The Ming Dynasty did not revolutionize

Chapter 315 Godoy and Savoy

Both Franz and Metternich knew the importance of South Tyrol.

Franz said almost subconsciously:
"South Tyrol has been the Habsburg's fundamental territory since ancient times and is still under the direct control of the Habsburgs.

“South Tyrol is too important for Austria to lose.

"Bavaria was acquired by Uncle Joseph in exchange for Belgium, and the transaction was presided over by the current Emperor of the Ming Dynasty.

"Belgium is now a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty. Now occupying Bavaria again... isn't it inappropriate?"

Wang Tingzhen waved his hand directly:
"You also said that it is still under the control of the Habsburgs, but that may not be the case in the future. Do you think the Ming Dynasty is incapable of seizing this place?

“I also said that this is your plan to gradually join the Ming Dynasty’s vassal system, exchanging South Tyrol for Bavaria.

"Ming wants to control northern Italy, so we can't let you threaten Ming's borders in South Tyrol.

"If the Habsburgs directly pay tribute to the Ming Dynasty, not only will you not have to exchange South Tyrol for Bavaria, but the whole of Venice can be yours.

"These are the requirements of the Ming Dynasty. You can only choose one of them. There is no need to discuss the others."

Faced with Wang Tingzhen's toughness, Franz and Metternich were both hesitant to speak.

There was silence for a few seconds, and the two could only say:
Neither the Habsburg plan of paying tribute directly to the Ming Dynasty nor the compromise plan of delaying the split and gradually implementing it was something that the two of them could decide on the spot.

The two men needed to arrange personnel to return to Vienna to consult their monarch, Joseph II.

Wang Tingzhen also waved goodbye to the guests and asked them to go back and discuss the matter on their own.

Shortly after the Habsburg representatives left, Wang Tingzhen received the Spanish envoy at the Governor's Office, a person who surprised Wang Tingzhen: Godoy.

The Spaniards felt that Prime Minister Godoy was a traitor, and the main goal of the rebellion was to demand his removal.

The former Crown Prince of Spain and current King Ferdinand VII has also been calling for the removal of Godoy, but now he has sent Godoy as a representative to Antwerp.

Wang Tingzhen was a little surprised when he saw the report form submitted by the delegation members, and he was even more surprised when they met.

As soon as Godoy entered the room, he knelt down in front of Wang Tingzhen, and then shouted to Wang Tingzhen in a crying voice:
"Please, Daming, save me. Please, Your Excellency, save me..."

Wang Tingzhen frowned and asked:
"What's going on? What's wrong with you? Why are you doing this?"

Godoy continued:

"The Spanish court wants to kill me. I beg the Ming Dynasty... I beg the governor to let me stay in Antwerp for the rest of my life."

Wang Tingzhen understood what this guy wanted to do. He wanted to stay in Daming City for refuge:
"If the Spanish wanted to kill you, why did they send you here as a negotiator? You didn't come here alone, did you?"

Godoy immediately said:

“To negotiate with the Ming Dynasty, they would have to give up all their colonies and possibly pay compensation. No one among them is willing to sign this agreement.

"They asked me to sign the agreement when I was about to die. After I signed the agreement, I would definitely be executed. According to the Ming Dynasty, I was to take the blame.

"I've already taken enough blame, so they want me to take one more blame, and sign an armistice agreement to cede territory and pay compensation."

Wang Tingzhen finally understood that the Spanish court was making use of waste.

However, their king never considered that after this guy knew his situation, how could he go back honestly after signing the agreement?

Godoy saw Wang Tingzhen frowning and thinking, and seemed to still have some doubts, so he took the initiative to continue explaining:
"The new Spanish King Fernando probably thinks that I have a lot of contacts with the Ming Dynasty and is worried that if they kill me, it will anger the Ming Dynasty."

Wang Tingzhen suddenly realized:
“It turns out that this king took the initiative to send you to the Ming Dynasty for processing, but how the Ming Dynasty will deal with you still has to be decided by the emperor.

"But in your current state, can we still discuss the armistice agreement with you?"

Godoy immediately said:

"As long as Ming can let me stay and keep me alive, I can sign any agreement.

“But if it’s too exaggerated, the King of Spain may not approve it.

“The bottom line for the King of Spain should be to give up all overseas colonies and pay tribute to the Ming Dynasty.

"It would be best if we didn't pay tribute..."

Wang Tingzhen said directly:

"He still doesn't realize that paying tribute to the Ming Dynasty at this time has more benefits than continuing to maintain independence."

Godoy immediately agreed:
"Who said it wasn't? He still feels that joining the Ming Dynasty's vassal system is a loss, so he listed the bottom line here."

