The atmosphere in the imperial study was somewhat awkward.
Branden took a deep breath and said, “Esteemed Your Majesty, ten million ducats is truly beyond the capacity of the Bank of Amsterdam in the Netherlands. After all, we have provided loans to many countries.”
“Is that so? Then how much can you provide? It is said that you have many large silver mines in South America.” Xiao Ming gazed at Branden.
“Indeed. It seems Your Majesty knows us very well,” Branden said, somewhat surprised. “Five million ducats. We can only provide this much now, after all, transporting this equivalent amount of gold and silver from mainland Netherlands is simply too dangerous.”
Xiao Ming remained silent for a while. This was half the amount, basically equivalent to three hundred thousand taels of gold, or three million taels of silver.
After a pause, he continued, “However, even so, we cannot provide so much real gold and silver. By my estimation, we can only provide one million taels of silver and thirty thousand taels of gold. The rest can only be substituted with goods such as saltpeter, iron ore, rubber, and sulfur.”
“Let’s do it that way!” Xiao Ming readily agreed. For him, the most important issue now was to acquire funds to accelerate domestic construction. If the Netherlands could continuously provide him with funds, the Great Yu Empire’s industrial and commercial development would be even faster.
Branden breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this. He said, “So, Your Majesty is willing to provide escort for the Dutch merchant fleet?”
“Of course, but this route is not from Malacca to the Netherlands. It’s from here to here!” As he spoke, Xiao Ming walked to the world map and, on the map, drew a line from Ryukyu to Australia, and then from Europe to South America. This was one of the eight major maritime routes in contemporary times.
His choice of this route was not out of fear of the British fleet, but because he wanted to understand this route from Australia to South America through escort. This would prepare for future occupation of Australia and an advance into South America and North America, while also training the Great Yu Empire navy’s deep-sea combat capability.
Branden was dumbfounded. Only then did he notice the huge world map in the imperial study. What surprised him was that this map meticulously marked the world’s geographical locations.
“My God, this is the greatest map I have ever seen,” Branden said in a daze.
Xiao Ming waved his hand in front of Branden, bringing him back to his senses. He said, “This map has eight routes. The British control the first one, and their control over this route is relatively weak. If you agree, I will dispatch a fleet to escort you to a safe area. After all, you can only provide half the loan, so I can only choose the easier one.”
Branden spread his hands helplessly. He seemed to have no other choice, after all, this was indeed a route back. He said, “Alright, it seems this is the only way now.”
“You will also have to bear the escort fees. After all, I will still be paying you interest. Business is business, and no one should suffer a loss,” Xiao Ming added.
Branden had already thought of this. “That’s natural. However, besides escort, we also came this time hoping to deepen commercial ties with your esteemed country. We hope to purchase more goods from the Great Yu Empire, such as steam engines, bearings, white sugar, cotton cloth, silk, and even firearms.”
“I must say, you Dutch have keen insight. These are all the Great Yu Empire’s treasures for national prosperity,” Xiao Ming said, somewhat surprised. “And you also seem to understand the formidable nature of the Great Yu Empire’s firearms.”
Branden spoke truthfully. “Many people know about the Great Yu Empire’s war with the northern nomadic tribes, and they also know about some miraculous weapons on the battlefield. If Your Majesty is willing to sell, we would be very happy to purchase them.”
Nodding slightly, he said, “Of course. You can discuss this matter with Li Kaiyuan. He will tell you what can be sold and what cannot be sold. However, in any case, you must prepare sufficient funds if you wish to purchase these items.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.” Branden let out a sigh of relief. He was very happy. This time, the Great Yu Empire seemed more open than two years ago, and more willing to participate in overseas trade.
He was both happy and worried about this phenomenon. He was happy that the Netherlands had such a powerful partner in Asia, but worried that the Great Yu Empire’s sphere of influence was beginning to expand overseas.
Having settled the loan matter, Branden discussed some more details of cooperation with Xiao Ming before bidding farewell and leaving.
Watching Branden depart, Qian Dafu sighed with emotion, “Your Majesty, this Netherlands is truly wealthy! They casually produced so much gold and silver.”
“That’s not even much. Branden is very cunning; he’s worried that we might default, so he only provided this much in loans. Even if we don’t repay, they won’t lose too much,” Xiao Ming analyzed. “But it doesn’t matter. The real profit this time lies in trading with Dutch merchants. He brought quite a few major merchants this time.”
“Is Your Majesty truly going to sell Conqueror Muskets, steam engines, and these industrial products to the Dutch?” Qian Dafu asked with some worry.
“If selling one Conqueror Musket allows the Great Yu Empire army to be equipped with a breech-loading rifle, why wouldn’t I? Moreover, Conqueror Muskets have probably already fallen into European hands. In a few more years, they might not be novel anymore. As for the first-generation reciprocating steam engine, of course, I’ll sell it. Only by selling it for money can I research more advanced steam engines.”
Xiao Ming’s expression was excited. Overall, he supported selling these products, because at this point in time, Europe’s industrial capacity was already capable of manufacturing these items. Waiting until they were obsolete would be meaningless.
Of course, he would absolutely not trade certain core technologies, such as industrial mother machines, breech-loading gun technology, and steam locomotives. Maintaining a generational gap had always been his principle.
Meanwhile, Branden breathed a heavy sigh of relief after leaving the imperial palace.
The merchants, who had been waiting outside for a long time, immediately surrounded him, eagerly asking about the results of his audience.
“Thank God! The Emperor of the Great Yu Empire showed astonishing benevolence this time. The shipping route and trade have both succeeded!” Branden laughed loudly.
The other merchants immediately became excited. Yesterday, after wandering around Qingzhou Province, they had roughly planned what they would purchase, but for them, this was not enough.
Because they believed the Great Yu Empire had other goods waiting for them to discover.
A merchant said, “Councilor Branden, we should stay in Qingzhou Province for a few more days to confirm what else we need to buy.”
Branden nodded. He also wanted to try riding a steam locomotive. When he left before, he had mentioned this, and the Emperor of the Great Yu Empire had promised to let him ride it when the steam locomotive was test-operated.
For him, this was a significant temptation. He also planned to record this trip to the Great Yu Empire, to give the members of the Dutch Parliament a deeper understanding of the Great Yu Empire.
The novel has already been fully translated up to the final chapter. You can access it on my Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/caleredhair