Egypt's cooperation is actually part of the reform of the strategic planning of the imperial colonies. In the past colonial strategies, the empire has always adopted the strategy of dominating the colonies. That is, whenever a colony is occupied, it completely monopolizes the colonies, which is no different from the strategies of other European countries. However, as the American strategy is approaching the end, the only places in the world that can open up colonies are West Africa, North Africa and the Middle East, most of which are the territory of the Ottoman Empire. It is impossible to occupy these colonies when the empire and the Ottomans live peacefully.

Therefore, it is best to adopt a commercial expansion situation, such as Egypt, which is an Ottoman province, but it is not completely open to the empire. The Dutch have always had relatively deep economic and trade relations here. This time, the Empire wanted to use the Dutch relations to achieve its strategic goals.

Joseph didn't have to say to Heinsius at all. Heinsius could fully understand that Egypt's provinces were nothing, the key was the Suez Canal. Any country wanted to dominate this canal and use it for its own use. However, when the canal was opened, Europe was in the period of the war, and all countries had no time to compete.

"Well, Joseph, I have fully understood what His Highness Yu means. Now I ask my question. Assuming we are willing to help the Empire provoke rebellion in Egypt, will the Empire share the Suez Canal with us in the future?" Heinsius asked bluntly.

Joseph shook his head: "Once the Suez Canal is successfully excavated, it will be the throat of world trade. Lord Heinsius, in the key places of the world, only great powers can compete. This is not something that others agree to. If United Province wants to get a share of the pie, they should have the strength of a great power. Does United Province have this determination?"

Heinsius couldn't help but hesitate. This was not a question of whether to resolve or not. Europe is now no longer the past. Most of the European regions in the past were in a state of ignorance. The countries that were first to open up can rise and gain a lot of wealth. However, now, major powers are opening up one after another. More and more competitors have entered the maritime trade that was almost monopolized by the Netherlands. The status of trade is declining. Among the factors that determine the strength of a country, population, land, and resources are becoming more and more important. The United Province is gradually no longer the original maritime coachman, and it will not be the case in the future.

"United Province is not a big country, and it will not be the case in the future. If the United Province is qualified to dominate Europe, the Empire will not choose to cooperate with you. Suppressing strong countries and supporting weak countries is the empire's consistent European strategy. King Yu chose to contact and cooperate with the United Provinces, and the only thing he liked was that the United Provinces trade resources in various places was because you were weak enough." Joseph pointed out some of the inconvenient things that were inconvenient to say, which made Heinsius fall into silence.

Heinsius experienced the most glorious era of the sea coachman in United Province. Once upon a time, United Province resisted France on land and competed with Britain on the sea. However, now everything has changed and a country always finds it difficult for it to accept its decline.

Joseph said again: "Heinsius, my old friend, the Union Province is not only weak enough, but is also not indispensable. However, because the Empire had few diplomatic resources in the Union Province, I dragged my elderly body to Amsterdam again. In fact, the messengers had already gone to Venice, Genoa and other places. The glory of these two countries has been lost for more than a century. They will not have any burden. And another country can almost certainly participate, that is Portugal. This is the traditional ally of the Empire in Europe."

Heinsius understood this thoroughly, and after thinking, he said, "Okay, I agree to cooperate on the Egyptian issue, but you should also know that this means that we have a feud with the Ottoman Empire and we need compensation."

"The loss shouldn't be that great," said Joseph.

Joseph is no less than Heinsius's understanding of Union Province. Once upon a time, the Netherlands was still the overlord of the Mediterranean, but the current overlord of the Mediterranean was France, and Britain could compete for hegemony. The rise of these two countries and the revival of Venice and Genoa have squeezed the interests of Union Province in the Mediterranean. Otherwise, Heinsius would not have chosen to make trouble for the Ottomans.

Heinsius looked cold: "United Province needs compensation."

Joseph smiled: "Hyincius, do you know that no country will suffer any loss if anyone who cooperates with King Yu."

"What I want is not a guarantee, but a real thing," Heinsius said.

Joseph nodded immediately: "I can tell you that King Yu gave you more than you imagined. In fact, your attitude just now was not right. He said that he would talk about the issue of cooperation in Egypt first. In fact, His Highness Yu proposed a systematic cooperation plan. Now I will tell you the benefits His Highness is willing to give you. Of course, this is not compensation, but a win-win cooperation between the two countries. The first is the joint province's chronic disease of Eastern trade, the East India Company."

Once upon a time, the Dutch East India Company was the pride of United Province. This company had tens of thousands of employees and hundreds of armed ships. It was the overlord of the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean, monopolizing the main trade between the East and the West, especially spices, raw silk, sugar, etc. However, now, the East India Company has become the restriction of the Eastern Trade of United Province, because it is a monopoly company. According to the latest special authorization, except for the East India Company, other Dutch merchants are not allowed to participate in the trade east of Cape Town. The Dutch East India Company is a very conservative company, with shareholders being the seventeen gentlemen and their descendants.

With the rise of the empire, the increasing number of goods from the East, especially the rise of trade in tea, coffee, textiles and industrial products, allowed the Dutch East India Company to maintain a very good profit margin, which made many merchants in the Netherlands covet, but the company refused to expand its shareholder range, resulting in some people purchasing shares of the British East India Company.

However, the Suez plan of the Empire and the Ottomans cooperated with each other changed all this. In the past, trade to the East required to spare the entire African continent. According to the route, one-way crossing the Atlantic Ocean at least twice, one-way across the Indian Ocean, and one long voyage, and it was common for a quarter of sailors to lose one-quarter. In order to maintain profits, we had to have a lower-priced source of cargo in the East and the ships had a great carrying capacity. These companies that needed to trade East and West were large-capital companies, and ordinary people could not do it.

