I was the Founding Father of the United States

Chapter 130 Colonialism Cannot Be Hasty

Chapter 130 Colonialism Cannot Be Hasty

Having discussed income, let's move on to expenses.

The companies with the largest expenditures were the Southern Development Company, the Providence Shipping Company, and the Pacific Trading Company.

The Southern Development Company has now acquired a controlling stake in Providence Shipping and has hired six armed merchant ships to transport 438 immigrants and a large amount of supplies to Rhode Island, at a total cost of over £9000.

Furthermore, in the second half of the year, the company will continue to recruit 500 mercenaries from North Germany and skilled immigrants from France. In addition, with the various tools and supplies needed for the subsequent expansion of the plantation, the total cost will not be less than £15000.

This is a fixed expense, and it's impossible to save on it.

Pacific Trading Company's expenses were even greater.

Over the past three months, Eric Lovelat and Captain Vincent Robinson have applied to him to purchase seven second-hand merchant ships, totaling more than £25500. With the cost of personnel and goods, the total expenditure has reached £31000!

Because of excessive spending, Chen Wenbin has invested multiple times, and the shareholding ratios of Eric Lovellard and Captain Robinson have now decreased to three percent and two and a half percent, respectively.

But the two of them had no objections at all; on the contrary, the more money Chen Wenbin sent to buy the boat, the more excited they became!

With seven merchant ships, a fleet of nearly 5000 armed merchant vessels, the wealth generated from a single ocean trade was enormous. As long as they didn't encounter a shipwreck, they would make a fortune just from the trade profits, not to mention their wages and bonuses.

Because the fleet was to depart in less than a week, Chen Wenbin specifically inquired with Eric Lovelat about the Pacific Trading Company's preparations.

Upon hearing the boss's question, Eric Lovelat quickly stood up, bowed slightly, and then introduced in a slightly excited tone: "Sir! A full seven 499-ton standard merchant ships are anchored in the ports of London and Portsmouth. Within three days, they will be able to carry two thousand tons of cargo, including Spanish silver ingots, copper, iron, tin, lead, cotton cloth, woolen fabrics, glass, swords, muskets, cannons, clocks, and other goods, departing from England!"

If all goes well, I should be able to arrive in Guangzhou this November and return to North America next August.

As per your request, six of the ships will carry at least 1200 immigrants to Fort George at the mouth of the Mississippi River in North America.

The remaining ship and mercenaries will attempt to establish an armed trading post on the west coast of Borneo or the Zheng He Islands, serving as a transit point and trading post for immigrants.

Therefore, a 200-strong Hessian mercenary force will accompany the fleet to the East. In terms of weaponry, we have prepared 1500 Robin rifles, 30 light cannons, and a small amount of gunpowder.

Gunpowder can be purchased locally in India, where saltpeter is produced, and gunpowder is very cheap.

Chen Wenbin nodded slightly; these were things he had already decided long ago.

Immigrating from the East across thousands of miles is no simple matter; it is extremely expensive, and he needs to minimize costs as much as possible.

For example, they could hire more European merchant ships to help with transportation, or cultivate Han Chinese maritime power in the open ocean, allowing them to recruit people from the Manchu coast themselves.

Either way, it's much cheaper than him buying a boat and going to Guangzhou to immigrate.

This necessitates having a stable armed outpost and port in Southeast Asia, where armed merchant ships can dock for extended periods, and where immigration rules can be regulated.

His target areas were the coast of the Samfa Sultanate in western Borneo, or the Zheng He Islands (Natuna Islands), especially the latter, where the Dutch currently had no resources to intervene, and apart from a few indigenous people, it was a blank slate.

If we can successfully establish strongholds in these two places, we can settle some of the Han Chinese immigrants who have just left the Manchu Qing Dynasty, let them cut off their queues, and select strong men to train as soldiers and sailors, thereby reducing immigration costs.

