The Ming Dynasty did not revolutionize

Chapter 116 The Value of Sicily

The Earl of Shelburne of England tried to persuade Zhu Jianxuan, but was directly blocked by just a few words.

It's not just Britain that will come to trade. It's likely that Spain and the Habsburgs will also come, and they may offer better conditions.

It is impossible for Zhu Jianxuan to make a decision directly now.

In fact, the conditions Zhu Jianxuan is offering now may be the best, because other countries have not yet arrived.

The first meeting seemed to be over.

Earl Shelburne quickly asked another key question:
"Your Majesty, now that the war is over, we hope that the Ming Dynasty will release the British prisoners."

Zhu Jianxuan was not prepared to hold Britain back on this issue, but he was also not prepared to provide any additional convenience:

“Of course, but you have to prepare the boat and take them back to the mainland.

“There is now no British land in all of North America.

"If our deal goes through, you can send them directly to Quebec and Montreal.

“Of course, if you can convince Spain, you can ship it to their land first.

"You can also pay and hire the Ming fleet to help you transport it."

Earl Shelburne and three other British representatives were suddenly worried again.

Where to send the prisoners is indeed a big problem.

Of course, Spain could not help accept these prisoners, and now Britain could not afford to hire Ming merchant ships.

They do want to send them directly to Montreal and Quebec, and then send those that should be sent very locally back, and keep those that should stay in North America in North America.

However, if they say it directly, it will seem that Britain is determined to acquire Canada, and the Ming Dynasty will inevitably lower the price again.

Lord Shelburne could only give an ambiguous answer:

"We will immediately arrange personnel to return to London to mobilize the fleet."

Zhu Jianxuan has realized that the British navy has suffered heavy losses and it is difficult to raise enough ships immediately.

They also realized that they were eager to take Canada, so they did not send as many ships as possible to take in the prisoners.

So Zhu Jianxuan certainly wouldn't make any obvious concessions.

In exchange for their conditions, they would have to give back the entire Duchy of Bremen-Verden.

There would be no problem in allowing these soldiers to remain in North America for another year or two.

Anyway, as a prisoner it is impossible to eat for free, so we have to continue to reclaim more land this year.

With the farm tools brought by the two Ming Dynasty immigrants, their work efficiency was further improved.

The British representatives said goodbye and returned to their residence to discuss countermeasures, and at the same time arranged for someone to return to London to consult the king.

Remind him of the attitude of King Wu of the Ming Dynasty and ask whether the scope of the territory transaction can be changed.

Just five days after Zhu Jianxuan met with the British representatives, the Spanish negotiating representatives arrived.

As usual, Zhu Jianxuan received him in Chengyun Hall.

After the establishment of the Spanish Foreign Minister, the conditions of King Carlos III of Spain were directly stated.

At the same time, two optional options were directly given.

The first plan is to set aside a small piece of flat land in the western part of Naples on the Italian peninsula and directly exchange it for the Canadian region.

The second option was to exchange the entire Sicily for Canada, Jamaica, Nicaragua, Florida, and Mindanao.

Both plans require Ming to form an alliance with Spain to avoid unnecessary conflicts between the two sides in the future.

Zhu Jianxuan was a little surprised after hearing this.

Although the Spanish are afraid of ropes for ten years after being bitten by a snake once, they are obviously much more straightforward than the British.

There aren't a bunch of long-winded requirements.

But the price is really a bit high.

To exchange Sicily for so many places.

Of course, Zhu Jianxuan wanted the entire Sicily, not just a piece of land on the peninsula.

Taking full control of an island allows you to better organize its defense.

Sicily now has a certain strategic value, but this value is not very high.

Because the Mediterranean is not the main trade route between the East and the West, it is currently only a trade route between countries within the Mediterranean.

That's why Carlos III was willing to trade Sicily.

Once the Suez Canal is opened, the Mediterranean will become the main trade route between the East and the West.

The Mediterranean islands such as Sicily will make a huge comeback and their strategic value will rapidly increase by an order of magnitude.

By then, Sicily will no longer be available for exchange.

If the Ming Dynasty wanted to acquire Sicily again, it could only occupy a piece of land in North Africa and launch a landing war to seize it by force. Zhu Jianxuan understood this and decided to take Sicily.

