The reason why Russia has been expanding to the east and south is because its north is occupied by the Kingdom of Sweden, and its west is occupied by the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.

Although Russia took advantage of the civil strife in the Polish-Lithuanian Federation to gain access to Eastern Ukraine, it still had strong strength despite being able to control the country independently.

Polish tour destabilizes Europe.

Even decades later, Poland went south to Vienna and blocked the Ottomans who were trying to destroy Catholicism. To a certain extent, it saved the entire Europe.

Sweden was also at its peak at this time.

Therefore, at this time, Russia was beyond reach of the Baltic Sea.

In the south, the Crimean Khanate relied on the Ottomans and continued to attack Eastern Ukraine and Russia, unable to expand at all.

Moreover, Russia's eastward policy has also suffered setbacks: the Manchu Qing conquered Lake Baikal and occupied more than a dozen Russian strongholds.

Facing Siberia thousands of miles away, Russia was naturally unable to fight against the 100,000 Manchu cavalry and could only compromise.

Not to mention the Kazakhstan Khanate. Although it is divided into three Yuzhi, it has tens of thousands of cavalry and has no respect for Russia at all.

For a moment, Alexey was quite confused. Looking around Russia, there was no room for expansion.

It’s impossible to go to Northern Siberia to eat ice cubes.

"Money, money——"

Alexei gritted his teeth: "Russia needs an entrance to the sea."

No matter how much territory is expanded, no port can bring as much money as trade.

What is troubling Russia today is financial problems.

…

After staying in England for a few days, Dong Ren was threatened by the Black Death and war. He did not dare to stay any longer. He returned to Portsmouth, crossed the English Channel by boat, and arrived in Le Havre.

Although France declared war on Britain and took the side of the Netherlands, it was just a verbal gesture and no action at all.

After all, it is impossible for the French Army to fight across the sea!

Therefore, Le Havre, the mouth of the Seine, is still doing business, and there are only a few ships coming and going.

After all, when a country goes to war, what it needs is money, and it is normal to do business while fighting.

Britain needed French wool, and France needed British cheap textiles.

No one can live without anyone.

Dong Ren arrived at the port and showed his identity according to the old rules. He was then taken to the port, put on a small boat, and sailed upstream to Paris on the Seine River.

Paris, also known as Paris Island, is the most prosperous place in France and is densely populated.

But the Sun King Louis XIV, like the European monarchs, did not want to be crowded with the untouchables in the city, so he lived in the Palace of Versailles dozens of miles away.

When they arrived at the palace, Dong Ren and others experienced luxury.

Although it was only built six years ago, the luxury goods in the Palace of Versailles have already been transported.

The Ming Palace emphasizes majesty, while the Versailles Palace emphasizes luxury and magnificence.

There were no less than a hundred carriages parked in front of the palace, and nobles were constantly coming and going, making it extremely lively.

Therefore, even before the Palace of Versailles was built, it was known as the first royal palace in Europe and was widely envied by royal families from all over the world.

Hundreds of halls and halls have been built, all of which are magnificent and luxurious.

The interior decoration is mainly composed of carvings, large oil paintings and tapestries, as well as Chinese porcelain shipped from the Far East.

The rare and precious treasures from all over the world, I wish I could take them out and show them to others.

This left several people quite speechless.

The monarch is rich all over the world, and no one among the people can compare with him. Why should he show off like a nouveau riche?

Besides, luxury can lead to the destruction of a country!

Dong Ren secretly thought: After traveling to several countries, why do he always feel like the country is subjugated?

When they saw Louis XIV, Dong Ren and others bowed to him again.

He was wearing a pair of high-heeled shoes with red flowers, tight red pants, a white jacket, a pair of silver gloves, and a rich black wig that was wavy and very conspicuous.

[A novel app that has been running stably for many years, comparable to the old book-chasing tool, and a source-changing app used by old bookworms,]

"Is this the envoy of the Ming Dynasty?"

