In this era, traveling from China to Europe is definitely a difficult and dangerous journey.
No one can guarantee that we will be able to reach Europe smoothly.
Even Europeans who have traveled all over the world can only leave their fate to God every time they go to sea.
Wind, waves, pirates, disease, etc. are all unpredictable dangers.
Therefore, the Xia Kingdom's diplomatic mission was fully prepared. Not only were there four third-level battleships to escort them, but the rest of the merchant ships were also fully armed.
The size of this fleet is such that it can fight against the navies of other countries on the sea.
Of course, for Xia people, the biggest difficulty in this trip is actually the unfamiliar route.
No one has been to Europe, and no one has any information about the sea conditions outside the South China Sea.
Fortunately, the diplomatic team would arrive in Batavia first, meet up with the Dutch East India Company's team returning to the mainland, and then set off together.
The Dutch are the kings of the sea in this era. With them leading the way, risks can be greatly reduced.
This time I am traveling to Europe, no one is sure when I will be able to go there next time. Therefore, many arrangements can only be completed in a hurry.
As the commander-in-chief, from the perspective of national interests, Zuo Menggeng is most concerned about the changes in the situation in Europe.
In his eyes, the most important thing is Britain.
The British bourgeois revolution was an extremely important event in human history.
Because through this revolution, an empire on which the sun never sets has been created that has dominated the earth for more than two hundred years.
It is conceivable that if the British bourgeois revolution is allowed to develop according to the process of its previous life, Britain will inevitably become China's number one enemy in the future.
Zuo Menggeng is familiar with historical materials.
Starting last year, the conflict between the British King Charles I and the Parliament completely broke out.
The two sides have lost all basis for negotiation and peace, and can only solve problems through war.
Not surprisingly, next August Charles I will raise the military flag at Nottingham Castle and declare war on Parliament.
Just two years later, Charles I would lose the initiative in the war and become a prisoner.
From the perspective of the historical process of mankind, the victory of parliament has huge progressive significance.
But from the standpoint of the Xia Kingdom, the decadent and backward British king was the best.
Therefore, Zuo Mengeng gave important instructions to Liao Zhongjian.
After arriving in Europe, you must find a way to intervene in the British Civil War, and it is best to provide the necessary support to the king's side.
I believe that the top weapons and equipment produced by the Xia Kingdom will greatly enhance the strength of the king's side.
At the same time, Liao Zhongjian also had to find a way to convince the Dutch senior officials to let them see the consequences of the British parliament's victory.
Aren’t the Angsa people very good at playing offshore island politics, standing in the distance and provoking land countries to fight against each other, and then reaping the benefits?
This time Zuo Mengeng planned to do the opposite, confuse the countries on the European continent, and in turn interfere in the internal situation of the United Kingdom.
If he could interrupt the process of the British bourgeois revolution, he would laugh out of his dreams.
Zuo Mengeng remembered that in this English Civil War, Scotland also participated in the war as a supporter of the king and suffered a disastrous defeat.
Since Scotland likes to fight for independence so much, it should work hard to make the British Islands more lively.
"Dear Liao, please be sure to give these gifts to my uncle. With his help, your actions in Europe will be smoother."
Traup, the Dutch ambassador to Xia, also came to see the diplomatic corps off.
He also prepared generous gifts for his uncle Marton Troupe, all of which were top-notch specialties from China and priceless treasures in Europe.
In the Battle of the Downs two years ago, the Dutch fleet led by Marton Troup defeated the Spanish.
After this battle, the Spanish completely lost their position as maritime hegemony.
With this victory, Marton Traup became famous in the Netherlands and had unparalleled influence.
Traup was ambitious and naturally was not willing to just serve as the Dutch ambassador to France. Even though he earned a huge amount of wealth through this position, he still wanted to take a step closer in the political field.
And his uncle Marton Troup is the best leader.
"Mr. Ambassador, I will also report your outstanding work in the Xia Kingdom in detail to the rulers of your country. I believe that your political achievements will definitely be praised by people."
Seeing that Liao Zhongjian understood what he meant, Traup was overjoyed. Since then, he has become the most famous representative of the pro-China faction in the Netherlands.
The diplomatic mission set off.
In Songjiang Prefecture, there are still more than twenty merchant ships waiting.
Xu Erjue was also appointed by Zuo Menggeng as the commercial representative of this trip, with full authority to handle all commercial transactions along the way.
Zuo Mengeng is looking forward to the impact this huge mission will have after arriving in Europe.
However, the current domestic war situation in China is even more disturbing.
After capturing Luoyang, Li Zicheng did not stop.
He learned that the defenses of Kaifeng, the capital of Henan Province, were empty, and immediately led his elite troops to rush towards it.
Unfortunately, with the lessons learned from Luoyang, the civil and military forces of the Ming Dynasty in Kaifeng were fully prepared.
The king of Zhou was also frightened, fearing that he would be thrown into the frying pan like King Fu, so he spent a lot of money and labor.
The Kaifeng defenders worked together and gave Li Zicheng a tragic defeat. Even one of Li Zicheng's eyes was shot out during the attack.
However, the situation in Henan has not improved much.
In order to eliminate Li Zicheng, the Ming court appointed Fu Zonglong as the new governor, hoping to open up the situation. Unexpectedly, Fu Zonglong ran away and did not want to be buried with the Ming Dynasty.
The Ming court had no choice but to let Yang Wenyue, the governor of Baoding, command all the troops to fight against Li Zicheng.
Yang Wenyue's talents were far inferior to Fu Zonglong's, and his experience was even worse than that of Fu Zonglong in the original time and space.
In the battle of Xiangcheng, Yang Wenyue's entire army was wiped out and he himself became a prisoner.
He did not have the integrity of Fu Zonglong. After being brought to the gate of Xiangcheng, he became a traitor and ordered the Xiangcheng defenders to surrender in Kaicheng.
As a result, he was shot to death by an arrow from the defenders, leaving him without even a posthumous reputation.
When Yang Wenyue died, the Ming court was completely paralyzed.
After thinking about it, I found the head of Wang Qionian, the governor of Shaanxi Province. He ordered Wang Qionian to immediately lead his army eastward out of Tongguan to quell the rogue bandits in the Central Plains.
Wang Qiaonian is indeed a sincere person.
After receiving the order, he immediately spread the message everywhere and mobilized troops to form an army.
But when all the soldiers and horses arrived in Xi'an, everyone was stunned.
After searching all over Shaanxi, only 30,000 soldiers and horses could be gathered, and they were all old, weak, sick and disabled.
Even if Wang Qiaonian didn't understand the art of military formation, looking at such a military appearance, he knew that fighting Li Zicheng would never bring good results.
When people are in chaos, everything is lost.
Wang Qiaonian thought about it over and over, and unexpectedly came up with a ridiculous solution.
He planned to secretly order Mizhi County Magistrate Bianshou to dig up Li Zicheng's ancestral grave, hoping to destroy Li Zicheng's feng shui.
"Master Wang, the behavior of such a trapped beast can only make people laugh. Do you really think that this Ming Dynasty can be saved?"
What Wang Qiaonian didn't expect was that Bian Dashou did not carry out his order. Instead, he secretly came to Xi'an and brought people from Xia State with him.