He pressed further: "—Has the choice for the mercenary leader been finalized? And how are the sailors and mercenaries' families being settled? How many are willing to go to North America?"

Eric Lovelat glanced at Edward Scott across from him. "You'll need to ask Mr. Scott about that. He's in charge of recruiting mercenaries for the Hessian Company."

Edward Scott looked at his nephew-in-law, frowned, and replied, "Robin, these two Hessian infantry companies are commanded by Lieutenant Henry Reinhardt and Lieutenant John Tripp—"

He paused, then continued, "However, I really don't think establishing an armed outpost in the East Indies is a good idea!"

It's not a good idea, at least not right now!

Even if you persuade the East India Company to allow you to undertake colonial adventures in the East, the risks are still too high!

The East Indies were not a key area of ​​British control, and we were unsure whether the Dutch, Spanish, and Portuguese would view our establishment of armed outposts as a provocation.

This kind of risk could very well result in total financial ruin! I still recommend sticking to trade and immigration for now.

"We should wait until we have more intelligence on the East, and our funds and strength are sufficient, before we attempt such a thing."

Chen Wenbin was instinctively displeased to hear someone contradict his decision, but he wasn't an old fogey who wouldn't listen to different opinions, so he simply nodded without changing his expression and asked, "Edward, besides these risks, do you have any other reasons?"

Seeing that Boss Chen wasn't angry, Edward Scott breathed a sigh of relief. Although he was Diana's uncle, Lord Chen was now his boss, and it was certainly a good thing that he was willing to listen to his opinions.

"—Also, the profits from colonial outposts are unclear!"

He stated with certainty: "The Dutch East India Company is the maritime hegemon of the East Indies, monopolizing the spice trade in the East and having strong control over the indigenous countries of the East Indies—we must understand one fact: the Dutch will never allow us to get involved in the spice trade!"

So our only source of income is Chinese silk, tea, and porcelain, but these are the monopoly rights of the British East India Company. We can't very well compete with the East India Company for business, can we?

Without the source of funds from trade, even if we successfully establish a foothold, we will need to spend a large amount of money to maintain the army, warships, and the management of the colonial base—therefore, this is clearly a long-term losing proposition!

As soon as he finished speaking, Henry Hopkins, who was sitting in the first seat on the right, nodded to Chen Wenbin and said, "Edward makes a good point, Robin. Expanding colonies requires making a profit. Even if it's not profitable in the short term, it can't keep losing money. Do you want to reconsider this plan?"

The others reacted differently upon hearing this, but no one dared to offer any further advice.

Edward Scott was Diana's uncle, and Henry Hopkins was Sir John Chan's marriage negotiator and witness. Their positions were exceptional, and what they could say did not mean that others could say whatever they wanted.

Of course, if Franklin were there, he would definitely have made a few sarcastic remarks about Lord Chen.

Chen Wenbin remained silent, his gaze sweeping over the others, pausing particularly on the Adams brothers, and he couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

Britain is indeed a society with a strict hierarchy. As his status rose and his wealth increased, fewer and fewer people would tell him the truth.

In the past, at least Samuel Adams, this middle-aged angry young man, would have definitely expressed his opinion, but now he remains silent.

Is it because you're afraid of offending yourself, or because you haven't figured out the situation?

Chen Wenbin shook his head, no longer dwelling on it, and calmly said, "—I believe Mr. Scott has considered things more thoroughly than I have. In that case, the plan to establish a base in the East Indies will be temporarily shelved—Eric!"

"Jazz!"

Eric Lofrat immediately agreed.

Chen Wenbin instructed, "You, Mr. Scott, and Captain Robinson should discuss this as soon as possible and come up with a new plan for me tomorrow."

Since there's no need to establish an armed outpost, we don't need to hire too many mercenaries. We'll keep fifty men with the merchant ship, and the rest will travel by ship to Fort George.

Some of the weapons will be left behind, and the rest will be loaded onto a ship and transported to Fort George!

"Yes, Sir!"