On March 1, 1721, all Ming troops evacuated from France, and Zhu Cihong also ended his "armed visit" to the country. If he continued to play, he would have to spend a lot of money.
Before leaving, Zhu Cihong gave each of his three old friends five million silver coins as a "farewell gift."
Leave Louis XIV with weapons and equipment that can arm at least five brigades, and everyone can say goodbye...
The army returned along the original route, and Zhu Cixiang took the imperial concubine Liu Xi'er and his bodyguards on a visiting fleet from the Strait of Gibraltar into the Mediterranean.
First go to Venice to see Justinian, then inspect the Cretan garrison, and then go to Istanbul to visit the Ottoman Empire.
After that, he entered the Indian Ocean via the Sudan Canal, visited Persia, Siam and other countries, and finally went to Australia to see how the eldest son was developing there.
I won't be able to return to China until the end of the year, and this global visit will probably take nearly two years.
When the fleet arrived in Venice, Justinian held a grand welcome ceremony.
Had it not been for the Ming Empire, Venice might have become part of France or the Ottoman Empire.
Venice benefited greatly from the opening of the Sudan Canal and the successive fall of Britain and Spain.
After the goods of the Ming Empire landed in Venice, they could be sold in Central Europe after being transported hundreds of kilometers by rail.
As a transit merchant and hub, Venice has been using this line to make money every day. Now that the biggest businessman comes to visit, of course he has to treat him warmly.
Venice's dependence on the Ming Empire is real. Because of the current situation in Europe, without the support and protection of the Ming Empire, Venice, which is weak and wealthy, really cannot survive for a few days...
Justinian wanted to turn Venice into a second Switzerland, but Venice's geographical location is different from Switzerland, so it is very difficult to imitate it.
The result of relying on maritime trade is that ports and large cities are located in coastal areas, making them extremely vulnerable to attacks from the sea.
Fortunately, the Venetian Navy often conducted joint exercises with the Ming Empire Navy, which was one of the main ways to save lives.
The Venetian Air Force and Army also invite their counterparts from the Ming Empire to conduct drills within their own borders every year.
Afraid that the scale was not big enough and the movement was not loud enough, Switzerland was invited to come over and play with the two families...
Switzerland is naturally happy to participate in such activities. As a neutral country, not joining other alliances does not mean that it cannot conduct exercises with the armies of other countries.
Especially training together with the Ming army and learning from the world's most powerful army can quickly improve the capabilities of the Swiss army in all aspects, except for the navy...
Venice has signed two bilateral contracts and a trilateral contract with the French Empire and the Ottoman Empire, plus a reinsurance contract with the Ming Empire, which basically ensures that its own security is guaranteed.
To be precise, Justinian's fear came from the strength gap between the two behemoths around him. After all, the disparity in national power was difficult to make up for with contracts.
The Ottoman Empire has always regarded the Holy Roman Empire and the Habsburg family as its biggest enemies. Regarding the weak Venice, it depends on the attitude of the Ming Empire.
Ibrahim also focused his European operations on the Balkans and his defense on Hungary, and did not bother provoking Venice.
The Ottomans had a large number of oil fields in the Middle East and North Africa, and Ibrahim paid more attention to controlling the places containing oil. This was the main way for the empire to make money.
As the world's largest oil reserve country and the world's largest oil producer, the Ottoman Empire has thoroughly experienced the wonderful taste of lying down and winning, and has no plans to stand up and suffer in the short term.
As for whether the slingshots would threaten the security of Venice, Zhu Cixiang could not answer. He had to ask Louis XIV about this.
In order to avoid the same thing as Paris, Zhu Cihong did not visit the inland city of Venice.
Just take a look around its capital, and then move on to Istanbul.
As one of the two countries in the world with the best relations with the Ming Dynasty, the welcome ceremony held by Ibrahim was naturally much larger than that held by Justinian.
Zhu Cixiang didn't pay much attention to this aspect. He just wanted to show off some fireworks and lay out a red carpet, which would also prevent him from being assassinated.
