Daming is going to take in dogs again!

Should it be inappropriate?

What are the benefits of being a dog?

Will you die if you don't act like a dog?

Of course, there is the most important point...who is qualified to be Ming's dog?

As soon as Zhu Heji's words came out, the hearts of the envoys from various countries on the Guide Gate Tower accelerated, and the speed of their brains also accelerated!

Those who were sent to the Ming Dynasty as envoys by their respective monarchs and governments were all smart people. How could they not know the meaning of Zhu Heji's speech on the Guide Gate Tower? Moreover, Zhu Heji's consistent position was to

Restoring the international status of the Ming Dynasty - that is, forming an international system with the Ming Dynasty as the suzerain and the countries in East Asia and Southeast Asia as vassals.

Moreover, these envoys also knew that this rebuilt Celestial Dynasty system was very different from the Ming Dynasty system constructed by Zhu Yuanzhang!

Because Zhu Yuanzhang was not able to completely pacify Beiyuan, he had to use his main force in the north. Moreover, he did not build a navy that could easily conduct ocean warfare, nor did he obtain huge profits from overseas trade - it was not a big voyage at that time.

In the era, there was no American gold and silver flooded the market. Even Japanese gold and silver were not mined in large quantities.

Zhu Heji's Ming Dynasty was one of the most powerful navies in the world. His Ming Dynasty obtained a large amount of income from international trade every year. Moreover, Zhu Heji had already joined forces with Zheng Jing and Qiu before pacifying Jiangnan.

Hui, Chen Jinnan and others established Nanyang Trading Company and began to engage in overseas zero-dollar purchases.

In addition, the Ming Dynasty established by Zhu Yuanzhang was a very traditional Eastern feudal empire based on small-scale peasant economy. It had little interest in overseas expansion, especially when the empire was at its strongest in the early days of its establishment, because there were few people in the country and the land was vast, so there was no need for it.

They went overseas to grab land to arrange for the surplus population. But when the empire's population continued to grow and the land gradually ran out, the Ming Dynasty's military force had already declined, and it was impossible to expand externally.

But today's Ming Empire is a new country that attaches great importance to and encourages the development of industry and commerce, and overseas wealth, markets, and resources have an irresistible attraction for this country!

Therefore, although Zhu Heji claimed to rebuild the Ming Dynasty system, what he wanted to do was completely different from Zhu Yuanzhang back then!

Of course, the situation in Southeast Asia is now very different from that of Zhu Yuanzhang's time!

The Westerners have already arrived, and an international system and rules have been formed that are beneficial to them. Moreover, this system and rules have been in operation for more than a hundred years. Not only the Western colonists have become accustomed to this system, but also many Southeast Asian states.

The princes and nobles were also accustomed to this system, and some of them were even bound to the European colonial system... To them, the Ming Dynasty was just a distant legend!

In addition, there are some powerful countries in Southeast Asia who took advantage of the absence of the Ming Dynasty and became the Celestial Kingdom themselves!

On this evening when the entire city of Guangzhou was immersed in joy because of the victory ceremony and the presentation of prisoners during the day on the fifth day of May, a carriage carrying the flag of the Dutch East India Company came to the sandy surface adjacent to the Pearl River outside Guangzhou.

The entrance of the island. Shamian Island is a sandbar close to the land. Part of it is already connected to the land. Strictly speaking, it cannot be considered an island.

When Zhu Heji left Guangzhou for his northern expedition to the south of the Yangtze River, this Shamian Island was still deserted. Later, the shore of the Pearl River in the south of Guangzhou became more and more prosperous due to the prosperity of maritime trade. Land prices also increased, and every inch of land was precious.

Therefore, Qiu Hui, who was the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi at the time, came up with the idea of ​​developing Shamian Island... Da Laohui had already done business in developing ports in Chaozhou, so he built Shamian Island with ease.

It is a commercial district where foreign businessmen and foreign embassies gather. He also understands the principle of only renting good areas and not selling them. Therefore, the ownership of the land on Shamian Island belongs to Guangzhou Prefecture, and it is only leased to foreign businessmen and foreign envoys.

A building was built.

These buildings themselves are also part of the rent. After ten to fifteen years, they will become the property of Guangzhou Prefecture. Of course, foreigners can also renew the lease at a high price or buy out at a high price...

