Zhu Jingyuan looked at the report sent back by Lin Zexu and the list of countries that supported and agreed with the Austrian suggestions.
I always feel that the arrangement of these places is inexplicably familiar.
The maritime route of Nanyang, Tianzhu, Persia, Ottoman, Austria, Italy...
In addition, the southern railway line runs from Kazakhstan to the Ottoman Empire and into western Thailand.
If you add in the two continental bridges that I had planned before, running through the Mongolian Plateau and the Western Regions.
Isn’t this basically the plan for the “Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road”?
It is also commonly known as a "belt" and a "road".
It’s just that there are fewer countries in this world. The land east of Persia, including Tianzhu, is controlled by the Ming Dynasty, so it can be directly connected.
Tessie has no Poland, Lucia and Prussia can be directly connected.
Bulk Austria has not been completely shattered, and the Balkans are still Ottoman lands.
Now basically, as long as I agree, the matter will be done.
Because there is no external interference, Ming himself is the one who controls the situation.
Some Taixi people wanted to open another route, and Ming Dynasty certainly had no reason to refuse.
It is acceptable for Zhu Jingyuan to write a reply directly.
As for the port cities that will be added to the trade route, in addition to the already listed Tianjin and Songjiang, four ports including Qiongzhou, Lion City, Ceylon and Djibouti will be added.
Except for Qiongzhou, the remaining three cities are actually engaged in external re-export, import and export, and supply business. They can be regarded as important cities on semi-open key route nodes.
As for the British proposal to connect trade routes to the New World and add colonies to the list of open ports, Zhu Jingyuan rejected it without even thinking about it.
The United States has already opened up to the Ming Dynasty, and it is expected that sharing is worse than exclusive use.
At the same time, one of Zhu Jingyuan's important goals was to completely drive away the Taixi people from Yinzhou.
Now opening up the cities in Yinzhou to join free trade is tantamount to bringing more outsiders into Yinzhou.
That is meaningless and does not conform to the operation envisioned by Zhu Jingyuan.
The situation in Xintianfu is even more serious. It is the forbidden area and retreat of the Ming Dynasty royal family, and the residents must be the absolute majority of Ming people.
Sanqing City's decision to allow Taixi merchants to trade is already the limit, and it is impossible to allow Taixi merchants to open shops there.
Zhu Jingyuan also knew what was going on in South Tianzhu now, so Mumbai's attempt to make up the numbers was directly rejected.
Opening up Southwest Mozhou does make some sense, but it's also not that big.
As for Lin Zexu's expectation that other countries might also request colonial ports to replace the ports that should be opened in the mainland, Zhu Jingyuan directly replied that he would not allow it.
What Ming Dynasty wants to do now is to bind the mainland of the European and Western countries to Ming Dynasty at the economic level.
Most of the colonies in the European and European countries relied on the local industrial system and had a subordinate status.
The industry in most areas is underdeveloped, or very partial, and is not important enough.
Obtaining the markets of these colonies was of course beneficial to Ming Dynasty, but it was not in line with Zhu Jingyuan's goal of binding the European and Western countries at the economic level.
Therefore, although in the western and southern regions of Mexico, including British New England, there are several ports with good economic and trade value.
But Zhu Jingyuan considered his actual goals and finally decided to ban them all.
He also reminded Lin Zexu to grasp the direction well. The goal and direction of this cooperation is trade cooperation in the Shenou Continent.
It's best not to get involved in Mozhou and Yinzhou's affairs.
Lin Zexu was a little surprised when he received the response, but after considering Zhu Jingyuan's goals and the situation of the mainland and colonies in the European and Western countries, Lin Zexu quickly understood.
At the same time, representatives from various countries in Europe and the West also reported the situation of this meeting to the monarchs in the rear.
The British's use of colonial ports aroused strong curiosity among other monarchs.
Two days later, the meeting continued. Representatives from various countries in Thailand and Spain, including the British, were eager to give it a try.
Then Lin Zexu gave them a blow:
“His Royal Highness Prince Dashi requested that we limit the scope of this cooperation to Europe and the European continent as much as possible.
“So overseas and colonial ports will not continue the discussion.
"Except for Lucia, the Netherlands, Italy, and Portugal, if other Thai and Western countries want to join the cooperation agreement, they must open at least two cities in their homeland.
“Representative of the United Kingdom, everyone knows the situation in Southern Tianzhu, so Bombay is not included, and the colonies of Southwest Mozhou and Yinzhou are not included in the scope of cooperation discussions.
"So please choose another local city besides Southampton as soon as possible."
The representatives from various countries were immediately stunned.
