Chapter 1443 Plans for Europe - Genoa's Explanation and Reasons
"Also, we in the Republic of Genoa also hope that the Ming Dynasty can expand the types of imported goods, such as slaves. I know that the Ming Dynasty also used slaves, but it refused to import slaves from Europe. I hope that your majesty can liberalize this trade." Ni
Colo Doria said again.
"Why does your country want to export slaves to the Ming Dynasty?" Yunxi asked puzzledly. Except for a very small number of slaves with special talents or particularly beautiful looks, the price of most slaves is not high, and the profit is meager after considering the huge transportation costs.
, and it is more troublesome to transport than ordinary goods. It is rare to sell slaves over long distances when sea transportation is not possible. Why did he make this request?
Nicolo Doria did not answer this question, but added: "Your Majesty, the Slavic slaves in Eastern Europe are very strong, and they are loyal to their masters and will never rebel. You and the nobles of the Ming Dynasty can buy a few slaves."
One can be used as a guard; Slavic women in Eastern Europe are more powerful and capable of working than women in other places. The landowners in the countryside of the Ming Dynasty should also be willing to buy one back, which can be used not only to give birth to children, but also to work. And it looks similar to
People in the Ming Dynasty are very different, and there is no need to worry about escaping."
"Of course, the strongest slaves are black people from Africa. Oh, Your Majesty, you may not know what Africa means. Africa refers to the place located in the southwest of West Asia and directly south of Europe. The northern part of Africa is controlled by the Tianfang cultists.
To the south is a large desert, and the people further south from the desert are black people. These people are very black, blacker than carbon, so they are called black people. Not only do black people look black, but their civilization is very backward, and they can almost be called uncivilized.
.There used to be a relatively powerful Kingdom of Ghana in West Africa, and there are still Kingdoms of Mali and Songhai. However, except for a few upper-class blacks, most blacks are still very ignorant. Kings and nobles rely on Tianfang believers from West Asia to rule the country. They
Therefore, he became a Tianfang believer."
"In short, black people are not only very dark in body, but also very backward in civilization. It is in their comparison that we Europeans call ourselves white people. Of course, the people of Ming Dynasty are also white people."
"Black people have the strongest physiques, and probably because of their very backward civilization, they are very loyal to their masters, even more loyal than the Slavs. They are very suitable as slaves, whether they are used as guards or for work.
."
"I hope your Majesty can allow our country to trade slaves to the Ming Dynasty." He requested again at the end.
"First, the people of the Ming Dynasty are not white; second, the black people you mentioned are prohibited from being sold into the Ming Dynasty. I will also issue an edict to the Qin Dynasty on this matter; third, I can allow the purchase of small quantities of Slavic slaves from Eastern Europe.
As for whether to let go in the future, I will think about it later." Yunxi thought for a while and said.
"Thank you, His Majesty the Emperor, for your permission." Nicolo Doria first bowed to express his thanks, but then asked: "Your Majesty, why do you not allow black people to be sold into the Ming Dynasty? Moreover, I don't quite understand what it means that the people of the Ming Dynasty are not white.
."
"The Ming Dynasty did not have the habit of classifying people according to the color of their skin. You are not allowed to refer to the people of the Ming Dynasty as white people in the Ming Dynasty, nor can you call yourself white people." Yunxi said. It is not an era when Europe is scorning the East, so why should you?
Accept your cultural habits? On the contrary, Europe should accept the cultural habits of the Ming Dynasty. Anyway, Yunxi will not accept the classification system of black and white.
"As for why black people are not allowed to be sold into the Ming Dynasty, you don't need to delve into this matter. But I tell you, if you find that a merchant sells people you call black people in the Caravan Division without authorization, all the goods in this caravan will be confiscated immediately.
The owners of the caravan will be expelled from the country, and they will be permanently banned from doing business in the Shipping Department." Yunxi said categorically.
"Yes, His Majesty the Emperor. When I return, I will definitely instruct our businessmen not to bring black people, sorry, not Africans, to the Ming Dynasty's shipping department for sale." Although he was puzzled, Nicolo Doria still saluted immediately.
promise.
After talking about this matter, Nicolo Doria did not intend to make other requests to His Majesty the Emperor in person. Before he left, the most powerful person in the family and the consul of the Republic of Genoa told him a lot, hoping that Ming would let go.
However, Niccolò Doria dare not talk about it casually now, and plans to make other requests as appropriate after learning more about Daming.
But Yunxi stubbornly asked the question again: "Why does your country want to export slaves to the Ming Dynasty?"
