Ten days later, Eqirtu, Sengge and other Oirat Mongolian envoys reluctantly said goodbye to the most prosperous city in the world, boarded the return train, and returned to the Western Regions.
Also brought with him were the articles of association for the entire Western Region, including Tibet, to surrender to the Ming Dynasty.
In addition to what Zhang Mingwei said before, the imperial court will confer Gushi Khan as Gushigong and Eqirtu as marquis; Batur Hutaiji, the current leader of Jungar tribe, as Zhunbu Gong and Sengge as marquis.
In the Mongolian Oirat tribe, apart from these two tribes, the leaders of the weaker tribes have titles such as marquis or uncle.
Of course, all these titles are not hereditary. After all, Duke Xingguo is not hereditary, so what qualifications do other people have?
After Eqirtu, Sengge and others returned, they communicated with Zhang Tongchang, the governor of Gansu Province in Jiayuguan, on relevant matters. Finally, the Ming army gathered at the border entered the Western Regions and Tibet.
Among them, Zhang Tongchang will be transferred to the governor of the Western Regions, mainly in charge of military affairs. The main leaders of the Oirat tribe hold local official positions, but in fact they still manage their original tribes.
Next, there are two things to do in the Western Regions. One is to build a railway to the Western Regions. As for Tibet, we still have to wait.
Another thing is to recruit local people to join the army and continue to expand the border army in order to use troops against Tsarist Russia. The conscription in Tibet was used to fight against the Mughal Empire in India.
This is probably the situation. As long as Gushi Khan and Batur Hutaiji remain unchanged, the affairs of the Western Regions and Tibet will be settled.
Amidst the busyness, the twenty-four years of Chongzhen basically passed by.
During this year, there were no large-scale wars in the Ming Dynasty. It was just a small matter such as an indigenous island country in Southeast Asia who refused to obey the Ming Dynasty and was destroyed and made a vassal king.
However, although there was no large-scale use of troops, the number of territories opened was the largest in history, and it could be regarded as a gift for Emperor Chongzhen in his fortieth year.
The surrender of Mobei Mongolia greatly expanded the Ming Dynasty's northern territory.
The surrender of western Mongolia, that is, Oirat Mongolia, made Xinjiang, Qinghai, Tibet, and even Central Asia all the way to the Volga River Basin become territories directly under the jurisdiction of the Ming Dynasty.
Of course, it is still under takeover and is not directly under the control of Ming Dynasty for the time being.
In this year, there are fewer and fewer historical events that are not affected by Zhang Mingwei's butterfly wings. In other words, the impact of the changes in the Ming Dynasty has become wider and wider.
Overall, the UK has not been affected. Cromwell wiped out the Scottish army that year, and Charles II was forced to flee to France. Subsequently, Cromwell occupied the entire Scotland. From then on, he won the title of "Victorious General".
In France, Mazarin still used retreat to advance as in the original history, resigning first. Then Queen Anna of Austria released Condé and three others who were imprisoned in Le Havre.
After Condé was released, he allied with Spain to challenge the court and Mazarin. This time he struggled to gain people's support. The royal family and former members of the court were forced to unite against Condé, and a chaotic civil war began.
As for the one affected by the Ming Dynasty, it was naturally Portugal. Now he has been recognized by Spain, and the heir to the Portuguese throne, although far away in the capital of the Ming Dynasty, has decided that his future wife will be a Spanish princess. Moreover, Portugal became a second-tier dealer, earning some hard-earned money from Ming Dynasty's military products and various commodities, and then transferred them to Spain.
There have been more changes on the Spanish side. In addition, the Spanish army that originally fought in various places has basically withdrawn to Spain, except for the part of the army that supported Confucius to fight the French Civil War.
However, although Spain has shrunk militarily, it has made major economic moves. Spanish merchants sold exquisite Far Eastern goods from Portugal throughout Europe and made a lot of profits.
These actions have stimulated the British side. Originally, in October, the British Parliament would promulgate the "Navigation Regulations", which stipulated that all imported products from the United Kingdom can only be transported by British ships or ships of the country of origin, and export products can only be transported by British ships. This regulation was promulgated three months ahead of schedule in July.
This incident made King Felipe IV of Spain very angry. He first recorded Britain in a small book, and waited for the army to install new guns on a large scale before settling the accounts one by one.
By the way, Tokugawa Iemitsu, as in the original history, did not survive this year and died! His son, Tokugawa Ietsuna, who was only ten years old, succeeded to the throne and continued to have a headache about the annual compensation to Ming Dynasty.
…………
In February of the 25th year of Chongzhen, news about the alliance between Portugal and Spain finally reached the Ming Dynasty. Portugal secretly made a compromise with Spain and transferred important military equipment of the Ming Dynasty, which made Portugal very uneasy.
In the Wenhua Hall, Zhang Mingwei was listening to Du Yinxi, the chief minister of the cabinet, describing the news from Portugal.
