Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 754 Baltic Sea

After dealing with the affairs in Amsterdam, Zheng Yong sailed eastward on the old boat he bought. On April 4, after paying the strait toll in the Sonder Strait, the ship entered the Baltic Sea, and then stopped briefly at Danzig Port (accepting the last batch of evacuated personnel and supplies from the commercial station).After being urged by the Poles, Zheng Yong had no choice but to order to leave Danzig and head towards the port of Riga.

After the closure of the Danzig Commercial Station, the East Coast Republic lost Poland, a huge country with a population of tens of millions (the population has dropped significantly after losing Ukraine, Northern Livonia and parts of the Baltic Sea coastal territories, and it was only about 800 million at this time) How to do business in this small bathtub of the Baltic Sea?How should the foreign policy of the East Coast be implemented?Now these questions inevitably flooded Zheng Yong's mind.

"There is nothing to do business in Poland, there are a bunch of poor misers and ignorant serfs!" Schneider, the former Danzig merchant station chief and the first group of immigrants on the east coast (Swiss-French) resented Said, the wrinkles on his face twisted into a ball.He has been the stationmaster of the Danzig Commercial Station for several years, and his income is quite good, but now he is ordered to close by the Poles due to some diplomatic incidents, how can he swallow his breath.Although he is still the appointed head of the Arkhangelsk Mercantile Station, how can the bitter cold Moscow Principality be compared with the rich Baltic Sea?Not to mention that the income of the business station two years in advance may not be high, which will greatly affect his own income and future promotion, so he really hates the Poles completely.

Zheng Yong glanced at him, thinking secretly.This Schneider is a favorite general selected by Gao Mo. He has been in the Baltic Sea for many years, and he came earlier than Zheng Yong. More than half of the employees in Riga and Danzig were recruited and trained by him. He is very old. Also fairly loyal.Perhaps the only shortcoming is that his hands and feet are not very clean. After working in Riga and Danzig for so many years, his net worth is not [-] but [-].A while ago, someone in the Danzig merchant station also reported to him that this Schneider secretly deposited a large sum of money in the local branch of the Amsterdam Exchange Bank, which can be seen.

However, considering that he is a member of Gao Mo, the veteran of the diplomatic and trade system, Zheng Yong thought again and again as if he didn't know about it.After all, under the management of Schneider over the years, the business of Danzig Commercial Station has been booming, and its profitability has been increasing day by day. In the last full fiscal year (1647) before it was closed, the commercial station created a net profit of 18 yuan. Ranked fourth among the ten European commercial stations on the east coast, second only to Bordeaux, Smyrna, and Caffa, and higher than the prosperous Toulouse and Florence commercial stations, the results are quite dazzling.

Therefore, after comprehensive consideration of these, Zheng Yong decided that it would be better to send Schneider to Russia, and let him use his flexible wrist and excellent ability to open up new markets for the East Coast.Anyway, the Arkhangelsk Commercial Station was doomed to have little profit in the past few years, and he was not afraid of any tricks he played.Furthermore, Mo San recently decided to strengthen economic and trade ties with the Russians in order to put pressure on the Poles.

There are many cooperation projects being discussed between the two parties. For example, the East Bank will provide Russia with high-quality steel—this will help improve the quality of Russia’s iron products (farm tools, weapons, etc.); for example, the East Bank will also provide Russia with more The high-quality and cheap cotton cloth—this kind of commodity is not much more expensive than the linen worn by the lower class serfs, and much cheaper than the woolen cloth worn by the upper class, which provides another choice for the Russian middle class; It is possible to set up a small shipyard in Russia, the Little Star Shipyard, to manufacture small and high-quality fishing boats for Russia, so as to improve Russia's fishing technology and production.

Of course, the last one still needs the approval of the local people on the east coast. Mo San has no right to promise Russia such a big benefit. You must know that the Russians have been separated from the civilized world for a long time, and they are very eager for advanced technology from the West.If they can't provide enough benefits, then don't even think about the people on the east coast setting up a shipbuilding enterprise in Arkhangelsk.

In general, Mo San has a population of 1600 million in Russia (the population figure before the annexation of Astrakhan is now more than that), but has just been developed by the United Kingdom and the Netherlands for a short time (late development means vested There are few stakeholders, and the east coast has less resistance to enter this market) are very interested.Coupled with the relationship of putting pressure on Poland, there are still many common interests between the East Bank and Russia. If the views of the Ottoman Empire were not taken into account, perhaps the cooperation between the two parties would be even deeper.

Schneider is young (less than 40 years old), not weak, and has a good vision, so it is very appropriate to kick him to Russia to play the front line.And when Arkhangelsk's rectification is almost done, it will be beneficial for everyone to find a way to ask Mo San for instructions and transfer this gentleman back to the country.

