For the Ming Empire.
Gained control of the Isthmus of Suez and garrison rights in the Mediterranean.
The temptation is great.
And the price they have to pay is minimal: just no more arms sales to Russia.
However, in fact, with the research on "reverse engineering" of Ming-style equipment in European countries.
The Ming Army's four-piece set of rifled guns, mortars, grenades, and barbed wire actually didn't have much technical barriers.
Even serf countries like Tsarist Russia had the ability to produce some useful equipment.
Although the quality is far inferior to the weapons produced in Daming's factories.
But at least there is no "generation difference".
Therefore, even if the Ming Dynasty refused to sell weapons to Russia, the Ottoman Empire might not be able to restore its decline on the battlefield.
But if the Ming Empire obtained a military port in Ottoman, then the Russian army would not dare to continue southward.
As an ally of the Ottomans, Britain failed to provide strong support to the Ottomans in this Russo-Turkish war.
It is understandable that Osman chose to hold another thigh.
"Where are the American emissaries? What did they say?"
"The Americans are concerned about our stronghold in the New World, but now the Americans only have a small piece of land on the east coast of the New World. They have proposed a plan to jointly carve up North America."
“Divide North America?”
Emperor Zhu was a little surprised.
But if you think about it carefully, you can understand it.
How could Americans today imagine that they would later dominate the world.
Today, the United States of America is just a loose federation, and its territory is the east coast of the New World and the south of Wudalian Lake.
The total area is probably more than one million square kilometers.
It is a far cry from the large countries of more than nine million square kilometers in later generations.
They currently have no ambition to monopolize most of the warm territory in North America.
even.
The British troops in the British Canadian Colony in the north may move south at any time and destroy the "weak" United States of America.
Compared to the Ming Dynasty west of the Andes.
The British Empire right next to it is actually a big threat to the Americans.
People look at what's in front of them
Moreover, the United States, which has not experienced the Civil War, does not actually have a strong central government.
There are more times when states go their own way.
Some Americans hope to form an alliance with Spain and Britain to fight against the Ming Dynasty.
Some Americans hope to unite with the Ming Dynasty, introduce the Ming Dynasty's strength, and maintain the balance in the New World.
These are all understandable things.
"Yes, this envoy is the special envoy of the American Commander-in-Chief Washington. It is said that he has a very close relationship with Washington. Based on the information obtained from various places. The American Commander-in-Chief Washington still believes that the greatest threat to the United States is the British Canadian colony, and even France’s newly acquired colony of Louisiana.”
Emperor Zhu nodded slightly.
If he remembered correctly.
Washington retired after serving only two terms as U.S. commander.
Calculating this, it should be time for him to step down this year.
but.
Who will be the next American leader?
Emperor Zhu shook his head.
Although he is good at history.
However, American history was not mentioned much in later Chinese textbooks.
Therefore, Emperor Zhu only remembered the name of the first commander-in-chief of the United States.
As for the rest...
I really don’t remember much.
However, he also knows that in a national system like the United States, party strife is inevitable, so even Washington's special envoys may have difficulty guaranteeing that the agreement reached with Ming Dynasty can be implemented by the United States of America - because the current United States is too loose. .
Policies are subject to change at any time.
"The agreement with the United States doesn't make much sense. They can't even reach an agreement now." Emperor Zhu curled his lips and said.
Grand Duke Lin nodded.
"The so-called federal system will probably break up in the end." Grand Duke Lin said.
America breaks up?
Will they really break up?
Emperor Zhu had some vague expectations in his heart.
"By the way, what's the name of that American envoy?"
"Back to the emperor, his name is James Madison."
"James Madison? This name sounds familiar."
Emperor Zhu muttered in a low voice.
On the train to Beidu.
U.S. special envoy James Madison is immersed in writing something.
He raised his head and saw the Russian envoy Muragev opposite.
It surprised me that.
in this era.
The United States and Russia are actually very close.
Historically, the United States and Russia had little contact during this era.
But because of the rise of the Ming Empire.
The United States and Russia have some common interests.
First of all, they are all countries on the fringes of European civilization.
The Slavs are regarded as barbarians by Western European countries, with almost the same status as Mongolia and Tatars.
in addition.
Russia and the United States had similar experiences when facing the Ming Empire.
