Florie asked, "Where is the safe place?"

"We can infer it ourselves." Ji Shengdian asked back, "If you were an early banker, how would you want to ensure your assets are safe?"

“I would want to have my own armed forces to defend my industry.”

"Correct, but will it be useful if you master the armed forces?"

"No." Flory admitted honestly.

Before the opening of the banking industry, the Knights Templar was an armed group that was good at fighting and had made great achievements in the Crusades. However, in the face of the powerful royal power, it did not have excellent resistance performance, and it was simply about to collapse.

"So it's not enough to just have your own arming, what else does a banker need?"

Florie thought for a while, "I think I need my own nest."

France arrested the senior leaders of the Knights Templar and was accurate when they arrested them. Because these people were scattered on the king's territory and under the jurisdiction of the king's officials, when they found that others suddenly attacked them, there was no room for resistance and escape.

If the Templars have their own territory and use their own arms to defend themselves, they can at least fight a defensive battle and will never end up waiting for death.

"So, the bankers learned from the fall of the Knights Templar, found a piece of their own territory, and started to run a global financial network again."

“Where is this place?”

Ji Shengdian smiled, "United Republic of the Netherlands."

"How could it be the Netherlands?" Florie said in surprise.

"Think about it, why did the Netherlands once become the world's financial center in that small place?"

"Because there is very open to capital, wherever the capital in Europe goes, the financial industry will naturally develop."

"Isn't that right?" Ji Shengdian smiled, "Capital likes to gather in some place, which means that this is a paradise of capital and its territory."

Florie was stunned for a moment, "It seems that's the reason."

"And, you can think about it again. Why is the Netherlands a Republic?"

"Why?"

"This is in line with the Republic of Venice, and the merchants specially created a system suitable for capital transfer."

The origins of the Netherlands come from Venice, and the origins of the Venetian Republic can be traced back to ancient Rome.

Although ancient Rome was a republic in the past and an empire after it, it always maintained a developed commercial law and contract spirit for the operation of the national economic system, so naturally there was a strong merchant class. After the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the fifth century AD, the entire Europe entered the so-called barbaric medieval era and was covered by feudal territories of all sizes. On the ruins of ancient Rome, Italy, where states were separated, merchants gathered in several places such as the Republic of Venice. They maintained their existence all the time, while dreaming about restoring the world-class financial and trade system of the Roman era. Although the scope of this "world" was actually around the Mediterranean Sea in the past.

Five hundred years passed in a blink of an eye, and even the medieval Europe, which was regarded as barbaric by merchants, developed vigorous vitality after entering a new thousand years. Therefore, under the planning and operation of capital, especially the advantage of the Pope in Italy, he inspires the kings and lords who believe in Christ to launch repeated crusades. In this process, not only did he grab extremely rich spoils, but he also selected some knights with outstanding military achievements. As a front-end organization, he started the banking industry in Europe.

However, after two hundred years of hard work, the Knights Templar was harvested overnight by the royal power and the church power, creating a beautiful ideal soul and dream of building an international financial system.

Although the merchants gathered in Southern Europe were depressed, they still strived for self-improvement. While promoting the upgraded version of the Crusades - the Age of Discovery, they chose a suitable place as the world's financial and trade center based on the new situation, and at the same time created the most powerful navy to arm the defense.

The reason why this center was the Netherlands and abandoned Italy was because in the era of the great navigation of Crusaders 2.0, the main stage of world commerce had been transferred from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic Ocean, so the hub must of course be located along the Atlantic coast. Therefore, the Netherlands can obtain it from Spain. It has nothing to do with the brave struggle of the local people, but the European capital groups want to use it as a place of use.

As a result, the carefully built Republic of the Netherlands became a world trade center and a world financial center like a rocket. It had countless shipping fleets. It controlled the main waterways of the world, was called the sea coachman, and also a navy that was no less than any country, preventing itself from being harvested by the royal power of a powerful country.

However, the Netherlands once again found depressedly that their maritime power was indeed strong. However, the land power was still a tragedy. Although both the British could fight at sea and in the British, once the French sent troops from land, the Netherlands, which lacked depth, was hit hard by a small territory.

Therefore, the beautiful ideal of establishing an international financial hegemony system for the second time was also shattered.

After the financial capitalists were depressed again, they continued to struggle. They decided to bloom more and place bets from multiple parties, and not put eggs in a basket. History is always so wonderful. The object I chose this time was the British, the mortal enemy of the Netherlands. So, Dutch consul William III took advantage of the opportunity of civil strife in the UK to cross the English Channel and launch a glorious revolution. From then on, the capital group also had a sky in the UK, and the City of London rose slowly until it became the heart of the world's finance.

In this history, the maids cannot understand because of their knowledge, the international students cannot understand because of their age, and the noble ladies cannot understand because of their experience. Only Florey and Ren Xiaodie can roughly understand what kind of context they are.

