New Shun 1730

The Dutch resent the British and are disgusted with the Navigation Regulations. Let’s not talk about the market and transportation, just talk about the benefits of the logistics center.

Suppose Dashun is in urgent need of American cotton now, in large quantities. Without the Navigation Regulations, this job would definitely fall on the Dutch: we have many ships, cheap freight, familiar roads, the same reputation as Barents, fast running, and large ships can evade taxes and reduce costs.

Ask around the world, no one’s freight is cheaper than ours.

If it is free trade, capitalists from all countries will definitely choose Dutch shipping with such a big advantage, so a large amount of cotton will have to be bulked and packaged in Amsterdam.

Capital is not stupid, why not save on freight?

In this way, it not only supports a group of sailors, captains, and shipbuilders; it also supports a group of people who carry bags, sort, and load and unload goods; it also supports a group of speculators, futures traders, and marine insurance; it also supports a group of restaurant owners, inns, and brothels...

It's like the collapse of the East India Company, which directly and indirectly affects hundreds of thousands of people; or in places like Dashun and Weihai, where the business is abnormally prosperous because the garrisons pay their salaries on time.

The transportation business is not just about the people who are involved in freight.

The law is made by people.

And it's a foreign law.

Of course, you can disobey it. But the result of not complying is that you will be beheaded or have your goods robbed after being caught.

If you can't beat the people who make the law, the law will be effective.

There are only two ways to change the status quo.

The legal means, of course, is to amend the law through the British Parliament.

But judging from the fact that Mi Ziming went to Sweden and the British Parliament was able to quickly fix the legal loopholes, this is not something that can be solved by lobbying or bribing with some money.

Or, it is "illegal" means.

Use violence to overthrow the foundation of law enforcement, and use violence to overthrow the violent tool of the country that upholds the law - the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom.

Yes, I violated the law and smuggled. But you can't catch me or punish me, so what's the point of this law?

The dilemma facing the Netherlands now is actually just one point: they can't beat Britain at sea.

You have to pick the soft persimmon.

Anti-British is one way.

Anti-French and anti-Spanish is also a way.

It's not that France is much stronger than Britain, so Britain is a soft persimmon.

Rather, France can "not talk about martial ethics". It is agreed that it is only a dispute over maritime trade, but France does not talk about martial ethics. Not only does it fight at sea, but it also sends the army to Amsterdam. Even if the Netherlands wins a big victory at sea, it is useless.

Compared with the threat of the French army, the British army is garbage, and the Netherlands is really not afraid of the British army.

The diplomatic creed that the Regent Party originally adhered to was to make friends with France. If France wants to be a neighbor, they will fight France. As long as France does not want to be a neighbor, they are good friends.

But France has been wasting its energy day by day, wasting almost a hundred years in Belgium, forcing the Netherlands to fight against France, otherwise they would become neighbors.

What Anthony sees now is that the Dashun gang is inciting public opinion in the Netherlands again, and it is very likely that they have reached some secret agreement with France. France may have to give up the fight for the Austrian Netherlands due to Russia's military deployment or some secret agreement of Dashun.

This means that if this is true, the Netherlands can certainly choose to be friends with France.

It also means that the Netherlands can certainly expand the market and smuggling channels and further deepen the "Sino-Dutch friendship".

But the question is, how much will Dashun be prepared to pay for this?

And what kind of cooperation model is Dashun and the Netherlands?

Although the East India Company is indeed gone.

Although the Netherlands should be the only country in Europe that is most qualified to cater to the free trade advocated by Liu Yu.

In theory, it is indeed possible to use the threat of closing the door and giving up free trade to ensure that Dashun will not harm the Netherlands.

However, if the so-called cooperation of Dashun only means that the Netherlands opens its doors and allows Dashun's merchant ships to enter and exit... then Anthony will definitely not agree.

Once something happens in the future, this kind of interest entanglement is not enough to make Dashun do too much for the Netherlands.

Moreover, this is not a big benefit for the Netherlands.

On the contrary, it will lead to a large amount of smuggling in the Netherlands - the East India Company controls the amount of cargo in order to monopolize profits, while the trade method of Dashun observed by Anthony is to sell goods at a low price and high volume. At least from the land reform in Batavia, it can be seen that Dashun does not want to raise prices by controlling production like VOC - a large amount of goods entering the Netherlands means a larger scale of smuggling, which will seriously affect the relationship between Britain and the Netherlands.

Britain cannot go to Dagukou to retaliate against Dashun, but it can retaliate against the Netherlands.

Then, opening up trade means that the Netherlands is still being used as a gun by Dashun. The Netherlands is using its own destiny to open up markets and sales for Dashun's goods.

The size difference between China and the Netherlands is too great, the development of handicrafts is too great, and the diplomatic environment around each other is also completely different.

In this situation, there is no real equal cooperation.

Either Dashun muster up the courage to be the big brother of the Netherlands, shoulder the responsibility, and protect you. Whether it is smuggling or selling stolen goods, whoever dares to trouble you, the big brother will wave his hand to him.

Or, we will break up, and from now on you will be in Asia and I will be in Europe, and we will never see each other again.

