After taking down a future Dutch painter, William IV felt very at ease, went shopping, and found that it seemed more interesting.

"Charlie, how's the production of celluloid?"

"At present, we have started exporting under the circumstance of satisfying domestic requirements."

"You said, if we cut off the supply completely, how would the countries react?"

"In that case, Your Majesty, countries may impose corresponding sanctions on the Netherlands for this. For example, Sweden may cut off the supply of iron ore because of this, and Prussia may even export to Prussia and Austria through them. additional tax on products.”

"Is that so? What about reducing exports?"

"In that case, there will be less resistance from other countries, but it will also lead to no trust in the Netherlands. Celluloid is now widely used in various countries. If it is difficult for that country to develop it, maybe other countries will jointly develop and share patents. Holland steals chickens without losing rice, yes"

"It's going to hurt everyone and won't get any benefits, right?"

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"It seems, then it seems that we can only win more markets as soon as possible to make quick money?"

"Only in this way can we quickly occupy the market and make others have no motivation to develop"

William IV heard the words, although he did not agree, but also admitted that this is the best way to deal with it.

Celluloid, also known as marble film, is the name of a synthetic resin. It is the oldest thermoplastic resin in the world. It is synthesized from raw materials such as nitrocellulose and camphor. It was developed separately as a substitute for ivory.

It is the ancestor of plastic, which was discovered by Schönbein of the University of Basel in Switzerland in 1846 as a substitute for shellac.

Anyone who loves sports knows billiards. In the mid-19th century, billiards was an entertainment activity for the rich and powerful all over the world. At that time, it was very popular in Europe and even the Americas.

Before 1857, billiards were made of ivory, which looked very elegant, but as the number of elephants in Africa became less and less, the Netherlands, like other countries, was almost completely unable to get ivory to make billiards. But the owner of the billiards manufacturing field is sad. The billiards market in the Netherlands is very large, and it is almost a sport that all aristocrats and wealthy people participate in.

William IV just saw such a side of the news in the "Holland Handelsblatt".

Compared with the population of later generations, billiards have too many audiences, and there is no other way of entertainment, which has become the most involved sport in European countries.

So, in his mind, he was imaginative. In 1857, he used the reputation of the Ministry of Industry to make an advertisement in the major newspapers in the Netherlands and European countries, announcing: Who can invent a kind of billiard ball instead of ivory? materials, who will be able to get 250,000 guilders (10,000 pounds).

This caused a sensation in Europe at the time, which was not a small amount at the time. You must know that the sixth-level sail battleship, the price of building one is just that.

The Netherlands traded a tier VI sailing warship for a material?

No matter how countries look at it, they all feel that there is something weird in it.

At the same time, there were more doubts about this action of the Dutch government and William IV at that time. Is this a technical expert who does not love politics but only technology?

William IV, who listened to this discussion, didn't care at all.

When the advertisement was done for a week, there was a saying that "there must be a brave man under the reward". Although it is not completely true, it is indeed a little stimulating.

In October 1857, in Rotterdam, there was a man named John, who was a printer, but was also very interested in billiards, so he thought about it day and night in order to invent a new material for making billiards instead of ivory.

At first, he added the natural resin shellac to wood chips. The wood chips were agglomerated and rolled into balls. They looked like ivory billiards, but they shattered when touched.

In the months that followed, I tried many things, but I couldn't find a material that was hard and not brittle.

His hard work paid off. One day, he discovered that the raw material for making gunpowder, nitrocellulose, was dissolved in alcohol, and then smeared on the object. After drying, it can form a transparent and strong film.

He tried to condense the membrane into balls, but failed again and again in experiments.

To say that John was really an indomitable man, he was not discouraged, and continued to explore as always. Finally, in October 1858, he discovered that when he stepped up the camphor in the nitrocellulose, the nitrocellulose turned into a kind of flexible and flexible Non-brittle material.

It can be made into various shapes under hot pressing, and it can really be used to make billiards.

He named it celluloid, also known as marble film.

He registered a patent with the newly established Patent Office in the Netherlands, received 250,000 guilders, and he became an advisor to the Minister of Industry of the Netherlands.

And received financing from the William Group established by Crown Prince William of the Netherlands in 1857. With the support of the group, he is ready to use his invention to obtain more benefits.

In 1859, he established a celluloid factory in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. In addition to producing billiards, he also used it as a windshield for carriages, and changed the name of celluloid to plastic, thus creating a precedent for the industry.

