It turns out that it was the Ming Dynasty that was trying to contain France! No, it is to contain the West!
The Brussels statement of France and the Netherlands is just a preemptive strike, pretending to represent the European powers to scare the heavenly countries in the east.
If Zhu Cihong was intimidated by France and the Netherlands and sent people to Europe to explain to France and the Netherlands that he had no intention of invading India, France and the Netherlands could further claim that the Indian Ocean was the Western sphere of influence.
If Emperor Zhu was angered by the rude actions of France and the Netherlands and sent troops to the Indian Ocean, France and the Netherlands would not be afraid. Because France and the Netherlands have certain advantages on the sea in the Indian Ocean, and the Dashun Empire has advantages on the land along the coast of the Indian Ocean.
The Ming Empire, which sent troops all the way through the Strait of Malacca, would inevitably be at a disadvantage both on land and sea, and it would be difficult to win no matter how hard it fought.
If the Chinese Empire is defeated by France and the Netherlands in the Indian Ocean, then France and the Netherlands will gain great prestige - of course, the Dutch are not interested in such false fame, but the Sun King Louis XIV does not think so. The big brother who takes the lead in Christian civilization considers himself the leader.
Of course, as long as there is a war, there is no sure win. But the French have nothing to fear. They have nothing in the Indian Ocean, and they are not afraid of losing... As long as they can gain a strong vote on the Indian territory, they will not lose money.
Once the Ming Dynasty wins in the Indian Ocean, it will have to exploit India to get back its capital - looking at Zhu Cixiang's actions over the past 20 years, we know that it is impossible for him to help the Indians for free, and Princess Nisha and her dowry are obviously not It is worthy of Emperor Zhu to mobilize troops and mobilize people.
Therefore, after Emperor Zhu finishes conquering the Indian Ocean, he will definitely find ways to make money. At that time, Ming Dynasty will conflict with the three Tianfang religious powers of Tianzhu Timur, Persia, and Ottoman... France and the Netherlands can also make money from it. profit!
"Father," Ding Yuying thought for a while and asked, "How should we deal with the two Western countries, France and the Netherlands?"
Zhu Cixiang smiled and said: "Yuying, it's not about coping, it's about containing! We must first correct our position, and then we can come up with corresponding countermeasures. The most powerful country in the world today is the Ming Dynasty, not France and the Netherlands in Europe, so We must keep our number one position in the world. And how did we become number one in the world? Do you know?"
"My daughter-in-law knows something," Ding Yuying said, "Our Ming Dynasty has a vast territory and a large population...the land and population are larger than the whole of Europe. France and the Netherlands are just small countries compared to us. .”
Zhu Cixiang nodded, "France and the Netherlands are indeed small countries, but they are not weak...they can indeed fight with us. But if they want to overwhelm us in the world, they don't need to travel all the way to the Strait of Malacca. To fight the war from the east, we only need to eat enough land and population to reach a level comparable to ours in size.
There is land in the New World! The land of the New World is much larger than the mainland of our Ming Dynasty. It is rich and vast, and it is a land given by God.
And to seize a large enough population...it has to go to India! Only when there is a population can there be production and taxation! Princess Nisha, can you tell me how much tax the Timur Empire in Tianzhu receives? "
"One hundred and fifty to twenty million rupees," Princess Nisha said, "which is about sixty to seventy million taels of silver, which is more than the tax of the entire Europe plus one dollar!"
Zhu Cixiang added: "The 150 to 200 million rupees are not money dug out of the ground, but the taxes brought by real production, which is the same as our Ming Dynasty!"
Silver dug out of the ground has no production support and is not real wealth, but just stones. Only with production can money have corresponding purchasing power. And production in this era is linked to population... Industrialization has not yet arrived, and the productivity of handicrafts and agriculture is similar in the East and the West. So the size advantage is huge!
Ming Dynasty can easily reach the top of the world because its economy is large enough. The value of India is also due to its large size.
If Ming Dynasty wanted to contain France and other Western countries, it could not let them seize India. As long as they cannot get India, no country in the West will be able to challenge the Chinese Empire before the Industrial Revolution.
