Without a doubt, this was what France and Genoa wanted to see.
Of course, they hoped that the tyrannical Spain in Europe would suffer a severe setback and decline.
Although the merchant ships from China had to pass through Spain's territory to reach France and Genoa, the Chinese merchants didn't have to worry about it themselves. The warm-hearted Genoese and French had already united to help China solve this problem.
Through economic and military pressure, as well as the practical needs of the European upper class, and even the threat of the Church, the Spanish didn't dare to make a move. Lemar's ruling group, which was besieged internally and externally, had no choice but to compromise, and the Chinese merchant ships were able to ensure their own safety.
However, after this, the China craze that swept across Europe also stimulated the upper class of the Spanish Empire. Because the Chinese refused to trade with the Spanish, the Spanish couldn't directly obtain China's goods. After the pressure on the government was ultimately ineffective, they had no choice but to seek cooperation with Genoa.
France wouldn't cooperate with them, but Genoa might not. Under the temptation of high economic benefits, some Genoese merchants allowed the Spanish merchant ships to do business with China as Genoese, but the Genoese had to take a certain percentage of the profits.
As a result, although some of the Spanish made money, the consequent increase in costs made China's goods more expensive for the Spanish.
However, Philip III's pursuit of China's goods and Chinese lifestyle was even more serious than Henry IV's. When he learned that only the top nobles could enjoy China's lifestyle, Philip III, who loved to enjoy, strongly requested Lemar's ruling group to satisfy his desire.
Duke Lemar had to find ways to satisfy Philip III's desire to maintain his power. Because of the Chinese's stubborn hostility towards Spain, Duke Lemar's process of obtaining China's goods was extremely difficult, and the cost was much higher than that of the Genoese and French.
This added a great burden to Spain's already difficult finances.
However, in the fourth year of Longwu, a Chinese merchant mysteriously came to the Spanish capital Madrid with the help of a missionary. He found Duke Lemar and promised that he could help the Spanish obtain the China goods they needed at a cheaper price than the Genoese.
Duke Lemar was very happy about this news, but he didn't believe that the Chinese businessman could do it. The Chinese businessman immediately sent 100 kilos of tea and 100 pieces of porcelain as a greeting gift.
Seeing these things, Duke Lemar was overjoyed and immediately expressed his willingness to cooperate with this China businessman.
The method that Chinese businessmen provided was through the channels of Myanmar. They said that Myanmar was a territory that China had recently taken control of. The Chinese government's control over Myanmar was not as strong as it was over the mainland, so the Yangon port in Myanmar could be used for this kind of smuggling activity.
He offered to let the Spaniards sail to the port of Rangoon, where he would help the Spaniards obtain goods from China. Of course, the price would not be as high as the French and Genoese.
Later, at the end of the fourth year of Longwu, a Spanish merchant fleet arrived at the port of Yangon in Myanmar. They obtained the goods they had been dreaming of, and they paid a lot of gold and silver for this batch of goods.
After the goods left, the businessman turned around and loaded the gold and silver on the ship to Tianjin. At the beginning of the fifth year of Longwu, the gold and silver were sent to the Emperor's personal treasury in Beijing.
Xiao Ruxun would not let go of this reasonable opportunity to make a lot of money. Instead of giving this opportunity to the French and Genoese, why not take it for himself?
After taking power and becoming a policy-maker, Xiao Ruxun had a sharper sense of smell and information channels than any other businessman. This was because he was the source of the information.
Just like that, while the economic blockade against Spain was still ongoing, Xiao Ruxun made a lot of extra money through this kind of secret smuggling.
In order to take more of Spain's needs, he even used the power of the Royal Plantation to expand the scale of the smuggling business. He snatched a large portion of the profits from the smuggling business from the Genoese.
The Genoese later found out about this and realized that there were other powers helping the Spaniards to smuggle goods from China. However, when they found out that the smugglers were the Chinese themselves, they angrily complained to China's customs, which was also known as the Department of Shipping.
Of course, there was no response. After the Genoese complained many times to no avail, they realized that this could be the doing of someone in power within China. They could not interfere, nor did they have the guts to launch an attack on the Spanish merchant fleet. They could only grit their teeth and bear with it.
Through this smuggling route, Xiao Ruxun's personal treasury became even richer. He even established a secret line of communication with the Spanish rulers and obtained a lot of useful information.
Through this series of actions, by the end of the fifth year of Longwu, China's goods had appeared in most of the European continent, including France, Spain, England, and the Holy Roman Empire. They had opened many markets that they had never opened before, and the amount of foreign exchange they earned was far beyond imagination.
In the first year of the fifth year of Longwu, 517 Chinese merchant ships arrived in Europe to do business and made money directly. They also opened four more shops in Paris and Genoa, expanding the scope of business and the number of businesses, and increasing the stable supply.
The huge profits and taxes from foreign trade filled the Daqin's treasury. The treasury's income in the fourth year of Longwu reached the total of the first eight years of the Wanli Era.
The treasury's income in the fifth year of Longwu was currently being calculated. According to the forecast, it was estimated to reach the total of the treasury's income in the fifteenth year of the Wanli Era. This did not include Xiao Ruxun's personal treasury.
During the Wanli Era, the maritime trade in the southeast was still prosperous, but the large amount of profits did not fall into the treasury's mouth. Most of the profits were eaten by the local gentry, and the treasury was empty.
Now, the local gentry no longer existed, and the commercial progressive tax law was officially implemented. Excluding the direct income from Xiao Ruxun's Royal Plantation organization and the official merchant ships organized by the Ministry of Finance, the commercial tax revenue was astounding, and the treasury's income was astounding.
The officials of the Ministry of Finance were jokingly called by the officials of other departments as "counting money every day until their hands cramp."
The unprecedented abundant income gave Xiao Ruxun great confidence, giving him sufficient financial support to promote the land reform, the construction of education, the Grand Avenue, and the eradication of locusts and pests. These actions went very smoothly, and the conditions for the construction of the three provinces in the southeast were fully met.
During this period, Xiao Ruxun launched the second wave of the great purge. The targets of the purge were the merchants who evaded taxes and the officials who assisted in the purge.
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