The Ming Dynasty did not revolutionize

Chapter 157: The conflict of interests inherent in the piracy issue

Xu Qing asked for a yard in Tripoli and interrogated two employees of businessman Jacob Friedman, obtaining more in-depth intelligence.

The promoters of the North African pirates' hijacking of American merchant ships were mainly businessmen whose main business scope was France.

Their previous businesses included East-West trade through Egypt, selling cotton from Egypt to France, selling wheat from Algeria to France, and various luxury goods businesses in France.

After the end of the North American War, France suffered a rare natural disaster and a sharp drop in grain production. Algerian grain merchants should have made a fortune.

The winter of 1783 was unusually cold, and merchants selling cotton from Egypt to France should have made a fortune.

But the Americans made a move and sent wheat and cotton to France across the Atlantic.

The King of France and the royal family of the Ming Dynasty jointly supported the American independence movement, and the prince of the Ming Dynasty became the king of the United States.

The Ming Dynasty also granted the French king the exclusive right to produce Ming products and provided the French royal family with a miracle drug to prevent tuberculosis.

The public and private relations among the top leaders of the Ming Dynasty, France and the United States are very good, and the officials of the three countries support each other.

The King of France used the luxury goods given by the Ming Dynasty to absorb the gold and silver wealth of the French nobles.

The money raised was used to repay loans, purchase food from American merchants, and provide relief to disaster victims at home.

The royal families and senior officials of the three parties all thought that this kind of cooperation was very good, but the local French businessmen were almost going crazy.

Not only were the profits that would have been made during normal times snatched away, but also when natural disasters occurred and one should have made a lot of money, no money was made.

The wealth of the French royal family and nobles should have been consumed in their own businesses, but now it has been taken away by the Ming people and the Americans.

If the royal family gets involved in industrial and commercial operations, they may not necessarily become a member of the industry and commerce community, they may also become public enemies.

What the King of France is doing now is very similar to what the compradors of later generations do.

In the eyes of French businessmen, the current king is a running dog of the Ming Dynasty and has reached the level of a traitor.

So they united and looked for opportunities to cause trouble for the top leaders of the Ming Dynasty, the United States, and France.

After Xu Qing basically figured out the cause and effect, he couldn't help but mutter in his heart:
"Looking at this situation, the French royal family may be in trouble. The crown prince should stay in Antwerp and not return to France..."

Xu Qing sorted out the results of his interrogation and arranged for a messenger to send it back to Wu Wangdu to report, and at the same time copied it to Cao Zhendong, Liu Quanzhi and others who were responsible for the operation.

After reading the investigation report, Liu Quanzhi also thought about the situation in France and worried about the safety of the French royal family.

But this concern will not affect the current course of action in North Africa:

“These businessmen may have their own difficulties, or their interests may be damaged.

“It doesn’t matter whether these pirates were bewitched or they are also stakeholders.

“Their actions of holding the prince’s people hostage are unforgivable.

"In order to prevent similar incidents from happening again, there should be no pirates within the range of the Ming fleet's activities..."

According to this decision-making logic, the Ming army would continue fighting after occupying Tripoli.

We must completely annihilate the pirates in North Africa and destroy other core North African pirate forces, Tunisia and Algiers in Algeria.

However, before the new round of combat operations, the Ming army also needs to take a short rest in Tripoli.

Naval fleets and armed merchant ships needed supplies and repairs.

It takes time to transport the damaged weapons that need to be replaced and repaired, and the ammunition that needs to be replenished after being consumed.

More occupation troops need to be transported to Tripoli to garrison and transform this pirate town.

There is currently no canal or railway across the Isthmus of Suez, so the only way to travel that section of land is by mule and horse-drawn carts. The transportation efficiency is much lower than that of full sea transportation.

During this waiting process, liberate the merchants and sailors hijacked by pirates and identify the main pirate leaders and habitual criminals.

At the same time, they were waiting for the King of Wu to make a decision on the punishment of the pirates.

But during this waiting period, Spanish envoys arrived in Tripoli.

The Prime Minister of Spain, José Monino Redondo, came in person.

Liu Quanzhi, Adams, Cao Zhendong and Li Anbang met with the Spanish Prime Minister at Ali I's estate.

