After Methwald got into Chongzhen's royal carriage, Wang Chengen, who was sitting in the corner, closed the door, and then turned to the coachman in front of him and ordered to go.

After the vehicle drove forward for some distance, Zhu Youzhen said to Methwald: "I have considered the several requests you made to Daming on behalf of the East India Company, and I can make a little more concession for the sake of your insistence.

I remember last time I promised you that the East India Company could lease the warehouses and residences that had already been built from the Ming Dynasty. So this time, I'll give you another convenience.

The East India Company can lease a piece of land from Daming, and then hand over the warehouse and house drawings you want to build to the officials of Daming, and we will carry out the construction according to the drawings you provide.

This is also my last concession, of course, whether the terms negotiated between the Ming and the British these days can be implemented will depend on whether the king of your country is willing to accept this trade agreement when you return to the UK. ”

Although Chongzhen still did not give permission, he allowed the East India Company to build the company's warehouses and merchants' quarters on its own. But Methwold knew that His Majesty the Emperor could no longer make concessions.

In fact, Chongzhen did not even want to back down on this step, but after he questioned Andre, he found that neither the British nor other European merchants were accustomed to mixing with the locals.

This was not just because of the differences in Eastern and Western customs that made these European merchants reluctant to mingle with the locals. More importantly, these Europeans knew how much their countrymen were doing abroad and how disgusting they were.

They were unwilling, unsuspecting, and mixed with the natives. Once these natives are angry with their fellow citizens for what they have done, they do not feel that they can escape reprisals by mixing with their natives.

Especially the British, although the probability of British pirates appearing in Asia is very small, they are already very active in the Caribbean, the Atlantic, the African coast, and the Indian Ocean.

The British plundered the Spaniards and Portuguese in the Caribbean and the Atlantic, and pilgrim* ships on the coast of Africa, in the Indian Ocean, on the pilgrimage to Mecca. It can be said that British merchants were more insecure overseas than other European merchants.

That's why Methwold insisted on building a separate company store and merchant quarters. He needs to ensure that if there is a misunderstanding between the two parties, the company's property and employees can be protected to a certain extent.

In the worst-case scenario, the evacuation of the company's employees can be covered by the warehouse's defenses. Of course, Methwold's alleged misunderstanding was that the British had robbed the ships of their country without informing the company, thus making the East India Company unprepared for the locals.

In the face of Chongzhen's final answer, Methwald also knew that the question of the company's establishment of a merchant house in Daming could only be temporarily subordinated to the Chinese emperor's request. However, he was also secretly glad that the British pirates had not yet crossed the Strait of Malacca to the north, so he did not have to worry too much about the conflict between the British pirates and the Chinese merchant ships for the time being.

When Methwald chose to accept, Zhu Youzhen continued to say to him: "Then next, I want to ask you, what does the East India Company plan to use to pay for the raw silk, silk, porcelain, tea, cotton cloth and other commodities exported by the Ming Dynasty?"

This year, the price of first-class raw silk in southern ports is 150 yuan per quintal, second-class raw silk is 125 yuan, and third-class raw silk is 100 yuan. Even if the worst third-class raw silk is calculated, the export value of each ton of raw silk is 2,000 yuan.

Suppose the East India Company purchases 1,000 tons of raw silk from China every year, that is, 20,000 quintals of raw silk, and also pays 2 million yuan per year. If converted to pounds, it is 400,000 pounds.

But as far as I know, the East India Company's merchant ships in Banten were about 1,000 tons, but the share capital was only £180,000; And you have 800 tons of merchant ships and 50,000 pounds of share capital in Surat, India.

So, what I want to know now is, what goods is the East India Company going to use to fill the trade deficit between the two countries that is hundreds of thousands of pounds a year? ”

"God should have hung those talkative businessmen on London Bridge who had betrayed the company's secrets so thoroughly." Methwold cursed the clerks in anger as he racked his brains about how to prevaricate the question of His Majesty the Emperor.

In fact, the question asked by Chongzhen is also a difficult problem that the British are actively thinking about after opening the door to China's trade.

In 1615, at the request of the shareholders of the East India Company, King James I sent Sir Thomas Roy to visit Emperor Jahangir of India in order to open the door to trade on the Indian mainland. The purpose of this diplomatic visit was to grant the British East India Company a unique right to settle and establish factories in Surat and other parts of the Indian mainland.

