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Chapter 1483 Poor and useless

"It's just a deterrent; I didn't actually say we wanted to enter the Mediterranean. For the next ten years, the navy's focus will be on the east, securing and managing North America first. One must take things one step at a time; don't bite off more than you can chew."

Hong Tao knew, of course, that building warships in Sidon Port was not cost-effective, so occupying Damascus and driving pro-European forces out of Jerusalem were just bluffs; his real trump card was in North America.

Why emphasize occupying the Isthmus of Panama in addition to North America? Because it is the most suitable place to build a canal connecting the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans.

This massive project will begin to be surveyed and mapped once the Ming Empire has established a foothold in North America. If the finances can support it, it can be implemented very quickly.

In fact, digging a canal is not cost-effective. Even with a steam engine, it would be very difficult to dig a canal tens of kilometers long across the isthmus and adjust the drop.

Even after solving the engineering and technical problems, manpower remained a major challenge. Central America at that time was extremely unsuitable for large-scale human settlements; various infectious diseases could kill up to 90% of the population.

The expeditionary force led by Du Wenhuan and Setter suffered fewer than 1000 casualties in battle, and more than 1000 died from tropical diseases. They carried large quantities of quinine and mosquito repellent, and their force numbered only 3. If they had sent 20 laborers, it's likely that only a fraction of them would have survived within six months.

In reality, Hong Tao preferred another option: to find a suitable bay on the Atlantic side of the Isthmus of Panama to build a naval base and shipyard. Central America lacks many things, but it has no shortage of tropical rainforests, where giant trees suitable for shipbuilding are readily available.

Once the warships are launched on the east side of the isthmus... no need. As soon as the shipyard is completed, European countries will feel a chill in their hearts and shift their entire focus of maritime defense to the Americas. They will no longer have time to think about Enniu Port, and then the threat to the west of the empire will be basically eliminated.

For a long time to come, European countries will have to focus their efforts on the Americas. Hong Tao intends to sacrifice one side to save the other, using North America to hold back Europe and force them to upgrade their military whenever they have spare money, thus freeing up the Ming Dynasty's homeland for solid development.

"Deputy Chief of Staff Tan, His Majesty is right. Subduing the enemy without fighting is the way to govern a country. Let's continue with the matter of reparations from various countries. Next, it's England's turn."

Before discussing war reparations, I must first identify the subject. The Kingdom of England is a special case; its king and the king of Scotland are the same person, but they are two independent countries with two separate courts, and neither is subordinate to the other.

According to the battle report from Enbird Harbor, none of the European fleets participating in the attack flew the Scottish flag, but some of the captured prisoners were Scottish and Irish sailors. Therefore, whether the war reparations should be sought from the Kingdom of England, or shared by all three, requires His Majesty's judgment.

On the question of whether to continue the westward campaign, the Ministry of Rites leaned towards the Emperor's opinion. If the army were to resolve all the issues, wouldn't they, the officials specifically responsible for diplomacy, become mere messengers? Therefore, Yang Sichang quickly steered the conversation back on track.

"Since there are Scottish and Irish soldiers among the prisoners, and this is not an isolated case, then the Kingdom of Scotland and Ireland must also bear responsibility for the war. However, Minister Yang, don't have too high expectations. These two countries are even poorer than Tsarist Russia, and there's not much to squeeze out of them. Let's focus on England."

Hong Tao knew the answer to this question without asking anyone. At that time, the title of the United Kingdom did not yet exist, and Britain was not yet a major European power; its territory only included England and Wales. Although King Charles I of England was also King of Scotland and Ireland, these two kingdoms were legally independent states and had no subordinate relationship with the Kingdom of England.

Even if the hierarchical relationship between the three kingdoms could be clarified, war reparations could not be imposed on the kingdoms of Ireland and Scotland, for one simple reason: poverty!

There's a document on the Imperial Desk from the Ministry of Rites, with fairly recent data from 1637. Based on tax data from Scotland and Ireland at that time, Charles I's annual revenue was estimated at only £10 and £8 respectively.

Without considering purchasing power and inflation, if each pound contains 115 grams of silver, it is equivalent to only 23 Imperial Silver Coins, which is less than the fiscal revenue of the Luzon Special Region.

Charles I was to govern two countries with populations of 180 million and 100 million respectively with this money. It was estimated that not only would there be no surplus, but he would also have to subsidize the country from the revenue of the Kingdom of England every year. Even if all the Scots and Irish people were starved to death, he still wouldn't be able to extort much indemnity.

Moreover, a common phenomenon in European countries was that the king was poor while the nobles were rich. They were feudal systems, where land, population, and resources were all granted to the nobles for management. The king only collected a small amount of rent from the nobles, and the king had no control over how much the nobles collected from the people or how much they had left over.

If the country needs to wage war abroad and the king doesn't have enough money, he can borrow from the nobles or have them donate. The question is, whether or not to lend or donate is a personal matter for the nobles and has nothing to do with the state. The Ming Empire couldn't very well send troops to land in the British Isles and go door-to-door demanding money from the nobles.

In other words, the Kingdom of England was in a better position, with an annual income of around £100 million, so the bulk of the war reparations fell on its shoulders.

In addition to the countries mentioned above, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, the Kingdom of Denmark, the Kingdom of Sweden, the Kingdom of Venice, the Kingdom of Spain, and the Holy Roman Empire were also required to pay war reparations.

However, Hong Tao and his ministers spent the entire afternoon calculating, and even as darkness fell, they still couldn't come up with a satisfactory amount. The old problem persisted: even the king was too poor, and it was uncertain whether the nobles could provide a loan.

The Kingdom of Spain and the Holy Roman Empire were both behemoths in Europe, especially Spain, which had been sitting on the throne of the British Empire for over a century. Surely they must have some assets, right?
But the reality was quite different. The royal family's extravagant spending, official corruption, and years of war had severely damaged Spain's finances, pushing it to the brink of insolvency and having exhausted all its borrowing resources. Even without participating in the war, it probably wouldn't have lasted much longer.

Intelligence indicates that both the Portuguese and Catalans are waging violent struggles for independence in an attempt to sever ties with Spain. Meanwhile, the Spanish nobility have lost faith in Felipe IV and the Habsburg family, and it's questionable whether they can even survive until peace talks.

The situation in the Holy Roman Empire was more complex and worse. First, it was not a nation-state in the modern sense, but more like a feudal empire like the Zhou Dynasty in ancient China. The entire country consisted of hundreds of noble lords, or principalities.

(End of this chapter)