Anthony felt that Dashun had the habit and tradition of being a dynasty in the East, and had always been very good to the tributary countries. Although the Netherlands could not really pay tribute in name, if Dashun really wanted to take up its responsibilities, it would actually be a good thing to the Netherlands. Very good choice.

If you want to be a dynasty, you must let your younger brothers benefit.

Whether it was the Kyushu tribute system in the past or the consciousness of the United States and the Soviet Union in later generations, when the dynasty wanted to cheat its younger brothers to make ends meet, the dynasty would have come to an end.

It's the best model to support others when things go wrong and make other people's money together when nothing happens.

Now he has directly put this issue in Kang Busao's face. Didn't Kang Busao just proudly say that if anything affects the friendship between China and the Netherlands, he will solve it like he went to Nanyang?

Now that it is true, what do you say in China?

However, Kang Buzai was not surprised at all when he heard Anthony's question. Instead, he said with a smile: "Your Majesty the Speaker has a professional look and can see the problem at a glance."

"China has no ability to interfere with France's customs autonomy. Moreover, the traditional relationship between China and France is completely out of consideration."

"As for the British navigation regulations...well, indeed, this is a major obstacle to the deepening of Sino-Dutch friendship. However, this is only a matter of Sino-Dutch friendship and should not involve third parties other than the UK."

He answered easily, but what he said was also ambiguous.

Before, he vaguely expressed the intention that France might withdraw its troops. Whether the Dutch believed it or not, they would not regard this as fact.

As long as France did not express its position, dozens of such rumors would spread every day. Whether France withdraws its troops or not, for the Netherlands, the result is very different, but the process is the same.

Whether the French will withdraw their troops or not, the Netherlands can only wait passively. If you believe it, it’s just that the Regents took power for themselves and came to power; if you don’t believe it, it’s just that the Regents are cowarded and don’t want to clean up the mess, wishing that the Orangemen had glue on their buttocks to stick to the consul’s throne in The Hague.

The current negotiation between the two people is naturally based on "assuming that France withdraws its troops" and that the leaders of the Regency believe that Dashun's implicit meaning is true.

Otherwise, negotiations are meaningless. What's the use of talking about national affairs with a president who's been masturbated? Since the other party is willing to continue to talk in depth, it means that the other party thinks there is an opportunity and is qualified to talk.

In Kang's view, the questions raised by Anthony also conveyed the Regency's consistent idea: to maintain a certain balance on the European continent.

The Netherlands hopes that Dashun can participate in European affairs, but the Netherlands will not recognize France as its big brother and join forces with France to defeat the United Kingdom.

In that case, it would inevitably involve a war throughout Europe. If France really wins, the European balance will be invalid, and the Netherlands will have nothing to gain. The powerful France will attack the Netherlands sooner or later.

This cryptic expression is reflected in Anthony's answer that he regards Britain and France as potential enemies. The UK is certainly hateful, but isn’t France terrible?

This also reminded Kang that unless France occupied the Netherlands and supported puppets, it would be impossible for the Netherlands to form an alliance with France.

The affairs between China and the Netherlands are of course closely related to France now, but it is best not to involve France in the future.

His ambiguous answer also told Anthony that the cooperation between China and the Netherlands has nothing to do with France, at least it is definitely not in the form of a three-nation alliance between China, France and the Netherlands.

Anthony understood the meaning of "nothing to do with a third party" and nodded, agreeing with the basic conditions for cooperation discussed by Kang Busha.

Seeing him nodding, Kang Busha added: "The friendship between China and the Netherlands is not so deep as to be affected by navigation regulations."

"I personally think that we still need to slowly deepen our mutual interest relationship. When things are smooth and the navigation regulations have seriously affected the continued development of Sino-Dutch friendship, we will consider this issue again."

“Once each other’s interests are so deep that they both feel that navigation regulations affect the friendship between China and the Netherlands, it is no longer possible to stay out of the matter just because you want to.”

"The feasible cooperation model is neutrality, joint venture, and cooperation in organizing escort fleets to protect legitimate and legal trade."

"There is a saying that goes well, Nulla poena sine lege. Of course we do not escort illegal trade against third parties, but the escort fleet does not catch illegal trade against third parties either."

"This is the basic framework for cooperation. As for the details, they can be discussed slowly."

"The question now is, who am I talking to? Your Excellency, the Speaker, can you represent your faction and ensure that the conversation now is meaningful in the future?"

"What is the conversation now? Is it a casual chat between a civilian and a man from the countryside? Or is it a very formal contact between the two countries?"

This framework is basically acceptable to Anthony. Now Kang Buyao is asking him, do the regents have the guts to vote?

"Sir, how can I be sure that the cooperation you mentioned without third-party interference is true?"

Kang Buyao said: "There is a businessman from Versailles who can answer the Speaker's doubts. If you have time, I can arrange a meeting with you. We have ensured that there will be no third party interference in Sino-Dutch cooperation. Now it is It requires the Netherlands to prove that it will not be influenced by a third party.”

Anthony smiled, stretched out his hand, and took into his own hand the letter recording the process of the massacre in The Hague that had been thrown aside by Kang Busao.

He shook his head and asked, "Excuse me, is there a Dutch or Latin version? Please ask the merchant from Versailles to give me a copy when he comes."