Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

"This is a country that deserves to perish!"

Ruan Dacheng reached this conclusion shortly after arriving in the Netherlands.

This was not only because the Ming Dynasty and the Netherlands were in a state of hostility, but also because, in his view, the Netherlands was an abnormal country:

"Without a monarch, the ruling House of Orange is seeking a hereditary ruling position."

"Such a powerful minister who wants to become king is bound to clash with his opponents in the future."

There are countless records of such events in Chinese history.

Even if Ruan Dacheng wasn't a history specialist, he could still name a few.

Ge Jiusi disliked the Netherlands even more because he simply couldn't imagine what a country without a monarch would be like.

As a eunuch, his sole purpose was to serve the emperor. The idea of ​​a federal republic was, in his view, utter nonsense.
"A country that doesn't even have a king deserves to be destroyed!"

"If a foreign enemy invades, who will the Dutch rely on to fight back?"

In this day and age, the purpose of fighting is to gain merit and rewards.

In monarchical countries, there is a monarch, and when a military general performs meritorious service, he will naturally be rewarded by the monarch.

In a republic like the Netherlands, it was difficult to bestow titles upon nobles, so what could incentivize soldiers to perform meritorious service?

Ge Jiusi, who once served as the eunuch in charge of Xuanda, simply did not understand why the Dutch made this choice.
Don't they know that neighboring France is very powerful and could attack them at any time?
While discussing this issue with Ruan Dacheng, Ruan Dacheng remarked:
"History is still too short!"

"The Dutch thought that they were now allied with France against Spain, and that they would always be so."

"But little do they know that it is easy to share hardship but difficult to share wealth. Once the war with Spain ends, the two neighboring countries will inevitably start fighting."

"With the Netherlands in its current state, it can't stop France!"

(The situation in Europe during the Thirty Years' War)
In his view, the four-character principle of "befriending distant states while attacking nearby ones" was common sense.

After defeating Spain, France and the Netherlands would be neighbors, and their relationship could not remain good indefinitely.

If France wants to become the dominant power, the first country it must defeat is the Netherlands.

If the Netherlands wanted to unify continental Europe, it would be destroyed.

The Dutch navy was able to maintain its strength because of its large fleet, but the Dutch army could not stop the French soldiers eager to make a name for themselves.

Moreover, Ruan Dacheng, who had just left England, knew that England was very hostile to the Netherlands.

If England invades by sea and France by land, even if the Dutch are several times stronger, they will not be able to stop them.

This made Ruan Dacheng sigh with emotion:
“A nation that is small yet does not humble itself, weak yet does not fear the strong, disrespectful to its powerful neighbors, greedy and stubborn yet inept at diplomacy, is doomed to perish.”

"The Dutch have taken over everything. No wonder the Emperor doesn't see them as a major threat."

"Let's come and interact with them, and see if we can subdue them."

When he discussed the emperor's request with Sun Yuanhua and others, he thought it was just wishful thinking.

Because the Ming Dynasty and the Netherlands are now completely hostile, a major war is inevitable in the struggle for control of Southeast Asia.

However, the emperor's vision had already transcended these considerations, believing that in the long run, the Dutch were not a threat at all.

Once the Dutch are driven out of Southeast Asia, the Ming Dynasty and the Netherlands will have no place to clash. Instead, they will complement each other perfectly, able to learn from each other's strengths and make up for each other's weaknesses.

The Ming Dynasty had abundant human and material resources, enabling it to manufacture a massive quantity of handicrafts.

However, due to the insufficient number of ships and the high risks of maritime trade, few merchant ships came to trade with the West.

The Dutch, on the other hand, had few local products and relied mainly on trade.

They also had a large number of ships, capable of transporting goods from the Ming Dynasty to the West.

The two countries are highly complementary. If it weren't for the dishonesty of the Dutch coachman, the Ming Dynasty could have easily sold its goods to them for trade.

On the contrary, both England and France had the potential to become powerful, and the emperor believed they were not worthy of support.
"England is isolated overseas and does not need a strong army."

"They are best suited to the Dutch system, which does not require encouraging soldiers to perform meritorious service."

"We just need a lot of naval ships, and we can even recruit people to work as laborers."

This is the difference between naval warfare and land warfare. In land warfare, without a firm will, even the best weapons can be taken by soldiers and defected to the enemy.

That's simply not possible at sea; a ship is a community.

Unless the officer in command of the ships surrenders, the soldiers have no choice but to fight to the death to defeat the enemy—

Otherwise, they would be defeated by the enemy and become sea monsters.

The English navy often used torches to arrest people at night, just like the "night arrests" in the poem "The Officer at Shihao".

Ordinary people in the Ming Dynasty did not have military service and would never see such a scene. Ruan Dacheng was very surprised when he first saw this scene in London, but later he learned the reason.