Russia's Eastern Siberia was occupied by the Ming Dynasty.
The United States will soon face the pressure from the Ming Empire's landing from the western part of the New World - although the territory in the western part of the New World has little to do with the United States. However, in the eyes of many American politicians, the lands that now belong to some indigenous tribes will be occupied sooner or later, and the United States, founded in the New World, is the inevitable overlord of the Americas in the future.
James Jefferson looked a little dazed.
during this time.
He saw the power of the Ming Empire.
This country has a huge population, a huge territory, a developed industrial system and an extremely strong central government - these are all things that the United States lacks.
What really frightened James Jefferson was the hostility he felt from the Emperor of the Ming Empire towards the United States of America when he was in Zhongdu.
Yes.
Even if the emperor did not receive him.
But he learned from some of the emperor's words and deeds.
But one can clearly feel the emperor's fear and hostility towards the United States.
This shouldn't be the case!
There are two countries separated by the Pacific Ocean, and the United States of America does not have any world interests. They are just small regional countries.
Why was the emperor of the Ming Empire hostile to the United States?
This is absolutely ridiculous.
Logically speaking, there should not be much conflict of interest between the two countries, right?
Most politicians in the United States did not even object to the Ming Empire seizing land in the western part of the New World—because these did not originally belong to the United States.
They only hope to reach an agreement with the Ming Empire and use treaties to ensure the security of the western United States.
He failed to get an audience with the Emperor of the Ming Empire.
James Jefferson was a little disappointed.
He is taking an investment group composed of American businessmen to the northern capital for inspection.
By the way, I also went to Moscow with the envoys of Tsarist Russia via Irkutsk, a river port that has now been renamed Beihai Fucheng, to visit Russia.
The United States and Russia, two countries on the edge of European civilization, now also have the need to stay together for warmth.
Right now.
The train slowly stopped at a railway station called "Shijiazhuang".
This place was originally a small town, but because of this railway station, this small town gradually became an important transportation node in the Central Plains region.
especially.
Many were immigrants recruited from the plains.
From here, head to the Northeast region.
James Jefferson stood by the window and looked at the immigrants, old and young, taking the train to the northeastern region of the Ming Empire at the railway station, with a look of emotion on his face.
"This is really a huge country, isn't it?"
Muragev said.
"Of course, there are a lot of them."
James Jefferson said.
"It's just that now it seems that the emperor's rule has not brought much benefit to the appointment of this country."
"Benefit? Isn't this a benefit? As far as I know, the population in the Central Plains of the Ming Empire is too dense. If there are no immigrants to the surrounding areas, hungry farmers will rise up in rebellion within a few years, and Chinese history It’s the same with every dynasty in history. These hungry farmers will devour everything, land, resources, and most importantly, the population!”
Muragev said.
"When the war ended and a new dynasty was established, the sharply reduced population eased China's land conflicts, and a so-called prosperous age began. In a few hundred years, this dynasty would be swallowed up by hungry farmers again. , over and over again.”
"That's why the emperor was so concerned about agricultural lands that could accommodate a large number of people. He occupied Manchuria and Mongolia, which is the northeastern region of the Ming Dynasty. This huge area has plains and cultivated land larger than that of the Central Plains. In addition, there are There’s Nanyang, there’s Australia, and of course now he’s eyeing the New World.”
Muragev spread his hands and said.
"It's really scary to be next door to such an empire. Fortunately, Western Siberia is full of frozen soil, otherwise"
James Jefferson glanced at Muragev sympathetically.
"This emperor is too young, and his empire is so powerful. The world in the future needs to learn how to deal with this emperor."
Emperor.
This is what Westerners call Zhu Daohua.
What he did is indeed worthy of this title.
Right now.
On the platform in front, a group of immigrants were huddled together, as if something had happened.
"Go and see what's going on?"
James Jefferson asked his attendant to get off the train to inquire about the situation.
Soon.
The attendant came back: "An immigrant fell ill, and the officer responsible for escorting him refused his request to get on the train. Many immigrants were dissatisfied with this, and the two sides were confronting each other."
James Jefferson and Muragev looked at each other.
"Such things will happen very often, right?"
"may be."
"Will there be a revolution?"
