The Ming Dynasty did not revolutionize

Chapter 111: British and Spanish Territorial Trade Plans

On April 1782, 4, King George III of England convened a royal conference again.

In addition to the Prime Minister, Home Secretary and Foreign Secretary, the attendees also included George III's second son Frederick.

and the Minister of Hanoverian Affairs, Johann Friedrich Karl von Alvensleben.

This time, George III did not allow the people on the scene to discuss, but directly began to issue orders according to his own plan:

"I will sign the instrument of ratification of the Yingtianfu Peace Treaty.

“Please ask Earl Shelburne to go to North America and deliver the letter of approval to King Wu of the Ming Dynasty, demanding that he immediately release the British prisoners.

“Fox, don’t talk, you can’t do this job well.

“Britain is in a dangerous situation at this time. For the stability of Great Britain, it is indeed very necessary to establish good relations with Ming Dynasty.

"Frederick, I now appoint you Governor-General of Hanover.

"Mr. Alvensleben, Mr. Count Shelburne, please accompany Frederick to North America.

“Introduce the situation of Germany and Hanover to His Majesty Prince Wu of Ming.

“The area that King Wu wants to trade with me is located within my Duchy of Bremen-Verden.

“But the areas that are most suitable for building a port, such as the Litzenbühel Castle, which is closest to the coastline and has greater water depth, actually belong to the Free City of Hamburg.

"If he wants to acquire the Lietzbühtel Castle area, we can help them contact the Free City of Hamburg.

"But we should make it clear to him that it is difficult for us to convince Hamburg directly. We must use some additional means or pay some additional price.

"We suggested that they exchange only the Hadron region which we acquired in 1731.

“If the King of Wu cannot accept this, then we will add the three areas around Hadlun one by one.

"If the King of Wu accepts these lands outside of Hadron, we should also make corresponding demands and ask the Ming Dynasty to give up the Caribbean islands in exchange."

When George III explained the transaction plan, he directly took out a drawn map and explained the details to the people in charge of the negotiations on the spot.

(All the colored areas are the Duchy of Bremen-Verden under the Kingdom of Hanover. The top blue darkened area is the enclave of Littzbuttel in Hamburg. The red darkened area is the Hadlen area, which is the smallest area that George III wants to trade. The purple darkened area is the largest area that George III is willing to trade)
George III had several of his ministers and his son look at the map while he continued with additional reminders and suggestions:
"This transaction not only involves Hanover and Ming, but also the Free City of Hamburg and the Holy Roman Emperor. The subsequent procedures are very complicated.

“Even if the transaction itself is successfully completed, how to deal with the affairs of the actual land lords living on the ground?
“How to get local farmers and merchants to cooperate with the Ming Dynasty and build the so-called Ming Dynasty city.

“It will also be a very troublesome thing.

“My great-grandfather, King George I, made this promise twice when he acquired the local ownership.

“The local council administration in Bremen-Verden will never be changed.

“It was indeed not modified afterwards.

“I will trade the land here, and the local lords and merchants will definitely hope that the Ming Dynasty can make the same promise.

“The Ming Dynasty probably wouldn’t do that.

“That’s the trouble.

"In short, I hope that after you arrive in North America, you can make His Royal Highness the Prince of Ming realize how complicated the problems in the German region are.

"If he insists on making a deal, then I offer him three options to choose from, and five conditions for executing the deal."

After George III finished speaking, he took out a document he had written:

“The first option is that the local land will not be ceded to the Ming Dynasty or the Kingdom of Wu, but can only be leased to the Ming Dynasty or the Kingdom of Wu for a long term.

“This can avoid a lot of hassles in ownership transactions.

“The second option is to arrange for a Ming Dynasty prince or nobleman to become a vassal of the King of Hanover and manage the land in the trading area.

“It also saves a lot of ownership headaches.

“The third option is to force the deal through, and after the deal, let Ming find a way to achieve its own rule.

“Hannover will not provide additional support.

“The last five necessary conditions are these.

"The first condition is that Ming, America, and Great Britain form a security alliance, preferably through marriage.

"Another country's attack on Great Britain is considered an attack on Ming, and declaring war on Great Britain is considered a declaration of war on Ming.

"Ming must declare war on the corresponding enemies and immediately engage in actual combat.

“The second condition is to allow Great Britain to trade directly with Ming.

“Allow cotton and other products produced in the United States and the Ming Dynasty’s North American colonies to continue to flow into factories in Great Britain.