I originally thought that Ming Dynasty would bargain on the value of the colonial port, but now it has directly denied it...
British Foreign Secretary Jenkinson asked incredulously:
"Mr. Lin, our colonial port also has high commercial and trade value.
"Isn't it okay to replace one native port quota with multiple colonial ports?"
Lin Zexu rejected it without hesitation:
"No, a colony is a colony, and the mainland is the mainland. It is even more obvious for the Thai people.
"The opening of domestic ports is a sincere policy.
“The Ming Dynasty has decided to add ports such as Qiongzhou, Shicheng, Ceylon, and Djibouti in addition to Tianjin and Songjiang.
"The Ming Dynasty can accept the suggestions from relevant countries such as the Ottomans, Austria, Italy, etc., build trading companies controlled by the royal families of various maritime countries, and operate corresponding maritime routes.
"If the UK decides to join this cooperation agreement, please also show your sincerity."
The British representative Jenkinson was shocked by what he said, and started to feel helpless and unwilling.
But in the end, the British representatives did not question Ming's decision.
Because the status of both parties is not assessed, Britain must abide by the decision that Ming Dynasty has made:
"The UK... will seriously consider Ming's proposal, but we need a certain amount of time to discuss and resolve the issue internally."
Lin Zexu nodded slightly, then looked at the representatives of his country, but no one stood up to object:
“What if representatives from other countries fully understand the requirements and limitations of cooperation?
"Do you have any other ideas about specific cooperation plans?"
If there is interference from powerful external forces, Silk Road cooperation negotiations may take a long time to discuss.
It may take many years to talk about it again and again, or it may never come to fruition.
But if there is no interference from external forces and there is a superpower inside to promote it, then the whole process will be smoother.
In the next few meetings, the British finally stated that they had adjusted their status and accepted Ming's suggestions.
Another port opened on the mainland, Edinburgh.
Other countries have also come up with their own plans one after another.
The intense negotiations lasted for almost three months, and finally ended at the end of the ninth year of Ankang in the Ming Dynasty.
All countries participating in the negotiations have joined the cooperation agreement.
The ideas of Austria and Ottoman were basically realized, and the cooperation agreement added a maritime trade part.
After the representatives from each country signed a formal agreement, they returned to their respective countries.
Charlotte, who feasted on the British, and William and Louise of Prussia, took the train to the Ming Dynasty.
Before the arrival of the New Year in the tenth year of Ankang, the three of them arrived at Xi'an Mansion in the hinterland of the Ming Dynasty.
Zhu Jingyuan received the news in advance and went to the station to pick up the three of them.
It was very cold in Xi'an in December. Zhu Jingyuan put on a down jacket of his own invention as soon as he got off the car.
The rayon fabric has a finer warp and weft grid, which can truly seal the down and prevent them from flying everywhere. It also has a certain waterproof and windproof effect.
For purposes that require resistance to wind, snow, and severe cold conditions in winter, down and rayon are currently the best designs.
Zhu Jingyuan started from the world war negotiations, let alone the first few years, he basically lived in a very warm place.
Even in Xintianfu, there is basically no need for heavy warm clothing in winter.
It was after arriving in Edo last year and seeing the heavy snow in the winter that I thought of the good thing of down jackets.
The materials are all available, making it is just a matter of tailoring difficulty.
Zhu Jingyuan handed it over to Dashi Clothing Company, and sold the new clothes to the Ming Dynasty, Beiyinzhou, Taixi, Xianbei and other places in the world with cold winter climates.
When Charlotte, William, and Louise got out of the car, they all put on the down jackets they had prepared in advance.
When Charlotte saw Zhu Jingyuan, she couldn't wait to run over with small steps and gave Zhu Jingyuan a hug.
Zhu Jingyuan could only continue with a smile, and then returned to the palace with Charlotte and William and Louise.
An internal banquet was held in the back hall of the palace. After having fun with the three of them for a while, William and Louise left and went back to rest.
Zhu Jingyuan also took Charlotte back to his room, and the two of them were naturally ready to start in-depth communication.
When everything was prepared and the two people's emotions were brewing, Zhu Jingyuan took out the wishful bag out of habit, but Charlotte immediately reached out to stop him:
"Honey, don't use it, I will be twenty years old after the new year, and I am ready to have our child..."
Zhu Jingyuan asked in surprise:
"You call it ready? Have you forgotten that you just drank at the banquet today!"
In fact, the aristocratic class in the classical era, both in China and Europe, liked drinking very much.
When chatting about games, or simply when you are bored, you may just drink a drink.
Of course, one or two drinks are also required during meals on weekdays and at banquets of all sizes.