"Your Majesty, this is because there is not enough gold and silver in Europe. After the Black Sea-Caspian Sea trade route was opened, the Ming Dynasty goods available to Europe have greatly increased, and nobles and businessmen from various countries have purchased them in large quantities. However, the growth rate of the total number of gold and silver is far faster than
The amount of gold and silver paid to merchants of the Ming Dynasty was not enough, causing the gold and silver in circulation in Europe to gradually decrease. Although it has not caused serious consequences, our country also wants to ease the trade deficit and reduce the speed of gold and silver outflow."
"But the demand for European goods in the Ming Dynasty is very small, so we can only increase the types of goods. Because I heard that the Ming Dynasty is vast and sparsely populated, the demand for slaves should be very large, so I want to export slaves to the Ming Dynasty." Yunxi repeated.
When asked, it was obvious that he would not give up until he got an answer. Nicolo Doria could only give a reasonable answer.
"I see." Yunxi whispered, and smiled unkindly. Historically, whether in the Ming Dynasty or the Qing Dynasty, China's demand for European goods was very small, forcing the English to have no choice but to
Can sell opium to China and alleviate the trade deficit. One of the reasons why Europe could maintain trade with China for a long time before exporting large quantities of opium in previous lives was the discovery of gold and silver in the Hanzhou continent. One-third of this gold and silver flowed into China.
, exchange them for Chinese goods and then return to Europe. Now that Hanzhou has been discovered by the Ming Dynasty, and the Ming Dynasty has mined a large amount of gold and silver in Hanzhou, there is no second continent of Hanzhou to be discovered in Europe, and the trend of reducing the amount of gold and silver is inevitable.
Already.
Because he thought of this, Yunxi smiled unkindly. The two major causes of Europe's rapid development were the development of humanities, social sciences and natural sciences brought about by the Renaissance, and the second was the gold and silver from the Hanzhou continent.
.Without the gold and silver from the Hanzhou Continent, it does not mean that Europe will not be able to spontaneously complete the Industrial Revolution, but the possibility is much smaller, and even if it can be completed, the time will be delayed a lot. This is equivalent to no price.
How can Yunxi be upset if he eliminates a competitor just by paying for it?
'A few years from now, Europe will be better off as a producer of raw materials and low-end industrial products. In fact, this is quite happy. We don't have to risk our lives to compete for markets around the world. If there are fewer people, life will be good. Argentina
Can't the people of this country still maintain a good life?'
Yunxi thought for a while, and suddenly thought of another question: "Historically, the English used opium to ease the trade deficit, and the origin of opium was near Greece. European businessmen would not export opium to the Ming Dynasty at this time, right? No, China would have already
There is opium. The word opium seems to have been invented in the Song Dynasty. The anesthetics used in the imperial hospital now also contain opium. Every year, Nanyang businessmen export opium to the Ming Dynasty. But why did opium flood in the late Qing Dynasty in history and cause serious problems?
Didn't this problem exist before?'
However, Yunxi thought about it for a while but didn't expect the result and then stopped thinking about it. It was not an urgent problem to solve anyway. He came back to his senses, lowered his head and glanced at Nicolo Doria, who was looking up at him, and said: "Messenger
If there is nothing else to do, you can retreat."
"I have nothing else to ask His Majesty the Emperor for instructions. I will retire now. But before I retire, I also want to send a birthday gift to the fifth son of the Ming Dynasty on behalf of the Republic of Genoa." Niccolò Doria said while saying
Then he took out a handicraft and said: "Your Majesty, this is a handicraft carved by a famous sculptor in our country. It is given to His Royal Highness the Fifth Prince as a birthday gift. Because I did not know about the Fifth Emperor of the Ming Dynasty beforehand.
It’s my birthday today, so I didn’t prepare a gift in advance. This gift is not expensive, so please don’t dislike it, His Majesty the Emperor.”
"Since it is a gift for my fifth son, how can I dislike it?" Yunxi took it from the waiter and looked at it. He thought the carving was quite exquisite and said with a smile.
"I also want to reward you with something. The envoy from Genoa heard the reward: I will give you a gold collar for Niccolò Doria."
"Thank you, Your Majesty the Emperor." Niccolò Doria hurriedly saluted again, with a very happy face. Although the handicraft he sent was carved by a famous domestic engraver, its value is at most one gold coin, and the Ming Dynasty
The gold collar that the emperor wanted to reward him weighed at least half a pound and was worth more than a dozen gold coins. He made a profit. Moreover, it also won the favor of His Majesty the Ming Emperor, which is even more meaningful.' Alexander
Dro Gordenigo is just not smart enough. If he had first wished the fifth son of the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty a happy birthday and given a gift, things would definitely not have turned out like this.' He thought to himself.
After saying this, he had nothing to do, so he turned around and left. (To be continued)