On the table were tuna caught from the Mediterranean, local specialty barbecued meats, and various nuts and fruits. In addition, he could see 24K pure belly dancing. Zhu Cixiang was already very satisfied.
During the dinner and at the formal meeting the next day, Ibrahim was inquiring about things in France.
After all, the information obtained from various channels was not as detailed as what the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty had said.
Since the other party was so curious, Zhu Cixiang briefly described the whole story.
It is inevitable to add fuel and vinegar during this process, but it is generally in line with the actual situation.
Everyone present was amazed and speechless. Fortunately, nothing happened to the Emperor of the Ming Empire.
On the other hand, the Ming Emperor really died in France, which was beneficial to our side.
However, it is difficult to say whether the new emperor of the Ming Empire will be as friendly to Ottoman as this emperor after he ascends the throne.
In order to ensure that the current huge interests are not harmed, the Ottoman senior officials do not want anything to happen to the emperor.
After experiencing this large-scale rebellion, France is bound to be severely weakened, which is great news for itself.
In Europe, the Ottomans had two main enemies: France and the Holy Roman Empire.
One was knocked unconscious by the French before, and then maimed by the Tatars. The other now has an accident of his own.
Ibrahim did not expect that after he retreated to Hungary, good things would fall from the sky...
After thinking for a moment, Ibrahim also tentatively asked the other party about his views on Central Europe.
The meaning is to ask the other party about their attitude towards sending troops to Austria.
Of course Zhu Cihong understood what Ibrahim was thinking. Austria was the heart of Europe and the home of the Habsburg family.
However, the current attitude is the same as the previous attitude. They do not want to see a new large-scale war in Europe.
So, Zhu Cihong gave this guy an example.
Leopold lost one hundred silver coins before, but now he is working hard to make it back.
Louis XIV now lost one hundred silver coins and was trying to reduce his losses.
If you take the initiative to attack, there is only one outcome. You will pay one hundred silver coins, and the other party will pay two hundred silver coins.
The crux of the problem is that once the war starts, neither party can stop the loss and can only pay more and more.
Before the war is over, both sides will be beaten to pieces by the other.
In particular, the Ottomans will face an attack from most of the European coalition forces, and their chances of winning are not great.
Now that you have become a rich man, you have to fight those who are not as rich as you.
Then you both became paupers. Aren't you sick? ? ?
Originally you could build yourself a mansion with the money in your pocket, but after the war you have to borrow money to build yourself a bungalow. Why bother?
Nowadays, the situation around the world is very clear. Either develop technology or win by mining.
You must be one of the two to live a good life. With the development of science and technology in the future, advanced weapons will emerge in endlessly.
Going back to the source, war is a waste of money!
A small conflict requires 100 million silver coins, a medium-sized war requires 3.5 billion silver coins, and a major war requires more than 10 to 2 billion silver coins!
How much money you have in your pocket depends on how much you can do.
It's not impossible to borrow money to fight a war. You have to look in the mirror first to see how much your face is worth!
Zhu Cihong did not advise Ibrahim to act rashly. Once a war started, it would mean that the Ottomans would have to face three-quarters or even four-fifths of Europe's military power.
Spending hundreds of millions or even billions of silver coins on wars for Austria, Moravia, and Bohemia is either crazy or cerebral palsy!
At least in Zhu Cihong's eyes, there is no question whether these three pieces of land are worth so much money. Since they can't hold them after they are conquered, why bother to attack them?
As his best friend, Zhu Cihong's advice to Ibrahim was that instead of focusing on Austria, he should change his mind and manage the Middle East and North Africa well.
These two pieces of land are the most valuable, and there are no external enemies but also insiders.
Especially the local indigenous people. Who can guarantee that there will not be a group of guys similar to slingshots?
Zhu Cixiang believes that for the Ottoman Empire, the biggest task at the moment is to digest the Middle East and North Africa.
Between the two giant oil fields is the canal. If these three cornucopias are controlled, nothing will happen to the Ottoman Empire.
As long as it can continue to benefit from it and the empire does not run a huge financial deficit, it can rest easy.
Once it becomes heavily in debt due to the European War, the empire may collapse at any time...
