The Ming Dynasty did not revolutionize

Chapter 115 Trade and Return

The Dutch government and parliamentarians are a bit desperate.

Now, whether Britain or the Ming Dynasty acts alone, the Netherlands will not be able to withstand it.

Not to mention the two countries taking action together.

However, they have been independent leaders for so many years, and surrendering and becoming someone else's vassal for no reason is also an impossible option.

Moreover, the Dutch top leaders, led by King William V, also had a basic understanding of the public opinion trends in the Netherlands.

Nowadays, too many young people are influenced by the Enlightenment and are keen to support freedom and independence.

In the past few years, there have been voices in the Netherlands supporting American independence.

Now that the United States has successfully gained independence, its own country has turned into a vassal state. I'm afraid this will directly lead to a revolution.

So William V also explained this situation to Liu Quanzhi:

“…So, Your Excellency, the people of the Netherlands will not allow us to become vassals of another country.

"It's not that we can't accept it at all, but we can't convince all Dutch people."

Liu Quanzhi thought about it and suggested:
"Then there is another plan. You invite a prince of the Ming Dynasty to be the King of the Netherlands.

“Your current hereditary rulers will continue to be hereditary prime ministers, and your hereditary members will continue to be members of the House of Lords.

"The Netherlands will continue to exist independently in name only, but will be completely open to the Ming Dynasty."

William V and others thought this plan seemed feasible.

But this is equivalent to inviting a boss back out of thin air, and at the same time becoming a puppet state and a de facto colony of the Ming Dynasty.

This is of course difficult to accept, and if possible, they don't want to accept it.

So William V still sighed and said:

“This… we need to discuss it seriously and also consider the opinions of the people and businessmen. It will probably be difficult to implement.

"Moreover, the Netherlands' position is very sensitive. If the Netherlands directly sides with the Ming Dynasty, it will inevitably lead to opposition and confrontation from the Holy Roman Empire.

"The Habsburgs, Prussia, Hanover and other states in the north and south of the Holy Roman Empire, as well as the United Kingdom, should not be able to accept this."

Liu Quanzhi also understood this situation, but he did not care much about it. Instead, he continued to use the information at hand to intimidate the Dutch:
"I have just met His Majesty Joseph of Habsburg in Paris.

"His Majesty Joseph invited the Ming Dynasty to help him eliminate the interference of Prussia and other states.

"Let him complete the territorial exchange with the Margrave of the Palatinate, exchanging the Habsburg Southern Netherlands for Bavaria.

"Ming will gain suzerainty over the Palatinate-Netherlands.

“Based on this cooperation intention, His Majesty Joseph has no way to oppose the Netherlands becoming a vassal of the Ming Dynasty.

“His Majesty Joseph is now focusing on integrating the Habsburg’s more concentrated territories and no longer cares much about the northwestern Netherlands.

"Ming wants to eliminate Prussia's interference in this transaction, and we can help you deal with Prussia's interference at the same time.

"As for Britain, they are extremely isolated now. As long as the Ming Dynasty is willing to form an alliance with them, they will not interfere with you in exchange.

"So you can decide your own destiny without having to worry about external influences."

What Liu Quanzhi was talking about was helping the Netherlands eliminate external interference.

What the Dutch rulers actually knew was that "no one can help you fight against the Ming Dynasty in the near future."

Saying that they can decide their own destiny and don’t have to worry about external influences actually means “no one can save you now.”

A group of Dutch senior officials led by William V basically understood what Liu Quanzhi meant.

So now my expression is uglier than crying.

Now they all have some understanding of Britain's diplomatic situation a year ago.

However, as the saying goes, you won't cry until you see the coffin.

They have never met each other on a real battlefield, so they can't just give in.

It’s not that they really have the courage to confront the Ming Dynasty, but they want to use failure on the battlefield to reach an internal consensus.

We need to let the hardliners in society know that they have tried their best.

Because of this mentality, the Dutch rulers did not dare to speak harshly to Liu Quanzhi.

William V continued:
"We...will seriously consider Daming's proposal."