Having witnessed the Dutch system, he felt that while the republican system had problems with the army, it was good for England.

This isolated country is well-suited to a republican system. This is also one reason why the power of the King of England is limited:
There's no need for so many troops; the king's direct forces are naturally insufficient.

If the King of England were to lose a struggle with his subjects in the future, England would likely focus all its efforts on developing its navy, and could find enough men to serve by conscripting them.

Having already defeated the Spanish Armada and possessing sufficient foundation for developing its navy, England was also very likely to become powerful and replace the Netherlands as the dominant maritime power.

Therefore, although he had pleasant conversations with Charles I and other English nobles in London, he had no intention of supporting them.

It was only because of the Dutch's domineering nature that they were brought into trade in Southeast Asia to compete with the Dutch.

On the contrary, the Netherlands, although currently hostile to the Ming Dynasty, has great potential for cooperation in the long run, and could form an alliance or even become a vassal state.

Ruan Dacheng's purpose in coming to the Netherlands was to establish connections with the country.

At least some people in the Netherlands should know that the Ming Dynasty intends to develop relations with the Netherlands.

In the future, after the Netherlands declines, it may even be possible to take advantage of the situation and subdue them:

"Subduing the Netherlands would be of great use."

"On land, it can counterbalance France and prevent France from unifying continental Europe."

"At sea, we can restrain England and prevent it from becoming the dominant power in the Atlantic."

"This is our chance to make a contribution, but it requires long-term planning."

Ge Jiusi listened to Ruan Dacheng's explanation and agreed with it.

Although he didn't think there was anything worth paying attention to in these Western countries thousands of miles away, the emperor sent them here, so they had no choice but to come.

Furthermore, an embassy should be established, with permanent staff stationed in Western Thailand.

"The Netherlands is so important, shouldn't we build our embassy here?"

"Should it be built in The Hague or Amsterdam?"

Both places are major cities in the Netherlands; The Hague is the de facto capital, while Amsterdam is the trade center.

If the Ming Dynasty wants to develop official relations with the Netherlands, The Hague would be a better choice. If it's just for trade, then Amsterdam would be the place.

Given the current hostile situation, it is unlikely that the Ming Dynasty will develop official relations with the Netherlands. Ge Jiusi prefers to establish a base in Amsterdam and issue trade quotas to merchants.

However, after careful consideration, Ruan Dacheng believed that it should be built in The Hague:
"The West is different from the Ming Dynasty. They have many companies here. The Netherlands and England both have East India Companies."

"The reason why England was so hostile to the Netherlands was not only because they killed ten Englishmen, but also because this action cut off England's trade in Southeast Asia and affected the East India Company's stock price."

"The Dutch East India Company was larger and had more shareholders, and it was related to the interests of many Dutch businessmen."

“If the embassy is located in Amsterdam, it will be rejected by Dutch businessmen, and the trade quota will not be very effective.”

Controlling most of the shipping routes in Southeast Asia, the Dutch East India Company had the confidence to disregard the Ming Dynasty and even wanted to force the Ming to open up trade. Just as it controlled the Spice Islands, it wanted to control the Ming's production.

They don't pay much attention to the trade quotas of the Ming Dynasty, and their embassies may even be ostracized by the shareholders of the East India Company.

After understanding this, Ge Jiusi thought of Ruan Dacheng's actions in England and said:

"Then build it in The Hague, just like in London, and issue trade quotas to the nobles."

"But are the Dutch nobles willing to cooperate? They are still at war with the Ming Dynasty."

Ruan Dacheng said with a smile:

"It was the Dutch East India Company that went to war with the Ming Dynasty. What did it have to do with the Dutch nobles?"

"Westerners value interests above all else. As long as these nobles are not shareholders of the East India Company, they will not care about these things."

"On the contrary, they would be very happy to receive trade quotas and gain access to trade with the Ming Dynasty."

“Let’s find out which nobles own ships but don’t have shares in the East India Company.”

"And ask the Prince of Orange if he is determined to become king?"

He was very interested in this and wanted to see what price the Prince of Orange would pay to become king.

If he is willing to sacrifice the East India Company, the Ming Dynasty would not mind supporting him to become the monarch.
-

After deciding on this strategy, Ruan Dacheng and Ge Jiusi went to The Hague and began to make moves everywhere.

Their arrival unsurprisingly caused a sensation. Although the Netherlands was hostile to the Ming Dynasty, it was also one of the Western countries that knew the Ming Dynasty best.

In particular, their repeated defeats in wars against the Ming Dynasty made them realize the strength of the Ming Dynasty.

They certainly dared not underestimate Ruan Dacheng, the envoy of the Ming Dynasty.

They found Ge Jiusi, the emperor's eunuch, even more of a novelty.