"The so-called independent freedom can neither feed oneself nor make money, and one may be attacked by other countries at any time. If one suffers a loss, there is no Ming Dynasty to take responsibility.

Wang Tingzhen glanced at Godoy, not quite sure if this guy was acting or not:

"You don't have to pay tribute. Just sign the contract according to this standard. Don't go back yet. Wait for the emperor's reply before deciding whether to stay or go."

Godoy was stunned for a moment when he heard this reply:
"Thank you, Your Excellency the Governor, for your support. I am grateful to you.

“Actually… even if they want to pay tribute, the Spanish can accept it.

"This is on the bottom line of the King of Spain."

Wang Tingzhen said with disdain:
“For a country like Spain, if it is unwilling, then it is useless.

“You go down and wait. Once the agreement is drawn up, you can come and sign it.

"Then have your envoy send them back to Madrid."

Godoy is now certain that the Ming Dynasty really dislikes Spain.

At the same time, the Ming Dynasty was not very eager to make all countries pay tribute to it.

However, Godoy was not a fool, and he had similar speculations as Franz and Metternich.

In the future, most countries will be the hunting dogs of the Ming Dynasty. Then, won’t the few others that have not become the hunting dogs of the Ming Dynasty become prey waiting to be slaughtered?

Godoy felt that if Spain did not join now, it might have to take the initiative to pledge tribute in a few years.

But those things had nothing to do with Godoy himself.

So Godoy didn't say any more nonsense and just stayed in the governor's office.

After Wang Tingzhen arranged the matters concerning Spain and Godoy, he immediately wrote a report and sent it to Shuntian Prefecture.

After receiving the report, Zhu Jianxuan was also a little surprised.

In Zhu Jianxuan's impression, Godoy, the Spanish traitor, was probably not purely bad, but simply lacked political ability.

In previous dealings with the Ming Dynasty, Godoy did not gain any advantage, and the Ming Dynasty did not develop him as an informant.

But he was not that stupid, he just didn't have the ability to deal with the chaos in Spain.

His ability did not match the status and power he obtained, and the end result was disgrace.

Now the King of Spain and the court all think that Godoy may be a spy of the Ming Dynasty, and Godoy himself seeks asylum from the Ming Dynasty.

But the Ming Dynasty could not accept him directly.

The Ming Dynasty’s current achievements are mainly achieved through the continuous efforts of farmers, workers, soldiers, and officials on the battlefield and at the negotiating table.

If Ming Dynasty now openly accepts Godoy, it will have a bad reputation of relying on conspiracy or even espionage to achieve its goals. The key point is that if Godoy is really an informant of Ming Dynasty and has really made contributions to Ming Dynasty in Spain, then Ming Dynasty must now settle him down.

Since he is not a real informant, he has never truly served the Ming Dynasty.

Because of his self-righteousness, he even encouraged the King and Queen of Spain to build the Panama Canal on their own and refused to cooperate directly with the Ming Dynasty to dig the canal.

It delayed the opening of the Panama Canal by at least five years, and also delayed the Ming Dynasty's acquisition of the Louisiana region.

There is no need for the Ming Dynasty to protect such a person. The Ming Dynasty does not welcome traitors.

Since you are a treacherous minister, you should accept your fate as a treacherous minister. If you are not worthy of your position, you should be prepared to be disgraced.

Although the Ming Dynasty will not force Spain to surrender now, it does not need to deliberately go against Spanish public opinion.

Godoy could be sent back to Madrid to be judged by the Spanish people themselves.

Zhu Jianxuan's reply was quickly sent to Antwerp.

Wang Tingzhen was a little surprised by this arrangement, but went through with it without any questions.

Wang Tingzhen first asked Godoy to sign a formal armistice agreement with the Ming Dynasty as the Spanish representative, and then had Godoy tied up.

Godoy was extremely surprised:
"What are you doing? Why? Why are you doing this to me?"

Wang Tingzhen sternly reprimanded Godoy:
"You are a criminal to both the Ming Dynasty and Spain.

"It was you who destroyed the cooperation between Ming and Spain.

"Now, according to the order of His Majesty the Great Ming, you will be handed over to the King of Spain and the people for disposal."

Godoy found it hard to understand and could not believe that the Ming Dynasty not only refused to accept him, but also directly treated him as a sinner:

"This is impossible... I have not harmed the interests of the Ming Dynasty..."

Wang Tingzhen ignored his nagging and asked someone to explain the situation to other leaders of the Spanish mission and arrange for them to return home.

Cui Guodong, also known as Cui Er, a former refugee from Heze, Shandong, has served in the army for nearly twenty years since the Northern Expedition and has now been promoted to commander of the main division.