On May 10, 1860, the William Group also began to use plastic patents to produce fake ivory and billiards.

In the same year, at the end of the year, European countries began to bring goods with Dutch merchants, and plastic products began to prevail in Europe and America, quickly occupying the global market. The Netherlands has established the most advanced country in the plastics industry.

It is precisely because of the plastics industry that the country's GDP has grown rapidly in recent years, and its per capita GDP is comparable to that of the UK, the largest developed country.

"The market in the Far East is so huge, Your Majesty, our transportation is difficult to inherit, do you think?"

"Then get close to that huge market in Jakarta in East India, and get closer to the rubber production base, killing two birds with one stone."

William IV said: "The plastics industry is the most advanced industry in the Netherlands at present. The products in front of us are only one of the small uses of plastics, and plastics are more useful. Therefore, the current investment of William Group is too cautious, and we should increase research and development efforts. .And the Falcon program should be carried out globally. I have a list here with approximate addresses and names. The Royal Netherlands Intelligence and the Netherlands International Intelligence Agency will work together to poach the above people. Remember, if these people can't To be the talent of the Netherlands, then they will never be the future opponents of the Netherlands."

......

Unlike those street markets in the oriental world, in Amsterdam, the mainstream is still shops, but on the streets of Amsterdam, the people here are more diverse, it is not that there are fewer people in the busy markets of the oriental cities, and more importantly, there are no Once you have been to Amsterdam, you can never imagine how charming Amsterdam is.

As a later generation, William IV never imagined that a city could be so beautiful at that time.

"Charlie, you're saying that in the Netherlands, what city is better than Amsterdam?"

Sitting in the beverage shop drinking the rough juice brought by the boss, William IV asked Charlie, who was also sitting next to him.

Aragorn hadn't started to answer yet, but the shop owner was the first.

"This gentleman asked a good question, and he sounded like an Amsterdam accent. It should be very rare for newcomers to go out. Hehe, that friend doesn't know what his answer is, but I know that there are two The place is not bad at all.”

Aragorn hadn't started to answer yet, but the boss had a head start.

"Two?" William IV became interested, "Which two are they?"

It's not like a typical Dutch character.

Southern Europeans are enthusiastic, optimistic, and unrestrained; the British are reserved; Prussians are old-fashioned; and the Dutch are practical, and generally do not ask other people's private affairs as a taboo.

Now, this person is mixed in like this, and authentic Dutch people rarely take such initiative.

This person is obviously Dutch, but his personality is more like a Latino person who grew up in the United States or southern Europe.

"The Hague is such a new city that makes you fall in love with the Dutch coast once you meet it." The boss said, and then, for fear that William IV would not believe it, he explained: "The Hague is really beautiful, and life in The Hague is leisurely and real. , not dreamy, very peaceful, I especially like to see the afterglow of the sunset there like water droplets sprinkled in every corner of the city.

Watching it gradually darken the whole city, I prefer to get up early to go to the small restaurant on the street, from breakfast to Chinese food and even supper, to eat hot chocolate and all kinds of bread all day, and warm Neighboring tables chat, taking their pleasures to themselves.

I also like to walk along the low-lying green fields and banks of the Hague with my luggage on my back. Every time I go there, I deeply remember every smiling face around me, because they are so sincere, and because of this, it is loved by me. Everyone agrees that the Netherlands is the best place to live with money”

Speaking of which~lightnovelpub.net~ the smile on the boss's face was even bigger.

"Looking at the tone of your speech just now, there is a taste of literary and artistic style, but boss, the Hague you said is so vivid, I am curious, which city do you think the second city is, it is worth it for you Put it in front of Amsterdam and The Hague, and don't live up to its name."

In addition to the two of them, there are other guests within 100 meters of the surrounding area, and the one who asked the question just now is a middle-aged guest less than ten meters away from him.

William IV looked over, and after seeing the other party, he smiled and nodded to him.

William IV and Charles were also interested.

Amsterdam's canal with ancient buildings and boat tours actually only got the third place. As for the second place in The Hague, William IV wanted to enjoy the second place recently.

As for No. 1, there is still such a beautiful place in the Netherlands, how could he not know it.

So, he looked at Charlie next to him, and Charlie shrugged, indicating that he couldn't guess the answer.

(Chapter One,