Gou was a member of the imperial family in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 1282 Ministers from various countries
As for the Netherlands, it goes without saying that they defeated the Portuguese in Malacca, thus bringing this important region into their own territory and gaining enormous profits by controlling the sea route. That's not all; the Dutch occupied Batavia for many years, not only managing local colonies but also repeatedly attempting to expand northward. Whether it was the surprise attack on Fujian or the later occupation of Xiaoliuqiu, the Dutch ambition is evident.

Spain's main focus was on Europe and the New World. Spain established its largest colony in the New World, and the gold and silver mines in Mexico brought enormous wealth to the Spanish. Spanish silver-carrying ships will be able to bring back 5500 kilograms of gold and 246000 kilograms of silver from the New World next year. This figure is simply staggering. With such a huge amount of wealth, Spain can be said to be the richest country in the world at present.

With this wealth of gold and silver, Spain was able to maintain its national strength even after the disastrous defeat of its invincible Armada in naval battles against England. With so much gold and silver, rebuilding another invincible Armada would not have been difficult for Spain.

From this perspective, it is not correct to think that the destruction of the Spanish Armada was the beginning of Spain's decline. After the defeat in this war, Spain's national strength was not damaged. Otherwise, why would Britain and Spain have been at odds for so many years afterward, yet Britain could never suppress Spain and was even overtaken by Spain?

In reality, Spain's true decline began after the Glorious Revolution in England. With the rise of England and the expansionist policies of Louis XIV, the Sun King of France, the two countries intensified their competition for colonies. Faced with this situation, Spain suffered several defeats in colonial wars, and due to other factors, it began its true decline. Yet, Spain remains a powerful nation in Europe; the ability to withstand the Thirty Years' War is no small feat.

However, compared to the New World, although the Spanish occupied Luzon and built Manila, colonizing the area and even once planning to conquer the Ming Dynasty, the plan was later rejected by the Spanish king. Therefore, Spain's main focus remained on Europe and the New World, while its presence in the South Seas was for obtaining spices needed in Europe and for trade with the Ming Dynasty.

In addition, Luzon served as an important transit point for silver-carrying ships transporting gold and silver from the New World to Europe. Although Spain had some cooperation with the Netherlands in the Far East, the two sides also had some conflicts, including several colonial wars.

Besides these three countries, France and Britain also had involvement in Southeast Asia, but they did not acquire actual colonies; they merely conducted trade through the colonies of the aforementioned three countries. However, after the Ming Dynasty opened treaty ports, the role of these colonies as trade springboards gradually diminished. Furthermore, with the Ming Dynasty establishing normal diplomatic relations with various European countries, French and British merchants could directly enter the treaty ports to trade with the Ming Dynasty, no longer needing to go through intermediaries as before.

Upon learning of the encounter in the South China Sea, Zhu Shenzhui immediately ordered the Nanyang Navy to escort all the captured Dutchmen to the capital. At the same time, he summoned Zhang Xijun and instructed him to send a note to the embassies of various countries in the capital on behalf of the Zongli Yamen (Foreign Ministry) informing them of the incident and demanding an explanation from the Dutch.

Zhang Xijun entered the palace to meet the emperor, received his orders, and quickly left the palace to return to the Zongli Yamen (Foreign Ministry).

His Zongli Yamen (Foreign Ministry) was not far from the location of the Six Ministries. Although it was a newly established office, it was quite large. Moreover, although the Zongli Yamen was not a cabinet, it was responsible for foreign affairs and its rank was equivalent to that of the Six Ministries. In addition, its internal structure was the same as that of the Six Ministries. In other words, the Zongli Yamen was actually a small cabinet with considerable power.

Back at the yamen, Zhang Xijun sat down and pondered for a moment before summoning someone to give him instructions. He ordered the person to immediately go to the embassies of various countries to notify their ministers to come to the Zongli Yamen.

After everyone left, Zhang Xijun leisurely brewed himself a pot of tea, and a smile appeared on his lips as he drank it.

As a trusted confidant who had followed the emperor for a long time, Zhang Xijun knew Zhu Shenzhui all too well. Although Zhu Shenzhui did not speak too explicitly today, his words revealed some meaning: the emperor intended to take action against the Dutch in Southeast Asia and asked him to first find out the bottom line of various countries and determine their attitudes in order to ensure the legitimacy, legality, and chance of victory in any war that might break out.

Although the Ming Dynasty has established diplomatic relations with European countries, there are not many foreign embassies in the capital. This is mainly because the current era is inconvenient for travel, and the establishment of diplomatic relations and embassies takes time. The round trip from the Ming Dynasty to Europe takes nearly a year. Therefore, only five European countries have completed the establishment of embassies in the capital: Britain, Portugal, Sweden, the Kingdom of Poland-Lithuania, and Spain.

