Ferdinand, is this really God's will? "The King of Spain loved God very much and was excited when he heard God's will.
"Of course," the cardinal said seriously, "the Lord of Creation is the master of all things. Without His will, it is impossible for China and Japan to go to war... This war is very likely to become a An opportunity for Catholicism to enter Japan, Korea, and the Qing Dynasty!”
"That's great!" Philip IV made the sign of the cross on his chest and smiled. "We should send Dominican missionaries to Japan immediately."
The King of Spain is still a hothead!
Cardinal Ferdinand was not stupid, and quickly stopped his stupid brother, "Your Majesty, now is not the time... We should first seek military cooperation with Japan and the Qing Dynasty. Wait until the war between them and the Ming Dynasty begins When it is difficult to resolve, then look for opportunities to spread Catholicism.”
Does it need to be that complicated?
The King of Spain ran out of ideas again and looked back at the Count-Duke of Olivares. Although the count-duke had a bad temper and a strong will, he also knew how to adapt. After thinking about it, he nodded and said: "Your Majesty, the cardinal's method is feasible... We have not defeated France and France yet." The rebels in the seven provinces also failed to defeat the German Protestant coalition. Therefore, we have no way to apply sufficient power to the east, and there is no way to force Japan and the Qing Dynasty to obey our will.
But I firmly believe that Spain, with the favor of God, will soon usher in a glorious victory... because God stands with us! "
The Cardinal Prince also nodded repeatedly: "Yes, God is with us! So we will definitely win, no matter how powerful the enemy is... In fact, our enemies are killing each other, this is God In bless Spain.”
"Then..." The King of Spain thought for a moment, "Who can go to the East to represent the Kingdom of Spain in diplomatic mediation with Japan and the Qing Dynasty?"
Count-Duke Olivares thought for a moment and recommended a candidate, "Your Majesty, I recommend Juan Cerezo de Salamanca. He was the previous governor of the Philippines. He is now at home... ....I still remember that the two reports he mentioned in August 1633 and August 1634 both focused on the ban on Catholicism in Japan. Obviously, he was very concerned about the Japanese issue, and he should be able to Successfully completed the mission.”
Count Olivares, the man recommended by the Duke, was the temporary governor of the Philippines until the arrival of Coquilla. De Salamanca's predecessor died in Manila, and before the successor chosen by the King of Spain could arrive, he He served as governor of the Philippines for two years, and left the Philippines after Coquilla took office, took a sailing ship to New Spain, and then transferred to a sailing ship in New Spain to return to the Spanish mainland.
"Very good, let him go to Japan and the Qing Dynasty..." The King of Spain asked again, "What conditions should we give?"
"We can first provide weapons and equipment and military advisors to Japan," the cardinal suggested. "If necessary, we can also sell several armed Galen ships to Japan and help them develop their navy."
"Your Highness, Cardinal," Count-Duke Olivares seemed a little worried, "Aren't you worried that the Japanese will develop the ability to sail across the ocean, thereby threatening the security of New Spain?"
"Of course I'm worried," said the Cardinal Prince, "but I'm more worried about China... China is actively developing its navy! And China has more advantages than Japan in this regard! They have more sailors and more Strong shipbuilding capabilities and a larger population base.
Once they gained the ability to sail long distances and built a powerful navy... New Spain would be in great danger. And if Japan also has a considerable navy, then China and Japan will be involved in each other, making it difficult to get out of Asia. "
This cardinal is indeed much more capable than his idiot brother. At least he can read a map - otherwise he wouldn't be able to command the Army of Flanders!
A cardinal who can read a map certainly knows that the way from China to the New World must pass through Japan... Therefore, the Ming Dynasty could not conquer the Americas before conquering Japan.
"Maybe they will unite." Count-Duke Olivares added, "If they unite, they will become our nightmare!"
