1890 King of Southeast Asia

In mid-July, the fast cruise ship that Rothschild was on docked at the port of Banjarmasin in Borneo. Charles came to the port to pick him up. Cyril and the staff of the British Embassy did not show up to prove that this action had nothing to do with the British government.

When L. W. Rothschild left the dock, he told Charles that he hoped to meet His Majesty the Emperor of the Chinese Empire as soon as possible.

Liu Ming was not very busy and could have spared time to have a good talk with Rothschild. This time he asked Rothschild to come. In theory, it was a private meeting and there was no problem of diplomatic standards.

Just as the British Embassy did not show up when Rothschild arrived, and Rothschild did not notify the Chinese Empire officials, this meeting theoretically did not involve diplomatic and political factors at all.

However, Lin Anmin suddenly reported that the negotiations with the Germans had made a breakthrough, and the two sides were currently negotiating on issues such as transaction categories, quantities, delivery and payment methods.

As for the price, the Germans only mentioned it briefly, and then found that the things sold by the Chinese were indeed cheap, and happily agreed to the Chinese offer.

The material quotation was decided by the logistics staff of the embassy in Argentina after the Ministry of Commerce produced a market price list. Different categories of goods were 50% to 200% higher than the market price.

The cheapest were food and oil. Liu Ming hoped that food would help Germany alleviate the famine problem, and oil was simply because it was close enough and the freight was very low.

As for the cost? Those who dig oil in Arabia really don't consider the cost. Transportation and storage costs account for the bulk of the total cost.

The high-priced ones are all rare metals. The lowest price is twice the original price, and the highest is three times the original price. As a result, the Germans simply asked if it could be cheaper. After receiving a no answer, they turned to the question of how to pay and deliver.

The people in the embassy certainly didn't know that Germany had to pay dozens of times the price to buy a little rare metal from the black market in the Netherlands or Denmark. Not only is it expensive, but the quantity is not enough.

Compared with the prices on the black market in the Netherlands and Denmark, the quotation of the Huaxia Empire can really be called conscience.

However, the people at the German embassy are also half-baked. Can the price of small-scale shopping on the black market be the same as that of imported commodities?

"The remaining problem is the payment issue of both parties, right?" Liu Yiming asked with the list.

Not to mention, the Germans' appetite is really big. The amount of food is not much, and the main target is still concentrated on resources such as rare metals and oil.

"After all, we are currently in two hostile camps. They are fighting our allies, and we are fighting their allies. It is normal to have some concerns." Xu Hui exclaimed in surprise.

He originally thought that this was just Liu Yiming's sudden whim, and the Germans' first tough refusal seemed to confirm this point.

But then, the two sides quickly completed the most difficult bargaining part of the business negotiation and entered the discussion on how to deliver and how to pay.

You know, the Huaxia Empire and Germany are two countries that have declared war on each other and are now in a state of war!

"The Prime Minister is right. The problem now is how to ensure that the Germans will pay and how to make the Germans believe that we will deliver the goods."

"The Germans don't trust us, and we don't trust the Germans either. For such a big deal, and in the war, no matter which side, it seems to be a better choice to rob the thieves." Lin Anmin nodded.

"Zheng Lei sent me a telegram saying that after many days of confrontation, the Ottomans have built Ain Tab into a huge fortress, and have also detected some Ottoman Empire unit numbers that have never appeared before."

"According to the inference of the General Staff of the theater, the Ottoman Empire has increased its troops to Ain Tab. If we continue to attack Ain Tab, we may have to pay the price of 30,000 to 40,000 casualties to take it down."

"We still have Cyprus and the 6th Fleet of the Navy in our hands. It's not worth the loss to bite such a hard bone. Even if this matter is resolved, the Battle of Birejik will end here."

Liu Yiming leaned back with his hands on his chest and leaned on the back of the chair.

"We proposed to the Germans that both sides trade near the railway town outside Ain Tabu, and let them send a troop over. We will place the supplies in the town, and the Germans will occupy the town with money and take the supplies away."

"The next day, we will occupy the town again with supplies and take the money away."

"In order to prevent things that neither side wants to see, we only bring one train of goods in each time, and the amount of goods should be limited. The Germans only bring the money to buy the goods that time."

"We must tell them to make a decision as soon as possible. This kind of tug-of-war will have to end one day."

Liu Yiming thought about it and thought that direct trading on the front line was the safest and most convenient, and it could keep secrets better.

Of course, the premise of confidentiality is to let the Germans do it themselves, not the Ottomans...

