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Chapter 1089 Arguing with the Philosopher
Spain, in particular, could no longer maintain its vast overseas colonies due to its weakened national strength, and was gradually divided up by European countries. After losing the huge wealth gained from the colonies, it fell from the altar of the British Empire and never recovered from it.

In fact, this drama is very familiar. In later generations, Britain also sat on the throne of the British Empire and was also challenged by various European countries.

No matter how the First World War and the Second World War are characterized by later generations, in fact, like the Thirty Years' War, they were all fought for the struggle for interests and had nothing to do with justice and fairness.

The result was very similar. The two world wars completely drained the British treasury, and it had to reluctantly give up the top spot to its cousin. From then on, it was similar to Spain, with each year getting worse.

If we follow this logic, when the Third or Fourth World War ends, the United States' world hegemony will most likely change hands, and it is really difficult to predict who will hold it.

"External harassment... Is Your Majesty going to get involved too? This is too unreasonable. The Ming Empire and Europe are separated by oceans and there is no conflict of interest! Oh... I understand. Is it the Dutch who are secretly making trouble and trying to persuade Your Majesty to join the war?

Please listen to my advice. If Your Majesty does not want the empire to fall into trouble, the best choice is to watch the fire from the other side of the river. Whoever wins this war needs to quickly restore national strength.

At that time, the Ming Empire will be the only business partner, and it can sell a large amount of goods to Europe and earn a lot of wealth. Why should we sacrifice the lives of the imperial soldiers for the interests of the European nobles when such a good situation is not available? "

Those who have made achievements in philosophy research are not nerds. They must be deeply involved in society and pay special attention to current affairs. In other words, they are only separated from politicians by a thin layer of paper, and sometimes they are even one and the same. Without such vision and ability, it is impossible to provide sufficient material for philosophical research.

At this time, Descartes threw aside his identity as a philosopher and became a politician. With his keen insight, he outlined the future development prospects for the Emperor of the Ming Empire and made his arguments very logically.

"Your analysis is correct. The Empire has no interests in Europe that need to be fought for through war. But you are wrong. This matter has nothing to do with the Dutch, and they have never made similar suggestions.

In fact, the relationship between the Empire and the Netherlands was not solid, but was just mutual use. The Empire needed to find agents in Europe to sell goods, and the Netherlands needed security in Asia to open up sea routes.

Agents are not the only ones, there are many options, such as the British and Danish East India Companies, they should all be willing to take on this role. In Asia, the only one that can provide security is the empire, and if there is inequality in status, there will never be equal transactions.

But the Empire could indeed join the war, but not in Europe, but on the continent to the east. The Empire deserves a piece of land, and whoever stands in its way becomes an enemy. Unfortunately, Spain is once again in this position. "

However, this time Hong Tao did not blindly agree with the other party's views just because he was a very accomplished scientist. Descartes, who held many titles such as philosopher, mathematician, and astronomer, was convinced, but he was not convinced when it came to the issue of being an emperor and governing the country.

"Your Majesty is going to attack Spain's overseas governorates? Oh, God, this is crazy... Let me think about it... Let me think about it carefully!" This answer was beyond Descartes' expectations, and he couldn't help but exclaimed. He walked to the map in two steps, tilted his neck, looked at it and talked to himself, most likely entering the multi-threaded computing mode.

"Bring some snacks, dried fruits, and wine." Hong Tao did not disturb him, but turned around and whispered to Wang Chengen.

Being able to talk with Descartes about European issues and America was indeed beyond my plan. But it was not a mistake, but rather a reward and inspiration. In this case, I have to talk more deeply, and who knows, that sentence will benefit me a lot.

“Your Majesty, this is indeed profitable, but it is not the best solution. This is because the chain reactions it triggers are uncontrollable, and there is definitely the possibility of damaging the empire.

For example, the Spanish government could collapse directly! When the income from the Americas is greatly threatened, this possibility will increase. At that time, the Holy Roman Empire will immediately seek peace talks with other countries to end the war.

You see, such an outcome would not be of any benefit to the Ming Empire. When peace came to Europe, the New World would be divided up. But they would not allow the existence of another party. The New World was a spoil of war and there was no possibility of sharing.

In this way, your empire will replace the Habsburgs as the collective enemy of all European countries. If an agreement acceptable to all parties cannot be reached quickly, war is inevitable.

I wonder how Your Majesty estimates the benefits of the New World, and whether he is willing to trigger a large-scale war because of it. Meanwhile, there are two great empires in the world, the Ottoman Empire and Russia, sitting on the mountain and watching the fight.

After four or five minutes of thinking, Descartes slowly walked back to the table, but did not sit down. He stood up and explained the results of his logical analysis. Overall, he was not very optimistic. Although he was relatively certain that Ming would win the war with Spain, he had great doubts about whether he could get enough benefits after the victory.

"Sooner or later there will be a war between Europe and Asia to determine who will be the dominant one. From my personal point of view, the sooner this moment comes, the better it will be for the empire. If you put aside the factors of birthplace and hometown, who do you hope will win?"

Sometimes Hong Tao would be very jealous of these geniuses. The knowledge and insights that others have spent their entire lives to acquire might not be too difficult for them. The results that Descartes came up with purely through thinking and analysis were surprisingly similar to the conclusions he had drawn after being the emperor for more than 30 years. It was really unreasonable!
"Your Majesty, what does the empire intend to become? Judging from its current state, it is already very powerful. The most important thing is that the nobles are not extravagant and the people are not that hard-working. Isn't that enough? Why do we need to occupy territory in the New World? How can we manage such a remote place?

Spain's fate is clear. Even though it occupies the largest land in the world and has obtained a huge amount of wealth, it has not brought prosperity and development. If Your Majesty is unable to overcome the same problem, will he also go down the same path? "

Descartes was very cunning. He did not answer this simple yet fatal question, but instead asked a counter-question, intending to fundamentally deny the emperor's plan, so that there would be no need to discuss who to support.

(End of this chapter)