They drink so casually because the drinks in their lives are basically low-alcohol alcohol.
Mainly red wine, rice wine, rice wine, etc.
Think of them as drinks containing lower alcohol concentrations.
The Ottomans and the Great Eaters generally call it fermented grape juice or rice soup...
Charlotte and Zhu Jingyuan were no exception, especially since there was a banquet held today. Of course, they all drank Shuai Kai’s drinks.
Now Charlotte was obviously stunned when she heard Zhu Jingyuan's question:
"What does this have to do with drinking? Isn't it good to drink some wine... It's better to get into the state..."
Zhu Jingyuan said helplessly:
“Didn’t you know that before you prepare to have a child, you should start quitting smoking and drinking, and start adjusting your body status code at least one month in advance, preferably three months to six months in advance?
"You don't want our children to have any congenital diseases and defects, right? So for the health of our children, let's wait at least another one to two months!
"After the Chinese New Year, I will ask Daming's doctor to check your body and plan a health care plan for you. Then you can talk about having a child."
Charlotte suddenly said very frustrated:
"Ah...can't drink when you're preparing to have a baby? It's too painful. Can you drink after you're pregnant?"
After Zhu Jingyuan fiddled with the wishful bag, he continued his actions while continuing to communicate with England's little lover:
"Of course not. You can't touch alcohol again until the baby is born."
Charlotte became even more frustrated:
"This... this is not fun..."
…………
After a long time, the initial exchange was completed, and the two of them hugged each other and lay on the bed.
Zhu Jingyuan continued to talk about Charlotte:
"Now that you are ready to have a child, are you planning to live in Ming Dynasty for a year? To be honest, I don't really trust your British diet and American doctors..."
Charlotte closed her eyes and leaned on Zhu Jingyuan's chest, and answered subconsciously:
"I'm not very trusting. I'm really planning to live here... No, I'm not prepared. I'll get pregnant here and then go back to the United States..."
Zhu Jingyuan heard what this girl meant and slapped her on the butt directly:
"Don't make trouble, do you think you can drink just by running back to the United States?
"Stay in Ming Dynasty honestly and let the doctors and midwives in Ming Dynasty keep an eye on you."
Charlotte cried sadly:
"I don't want this, wuwuwu..."
Zhu Jingyuan deliberately continued to talk:
"Don't be distressed, keep a happy mood, it's better for your children..."
Charlotte was amused now:
"I'm not pregnant yet!"
The two played around in bed for a while, and Charlotte finally thought of another serious matter:
"By the way, dear, before I came, my father and the British Prime Minister asked me to talk to you about the issue of Southern India.
"Now Nan Tianzhu has almost reached the state you mentioned, and there are basically only birds and animals left in the wild.
"Can Ming almost take over Tianzhu? What is Ming willing to pay for Tianzhu now?"
When Zhu Jingyuan heard about Tianzhu, he felt a little unhappy:
"What exactly did the officials of the British court do in Tianzhu?
"A persistent, widespread, almost gridlock-like, large-scale plague.
"It's hard for me not to wonder if there are any human factors involved..."
Charlotte pouted:
"I don't know, I should say I can't know, this is what my father told me.
"Honey, do you understand what I mean? Do you understand my situation?"
Zhu Jingyuan thought for a while and roughly understood the attitudes of the Prince of Wales and Charlotte:
"This matter has been going on for several years, so William Pitt's illness came very suddenly, and his death was also very sudden.
"Is it because he did something bad that he was under too much psychological pressure, and then he suffered a mental breakdown and lost control of his condition?"
Charlotte blinked and whispered:
"I really don't know about this anymore... But it's all over anyway. Just tell me what Daming is willing to pay for Nan Tianzhu now, right?"
Zhu Jingyuan thought for a while:
"Exempt the British from war reparations?"
Charlotte rolled her eyes:
"My Royal Highness, the British war reparations are only for the last year..."
Zhu Jingyuan gave in slightly again:
"So, let's forgive the loans that Ming Dynasty provided to the United States after the Yinzhou War."
Charlotte said a little confused:
"This condition is not enough. The loans at that time were mainly for the United States. Even if the remaining loans were waived, it would not be of any benefit to the British court. This is still far from the bottom line of the British cabinet... "
Zhu Jingyuan immediately laughed:
"There is still a long way to go before the bottom line? So what else does the British court want?
“Have they not considered how they will deal with themselves in the future if Ming Dynasty does not want this land?
"Should the Tianzhu people who moved to Mozhou be moved back to rebuild Southern Tianzhu?"
Charlotte was speechless.
(End of chapter)