"...In addition, Portugal also wants the Portuguese prince Theodosio to return to China and get married." After Du Yinxi finished telling all the news, he said to Emperor Chongzhen angrily, "Your Majesty, this Portugal involves me. Regarding the affairs of the Ming Dynasty, I was not informed of the Ming Dynasty suzerainty and decided first. This is to kill first and report later. I think this trend cannot last!"
"I second the proposal!"
"I second the proposal!"
"..."
All of a sudden, the senior officials of the Ming Dynasty who were involved in the discussion in the Wenhua Palace all agreed.
According to the past practice of dealing with vassal states, we should really respond to this method of killing first and reporting later! Otherwise, if other vassal states followed suit, what would be the face of the suzerain state of Ming Dynasty?
Emperor Chongzhen agreed with the suggestions of Du Yinxi and others, but he always remembered that it was best to seek confirmation from experts to have a grasp of the world situation.
Therefore, he turned to look at Zhang Mingwei and said, "What do you think, sir?"
After hearing this, Zhang Mingwei immediately laughed and said: "Actually, the original intention of making Portugal a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty is different from ordinary vassal states..."
After hearing this, both Emperor Chongzhen and Du Yinxi and others knew that Duke Xingguo had other high-level remarks, so they all listened attentively.
Just listen to Zhang Mingwei continue to say: "Portugal is a chess piece we have laid in Europe. It is designed to be used when we play against European countries one day in the future. For now, in fact, Portugal's role is far beyond Exactly my estimate!"
"Oh?" Emperor Chongzhen couldn't help being a little surprised when he heard this, and asked quickly: "Sir, please come quickly?"
In terms of national strength on the earth today, Ming Dynasty has no rivals elsewhere. If it really had any, it would only be those countries in Europe and western Asia.
After hearing this, Zhang Mingwei explained seriously: "Those countries in Europe, if based on the increasingly obvious expansion pressure of our Ming Dynasty, they will definitely unite against our Ming Dynasty. Because no matter from what aspect, our Ming Dynasty has no influence on Europe They are all outsiders."
Having said this, he paused and said confidently: "In a few years, when our Ming soldiers arrive in the Middle East, they will definitely feel the pressure of our Ming Dynasty, and they might form an alliance with the Ottoman Empire and the Persian Empire to fight against us. It is possible for the Ming Dynasty. Therefore, it is most beneficial to us, the Ming Dynasty, to keep them in chaos for a while longer and continue to fight among themselves..."
Hearing this, Du Yinxi and others couldn't help but nodded slightly. Of course, everyone understands this truth. Otherwise, it would be very difficult for Ming Dynasty to conquer Europe because it was too far away.
"...for Portugal to become a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty, in addition to obtaining resources from South America, the most important thing is to make Portugal a pawn in the civil strife in Europe." After Zhang Mingwei said this, he shook his head and sighed, "It's just a pity. , Portugal is still too small, even if our Ming Dynasty supports it, if it is too far away, Portugal’s ability to stir up troubles in Europe will be limited. However, Spain is different!"
Speaking of this, Zhang Mingwei laughed again and said: "Before, Spain was the king in Europe, with the strongest army and navy. However, in recent decades, it has been weakening and has been influenced by other countries. First, the Spanish Armada was defeated, and then the Thirty Years of Religious War also greatly reduced Spain's national strength. But no matter what, this was once a tiger, and the foundation is still there."
"Now, due to Portugal's unforeseen circumstances, there is a high probability that Portugal's role as a chess piece will be played by Spain." Zhang Mingwei said confidently, "It can be seen from the treaty of alliance between Spain and Portugal. It turns out that the King of Spain has great ambitions to regain its glory. So for me, Ming Dynasty, wouldn’t it just be good to watch Spain provoke war in Europe again?”
Upon hearing this, both Emperor Chongzhen and Du Yinxi and others couldn't help but laugh.
The Ming Dynasty is expanding here, and civil strife continues in Europe. This is the most ideal thing.
Zhang Mingwei glanced at them and then continued: "In addition, we can understand Portugal's difficulties. And Portugal always remembers to give us the Ming Dynasty patent fees. In this case, when the Portuguese prince wants to go back, we can sell more arms Give them to increase the strength of Portugal and Spain as soon as possible so that they can cause trouble in Europe."
Speaking of this, he looked at Emperor Chongzhen and said with a smile: "Smokeless gunpowder has been mass-produced, and our original firearms are just about to be replaced. It was originally a troublesome thing to deal with so many firearms, but now It happens to be used to sell it for money. Although it is sold a little cheaper, it is still a profitable business, isn't it just right?"
The Ming Dynasty’s inventory of firearms is absolutely an astronomical figure. Although so many firearms can be used, isn't it better to exchange them for money and then use the money to make newer firearms?
