The Ming Dynasty did not revolutionize

Chapter 312 The King of England's Vision

British Prime Minister William Pitt bid farewell to Wang Tingzhen and returned to his residence with Foreign Secretary Grenville.

Pete sat on the chair and started to criticize the other party:
"You almost went to see God just now, and even the whole of Britain almost died with you, did you know that?"

Grenville was a little confused:
"Ah? What's going on? So exaggerated?"

Pitt briefly introduced Grenville to the moral values ​​of the Shenzhou people:

"It's probably because you really don't understand the moral standards of the Ming Dynasty. To the people of the Ming Dynasty, what you said is incoherent.

“So the governor really thought you were a barbarian and a lunatic, so he didn’t take you seriously.

"If you are really familiar with Ming culture, you won't blame it morally."

Grenville finally realized that he had almost gotten into trouble:

"This... this is too horrible. I can't have any dealings with the Ming people anymore..."

But Peter sighed and said:

"If I want to live in this world in the future, I can't avoid dealing with the Ming people.

“In the future, senior ministers of various countries, especially diplomats, must deal with Ming officials.

“Therefore, we must deeply understand and master the cultural and moral system of the Ming Dynasty to avoid inadvertently angering the Ming Dynasty.

"But the more important issue at the moment is this negotiation, how are we going to resolve the ownership of Hannover now.

“Hanover was not only the king’s territory, but also an important channel for British goods to be imported into Europe.

"If we don't get it back, neither Parliament nor the King will accept it, and our government may be over."

Grenville tried to calm himself down:
“This… it is definitely not possible to just hand over all of Canada and all of our bases in Africa.

“The only solution that the parliament and the king can accept is to only hand over the African strongholds in exchange for all the Hanoverian lands.

"But the Ming Dynasty has already refused, so we must think of another plan.

“Ming Dynasty would certainly accept Britain becoming a vassal state, but it is difficult for us to convince the king and parliament.

"We need to come up with a compromise based on this..."

Pete shook his head and waved his hands:

"How else can this be compromised? Put Britain in a state between becoming a vassal of the Ming Dynasty or not?
"If we only pay tribute in name only, we won't be able to get our land back... unless..."

At this moment, Pete suddenly thought of something:
"Oh, by the way, we can break up the personal union of Britain and Hanover.

"We can convince the king to establish a separate Kingdom of Hanover, arrange for a prince to be the king, and pay tribute to the Ming Dynasty.

“And there is a high probability that this confederation will have to be dismantled in the future.

"Hanover implemented the Salic law of succession, which did not allow women to inherit titles, land, or wealth.

"Britain allows female succession to the throne.

"The present British Crown Prince, His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, is now forty-six years old and has long been separated from his legal wife.

“They have only one legitimate daughter who can inherit the British throne in the future, but she cannot inherit the throne of Hanover.

"In the future, only the Crown Prince's younger brothers or nephews can inherit Hanover separately.

"Now we can use this logic to split the Confederation in advance and let the Duke of York go to Hanover."

In the original history, what Pitt predicted happened in Britain later, but there were also some minor surprises.

The current British King George III has thirteen legitimate children. The oldest is forty-six years old this year and the youngest is twenty-five years old.

But most of these people are having affairs outside and do not get married according to the regulations of their fathers and British law.

As a result, King George III now has only one legitimate granddaughter.

This granddaughter was born to the eldest son, the Crown Prince of Wales, and was undoubtedly the future Queen of England.

Therefore, the other brothers of the crown prince also gave up. Anyway, neither they nor their children had the chance to succeed to the throne, so they just enjoyed their lives as they should.

As a result, Charlotte, this proud girl, died of childbirth complications in 1817, before her grandfather, father and many uncles.

Charlotte's uncles, who were already around fifty years old, had to get married quickly if they didn't have legal wives, and those who already had legal wives tried to have children.

Whoever is the oldest and can give birth to a legitimate child will inherit the British throne.

The oldest son, the first and second son, both gave up, and the third son failed to conceive.

