"I, Batavia, are willing to dispatch twenty warships and a thousand domestic soldiers to assist the Celestial Empire in recovering Goa."
After the Dutch Governor of Batavia, Albuquerque, visited the capital of the Ming Dynasty, he was even more willing to contribute to the Ming Dynasty. He also knew that the Ming Dynasty was now invincible. He, the Netherlands, could only obtain the greatest benefits by being its best younger brother. Therefore, He had made up his mind to dispatch thousands of troops and dozens of warships to assist the Ming Dynasty in regaining Goa.
In addition, he also wanted to take this opportunity to show his strength to Daming, so that Daming would feel that he was a younger brother worth cooperating with.
Cloner of Spain was very horrified when he heard what Albuquerque said. He did not expect that the Netherlands had such strong strength.
You must know that Spain only has two Manila galleons in Manila. Although their galleons are more than 500 tons, they cannot compare with the current Netherlands.
Kroner even felt that the Netherlands was bragging. Except for a super empire like the Ming Dynasty, who could dispatch dozens of warships at once?
But Kroner couldn't believe it. He felt that Abu Kui would not lie in front of His Majesty the Ming Emperor and give the Ming Empire a reason to deal with him.
In fact, due to its economic recession and involvement in the Thirty Years' War in Europe, Spain has indeed begun to lag behind the newly emerging Netherlands in terms of overseas colonial expansion.
Although the Netherlands has a small territory, it is currently expanding rapidly overseas and is the main player in grabbing colonies everywhere.
Otherwise, they would not have fought with Portugal for Haojing a few years ago, and tried to occupy Penghu in the Ming Dynasty, but were later driven away by the Ming army and transferred to Taiwan.
Although the Netherlands has lost its colony in Taiwan, its East India Company headquarters in Batavia is still there, and it is still the strongest force in the Western world.
Kroner had to admit that his Spain really seemed unable to compare with the Netherlands.
But Kroner also didn't want to be compared to the Dutch in front of the Ming Emperor, which would make the Ming Empire feel that they were not a country worth cooperating with among the Western countries. As a result, they would be despised by the Ming Emperor, and even let the Netherlands despise Spain.
"Very good! It's the Netherlands after all. I was not disappointed."
Zhu Youxiao nodded after hearing what Abu Kui said.
Then, Zhu Youxiao asked Kroner: "How many troops and warships does Spain plan to dispatch?"
Kroner didn't answer.
Zhu Youxiao's face turned down because of this: "Huh?!"
For a moment, Kroner didn't know what to do.
He also wanted to directly say that he would send more than 20 warships and thousands of domestic soldiers to participate in the war.
However, he had to admit that his Manila did not yet have this strength.
Seeing that Kroner had not expressed his intention to send out any number of troops to the Ming Emperor for a long time, Albuquerque smiled proudly. He knew that Spain's military strength in Manila was definitely not as good as the Dutch's military strength in Batavia. Otherwise, Kroner would not Silence for so long.
"Perhaps after establishing a trade partnership with the Ming Dynasty, the Netherlands can strive for the Ming Empire not to interfere in the affairs between the Netherlands and Spain. At that time, the Netherlands can directly annex Manila, Spain, and then realize the expansion of the entire eastern route. The purpose of these merchant ships is only that of our Dutch merchant ships!"
Abu Kui thought to himself.
Zhu Youxiao naturally saw Kroner's dilemma.
But he didn't expose it, he just stood up pretending to be angry, waved his sleeves and said: "Retreat from the court!"
As a result, the courtiers of the Ming Dynasty began to shout, "I will retire."
Kroner and others had no choice but to retreat.
In fact, it wasn't just Kroner who was surprised by Holland's display of quality.
The central ministers of the Ming Dynasty were also surprised by the strength shown by Holland.
And, not just for the Netherlands.
In the past, the Westerners that the Ming Dynasty came into contact with were missionaries. Missionaries were people sent by the church and in the cultural field. They did not know much about the military and politics of their own country and had no interest in revealing it to the Ming Dynasty court.
And now is the first time that senior officials from Western countries have come to the capital of the Ming Dynasty to communicate with the emperor and central ministers of the Ming Dynasty.