If you want to take it over in advance, you need to arrange enough people there to firmly grasp the control of the island.

As for Medan, it is the southernmost large island in the Luzon (Philippines) archipelago.

Zhu Jianxuan was happy to trade Medan, as most of the island was wilderness rainforest, and it was located right next to the core area of ​​the Ming Dynasty.

It was difficult for Spain to put enough people on the island.

When Spain gets into trouble, the Ming Dynasty can just reach out and take it back.

But his father and the local vassal would definitely not be able to accept it.

That place now belongs to the Ming Dynasty.

Neither the Ming Emperor nor his traditional ministers would trade their homeland.

The key point is that the Luzon region was originally taken back from Spain, and in the eyes of the Ming people it has some special national significance.

Ceding the surrounding lands to Spain now would have a negative impact on public opinion.

Moreover, he would have to give up Jamaica, Nicaragua and Florida. Zhu Jianxuan felt that this price was unacceptable.

Florida has been incorporated into the United States and cannot be ceded.

Zhu Jianxuan also has the intention to build the Nicaragua Canal, but he cannot be exchanged.

Holding half of Nicaragua now will make it easier to seize all the land along the canal route in the future.

So Zhu Jianxuan temporarily replied:

“I could trade Canada and Jamaica for Sicily, and Nicaragua wouldn’t be worth it.”

The Spanish Foreign Minister immediately shook his head decisively:

“I’m sorry, Your Majesty, but Canada plus Jamaica is not even close to Sicily.

“Your Majesty may not know that there are nearly two million people in Sicily.

"Your Majesty can also add other bargaining chips, or just ask for a place on Sicily to build a port."

The Spaniard was quite frank, and Zhu Jianxuan was a little surprised.

Sicily has a population of nearly two million?
Even if the Spanish deliberately exaggerated the number, the local population must be at least several million.

After all, it is a large island of 25,000 square kilometers on the Old World.

At that time, there were only more than 2.4 million Europeans in the entire United States.

No wonder Spain's asking price is so high.

If this is true, then there is no need to consider the whole of Sicily. The Spaniards will not give in unless they pay a sufficient price.

The only option is to ask for a piece of land to build a port.

Then continue to immigrate to the local area, settle enough immigrants and garrisons, and wait until Europe is in chaos to seize more land.

But you cannot reveal your true attitude immediately and you have to continue bargaining.

Zhu Jianxuan waved his hand gently:
"My father, His Majesty, will not agree to trade Medan, as there is already a hereditary monarch there.

"I can decide for myself that the most islands that the East can exchange with you is the Solomon Islands.

"You should understand that this transaction is beneficial to you and can create profits for you."

The Solomon Islands are located east of Papua New Guinea and northeast of Australia.

The Solomon Islands were originally discovered by the Spanish, and the name was also given by the Spanish.

The Spanish Foreign Minister said with regret:
“The Solomon Islands is a wilderness rainforest, and the key is that it is not on our east-west shipping route.

"The local ocean currents and wind directions are also quite complex, so there is basically not much value in trading."

Zhu Jianxuan waved his hand again:
“I repeat, the transaction itself is in your favor. This is also a condition. We cannot just look at the value of the island itself.

"I will now give you two final options, please choose one.

“The first option: Canada, Jamaica, northern Nicaragua, the Solomon Islands, and the influence of the Ming Dynasty’s European trade center in exchange for the entire Sicily.

"The second option: Jamaica and the profits around the Ming European Trade Center in exchange for half of Sicily, or the port of Taranto and the surrounding 1,000 square kilometers of land."

The last small option is Zhu Jianxuan’s real purpose.

Taranto is located in the bay at the southernmost tip of the Italian peninsula. It was one of the most important military ports after the unification of Italy in the past.

A classic naval battle in Europe during World War II, the British Navy aircraft carrier launched a surprise attack on Taranto, using the same tactics as the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

But the surprise attack on Taranto took place earlier.

So Taranto can be regarded as a pioneer in the application of aircraft carrier tactics - the one being beaten.

Zhu Jianxuan detained Canada, wanting to see whether Spain was very interested in Canada. If not, he could continue to negotiate with the British using Canada as an excuse, and make deals with both Britain and Spain at the same time.

(End of this chapter)