Thinking of this, Zheng Yong raised his hand to interrupt Schneider's chattering complaints, then changed his smile and said, "Station Master Shi, the Danzig Commercial Station is now forced to close, and our country's commercial development in the Baltic Sea has been hit hard. Right now, the task of generating income is all on the Riga Commercial Station, you are an old Baltic, do you have any good suggestions?"

Schneider looked up at the bustling crowd on the Daugava River outside the window. It was Latvians in festive costumes.From time to time, some tall Swedish soldiers passed by on the street, and people on both sides of the road turned a blind eye to them. North Livonia (Livonia north of the Daugava River was ceded to Sweden by Poland, and South Livonia was Prussia The Principality, which is still a vassal under the control of Poland), has not been separated from Poland for many years, and now the residents here are completely accustomed to the rule of the new master, and people can't help but lament the impermanence of the world.

"The Baltic Sea is a complicated area. Generally speaking, the area is sparsely populated and rich in resources." After pondering for a while, Schneider turned his head and said slowly: "The main areas around this bathtub are the following: Three countries, Denmark, Sweden, the Principality of Prussia (Brandenburg-Prussia, a vassal state of Poland), Poland, the Principality of Moscow-of course, this country has lost its outlet to the Baltic Sea. These countries are all of the Baltic Sea. Now we have lost the Polish market, so we can only work on Denmark, Sweden and Moscow. However, Denmark is currently being fiercely competed by the Netherlands and the Hanseatic League. Given the good relationship between the two and our country, I think we will It is not advisable to intervene in it at this time, otherwise it will cause unnecessary trouble.”

Seeing Zheng Yong nodding his head, Schneider's confidence increased greatly, and he continued to say: "As for Sweden, this country has won enviable war dividends in the previous 30 years of war. In addition to the huge amount of compensation, it is the Baltic Sea. German territory along the coast (including Pomerania, Mecklenburg, etc.), the northern coast of Poland (except for ports such as Putsk and Danzig), and half of Livonia, almost turning the Baltic Sea into other The country's population has also jumped to about 270 million people (120 million Swedes, 50 Finns, and 100 million Germans, Livonians, Lithuanians, Poles, Norwegians, etc.), and has become An emerging market that cannot be ignored."

"This market was first developed by the Hanseatic League. For example, they contributed to the construction of Stockholm, but in recent decades, with the strong intervention of the Netherlands, the situation has changed a lot. The Germans are retreating steadily, and the Dutch are keeping pace. However, the main markets they are fighting are in Pomerania and Sweden. As for Finland and Livonia, which have a population of more than 150 million, they are obviously underdeveloped. If we enter this area, we may avoid the competition with Intense competition from the Dutch. As long as we don’t get involved in the business of ship planks, masts and asphalt that Dutch businessmen are interested in, the market is basically left to us. We can bring in cheap domestic steel and textiles, which we have already achieved. We have done a good job through the Riga merchant station, and the next step is to expand further north and south, that is, north to Finland and south to Prussia, to cover the entire region with our goods before the Dutch and Germans come in."

After 1597, Dutch merchant ships aggressively entered the Baltic Sea controlled by the Hanseatic League, and gradually gained a shipping monopoly.In recent years, according to statistics from the Sonder Strait, about 2000 Dutch ships enter the Baltic Sea every year, and most of the entire Baltic Sea has been included in the Dutch commercial network.Dutch merchants continued to enter various cities, Dutch banks continued to open in various ports, Dutch ships continued to enter and leave various seaports or river ports, and the entire Baltic Sea provided about half of the profits for the Netherlands.

Today, there are only some corner areas left for outsiders to intervene, namely the Finland and Livonia regions that Zheng Yong and Schneider are discussing.

"Entering Finland and Prussia will more or less cause the Dutch people's hostility, but the profit is not so much. The Swedes have been discriminated against by the West for many years, so they have a sick mentality, that is, they spend a lot of money on clothes. Great. Many Westerners can’t afford or are not willing to spend money to buy woolen clothes, but they sell well here, as if not doing so is not enough to prove that they are also civilized people. Hehe, but how much woolen wool is so expensive? Can the Swedes afford it? I think our cotton cloth should be very popular, especially those unique dyed and printed cloths, which are of high quality and low price, and will definitely attract the Swedes. As for the Dutch, Don't worry for the time being, we will coordinate interests with them. Their investment focus is on timber, boats, salt, livestock and grains. Let’s talk about it when we protest.” After thinking for a while, Zheng Yong made a final decision, “However, if we can attract some Dutch businessmen to join our business, it will be safer. Well, Station Master Shi, please help as soon as possible. I contacted Mr. De Haier, Mr. Spielink and Mr. Troup, and said that I have important business to discuss with them. Forget it, I will visit in person. They are our important partners in the future, and we must take Show enough sincerity so that the business can last for a long time.”

(End of this chapter)