Of the five countries, Portugal and Britain were the first to establish embassies there. Portugal already had commercial institutions in Macau, and during the Ming Dynasty's diplomatic missions to Europe, Portugal was the first stop. Furthermore, due to Charles II's influence, when Charles II arrived in the Ming Dynasty, the Portuguese king established diplomatic relations and sent envoys to set up an embassy. Before leaving the Ming Dynasty, Charles II signed a diplomatic agreement promising that it would officially take effect upon his ascension to the throne. He also deliberately left people in the Ming Dynasty to establish an embassy before his departure. Shortly before, Britain officially dispatched envoys to the Ming Dynasty, thus formally establishing its embassy there.

The same applies to the kings of Sweden and Poland-Lithuania, as these two countries were originally the main countries from which the Ming Dynasty sent envoys to Europe. After the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Ming Dynasty and these two countries, they also officially sent envoys to the Ming Dynasty to set up embassies.

The Ming Dynasty also dispatched envoys and established embassies to these European countries, which was normal diplomatic exchange between the two sides. As for the last one, the Kingdom of Spain, after all, Spain was a powerful country in Europe, and in addition, Spain effectively controlled Luzon. After the Ming Dynasty began diplomatic relations with Spain and France, Spain took advantage of its geographical location to establish an embassy in the capital first. Although France had established diplomatic relations with the Ming Dynasty, due to the short time that had passed, France's diplomatic envoys were still on their way to the Ming Dynasty, so the French embassy had not yet opened.

The Dutch were not among them. Although the Netherlands was a powerful force in the Far East, relations between the two countries were poor due to two previous wars, and there was even some hostility between them. Under these circumstances, the Ming Dynasty would naturally not take the initiative to establish diplomatic relations with the Netherlands, let alone set up embassies in each other's countries.

So an hour later, the envoys of the five countries arrived at the Zongli Yamen (Foreign Ministry). The five envoys were Sir Wilson of Great Britain, Baron Pedro of Portugal, Viscount Philip of Sweden, Baron Markre of the Kingdom of Poland and Lithuania, and Baron Antonio of Spain.

Judging from their titles, they were mostly of noble birth. Although their titles were not high, they were all sons of great noble families. Even if Sir Wilson of England did not inherit his title, he came from a political family. After all, serving as an envoy to the Ming Dynasty was a prestigious position in Europe. At that time, the Ming Dynasty was the most powerful country in the world, and the Europeans' admiration and longing for the Eastern Empire was self-evident.

When Wang Fuzhi and his entourage were sent to Europe, they sparked a craze for the Ming Dynasty in the countries they passed through. Although Wang Fuzhi and his entourage had long since returned to China, this craze did not fade away. On the contrary, as time went by, the royal families and nobles of various European countries were still fascinated by the exquisite gifts and elegant etiquette brought by Wang Fuzhi and his entourage.

Furthermore, the current King Charles II of Great Britain studied in the Ming Dynasty and brought many Ming Dynasty customs with him upon his return to England. His wife, the Portuguese princess, was even more enthusiastic, being a tea enthusiast and pioneering the custom of afternoon tea within the British royal family. This custom has spread rapidly from the royal family, and now British nobles are imitating it, even influencing France, Spain, and other European countries.

The person accompanying Zhang Xijun in meeting these ministers was Wang Fuzhi, who was currently working at the Zongli Yamen (Foreign Ministry) in a high-ranking position, mainly responsible for diplomatic affairs.

Moreover, Wang Fuzhi had served as an envoy to Europe and, with his considerable talent for languages, had learned the French and Latin languages ​​commonly spoken there. In addition, due to his connection with Charles II, he was also fluent in English and had a basic understanding of Portuguese and Spanish. Therefore, he was the most suitable person to accompany the audience.

Before their arrival, the envoys were unaware of what was happening and assumed it was merely a routine diplomatic reception. To be honest, since arriving in the Ming Dynasty as envoys, they had been living quite comfortably. The prosperity and wealth of the Ming Dynasty, coupled with its mysterious and wonderful Eastern culture, truly captivated them. Furthermore, the exquisite cuisine was intoxicating, and the fine silks and gorgeous clothing made it seem like paradise compared to the barbaric lands of Europe.

As ministers, their daily work was not busy, and could even be described as rather boring. After all, the embassy and their very existence were merely symbolic, and there weren't many diplomatic affairs to handle in this era. Furthermore, the Ming Dynasty was not a European country, being so far away from Europe. Apart from assisting their own merchants in dealing with the Ming government or negotiating issues related to trade and commodity quotas, they mostly enjoyed everything that existed in the Ming Dynasty.

As time went by, these envoys not only got used to life in the Ming Dynasty, but also learned to change their own customs by adopting the lifestyle of the Ming people. Just like Charles II when he studied in the Ming Dynasty, they gradually integrated into the Ming Dynasty and felt all the beauty. In their hearts, they even hoped that they could stay in the Ming Dynasty forever. Why should they go back to the smelly Europe to suffer when they could live such a good life?
(End of this chapter)