Jahangir, who owned nearly 70% of the Indian continent, wanted to reach friendly relations with the British in view of the easy defeat of the Portuguese in the 1612 naval battle off the west coast of India.

The first was to ensure that the annual pilgrimage to Mecca by India* would not be hindered by the British. Second, Sir Thomas Roy was able to exercise a nimble approach to diplomacy and gain Jahangir's personal friendship. So when the East India Company offered to offer Jahangir goods and treasures from the European market.

Jahangir finally wrote a reply to the King of England, promising that British merchants could live wherever they wished, and that they enjoyed unrestricted freedom. Regardless of the port they arrived at, they were not allowed to be disturbed by Portuguese or others.

Whatever city they settled in, he would order that all governors and governors who obeyed him be given whatever freedom they needed. They can buy, sell and transport goods to their country at will.

In addition, he asked the King of England to order that English merchants should use their ships to bring all kinds of treasures and goods suitable for his palace.

If the Chinese emperor in front of him was an Eastern monarch like Jahangir, then Methwald had a good chance of currying favor with the Chinese emperor.

The monarchs of the East loved not the beauties of various countries, but all kinds of treasures. As long as the Chinese Emperor was able to grant the privileges of China's foreign trade to the East India Company, he did not mind scavenging for the beauties of the East and the West and all sorts of treasures to win the favor of His Majesty.

But it was clear that the Chinese emperor was not another Jahangir, and in Methwold's eyes, the young man was more suited to be a merchant than a monarch, and he valued business interests to the point of ignoring his own reputation.

Methwold knew very well that the East India Company could satisfy the personal needs of the Chinese emperor, but it could not cover the huge trade deficit with British goods.

Chongzhen's estimate of the annual trade volume of the two countries' fleets of 400,000 pounds is already a fairly low level in his opinion. In three years' time, trade between the two countries will inevitably exceed this limit.

However, the woolen and metal products produced in Britain are not marketable in Daming. The Chinese do not like woolen products, and the metal products produced in China are not only much cheaper than the British, but they also coat the surface of some metal products with a layer of silver-white material, which looks beautiful and durable.

In fact, if it weren't for the fact that silk and porcelain produced in China were more profitable, he felt that even selling such metal products would be a good business. Whether it's Southeast Asia, India, or Africa, there are sure to be people who love this shiny looking metalwork.

Methwold pondered for a long time, but could not think of a single cargo that could make up the trade deficit, and he had to try to divert the topic and say, "Does Your Majesty know about Brazilian rosewood?" On the South American continent, there are thousands of these trees, and this wood produces an extremely pure red color, which is a very valuable dye.

As far as I know, the Chinese are very fond of red, and the price of red satin and cloth in the market is often one or two times that of other colors. We, the East India Company, are more than willing to buy large quantities of this wood for your country, thus making up for the trade deficit that our company will have. ”

Zhu Youzhen pursed his lips and said, "Although I know that the Kingdom of Portugal has been annexed by the Spaniards, it doesn't mean that the Portuguese can't even keep Brazil.

Eight or 90 years ago, under the Treaty of Todesillas, the Portuguese occupied the coastal areas of Brazil. It is said that they established 14 fiefdoms in the region, with the city of El Salvador as the capital of the Brazilian colony.

Although the Dutch conquered a large area of northeastern Brazil five years ago, they have not been able to capture all of Brazil to this day. In this situation, the East India Company wanted to intervene in the Brazilian rosewood trade in the coastal areas, and you were sure that it would not cause an attack from the Dutch? ”

Although it wasn't hot today, Methwold felt like he was sweating profusely. He was really reluctant to engage in business negotiations with such an Oriental monarch who was familiar with overseas affairs, which made him feel that all his hole cards had been seen through by the other party.

Methwold was dumbfounded, and when he hadn't found any other way to deal with it, Zhu Youzhen suddenly said to him: "Actually, I have a suggestion, I don't know if the East India Company is willing to accept it?" ”

Methwald breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly replied, "Your Majesty, please say, I would love to hear your advice." ”

Zhu Youzhen moved his body and let go of the middle part of the carriage, and then Wang Chengen lowered a wooden board from the wall of the carriage to form a simple table.

Then Wang Chengen opened a drawer from under his seat, revealing scrolls of scrolls, and he took out one of them, and then spread it out on the simple table.

Meswold took a closer look and realized that it was a small map of the world. At this time, Zhu Youzhen also took out a small black ball, flicked it on the table, and then asked him: "Do you recognize it, what is this?" ”