Liu Quanzhi continued to remind:
“If you really want to consider it seriously, it would be best to arrange a representative with sufficient weight to go to North America to discuss with our King Wu.

"His Majesty the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty has authorized His Royal Highness Prince Wu to handle all Ming affairs in North America and overseas. His Royal Highness has a very high decision-making power."

The Dutch top leaders had no way to resist and could only agree meekly and serve well.

Liu Quanzhi stayed in the Netherlands for five days and completed some small-scale transactions.

When Liu Quanzhi visited France and the Netherlands successively, the main fleet of the Ming Dynasty had already been dispersed.

The squadron escorted several groups of merchant ships to Portugal, Spain, Britain, the Netherlands, Germany and other regions to trade with local merchants.

Sell ​​traditional Ming Dynasty specialties such as silk and porcelain, and purchase local jewelry, handicrafts and other products that have the potential to be sold in Ming Dynasty.

All the warships and merchant ships then met in southern Spain and crossed the Strait of Gibraltar into the Mediterranean.

Trade with countries and regions such as the Ottoman Empire, Venice, Sicily, and the Habsburgs.

At this time, North Africa was nominally under Ottoman rule, but in fact it was a highly independent place.

The actual lords were the Barbary pirates who wreaked havoc in the Mediterranean.

In addition to large merchant ships from Spain, Britain and France, all other ships could be robbed by them here.

And the Ottoman Empire was still one of the most powerful countries in Europe at this time.

Merchants from small European countries dare not speak out and can only pay protection fees as required to avoid being hijacked.

This is another cost that is difficult to avoid in trade for ordinary European merchants.

As for Ming Dynasty merchant ships, they had never entered the Mediterranean on a large scale before, and the Barbary pirates had rarely seen the Ming Dynasty flag.

However, when merchant ships from the Ming Dynasty arrived, the Barbary pirates did not touch any of them.

Because the Ming Dynasty’s fleet was too large.

There are at least two hundred large warships and more than two hundred armed merchant ships. The pirates have to run away as soon as they see them.

Otherwise, it would be unclear who the pirate was.

Under such circumstances, the Ming fleet took the initiative to search for the Barbary pirates' stronghold in North Africa.

Go to Tunisia, Tripoli and other places to trade directly with pirates.

They also sold silk, porcelain and other specialties from the Ming Dynasty, and purchased specialties from the Ottoman region: white slaves and Huji.

The Ottomans had long plundered Europeans from the Black Sea region, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean as slaves, either for their own use or for direct sales.

If no one redeems the passengers of merchant ships that have been robbed, they will become slaves.

They also kept a large number of slaves to reproduce and continue to sell them abroad.

There are certain service industries in the Ming Dynasty and its colonies that have a certain demand for white slaves and foreign girls, so it is worth buying them specifically to bring back.

The coastal cities of North Africa and the Ottoman Empire are the last stops of the Ming Dynasty caravan.

After the deal was done, I headed straight home.

The Honglu Temple delegation headed by Liu Quanzhi bid farewell to the Ming Dynasty's main fleet in the Netherlands and continued to visit other Nordic countries.

The first stop is Denmark.

At this time, Denmark still had some power, still ruled the Norwegian region, and had ownership of Iceland and Greenland.

There are also some small colonies overseas.

According to Zhu Jianxuan's judgment, Denmark's land area is small and Norway is too remote in Europe, so it is unlikely that they will trade with the Ming Dynasty.

But since the Ming Dynasty’s official delegation has come to Europe, let’s go and say hello.

Liu Quanzhi led a small fleet and visited Denmark, Sweden, Prussia and Russia in Northern Europe in turn.

These countries are unlikely to make a deal; shipping routes within the Baltic Sea are too troublesome.

Liu Quanzhi greeted their royal family and told them that if they wanted to participate in the territorial transaction, they should arrange for envoys to go to North America to find the King of Wu of the Ming Dynasty.

After leaving Russia, Liu Quanzhi's fleet turned around and visited Britain, Portugal and Spain in turn on the way back to greet their monarchs.

