The reason John was shaking was because he didn't know what the Chinese official opposite was saying.
Because he is French.
To be precise, he was a representative sent by the French East India Company to negotiate trade with the Tatar Empire.
The French East India Company was a trading company founded by the Frenchman Colbert in the early years of Kangxi. It mainly regulated the trade between France and India, East Africa, the East Indies and other French territories in the Indian Ocean.
In the thirty-seventh year of Kangxi's reign, the French East India Company began to trade with China. Its merchant ship Amphitrite arrived in Guangzhou and sailed to Yangzhou, where it met with Kangxi who was on his southern tour.
Kangxi issued an order to exempt French merchant ships from taxes and allowed French merchants to set up commercial offices in Guangzhou.
However, the trade between China and the West was mainly controlled by the Dutch, and the Guangdong No. 13 Bank did exclusive business with the Dutch East India Company.
So the French East India Company's desire to trade directly with Chinese merchants obviously violated the interests of the Dutch. Therefore, French merchant ships have been harassed by the Dutch for a long time.
Serious problems occurred in the country's economy, which led to the decline of the French East India Company. Now it can only act as a second-tier dealer to take some scraps from the Dutch.
Therefore, after hearing that the actual rulers of the northern Tatar Empire sent representatives to Macau and invited merchants from various countries to go directly north to carry out trade in the heart of the Tatar Empire, and that the central government of the Tatar Empire was also willing to provide armed protection to merchant ships from various countries, France
The East India Company saw an opportunity to get rid of the shadow of the Dutch, and immediately sent John to lead a delegation northward, hoping to develop long-term trade cooperation with the central government of the Tatar Empire, which would surely revive the already weak company.
In addition to bringing the French East India Company's sincerity in carrying out trade with the Tartar Empire, John, as a commercial representative, also brought a whole shipload of American ginseng.
This thing is worth as much as gold.
And the price of gold can only be sold in China.
Since the Qing Dynasty banned private ginseng harvesting outside the customs, the market's desire for ginseng has never decreased. Without the supply of Liaodong ginseng, Korean ginseng and Oriental ginseng were smuggled into China in large quantities, and the price was quite high.
In the fifty-seventh year of Kangxi's reign, the French shipped American ginseng to China for the first time. This ginseng, which looked exactly like Chinese ginseng, was immediately favored by wealthy Chinese officials and gentry, and received unanimous praise.
The price has also risen, from 1.44 taels per catty in the early days to 155 taels per catty today.
That is to say, the statutory annual salary of a first-grade official in the Qing Dynasty (not counting the Yanglianyin and others) could only buy about one pound.
Although John could not understand the words of the young Chinese official in front of him, and did not know whether he represented the Tatar emperor or the legendary person in power, he immediately offered three high-quality American ginseng trees to the young official.
"No, look, who said our Qing Dynasty and Westerners don't have a common language? Isn't that true?"
Jia Liu accepted the meeting gift without hesitation, thinking that this thing was most likely the legendary American ginseng.
You must know that American ginseng played an important role in the early history of the United States. Its price is comparable to gold, and it is a powerful tool for harvesting China's silver.
But, trade is mutual between both parties.
Just because their goods are extremely expensive in China doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be allowed to sell them.
Market supply and demand will always determine business value.
So Jia Liu smiled and stretched out his thumb: "Enough! Enough!"
But the old Englishman opposite him didn't seem to understand what he meant.
This put Jia Liu in a difficult position. How could he have in-depth communication if he couldn't communicate?
You must know that in order to prepare for this historic meeting, Jia Liu even asked a priest to review Li Lei and Han Meimei so that he could have fun with the Zhengmi Ziqi veterans from across the ocean.
It took John, a representative of the French East India Company, a long time to understand what "enough" meant, and he quickly pulled James, a British businessman who got off the ship with him, from the crowd and asked him to translate it.
I don’t know whether it was due to the times, or because Jia Liu’s English was too advanced, or maybe James came from a rural area in England and spoke with a heavy accent, so communication was still not smooth.
For example, if people from Zhejiang and Cantonese want to talk in their respective dialects, they will definitely be wrong.
But they all spoke Chinese.
Helpless, Jia Liu had to wait for Zhu Dawen, the prefect of Tianjin who had not yet landed, to bring the translator.
At this time, James mustered up the courage to ask: "Cut the oil and tear the shit out of Kechanis?"
"Well?"
Jia Liu said excitedly: "Yes! Ah Qia Shi Ke Chanis!"
The subsequent communication was very pleasant, and the entire conversation was in Chinese.
Jia Liu also quickly figured out that John was not British, but French, and represented the French East India Company.
Although this James is not from the British East India Company, he has been engaged in trade with China for twenty years and is a senior in this industry.
The Englishman Hong Renhui who went to the capital to complain was still James's teacher.
More and more Western businessmen were disembarking, and the dock was bustling with activity.
Xu Ji, the accompanying governor of Tianjin, saw that the time was ripe and immediately sent a message to his subordinates. Suddenly, a rumble of gun salutes sounded above the port, and then the gongs and drums team, waist drum team, and stilt team that had been prepared in advance came to life.
"Weirken, Weirken Daqing!"
"Porcelain, silk, tea, everything is available!"
When he said this, Jia Liu actually felt uncomfortable, because apart from porcelain, silk, and tea, what else could the huge Qing Dynasty offer to participate in international trade competition?
It has no technological content at all.
After Western countries complete the primary stage of the industrial revolution, the three major items that Chinese people are proud of will become history and the existence of street stalls.
China will also become a dumping ground for the industrial achievements of Western countries.
There was a huge outflow of silver and gold.
Therefore, industrial development is urgent.
After all the merchants disembarked, Jia Liu immediately called Zhu Dawen, the prefect of Tianjin, and asked him to lead the business group to the commercial hall near the Customs Yamen.
It is a three-story building covering an area of 50 acres. It is planned to be rented out to businessmen from various countries to open business offices.
After Zhu Dawen landed ashore, he realized that the Governor-General had transformed into the Emperor of the Qing Dynasty. He felt as if he had been raped by happiness several times.
Because, Magistrate Zhu knew that his spring had truly arrived.
There is a huge difference between the people who are trusted by the Governor and the people who are highly valued by His Majesty the Emperor.
After reacting, we must report the results of this investment promotion to His Majesty the Emperor, and solemnly introduce His Majesty the Qing Emperor to businessmen from all over the world.
"We'll talk about this later. First you take them to the guild hall to settle down, eat, drink and have a rest. Then you take them to see our country's industrial and commercial achievements. Then you talk to Mr. Xu and the people from the Ministry of Revenue and Customs first.
Finally, I will talk to them again... Remember, this time of Beiyang trade, trade is important, but our Qing Dynasty's exchanges with other countries are equally important, and we must learn from the foreigners to learn from each other..."
While he was talking, one hundred luxury Coaster carriages parked at the dock drove over and picked up the guests from foreign countries one by one.
The moment the motorcade set off, firecrackers were fired, and there were welcoming crowds along the way.
The unique climate of a big country.
Businessmen from 17 countries including France, Britain, Portugal, Belgium, and Italy were eye-opening and lamented that the current Tatar Empire is no longer a conservative and old empire, but a dynamic and open country.
It seems that this time, they are expected to make a lot of money in the north of the Tatar Empire.
"Relevant departments must pay attention to this time of Beiyang trade. They must also attract investment. While selling things to them, they must also keep their good things..."
Looking at the Coaster fleet going away and the Western businessmen in the car looking out with great curiosity and freshness, Jia Liu's face was also full of expectation.
The lighthouse in the port behind it also looks very tall under the sunlight.