After a brief greeting, Spanish Prime Minister Redondo directly stated his purpose.

Spain wanted to join the Ming Dynasty's war against North African pirates.

Or to merge the wars of both sides.

Because now there is a low-intensity war between Spain and the pirates in North Africa that has not yet completely ended.

Because pirates in Algiers robbed Spanish merchant ships. Before Spain participated in the American War of Independence, it launched a landing battle against Algiers in 1775.

The attack caused serious damage to the city of Algiers, but the Spanish side also suffered heavy losses. The key point was that they were ultimately unable to occupy Algiers.

When the Spanish realized that their plan to capture Algiers was unsuccessful, they attempted to negotiate an end to the war with the Ottoman Sultan.

But he found that the Ottomans had no control over Algiers at all.

At the same time, Spain’s direct attack angered the pirates in Algiers, causing them to increase their looting of Spanish merchant ships.

During the American War, Spain remained at war with Algiers.

In 1783, after the American Revolutionary War ended, Spain once again dispatched its fleet and launched a sustained bombardment of Algiers.

This operation was just a simple bombardment, with no landing troops prepared, and the final effect was minimal.

At this time, the solid shells and red-hot shells attacking alone would have very limited impact on large-scale buildings on land.

The Algiers pirates' shore artillery on land also had very limited counterattacks against the Spanish fleet.

Neither side was able to do anything to the opponent on the front battlefield.

However, Spain was a serious country and could not maintain a state of war continuously, while the pirates in North Africa did not engage in production and could continue to plunder Spanish merchant ships.

So Spain is suffering.

Spain was forced to attempt direct negotiations with Algiers in an attempt to end the now meaningless fighting.

But the negotiations have lasted for five years and are still not fully concluded.

The main reason was that the ruler of Algiers, Baba Mohammed ibn Osman, demanded a huge compensation of one million Spanish silver dollars from the Spanish lions.

Just like Pasha Ali I of Tripoli, who demanded one million silver dollars in compensation from the King of America.

The Spanish empire, which was declining year by year, was powerless against these pirates.

This shows how powerful the pirates in North Africa were at that time. Even a big empire like Spain was suffering from it.

Other small countries can only spend money to avoid disaster.

When Spain discovered that the Ming Dynasty had taken action against the pirates in North Africa, it felt like it had seen a savior.

In particular, the Spaniards have discovered that the Ming Dynasty's offensive against Egypt and Tripoli was unstoppable, almost like cutting melons and vegetables along the way.

Spain has the opportunity to ask Ming Dynasty for help in dealing with the hateful Algiers pirates.

According to the friendship and alliance agreement signed between the Ming Dynasty and Spain, if either party is attacked by another country, the other party is obliged to join the defensive war.

If one party proactively provokes a war against another country, the other party has no obligation to participate in such foreign war.

But you can actively join the war.

Spain’s current idea is to join the Ming Dynasty’s war.

After listening to the Spanish Prime Minister's ideas, Liu Quanzhi and others felt a little disgusted.

I don't really want Spain to join this war.

You, Spain, a colonial empire, have been troubled by pirates from North Africa.

Although the Ming Dynasty was fighting in North Africa, Spain, the local tyrant in the Mediterranean, could indeed provide help, at least by providing a large number of transport ships.

But the Ming Dynasty does not really need Spain’s help now. The Ming Dynasty can solve the pirate problem in North Africa on its own.

Even if Spain participated in the Ming Dynasty's war against pirates, it could not make any practical contribution.

If they could eliminate the pirates themselves, they should have captured Algiers long ago instead of waiting for the Ming Dynasty to attack.

Moreover, if Spain joins this war now, then after the war, Ming Dynasty will have to let Spain take some spoils.

Ming officials did not want Spain to share the spoils.

But Spain is now an official ally of the Ming Dynasty and has signed a formal alliance.

It’s not easy for everyone to refuse directly.

Liu Quanzhi and others grumbled for a while, and finally came up with a reason for delay:

"Matters related to war and diplomacy still need to be consulted with His Royal Highness King Wu. None of us present here have the right to decide."

(End of this chapter)