New Shun 1730

In the 18th century, if you asked a Chinese how to get closer to the Swedes the fastest, the answer was simple: just scold the Russians.

China and Sweden are only separated by Russia.

Taking advantage of the previous war against Russia and the pacification of the Western Regions, he boasted for a while and mentioned Lenat’s story.

"When you went to war with Russia, your king was defeated in Poltava and retreated into Turkey, and many people were captured by Russia. When our dynasty was suppressing the rebellion in the northwest, several Swedes surrendered and hoped to return home. Among them, the one named Lenat was captured by Russia in 1709 and captured by the Junggar Mongols in 1718. He has been away from Sweden for nearly 30 years."

"He really wants to return home. If possible, I hope he can return home on your ship. Don't worry about the ship fare, it's not a problem. In addition to him, there are about 17 or 18 captives, all Swedes."

The branch director thought that Liu Yu was ready to extort bribes when he came. When he heard that he first happily scolded the Russians with him, and then talked about the return of the Swedes, the branch director was in a good mood and repeatedly said that Liu Yu didn't need to pay for the ship fare, and he could decide on the return by ship.

This incident was just an introduction. Liu Yu didn't want to talk about this matter. The branch director also wanted to talk about another thing.

After readily agreeing to the return of the captives such as Lenat, the branch director also took the opportunity to make a request to Liu Yu.

"My Lord, our company has always been eager for your country's porcelain. But the porcelain trade route is monopolized by the Dutch, British and French. We can only get some inferior porcelain. These porcelains are not selling well in Europe..."

The branch director did not tell the whole truth. It was not that these "inferior" porcelains were not selling well in Europe, but because the Swedish company could not sell goods in Sweden and could only sell them to smugglers in Spain or the Netherlands and Britain.

One of the founders of the Swedish East India Company was a former employee of the British East India Company. After retiring from the company, he went it alone. This person was called Colin Campier, a British.

The Swedes were very poor.

There was not so much silver sent to China, so the Swedish East India Company did not sell goods in Sweden, but sold them to second-hand dealers in Gothenburg.

In fact, they were a group of smugglers.

They are all East India companies, but the Swedish East India Company is different from other companies: not only do they keep the identities of their shareholders secret, they also tear up the shipping bill after each shipment to ensure that no one knows how much goods have been shipped, and the identities of customers who buy goods in Gothenburg are also kept absolutely secret.

Why should the identities of customers be kept secret? Because the buyers are all smugglers.

The Dutch and British East India Companies bought their monopoly rights with real money. At the peak of the British company, the domestic tax was 12 million taels of silver per year.

Naturally, they would not allow the Swedish company to get the goods.

Tea and other things are easy to say, but there are tricks to porcelain.

The Swedes only arrived in Guangdong a few years ago, so they are naturally far behind the British and Dutch countries in terms of connections.

The aesthetics of European porcelain are different from those of China, which is why there is the so-called "custom-made porcelain".

The patterns, shapes, sizes, and shapes must be shipped by ship and fired by porcelain workshops.

The Swedes could not find a way to get through in Guangdong. The navigator and commander of the first voyage was the former British and current Swedish Sir Colin Campbell, who was once a prominent figure in the British East India Company.

As soon as he arrived in Guangdong, the British and Dutch naturally guarded against him like a thief.

Guangdong and Fujian used money to slightly choke Sweden's neck. The Swedes were new, so naturally they could not find a way to order porcelain.

Western merchants who traded in China knew all about this.

When the Netherlands wanted to trade with the Ming Dynasty, the Portuguese used the influence of missionaries to create various obstacles, leaving the Dutch with nowhere to spend their money. At that time, the Netherlands and Britain were still relatively immature, and they gave Yan Siqi, Li Dan and others tens of thousands of taels of silver as "facilitation fees". They did not think that even if Li Dan, Yan Siqi and others were not pirates, they really had strong connections. The national conditions of the late Ming Dynasty were here. Tens of thousands of taels of silver were enough to accomplish such a big thing? When it came to the hands of the adults in the capital, how much would be left along the way?

Nowadays, the Dutch have also learned to be smart and know the standards and channels of bribery.

Those who get on the bus first naturally hope to close the door and squeeze out those who haven't gotten on the bus.

Besides, others don't know who the customers of the Swedish East India Company are, but the British and Dutch East India Company knows it in their hearts. They have no evidence and can only hate it.

Just like tea, the tea of ​​the East India Company goes through formal channels, and after collecting taxes, it is very expensive. The smugglers don't go through formal channels. Tea is the same tea. No one is stupid. Why spend a lot of money to buy authentic tea with tariffs?

The Swedish curator thinks this is a way that fell from the sky.

The Swede knows Liu Yu's name.

"The Chinese general who went to war with Russia", the Treaty of Adrianople that embarrassed Charles XII was signed by old Tolstoy in Turkey. Liu Yu is still somewhat famous in Sweden today.

Unexpectedly, the earl actually came to the Swedish trading house on his own initiative and talked about the issue of Swedish prisoners of war. Naturally, he readily agreed and took the opportunity to mention it to Liu Yu, thinking that since he was a noble of Dashun, he would definitely be able to handle this matter.

