Volume 3: Confrontation! The Run of Civilization Chapter 580 European Scientists
In the 21st century, no one is completely immune to the impact of plastic. Even those primitive tribes living on remote islands, isolated from the world, the fish they catch and the birds they shoot down are full of plastic micromolecules or even complete plastic bags.
The reason for this situation is that the advantages of plastic are too many and too great.
Easy to shape, corrosion-resistant, lightweight, and for what it is, it can be considered strong. Plus, it’s cheap, and once the formula is mastered, it can be mass-produced… All these factors have made plastic popular since the 20th century: the simplest example is that the Coca-Cola that the US military drank when they went to war was all in glass bottles. But then PET came out, and they all switched to plastic bottles.
As a native of the 17th century, Osvalles was only worried that this new fabric, called "polyester" by His Majesty the King, would reduce the overall trade surplus of the European Union and affect the textile industry that was just emerging within the Union at that time. But for the time traveler, Philip saw that the Ottomans were about to have a huge industry that would influence and change the world!
"My Prime Minister, how much does this polyester sell for in the Apennines now?"
"It's very cheap, only 7 copper coins for a piece of cloth."
At this time, Spain, like Ming Dynasty, implemented a precious metal currency system based on silver. The double column, as its base currency, has roughly the same purchasing power as Ming Dynasty's current silver dollar. Above the double column, there is the Florin gold coin, and below the double column, there is also a copper coin as a subsidiary currency. The only difference from Ming Dynasty is that Ming Dynasty also has silver corners with a low silver content, while Spain's double column silver coins are directly copper coins as subsidiary currencies. In the past ten years, due to Philip's strict control of the silver entering the market, the ratio of double columns to copper coins has been very stable, basically maintained at a level of 1:100. Compared with the 1:10:100 ratio between Ming Dynasty's silver dollar, silver corner, and copper coin, it can also be said that Spain's copper coins and Ming Dynasty's copper coins are basically equivalent.
In the historical plane, the price of cloth in the Ming Dynasty was generally stable. Except for the first few years of the founding of the country and the turbulent Chongzhen period, the price of silk has been stable at around 0.6-0.7 taels of silver per piece for more than 200 . The relatively cheap cotton cloth is stable at around 0.2-0.25 taels of silver. In Europe at the same time, the price of cotton and linen cloth was slightly higher, but not much higher. As for silk, since it is not produced in Europe, its price is said to be equal to that of gold, and it is a real luxury.
In this plane, when the time traveler invented the steam engine, the price of cotton products dropped significantly in both Europe and Ming Dynasty. However, whether it is cotton or linen, these are plant fibers that need to be planted, harvested, and processed in the field. Therefore, before 1627, the price of cotton cloth in Europe and Ming Dynasty was similar: one piece of cotton cloth, 1 silver jiao or 10 copper coins.
But now, the price of this polyester is only 7 copper coins?
Compared with cotton fabrics, polyester doesn’t feel as good on the body. But it is durable and washable and can always maintain its shape! In this era when food and clothing are not completely solved, when ordinary people buy clothes, don’t they first look at the price and then whether they can be worn for a long time? After comparing these two points, who would choose cotton if there is a choice?
There is a reason why clothing comes first among the four necessities of life: it is a person's face! The idea of face exists in all people in the world! After all, when you appear in the office building in the CBD in fancy clothes, calling others Charles with sweet words, and others calling you Ruth, no one knows that when you go home after work at night, you eat instant noodles, live in a village in the city with sewage flowing everywhere, and drive a No. 11 environmentally friendly energy-saving car.
There is no doubt that if the EU does not take measures, or the Asturias laboratory in Spain does not produce corresponding products, it will not be long before the textile industry within the EU will be completely destroyed by the Ottoman Empire!
Not only the textile industry, the emergence of chemical fibers can greatly reduce the land used to grow cotton and various hemp plants, allowing these lands to be used to grow food again. This is especially important for Europe, which is facing the threat of the Little Ice Age climate!
Moreover, the plastics industry does not only have advantages in textile materials, but also in other industries.
The materials science major is so terrifying!
"My Prime Minister, can we impose a trade blockade on the Ottomans?"
"I'm afraid it's difficult, Your Majesty." Osvalles' face looked unpleasant. "The trade routes in the Mediterranean are too dense, and there are too many ports along the coast that are suitable for docking. In addition, North Africa was only recently ceded from the Ottomans, and the people there still have a thousand connections with the Ottomans. And the Apennines? The Republic of Venice was destroyed, but the Venetians are still there... In fact, Your Majesty, even during the war, the Chinese never stopped selling large quantities of silk, porcelain and tea to our European Union through the Ottomans."
This is the rigid demand of the market. Philip also felt powerless about this. Speaking of which, the Ming Dynasty beat up his country in East Asia, not to mention taking away the Philippines, and still not signing an armistice agreement - that is the Philippines, named after Philip, the most important colony of Spain in East Asia. But Spain still had to swallow its anger and buy streptomycin from the Ming Dynasty: who made tuberculosis also widespread in Europe? That is also a rigid demand.
"My Prime Minister, it is indeed difficult to completely ban the trade in polyester. However, we can impose huge tariffs on this stuff."
"...I understand. I will arrange this matter immediately and make sure the price of this polyester is much higher than the market price of cotton cloth in our country. I will also promote this matter within the alliance. However, in this way, our products may encounter the same situation in the Ottoman Empire."
