New Shun 1730

[January 19. Shanghai. Sunny.]

I have to say that most of the people in the company are idiots and have no brains at all.

The enthronement of Japan by Dashun has aroused our discussion.

Of course, the focus of our discussion is why we failed in Japan and finally withdrew from Japan.

At this time, of course, we are worried that the company will suffer the same fate in China as in Japan.

The company's counselors and others do not understand why we succeed or why we fail.

They believe that the success of trade with Japan is due to Miura Anzhen. And they believe that France's success in China is due to missionaries such as Bai Jin.

In fact, they are completely wrong.

But one thing can be made clear, the problems we face in China are similar to the situation when we withdrew from Japan.

Only by finding the real reason can we know how we can stay in China. In other words, what direction should the company work towards in the future and how to change the company's original business.

Most people in the company have exaggerated the role of Miura Anzhen.

I can clearly say that the company's success in Japan has little to do with the company's failure in Japan and the company's efforts.

The company's success in Japan is because those Catholic daimyo basically stood on the other side in the Battle of Sekigahara. When the company started its business in Japan, the Battle of Osaka was about to start, and a large number of Catholic daimyo followed the Toyotomi family.

We are not a Catholic country, so the Tokugawa family found us and tried to cooperate with us.

The first batch of orders the company received was 200 kilograms of lead for making musket bullets. Later it increased to 4,000 kilograms.

And received orders for about 20 cannons.

It can be said that the reason why the company seems to be successful in Japan has nothing to do with the company's efforts.

It is entirely the demand from the Japanese side.

After the Battle of Osaka, there was no need for a large number of lead bullets, steel swords, and cannons, and the company's business shrank rapidly.

The root cause is that the company could not produce the high-quality products needed by Japan after the war. Before the war, many Catholics stood on the side of the Toyotomi family.

What we can sell, the Dutch can also sell, and the quality is better.

What we can't sell, the Dutch can also sell, such as spices.

The company has never been successful in Japan. The seemingly short-lived success was nothing more than the wartime demand of the Battle of Osaka.

Once the war is over, it is only a matter of time for the company to withdraw from Japan.

Our failure in Southeast Asian competition has doomed our failure in Japanese trade. Whoever is the winner of the Southeast Asian trade competition can gain a foothold in Japan.

The Dutch proved my point.

In 21, we cooperated with the Netherlands to fabricate the Hirayama Tsunemori incident; in 23, the Ambon Island massacre, the Dutch attacked us; at the end of 23, we withdrew from Japan.

The reason is that the woolen cloth we can sell cannot be sold; the lead blocks that we had a lot of profit before cannot be sold after the war; the spices that the Japanese want, we can't get.

So, whether there is Miura Anzhen, will it affect the Tokugawa family's purchase of lead blocks for muskets from us? Will it affect Japan's no longer having a large demand for lead blocks after the war? Will it affect whether our woolen cloth is popular?

If it can, then his role is huge; if not, how much role does he play?

Similarly, on the issue of China, isn't it the same reason?

What we can do, other trading companies can do too.

Only when the company can show "what we can do, other East India companies can't do, and we are irreplaceable" can it gain real advantages in trade with China.

Otherwise, if Dashun drives us away, not to mention affecting its economy, even simple foreign exports cannot be affected. Even if they don't have the Western Trade Company, Sweden, Denmark, France, and Prussia will be happy to take our share.

And one thing we can do and is irreplaceable is the tea tariff. my country's tea-drinking population is the highest in Europe. It can even be said that most of the tea bought in China by companies including Sweden and Denmark flows into my country.

As long as this point is solved, the company will have an irreplaceable position and bargain with China with tea tariffs.

And now? Do we have any bargaining chips in our hands?

Only by lowering tariffs first can we use raising tariffs as bargaining chips and bargaining.

Now the tariffs are so high, we don't have any bargaining chips.

But the group of idiots in the parliament can't understand this at all.

If this road doesn't work, then we should learn enough experience from the Netherlands.

The reason the Dutch were able to gain a foothold in Japan was because they got Southeast Asia.

If we cannot lower the tea tariff and still want to gain a foothold in China's trade, we need to get India.

Only when the distance is close enough can there be a large enough trade volume. From Britain to Dashun, cotton and grain are unprofitable because of freight and turnover; but if we are close enough, even low-profit commodities such as cotton and grain are profitable.

I said, don't make any more efforts in China, it's meaningless.

I said, to solve the difficulties of China's trade, either solve it in Bengal or solve it in Westminster Palace.

In short:

[The problems of China's trade cannot be solved in China]

However, they sneered at my ideas.

Oh, a bunch of idiots.

There were even idiots who thought that we should file a complaint with the emperor again, saying that the opium trade in Macau had no direct relationship with the company this time, and that the officials of Dashun should learn the law and clarify the relationship of responsibility.

Some idiots even suggested that if the emperor might come to Songjiang Prefecture in a few days, we should bypass the military surveillance and go to the road to file a complaint...

