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Chapter 1244 Prince of Orange

"Do you know what the relationship is between the Prince of Orange and the King of Spain?" But it was useless to tell Wang Chengen this truth, he couldn't understand it, and he didn't need to understand it too well. So don't waste your breath, and tell me something useful.

"I heard from His Majesty that the monarchs of European countries are all related." Wang Chengen's learning ability is not very good, but his memory is very good, especially some of the words the emperor once said, which he can always remember clearly.

"Indeed, his father was called William I. He married four wives in his life, one of whom was the daughter of the niece of King Francis I of France. Do you remember the relationship between the King of France and the King of Spain?"

Hong Tao nodded in satisfaction, began to explain, and then asked questions. He liked Wang Chengen, who was not very smart, and felt more at ease using him. People who were too smart could be assigned to suitable positions, but they should never be kept by his side.

"Uh...it seems like one married the other's elder sister, and the other married the one's younger sister." Wang Chengen started biting the pen cap, just like elementary school students in later generations who encountered difficult problems.

"Yes, that's right. It was Philip IV of Spain who married Elizabeth, the sister of King Louis XIII of France, and at the same time married his sister Anne to Louis XIII. According to the etiquette of the Ming Dynasty, Philip IV should call Louis XIII his brother-in-law, but Louis XIII is Philip IV's brother-in-law.

I can't even describe this kind of relationship. Don't worry about it, just know it. But it's not over yet. Louis XIII also has a sister, Mary, who married King Charles I of England.

In fact, the Prince of Orange was also a relative of Philip IV. His wife had almost reached an agreement with the Queen of Charles I to let their son marry a British princess.

If this marriage really goes through, the rulers of the United Provinces, the King of France, the King of England, and the King of Spain will be closely related by marriage.

Oh, yes, there is also Ferdinand III, the Holy Roman Emperor. He was the uncle of Philip IV, but he married Philip IV's sister. How to judge this relationship would be difficult for the Ministry of Rites.

Not only that, the Prince of Orange's father once served as the secretary of Felipe IV's grandfather and was very trusted. It was only later that they parted ways and became enemies because of conflicts in religious beliefs.

I have said so much just to make you understand one thing. No matter how lively and fierce the war in Europe is, its essence is nothing more than a conflict of interests within a big family.

They are either uncles or cousins, and their children are in-laws. They will not really fight to the death. At most, the winners will take more, and the losers will give up some. They will sit together during festivals and holidays.

But the Ming Empire is different. We are always outsiders to European countries. When there are not too many conflicts of interest, we can cooperate, and we may even be used as a weapon to attack the other party. But once we infringe on the collective interests of their ethnic groups, they will turn against us without thinking and will never show mercy. "

When it comes to the relationship between nobles in European countries, Hong Tao is also a jack of all trades, only knowing the surface but not the reason. But there is one truth he is very clear about: don't be deceived by appearances. Europeans often seem to fight and seem to be very unharmonious, but in their bones they are very close to each other.

"That reminds me of something. They are very similar to the princes of the Zhou Dynasty. They are also relatives of each other. However, the princes are not very merciful when they really fight. They will kill those who should be killed and their entire clans will be exterminated. If Your Majesty can give the Dutch more benefits, will they also rebel?" It cannot be said that Wang Chengen is unlearned. In order to have a good chat with the emperor, he often reads a book in his spare time, covering a wide range of content. However, due to different starting points, he hardly understands these books, but just skims over them.

"It's difficult... Their model is indeed very similar to that of the various princes of the Zhou Dynasty, but there is one more thing. Can you guess what it is?"

Hong Tao never advised Wang Chengen to focus on one or two subjects and study them in depth. If he wanted to discuss more profound knowledge with others, he could go to the Hanlin Academy for help in literature and history, or to the Royal Academy for science. He could guarantee that they could engage in a verbal battle for months without a clear winner.

But that would be too tiring and too brain-intensive. Chatting and giving lectures with Wang Chengen was actually a way to relax. The degree was just right, showing the emperor's ability without having to think too hard. As he talked, some questions formed ideas in his mind, and he could relax and work at the same time.

"Uh...could it be those indecent women?" Wang Chengen put down his pen, held the pen cap with his teeth and thought hard, then remembered the European court secrets that Oyani had told him, and blurted out.

"Who says there are no such women in the imperial courts of China? Wouldn't it be more corrupt than the imperial courts of Europe to have three thousand beauties in the imperial harem? It's religion. They have a church that can rival the imperial court.

Although the power of the church is gradually weakening, it is still a code of conduct recognized by monarchs of all countries. The king's accession to the throne and the succession of power have a very mature set of procedures and rules.

Under the constraints of this system, it is too difficult to overthrow or eliminate a country's royal family through violent means, which will arouse public anger, unless one has the strength to challenge most European countries alone.

The wars in Europe in recent years are actually about balancing the strength of all parties. The Habsburg families in Spain and Austria are too powerful. If they are not weakened, they will soon have this kind of strength.

Then you also saw that European countries took turns to fight the Holy Roman Empire and Spain, and they crippled the two powerful countries. "

Hong Tao knew without Oyani's explanation that European courts were in chaos, but he did not think that this was a characteristic of European courts, as Chinese civilization was no less advanced than theirs.

The real difference between Eastern and Western civilizations is not in women's belts, but in religion. The reason why the vassal states of Chinese civilization swallowed up each other so thoroughly was that there was no commonly recognized binding force, and as long as the fist was strong enough, the whole family could be exterminated.

If this kind of thing happened in Europe, it wouldn't take long for the enemy to become a public enemy, and he would basically be unable to survive. The church played the role of referee at this time, first persuading, then mediating, and then threatening. If he still didn't listen, it would be time to launch a holy war.

At that time, no European country could resist them, so they had to change their strategy. When they were pushed to the limit, they would resort to assassination, but only to one person, not to the whole family.

(End of this chapter)