As for the Industrial Revolution... Ming Dynasty and the West were basically on the same starting line. Ming Dynasty's market and resources were larger than those of Europe, so there was no reason to lose. And historically, the UK was one step ahead in the Industrial Revolution, largely because of the cornucopia of India!
So Zhu Cixiang’s current policy is to contain the West! It is containment, not conquest, nor treating the West as a colony! But rather than allowing them to develop well.
"Your Majesty, dinner is ready." Sister Cao appeared in the cabin again at this time, interrupting the ongoing state activities.
Zhu Cixiang waved his hand and said with a smile: "Let's eat! Yuying, Ah Huan, Nisha, let's have something together... Tomorrow night, we can go back to Laoshan Palace."
...
While Emperor Zhu was having dinner on the ship, his two sons, Zhu Hexing and Zhu Hehao, were walking around in the military camp with their hands behind their backs. These military households (formerly Dashun Prefecture military households) who followed the two of them on foot all the way from Sichuan are now divided into units of one hundred households and sit around the field pots and stoves to eat.
What they ate was rice, broth, and pickles, which was not very good, but it also allowed these soldiers who came from the Land of Abundance to see the strong financial resources of the Ming Empire! The people who had been traveling all day were also hungry, and everyone devoured the food. It was delicious.
The two brothers of the Zhu family are both professional officers and may not be as good at other things, but they are good at leading troops. They can get along with these military households and share the joys and sorrows with them. Along the way, we have indeed built up our prestige.
Especially some young military households, they don’t know what the virtues of the Ming Dynasty were like back then, but now they see a prince or a prince traveling together with military households like them, eating together, eating the same food, and still being so approachable. Everyone felt that they had been deceived - how could the emperor, prince and prince of the Zhu family be so incompetent? They all clearly have the demeanor of famous generals from ancient times! No wonder Dashun couldn't beat him... He didn't lose unjustly!
After patrolling around the military camp, the brothers arrived at their eating place, which was among Zhu Hehao's female guards. The food was still rice, broth, and pickles. The brothers and a group of little girls ate the same things. There was no difference. They were all cooked in the same pot.
Moreover, they all prepare and eat by themselves, and wash the tableware themselves after eating... These are all habits developed in the martial arts hall, and they have not yet gotten rid of them.
After washing the dishes, the two brothers started chatting inside the tent.
"Brother, what do you mean by our father? Why do you call Old Fifteen Ah San and also name him He Dian?" Zhu Hexing looked confused.
The local tyrant king didn't understand either. How did he know the meaning of "Ah San"? I don’t know that the word “嶶” in He Dian comes from the word Xin in “Sing”.
"Third brother," Zhu Hehao comforted his brother and said, "our father has no other intentions...he will not replace you, otherwise why would he put so much effort into cultivating Yuying? Who doesn't know what he means to him?" Princess Yuying is very satisfied?"
"That's right... Yuying is pretty good." Zhu Hexing nodded and didn't think there was anything wrong - in fact, he himself was very satisfied with Ding Yuying.
Zhu Hehao said again: "Lao San, you don't have to worry about Ah San's little baby. He is not the legitimate son, and he is half Hu people. He will be a principality monarch in the future. Wasn't the young man favored by our father back then? Now, so what? His mother is no longer favored, so isn’t he also cold? "
Zhu Hexing sighed: "Yes! Our mothers have been fighting for more than 20 years, but we ended up sitting on the bench together. Our father, everything else is fine, but he is too perverted... I must It’s with our grandpa.”
As he spoke, Zhu Hexing glanced at Zhu Hehao, and suddenly smiled and said, "Follow them!"
Zhu Hehao laughed: "Third brother, how about my brother introduce you to a younger one?"
Zhu Hexing looked disdainful: "I don't want it! I just like Yuying!"
Zhu Hehao nodded and said with a smile: "I know you are dedicated... Okay, I'll ask you to do something for me. When I go back, I'll leave the country. Your sisters-in-law, A Huan, A Hai, and my fat son ( Zhu Yipu has been born, and the biological mother is Wu Ahuan), so I will ask you to take care of her."
Zhu Hexing seemed to be surprised when he heard this, "Brother, are you really going to Xinzhou Continent? Don't wait until Ahai gives birth to the child?"