I was shocked!

Avoid the military surveillance and intercept the emperor's carriage?

Talk to the emperor about the direct connection and indirect responsibility of the crime?

Oh my God, why would the company send such idiots to China?

The enemy is in Leadenhall Street!

[January 20. Shanghai. Unknown weather.]

I refused to participate in the discussion of those idiots. I lay in bed all day. If they really made a stupid decision, I could only choose to leave with the ship on February 4.

I don't want to spend my life in a Chinese prison.

Of course, there can be struggles and intrigues within the company, but it cannot send some people who don't understand the reality of the East to China because of factions.

They used the experience in America, Africa, and even India to apply to China.

This is a crime against every shareholder!

[January 21. Shanghai. Unknown weather.]

I still refused to attend their discussion. But the Minister stood on my side and agreed with my opinion. It seems that at least they will not make an extremely unwise decision.

In any case, I will write a letter to the board of directors, and I need advice from India in the middle.

This matter can only be decided by convening a shareholders' meeting.

Fortunately, the characteristics of the company's shareholders' meeting determined that I have a good chance of winning.

According to the Monopoly Enabling Act of 1689, the chairman of the company is no longer appointed by the government-as a condition for welcoming the Dutch to be our king.

If he does not agree to no longer be appointed by the government, we will not recognize him as king.

The previous king controlled us too tightly, and we must drive him away. The Dutch are happy to accept such conditions, and we are also happy to have such a king.

Similarly, the Monopoly Enabling Act of that year was also amended for them.

Only those who hold more than 1,000 pounds of shares in the company have the right to elect board members.

Only those who have more than 2,000 pounds and must be born in the UK have the right to become a member of the board of directors.

However, whether you have a share of 1,000 pounds or 1,000,000 pounds, you only have one vote.

This can ensure that everyone is equal above me. Below me, no one has a vote.

The royal family, the great nobles, the landowners, the big speculators, they only have one vote in the election of the board of directors, no matter how much share capital they have.

And those poor people, small employees, and those who contribute less than 1,000 pounds have no qualifications to participate in the management of the company.

Only in this way can the board of directors of the company be controlled by a group of elite businessmen who are slightly smarter, have a brain capacity greater than that of beasts, and succeed through self-struggle.

It also ensures that the company will not be controlled by the royal family and the government and has real freedom. As long as it is not an obligation within the monopoly authorization law, the company does not need to do it.

This also ensures that the board of directors who truly hold power in the company:

There is no need for fanatical patriotism to make statements similar to the Jenkins Ear incident - those who support the war against Spain out of interest are those who have trade in the West Indies and America; and those who dominate public opinion are those low-level, fanatical people with little money. The board system of our company eliminates the possibility of being dominated by fanaticism.

There is no need to obey the rule of the government and Congress in everything, avoiding the situation like France or Spain - it is the government that dominates their trade. And the government always adds too many national obligations to the company, such as training seafarers, fulfilling military obligations, donating, and immigration.

This point also exists in Dashun's trading company, and it is even more serious, such as fulfilling military obligations, fulfilling the task of training seafarers and sailors, and cooperating in combat to provide logistical support.

Perhaps, the difference is that Dashun's goods are not worried about selling, otherwise they will definitely be unsustainable with such heavy non-commercial obligations.

The merchants of Dashun envy our company's system.

It's a pity that they don't have the courage or ability to learn from us to hang their own emperor and invite a foreigner to be the emperor.

Our institutional advantages can ensure that everything is for profit.

According to the provisions of Article 7 of the letter of appointment, senior employees of my level and holding more than 1,000 pounds of shares can propose to convene a shareholders' meeting and reorganize the board of directors.

As long as half of the board of directors approves, the board of directors can be convened to discuss the company's transformation.

According to the new authorization act of 1726, the company's board of directors can make laws, open courts, and formulate tax policies on its own. This has paved the way for the company's transformation.

Now, what is needed is that senior employees of the company like me and in India and other places write a very clear plan to explain the company's transformation, increase investment in India, get rid of dependence on Chinese trade, and that doing so will bring high profits to the company.

Since our institutional advantages can ensure that everything is for profit, the starting point of my proposal should also be completely for profit.

I think that as long as the idiots who are still meeting outside have not made a really stupid decision that makes the Chinese furious and put us all in jail, I have the opportunity to adjust the company's strategy through shareholders' meetings and board meetings.

What affects the transformation of the company is just the mindset of many people.

Who says that a company must rely on trade or production to make a profit?

You can also make a profit by collecting taxes.

The Dutch know that if stock speculation and hype can make a profit, then profit is good, why do we have to trade and produce?

I think I should be able to convince them that relying on profits from trade with China will put us in a dangerous situation like VOC.

After all, I know China best in the company. I made great contributions to the company in the tea incident and the competition with Dutch companies.

But I wonder if there is someone on the Indian side who really understands that India seems vast but is actually vulnerable?

I hope that among the senior employees of the Indian company, there is our own Francisco Pizarro.