The fact that the Ottoman high-level officials continue to care about Austria shows that they have made a strategic misjudgment and were unable to figure out their own position before.
Since you don't consider yourself to be in the Roman Empire's location, you shouldn't interfere too much in European affairs.
It is enough to hold Hungary, the Balkans, and Wallachia, and there is no need to consider anything else.
If one billion silver coins were used to buy ten years of ownership of Austria, Ibrahim would definitely not be able to accept it.
But isn’t that the actual situation?
In order to compete for Austria, the total investment of both parties will never be lower than this amount.
At this point, Zhu Cixiang has finished what he needs to say.
Where to go is a matter for Ibrahim and others.
Zhu Cihong stayed in the Ottomans for ten days. After signing a bunch of contracts for goods and weapons with Ibrahim, he took the fleet south to the canal and entered the Red Sea.
After inspecting the Ceylon Naval Base, the fleet advanced southeastward until reaching the mining area in Western Australia.
Zhu Xiangtang and other princes did not know the time when their father came to inspect the mining area, and they all thought it would be half a month later.
Due to the existence of the giant Pilbara iron mine, Western Australia is not only the largest mining area in Australia, but also a heavy industry base.
There is no shame in being a worker in a mining area, and the salary is very high, no less than what a local owner earns in Australia. There is no need for exposure to wind and sun, and medical care is guaranteed.
What's more, the factory area has various supporting facilities including shops, schools, cinemas, and kindergartens, which are much better than the living conditions in the countryside.
Due to Zhu Xiangtang's kindheartedness, the factory had to implement the emperor's eldest son's order. Contract workers worked eight hours a day, had two days off every week, and the factory provided free lunch.
Zhu Xiangtang's intention is also very clear. We must use preferential treatment to attract local skilled workers to come to Australia for employment.
If the name does not live up to the reality, not only will one's own reputation be ruined, but the father's face will also be tarnished...
This does bring a lot of labor costs, but it doesn't hurt.
As the eldest son of the emperor, Zhu Xiangtang completely inherited his father's development philosophy.
The wages of skilled workers are not low. Without them coming to work in Australia, how can the local industry develop? Especially heavy industry?
Due to the close proximity to the mining area, the shipyard is built near the steel plant, which can significantly reduce shipbuilding costs.
Zhu Xiangtang's idea is to build ships at low cost and then use export trade to earn the price difference.
For local people in Australia who purchase boats, they can enjoy preferential prices.
For example, the price of offshore fishing boats is much lower than that of domestic boats.
When there are more fishing boats, it will stimulate the development of the marine fishing industry.
Coupled with the ranches and farms in South Australia, prices in Australia, especially non-staple food prices, have always been lower than in the mainland.
In recent years, people in Northern Australia have begun to plant sugar cane on a large scale and developed the sugar industry.
In other words, except for special commodities such as silk, Australia has basically achieved self-sufficiency in daily necessities.
The only disadvantage is that Australia is too large and suffers from severe drought in the interior. One railway alone is far from enough.
Zhu Xiangtang also ordered the construction of two large branch railways across South Australia and across Western Australia, and together with more than ten canal railways, formed the Australian railway network to speed up the development of inland areas.
For long-distance transportation of bulk commodities, such as shipping from South Australia to North Australia or many islands in the north, we still have to rely on powerful sea transportation.
Zhu Xiangtang has already started to establish the Australian Ocean Shipping Group. Now the number of 10,000-ton merchant ships of the group has reached hundreds. Including merchant ships of other tonnages, the total number exceeds 500.
When Zhu Cixi came to Western Australia for an inspection, he saw a prosperous business scene in the shipyard. This was a situation that suited him very well.
The many shipyards combined have more than a hundred ships under construction at the same time.
There are twenty warships, the largest of which is a seventh-level battleship (King).
Previously, Zhu Xiangtang had asked the local shipyard to practice with frigates, destroyers, and cruisers.
At present, the construction work of this battleship is nearing completion, and it is expected to be launched in about a year.