"Sister Ten." Ren Xiaodie whispered, "I think it doesn't seem very easy for capital to control the country."

"You are such a nonsense. The country has violent power, and the rectification of businessmen has a natural advantage." Ji Aojian snorted, "This is because of the fragmented country distribution and the power of any country is relatively limited. Capital groups have room for maneuver in the international structure."

Now Britain is the world's financial center, which also shows that this is the most favored place for capital groups. The reason is that, first, the British royal power was inherently insufficient, which was weakened once in the Magna Carta era. Cromwell weakened once again when he sent the king to the guillotine, and the glorious revolution weakened again. After the constitutional monarchy was established, it had lost the foundation for restoring the monarchy system. Second, as the offshore balancer of the European continent, it was in line with its strategic interests to maintain the collapse of Europe, which was consistent with the capital group's desire for European countries to be separated and broken. Therefore, the interests of the two parties could be tied up and cooperated. Third, the British financial market and politician elections have been infiltrated for two hundred years, and both fiscal and economic and national policies have been controlled by the capital group to a considerable extent.

"Master." Florie pondered, "It sounds like capital is already very safe."

"This is not enough. Control does not mean resting on your mind." Ji Shengdian smiled, "You think, in a joint-stock company, the management team often undermines the board of directors, not to mention that it is only a partially controlled national power. It can swallow the delicious flesh and blood of capital at any time."

"How can it be safer?"

"A country that cannot be completely controlled by capital can only be regarded as a business institution by capital groups, so it also needs a highly secure safe."

“Then where can it be a safe.”

Ji Shengdian asked, "Have you ever heard of the permanent neutral country?"

"I know, Switzerland is."

Switzerland is a mountainous country located in Central Europe. The terrain is dangerous and difficult to attack, the resources are poor, and the mountain people are afraid of death. In the late Middle Ages, the combat effectiveness of the Swiss mercenaries shocked Europe. Therefore, it was thankless to attack this place, and the cost-effectiveness was undesirable. Not to mention that after Switzerland became a permanent neutral country, whoever attacked this country would have to bear a more moral burden.

"Oh, I understand." Florie's eyes lit up. "Switzerland is indeed the best safe to make."

Switzerland is both poor and hard, and it is difficult to attack with force. It is much safer than the geographical environment of Venice and the halo of permanent neutrality. It is really the safest place. And because this place is a small poor country, it is very suitable for using capital to buy control.

During the initial expansion, the Red Cross took advantage of its reputation to carry out shadow banking business to the greatest efficiency. However, after the layout is completed, the main customer business can be handed over to the "safe" as a whole, and from then on, it can become a charitable organization as it really does. Of course, this does not mean that the Red Cross completely eliminates other functions such as money laundering. At least this is also a backup system that can be enabled at any time.

Ji Shengdian nodded, "Switzerland is really good, but we now find that there may be a better safe."

Florie was curious, “Where is the better?”

"Mexico."

"Huh?" Florie was surprised and calculated. Mexico's capital is located in the mountainous areas of Central America, and Mexico is far away from the European continent. Even if the European land power attacks at all costs, it has no place to use its power. As for other powerful countries in the Americas that may pose a threat to Mexico, only the United States has the potential to have a great power, but it seems that it has been abolished by the civil war, and no other countries in South America can become a climate.

If we count this way, Mexico really seems to be more suitable as a safe than Switzerland.

"But Master, Mexico has the talent of a great power." Florie said in confusion. "If this country develops to a certain extent, the power will have self-ambitions, and it will no longer be suitable as a safe for international capital, right?"

"Why do you think Mexico has a great power endowment?"

"This country has a vast territory and has just won a battle, and its country is in full swing."

"However, this country is a combination of immigrants and indigenous people, and both language and culture lack cohesion." Ji Shengdian laughed, "More importantly, although the country is vast, the capital is in mountainous areas. Many plains are located outside the mountainous areas, which are strategically easy to lose and difficult to defend, and separatist tendencies are difficult to overcome."

“So you think there will be a separatist movement in this country.”

“In this world, there is a sacred right called national self-determination.”

Ji Shengdian looked calm, "If a country only has mountains, the scale of industrialization is destined to be limited, and it cannot be said that it will become a great power in the future."

"So that's the case." Florey nodded, "It seems that Mexico's future national power is really not to worry about."

"In fact, in addition to the factor of being safer, there is another reason, which is the conditions unique to Mexico but Switzerland cannot."

"What is this?"

"The position of the trade center," said Ji Shengdian. "When the Tevantepec canal is built, Mexico will become the third version of Venice and the Netherlands, and it is the best version of the army."

"That canal connecting the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean?" asked Florie. "Are you not worried about strengthening national strength and breaking out of control?"

"The strength possessed by trade status is all fragile things, and it can be ended as long as it is blocked." Ji Shengdian smiled, "Only when real industrialization becomes stronger is the foundation of national strength." (To be continued.)

...
Chapter completed!