"It doesn't matter. First of all, our EU is a large market of more than 100 million people. After the Ottoman Empire lost North Africa, its domestic market is less than 20 million. The two sides imposed high tariffs on each other, and the Ottoman Empire would definitely suffer the most. At the same time, we can also take advantage of the situation to guide our merchants to sell their products to Africa and North and South America."
"Your Majesty, do you mean to raise tariffs not only on polyester, but on all Ottoman goods?"
"Yes."
"Your Majesty, this will inevitably lead to the rampant smuggling."
"I know, but it doesn't matter. On the one hand, we need to increase our efforts to crack down on smuggling, and on the other hand, we need to set up our own smuggling organization."
"Oh... I see."
The rampant smuggling will inevitably lead to the emergence of gangs, and what Philip means is that we should cultivate our own gangs, and then use the form of gangs robbing gangs to completely control the smuggling channels: in short, the money will eventually flow into the Spanish treasury.
"My Prime Minister, in addition to establishing tariff barriers, we must also provide guidance through propaganda. For example, we can arrange for our newspapers to report on polyester, and then tell our people that wearing polyester for a long time will harm the skin and is a poison..."
"Your Majesty, I deeply admire your wisdom."
"Alas, these are all last resorts. If our own technology can always be ahead in all aspects, there would be no need for these tricks."
After Osvalles left, Philip sat at his desk and thought seriously for a while, then rang the bell and asked his servant to arrange a car to go to the Asturias laboratory.
"Your Majesty, welcome."
"Professor Galileo, I'm very sorry to interrupt your work. Could you please gather all the professors in the laboratory for me?"
"All professors? Your Majesty, what's the big deal?"
"It's a bit troublesome. We must rely on everyone's wisdom."
"OK."
The current Asturias Laboratory was relocated to Madrid after Philip ascended the throne. Thanks to the huge financial support from the royal family and the dividends from the launch of various products on the market, the entire laboratory is now well-funded, well-paid, and well-equipped. Coupled with the establishment of the European Union, the trend of pan-Europeanism gradually overwhelmed the nationalism that was beginning to rise in various countries. Therefore, this top scientific hall in Europe now gathers the most outstanding group of scientists in Europe in the first half of the 17th century.
Leading the way was Galileo, a versatile man.
The second place is Kepler, astronomer and physicist.
Next is Steven, a mathematician and engineer.
Descartes, a mathematician and the founder of the coordinate system, was also a versatile person in mathematics, physics and chemistry.
Dezager, mathematician.
Cavalieri, mathematician.
Bacon, philosopher, founder of experimental science, and founder of modern induction.
Fermat: He was a lawyer by profession, but his contributions to algebra and geometry were so great that he was honored as the king of amateur mathematicians...
In fact, judging from the fields in which the above-mentioned people are good at, the 17th century in history was the eve of the big bang of modern science: mathematics is the foundation of natural science, and it was in the first half of the 17th century that so many talented mathematicians laid a solid foundation in the field of mathematics. This led to the brilliance of Newton, Pascal, Huygens, and Leibniz in physics from the second half of the 17th century. In the 18th century, after the chemical explosion, Europe completely stood at the top of the world in terms of science and technology.
In this plane, due to the early maturity of the time traveler, the science and technology in Europe is fully developed in mathematics, physics and chemistry. Even though Zhu Youdong has assembled the best scientists in the Ming Dynasty, Fangshan Research Institute is still a little behind the Asturias Laboratory in terms of science and technology. Philip has always been able to maintain his leisurely confidence, and to a large extent, the root of it comes from here.
But now, when the time traveler majoring in materials science began to show his power, Philip felt that he would be in danger of being hung on the wall and beaten in the future.
"Dear professors, I am very sorry to interrupt you. I am here today because the evil Ottoman Empire has recently started to import large quantities of this stuff to our European Union... There is no doubt that if we cannot keep up in time, our textile industry will be destroyed sooner or later. Factories will close down, workers will lose their jobs, prices will soar, and the alliance will collapse... Therefore, I sincerely implore everyone here to find a way to produce our own chemical fiber as soon as possible."
"Chemical fiber? Your Majesty, is this something obtained through chemical methods?"
"Yes, the information we know so far is that this stuff is obtained by extracting certain substances from petroleum. But we don't know the specific extracts and the synthesis method. In general, this is a kind of plastic, and its internal chemical structure has some overlap with resin."
"...I understand." After passing the piece of 'Dacron' around, Galileo nodded heavily: "Your Majesty has pointed out a general direction, and the rest is our work. That, René (Descartes), Francis (Bacon), I ask you to stop your current work as soon as possible and start special research on this polyester."
"Okay, professor, but what His Majesty provided is just a general direction. We can't guarantee anything in terms of time."
"Of course, of course." Philip stood up and said, "Thank you very much for your support and cooperation. I don't have any requirements on time. As the king, I will try every possible way to delay the impact of this thing on Europe."
Scientists' time is very precious. Once everything that needs to be said has been said, everyone will naturally disperse.
"Your Majesty, please follow me."
"Eh? Professor Galileo, what do you want to tell me?"
"Take His Majesty to see the new gadgets in our laboratory." At this point, Galileo smiled proudly: "Our Asturias laboratory also has its own world-leading things."
