The Netherlands in the seventeenth century was known as the coachmen of the sea. Since its rise, it has been Spain's main competitor.
The two countries have interest disputes whether in Europe or America, and the same is true in the East.
Although Spain was one step ahead, its trade with the Ming Dynasty was always at a disadvantage. Especially after Dongfan Island was occupied by the Dutch, Spain was very passive due to its geographical advantage.
Most of the merchants in Guangdong traded directly with Portugal. Compared with Manila in Luzon Island, merchants in Fujian and Jiangsu and Zhejiang were also more willing to go to the nearby Dongpan Island to trade with the Dutch, which made Spain very embarrassed.
However, in the battle for Dongfan Island, Spain lost to the Netherlands. This time, the proposal to combine the forces of the three countries and go to Nanjing to force the Ming Dynasty to compromise was actually proposed by the Spanish governor, who wanted to take the opportunity to reverse the trade disadvantage.
After all, the Portuguese were close to Macau, and Dongfan Island was also stuck on the waterway in the southeastern sea. On the other hand, in Spain, the Han people could only wait and take the initiative to sail to Manila for trade.
It is clear at a glance who is superior and who is inferior. If the Dutch are obstructing it and making things difficult for Ming Dynasty merchants in the Taiwan Strait, in the long run, it can be said that Spain's situation will be very passive and disadvantageous.
So he took advantage of the fact that the Ming Dynasty was about to take back the Macau occupied by the Portuguese, and the Ming Dynasty's porcelain and silk prices were skyrocketing, and he joined forces with the two countries to muddy the waters.
Of course, it would be great if the Ming Dynasty could really be made to compromise and open up trade completely.
But in fact, the three countries all understand that the possibility of bringing this huge empire to its knees with just two to three hundred warships and tens of thousands of soldiers is very small. What is more likely is to completely ban merchants from going to sea.
As the Portuguese who were the first to come and knew the Ming Dynasty best, they also understood this point most thoroughly, so they did not hesitate to betray the two countries to please the Ming Dynasty, rather than follow the two countries to death, because they were worried that they would completely anger the empire in the end.
, resulting in no one making any profit in the future.
Although the Dutch also understand this, because they had just defeated Spain, they were flattered by European countries as the most powerful maritime empire, and their own strength also reached its peak during this period. It can be said that they are the most arrogant among the three countries. In addition,
You were the last to arrive and had the weakest understanding of the Ming Dynasty, so your ambitions were the greatest. You still fantasize about invading the Ming Dynasty. This is why you agreed to unite with Spain.
After all, compared to equal trade, direct robbery is the first choice for Europeans. If they cannot win or rob, they will fall back and choose fair trade.
And since the Dutch came to the Ming Dynasty, they have indeed never stopped.
For Spain, the best result of this three-nation alliance is to force the Ming Dynasty to trade. Now the Ming Dynasty has taken the initiative to open coastal ports, not only allowing Spanish warships and merchant ships to enter the port for direct trade, but also excluding the Netherlands. Naturally, it will not do it again.
This stupid thing of attacking the capital of the Ming Dynasty was also intended to sell out the Netherlands.
Although the Netherlands agreed to unite with Spain and Portugal to attack the Ming Dynasty and allowed the Spanish fleet to station on Dongfan Island, it also guarded against Spain taking the opportunity to make a sneak attack. Therefore, the fleets of the two countries did not anchor in the same port. The Netherlands only moved Shuangxi in the south of Dongfan Island.
The mouth was empty, and the fleet temporarily lent to the Spanish temporarily stationed.
Obviously, the two countries are very different from each other, and they are very worried about each other. The Netherlands is worried that Spain will not die and take the opportunity to launch a sneak attack on Dongfan Island.
Spain is also worried that the Netherlands will destroy their Far East fleet in the port.
After receiving Mason's order, the Spanish Far East Fleet immediately sailed out of Shuangxi Pass and returned to Manila on the pretext of civil strife among the indigenous people on Luzon Island.
This made the Dutch yell in anger, accusing Spain of slipping up at critical moments. Although they were unhappy, the natives on Luzon Island did rebel from time to time, and this plan was proposed by Spain, so they had no doubts.
Spain has another conspiracy.
It was only a month later that the Dutch found out that the Zheng family's envoy had actually been to Manila, and the Spanish Governor sent an envoy to Nanjing the next day. They immediately understood it. In addition, Zhu Cixi's edict had also reached Fujian, so where could it be found?
I didn’t know I was cheated by Spain and Portugal.
For a while, the Dutch also became anxious. Although the Dutch Governor's Palace was located in Jakarta, time was tight. The commander of the Dutch fleet on Dongfan Island had to choose to kill first and then report later. He hurriedly sent an envoy to Nanjing to request the establishment of diplomatic relations, while conveying the message.
Letter to the Governor of Jakarta.
When the Spanish envoy arrived in Nanjing, it was already May. Although Zhang Yan did not personally summon him, he sent the Minister of Rites to receive him and gave him the same treatment as the Portuguese.
Naturally, Spain agreed to all the terms for establishing diplomatic relations set out by the Ming Dynasty and promised to abide by them.
The Spanish envoy also arranged the Dutch in a big way. In the face of the Ming Dynasty's questioning, they blamed the entire fleet assembly on Dongfan Island on the Dutch.
However, the Dutch envoy was more than half a month late. As soon as the envoy arrived at the mouth of the Yangtze River and declared his home, the Nanjing Navy directly fired away and warned the Ming Dynasty that the Dutch were not welcome.
Seeing Ming's attitude, the Dutch envoy was furious, but there was nothing he could do.
In fact, at this time, if the Ming Dynasty chooses to negotiate and use trade as a threat, there is a high chance that the Dutch will be forced to withdraw from Dongfan Island.
But for the Dutch, not to mention Zhu Cihong, even Zhang Yan and all the civil and military officials were very disgusted and felt that they needed to be taught a lesson, so no one even reported defeating the enemy without fighting.
After the Dutch envoy returned to Dongfan Island holding back his anger, he learned that both Spain and Portugal had established diplomatic relations with the Ming Dynasty, and he was furious for a while.
But it didn't take long to discover that the Ming Navy on the other side was actively preparing for war. It didn't understand what Ming's intention was, and it was even more furious.
But after calming down, he had no choice but to send envoys to Fuzhou again to prepare for negotiations with the Zheng family while also actively preparing for war on Dongfan Island.
If the Zheng family doesn't negotiate, then they can wait until they defeat the Zheng family's fleet before negotiating with the Ming Dynasty. If the Ming Dynasty still refuses to establish diplomatic relations and trade with the Netherlands, then they will break the pot and directly rob the merchant ships. Everyone should stop playing.
.
They wanted to make this pedantic and stubborn empire understand what a stupid decision it was to exclude the Netherlands, the most powerful maritime empire in the world, from East-West trade.
They also wanted to let the Spanish and Portuguese know that if they wanted to exclude the Netherlands and eat alone, the consequences would be very serious.
No, the Dutch Governor of Jakarta was also completely angered and began to mobilize more warships to go to Dongfan Island.