Lucien placed the officers and men of the Far Eastern Fleet in this manor, and organized the servants here to cooperate with the officers and men of the fleet to unload the goods, and then put them into storage. After doing this, he left the manor in a hurry, because Lucien had brought back a large fleet this time, and in order to reduce unnecessary trouble, he took some Ming silk and porcelain from Manila, and visited the local magistrate, the customs officer, and the tax collector respectively.

In seventeenth-century Europe, the silk and porcelain of the Ming Dynasty were definitely at their disposal, and they were also synonymous with high-end goods, which were very effective against local officials. A few local officials only symbolically sent people over to take a look, and they completed a necessary measure.

Two days later, all the goods on the ship were put into storage, and Song Tao, Ding Xinghao, and Li Shaojie had time to sit together.

"Lucien, do you have any plans for the sale of our Far Eastern goods?"

After Song Tao's words were translated by Albert to Lucien, he nodded: "The high-end luxury goods of the Far East are favored by the European aristocracy, and if you simply want to sell these goods, anyone can sell them out in a short time." However, it is not an easy task to establish a complete sales network for other goods in the Far East in the French aristocratic circles.

I have had some friendships with some nobles in several influential salons before, but few of the nobles I know can enter the circle of high-level nobles. I figured out these high-end luxury goods from the Far East in my hands, and broke into the circle of the upper aristocracy, and once they knew that I had access to Far Eastern goods, they would inevitably take the initiative to contact me. I can use the process of communicating with them to build relationships.

But that's it. It takes a lot of time, and the nobles tend to be reserved, and even if they want to buy the goods they need from me, they will not be in a hurry. After all, aristocrats have to pay attention to decency. In the future, I will get acquainted with some occasions and slowly become familiar with me. I used to be in the leather business in the circles of the aristocracy. The same is true, you must not act like a businessman, and you must also use the way of an aristocracy.

Therefore, I am going to take the initiative to make friends with a few of the influential salon ladies in Paris, and through their influence, we will establish influence in the French aristocratic high society in the shortest possible time. It is better to have a chance to enter the German. The Blue Salon founded by the Marquise de Rambouillet is said to have been home to the most powerful. Beauty like a cloud. Countless French aristocrats wanted to enter this salon. ”

Song Tao thought for a while and said: "Well, it's a good way to throw bricks and lead jade, Lu Xi'an, you can do it boldly, we have plenty of time at present." It is better to be able to attach to some powerful nobles, and you might as well give them some benefits. Strive for the creation of a large interest group in France. ”

Ding Xinghao also smiled and said: "Old Song, let's do it, we can pretend to be a merchant from the East, and Albert is a Portuguese nobleman." Let Lucien lead us to Paris to find out the market. ”

Song Tao nodded, and said to Li Shaojie and Fan Bit next to him: "Shaojie, you and Lao Fan lead the fleet to repair here, but the security work cannot be relaxed." I'm going to Paris with a few special operators, and I'll be in touch with you on the radio. We'll do our best to take care of this side of things. Then the fleet will set sail for the New World. ”

The next day, Song Tao took Wang Xiaojie, Zhang Yufei and several other special combat team members under the leadership of Lu Xi. Hop on a boat and head down the Seine to Paris.

The Seine is the second largest river in France that flows through the center of Paris, with a total length of 780 kilometers and a basin area of 78,000 square kilometers. In 987 AD, the Capetian dynasty was born, and Paris became the capital of France for the first time. From the 11th century onwards, Paris began to develop urban and commercial. Expand to the right bank of the Seine. Louis VI established markets and roads in the right-bank region. Philip II built the first wall around Paris and widened the city's roads. A public fountain was built, and the Louvre was built at the same time.

The 17th century was the era when the Bourbon dynasty of Louis Gil-Louis ruled the world. The king was "the first servant of God and the first suzerainty of the kingdom," and the royal family became the center of the nation. The grandeur of the royal family often goes hand in hand with the profligacy and waste of life. The financial director Cobel paid great attention to the production of luxury goods, believing that "fashion is to France what a gold mine is to Spain", and the consumption expenditure of the royal family and the upper class of society has a great appeal to the consumption of the society, thus driving the wave of consumption of the whole society, and in the 17th century, France entered the "century of consumption".

The most significant is reflected in the consumption level of the royal family and the aristocracy, which objectively represents the overall consumption level of a society.

The magnificence and extravagance of the Louis XIV dynasty was evident in the budget of 1685: the 606999 livres for the household, the small coffers 1681042 livres, the silverware including the royal dressing 2274253 livres, the pocket money for valuables 400,850 livres, the purchase of horses 12,000 livres, the maintenance of three stables 1045958 livres, the gift 313028 livres, the butler 61,050 livres, game animals, Hunting 388931 livres using falcons and hounds, 1,230,000 livres for the husband's household, 252,000 livres for the lady's household, tips 160437 livres, king's petty expenses 2186748 livres, construction of royal buildings 15340901 livres, secret funds 2365134 livres, traveling 558236 livres, total 28814567 livres. Of the annual state budget of about 100.64 million livres, about 29 million livres are spent by the king for personal consumption.

The court is like this, and the princes and nobles are not far behind. Daily consumption in Paris, 260 million livres worth of necessities per year, and another 10 million livres worth of feed to feed the horses.

How could the Far East miss this era of luxury in France, so in the modern world, plans have been made to deal with it. And the center of this plan is to use aristocratic women as the main breakthrough point. The use of luxury goods to form a popular fashion among French aristocratic women, and then to lead the consumption wave of the entire French society.

In order to sell high-end leather goods, Lucien used to wander around the salons of Paris and met many nobles. This also coincided with the plans of the Far East, because the salons were often hosted by noble women of a certain status, who also had considerable influence among the nobility.

From the 17th century onwards, Parisian celebrities (most of them ladies) used to turn their living rooms into famous social venues, which had a great influence at a time when books were not widely available and various propaganda tools were not developed, and it was an excellent stage to show their influence.

The hostesses who held various salons, tired of the tedious and vulgar court interactions, but unwilling to stay away from social interactions, held parties at home. Their manners, manners, and virtues have left endless reveries for posterity. Although religious and secular ideas were derogatory to women's nature and morality, the attitude of the aristocracy towards women was heavily influenced by the chivalric manners of the feudal era.

In the Renaissance, after the idealization of the Neo-Platonic elite, elegant love became a tool for spiritual sublimation, and pleasing and honoring women was not only a manifestation of male honor, but also the foundation of high society etiquette and a clear proof of social nobility. The courteous manner of communication in the salon is the inheritance of the polite concept of the aristocracy in the late Middle Ages. (To be continued)

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