

Perhaps stimulated by this, the Dutch increased their purchases of materials from the east coast.The total amount of purchased goods, ranging from weapons and ammunition to daily necessities, from leather paper to machinery and equipment, exceeded 2000 million guilders, which disappointed the English businessmen next door so much that they kept protesting.But so what?The formal trade you love and I want, is it possible that you English will send out privateer fleets to attack merchant ships on the east coast?Not to mention whether you can catch those fast steam ships, the political consequences alone are not something you can afford.So, take it easy and don't worry about it!

Of course, what makes the English even more jealous is that the people on the east coast can not only sell their goods to their ally the Dutch and rob them of a lot of business, but the people on the east coast can even sell a large amount of goods to their enemies, such as the Spaniards and French.By the end of June 1702, the people on the east coast had received orders for various military supplies from France and Spain exceeding 6 million yuan.Except for the cannons, they sell everything from muskets to bayonets. As long as you can afford it, you can place an order and queue up.Although the priority may not be as high as that of the Dutch, a considerable amount has been delivered, which strongly supports the French war-think about it, the anti-French coalition forces commanded by Prince Eugen used Eastern-made artillery to bombard the Eastern-made artillery. The French soldiers who made the rifles, the brains of both sides were like dogs, and the people on the east coast looted their gold. How happy!

So, don't think that the people on the east coast did not participate in this war. In fact, they were not absent, and they participated deeply!Not only did they not destroy the country and consume national power, but they greatly enhanced the strength of the East Bank.Domestic economic prosperity and the rising influence of European diplomacy all show who is enjoying the fruits of victory in this tragic war-there is no winner for those who personally end up participating in the war, and there never will be!

"Scrapped gun barrels are shipped in at scrap metal prices, and new gun barrels are shipped out at high prices. It's very profitable to come and go." Lieutenant Colonel Yang Chengdong picked up a horrible gun barrel and said with a smile: "I heard Dan Jigang has already shipped a batch of equipment and is planning to open a gun repair shop. Hehe, that's good. When we enter the venue in person in the future, the logistical maintenance will be easier. I just don't know when this opportunity will come, I hope Don't make me wait too long."

(End of this chapter)