Although they did not obtain the ownership of the land, nor did they have any concessions or extraterritorial rights, foreign businessmen from Guangzhou still gathered on Shamian Island. After seven or eight years of development, Shamian Island is now full of Western-style buildings and business shops.

There are many embassies in Guangzhou, including the embassies of France, England, the Netherlands, Rakshasa and other countries in Guangzhou, as well as several East India Company business offices.

After entering Shamian Island, this large carriage carrying the flag of the Dutch East India Company went straight to the largest garden building on Shamian Island, the British East India Company's commercial building in Guangzhou.

There were armed guards with Western faces and swords outside the British East India Company's business buildings. They had already received instructions that all visitors from the English embassy, ​​the Dutch East India Company, the Dutch embassy, ​​the French embassy, ​​and the French East India Company would be allowed in.

...No cross-examination, no inspection!

It is said that today is the fiftieth birthday of Charles Gough, the president of the British East India Company in Guangzhou, and he has to make arrangements for it. So today, Charlie Gough held a big banquet in the business hall and invited foreign merchants from Shamei and the foreign embassy.

The leading figures come to the banquet.

However, these prominent figures who came to the banquet today looked quite strange. In such a hot weather, why did they sit in the carriage with the windows closed and the curtains drawn? Aren't they afraid of the heat and covering up the smell?

Although the few guards watching the gate had questions on their heads, no one dared to disobey Sir Gough's order.

Although this commercial building located in the bustling city of Shamian does not have tall walls, it spent a lot of money to transplant many tall trees and surround the main building of the commercial building. It is difficult to see what is going on inside the yard from the outside.

As soon as this large carriage from the Dutch East India Company entered the business building, they found that the business building was quiet and there was no big business at all. Instead, there were more guards patrolling the yard, which was quite heavily guarded.

the meaning of.

The carriage did not stop, but drove along a gravel road to the gate of the commercial building. Charlie Gough was leading several senior managers to guard the door. When he saw the carriage stop, he hurriedly greeted it.

He even opened the car door himself with a smile on his face - this is a big shot who would shake the ground when he stomped his feet in the Shamianyang business district, and now he actually opened the door for someone else! He didn't know who was riding in this carriage.

What kind of awesome person is this?

The door was pulled open, and then a handsome Westerner in his thirties emerged from the carriage, followed closely by an Asian man in a dress.

If Zhu Heji were here, he would probably be able to recognize the Orientalist at a glance as Nicholas Ji Dabao, the comprador of the British East India Company. He is so powerful now that he has become a professor of Oriental Studies at the University of Cambridge (Cambridge) in the United Kingdom.

He also served as a special advisor to King James II of England.

In addition, he has now become England's largest pirate and a famous translator... He will translate Chinese books into French, English, and Latin, and then sell them in Europe. At the same time, he will also

His books were translated into Chinese and sold to university academies in the Ming Dynasty.

Of course, Ji Dabao will not pay even a penny for royalties. And he will not admit piracy...knowledge has no borders! He is transporting knowledge between the East and the West, how can he say "

What about "stealing"?

And this time he did not come to the Ming Dynasty as a knowledge transporter. He came to the Ming Dynasty as an advisor to the King of England on Eastern issues, accompanying the King's confidant, Baron John Churchill.

The rather handsome-looking middle-aged man with him was Baron John Churchill. He is still a major general in the English Army and is the most important military talent King James relies on.

The reason why he was sent to the East this time was not only to rely on his diplomatic skills to deal with the troublesome Eastern issues, but also to let him inspect the Ming Dynasty's army in order to provide reference for the "high sugar content" of the British Army - Kangxi

Khan's sugar business in Lahore has already started, so "advanced European countries" such as England, the Netherlands, and France can finally have "sugar freedom"!

However, the Army of England has always been frugal in its use of sugar...it just needs to count the grains one by one! Now it suddenly has more money. It really doesn't know how to use it anymore. It must be investigated.

Because he had a special mission, Baron Churchill did not use diplomatic channels to enter the Ming Dynasty - otherwise his status as a major general and a baron in the English Army would be a bit eye-catching. Given the size of the English Army, how many major generals can there be?

So Baron Churchill disguised himself as a businessman, and in order to deceive others, he did not take a British ship, but boarded a ship of the Dutch East India Company - he and the Dutch Consul William III were also good friends, and in history

In order to allow his good friend to ascend the British throne, he became a rebel general!

...