Britain and Spain did not need to discuss the trade specifically as they had already arranged special missions to go to North America.

Portugal also had nothing to trade in Europe.

After Liu Quanzhi left Spain, his fleet officially set off back to North America.

Liu Quanzhi had to report his work to Zhu Jianxuan before deciding whether to return to the Ming Dynasty.

…………Frederick, Prince of England and Governor-General of Hanover, Count Shelburne, Home Secretary of England, and Alvensleben, Minister of Hanoverian Affairs.

The fleet of the British North American mission, headed by three people, sailed southwest along the Canary Current after leaving the English Channel.

It gradually turns into the North Equatorial Current in the Atlantic Ocean, then sails northwest across the Atlantic Ocean to reach the Caribbean region of Central America.

After contacting the Ming Navy in the Caribbean Sea and expressing their intention to negotiate, they headed north under the guidance of the Ming Navy fleet.

The British fleet that Frederick was on finally arrived in New York on June 1782, 6.

As the British fleet sailed towards New York, Prince Frederick felt something was wrong.

"According to the Treaty of Yingtianfu, the land obtained by the Ming Dynasty was northwest of the Ohio River and north of the original Thirteen Colonies.

"So the Ming Dynasty's Governor-General of North America should have been in Quebec or Montreal, right?

"The British fleet was supposed to go around the St. Lawrence River, but now it's coming to New York.

"New York is the land of the newly established United States of America."

The Hanoverian Minister said uncertainly:
"The relationship between Ming and America must be very good now. It is possible that the governor of Ming will temporarily stay in New York."

Earl Shelburne had some guesses, so he said with a very ugly expression:

"In fact, there is another possibility, that is, this Ming Dynasty prince governor has also served as the King of America.

"So he could have ruled America from New York while managing Ming's North American colonies at the same time."

Prince Frederick opened his mouth wide:

"Ah... this is impossible. The King of Wu is a prince of the Ming Dynasty. How could he be the king of America?"

For European nobles, North America was already a remote and poor place, and it should be even farther away from the Ming Dynasty.

At most, European nobles would come to North America temporarily to handle matters, and it was basically impossible for them to directly become local nobles in North America.

So Frederick could understand Zhu Jianxuan coming to North America, but it was outrageous for him to become the king of the United States.

Lord Shelburne sighed and said:
"Normally, a normal Ming emperor would not come to faraway North America to be king, but this King Wu is not normal."

Prince Frederick asked subconsciously:
"Why is he abnormal? Is he a lunatic?"

Lord Shelburne was also very conflicted:

"He can't be called crazy, but it's hard to describe his characteristics. We should be able to meet him soon. Your Highness will understand when he sees him."

Prince Frederick and his entourage, on board a British fleet, entered New York Bay and docked at the pier as instructed.

The group got off the boat one by one, and were immediately greeted by two teams of guards.

One team is from the Ming Dynasty, and the other team is from Europe.

Two teams of guards took Prince Frederick and his entourage on a carriage ride around the original old town of New York.

Go directly to New York New Town, also known as Meipingfu City.

After seeing the large number of Ming Dynasty buildings, especially the two huge Ming-style palaces, Earl Shelburne completely confirmed his guess:

"This King Wu must have been the King of America, otherwise he wouldn't have built a Ming-style palace here."

Prince Frederick still found it hard to believe.

Why would the richest prince of the Ming Dynasty be willing to come to this desolate land of the New World to be king?

Prince Frederick himself certainly would not want to come.

Frederick and his party rested in the military camp in Meiping Prefecture for two days.

Then on April 1782th, the 6th year of Xianning in the Ming Dynasty, which was June 8th, in the Western calendar.

Zhu Jianxuan received three British envoys in Chengyun Hall of the palace.

After the three envoys bowed and saluted, the British Home Secretary, Earl Shelburne, stepped forward.

Submit the ratification of the Treaty of Yingtianfu to George III.

Zhu Jianxuan's guard stepped forward to take it, then turned around and handed the approval letter to Zhu Jianxuan.