Now everything has changed. The Netherlands is full of people going to trade in the Mediterranean. As long as they arrive in the Suez region, they can freely enter the Indian Ocean. From the Empire to Suez, the Empire has a very stable and mature shipping system. Some merchants who originally traded in the Mediterranean only need to bring money to pass through the Suez channel. They don’t even have to have a ship to go straight to the Empire and then buy any oriental goods in Penang. Therefore, the largest monopoly source of East India Company’s trade with the East and West does not exist.

In the past, people could not trade in the East, and could only let the East India Company monopolize. Now, the East India Company has used the laws of the United Provinces to punish those United Provinces merchants who went to the empire. In the past ten years, proposals for disbanding the East India Company and abolishing its monopoly status have emerged one after another. Seventeen gentlemen have very deep political resources in the Netherlands and have continued their monopoly status.

"You mean, Your Highness Yu is willing to help me solve this problem?" Heinsius immediately became interested.

In fact, this problem is that Heinsius, the great speaker, has never been able to handle it well. In the past few years, Heinsius proposed a solution to allow shareholders of East India Company to relax their equity and allow more Union Provincial merchants to participate. This is effective to a certain extent. Today, East India Company has absorbed some shareholders, but they are all big families of United Provinces. It can be said that the louder the opposition, the East India Company will absorb water. However, in order to maintain its monopoly position, the seventeen gentlemen defected to William III and even secretly allowed the William III family to hold a part of the equity.

However, as the Suez Channel became more and more open, especially after the railway was built, opposition became more and more common.

"Of course, the East India Company has become William III's lackey, and the empire has long been unable to stand this point." Joseph said.

"The way of Your Highness Yu is..."

Joseph said: "This is not simple. The monopoly position of the East India Company was granted by the United Provinces, but it was also recognized by the Empire. In the past operations, the Empire has always refused traders other than East India. As long as this is relaxed, it is believed that the profit margin of the East India Company will plummet. The East India Company has privileges in the East and the surrounding Indian Ocean regions dominated by the Empire, and these can also be cancelled at the discretion..."

"No, no, no, don't be too hasty." Heinsius immediately became alert.

Although the merchants in Union Province are very dissatisfied with the East India Company, Joseph proposed a solution to kill the company completely, which will inevitably cause huge losses, not only a big loss to the East India Company, but also a big loss to the United Province. The establishment of the United Province's trade status is largely due to the East India Company sending Oriental goods of high quality and low price, and there is a sufficient quantity. If the East India Company collapses too quickly, it means that the trade status of the Netherlands will shrink rapidly, which means that it is really picking up sesame seeds and losing watermelons.

This is just an economic benefit. The East India Company has a history of nearly a hundred years and has a great influence in the Netherlands. If this operation is done, Heinsius's position as the chief speaker cannot be preserved.

"Of course, this has to be taken slowly. His Highness Yu suggested that you take three to five years to remove the monopoly, the rhythm is at your control, and the empire cooperates in both Cape Town and Suez. In this way, the fundamental interests of the union will not be harmed."

Heinsius breathed a sigh of relief: "Oh, I'm so scared. His Highness Yu is so considerate in doing things. No wonder you're so happy to work with him."

"Is this considered considerate? His Highness Yu's measures are not just this one." Joseph said with a smile.

Heinsius quickly poured tea for Joseph and said, "Joseph, my old friend, it seems we are going to have a long conversation."

Joseph said: "Of course. In order to confront other merchants, the shareholders of East India Company have gradually turned to the Orange faction, while the republicans led by you have little helplessness. Therefore, we need a way to divide and suppress the Orange faction, and seek a way out for the existing capital of East India Company. In fact, for shareholders, investment is to make money. Where to make money is not to make money. It may not necessarily monopolize trade and become enemies with others, right?"

"I hope to hear the details."

"Please get the map," Joseph asked.

Heinsius immediately ordered people to pick up the map, but it was not so satisfying, because Heinsius's men received a map covering Western Europe, which was obviously not what Joseph needed. Heinsius wanted a large map. Heinsius's men returned to the third-level parliamentary building and raised it from multiple sources, but they could not find a decent world map. Heinsius was embarrassed. Perhaps this is the current Netherlands. He had the burden of the sea coachman in his heart, but in fact he had no global vision. In the end, Heinsius ordered people to go home and brought a globe, which was one of the gifts given by the imperial mission to Europe before the war between the Netherlands and France.

Joseph did not mock Heinsius. He went straight to the topic and pointed his finger at the Gulf of Guinea on the west coast of Africa. This is a relatively peaceful colony, with all parties involved. The African companies of the Empire have colonies in the southern region, and the Portuguese have many territory here, while the Netherlands and the United Kingdom are also involved. The largest local trade goods are black slaves, but ivory, gold, spices, etc. are also quite competitive. Unlike other places, the sphere of influence has been determined, here is still in a state of melee between all parties, and everyone is competing for territory based on their strength.

"This is a colony that the Empire is willing to open to everyone," said Joseph.

Although this sentence is simple, it is powerful. The Battle of Ireland has proved that the ironclad ships have superb combat power to sail battleships. The maritime power of Europe and the empire is no longer the same era. No European country can compete with the empire for maritime hegemony at present. Therefore, outside Europe, whether it is a colony or a sphere of influence, must be recognized by the empire to be considered effective. Even though the empire has not dominated Western Africa, this big cake is actually cut by the empire.
Chapter completed!