When the two distinguished guests, Baron Churchill and Ji Dabao, arrived, there were already seven or eight people sitting in the British East India Company's Guangzhou Commercial Building, all of whom were the leaders sent to the East by Western powers such as the Netherlands, England, France, and Rakshasa.

Characters. Among them there is even a representative of Annan Kingdom - Annan seems to be the next one to be beaten by the Ming Dynasty!

Moreover, due to historical reasons and the internal affairs of Annan, Lord Zheng of the Li Dynasty of Annan was not qualified to be a dog for the Ming Dynasty... So Lord Zheng of Annan had to find a way to get the foreign devils' legs.

And the Annan Zheng family has always had contacts with the Dutch East India Company - their family's mortal enemy Annan Nguyen Lord has always accepted the support of the Portuguese. The Zheng family suffered from foreign guns and cannons, so naturally they approached the Portuguese at that time.

The rebellious Dutch.

But this time they found the Dutch through familiar means, and were regarded by the Dutch as a trump card that could delay the expansion of the Ming Dynasty - after all, Annan had defeated the Song Dynasty and the Yuan Dynasty in history, and even forced the former Ming Dynasty back.

Back!

With such an impressive record, these foreigners, who were worried about finding cannon fodder, regarded the Annan Zheng family as a treasure.

"Through this battle in the Philippines, I believe that the expansion of the Ming Empire will never stop until it encounters a force that can truly stop it...In the history known to the outside world, there has never been such a

A powerful empire will stop before it expands to its limit. Whether it is the Persian Empire, the Alexander Empire, the Roman Empire, the Ottoman Empire, the Spanish Empire, the Arab Empire, and of course the Eastern Han Empire, the Tang Empire, and the former Ming Empire,

This is all true. So I think the current Ming Empire will not stop either! And what we can do now is to do everything possible to slow down its expansion and buy ourselves time for military reform!"

The one who was speaking was Baron Churchill. As an outstanding military strategist and politician, he seemed to have a way to contain the Ming Dynasty.

"Baron," Campos, the governor of the Dutch East India Company, also came to Guangzhou. After listening to Baron Churchill's words, he frowned and asked, "But what can we do to slow down the expansion of the Ming Dynasty?"

"There are two ways," Churchill looked seriously at the governor of the Dutch East India Company. "One is to do everything possible to support the brave, freedom-loving people who are willing to resist the Ming Dynasty; the other is to do everything possible to fight a trade war with the Ming Dynasty.

Financial war!"

"Trade war? Financial war? How to fight?"

Campos, the governor of the Dutch East India Company, frowned when he heard this.

Although today the Netherlands is still a major trading country and is also very strong in the financial field - it was the country that once made tulips fly to the sky!

But unlike England next door, the Dutch capitalists are not very patriotic, and they advocate freedom too much... It can also be said that they are greedy for money, have no principles, and can even sell weapons to the enemy during wartime. So the Netherlands

The trade and finance of England are unlikely to be weaponized for wars of hegemony. England is very good at using trade and finance as weapons to attack its opponents!

Churchill glanced at Campos, who only cared about the interests of shareholders and did not care about national interests, and said with a faint smile: "The way to fight a trade war is to interrupt trade or artificially reduce it, so that the Ming Dynasty cannot earn silver by exporting a large amount of goods to the west of Malacca. At the same time,

It is also impossible to obtain goods from the west of Malacca... The purpose of this is to prevent the flow of silver into the Ming Dynasty and to attack the porcelain, silk, glass, ironware, sugar and other industries of the Ming Dynasty. At the same time, we can also

Support India's cotton, sugar and other industries as much as possible to replace the related industries of the Ming Dynasty in exporting goods to Europe.

The way to fight the financial war is to abandon the silver standard and implement the gold standard... thereby achieving the purpose of lowering the value of silver and reducing the stock of domestic wealth in the Ming Dynasty. In other words, the Ming Dynasty, which stored a large amount of silver, turned from a rich country to a poor country.

!”

After hearing this, Campos, the governor of the Dutch East India Company, was not happy, "Baron, do you know how much money we make from the Ming Dynasty's foreign trade every year?"

John Churchill shook his head and looked at the Dutch profiteers in front of him with a bit of disdain, "Mr. Governor, I think you have made a mistake on a major issue... It is not free trade that brings profits to the East India Company! Really?
Chapter completed!