Chapter 335 Destroy Europe's gold standard trading system

When Zhang Yanlin was taking Wang Pu to visit the cab of the "Yingxing" ironclad ship, Fang Yizhi, Stephen and other experts from the Military Academy arrived after hearing the news. When they met Fang Yizhi, they complained to Zhang Yanlin and said, "Commander Zhang, why didn't you say hello to the prince today? If we had known we should have welcomed the prince."

Zhang Yanlin smiled bitterly at Wang Pu and said, "Prince, now I am Zhu Bajie looking in the mirror. I am no longer a human inside and outside."

Wang Pu said calmly: "Don't blame Yan Lin for Mizhi. It was the king who refused to let him notify you. In order to develop the iron-clad ship, the experts of your Academy of Military Science have worked hard, and Mr. Song is even more... Not to mention this, you are all meritorious ministers of the empire. If you want to greet, it should be the king who came to greet you."

Speaking of Song Yingxing, Fang Yizhi and others showed a gloomy look on their faces.

Wang Pu stepped forward and patted Fang Yizhi on the shoulder, changing the topic: "Mizhi, what is the overall performance of the 'Yingxing'?"

Fang Yizhi responded solemnly: "Whether a warship is powerful depends on three data. These three data first recommend speed, followed by firepower, and then protective ability. In terms of speed, the speed of the original sailing ship is generally about five knots, and the maximum speed is only ten knots. The maximum speed of the Yingxing can reach twelve knots!"

Since Europe's navigation level was already advanced than that of the Ming Dynasty in the 17th century, Wang Pu fully introduced Western concepts about navigation.

Judging from the speed alone, the Yingxing ironclad ship, which installed two large steam engines, performed better than all the sailing ships in the world at that time. What is particularly important is that the sailing ships are greatly affected by wind, while the Yingxing ironclad ship is almost not affected by wind, which is decisive for the impact of naval battles!

As for artillery and protection capabilities, it goes without saying that the general guns equipped by the "Yingxing" ironclad ship had a range of several times that of the most advanced artillery in Europe during the same period. It is no exaggeration to say that once the ironclad fleet of the Ming Empire and the most powerful navy in Europe at that time, the British Royal Navy would basically be in a passive state of being beaten.

Whether it is speed, artillery range, artillery lethality, ship armor, and the iron armor fleet of the Ming Empire all have absolute advantages. Even with the overall quality of naval soldiers, the naval soldiers of the Ming Empire are no worse than those of the British Royal Navy during the same period. With the birth of the "Yingxing" iron armor ship, the Ming Empire has become a naval power!

However, there must be a prerequisite, that is, the stability of the ironclad ship, or the stability of the steam engine. If the stability of the steam engine is not enough, it will fall into a nest when the naval battle is at its most intense, and the ironclad ship that loses its power will become a living target for enemy ships, and even the thicker armor will still not be able to withstand it.

Wang Pu asked with concern: "So what is the stability?"

"Don't worry, the stability of these two steam engines is absolutely reliable." Fang Yizhi said confidently, "It had been tested for three consecutive months before it was installed on the ironclad ship. There was no fault during this period. The main components were all made of the best steel, which was enough to ensure that they had been used for decades. Those parts that were easily damaged had spare parts. If one was damaged, the other could be replaced and recycled."

"Okay." Wang Pu said excitedly, "It's great, secret, your Military Academy has really made great contributions to the empire."

"This is what we should do." Fang Yizhi said solemnly, "For the strength of the Ming Empire and the prosperity of the Han people, every descendant of Yan and Huang should contribute all his strength, even... life!"

Wang Pu held Fang Yizhi's hands hard and shook them hard, but he couldn't say a word. The Han people had such excellent scientific and technological workers and the Ming Empire had such outstanding citizens. Why worry about the nation's unrest and the country was not strong? Wang Pu had never been full of hope for the future of the Ming Empire as he is now.

In December of the sixth year of Longwu (1649), when the entire Jiangnan was immersed in joy and every household was busy celebrating the New Year, Wang Pu led the Central Army's four infantry battalions, two baggage battalions, one engineer battalion and two artillery battalions, and crossed the sea to the east under the escort of the Third and Fourth Squadrons of the Pacific Fleet.