When Ruan Dacheng expressed his intention to build an embassy in The Hague as the embassy of all European countries north of the Mediterranean, responsible for official exchanges and trade quotas, the Dutch nobility were delighted, and the people of The Hague felt honored as well.
Look, even the Ming Dynasty acknowledges The Hague as the center of northern Europe.

Amsterdam, London, and Paris—how can they compare to The Hague?

Frederick Hendrick, then Prince of Orange, also welcomed the arrival of the Ming envoys.

What he particularly liked were the Three Kingdoms stories mentioned by Ruan Dacheng.

Whether it was Cao Cao and his son Cao Pi usurping the Han dynasty, or the Sima family usurping the Wei dynasty, both greatly interested him, prompting him to remark:

"It is not easy to go from a powerful minister to a monarch."

“If this is the case even with a successor to the throne, let alone without one.”

This was the most difficult part for him; before rebelling against Spain, his family was merely the Earl of Nassau.

After the Netherlands gained independence, he only became the Prince of Orange, not the monarch.

Now he is seeking to establish the Orange family as hereditary rulers through the succession law.

However, Ruan Dacheng scoffed at this and said to him:

The Zuo Zhuan states: "Only vessels and names cannot be lent to others."

"His Highness the Prince has become the hereditary ruler, which seems to be a real benefit, but in fact he has not obtained the most important title and cannot confer titles as a monarch."

"How can we reward meritorious officials in this way, and how can we ensure they continue to support Your Highness?"

"On the contrary, Your Highness's exposure of your ambition will attract more opponents."

“Those opposition members will certainly repeal the law after His Highness’s death, and even take strict precautions to prevent the Orange family from ruling again.”

He recounted to the Prince of Orange the examples of powerful ministers such as Dou Xian, Liang Ji, and Dong Zhuo being killed, arguing that the Prince of Orange's actions were essentially preparing to unite the enemy.

Upon hearing this, the Prince of Orange's expression changed drastically, realizing that Ruan Dacheng's reminder was indeed reasonable.

If the House of Orange could not become king, what would they use to reward their supporters?
Opponents will definitely oppose it even more, and the bill could be repealed even after it is enacted.

However, he also had his own difficulties, and he said to Ruan Dacheng with great difficulty:
"The Netherlands has no monarchy and is Protestant, so it is impossible for them to be crowned by the Pope."

"Even if I wanted to become king, there's no throne to inherit."

This reason left Ruan Dacheng almost speechless, giving him a deeper understanding of the influence of the Roman Catholic Church.

Drawing an analogy to the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, he felt that Europe at this time was in the Spring and Autumn Period, a time before the complete collapse of the ritual and music system. Although the feudal lords had power, it was difficult for them to usurp the throne and declare themselves kings.

It was only when the emperor himself broke the established order that powerful feudal lords dared to declare themselves kings, thus ushering in the Warring States period.

Before this, it was impossible for him to declare himself king, as it would attract the attention of other princes. If the Prince of Orange were to declare himself king without authorization, it would provoke opposition from nobles throughout Europe.

The Netherlands did not have the strength of the Chu state, so of course it could not do this, and the Dutch would not support the House of Orange.

Thinking of Sun Yuanhua's mission to the Roman Catholic Church, Ruan Dacheng seemed to sigh:
"It will be fine once the Ming Dynasty and the Holy See sign a treaty."

"At that time, the nobles conferred titles by the Ming Dynasty would be recognized by the Papacy."

"Your Highness only needs to pay tribute to the Ming Dynasty to receive a royal title from the Ming Dynasty."

Whether intentional or unintentional, this suggests that the Ming emperor was able to bestow titles upon kings and that this was recognized by the Papacy.

Upon hearing this, the Prince of Orange's expression changed several times, and for a moment he couldn't tell whether he was angry or pleased.

As the de facto ruler of the Netherlands, he was naturally unwilling to submit to others.

In particular, the Ming Dynasty and the Netherlands were enemy countries and fought several wars.

However, he also desperately desired the throne of the Netherlands.

If he doesn't find a way to resolve the issue of the throne's origins, he might never become king in his lifetime.

After he left, the Orange family would need to continue to make contributions if they wanted to remain in power. He was worried that, as Ruan Dacheng had said, they would be ousted from power by their opponents.

For a moment, he didn't know whether he hoped the Ming Dynasty and the Holy See would sign a treaty smoothly, or he hoped the treaty would be broken.

With this in mind, his attitude towards the Ming Dynasty delegation became even more enthusiastic. Although the matter of tribute was no longer discussed, he fully supported Ruan Dacheng's proposals to find Rembrandt and purchase windmill technology.

The Ming Dynasty's embassy in The Hague was also successfully established, becoming a center for exchanges between the Ming Dynasty and the northern European countries. (End of Chapter)