Unlike later ships that can be launched into the water after the hull is completed, the installation work of the Daming Shipyard is all carried out in the dock.
Doing this can prevent pipelines that are not installed inside the ship from being soaked by rainwater, resulting in short circuits after installation.
At the same time, it can also play a role in confidentiality, because the number and performance of each country's capital ships are strictly confidential to the outside world.
There is no need to do this in Australia, but Zhu Xiangtang still insists on following this construction process, and the best habits should be formed as early as possible.
In fact, shipbuilders are also very supportive of this construction model, because Western Australia is exposed to the sun 70 to 80% of the time throughout the year.
If there is something to block the sun above their heads, they will feel much better when working. As long as the dock is ventilated, they will not feel stuffy.
According to the person in charge of the shipyard, after the battleship is launched, construction of an eighth-level battleship (Scharnhorst), currently the most powerful battleship, will begin at its original location.
It is expected to take eight years to launch, and the construction cost is approximately an astonishing 80 million silver coins.
As long as you know, the first batch of two eighth-level battleships ordered by the Navy is expected to cost 150 million silver coins, and the actual cost is close to this amount.
But the battleship of the same class, which will not start construction until next year, was launched eight years later, and the construction cost only increased by five million silver coins.
This shows that the benefits of being close to the mining area are really great.
In the Ming Dynasty, the bulk of the cost of building battleships was building materials, followed by labor costs.
Here in Western Australia, the two are just reversed, and the cost of building materials is extremely cheap.
After verifying that the construction cost of the Western Australia shipyard was indeed 20% cheaper than that of the local shipyard, Zhu Cixiang decided to place an order locally.
This will have a huge stimulating effect on the development of Australia's heavy industry, especially the shipbuilding industry.
Zhu Cixi also came up with the idea of preparing to start construction of two ninth-level battleships at the same time in the local Tianjin Shipyard and Western Australia Shipyard ten years later (1731), which is the famous Bismarck!
As long as it is found that the final price difference is about 20%, and the construction quality is almost the same as that of the mainland, then all subsequent orders for this class of battleships will be handed over to the Western Australia Shipyard to complete.
The cost of building a Bismarck will be as high as 200 million silver coins. Saving 20 million will result in 40 million silver coins, leaving two ships with 80 million silver coins. Of course Zhu Cixiang will be very excited.
Moreover, the climate in northwest Australia is extremely suitable for the year-round operation of shipyards. The port will not freeze in winter, which is much better than in the north.
Back then, the port relied on the booming metallurgical industry and the booming shipbuilding industry. Now it has developed into a city with a population of more than 500,000. It is also the largest city in Western Australia.
There is also a famous name here - Citizen!
The full name is the First Steel City in the West, but everyone, including the people of Australia, is accustomed to calling this place "Citizen City".
Different from the mainland, the living area of every family here is not small.
Since land is very cheap, many workers can buy a small yard with an area of about 100 meters after working locally for a few years.
After browsing, Zhu Cixiang believed that this standard of living was the treatment he thought workers should receive.
Everyone in the locals said that Zhu Xiangtang was good, but a small group of people said that they were wronged...
The eldest son of the emperor is very kind to most people, but he will never be merciful to those who violate laws and regulations.
In the metallurgical and shipbuilding industries, a project may be worth millions or even tens of millions of silver coins.
It’s surprising that there are no moths here!
Zhu Cixiang has long been used to strange things. In Beidu, a group of people are executed on time every year, and there is 100% chance that they will not be wronged!
You feel that you are unjust, not because you are greedy less, but because those guys who are greedier than you are not "clicked" with you!
Over the years, under the hands of Zhu Cihong, the number of prisoners who executed the orders exceeded 10,000.
This is still the main culprit. There are millions of suspects, and they have all been sent to the mining areas to work and atone for their sins.
Sitting together may harm innocent people, but if you don't sit together, you will definitely not be able to deter the moths.
In order to satisfy one's own selfish desires, letting the whole family go mining, this is the true act of annihilating relatives~!
Zhu Cixiang actually likes this kind of person. After all, after his family members become miners, the cost of mining can be ignored...