At Zhenhai Pier, hundreds of merchant ships and hundreds of warships are ready to go.

These hundreds of merchant ships were requisitioned from the private sector, including the Wang family in Songjiang, the Zheng family in Quanzhou, and twenty-six large flat-bottomed merchant ships from the Netherlands. These twenty-six Dutch merchant ships came to the Ming Dynasty to do business, but unfortunately they were forcibly recruited by Wang Pu. For this matter, the manager of the Dutch caravan, Kurod, had found Zhang Yanlin several times to negotiate.

The wind is bright and the sky is high and the sea is blue.

Wang Pu stood on the side of the port surrounded by Li Dingguo, Yan Yingyuan, Yan Ermei, Wang Yi, Zhang Yanlin, Li Ang and other army, including the army and naval generals. On the port, teams of fully armed, murderous Central Army soldiers, majestic general artillery, and a large amount of food, supplies, weapons and ammunition. They were boarding the ship in an orderly manner.

Thousands of Central Army soldiers were like a rolling iron stream, slowly rushing onto the merchant ships anchored in the harbor. At this moment, Wang Pu was undoubtedly quite excited.

The Central Army's cross-sea expedition to Japan was just the beginning. Next, the Central Army had to conquer the South Ocean, explore Australia, seize the colonies of South America, North America and South Asia from the European powers, and compete for African colonies... Next, they had to launch troops to completely break the backbone of the European powers.

The consistent image of humility formed by the Han people over thousands of years has finally undergone earth-shaking changes. From then on, there will be no gentle, humble and polite Han people in this world. From then on, there will be only the Han people in this world that are aggressive and advocate martial!

Just as Wang Pu was thinking about being utterly evident, a noise suddenly sounded outside the naval base.

Wang Pu turned around and frowned and asked, "What's going on? Someone in the Navy station dared to cause trouble?"

Zhang Yanlin took two steps forward and smiled bitterly: "The prince is the manager of the Dutch caravan. Because of the recruitment of twenty-six merchant ships, he has negotiated twice, protested three times and condemned four times to Bei Yi. He also said that he would warn him again, and even resort to force..."

"Negotiation? Protest? Condemn?"

A strange smile appeared on Wang Pu's lips. What a familiar word. In the world he traveled through time, weren't these words commonly used by the Chinese government? Faced with the unfair treatment of Western powers, the government, which was not strong enough, could do nothing but sing these useless clichés.

Now, everything is upside down!

The Ming Empire is now hard enough, so Wang Pu doesn't take the Dutch negotiations, protests or condemnations seriously, and even the Dutch threats of force seriously!

At this time, the Netherlands was indeed very developed in commercial transportation and trade. It had nearly 20,000 large merchant ships, almost the sum of the merchant ships of Britain, France, Spain and Portugal, so it was known as a maritime coachman. However, the Dutch did not have the military strength to match its commercial strength. Moreover, intelligence shows that the Netherlands had not yet established a colonial stronghold in the Cape of Good Hope at this time, and there was no support from the Cape of Good Hope. If the Netherlands wanted to mobilize heavy troops to expedition the Ming Dynasty, it would be a fantasy!

But then again, the Ming Dynasty did not have the strength to go to Europe at this time, so it would be better not to break up. Moreover, Wang Pu was about to do something through European merchants, so Currod came to his door by himself. Thinking of this, Wang Pu said to Zhang Yanlin: "Take the manager named Currod to see me."

"yes."

Zhang Yanlin took the order and soon came to Wang Pu with a red-nose old man. It was obvious that this old man in the Netherlands was the manager of the caravan. This guy had heard about Wang Pu's identity from Zhang Yanlin's mouth. Before he could even walk in front of Wang Pu, he humbly stroked his chest with one hand and gave Wang Pu a grand noble courtesy.

"Dear Prince, your reputation is like the scorching sun in the sky, and your ability to fight and fight have spread throughout the world. Viscount Currod from the Dutch Republic expresses your highest respect to you, and on behalf of our consul, your most sincere greetings to Your Highness..."

Wang Pu's tail bones were numb when he heard this, and quickly waved his hand and said, "His Excellency Kurod, I heard that you were treated unfairly in the Ming Dynasty. Is there anything wrong with this?"

