Dominate the Country

"I didn't expect that Gao Leisi is a talented person. He has far-sightedness."

Gao Leisi's memorial was sent to Nanjing and handed over to Chen Ming on the afternoon of the second day after he landed in Shanghai.

Chen Ming was really surprised when he saw Gao Leisi's speculation about the situation in France after the war in the memorial. No one from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has ever said with certainty that France will be in political chaos due to the financial crisis after the war, let alone speculate that the British political status in Europe will not only not be affected by the loss of France and France It became weaker due to the war in the Netherlands, but became more prominent because of the political chaos of the French.

Of course, Gao Leisi would not talk about the French Revolution. He only mentioned the Enlightenment Movement of the French bourgeoisie, believing that in the great political chaos in France, this new school of thought would become an important party in French politics.

This is already amazing.

It's a pity that Gao Leisi, like Yang Dewang, is obsessed with monotheism. However, China’s social environment inherently inhibits this.

Chen Ming didn't care much about the return of Gao Leisi and his party. Compared with them who had returned to China, Chen Ming was more concerned about Gao Yanming and his party who stayed in London.

The war is nearing its end. Regardless of how great the impact of the Sino-Western War may be, the war is really coming to an end.

The disadvantages in the North American battlefield and the Indian battlefield will inevitably put a low pressure on London. From a practical point of view, China is in the same camp as the British, and I am afraid that its activities in Europe will also be affected.

Now is the time when the atmosphere in Europe is the most tense, and it is also a good time for diplomats to show their talents. Don't think that things in Europe are far away from China. According to Gao Yanming's secret message, the Russians are using the relationship of the Armed Neutrality Alliance to He tried his best to win over the Dutch and Portuguese, and then got close to the Spanish.

The trend of alliances between these countries is already obvious.

In future wars, the Portuguese and Dutch may not have direct military conflicts with China, but they can provide loans to St. Petersburg. Especially in the Americas, if China completely wins the war against Spain, and if China shows a tendency to continue to advance southward, the Portuguese who occupy Brazil will definitely be willing to strongly support Spain behind the scenes.

At the same time, on the American issue, the French and Franklin, who settled in Paris, were also a hurdle that could not be bypassed.

The diplomatic turmoil that permeates the European road seems to have nothing to do with China thousands of miles away, but in fact it is closely related. Moreover, China and the Ottoman Empire are getting closer and closer, and the Ottomans are not only enemies with Russia, they are also enemies with Vienna.

During the first partition of Poland, why did Catherine II bring Austria into it? That is to win over the Austrians and to resolve the conflict between Russia and Austria. Into this came Prussia, who cooperated with and had conflicts with both Russia and Austria.

Russia defeated the Ottomans in the Fifth Russo-Turkish War (1768-1774), making the country more powerful and threatening the interests of the Habsburg royal family in Central and Eastern Europe (especially Moldavia and Wlach Asia Principality). So Austria considered whether to declare war on Russia.

Central and Eastern Europe, which is not so vast, suddenly has three powerful countries - Russia, Austria and Prussia. If any country wants to grow, it will affect the interests of other countries, and the three countries are obviously unwilling to start a fight.

France, friendly to both Russia and Austria, proposed a re-division of each country's territories. In this reorganization, Austria would receive the province of Silesia as compensation, while Prussia would receive the Polish Emmenland and the Polish possessions already ruled by the Baltic Germans - the principalities of Courland and Semilia. King Frederick II of Prussia was unwilling to give up Silesia, which he had recently gained through the Silesian War; but he was also seeking a peaceful solution - his alliance with Russia would draw him into a potential war with Austria, and seven The war also weakened Prussia's financial and military strength. Frederick II also wanted to defend the weakened Ottoman Empire so that he could win the Ottomans to his side in Prussia's war with Russia (or with Austria).

Therefore, European diplomacy is really complex and changeable. There are so many factors and interests to consider here.

In such a big muddy water, the difficulty is hellish; and in the East, a dominant country, the situation test that Chinese diplomats need to face is at the level of primary school students. It is no wonder that in the original time and space plane, China's diplomacy after the Opium War Personnel failed one after another in a series of negotiating situations. Not to mention that Westerners already have strong national support behind them.

Now the war on the west coast of North America has begun.

If the process goes smoothly, the Spaniards will be captured by the summer and autumn. At that time, the big duck can only sit at the negotiation table obediently. Whether the British can take this opportunity to say something in one sentence depends on London's decision-making power.