After reading it, Zhu Jianxuan smiled and said:
"Today is a day worth celebrating, as the war between us is now officially over.

"Worldwide peace has finally been achieved, and normal international trade should be fully restored."

Lord Shelburne responded with mixed feelings:

"Yes, peace has finally come."

Prince Frederick couldn't help but speak:
"Excuse me, Your Highness King Wu, are you the King of America now?"

Zhu Jianxuan agreed directly without any reservation:
“Yes, at the invitation of all the people of America and according to the order of my father, His Majesty, I came to America to serve as king.

"To teach the American people to learn civilized etiquette and build a prosperous and civilized American kingdom."

Earl Shelburne had completely given up:
"So we should now address you as Your Majesty..."

Frederick was a little confused:
"You are the prince of the Ming Empire, the richest country in the world. Why do you want to be the king of America?"

Zhu Jianxuan replied very casually:
“Because I think North America is a continent full of hope.

“It has the potential to become the third center of civilization after Shenzhou and Europe.

“So I came here to contribute to the development of North America.”

Prince Frederick felt that the King Wu of the Ming Dynasty was simply unreasonable.

What third center of civilization, what continent full of hope, isn’t it all a wasteland now?

I finally understood why Earl Shelburne said that Zhu Jianxuan was abnormal.

In fact, Prince Frederick had misunderstood. What Earl Shelburne said about the abnormality of King Wu was not at all what he saw now.

It's about character and the way you deal with things.

Zhu Jianxuan asked the guard to collect the approval letter, and then started to ask about other matters:
"Regarding the issue I raised about exchanging territories between the Ming Dynasty and the Hanoverian Dynasty, what do you think of your king?"

Earl Shelburne immediately stepped forward and handed over another simple explanatory document.

All of George III's highest conditions, except for the routines and instructions on how to negotiate, were clearly written down.

After reading the instruction document, Zhu Jianxuan shook his head and said:

"Your Majesty King George III seems to be thinking too much. I just want the simplest and purest territorial transaction.

"Exchange Hadron and the surrounding lands for Montreal, Quebec and Canada to the north, without any other conditions.

“If His Majesty King George III asks Ming to establish a defensive alliance with Britain, it will be more than just giving up a piece of coastal land.

“At least the entire Duchy of Bremen-Verden should be transferred to Ming.

“As for the method of transfer, it is definitely impossible to let the princes or nobles of the Ming Dynasty become vassals of Hanover.

"Unless Hanover as a whole becomes a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty.

“If you want to lease, you should lease to each other, and neither party should damage the forests in the leased land.

"If we're going to exchange, then we'll do it completely.

"Britain can participate in the Ming Dynasty's war against the Netherlands, but the spoils it can obtain are not Dutch colonies.

"It's the trade license with Ming and America.

"At the same time, all slaves imported by Britain to North America must be completely castrated.

“Da Ming can provide technical support.

“You can establish contact with the African tribes that provide slaves, let them learn the skill of castration, and castrate the captives directly.

"If they can survive after being castrated, you can sell them to North America."

Earl Shelburne did not pay much attention to Zhu Jianxuan's other requests, as those were within the scope of discussion authorized by George III.

But the territory requested was directly beyond the limit:
"Your Majesty, the entire Duchy of Bremen-Felden is absolutely impossible."

Zhu Jianxuan said indifferently:
“I’ll give you two options. Either you simply trade Hadron and the three surrounding plots of land without any other conditions.

"If you want to form an alliance and cooperate with Ming, you must give up the entire Duchy of Bremen-Verden, and everything else will be carried out according to what I just said.

"You guys don't have to worry. You can write down my conditions and send them back to London by express ship to consult your king.

"You are the first to arrive, and representatives from Spain, France, and the Habsburgs should be coming later.

“There may even be other unexpected countries.

“I’ll ask all the countries about their conditions and finally decide which party to do the deal with.

"That's enough time for you to go back to London."

Publish first and modify later



(End of this chapter)