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Chapter 1063: Attacking from the West and Attacking from the East
The opinions of the seventeen representatives were not unified, but most of them did not want to see the Ming Empire join the war. The reason was simple: it would affect the company's revenue.

At present, no matter how dissatisfied European countries are, they cannot openly prevent the East India Company from using its monopoly position in Asia to make huge amounts of money.

But once the Ming Empire joined the war, no matter which side it stood on, it would give European countries an excuse to intervene, and the outcome would be disastrous. At that time, there would be countless privateers waiting halfway, ready to launch plundering operations against the East India Company's merchant ships at any time.

No matter how many merchant ships the East India Company has built over the years, they are not enough to rob like this. Increasing the degree of armament for self-protection and sending ships for escort may work, but the cost will be greatly increased, and the profit will be greatly reduced relatively speaking.

After all, the United Provinces East India Company was not a parliament or a governor, but a private company, but the shares were owned by nobles and officials. The United Provinces could fight Spain for independence, but the shareholders were not willing to give up their share of the profits for everyone.

"Well, what you said makes a lot of sense and your analysis is very pertinent, so I regard you as a friend. The Empire will not participate in this war unless it is invaded.

But sooner or later the empire will have a war with Spain, not in Europe, but in the New World. Don't be too surprised, the New World does not belong to anyone, if Europeans can go there, why can't the Ming people go there?
The Europeans defeated the natives and robbed their land. The Ming people can also defeat the Europeans and rob them again. As a friend, I can give you a suggestion. If you want to invest, you can come to Ming. Among them, there are stocks related to the New World Development Company. The returns should be good. Anyway, I have bought a lot. "

Hong Tao admired Cohen. He was capable, knew the times, knew how to advance and retreat, loved his career, and was loyal to his post. He had expressed his intention to recruit him many times, and the conditions he offered were more generous each time, but he was rejected every time.

There was only one reason: he liked the East India Company, loved the United Provinces and his hometown. He did not want to leave his hometown, nor did he want to work for a boss who was always unpredictable.

For more than ten years, an imperial emperor and a colonial governor represented different forces respectively. There were cooperation and disputes, but overall they were relatively harmonious. This is also the main reason why the East India Company has not changed its personnel.

The Ming Empire representative stationed in Amsterdam conveyed the emperor's message to the East India Company's top brass in person. They did not want to cooperate with a new governor-general while Cohen was still able to serve as governor-general!

Since this work friend is now concerned about the empire and has made very pertinent suggestions, he should be rewarded. It just so happens that the country is going to set up a stock trading market, and using inside information to help friends make some money is not illegal for the time being. Once the trading law is introduced in a few days, these words can no longer be said casually.

"The New World Development Company... Your Majesty wants to attack the Spanish colonies in the New World!"

This news shocked Cohen. He had seen the growth of the Ming Empire over the years. But the control was mainly concentrated in the east and south of Asia, and only in recent years did it slowly penetrate into the central and western parts.

However, no matter how it expanded, the Ming Empire was always conducting strategic defense, clearing out hidden dangers in the surrounding areas in advance, and then carrying out long-term, large-scale immigration to bring Chinese culture into the occupied areas for assimilation.

The advantage of this method is its stability. It takes one step at a time, and each area occupied is equivalent to gaining a piece of territory. There will not be too fierce confrontation in terms of ethnicity, religion, and culture. The longer the time, the lower the difficulty of management.

But everything has two sides. The disadvantage of steady and cautious is that the expansion speed is not fast enough. Since he was transferred to Batavia as the head of the Chamber of Commerce, Emperor Jingyang has been working hard for twenty years. The only land he has annexed is Luzon Island and Annan, and there are no more than five core vassal states. It is precisely because the Ming Empire has adopted this model that the East India Company and even the top leaders of the United Provinces are more confident in Asia and actively cooperate with the various requirements of the Ming Empire.

But no one expected that Emperor Jingyang, who had been down-to-earth and steady for thirty years, would suddenly become radical one day and wanted to cross the ocean to seize territory on the American continent.

This change is not only bad news for Spain and the Habsburg family, but will also affect the interests of European countries in the New World. Although the colonies of the United Provinces are concentrated on the east coast and the Caribbean, once the Ming Empire fights with European countries in the New World, who can guarantee that they will not be affected?

"The Empire will not compete with the Spanish for land for the time being, and we have no ability to manage it even if we get it. But you Europeans have reminded me that authorizing looting is a good idea.

Since the Spanish do not recognize the Ming Empire's dominance in Asia, I also do not recognize their rights in the New World. This is a very reasonable choice in the diplomatic strategies of European countries. "

The maritime rights negotiations, in which the Ming Empire represented Asia and the United Kingdom, France, Spain and the Netherlands represented Europe, did not make much progress. The main obstacle was Spain, which stubbornly believed that it had the strength to compete with the Ming Empire in Asian waters, and thus took the lead in not wanting to recognize the Ming Empire's dominance in Asian waters.

Any hegemony is won through blood and fire. If one side is not hurt and disabled, and the other side is trembling, there will be no respect and awe. If you want to be the king of the alley, you have to quarrel, fight and see blood several times, let alone the country.

Hong Tao understood this principle very well, and he never expected to resolve the conflict through dialogue. At present, the conditions for a direct battle with Spain were not yet in place, but it was not difficult to harass its colonies.

More than half of Spain's finances depended on transfusions from its American colonies. There was no need to cut off the supply completely. Just making a small cut in the major blood vessels would be enough to give Felipe IV a headache.

The most convenient and effective way to harass is the navy. No, it cannot be called the navy, but the privateering ships of the Ming Empire. Since European countries can openly issue letters of marque to crack down on other countries' maritime trade, there is no reason why they cannot.

Moreover, the benefits of doing so are not limited to striking a blow to the economy of the Kingdom of Spain, but it can also obtain a lot of spoils of war, which can fully or partially offset the cost of the navy's voyage.

If you are lucky, the Spanish will help you pay for the military expenses. You can strike the enemy without spending any money, so why not do such a good thing?

Finally, and most importantly, training troops! In Hong Tao's long-term plan for the Ming Empire, America is an indispensable piece of the puzzle, and at least they must gain a foothold on the west coast of America.

If it is not possible to take care of both the north and the south, Chile and Peru in South America and Panama, Costa Rica and Nicaragua in Central America are the first choice for overseas territories. First send troops to occupy and then a large number of immigrants to further assimilate the local indigenous people.

(End of this chapter)