It only takes two or three months for the news from North America to reach Europe. At the end of the year, the diplomatic atmosphere over Europe will become stronger, and everything will be settled in the first half of next year.

Chen Ming feels that the war will end next year at most!

First, the Europeans really can't fight anymore; second, China has swallowed up a large area of ​​land and needs to digest it properly.

…

Gao Leisi's memorial has been sent to Nanjing, but Gao Leisi himself has not left Shanghai.

He still had some spare time, and his wife Catherine Cullen obviously loved Shanghai. From the next morning, he followed Marie Deneuve in a carriage to Shanghai's commercial district.

Today's Shanghai city is no longer the Shanghai County of more than a decade ago. The commercial streets are no longer just a few crossroads, and the goods from the East and the West, including those from the world of Tianfang, are gathered here. It is simply more dazzling than the commercial streets in Paris.

Today's Shanghai, in terms of population, economy and urban prosperity, is still a little behind Guangzhou, but the distance has been greatly shortened.

After the two capitals of the north and south plus Guangzhou, the fourth largest city in China is the Great Demon City of the original plane.

Even Suzhou, Hangzhou, Yangzhou and Wuhan have been caught up and surpassed by Shanghai.

The eastern region of China, which has completely stimulated its maritime attributes, is exuding new vitality. Shanghai, located in the center of the entire eastern coastal area and backed by the golden waterway Yangtze River, is a miracle in the development speed of this emerging city in the entire human history.

With ports, trading companies, factories, schools, government agencies and garrisons, there are many middle- and high-income people in Shanghai, not to mention so many foreign customers. Businessmen have sharp eyes, so the land prices in Shanghai have been rising in recent years. Merchants who failed to catch up with the feast and were forced to swallow up some second- and third-tier land are now making a lot of money.

The entire economy is rising at a high speed, and the market dividends make everyone rich.

Karen can see many local high-end goods here that are not available in Paris and London, and the prices are much cheaper than those in European stores.

In Europe, high white porcelain, which is more precious than silver, has become ordinary goods here.

This kind of porcelain, which is as exquisite as a work of art, was difficult for them to buy from the Chinese in the past. It was after the rise of the Chen and Han dynasties that China's truly high-end and exquisite porcelain opened its doors to Europe. Some high-white porcelains that looked like works of art appeared in major cities such as London and Paris, and there were also more precious exquisite porcelains, hollow porcelains, and revolving vases that Europeans could not even imagine. At first, many high-end porcelains that appeared on the European market were still oriental in style and color, but with the evolution of time, some high-end white porcelains that clearly incorporated Western elements or were directly designed in the West also appeared in Europe, and even thin-bodied porcelains that the Chinese themselves regarded as treasures appeared.

In the middle period, Mr. Perrier used all his connections to get a thin-bodied porcelain vase with the Virgin Mary holding Jesus in her arms, and then took great pains to transport the porcelain vase back to France and presented it to His Majesty Louis XVI. Karen was fortunate to see the magnificent treasure at the ball at the Palace of Versailles.

Under the candlelight at night, it was really intoxicating and fascinating.

But in Shanghai, in the Jiangnan Trading Company's merchandise showroom in Shanghai, Karen actually witnessed two porcelain pieces of very different styles. One is from the East, the other from the West. This is really an extraordinary luxury.

In addition to the porcelain that is synonymous with China, there are silks, jewellery, and clothing here. A Western woman wearing traditional oriental Hanfu, no matter if you feel awkward, the latter is a hundred times more surprised by the former.

Women all like beautiful and gorgeous clothes, and as long as you have money, the gorgeousness of Hanfu is definitely not comparable to the Western court-style women's clothing of this era. With a whole set of head jewelry, it looks like a peacock with its tail spread out. It is really gorgeous and magnificent.

At the same time, simplicity and elegance are also a kind of beauty.

After the stimulation of bright red and purple colors, the light and elegant Hanfu is another kind of beauty.

There are also exquisitely embroidered handkerchiefs. The incredible craftsmanship of double-sided embroidery can exist. On one side are green mountains and green waters, and on the other side are small bridges and people. It is completely a work of art. As well as scarves and shawls, they are cashmere from Tibet. Karen's eyes were red when she saw this.

In Europe, this is a real high-end product that ordinary people can't buy even if they have money.

In the 1660s, the French who first arrived in Kashmir introduced "shahtoosh" to Europe for the first time. In the 18th century, cashmere from Kashmir began to become popular in European palaces. Ladies began to wear cashmere shawls on their shoulders. The best shawls from Kashmir were even more of a symbol of prominent status. The lighter and softer, the more precious, "shahtoosh" was the best among them.