This time he was ordered to lead a main division to escort the Spanish delegation back to Madrid, and to escort Godoy and the armistice agreement.

They also had the task of intimidating the Spanish royal family and making them accept reality as soon as possible.

After the Spanish delegation returned to Madrid, King Ferdinand VII of Spain and his ministers were stunned after listening to the delegation's report.

"This... Daming doesn't have a good impression of Godoy either?"

The ministers beside him were also puzzled, but their opinions were similar:

"I don't know why, but this is a good thing for Spain."

"Now we can just execute Godoy!"

Ferdinand VII suddenly realized the truth and, after a brief discussion with his ministers, he held a public trial and then executed Godoy with great fanfare.

At the same time, he quietly approved the armistice agreement with the Ming Dynasty and had someone send the letter of approval back to Antwerp.

The current Spanish government, headed by Ferdinand VII, has limited capabilities and is not capable of substantially resolving Spain's complex problems.

Sacrificing Godoy, a famous traitor, could at least make the domestic situation slightly more stable.

It can also slightly reduce the Spanish hostility towards the Ming Dynasty.

On the other side, Wang Tingzhen dealt with Spanish affairs and continued to receive representatives of the Savoy royal family.

The House of Savoy is the monarchical family of the Kingdom of Sardinia, also known as the Kingdom of Sardinia, which was the kingdom that completed the unification of Italy in history.

The current Kingdom of Sardinia lost all its territory, and the Savoy royal family went into exile.

The head of the delegation that came to Antwerp to attend the meeting was Carlo Emanuele, the current head of the House of Savoy and the one who was supposed to inherit the throne of Sardinia.

Carlo Emanuele had another identity, the legitimate king of England recognized by the British Jacobite Party.

Because Henrietta Anne Stuart, the youngest daughter of King Charles I who was executed by the British, was the mother-in-law of Grandpa Emmanuel.

Anne married Philippe I, Duke of Orleans, the younger brother of King Louis XIV of France.

Philip I's daughter, Anne-Marie d'Orléans, married Vittorio Amadeus II, Vittorio Emanuele's grandfather.

So, if the so-called Glorious Revolution had not taken place in Britain, Carlo Emanuele should have been the King of Britain at this time.

This complex network of kinship means that even if most European royal families have no descendants, they can quickly identify a large number of heirs based on their family tree.

It is also because of the complex relationship between the royal families of various countries that it becomes very difficult for ordinary people to break through their network of relationships.

It was difficult for Napoleon, the newly rising military leader, to integrate into this circle formed around bloodline.

In history, Napoleon wanted to marry the Romanovs of Russia and the Habsburgs of Austria, and wanted to integrate into their circle.

Now they don't need to do that. The situation created by the Ming Dynasty taking over from Napoleon directly overturned this network of relationships.

However, these world trends have nothing to do with Carlo Emanuele himself now.

Emanuele's goal now is to take back the territory. Without direct territory, they will have almost nothing.

So when meeting Wang Tingzhen, Emanuele was particularly careful and polite.

As usual, Wang Tingzhen asked him to sit down and listened to him explain his purpose.

Then gave a direct reply:

"You will represent the House of Savoy and pay tribute to the Ming Dynasty, and reform and manage your country according to the requirements of the Ming Dynasty.

"In the subsequent governance of the country, we must also accept the guidance, requirements, and supervision of Ming officials and abide by all Ming laws.

"If you can accept it, then the Ming Dynasty can grant you the territory of the former Kingdom of Sardinia on the mainland."

Emanuele felt very complicated after hearing this.

Overall, he was happy that the Ming Dynasty was willing to protect the status of the House of Savoy and allow him to return and continue to be king.

But only the land on the mainland, that is, Sardinia, will be divided.

As for those restrictive conditions, Emanuele wanted to ask how to transform the Kingdom of Sardinia specifically.

But after a little thought, I gave up the idea.

Now whether the Kingdom of Sardinia can continue to exist is a matter that the Ming Dynasty has to decide.

The Ming Dynasty can completely ignore itself.

Since I am allowed to go back, I must fully abide by the laws of the Ming Dynasty and obey the orders of the Ming Emperor.

Savoy had no choice but to accept any demands of the Ming Dynasty.

In the future, the Kingdom of Sardinia should be an internal vassal of the Ming Dynasty, rather than an external vassal like France.

In the end, Emanuele said nothing more. He just stood up and bowed to Wang Tingzhen to accept the arrangement:
"Thank you, His Majesty, the Supreme Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, for restoring the Savoy family. I and the Savoy family will strictly abide by your instructions and teachings in the future."

(End of this chapter)