The fourth son, Edward, eventually gave birth to a legitimate daughter, who later became Queen Victoria.

When Queen Victoria ascended the throne, Hanover was inherited by her fifth uncle August, and the Confederation of Britain and Hanover was officially separated.

Grenville knew the situation of the British royal family and immediately understood Pitt's intention:
“That’s certainly possible, but will Ming demand that all bases in Canada and Africa be brought under Hanover’s jurisdiction?

“Moreover, will the future King of Hanover work hard to safeguard British interests?

"Don't let us lose our bases in Canada and Africa and actually cede Hanover completely."

Finally, Pete sighed again and said:

“It is no longer possible for Britain to remain de facto independent.

"From France to Poland, from Italy to Germany, the core areas of the European continent will all be vassal states of the Ming Dynasty in the future.

"According to the traditional cultural moral system of the Ming Dynasty, the emperor of the Ming Dynasty naturally had the tendency to unify the world.

“In this era, this unification tendency has become conquering the world.

“There have been many people and countries throughout history who wanted to conquer the world, but the biggest difference between the Ming Dynasty and them is that it actually had the ability to do so.

“It is conceivable that in the future, all countries and monarchs in the entire world will have to pledge allegiance to His Majesty the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty in order to continue to maintain their status.

“Our task now is to find a suitable channel and excuse to make the King and Parliament of England accept the reality.

"At the same time, the Ming Dynasty will not be particularly eager to forcibly annex Britain.

“If possible, I hope that Her Royal Highness Princess Charlotte can marry the prince of the Ming Dynasty.

"In this way, when the princess and the children of the Ming prince inherit the throne, Britain will naturally be integrated into the Ming system."

For British businessmen, it doesn’t matter who the king is, what matters is their own interests.

If introducing the Ming Dynasty's royal family can bring huge benefits to Britain, they will support it without hesitation.

But it is impossible to directly erase the existing British royal family, so the best way is integration.

The Ming Dynasty had a purely male inheritance system, while Britain could be inherited by women.

It just so happens that there is a crown prince’s granddaughter in the UK now, and it would be perfect for her to marry directly into the Ming Dynasty.

But there is a big unsolvable problem hanging on this route.

Grenville was stunned for a moment:
“But the Ming imperial family was forbidden to marry outsiders, and even forbidden to marry former nobles and high-ranking officials.

“The royal family only married commoners and low-level bureaucrats in their own country, which was the exact opposite of the marriages between European royal families and aristocrats.

"This is really puzzling. Why did the Ming Dynasty have such a system?"

In fact, in modern times, especially after World War II, those European countries that still had kings began to marry only their own people, and eventually tended to marry civilians.

However, the reason they did this is that the world's thoughts have become completely popularized and the construction of nationalism has basically been completed.

Most of the royal families have also become mascots, symbols of the country rather than masters.

You are a symbol and mascot, and your marriage to a foreign monarch will have a very bad impact on public opinion.

Therefore, they all try to present a people-friendly image by marrying common people from their own country.

Pete thought about it:
“Because the monarch of Shenzhou is supreme and unique, he does not need to maintain the glory of his bloodline by marrying other nobles of similar level.

“They even have to consider preventing other families from relying on prosperous marriage relationships with the royal family to gain the power and qualifications to interfere in royal affairs.

"That's why the Ming Dynasty's royal family avoided marrying with nobles and high-ranking officials, and only married children from commoner families."

Peter sighed after he finished speaking. It was too difficult to maintain British interests under the pressure of the Ming Dynasty:
"I will go back to London first and persuade the king and Parliament to accept the plan to split the Confederation.

"You stay here and don't refuse or agree to any requests or instructions from the Ming Dynasty.

"Tell Daming that I have gone back to ask for instructions, and send someone back to London to inform me of the details immediately."

Grenville didn't want to stay here, and the fear of Ming officials would be difficult to eliminate in a short time.

But compared to going back to compete with the king and the parliament, it is a little easier to be a messenger here.