"Cotton and other products produced in Great Britain, as well as products of slaves obtained by Great Britain from Africa and other places, should be allowed to continue to flow into the market of the North American continent.

"Ming's ordinary products were not worth shipping to North America, and Ming seemed to be focused on colonization and had no intention of participating in the slave trade.

"So Great Britain and Ming are complementary rather than competitive in the North American market.

“The third condition is that Ming and America support Britain in launching a war against the Netherlands and seize all of the Netherlands’ overseas lands.

“The Ming Dynasty can have Ceylon and the Cape Colony, and Britain should get the Suriname Colony.

“The fourth condition is that if Ming subsequently launches a war plan against Spain, it will attempt to seize Spanish colonies.

“Great Britain should also be allowed to participate in and share in any colonies eventually acquired.

"The fifth condition is that the Ming Dynasty allows and recognizes the colonies that Great Britain has developed and acquired on the west coast of Africa."

After George III finished speaking, he handed the document in his hand to his son Frederick, and asked Frederick and Earl Shelburne to review the contents together.

After reading it, Earl Shelburne asked George III:
"Your Majesty, among these conditions, which ones can be waived and which ones must be guaranteed?"

King George III had considered this:

“The first condition, an alliance with the Ming Dynasty, and the fifth condition, permission and recognition of development in Africa, must be guaranteed.

"The second condition is to try to open up trade between Ming and North America. The other two conditions can be abandoned."

At this point, George III looked at the Prime Minister and Fox:
"Before the deal with Ming is finalized, do not announce the results of the peace talks."

Fox had a serious expression and was not very satisfied with the result.

But since the king and the prime minister wanted to compromise, they demanded an alliance with the Ming Dynasty to ensure security while making the deal.

Don't get into conflict with them for the time being.

Maintaining the stability and security of Great Britain is indeed of paramount importance.

After a few seconds of silence, the ministers at the scene finally bowed to King George III and accepted this arrangement and task.

"Your will, Your Majesty."

The process of this royal meeting was exceptionally simple, and it was basically over after the king finished speaking.

Just five days later, Prince Frederick of England, Home Secretary Count Shelburne, and Minister of Hanoverian Affairs Alvensleben set out together for North America.

The British Navy arranged twenty of its most complete warships for escort.

The state of war needs to be ended as soon as possible, and the prisoners need to be exchanged as soon as possible, but the transaction can be discussed a little more slowly.
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The Spanish and French envoys returned to their homelands at about the same time as the British and delivered the peace treaties to the tables of their respective kings.

Compared to the UK, which is facing its darkest year, the situation in Spain is slightly better.

King Carlos III now feels very regretful. This time he took back the Belize region and also obtained the Bahamas, but these are all bad places.

The most critical Gibraltar region, located in the core land within the mainland, is still controlled by the British.

If you can capture the land on the battlefield, you don't even need to actually attack or occupy it, and you have the opportunity to obtain ownership directly at the negotiating table.

Because the other side knows that they can take it by force.

But on the other hand, land that cannot be taken on the battlefield cannot be taken back at the negotiating table.

Because the enemy knew they couldn't take it back.

After receiving the Latin text of the treaty, King Carlos III of Spain slowly and carefully read it through and remained silent for more than ten minutes.

Then the king gave the order feebly:

"I will approve this peace treaty directly, and then arrange for the naval fleet to go to North America to take over Belize and the Bahamas that Ming Dynasty shared with us.

“Thanks to Daming for its generosity, it is a pleasure to cooperate with Daming, but it is a pity that we ourselves are unable to complete our mission.

"We can stop the siege of Gibraltar... We don't need to waste silver any more..."

The Spanish Prime Minister is more open-minded, but also more alert:
"Your will, sire, has resulted in a successful war.

"We should indeed be grateful to the Ming Dynasty, but we should also remain vigilant. The Ming Dynasty's land in North America has a long adjacent border with us.

“It’s hard to guarantee there won’t be conflict in the future.

"In addition, the Ming Dynasty's Prince Wu, who was in charge of the negotiations, also proposed a territorial transaction plan involving Europe."

King Carlos III instinctively resisted when he heard about European territorial deals:

"We haven't even got Gibraltar back yet, so how can we trade with other European lands?"

The Prime Minister knew that the king was sensitive right now, but he could only comfort and appease the king while patiently explaining Zhu Jianxuan's full intentions.

The practical benefits to Spain after the completion of this transaction are particularly stated:
“By then, Sicily will become the direct trade center between Spain and Ming Dynasty, and will also become the sales center of Ming Dynasty’s goods in Europe.