"Oh, no, it's not like that." Currod quickly denied, "His wise Prince, I was the most kind and thoughtful reception in the Ming Empire, and I was not treated unfairly as you said. It was just a small misunderstanding."

The Dutch are indeed a natural businessman. Old Man Currod unyieldingly asked Zhang Yanlin for trouble because of the recruitment of merchant ships. His purpose was nothing more than to seek more rights so that his caravan could buy more silk and porcelain. But when he met Wang Pu, he immediately changed his mind.

Although Currod was a businessman, he had a very spiritual eye and ear. Of course he knew Wang Pu's identity, and even more so he knew that Wang Pu was the de facto ruler of the Ming Empire. What a rare opportunity to meet the supreme ruler of the empire? Currod certainly would not miss such an opportunity. He wanted to submit a trial to Wang Pu and become the agent of the Ming Empire in Europe, so as to monopolize the commercial trade between the Ming and Europe.

Compared with the huge profits that monopoly trade can bring, the requisition of just over twenty merchant ships is insignificant. If Wang Pu is willing to make Kurod the agent of Ming products in Europe, Kurod is even willing to transfer more merchant ships from Taiwan, Batavia, and even from the Netherlands to serve Wang Pu.

"Oh, is that?" Wang Pu shrugged and smiled, "Vissue Currod, your sense of sensibility is enough to make people praise."

Wang Pu is not a fool either. His hardships in the political arena over the years have made him a veteran in politics. Before Currod, a red-haired devil, had even slapped his legs, Wang Pu knew what he was going to pee.

I want to be a trade agent of the Ming Empire in Europe, but I don’t have any problems!

The silk and porcelain of the Ming Dynasty were both top-selling products in the world. If Kurod had monopolized European trade, wouldn’t he give up the pricing power of the goods to others? In this way, wouldn’t the profits from the silk and porcelain trade be made to take up the big deal? Only fools would do that.

Sure enough, Old Man Currod spoke shamelessly: "Dear Prince, your country's silk and porcelain are very exquisite and have a high reputation in Europe. Unfortunately, due to the lack of responsible agents, the sales of silk and porcelain in your country seem to be very messy in Europe, and excessive vicious competition has reduced the price of goods. Therefore, I think that Your Highness should find a suitable agent in Europe to uniformly control the sales of silk and porcelain. Only by doing this can your country's goods be sold at a better price and your country can get more profits."

"Is that true?" Wang Pu smiled faintly and said with a blow, "If so, I would be happy to become the agent of your country's goods in Asia. I wonder if Viscount Currod can convey my wishes to your country's consul?"

"Uh, this..."

Old Man Currod was extremely embarrassed and could only give up and give in second. "Dear Prince, your country's customs levy is 200% tariff. Is this tax rate too high? I think it is more reasonable to impose 80% tariffs based on the reputation and quality of your country's goods. After the tariff is reduced, the price of your country's goods in Europe will drop, which will promote sales growth. Therefore, in the long run, your country's tariff income will not only not decrease, but will increase moderately."

Currod's words make some sense, and the reduction of tariffs will indeed promote trade growth.

However, Wang Pu also knew that Currod made this suggestion not for the sake of the Ming Dynasty. The real reason was that the Dutch had not much silver in his purse, and the silver from various colonies was almost plundered. Because of the silver-based trading system implemented by the Ming Dynasty, the Dutch could not trade with the Ming Dynasty without silver, so Currod made a request to reduce tariffs.

Wang Pu smiled half-truely and half-falsely: "Vissue Kurod, you Dutch people asked me to lower the tariffs because they had no silver, right? Haha, it doesn't matter if you don't have silver, you can exchange gold. As for the price comparison between gold and silver, I think it's more appropriate to exchange one tael of gold for four taels of silver. Of course, if your country thinks this price comparison is not suitable, we can sit down and negotiate slowly."

Wang Pu finally showed his hideousness. His purpose was very clear, which was to use silk, porcelain, famous tea, cigarettes and other commodities to dump and squeeze out silver from the hands of European powers, force the European powers to accept the silver-standard trading system of the Ming Empire, and then use the right to compare gold and silver to squeeze out gold from the hands of European powers, thereby completely destroying the gold-standard trading system of Europe.
Chapter completed!