Volume 4: Hot! The whole world is a warring state Chapter 742 European Economic Hidden Dangers
"Teacher, teacher! I'm back."
On March 5, 1643, a middle-aged man in his forties who looked extremely capable was walking quickly in the Louvre in Paris. After entering a secret room, the calmness he showed at the beginning suddenly disappeared, and he became particularly excited, shouting loudly at an old man in his sixties who was writing in the secret room.
"Your Excellency, please keep your voice down. You are interrupting my train of thought again."
"Oh, sorry, Mr. Richelieu. I'm so happy! Damn the Spaniards, they completely lost South America!"
At the Paris Peace Conference in May 1616, the then French King Henry IV was beheaded by Philip, leaving behind his son Louis, who was less than 15 years old at the time - this is Louis XIII in the historical dimension.
At the Paris Peace Conference, France, a great power in Western Europe, was torn to pieces. The French royal family only retained a small territory centered on Paris. Its title was also reduced from King of France to Grand Duke of Paris. For more than 20 years, as the son of Henry IV, Grand Duke Louis of Paris was always filled with rage for revenge.
Of course, the Grand Duchy of Paris was too weak compared to Spain at that time. The permanent population of the entire Grand Duchy was less than two million. The technology was backward, the economy was controlled, and there were many small countries around where Philip's relatives served as monarchs. Faced with such a situation, Louis very wisely chose to forbear: more than forbearance, he was simply shameless and flattered the murderer of his father without limit - every time Spain mobilized troops from various countries, the Grand Duchy of Paris was the first to respond and actively cooperate. Every time at the EU Council, as long as Philip said something, he was always the first to stand up and express his support.
After more than 20 years of such a disgusting performance, Philip gradually relaxed his vigilance against Louis, who had cooperated closely with Richelieu in the historical dimension and led France to win the Thirty Years' War, thus establishing France's power in Europe. At least, after the death of several attendants sent by Philip in his early years to serve (monitor) him personally, Spain did not send new attendants.
At this time, Richelieu returned to Europe in 1638. Then this group of CPs, who wanted to make France bigger and stronger and create more glory in the historical plane, naturally came together.
In five years, with the help of Louis, Richelieu not only effectively integrated the intelligence network that Ming Dynasty had laid out in Europe. He also upgraded the intelligence network slowly, but safely and effectively through the Grand Duchy of Paris. The white spies sent by Ming Dynasty were at the bottom of society in the early stage, and it was extremely difficult to obtain valuable intelligence. Things like Gloria were rare. But now with the help of the Grand Duchy of Paris, it was completely different: in Europe, where blood ties and identity are valued, with the help of nobles, it was much easier for spies to obtain high-quality intelligence.
However, although there was an intelligence network, it was still very difficult and slow for Richelieu to transmit European intelligence back to Ming Dynasty due to the limitations of the communication technology of that era and Philip's forced severance of trade with Ming Dynasty.
But no matter what, the seeds of resistance to Spain within the EU have been completely planted.
"Teacher, you didn't go to the Brussels meeting last month. Hahahaha, although Philip shouted at the top of his lungs for revenge and holy war, his weakness was obvious to anyone. Alas, South America is lost, the largest saltpeter mine is gone, and they actually asked the whole of Europe to carry out saltpeter production. They also said that in this critical moment, every piece of feces and every drop of urine is valuable. Hahahaha, I'm so happy."
"Humph, that devil in angel's clothing has once again been punished by the righteous forces of the East." Seeing Louis beaming with joy, Richelieu's mood also became better: "The loss of South America is not only the saltpeter mines. A large amount of gold, silver, copper, and other precious metals are gone, as well as rubber and so on. Did Philip tell us how to solve it?"
"He said that in terms of economy, he plans to issue Euro banknotes to replace gold, silver and copper coins. As for rubber, he requires my country, as well as countries such as Britain and Denmark that have colonies in the equatorial region of Africa to vigorously develop rubber plantations."
"Your Excellency, as production technology becomes more and more advanced and the total economic volume grows, it is time to issue paper money. When I was in China, the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty had formulated a plan to issue paper money three years later when he first conquered India. However, this plan was interrupted by Philip's invasion of India. But I have heard from the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty that the reason why he hesitated again and again in issuing paper money was that he was afraid that excessive issuance of currency would cause inflation. So he made preparations again and again in terms of reserves... This Philip actually issued paper money after losing the largest source of precious metals? Humph, I am afraid that it will not be long before the economy of the whole of Europe will be hit hard!"
"Yes, I can see that in the future there will be inflation and the lives of many lower-class people will become increasingly difficult."
"Yes." Richelieu sighed and said, "Once inflation occurs, those who have a lot of assets and stocks will become even richer. Those who spend most of their daily income on food to survive will become even poorer. So, Your Excellency, we need to further increase food reserves at this time. I estimate that in the next few years, with the loss of meat and milk sources in South America and the issuance of paper money, food prices in Europe will soar."