"It won't happen, it certainly won't happen. This country has too much territory to accommodate the excess population. The United States and Russia should unite. We all have to face pressure from Europe and Ming Dynasty."
"Oh, another one died."
"Isn't it?"
"too bitter."
Outside the train.
Many immigrants are complaining.
The establishment of the new dynasty did not allow the farmers to live a comfortable life.
Instead, it became even more frustrating.
Just as the immigrants, who were preparing to head for the unknown front, complained, they were urged to get on the train by the escorting officials.
Sichuan.
Luojiang County.
A group of farmers also gathered together to chat.
Looking at their shabby clothes, it was obvious that they were not living a happy life.
"I think it would have been better to be a tenant of Lao Li's family. Although I can't save much money, it's not as tiring as it is now! At that time, there were still people who were busy with farming, but where could they finish the year like now?"
"Yes, it's better to do it in the morning. Rent ten acres of irrigated land. After paying the rent, it will be enough for the family to eat for ten months. If you plant some sweet potatoes, you can survive for a year. My wife and daughter can still spin and weave. Cloth can be sold for two or three ounces of money! Wherever it is now, the world is dominated by foreign cloth, and no one wants the homespun cloth woven by women."
When it comes to homespun cloth, everyone sighs. Chinese farmers have lived a life of men farming and women weaving for thousands of years.
But since Emperor Zhu came, these days have gradually come to an end.
In Guangdong and Jiangnan, machine weaving factories have sprung up like mushrooms after a rain!
Machine-woven cloth is cheap and high-quality, and homespun cloth cannot resist it at all.
Now a large amount of it has been dumped in Sichuan!
The lives of small and poor families have become increasingly difficult.
What makes farmers even more miserable is the gradual disintegration of feudal land ownership!
According to later generations, the replacement of feudal land ownership by capitalist agriculture greatly improved productivity.
But for the farmers at the bottom.
Landowners are replaced by capitalists, but this may not be a good thing.
after all.
The exploitation of landlords pales in comparison to that of capitalists.
The so-called feudal land ownership is not the private ownership and leasing of land as everyone imagines - otherwise, buying a house for rent now can also be called feudal house ownership.
In fact, feudal ownership is embodied in the unity of the right to rule people and the ownership of land.
The scholar-bureaucrat class was the actual rulers of the countryside and landowners at the same time. They were feudal lords in disguise.
The basis of the rule of these disguised lords is not the force of knights and warriors, but the imperial examination system!
Therefore, after a series of reforms in the imperial examination system, a considerable number of landowners who lost the qualifications to take the examination and had no fame were no longer gentry.
Having lost their status as gentry, they lost the power to rule the countryside and the ability to physically control tenant farmers.
Then they are not feudal lords, but agricultural capitalists.
And the farm laborers exploited by these emerging agricultural capitalists are the rural proletariat!
"It's hard now. I work as a long-term laborer for Li Papi's family. Not only do I not have any rest in spring and autumn, but I have to work in the Li family's fields in summer. In winter, I have to build dams and waterwheels. It's not enough for a year!"
"It is said that the country is now famous overseas and has expanded its territory thousands of miles, but the life of us ordinary people is not even as good as that of the previous dynasty..."
This topic seems to be a bit sensitive. As soon as the words came out, no one dared to answer the question.
After a long time, someone sighed.
"It's not like there is no way out... The door of the town's government office for recruiting collective farm farmers is open. I heard that there is also a way to Southeast Asia. The emperor's rubber company is recruiting people to pioneer and plant rubber trees and palm trees in Borneo. Yes. On average, each person has 100 acres of land to plant trees, and they only need to pay 30% of the harvest to the company for local rent. It seems to be a very profitable business..."
"To make a fortune, you have to have a flower of life! That collective farm is a place that kills people! The mature land in Borneo has long been developed by the rubber company. Now we have to open up the land of the indigenous people... I mean, Farms are actually military households! Every house is issued a gun and fighting every day! Otherwise, why would people set up collective farms? 100 households form a village, this is the army!"
"Alas, there is no free advantage in the world! If you stay in your hometown, you will suffer hardship. If you go out to travel, you will risk your life in exchange for wealth! After all, the common people will not be able to feel comfortable..."
(End of chapter)