And he couldn't help but help his cousin, the Prime Minister, so he agreed directly:
"Don't worry, I will do it well." Pitt nodded slightly, packed up a little, reported to the governor's office, and immediately went to the dock to take a boat back to London.

The straight-line distance between Antwerp and London is less than 300 kilometers, and there are well-established steamship routes along the entire route.

Pitt was still the British Prime Minister and had a special small warship to escort him.

Pitt returned to London the next morning, took a bath and rested for a while, then went to the palace to meet the king.

King George III of England was also quite surprised:
"Didn't you say you were leaving for Antwerp? Why are you still in London?"

Peter said with a sad and serious expression:

"Your Majesty, I have been to Antwerp and have returned after meeting with the Ming envoy."

George III was stunned for a moment:
"Why so fast? Has the armistice agreement been signed? When will the Ming army withdraw from Hanover?"

Peter immediately explained:

“Not yet. What Daming is going to do this time is completely different from what we initially inferred.

"The Ming Dynasty has already conquered Napoleon and named him the King of Poland of the Ming Dynasty.

“It also sent Louis XVI’s crown prince back to Paris, where he became the new King of France, Louis XVII.

"It is clear that the Ming Dynasty will not continue to maintain the balance of power among the major powers on the European continent.

"Instead, they simply turned the core areas of Europe into vassal states of the Ming Dynasty.

“So all our plans need to be redone and the Cabinet needs to consult you again.

"After I confirmed the attitude of the Ming envoy, I rushed back immediately.

"Ming will not directly exchange Hanover. Ming requires us to pay a sufficient price in exchange..."

Although George III was mentally prepared that the Ming Dynasty would not return Hanover, he still felt uncomfortable when the news was confirmed.

But what made George III even more uncomfortable was the Ming Dynasty's overall attitude towards Europe:

"The Ming Dynasty really didn't want to return Hanover directly. It was also because we were useless on the battlefield and hardly took back any land ourselves.

“Before the war, we always thought that the Ming Dynasty’s attitude towards Europe overlapped with that of Britain.

“The current Ming Emperor, the former Ming Wu King, and the American King all implemented strategies similar to those of the United Kingdom.

"He made it clear that he wanted to maintain the balance of power among the major European powers.

“But this war on the European continent made Ming Dynasty see clearly the gap between European countries and Ming Dynasty.

"The Ming Dynasty realized that it had the ability to directly dominate the situation in Europe, so it naturally stopped maintaining the balance of power among the major European powers.

"The Europe of the future will no longer be the Europe of Europeans, but the most remote territory within the Ming Dynasty system.

"So, what is the price that the Ming Dynasty wants from us? Do they want Britain and other European countries to surrender so that they can truly rule the world?"

George III had been king for decades and had a relatively clear understanding of the current political situation.

Peter was relieved to find that the king was sober and pessimistic. He thought it would be easier for him to convince the king:

“The Ming envoys demanded that Britain surrender, but that was clearly not their bottom line.

“According to my analysis and that of the cabinet, the war in Europe was an accident, and the Ming Dynasty’s original target should have been the Shun Kingdom.

"Just like we solved the Qing Dynasty, we solved the Shun Kingdom, which was nominally subject to the Ming Dynasty but was actually independent, and completed the unification of Shenzhou.

"It's just that the situation in Europe gave the Ming Dynasty an opportunity to join in and reap the benefits.

"But the Ming has been fighting for several years, conquering vast territories and a large population. It is time to stop and restore its strength before dealing with the Shun Kingdom.

“So the Ming Dynasty should not be prepared to force the remaining European countries to surrender immediately.

"We should be able to negotiate a condition that allows us to remain independent, at least for a period of time, but at a sufficient cost.

"The Ming Dynasty's current demands are all of Britain's overseas colonies.

“But for the domestic bourgeoisie, this condition is actually not as good as directly submitting to the Ming Dynasty.

"Submission can preserve existing industries and allow us to share the Ming Dynasty's huge colonial market, and we only need to pay an additional 10% in taxes.