"In future transactions with the Ming Dynasty, we no longer need to send silver to the Ming mainland, we can just send it directly to Sicily.

"The risk we need to take is much lower than sending them across the Pacific Ocean to the Ming mainland."

After listening to the Prime Minister and understanding the logic, Carlos III gradually became interested:

"This Ming Dynasty Prince Wu specifically mentioned the Italian region?

"Besides Hanover, you are interested in Sicily?"

Before becoming King of Spain, Charles III was King of Naples and King of Sicily in Italy.

After becoming King of Spain, he handed over the two kingdoms to his youngest son Ferdinand to rule.

So now they still have a high degree of control over the Sicily region.

The Prime Minister nodded and said:
“Yes, His Royal Highness King Wu is obviously interested in Sicily.

"He hopes that we can give up Sicily in exchange for the Canadian region owned by the Ming Dynasty.

"Canada originally belonged to France. Montreal and Quebec are both French-speaking areas, and they have more Catholics.

"It should be more convenient for us to directly control the Canadian region than the British did before..."

The current King of Spain is also a member of the Bourbon royal family and the uncle of the current King of France, Louis XVI. Both France and Spain are Catholic countries.

Unlike Britain, when it controlled Canada, there were also religious issues.

Carlos III began to seriously consider the proposal.

Carlos III asked his servant to bring a map of the Mediterranean Sea and studied the possibility of this transaction:
"Sicily is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea. If the Ming fleet wants to transport goods to Sicily, it must first enter the Mediterranean Sea.

“To enter the Mediterranean Sea, you have to pass through the Strait of Gibraltar.

"The Ming mainland is far away in Shenzhou. If there is a conflict between the Ming and us in the future, we can directly block the Strait of Gibraltar.

“Then we can send troops from Naples to retake Sicily. This shouldn’t be too difficult.

"Just like how the Ming Dynasty was able to seize the Philippines from Spain..."

Britain occupies a corner on the edge of the Strait of Gibraltar, but most of the area on the northern shore of the Strait of Gibraltar still belongs to Spain.

Spain also controlled a piece of land in North Africa on the south coast, making it easier for it to control the Strait of Gibraltar than the British.

The Prime Minister looked at the King's reaction and asked Carlos III tentatively:

“So your majesty, should we accept this deal?

"Are you willing to discuss this matter with His Royal Highness the King of Ming?
King Carlos III was interested in the deal, but he was still worried about the incident in Gibraltar.

After hesitating and considering for a long time, Carlos III expressed his thoughts:
“It would be better not to trade Sicily.

"The difficulty of taking an island is too great. It will be more difficult than fighting for a land fortress, and may be more difficult than Gibraltar.

“Even though it is located in the Mediterranean, Sicily is still too large. If the Ming Dynasty organizes enough immigrants, it can be self-sufficient on the island.

“So, let’s choose a flat area with no obstructions in the Naples area and make this deal with Ming Dynasty.

“If the Ming must have Sicily, we cannot give them the entire island.

“Similarly, only a flat area with no obstruction can be marked out.

“If Ming wants to build a port, a city, and a market, it doesn’t need the entire island of Sicily.

“The water source must also be under our complete control.”

When the Prime Minister heard this, he felt that the King was a little bit over the top:
“Your Majesty, the Ming Dynasty will not accept so many restrictions.

“This trade invitation is not directed at us.

“The Ming Dynasty will arrange an envoy to come to Europe and discuss this deal with the royal families of various European countries.

"If your majesty is really interested in the deal, you should decide as soon as possible whether to start negotiations and come up with a feasible plan."

Carlos III was really a little undecided, so he asked the Prime Minister directly:
"Mr. Redondo, what additional requests do you think we should make to make this deal more worthwhile?

“The value of Sicily is definitely not comparable to that of Canada.”

The Prime Minister considered this for a moment:

“You can try to claim the island of Jamaica and the area of ​​Nicaragua.

“Or, Ming Dynasty is willing to offer an island with suitable conditions near Luzon in exchange for the ownership of Sicily.

"It is convenient for our large sailing ships to travel between America and Ming Dynasty on their trade routes."

King Carlos III nodded slowly after listening:

"Yes, we should try to acquire another piece of land in the East.

“After all, the Ming Dynasty is demanding land in mainland Europe.

“Sicily is still the heart of the Mediterranean.”

Carlos III and the Prime Minister reached a consensus.

(End of this chapter)