"Okay, teacher. I'll arrange it later. In recent years, thanks to the trade in silk, porcelain and tea that you set up with the Ottomans, the Principality's government's income has far exceeded its expenditure. Stock up on food. We have money."
"It should be done efficiently but quietly, just like our resale trade with the Ottomans. By the way, you haven't been caught, right?"
"Teacher." Louis scratched his head. "The Spanish Intelligence Agency is still capable of doing something. They have vaguely discovered that the Principality government is reselling large quantities of silk porcelain tea. However, this kind of thing is also being done by governments within the EU. How can Philip investigate it thoroughly?"
"That's right. Spain has sucked the blood of all the countries in the alliance dry through industry, zero tariffs, railways, and a unified currency, causing widespread poverty in all the countries in the alliance. In order to survive, how can everyone not engage in smuggling? By the way, how dissatisfied are the monarchs of other countries at this Brussels Conference?"
"There is definitely dissatisfaction, but on the one hand, Spain's military strength and technology are still strong at this time, so people dare not speak out. On the other hand, the issuance of paper money has won the general support of merchants... So..."
"Yes, issuing paper money facilitates circulation. After inflation, the value of merchants' factories, houses, and stocks will increase. And previous debts will be relatively reduced. So merchants still support Philippe at this time. Then, what about Louis of the Condé family? Will you see him now?"
"Don't mention it, teacher. My distant cousin is now full of gratitude and admiration for Philippe... He is just a legion commander, and he has forgotten that he is a Frenchman."
"Don't be anxious, take your time. Your Excellency the Duke, you have to know that all European merchants support Philip because Philip can find them resources and markets and help them make a fortune. The loss of South America is certainly painful, but in the final analysis, it is just a medium-sized market of several million people. As long as India is still there, merchants will absolutely support Philip."
"So we still need to be patient? Until the Great Ming Emperor in the East conquers India again?"
“Yes, once the Chinese retake India, the EU will soon fall apart.”
As a great man of his generation, Richelieu had a very accurate view of the problem: the European bourgeoisie was already very powerful at that time, and in terms of wealth, it had far surpassed the European aristocracy. As long as they firmly supported Philip, Philip could get whatever he wanted within the European Union.
As the bourgeoisie, the endless pursuit of profit is their class nature. Philip can now give them a unified currency, tariffs, suppress the interference of the royal power of various countries, and a vast colonial dumping market... Such a king, of course, the bourgeoisie will absolutely support him. As long as this emerging class supports Philip, Philip's failure in South America, although painful, will not shake his foundation.
But if India is lost, it will be different.
Because of the existence of profits, the combined wages of the workers in a factory cannot buy all the products produced by the factory - relative overproduction is inevitable.
To alleviate this problem, it is necessary to find a dumping market outside the homeland. If China and East Asia, which it controls, cannot enter, India, a market with 100 million people, is the lifeline of the European bourgeoisie! After losing South America, an important source of raw materials, if the EU loses India, then the EU economy, which has issued paper money, will inevitably suffer a heavy blow. At that time, the European bourgeoisie will abandon Philip without hesitation and look for a new father who can bring them more profits.
Therefore, the loss of South America forced Philip to issue paper money: issuing paper money when the other two of the three major powers were still using metal currencies was actually laying a mine for his own economy. And the time when this mine would explode depended on when India was lost ...
Meanwhile, in April 1643, Istanbul.
"Tsk? Is Philip an idiot? There are saltpeter mines in the desert of Morocco in the northwest corner of Africa. Although it is much smaller than Chile, it is much more convenient than going far away to Pakistan to buy and transport saltpeter, right?"
After receiving a handwritten letter from Philip asking for the purchase of saltpeter and for the Ottoman Empire to stop smuggling silk, porcelain and tea, Ibrahim was first surprised at Philip's blind spots in knowledge.
But he soon felt relieved: the output of saltpeter in Morocco in later generations was extremely small, and there was basically no export. In other words, as a fellow Star-Crescent country, he, a Star-Crescent believer, knew a little about it. It was normal that Philip didn't know.
"Sir, now that the EU has lost South America and its source of saltpeter, I think they must be very anxious. I heard that they have launched a saltpeter pile campaign across Europe."
"Hahaha, doesn't that mean the whole of Europe is a constant flow of shit and piss?"
"That should be it. Your Excellency, how should we respond?"
"Sell it, sell it at a fair price."
"Your Mightiness?!"
"Listen to me. First, we cannot let the EU weaken too much. This will be detrimental to the security of our eastern defense line. Second, tell His Majesty Philip to show mercy to the smugglers of silk, porcelain and tea. Just fine them after catching them, and don't hang them all without asking any questions. If he can kindly agree to my request, I will provide him with saltpeter at a fair price."
