China's second voyage to Europe was much larger in scale than the first voyage. This time, a total of fifteen ships were dispatched, including three main battleships, five auxiliary battleships, and one
Cruisers, two destroyers, three 2,000-ton auxiliary battleships, two 1,000-ton auxiliary battleships, and the remaining seven are 1,000-ton merchant ships, all carrying Chinese goods.
Because in this era, it is not easy for China to go to Europe. It takes a long time and is full of dangers. Therefore, it cannot miss every opportunity to sail to Europe and must try its best to carry out trade activities with Europe. So this
Naturally, I have to bring a large amount of goods with me when traveling.
Although nearly half of the ships in the fleet this time are basically not equipped with long-range combat capabilities at sea, in this era, the biggest danger when sailing to Europe is nature, not pirates, because after exiting the Strait of Malacca, from
India to the northwest coast of Africa are areas with extremely backward social development.
Residents and pirates in the area cannot pose any threat to China's fleet. The South China Sea has basically become China's territory, while northern Africa is Europe's sphere of influence. Therefore, there is no need to bring too many warships.
Leave space to store goods, even battleships and auxiliary battleships are loaded with some goods.
The national policy formulated by Shang Yi for China has gone all the way to the sea, but it is not a face-saving project to show off the country's prestige and pursue the coming of all countries to Korea. In addition to strengthening exchanges between the East and the West, it is to actually develop overseas trade. To put it bluntly, it is
To make money, every trip to Europe is an opportunity to actively trade with Europe. Of course, you must carry as much merchandise as possible. The purpose of establishing strongholds along the way is also to add relief points and reduce the number of ships that need to carry.
Food and water.
In addition, there were eight European ships accompanying the Chinese fleet, including three British ships, two Spanish ships, two Portuguese ships, and one French ship. Only one British ship was a official ship, and the rest were all merchant ships.
, also brought a large number of Chinese products.
It turns out that after various countries learned that China would send a fleet to Europe, they all contacted the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, hoping to form a joint fleet with Chinese ships and set sail together, so that they could communicate with each other during the voyage.
Having a backup plan can give you a little more protection whether you encounter pirates or stormy waves. Of course, China will not refuse such a request, so it finally formed a fleet of 23 ships to
A multinational fleet dominated by Chinese ships.
This fleet set off from the pier outside Jinchuanmen in Nanjing on the 22nd day of the lunar month in the fourth year of Hongxian's reign in the Chinese Empire (1653). On the day of departure, many people came to see them off, including the Chinese Embassy.
Most of the family members of the British Embassy staff came to see them off. Although some of the members who went to the UK this time were family members, this was just one
A small number, but most of the family members could not accompany them, and the term of the Chinese Embassy in the UK was five years at that time. Adding in the time spent traveling there, it would take almost seven or eight years to go back and forth.
We will be separated by vast oceans, and even letters will be difficult to communicate with. It is not an exaggeration to say that we are far apart, so when we set off, our family members will naturally come to see them off.
The Marquis Gonzalez and his wife, together with the staff of the Chinese Embassy in the UK, boarded an auxiliary warship. This was the only warship among the Chinese ships that did not carry goods, because all the luggage of all the personnel was packed in the cabin. It's full. I've been going to England for seven or eight years. Everyone brings a lot of luggage. The luggage of the Marquis Gonzalez and his wife alone is 42 large boxes.
However, before departure, the Marquis Gonzalez and his wife and the staff of the Chinese Embassy in the UK had entered the palace to bid farewell to Shang Yi. Therefore, during this voyage, neither Shang Yi nor Alessandra came to see him off, only Ministers of Foreign Affairs Li Gefei and Andre went to the pier to see each other off.
Everyone said goodbye to each other on the dock and shed tears. The departing people boarded the ship one after another. Each ship set sail and anchored, and went down the Yangtze River gradually away. After the fleet reached the mouth of the Yangtze River, it turned Heading south, he headed straight for Europe. Ten months later, he arrived in Europe, and China and Britain also formally established diplomatic relations as mutual ambassadors.
After returning to Europe, Marquis González also resigned from his official position and has since faded out of Spanish politics. He has devoted all his family's strength to business and trade and collecting art, and has used his family's special relationship with China. , vigorously developed trade with the East, which also greatly increased the financial resources of the Gonzalez family. Later, it became one of the richest families in Spain and even Europe. It also escaped several crises in Europe. The Si family has continued into modern society.
At the same time, although Marquis Gonzales never visited China again, the descendants of the Gonzales family sent people across the ocean many times to come to China for trade, and among the descendants, there were several The name settled in China, so the Gonzales family gradually spread out in China, forming a large family that blended the East and the West. After more than three hundred years, the Gonzales family will hold an East-West gathering every year to commemorate The development history of the family, as well as the governments of China and Spain, later also gave the Gonzalez family the title of Sino-Spanish non-governmental exchange ambassador.
However, all these things happened many years later. Of course, Shang Yi would not know now that his and Alexandra's cross-border marriage would have such a big impact on future generations. But the New Year is over, and Gang The Marquis de Sarres and his wife also left China and returned to Europe. There were still a lot of things in the country that had to be dealt with one by one.