In fact, that was because Britain and France could not reach Tibet, which is the origin of Tibetan antelopes.

Today, this kind of shawl and pure Tibetan antelope wool are the biggest products in Tibet, in addition to medicinal materials and dried oxen.

The total output is very low, but the value is very high.

Karen couldn't buy a lot of shahtoosh. The price in Shanghai is much cheaper than in Europe, but it is still expensive. There is also a purchase limit.

Then Karen also bought a lot of sculptures, including stone, wood, bamboo, ivory, rhino horn, and jade carvings. There are also various perfumes and essential oils with fragrance, floral water, soap, candles, high-end furniture and furs.

It is really worthy of being a famous port in the East. She actually found a whole set of red sandalwood furniture here. This is really incredible.

Westerners rarely see large red sandalwood. This thing grows extremely slowly. A mature red sandalwood tree takes hundreds or even thousands of years to grow. The material rate is extremely low and the resources are extremely scarce. There is a saying that "an inch of red sandalwood is worth an inch of gold."

In the early Ming Dynasty, red sandalwood was valued by the Zhu family. The development of maritime transportation and Zheng He's voyages to the West facilitated trade and cultural exchanges with countries in Southeast Asia. In their regular and irregular trade exchanges with China, countries often had a certain amount of precious wood, including red sandalwood. However, this was far from meeting the needs of China's huge ruling group, so the Ming government sent officials to Southeast Asia to purchase it.

Subsequently, private merchants also came into being. By the end of the Ming Dynasty, almost all the high-quality wood from various parts of Southeast Asia, especially red sandalwood, was bundled and carried away.

By the end of the Ming Dynasty and the beginning of the Qing Dynasty, most of the red sandalwood produced in the world at that time was gathered in China.

All the red sandalwood used in the Qing Dynasty was collected in the Ming Dynasty. This was seized by the Qing Dynasty from the Forbidden City. Why didn't Chongzhen, that unlucky kid, sell the red sandalwood when he had no money? Even if it was better than nothing.

The Qing Dynasty also sent people to Southeast Asia to collect red sandalwood, but most of them were too thick to hold, with curved joints and not straight, and could not be used at all.

This is because red sandalwood grows slowly and cannot be matured for hundreds of years. It was completely cut down during the Ming Dynasty, and it had not yet revived during the Qing Dynasty. The source was exhausted, which is also an important reason why red sandalwood is cherished by the world.

Compared with China, Westerners attach more importance to red sandalwood, because they have never seen large red sandalwood in the past hundred years and think that it can only be made into small objects. It is said that there is a five-inch long red sandalwood coffin model in front of Napoleon's tomb in the original time and space plane. Visitors are all amazed and think it is rare.

It was not until the end of the Ming Dynasty and the beginning of the Qing Dynasty that a large number of Western missionaries came to China and saw many large red sandalwood objects, and then they realized that the elite red sandalwood was all in China.

When the Qing Dynasty ruled China, due to the shortage of red sandalwood, the Imperial Household Department would often purchase red sandalwood from private merchants at high prices.

There are records of purchasing red sandalwood almost every year in the work files of the Imperial Household Department of the Qing Palace.

As a result, an unwritten rule gradually formed in the officialdom, that is, no matter what level of officials, as long as they see red sandalwood, they will never let it go, buy all of it, and hand it over to the royal family or local weaving institutions.

Now, Karen not only saw the red sandalwood Chinese furniture that filled the entire room in Shanghai, but also really saw a lot of red sandalwood with her own eyes. She even sold several strings of red sandalwood beads with gold stars, even though she didn't know what the bracelets were used for.

Karen ended today's sweep until the top of the carriage was full and the hands of several accompanying servants were full. She spent more than 40,000 yuan in total. It has made a great contribution to the economic development of Shanghai!

Gao Leisi was very troubled by this. Although he could say to the outside that this was his wife's dowry, not that he had embezzled it, it would be embarrassing if he said it out. A grown man is supported by his wife. If he doesn't tell others, he will have trouble. Even if the censor doesn't make trouble, his official reputation will be ruined.

This was not noticeable in Europe, but it became a problem when I returned to China.

Even if the wife had a generous dowry, their income was low now. With low income and high consumption, no matter how much money they had, they would spend it all. Gao Leisi looked at a bunch of shopping receipts at night, and his mouth twitched. Such a spendthrift woman.

She didn't know how precious money was, and she didn't know if she would squander the whole family one day...