It was a token of appreciation, of course.

The Swedes were led by a former employee of the British East India Company, so it was clear that such a token of appreciation was worth it.

It's just that I really didn't have any connections before. How many years have the British, Dutch, Spanish and Portuguese been in Guangdong and Fujian? How can a new Swede compare with them?

Now that I have connections, it's just a matter of money.

When Liu Yu heard what the director of the trading house said, he held back his laughter and whispered to Tian Ping. Tian Ping smiled and said, "He didn't say it before. If he had said it earlier, I would have done it as long as the money was in place. Brother Shouchang is still more famous than me, tut tut."

After laughing twice, Liu Yu turned his head and said a few words to the director of the Swedish trading house.

"This matter... is easy to handle, but also difficult. Please forgive my wording. Let's put it this way. You tell your general curator and I will do it for you. But there is a condition."

"When you go back, I will send a ship to follow you. The goods are our own. Of course, your employees and sailors here can also collect 5,000 taels of silver worth of goods and borrow our ship to load them. They are your private goods. Our ship will follow you to Gothenburg. You will help sell the goods, and your company can take a part of the profit."

"As long as you can agree to this condition, I will take care of the custom porcelain for you."

"Our ship will also send Lenat and others back to their country. We will use this as an excuse to travel with you. What do you think?"

Through this matter, Liu Yu also mentioned what he wanted to say.

He wanted to open a gap in Europe and explore the way. He thought of many options.

The United Kingdom and the Netherlands are definitely not good. The relationship with France is a little better, but it is even worse.

The French have no business acumen.

The good relationship with Dashun was not only because of a large number of missionaries with the title of academician of the French Academy of Sciences, but also because France was centralized in the era of Louis XIV. It was the European country that was most like "Dashun" and a standard land power.

The two sides had a common language on some things.

In the management of overseas colonies, the French people were just like the thinking of the Dashun officials, and they really wanted to "reform the natives and return to the common people" in the colonies.

Just like the French colonial leader Dupleix who met Liu Yu on Liugong Island before, he was the first colonist to use local soldiers in India, and his policy was learned by the British; in addition, he was also the first colonist to think about making profits by collecting taxes in India instead of trade.

France was the only one in Europe that could run the East India Company to a debt-ridden stall, which was a shame for trade.

Letting the French be the old driver and lead the way was really a rusty brain. The French themselves didn't understand how to sell it.

There was no market and it wouldn't last long.

After thinking about it, Sweden was the most suitable.

First of all, the Swedes have a sales channel for smuggling, and they have a good relationship with the North American rebels and the British and Dutch termites.

After all, customer information is kept absolutely confidential.

Smugglers are the way for Dashun to sell goods in Europe.

Formal channels are not allowed. Britain, the Netherlands, Spain and France all have trade protectionism, and warships cannot force them to open and close. Naturally, they have to rely on smugglers.

Moreover, the upcoming War of the Austrian Succession is inevitable, which will inevitably lead to an economic depression in Dashun.

Once the war in Europe, silver will be cut off all at once, and the economy of Jiangnan, which is supported by so many export goods every year, will definitely have problems.

The war reduced consumption, which is one aspect. The more important point is that the war in Europe is not just on land.

Britain will definitely send ships here to rob Spanish treasure ships and attack French merchant ships; France will also sneak attack Dutch and British merchant ships.

Under huge risks, the East India Company will definitely reduce the number of ships during the war. Once a cargo ship is captured, hundreds of thousands of taels of silver will be wasted.

Liu Yu didn't know much about the Swedish East India Company, but he knew a very famous ship, the Gothenburg.

It sank when it was returning to Sweden from Guangdong. Later, another ship was rebuilt in 2005. It went to Guangdong on its maiden voyage. The King and Queen of Sweden went to Guangdong to welcome it.

This ship was very expensive and had a large displacement. The time when it sank was also very interesting. It happened to be during the War of the Austrian Succession.

Liu Yu guessed that the Swedes spent a lot of money to build a thousand-ton merchant ship like the Gothenburg, and then tried hard to run to Guangdong... Obviously, it was because the War of the Austrian Succession started, and the sea fought from Europe to Luzon and from Luzon to America, and the merchant ships of the warring countries must have been affected.

Sweden, after being crippled by Russia, had no ability and no strength to participate in the European war again, and must have been neutral. Naturally, they took advantage of the opportunity of the war in Europe to work overtime to transport goods from China to Europe.

This is a very easy to understand logic.

The war in Europe has caused a sharp drop in the volume of foreign trade of Dashun, and the Chinese merchants who have stockpiled goods will inevitably reduce prices and sell them off.

The war in Europe has affected the merchant ships of the warring countries, but this is not a total war, but a war for power and profit among the nobles. The nobles and the rich still have to eat and drink. The demand for silk and porcelain will not disappear because of the war. If the supply is insufficient, the price will definitely increase.

Dashun is selling off and reducing prices; the supply is insufficient in Europe and the price is increasing.

Such a good opportunity, if not used, will naturally be wasted.

The Swedes probably seized this opportunity and built ships crazily to transport goods. Liu Yu naturally had to seize this opportunity.

The Swedes are a good breakthrough point.