The very next day, the cabinet formally launched a proposal to establish Luzon as a province to Congress.
After receiving the cabinet's proposal, Congress of course immediately started discussions, with intense discussions in both houses of Congress.
Of course, some congressmen sneered at the proposal to establish a province in Luzon. They upheld traditional moral concepts and believed that Luzon was not China's territory in the first place. Now China is forcing immigrants to establish a governor's palace in Luzon and occupy Luzon. , has gone too far, and now we want to establish a province in Luzon and fully integrate Luzon into the territory of China. It is obviously inconsistent with traditional Chinese moral concepts. Therefore, we oppose the establishment of a province in Luzon and advocate that Luzon be included in the territory of China. Return it to the local indigenous people to show China's tolerance and generosity.
On the surface, these congressmen's suggestions are against the establishment of the capital in Luzon, but in essence, they do not agree with the national policy established by Shang Yi to encourage the development of industry and commerce, fully go to the ocean, and strengthen overseas trade. Of course, at this time, any congressman No one dared to question the national policies established by Shang Yi, because businessmen had already achieved considerable political status, and industry and commerce had established China's basic industries.
But this view was immediately opposed by many people, because just before the New Year, when Shang Yi returned to China, the Governor of Luzon, Zhang Gengqiu, also organized a lobby group to follow Shang Yi back to China to conduct public relations. It promoted the idea of establishing Luzon as a province, so sufficient preparation was made in public opinion.
The first parliament of the empire was not composed of members from all provinces in the country, but most of them came from the southeastern coastal provinces. Behind most of the members, there was a background of the industrial and commercial class, and some of them were businessmen themselves. Merchants in coastal areas are inextricably linked to overseas trade, and in recent years, China has also proposed to protect the interests of overseas merchants and protect China's overseas trade, which has also given Chinese merchants a shot in the arm. Therefore, in The external attitude is also much tougher than before.
Moreover, businessmen attach great importance to interests. For them, the greater China's influence in Southeast Asia, the better, so that businessmen will be safer overseas. After all, many senior businessmen are frustrated by the difficulties of doing business overseas more than ten years ago. The experience of making things difficult for them is still fresh in their minds. Of course, they all know that establishing the province of Luzon will obviously play a major role in China's foreign trade and protect the interests of Chinese businessmen overseas. Therefore, a group of people in favor of Luzon have also formed. The power of public opinion for the establishment of a province is far greater than the opposition.
This power of public opinion naturally affected the emotions of many members of the House of Representatives. Therefore, after the discussion of the House of Representatives, the Congress immediately voted. In the end, both houses of the House of Representatives and the Senate passed the Luzon Convention with a majority vote. After the proposal was passed, the business community in Nanjing was full of joy, celebrating the successful establishment of Luzon as a province.
Of course, the voting result of the Congress also disappointed many people. Therefore, there are many voices criticizing the resolution of the Congress and even criticizing the cabinet for proposing this proposal. However, after the Congress votes, it becomes a government decree. No matter how much you oppose it at this time, It was useless, and the opposing voices were not mainstream, so the cabinet ignored these voices at all and immediately started to establish an administrative system in Luzon.
First, it was determined that the area of Luzon Province includes Luzon Island and its affiliated islands, Mindanao Island, Sulu Islands and Palawan Island, etc., and Luzon is divided into five prefectures and 13 counties. The capital is in Manila. Zhang Gengqiu was still appointed as the governor, and the first batch of local officials in Luzon Province were selected from among the Chinese who had settled in Luzon Island. Zhang Gengqiu submitted the list to the cabinet. Of course, Zhang Gengqiu was also required to rush to Nanjing immediately to receive the official seal and submit the official seal to the cabinet. Cabinet explains plans to establish administrative system in Luzon.
Of course, foreign affairs are not limited to the establishment of Luzon as a province. There is also the issue of the restoration and resettlement of the Erkha tribe in Outer Mongolia. As for the issue of handling the Erkha tribe, in fact, before the New Year, Shang Yi had already made a decision. Or adopt the alliance flag system established by the Qing court.
Therefore, after discussion, the cabinet also made a proposal to divide the Erkha region into the Tushetu Khan League, the Chechen Khan League, the Zasaktu Khan League, and the Sainnoyan League. Each alliance regarded China as the The master and demarcate his own grazing range, and must not cross the boundary without reason. Under each alliance, a number of flags are set up. Of course, the number of flags in the collective system is established. The personnel of each flag and the territory of each flag still have to negotiate with each alliance. Negotiate, but within each alliance, at least ten flags must be separated. After the alliance flag is established, each alliance flag will live in its own place and there will be no disputes.
Regarding the issue of resettlement of the Erkha tribe, there was not much controversy in Congress, so it was quickly passed by both houses of the House of Representatives and the Senate, and there was not much opposition. But in any case, after the Congress passed it, foreign affairs Mongolia and Luzon have also been officially incorporated into China's territory. In this way, China's territory at sea and on land has also been greatly expanded.
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