Coupled with the guidance and questioning of Emperor Zhu Youxiao.
Only then did the civil servants of the Ming Dynasty learn more about the fact that the Western countries had such a small land area, but they dominated and plundered wealth in so many places around the world.
Especially when the emperor took the Hanlin Academy's newly revised "Comprehensive Map of the Kingdom of Kunyu" and asked Abu Kui and Kroner about some Western affairs, they stood aside and felt more directly that the area and population of a native country were far smaller than that of the Hanlin Academy. The Western countries of the Ming Dynasty could actually occupy so many maritime interests!
This was a big shock to many civil servants in the Ming Dynasty, especially those from inland gentry.
After returning home, Yuan Keli said to his good friend Jiang Dejing, the right minister of the Ministry of Rites: "A small Western country with an area far smaller than the Chief Secretary of our dynasty, and an even smaller population can actually span the world, even tens of thousands of miles away, than our Ming Dynasty. There are thousands of troops and dozens of warships deployed nearby, and they also control global shipping routes. The key is that there are more than one Western countries like this. This is really incredible! If he hadn’t seen it with his own eyes and heard it, Yuan would really not have known it. I dare to believe that compared with these, fighting Fang Congzhe does seem a bit petty! No wonder His Majesty did not let us focus on fighting Fang Congzhe, and no wonder His Majesty and Mr. Xu Ge, who knows the Western Fan best, did not pay attention to the situation in the court. They take disputes seriously, but only care about the number of warships, the size of the navy, and the power of artillery. This is because they have never taken the Donglin Party, Fang Party, and Liaodong Military Town seriously. It is because Yuan has limited knowledge. !”
Then, Yuan Keli smiled at Jiang Dejing and said: "Chiang Gong once advised his servants to open their eyes and see the world, and not just limit themselves to China. At that time, Yuan said that the peace of China would bring peace to the world. Now it seems that my servants cannot see as far as you Fujian people. Ah! If I hadn’t learned about the affairs of the Western countries from the mouths of these two Western governors this time, and if the imperial court had not already experienced the income brought by the great sea trade, my servant would really have continued to be ignorant."
Yuan Keli now began to take the initiative to realize that his previous situation was small.
"The elder's words are too self-effacing. Although Xianguan is from Fujian, has dealt with Western countries, and has some knowledge of Western culture, this is the first time he knows that these small Western countries can develop such a trend through sea trade. Now that I think about it, His Majesty is still the Holy Ming Zhuzhao. It seems that he has known the differences between the Western countries for a long time, and now I want to learn more about it in detail. I am really surprised by how powerful His Majesty is today."
Jiang Dejing replied.
Yuan Keli nodded: "Your Majesty's power is indeed difficult to predict. Perhaps the emperor can really understand the gods now. Since he came to the throne, he has been different from ordinary emperors. Now there are various signs that it does not seem that we are guiding him. Your Majesty has become a better king, and Your Majesty is leading us to become better ministers."
Jiang Dejing laughed after hearing this: "That's exactly what I said! In the opinion of the following officials, Yuan Fu is now in charge of the cabinet, and his achievements in national affairs are far greater than those of Zhang Jiangling in the past. This is not because Yuan Fu is really talented as a prime minister now, but because Your Majesty taught me well."
"That's right!"
Yuan Keli replied: "When Fang Congzhe was in the temple, he was the chief assistant for many years. He did nothing, and even if he proposed one or two national policies, it was just scratching the surface. Today's achievements are all due to His Majesty's guidance! We, the Ming Dynasty, are so lucky to have such an emperor, Duke Jiang. I must have read the latest savings data provided by the Ming Dynasty Bank. Most of the common people’s depositors in our Ming Dynasty have already saved hundreds of silver coins each!”
"I know! We are still discussing it. According to this amount, even if people in the world have been unemployed for five years, they can still live on this savings!"
Jiang Dejing smiled.
"Yes, throughout the history of the dynasties, there are very few people who can enable the people to hide their wealth to such an extent! My emperor's achievements are comparable to those of Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty!"
Yuan Keli replied with emotion.
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