The Rise of Iceland

　　　　 Dutch shipbuilding is currently leading the world. The cost of the same ship in London and Denmark is 30%-40% more expensive than Amsterdam. This is due to labor and technology issues.

　　The ship type and the convenience of putting it into use at the same time are also the number one ship in the Netherlands. At least a large ship with the same displacement. The British and Danish ships need 17 or 8 sailors, but the Dutch ships need 12 sailors. So even businessmen from big shipbuilding countries like Britain and Denmark will come to the Netherlands to order ships in order to save money. This is the core competitiveness of the Netherlands.

　　 Hagrid ordered the ship, and Hagrid asked about the artillery, preparing to install cannon artillery on the two armed merchant ships.

The owner of the shipyard, Mr. Arendt DeGrott, told Hagrid that the shipyard had no right to sell artillery guns, but also quietly told him that he could visit the directors of the East India Company, and any one had the right to sell the artillery to Hagrid. And guns, he can refer on his behalf, but doing so requires a lot of money.

　　 "There is nothing you can't buy in the Netherlands."

　　 The words of the shipyard owner De Grotte made Hagrid, Ulav and others understand, and then asked him to introduce them on his behalf.

So in the afternoon, De Grotte took Hagrid around in the south of Amsterdam, spent thousands of guilders to buy porcelain and oil paintings, and then sent them out. Finally, one of them replied, which is in charge of the East India Company. The director of personnel scheduling, he only has time tomorrow morning, so Hagrid will visit him tomorrow morning.

　　 Hagrid and the others were relieved that this matter was done well. They knew that if everything went well, the director said in a word that the artillery, muskets, plate armor and other weapons and equipment that everyone needs would not be a problem.

　　In the next morning, Hagrid and Hudick put on decent windbreakers and top hats, took four sailor servants and mink as souvenirs, and followed De Grote to visit the directors of the East India Company.

Because the leather goods carried in the cabin are expensive, they are sold in their entirety. The remaining leathers that were badly damaged during hunting can’t be bought for the price. Hagrid is going to leave and take them back to make a scarf for his sister-in-law and other relatives. Now he will visit. The big man just picked the best mink and three squirrel belts and passed by.

Hagrid and Hudik went to visit the big shots, while Ulav and Olaf took people to buy pottery pots, cloth, wool, paper, pen, leather and other materials, needles and threads, kitchen utensils and other living utensils, as well as various melons. Fruits, vegetables and grain seeds.

　　 I bought dozens of cars in a mess for less than three thousand guilders.

　　 When passing by a musical instrument store, Olaf saw a girl holding a boxy piano box playing. The melodious music made people feel comfortable to hear.

After inquiring, I found out that it is Hengqin. Like the harp, it is a traditional instrument derived from Northern Europe, but now there are very few players. The reason why Olaf pays attention to this square harp is at first glance like the traditional guzheng and guqin. The Chinese musical instruments are somewhat similar.

　　 Seeing that he liked it, Olaf spent more than forty guilders, bought a harp and a hengqin, and prepared to put them in his room as ornaments, and he could learn musical instruments if he had the opportunity.

　　 After coming out of the musical instrument shop, Olaf saw another watch shop.

　　 Because of the remoteness of Iceland and the lack of information, even wealthy people don’t have clocks. The timekeeping is still the most traditional church eight-hour timekeeping.

　　 After more than ten years of life, Olaf has forgotten that there are such things as clocks in the world, so he became very interested and walked in to watch.

Ulav also followed in and watched. Everyone saw all kinds of clocks hanging on the wall and on the table. They were of different sizes, all engraved with various patterns, including lions, flying dragons, gods, and so on. .

　　 But what made Olaf rush to the surprise is that most clocks have only twelve icons, very few with Latin numbers, and these clocks are all self-ringing clocks, there is no huge pendulum clock like later generations.

Olaf asked the owner of the watch shop to find out that watches have been invented for a hundred years, but they have been inaccurate. In recent decades, there have been more accurate self-ringing bells. Every hour, a character bell will pop up to tell the time. Nian is very popular and is an indispensable item in the homes of merchants and nobles.

Seeing that Olaf liked it very much, Ulav bought two chimes with animals and Catholic saints. First he paid two hundred guilders in pain, then turned his head and smiled at Olaf: "You can bring these two chimes home to play. Right!"

Olaf knows that for Icelanders, it is useless to calculate time accurately in hours, because their life pace is slow and they have long developed the habit of watching the sky and timekeeping, but his soul, as a 21st century man, has a concept of time. , So I didn't refuse, and happily accepted the cherished gift from his brother.

　　Pikcu walked out of the watch shop behind Olaf with two heavy self-ringing bells on his back. Ulav looked at the sky and prepared to go back soon.

　　 Olaf frowned and asked: "The cargoes of both ships are now cleaned up. Shall we not buy some cargo? Isn't the Scottish party going to run empty?"

　　 Ulav heard his brother’s doubts and explained with a smile: “We handled a large amount of dried cod and wine in Dublin, but we didn’t buy anything when we left. That’s because there was nothing to eat from Dublin.

　　 We bought food from Dublin and sent it to the Baltic Sea and Iceland to make money. Going to Amsterdam, a grain-producing area (the Dutch grain production is not high, but it belongs to the processing and transit area, and the price of grain is cheap and stable), we only lose money, so we ran out of Holland.

　　 But when the four of our ships are built, when the six large ships leave Amsterdam, they will be loaded with spices, sugar, dutch hemp, flour, and beer to go to Scotland.

Scotland is not as wealthy as England, but because the last British king was born to the son of the Stuart family of Scotland and the princess of England, England has entered the Stuart dynasty since the predecessor James I of England. When citizens have become a region with almost the same status as England, taxation and squeeze are already in heaven and underground compared to Ireland. "

　　 "In other words, the economic conditions in Scotland have improved a lot, and our spices, sugar, linen cloth, flour, and beer are all in short supply in Scotland, so we don’t have to worry about selling them."

　　Ulav’s words made Olaf understand the complexity of doing business in the maritime age~www.wuxiaspot.com~ Sometimes I would rather run away than buy useless goods.

　　 This reminds Olaf of the game he played in his youth called "The Great Sailing Era", where he drove a boat to do business in various European countries, and sometimes he was able to fight pirates, which was quite interesting.

　　 Starting in the afternoon, the workers of the firm took a wagon to deliver all kinds of goods to the dock. After Ulav checked the number of varieties, the sailors moved them into the cargo hold.

　　 When the sailors were busy with the workers, the sun gradually shifted to the west, and Hagrid and Hudick returned with Valitu, Hilt and others with smiles on their faces.

　　 "It's done?" Ulav asked.

"It's done. The adult agreed." Hagrid nodded and said, "De Grotte didn't say the identity of the adult mysteriously at first, but after I came out, I learned that he was visiting South Holland. Member of Parliament, Member of Parliament, Mr. Fransen, this is one of the best in the Dutch Republic. After Hudick passed the list up, he told me that everything we want will be delivered in half a month."

　　 "Okay!" Ulav laughed, then remembered something, and asked in a low voice, "Is the price high?"

　　 "Of course." Hagrid curled his lips and shrugged.

　　 Hudik said coldly: "250,000 guilders, what do you think?"

　　 "Hiss!"

　　Ulav and Olaf took a breath at the same time.

If you don’t count Olaf’s £7,000 from selling royal jelly, in fact, Hagrid and Ulav made more than 3,000 gold marks from selling **** skins and other skins, dried fish, and wine. If you save them all, it’s 350,000. Dutch guilder.

　　 But buying artillery and guns and other equipment can cost more than half of it, which is really unexpected.