unclear

Chapter 1301 The fuse is lit
With the long speech of the Chief of Staff, the imperial meeting came to an end, which also meant that the war had officially begun. Regardless of whether the European coalition forces marched eastward in large numbers, the Ming Empire's army would gradually move in place according to the deployment.

As the saying goes, the arrow has to be shot once it is on the string. At this point, no one can stop the outbreak of war, including Hong Tao himself. A huge amount of manpower, material resources and financial resources have been invested in the military industry, and there must be some output.

If the company cannot obtain sufficient returns, it is unlikely to go bankrupt immediately, but it will have to pay off the debt for more than ten years, and it may cause the overall economy to stagnate or even decline. No one can guarantee whether it will trigger a more serious chain reaction.

On the other hand, Europe is in a similar situation. After half a year of preparation and discussion, dozens of agreements have been signed. Several countries are facing territorial changes, and everyone has spent all their money.

Suddenly saying no to playing... No one can afford this loss. The royal families of various countries will be ridiculed and lose the trust of all classes. It is hard to say whether they will be replaced. For this reason, both sides must do their best to become the winner, and then draw nutrients from the corpse of the loser to make up for the loss.

In July 1639, an explosion in Isfahan instantly stirred up the already turbulent world situation.

During the Eid al-Fitr viewing ceremony, an explosion occurred near Safi Shah's seat, seriously injuring five invited religious leaders and ethnic chiefs who eventually died, and more than a dozen others were injured to varying degrees.

On the day of the incident, the Shah's guards followed the clues and found the address of the workers responsible for repairing the viewing platform, but when these two people found that something was wrong around them, they detonated the bombs they were carrying without hesitation, cutting off the clues with their lives.

However, according to a series of investigations, the blame was directed at the Kurdish community. In order to clear themselves of suspicion, the Kurdish community in Persia quickly provided relevant evidence, proving that the two men were from the Ottoman-occupied areas, and the foreman who brought them to Isfahan had long disappeared.

The man ran away, but the suspicion could not be shaken off. Still in shock, Safi Shah urgently met with eleven of the largest tribal leaders and five religious leaders in Persia, including two who were slightly injured in the explosion, in the palace, and then formally expressed his attitude to the European and Ottoman envoys.

No foreign troops were allowed to pass through or stay on Persian soil. If any signs of invasion were found, the Persian army would fight back without hesitation. Except for the port of Abbas, all foreigners were required to leave the country within a certain period of time, and their personal safety would not be guaranteed if they exceeded the deadline.

At the same time, the tribes began to prepare for war. Teams of cavalry and baggage rushed to the west from all directions, taking practical action to eliminate the culprit of the bombing.

On the surface, the Persian Empire was going to implement its neutral policy to the end, but the leader of the largest Abbasid tribe secretly ordered a large number of weapons and ammunition from a Ming merchant with whom he had a good personal relationship. The reason was to arm the tribal warriors to defend their homeland, but everyone knew the real purpose.

Wang Datou secretly arrived at Hormuz Island on a cargo ship of the Danish East India Company in early July. After receiving the order, he signed and approved it on the spot. However, it was not the Ming merchants but the Danish merchants who finally delivered the weapons and equipment to Chief Abbas.

This is why Wang Datou always has Hong Tao's trust. He is very meticulous, or even cunning, and does not miss any details. Even if it seems useless, he will still do it tirelessly as long as it is beneficial to the empire.

At the same time, it also reflects that the situation in the Persian region is extremely delicate. Even the Abbasid tribal leader, with whom he has cooperated for many years, cannot be trusted. He would rather let the Danes make a profit than show up in public and be caught, which would have a negative impact on Safi Shah's decision.

Speaking of the Danish East India Company, it is another strange company that values ​​money over life. Although the United Kingdom of Denmark and Norway did not provide many troops to participate in the war, it was one of the main initiators of the European coalition's eastward expedition. Christian IV, who was naturally warlike, would definitely seize this great opportunity to make the United Kingdom of Denmark and Norway rise again, and demonstrate his non-existent wisdom and military command ability.

Before the Ming Empire made the decision to expel European chambers of commerce and colonies in Asia, it demanded, in the name of the king, that Danish merchants withdraw from Asian waters.

The Danish East India Company was established with the support of Christian IV, but at this critical moment for the fate of the country, the king was abandoned by the profit-seeking businessmen.

A small group of Danish merchants, led by Greg, the senior trade commissioner of India, turned a blind eye to the king's order. Not only did they fail to withdraw from Asian waters as scheduled, they also secretly transferred their families and property to the Port of Colombo through various covert means, and then continued to operate the increasingly prosperous warehouse in the Port of Hormuz.

When they learned that the Emperor of the Ming Empire had issued an order requiring the Portuguese and Dutch, who had long been entrenched in Asia and almost monopolized 80% of the trade sources, to leave the country within a certain period of time, this group of adventurers who had left their homes and risked their lives finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Then they started a night of revelry, and everyone got drunk. Two people were so drunk that they fell into the sea from the pier and died when they were just one step away from becoming rich.

But apart from their families, no one would care about the two cold bodies. With the special permission of the Ming Navy, from then on, merchant ships flying the flag of the Danish East India Company could sail freely in the waters of Asia, and they were unique and had no competitors.

It seems that the Ming Dynasty's maritime merchants are not keen on the high-profit but also high-risk ocean trade. As a result, they are the only one capable of transporting bulk Asian goods to Europe, and huge wealth is within their reach!
What? Europe doesn't allow it to be sold! This is definitely not the case. Don't listen to the top leaders of various countries who say they are happy, but they are the biggest buyers in private. As long as the goods are genuine and the price is reasonable, they don't care where they come from.

It was unrealistic for the nobles who were used to eating white sugar to continue to expect to satisfy their appetite with honey. Luxury goods and utensils from Asia were indispensable at various dinners and dances. Quantity and high price were not only not disadvantages, but also important labels for demonstrating ability and wealth.

Of course, risks also rise along with profits. European counterparts will certainly not be willing to watch the Danes, who originally had nothing, make a fortune.

If you can't get the goods from the place of origin, you will be intercepted by force. What a pirate, that's so ugly, it's called a privateer, it's authorized by the king, it's robbing you openly!

But none of the Danish merchants were afraid. If they were afraid, they would not have gone out to engage in ocean trade. At best, they spent money to arm their ships, install a few more long-barreled naval guns purchased from the Ming Empire Navy, and replace them with more easily operated Ming sails, so that they could fight or run away when encountering privateers.

If they were still worried, they would go together with several ships, so that they would be able to fight even if they encountered warships from European countries. Anyway, they had already done the deal. Fortunes are sought in danger, this saying is the truth of maritime merchants.

(End of this chapter)