"Grand Military Advisor? Is he a military strategist? The Ming Empire seems to have this position as well. He seems to be the emperor's chief military minister."
"No, no, the Dashun Empire's military advisor is not a military strategist. He is responsible for... astrology, divination, curses, etc. It is said that when Wuhua Mountain is haunted, he is also asked to solve it."
"Oh, then he is not the chief military minister, but the archmage!"
"Yes, yes, it should be translated as Archmage!"
In the Li Government Hotel in Kunming, French Ambassador Fouquet and Dutch Ambassador Bruce Van Diemen were preparing for the upcoming diplomatic negotiations - they had to negotiate in Kunming first, and then Dashun's mission went to Europe and Louis XIV and John de Witt negotiated and finally finalized the treaty.
Before the formal negotiations began, Fouquet and Bruce of course had to find out the identity of Song Xiance, the envoy sent by Dashun.
The position of military advisor was also available in the Ming Dynasty, and people like Wu Sanfu, Li Yan, and Yan Yingyuan had all held it. This position was equivalent to the Chief of General Staff in later generations, and the Generalissimo's Mansion where the military advisor worked was equivalent to the General Staff. However, Dashun's military advisor does not serve as the chief of general staff, and there is no yamen of the Grand Marshal's Office or Military Advisor's Office in Dashun that handles the affairs of the general staff. Important military and state affairs in Dashun were decided by the Council of Political Kings, and orders were issued by the military government.
Although Song Xiance, the military advisor, could also participate in the meetings of the political kings, his job was still a "mage". He could tell fortunes and feng shui, and sometimes he could recite spells and draw talismans to catch ghosts. He must have some magic!
Fouquet didn't find it too strange that the Master was involved in politics. His old boss was a cardinal, who was not much different from the Master. Moreover, Fouquet himself was also a believer in gods, and he was also very keen on divination and astrology.
"Then what does Deputy Ambassador Gu do?" Fouquet then asked.
"He's in charge of trade," replied Bruce. "He was Chancellor of the Exchequer and now he's in charge of trade."
After Gu Junen returned from Chongqing, his official position became the Minister of Household Government, and he also managed the stall of the Trade Department. This time Li Jicheng asked him to work with Song Xiance to negotiate with Westerners.
However, these two old men were not the real stewards of the envoys. The real stewards were Song Xiance's son Song Yaowen and Luo Hu's son Luo Ke.
These two are the ministers of the Western Affairs Office and the Navy Office appointed by Li Jicheng. The other Dashun veterans who have signed up to go to the West for a stroll will at most have a minister or doctor who doesn't care...
Fouquet thought for a while and asked: "Bruce, do you think the Dashun Congress will make any demands on trade issues?"
Bruce shook his head and smiled: "It doesn't matter... No matter what request they make, we can agree to it."
Fouquet was stunned, "Why?"
Bruce smiled and said: "Because Dashun is different from Daming... Daming is a strong industrial and commercial country, so they will demand free trade. But Dashun does not have developed industry and commerce, and there is not much money. They can neither export anything, They can’t afford anything. Dashun is just a poor military power, and they just want to rob!”
Fouquet smiled self-deprecatingly: "To put it this way, Dashun is quite similar to us in France..."
The first purpose of France's intervention in India was to contain the Ming Dynasty - but this was not the main purpose, but a high-sounding reason. France needed to use this reason to appease Britain, win over the Netherlands, and unite Portugal and Spain (because Spain's territories in the New World were threatened by the Ming Dynasty). In this way, Louis XIV could barely maintain his status as the big brother in Europe.
The second purpose is to grab money, which is the most important!
Louis XIV's hegemony in Europe was very expensive!
In order to win over the Netherlands, he cannot unscrupulously extort Dutch profiteers, and he must also open the market to profiteers. The attack and occupation of the Spanish Netherlands, France-Conté, Lorraine and other places was also a project that required continuous spending of money. He had to maintain a large army, but he also had no way to immediately generate large amounts of revenue from an area that had just been ravaged by war.