"Plus, it is obvious that in the future, Ming will conquer all countries sooner or later.

“Even if we give up our colonies now and gain temporary independence, it won’t last long.

"So I suggest that Britain be gradually integrated into the Ming Dynasty's vassal system through some gradual means."

George III did not express his opinion directly, but first asked Pitt about his idea:

"What is the specific method?"

Peter immediately stated his plan:
"This kind of plan requires the approval and cooperation of the Ming Dynasty. The Ming Dynasty may not accept the plan we have made.

“So there needs to be multiple plans of different speeds and degrees for Daming to choose from.

“First of all, the more ideal approach is to have Princess Charlotte marry a prince of the Ming Dynasty.

“Ming people are basically pan-believers and can nominally believe in any religion.

"Of course, they can convert to this religion like the northern German states did, so faith shouldn't be a problem.

"Their children, as future British kings, became subjects of the Ming emperor, and Britain naturally joined the Ming vassal system.

“This will take decades to materialize, so we have plenty of time to spare.

"Then there is the more feasible compromise of arranging for a prince, such as the Duke of York, to become the independent king of Hanover.

“Let the King of Hanover pledge allegiance to the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, and let Hanover replace Britain as a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty.

“Finally, you can combine the two, splitting and marrying at the same time.

"However, the Ming Dynasty may not accept the marriage proposal. We need to negotiate and determine it ourselves before asking the Ming Dynasty royal family for their opinion."

George III was also helpless. He had more than a dozen children, but only one legitimate granddaughter.

Although the "law" that determines whether it is "legal" was set by George III himself.

For members of the British royal family, any marriage without the king's permission and all marriages with non-Protestant nobles are not recognized by the British royal family and are illegal.

Children born from illegal marriages certainly have no inheritance rights.

In fact, most of George III's children had mistresses or lovers, and some of them gave birth to a large number of illegitimate children.

According to European tradition, these illegitimate children had no inheritance rights and could not use Hanoverian surnames.

Judging from the descendants that George III has now, it is certain that his only granddaughter Charlotte will inherit the throne in the future.

When Charlotte married other nobles, she would adopt their surnames.

The Hanoverian dynasty of Britain also had to change its name accordingly.

Since the granddaughter is going to get married anyway, Wang Chao will have to change his name sooner or later, so it is better to marry her to the most noble person and change her name to the best.

The royal families across Europe are all similar, but in the world, the Ming royal family is definitely the most noble.

George III now does not mind his granddaughter marrying the prince of the Ming Dynasty if the prince is willing to nominally convert to the Church of England.

But George III did not agree directly, but proposed a new idea based on Pitt's:
"Is there a possibility that Charlotte could marry the King of Hanover?
"I mean, let a prince of the Ming Dynasty marry Charlotte first, and then become the King of Hanover.

"The son of the King of Hanover, who is also the son of the Queen of England, will be able to inherit both Hanover and England in the future.

"Thus, the future Kingdom of Hanover, as well as Britain and Canada, will belong to Charlotte's descendants.

"Of course, the prerequisite is that only Charlotte's children have the right of inheritance, and the Ming Dynasty's pure patrilineal inheritance system cannot be adopted."

After hearing this, Pete was also stunned. The king's plan seemed to be better than his own idea.

In this way, all the land in the UK now will still belong to the old king's descendants in the future, and the old king will not have too much regret psychologically.

Britain did not have to ask for Hanover back directly, and it also locked the relationship between Britain and Ming Dynasty, making it easier for Ming Dynasty to agree directly.

But the biggest problem has not changed, that is, the Ming royal family will most likely refuse to marry the British royal family.

Pitt's proposal of marriage was originally just a cover for the plan to split up the Central Confederacy. In essence, he wanted to dismantle the Central Confederacy first.

Let Hanover become independent first to solve the current troubles.

As for the future of Britain and Hanover, Pitt felt that they should trust the wisdom of future generations.

Unexpectedly, the king took the marriage seriously.

(End of this chapter)