Chapter 5 British East India Company

The diplomatic relations between the Ming Dynasty and Zheng Dynasty were very awkward. On the one hand, Guo Xingye regained Yizhou Island and was completely at odds with the Netherlands. On the other hand, relations with Spain, the colonizer of Luzon Island, were not getting along well.

Coupled with the Manila massacre, the king was furious. If he hadn't died young, he might have even captured Luzon.

After the conflict with these two colonial empires, Zheng Kezang's father Zheng Jing engaged in serious alliances and brought in a new helper from the sea - Britain.

At that time, Britain was competing with the Netherlands and Spain in Asia, and was eager to open up the huge market of the ancient eastern country.

The Ming Dynasty and Zheng Dynasty needed British firearms and silver. The two hit it off immediately and became natural allies. They quickly joined forces and signed a trade agreement, forming an in-depth trade partnership.

Thomas Woolhouse was the liaison officer of the British East India Company's commercial embassy in Yizhou Island. He was raised by Sir Joseph since he was a child. Later, through Sir Joseph's connections, he came to the mysterious country that the West believed to be full of gold.

The blond and hook-nosed British man saluted slightly to Zheng Kezang and said enthusiastically: "My dear Prince, I heard that you used ancient oriental methods to develop sugar that is whiter than snow, as well as the magical Dongning perfume.

, I would like to ask if I am lucky enough to meet you."

Zheng Kezang smiled when he saw the flattering Thomas. It turned out that he deliberately sent someone to leak the news to the British business office. No, the British took the bait like a fish that smelled the fishy smell.

Ask Eunuch Li to bring out a jar of sugar and perfume that he had prepared long ago, "Oh, my old man, you are so fast. This is what you want." Zheng Kezang said in a translator's accent.

The money from the treasury must be reserved first to build wonders. I don’t know how many things will be built in the future. It is wise to save money and open up more resources.

These days, the army often trains every three days and every five days (which is relatively diligent). If the army trains, it must provide the soldiers with food equivalent to the busy farming season, otherwise the nutrition will not keep up. Most of them

The army cannot afford to provide such food, so it cannot practice every day.

London in the seventeenth century was a place of narrow alleys, dirty markets, and filth everywhere.

Therefore, Dongning perfume made by Zheng Kezang is a dimensionality-reducing blow to today's Europe. It smells good and has a long-lasting fragrance. The real development of European perfume will have to wait until the reign of Napoleon, and it is still in its infancy.

"The name of this Dongning perfume is Beauty Fragrance. As for its price, please take it back and try it out before talking to me." Zheng Kezang was very confident. As long as Thomas experienced Beauty Fragrance himself, he believed that the East India Company would give it to him.

Offer a satisfactory price.

Then I smelled the rose essential oil perfume specially made by Zheng Kezang himself. It smelled so good. If this was dedicated to the King of England, I'm sure he would also get a knighthood.

But training is so frequent, nutrition must keep up, otherwise it will be broken and it will be repaired.

The streets and alleys are filled with stench, the stench of rotten fish and rotten meat, the stench of feces and urine from open defecation, and the stench of corpses emanating from shallow burials...the stench is disgusting.

Therefore, Europeans have a particularly high demand for spices and perfumes, especially the nobles who have a good reputation. However, the current European perfumes have a very average fragrance and do not last long.

At that time, European aristocrats who did not like to bathe would emit unpleasant odors.

He was stunned soon. White sugar was okay, but as for perfume, he couldn't imagine how great its potential would be to flow into the Indian market and the Western market. Moreover, it was still a monopoly of the British, because now Ming Zheng's products are not only sold to the British.

, that is, sold to Japan.

"Man, you also know that friendship is priceless, but without 200 Wen, you can't get our Zheng family's special white sugar." Zheng Kezang waved his hand regretfully.

In order to cover up the smell, they did not change their old habit of bathing every day, but put some perfume on their bodies to maintain their dignity.

"Your great prince, please allow me to try it out for a day or two. I will give you a satisfactory price later." The British man's freckled face smiled like a flower.

Thomas quickly imagined in his mind how big the market for Dongning snow candy and Dongning perfume was.

The British man said excitedly: "Your Highness, our East India Company is willing to purchase snow sugar at a price of 150 wen per catty."

"My God, I have never seen such white sugar." Thomas was shocked. In his memory, white sugar was actually yellow or even black. He had never seen such sulfur-smoked white sugar before.

William Leckie said this in his book "The History of European Morals": The cleanliness of the body is the blasphemy of the soul. The most respected sages are those whose clothes are in knots.

I am a half-grown man who lives in poverty. He recruits teenagers from good families who are not fully grown yet. They have a huge demand for food and meat. He must work hard to make money.

Zheng Kezang wanted to build a truly professional army. Wouldn't it be nice to train six days a week and have one day off on Sunday?

Europeans did not like bathing these days. They firmly believed that bathing would bring the Black Death. Some kings even boasted that they only took baths twice in their lives, once when they were born and once when they got married. This king was Queen Elizabeth of England.

Why are the British so willing to give in? It's because the perfume is so tempting. If the price of sugar doesn't satisfy Zheng Kezang, what will he do if the perfume doesn't sell to him?

Zheng Kezang felt that the dignity of this European aristocrat could only be measured in terms of silver. No matter how much he needed one tael of silver or one tael of perfume, he would lose points! As for the future, of course, new models will be launched every year.

Increase prices.

Thomas knew that he was going to get rich, and he had to grab this money tree quickly. If he missed it, this village would not have this store.

The British man felt like he was mourning his heir, and seemed to have made a lot of determination. He gritted his teeth and said, "Your Highness, you are so heartless. We can accept this price, but you cannot sell it to the Dutch or Spanish people."

After sending away the reluctant Thomas, Zheng Kezang breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that now his new army's military pay was stable, and with stable financial resources, he could improve the treatment and food standards of the new army.

"Of course, my buddy, the Netherlands and Spain are our common enemies. I can give you the exclusive agency rights for sugar, but for perfume." Zheng Kezang nodded, and there was obviously something in his words.

"Eunuch Li, during this period, your main task is to expand the perfume workshop and increase the production of perfume as soon as possible. We will make a fortune from this." Zheng Kezang looked at Eunuch Li who had no sense of presence and asked.

Old Li understood the idea, and when he was about to go do something, Zheng Kezang suddenly stopped him: "Wait a minute, remember to arrange more guards, guard the sugar shack and perfume workshop day and night, and don't let some villains steal our secret recipe.

"

The villains in Zheng Kezang's words are naturally his good uncles. If they have evil intentions and see that the sugar and perfume business is so booming, they have to take precautions against him.

Zheng Kezang felt a little tired, lying on the Taishi chair and sighed, the enemy is not in the Forbidden City, but in the Yanping Palace!
Chapter completed!