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Text 469 [The Story of the Prince Returning to the Country——Zhao Han's European Image]

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    A fleet of ocean-going ships returning from the east docked at the outer harbor of Amsterdam, and then transferred to the inner harbor wharf by ship.

    Merchants from the Netherlands have already gathered here, and they will sell these goods to European countries.

    The Dutch East India Company, founded 40 years ago, has more than 1,000 shareholders.  Neither officials nor shareholders are allowed to interfere in the management of the company. It has a 76-member board of directors, but the real decision-making group is the "Meeting of Seventeen Gentlemen".

    Seven provinces of the Netherlands, 8 in Amsterdam, 4 in Zeeland, and 1 in each of the other regions.  Among the seventeen people are nobles, wealthy businessmen, officials and the like.

    Their decision-making is based on profit, because they must be accountable to shareholders, and they must also take into account the market conditions of the stock exchange.

    The form of governance is very democratic, and everyone sits down to discuss.

    But at the same time, they are extremely short-sighted. Everything is in line with short-term interests, and they don't need to consider long-term interests.

    For example, in history, the Dutch chief in Taiwan judged very early on that Zheng Chenggong would attack the city of Zeelandia.  After reporting upwards, Governor Batavia sent 12 warships for protection.

    These warships were stationed for half a year, but Zheng Chenggong still did not come.

    Therefore, the Batavia command center calculated that the cost of stationing the fleet was too high, which was not in the interests of the East India Company.  The governor of Batavia, despite the protests of Taiwan's chief executive, ordered 10 of the warships to return home, but Zheng Chenggong seized the opportunity when the troops were empty.

    Another example is that during the Kangxi period, more and more Chinese businessmen shipped goods to Batavia and sold them at a low price, which was cheaper than Dutch merchant ships buying goods in China themselves.  As a result, the East India Company withdrew its merchant ships, and no longer polluted the South China Sea, but only waited for the Chinese maritime merchants to ship goods in Java Island.

    Even if the governor of Batavia is clear-headed, he can't make decisions in many cases.

    There is also a council behind him, and there is a meeting to discuss everything.  There is also a deputy called the director-general, who is responsible for managing the company's Eastern trade affairs.  After everything has been discussed and reached, major events have to go back to the Netherlands to report that the "Seventeen People's Conference" has been approved.

    Layers of checks and balances, interests first, the Dutch East India Company operates in this way, and often does incredible things.

    It's like building a castle in northern Taiwan last year. When Zhao Han heard the news, he couldn't figure out what was going on.

    In fact, it is very simple, because the "Seventeen People's Conference" and the "Batavia Council" concluded after the meeting and discussion: the establishment of a trade point in the northern part of Taiwan Island can effectively increase the profits of the Japan-Dutch trade.

    Amsterdam, Inner Harbour.

    The commodity auction was held in the hall near the pier. The auctioneer held up a hammer and shouted: "1000 pounds of Chinese tea, the starting price is 30 Dutch guilders per pound!"

    4.2 Dutch guilders, roughly equal to one tael of silver.

    A pound of tea leaves is less than a catty, and the starting price is 126 taels of silver. One can imagine how lucrative the profits are.

    In the hands of Dutch nobles, the retail price of Chinese tea can reach up to 70 Dutch guilders, which means that a catty of tea is worth 300 taels of silver!

    Historically, in order to compete with the United Kingdom, the Netherlands began to play dumping, and the price of tea fell to 2.5 guilders per pound.  It fell from 70 dong to 2.5 dong. It's a real big sale.  Since then, Chinese tea has only come to the homes of commoners in Europe. Before that, only nobles could afford to drink it.

    "I will offer 31 shields!"

    "31.5 shields!"

    "31.8 shields!"

    ""

    The auctioneer waved his hammer: "56.3 guilders once, 56.3 guilders twicedeal!"

    Goods that can be shipped thousands of miles from the East are all luxury goods.  These things have nothing to do with European commoners, only the upper class can afford them, and only one boat comes back every year or two, so they must be auctioned to maximize the benefits.

    Even, this time the 3,000 pounds of tea were shipped back, and the tea auction alone was divided into several times.

    In the last tea auction, the auctioneer shouted: "300 pounds of Chinese palace tea, the starting price is 50 Dutch guilders per pound!"

    The so-called Chinese palace tea refers to tea with better quality.  In Europe in the 17th century, the retail price of this game was as high as 100 Dutch guilders per pound.

    The main profit commodity of the Dutch East India Company was originally Nanyang spices.  But by now, spices have fallen out of favor.  The tea market was developed by Dutch businessmen, and drinking tea was first popular among Dutch nobles in Europe.

    Due to the scarcity of supply, the 300 pounds of "Chinese Palace Tea" was finally sold at a price of 80 dong per pound—not the retail price, but the wholesale price of local merchants.

    Two hours after the auction, the staff brought up the box, and the scene suddenly became a sensation.

    However, anyone who needs to be displayed at the auction venue must have never seen it before, the power minister Richelieu, and Queen Mother Mary died one after another.

    The one who paid for brocade to make clothes was Louis XIV who had just been crowned, and his queen was Princess Anne from Spain.

    Just make dumplings with vinegar, and in order to show off her brocade clothes, Queen Anne held court balls every now and then.  She and the king appeared in gorgeous brocade costumes, and no matter how many times they met with the noble guests, they still gave them envious eyes.  Ever since, every time the nobles attended the ball, there were people asking everywhere how to buy brocade.

    The deeds of the Chinese emperor, along with the brocade and multicolored porcelain, spread wildly in the upper class of Europe.

    Peter Mundy's China travel notes were quickly translated to the European continent, and not only became bedside reading materials for the nobles, but even the King of France personally wrote a letter to urge the manuscript Update it soon!

    That China travel book was written a few years ago, when Zhao Han had just conquered Guangdong.

    Among the Dutch and Portuguese populations who recently returned to Europe, Zhao Han was described as more in line with the aesthetics of European aristocrats.

    First of all, one must have a noble background. Common people are not allowed to rebel and become emperor.

    Therefore, Zhao Han is a prince in distress, a descendant of the Chinese royal family four hundred years ago.  At that time, China was called the State of Song, and it was overthrown by the terrible Tatars. It can be said that Europe turned pale when talking about Tatars, because the Mongol invasion brought the Black Death.

    Doesn't this have a sense of intimacy and substitution?

    The terrible Tatars not only invaded Europe, but also destroyed the dynasty of Zhao Han's ancestors.

    After the Song royal family fell into disaster, they have served as scholars for generations, and quietly learned about war knowledge, and have been trying to restore the country for hundreds of years.  The emperor of Ming Dynasty was fatuous and brutal, which caused the descendants of the Tatars to invade again.

    Just when the descendants of the Tatars wiped out Daming, Zhao Han, as a descendant of the former royal family, immediately led his servants and retinues to raise troops.

    Finally, Zhao Han succeeded in restoring the country and drove the Tatars out of China.

    What a perfect story of the return of the prince!

    It is rumored that every time King Louis XIV of France, wearing brocade clothes and eating on a multicolored porcelain plate, would raise his glass and say, "Salute to the distant Chinese emperor. His enlightened generosity also allowed us to share the Chinese court.  life.?
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