"By the way, we must make it clear to the Germans that everything related to the transaction must be kept strictly confidential. If the news is leaked, the transaction will be directly terminated."

Liu Yiming added.

"Although this is a bit troublesome, it is indeed a feasible way to build trust." Lin Anmin agreed.

"As long as it does not threaten the overall situation, I agree with this approach, but will the British and French be unable to withstand it?" Xu Hui asked.

This approach is no different from being a fence-sitter, but this is the response of the Huaxia Empire to the British, and it is also for a reason.

In addition to the current importance of the Huaxia Empire, the British can only accept it with a pinch of nose, and it is impossible to make a fierce response.

"Don't worry, there are still people in India, and the British are far from reaching their limit. As for the French, they will hold on until the end of the war." Liu Yiming shook his head and made a summary.

This is what happened in World War I. The British recruited men everywhere, while the French and Germans bet on a generation to hold on.

Because the battle was carried out in French territory, the French suffered greater losses and more serious consequences.

It's just that France had not reacted during World War I and held on.

The first colonial empire to be eliminated was France. It had already died after the end of World War I, but it was buried after the end of World War II.

"If there is no problem, you can prepare for the transaction first. This time, Germany and Austria-Hungary should be able to get about 200 million to 300 million gold."

Before the war, Germany's gold reserves were about 1.3 billion Reichsmarks, equivalent to 270 million US dollars. This is physical gold, not paper money.

In addition, Germany has maintained a surplus position for many years, and there is still a lot of gold in the private sector. The specific amount is unclear, but it must be several times the gold reserves.

The old empire Austria-Hungary is also the same. Even because of the long history of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the wealth of the private sector will be more than that of Germany. (The predecessor Austrian Empire is also counted together because it was a relatively peaceful reorganization and there was no loss of wealth.)

Even if Germany has spent a lot of money through neutral ports such as Rotterdam in the past two years, it should still be able to plunder a lot of gold.

"I will complete the cargo dispatch as soon as possible, and I may need to use a batch of reserve materials." Xu Hui nodded.

In the past two years, due to frequent wars and the launch of various projects, money has been spent like water. If it were not for the fact that Huayuan has been widely recognized in the Chinese region and does not need to re-establish credit, and if the vast areas of China have taken over the over-issued currency very well, and if the European war broke out and China's exports soared, it might have entered financial difficulties.

Why did Xu Hui easily agree to sell goods to the Germans? Money is attractive!

...

On the afternoon of July 20th, Liu Yiming met with Charles and Rothschild. After a brief greeting, Charles left on the pretext of having something to do, leaving Liu Yiming and Rothschild alone.

"It's a pleasure to talk to you, Your Majesty, you are a kind person, which is different from many monarchs. You really know what the lives of those poor people are like, and you sympathize with them."

Rothschild complimented,

"Your Majesty, I am a businessman. We Westerners do business differently from Orientals. We prefer to speak directly."

Rothschild saw that Liu Yiming just showed an absent-minded smile and felt a little troubled.

"Mr. Rothschild, if you have anything to say, you can just say it directly. We are just talking privately, just relax." Liu Yiming seemed to have finally come to his senses, but what he said made Rothschild a little angry.

"Your Majesty, we Jews are all poor people, poor people who don't even have our own country. For thousands of years, we have always hoped to return to our homeland and have worked hard for it."

"Finally, there is a ray of hope now. You, the great emperor, defeated the barbaric Ottomans and rescued the Jews from the barbaric rule of the Ottomans."

"It is no exaggeration to say that you are the greatest monarch of the 20th century."

Rothschild is a businessman, and his outstanding feature is his smoothness. As for the so-called straightforward Westerners, to some extent, it is true. The largest number of Westerners are straightforward - those at the bottom.

As for the upper class, the nobles have to learn etiquette. In the etiquette of the nobles, speaking also requires a lot, which is similar to the euphemism of the East.

Only when the two sides have unequal status, will the speech suddenly become straightforward, such as the nobles and the untouchables.

"Mr. Rothschild, you are a British, I thought you would think that the emperor of the British Empire is the greatest, otherwise you don't need to discuss with the British Empire how to obtain the benefits that the Chinese Empire deserves."

Liu Ming said in a bad tone.

Rothschild was a little embarrassed, but the slight embarrassment would not have any effect on Rothschild, a merchant capitalist aristocratic complex.

"Okay, everyone is busy, let's talk about the price, what do you want, what price can you afford." Liu Ming waved his hand to stop Rothschild from continuing to use his language talent.

"Ahem! Your Majesty, we want the State of Israel to reappear on the earth. You may not know much about it. Let me introduce this country to you..."

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