The Governor-General of India shook his head, "As far as I know, it is difficult for China and Japan to unite... because they both want to be the center of Eastern civilization! Japan even used sea bans and national isolation to counter China's influence in Eastern civilization. Leadership.”
Most people in later generations believe that Japan's seclusion was learned from China. In fact, Japan has a much longer history of seclusion and maritime embargo. After the fall of the Tang Dynasty, Japan stopped sending envoys to the Tang Dynasty and began to implement a maritime embargo, strictly restricting merchant ships from China and North Korea. Going to Japan for trade - During the Song Dynasty, merchant ships going to Japan for trade even had to pay tribute...
Official exchanges between Japan and the Song Dynasty were almost interrupted due to Japan's "lockdown". That is to say, there was only a little contact during the era of the Ping Dynasty.
But now that the Ming Dynasty has opened its doors and even started planning to send missions to Europe, the official communication channels between China and Japan are still closed.
The credentials of the Ming Dynasty brought to Japan by Zheng Zhilong also disappeared without any reply.
After the news that the Ming Dynasty and the Netherlands had conquered Luzon Island reached Japan, Tokugawa Iemitsu felt extremely annoyed and worried.
The reason why Tokugawa Iemitsu was angry was that the Tokugawa shogunate had been maintaining secret contacts with the Yamada Party - Tokugawa Iemitsu also coveted the territory of Luzon Island. Just because of the power of Spain and the decline of Japan's navigation ability, they did not dare to take action rashly. Unexpectedly, Ming Dynasty actually poached Japan's corners and won over the Yamada Party!
The reason that worried him was that Holland and Daming actually came together!
In today's seas of East Asia and Southeast Asia, the Ming Dynasty has the largest shipping capacity, while the Netherlands has the strongest naval strength.
If the Ming Dynasty and the Netherlands jointly invaded Japan, it would be impossible for the Tokugawa Shogunate to defend the enemy at sea. As for the kamikaze, it is unreliable, because the navigation capabilities of the Dutch and Chinese maritime merchants are not the same as the Yuan Dynasty navy.
Therefore, as long as the Ming Dynasty and the Netherlands join forces to invade, the Tokugawa shogunate will encounter a huge governance crisis.
"Gongfangdian, the best way to fight against the maritime threats from the Ming Kingdom and the Netherlands is to establish a strong shogunate navy! And until the shogunate has a strong navy, Japan should continue to let the Netherlands and the Ming Kingdom go Merchant ships enter the harbor to avoid a complete break.”
The person advising Tokugawa Iemitsu in Shippo Nobuno was Matsudaira Nobutsuna. This general of the Tokugawa family had just returned from the Korean battlefield - he was urgently recalled by Tokugawa Iemitsu because news of the Battle of Luzon spread back to Japan.
"Perhaps we can negotiate peace with the Ming Dynasty... Now we have some bargaining chips in our hands." The elder Tadakatsu Sakai also put forward a more stable suggestion, "As long as Japan can retain its occupation on the southern coast of Korea territory, there should be a truce to avoid a complete break.”
"How to avoid a break?" Matsudaira Nobutsuna asked, "Are we going to surrender to the Ming Dynasty and let Gongfangdian be the king of Japan canonized by the Ming Emperor?"
"Didn't Ashikaga Shogun accept such a title?" Sakai Tadakatsu said, "It's just a name and has no impact on the rule of the shogunate."
"That's because the Ming Dynasty at that time had no navigation capabilities!" Matsudaira Nobutsuna said, "The situation is different now... Once the Ming Dynasty becomes the suzerain, they will send people to Japan every three days, and they will also ask us Give them trade privileges! Maybe even support the powerful southwestern vassal with ulterior motives!
Therefore, there is only one way to deal with the Ming and Dutch navies, which is to establish a shogunate navy and use battleships against battleships! "
Tokugawa Iemitsu obviously supports Nobutsuna, but he cannot rashly support Nobutsuna, because establishing a navy is not easy!
(End of chapter)