At the same time, the relatively quiet "Puritan Britain" in recent years took advantage of France's anti-Ming sentiment to lure a group of Ming businessmen in France, led by Sinou Bank, to the UK. This also allowed Britain to occupy an increasing share of Ming-European trade. Although it did not squeeze out the Netherlands' position, it took away the market share of French merchants who had no competitiveness in the first place.
So France, which looks beautiful on the surface, is encountering serious financial difficulties!
To alleviate the huge financial pressure, relying on French industry and commerce cannot quench the thirst. It seems impossible for the great Sun King to save money. How could the Sun King not spend money?
The only way left is, of course, to rob. No, we can’t say rob, but to help other countries collect taxes... And looking around the world, the only person France can help is India!
Fouquet thought for a while and then asked: "Bruce, do you think the Dashun Kingdom is willing to cause big trouble like the Timur Empire?"
The purpose of the French and Dutch to bring the Dashun Empire into the game was, of course, to use Dashun to deal with the Timur Empire.
Because France and the Netherlands can invest thousands of troops in India if they are to die, which is enough to deal with small countries such as Malabar, Coromandel, Golconda, and Bijapur. But it would be a dream to defeat the Timurid Empire with an army of two to three million people!
Therefore, the Dutch's financial solution plan for Louis XIV was to use Dashun to attack Timur and attract the attention of Timur's empire to Bengal.
Then they themselves could use troops against the coasts of Malabar, Coromandel, Golconda, Bijapur, etc. Through limited war, these Indian states were forced to hand over some management rights of ports and foreign trade.
In this way, France could help the Indians collect taxes...and the Netherlands could monopolize trade in the southern coastal areas of India, thereby making huge profits.
"I think they will be willing!" Dutchman Bruce said with a smile, "because this is actually a good deal for them."
"Is it possible for them to occupy Bengal?" Fouquet asked.
"This is more difficult," Bruce shook his head, "but they can grab a lot of things. Bangladesh is a great place with great wealth!
In the next few years, 1 million, maybe 1.5 million warriors and family members of the Dashun Dynasty will enter Myanmar! It is simply impossible to feed so many people with the little farmland in Myanmar. Sending troops to Bangladesh will be the only option! "
If Myanmar is developed, it will certainly be able to feed so many people. But the problem is that it takes time to develop Myanmar! And hundreds of thousands of people need at least 4 to 5 million shi of rice a year!
How much can Myanmar supply? You may not even get half of it! Where can I find a gap of two to three million stones? There is only Bangladesh with dense population and fully developed land!
So Dashun had no choice but to fall into the arms of France and the Netherlands.
In order to defend the sacred land of Bengal, the Timurid Empire had no choice but to give up control of southern India...so that France and the Netherlands could take advantage of it!
...
"Your Majesty, only food from Bangladesh can feed the soldiers who go south to Burma!"
"It is not easy to develop Myanmar, so it will take at least 10 years before it can be self-sufficient!"
"But the Timur Empire is not easy to fight! That Aurangzeb has many warriors from the Western Regions who are very capable of fighting!"
"Your Majesty, we are now a bit like the Tatars who invaded the Central Plains repeatedly. We can't do it without robbing them!"
"Your Majesty, I heard that the Tatars once negotiated with Can Ming..."
On Wuhua Mountain, several of Li Jicheng's confidants, Song Yaowen, Luo Ke, Gao Yidao, Niu Quan, and Gu Conglong, were making suggestions for him.
"Conglong," Li Jicheng looked at a short, fat man in his thirties and asked with a frown, "Do you mean to ask Timur's empire to give you a year-old coin?"
The short fat man was Gu Conglong, Gu Jun's son. He was the official in charge of Sha Lian trade and knew the situation in Bangladesh relatively well.
He nodded and said: "Your Majesty, you must ask Aurangzeb to give us at least 2 million stones of rice a year! If he can agree, our life in Myanmar will be easier!"