Louis XIV glanced at the man and said.

Dong and Ren appeared in front of him, wearing long crimson and blue robes, which almost reached their knees.

There are indistinguishable animal patterns painted on the chest, and he is wearing long black leather boots.

What’s special is that wearing a light hat on your head and shaking it while walking is also a lot of fun.

What's more important is that their robes seem to be made of silk. How expensive is this!

Lord Chancellor of the Seal, Chief Justice Duke Pierre Seguier, is responsible for France's diplomacy and justice. He is an old man in his eighties and very energetic.

"Your Majesty, from the Ming Dynasty's trade, I heard that Portugal can earn more than one million gold louis a year, which is a huge fortune."

Pierre Seguier chuckled, and the wrinkles on his face seemed to relax a little: "Although France cannot sail far away, it can still not get a share of the pie."

"oh?"

Louis XIV showed a hint of surprise.

Although France has not yet gone to war, the national treasury is definitely not rich, and who doesn't like Louis d'Or?

"Now our country has formed an alliance with the Netherlands to deal with England together. As long as the war is victorious, it is also appropriate to form our navy."

"At that time, as long as the fleet can enter the port, profits will be made."

"too slow."

Louis XIV shook his head: "It takes more than half a year to go there, but it really doesn't quench my thirst."

Pierre Seguier could only smile bitterly.

France has been a land-based country since ancient times, and occupation and plunder are always faster than trade.

The young king was most passionate about the Netherlands and Spain.

Now, the war against Spain is imminent.

It turned out that last year, in 1665, King Philip IV of Spain died of illness, and Louis XIV married his eldest daughter, so he claimed his inheritance: the West Netherland region.

As a result, the French and Spanish wars were about to break out, and both sides were mobilizing.

According to common sense, such a request is very unreasonable. After all, there are sons to inherit the throne, and no daughter has ever brought family property to her husband.

But there is no way, who made Spain weak and Louis XIV arrogant!

Of course, Louis XIV had always been arrogant. Carlos II of Spain died without an heir and was seduced by his ministers to pass the throne to his grandnephew, Louis XIV's grandson Philippe.

This is also far off the mark.

After all, in Western Europe, the eldest son is the heir, and women have no right to inherit at all.

At that time, Austria was also part of the Habsburg family, so naturally it could not sit back and watch the throne fall to France, so the Spanish Succession War was launched.

Regarding the French king, Dong Ren still emphasized the Ming Dynasty’s rule over the entire Far East:

"That is to say, what your country calls Asia, Burma, Siam, Wen Lai, Japan, Korea, etc., are all our dependent countries and are regarded as our homeland. If your country wants to travel, you must obtain our country's permission."

"If you have personal relationships, it doesn't count, and you will be responsible for the consequences."

Louis XIV was aroused by these words: "It is said that the East is the country of silk and the country of gold. I wonder how many troops the Ming Dynasty has?"

Well, in Paris, there are 8,000 guards guarding the palace, and the standing army in France is nearly 100,000, the largest in Europe.

Dong Ren smiled in his heart and said seriously: "As far as I know, there are 200,000 soldiers in the capital protecting Beijing."

"There are one hundred thousand frontier troops guarding the frontier."

"There are more than 300,000 patrol camps in the 25 provinces across the country."

"Six hundred thousand?" Louis XIV was shocked.

This is six times that of France.

How to fight this?

"Based on this, your country probably has a population of fifty to sixty million!"

"The world has been at peace for twenty years, which is about 200 million."

Dong Ren said truthfully: "According to the literati, this situation was only the number of people in the Wanli period fifty years ago."

My God, France only has 20 million people now!

Louis XIV was shocked.

At this time, among European countries, England only had six million, Spain and Portugal combined had only ten million, and the Netherlands only had three million.

This is why Louis XIV believed that France was number one in Europe. With such a huge population, it was enough to crush most countries.
To be continued...