Eighth year of Chongzhen

Chapter 544
After discussing with Pahlavit for a long time, Van Bronhorst found Fang Yongzhi in the afternoon of the same day, and made a request from the Dutch side to negotiate and sign an agreement with the Ming court alone. Fang Yongzhi immediately reported the situation to the Ministry of Rites, and Zou Weilian went to After discussing with Chen Qiyu, the cabinet decided to hold talks with the Dutch special envoy in the yamen of the Ministry of Rites the next day, and strive to complete the tasks assigned by Zhu Youjian.

"Respected Vice Minister Chen, Minister Zou, Minister Li, and Director Fang, first of all, I would like to thank you for your warm hospitality to our Dutch mission in the past few days. The capital of the Ming Empire has a bustling market, clean and tidy streets, and a very complete municipal administration. The supporting facilities and exquisite food have left us the best impression.

My companion and I agree that the Ming Empire is a rich and beautiful country, stronger and richer than any country we have been to, and the living standards of the people are very high, which is comparable to that of our Dutch citizens!

We feel that, regardless of the different national governance systems, His Majesty the current emperor of the Ming Empire is the most benevolent and generous monarch in the world. This can be concluded from our visit to the Nursing Home yesterday.

My partner and I were touched by your country's concern for humanity, but also ashamed that we in the Netherlands did not!
Dear gentlemen, we solemnly request that after the negotiation, please give us a chance to meet His Majesty the Emperor of Ming Dynasty, we would like to pay our respects to this great Majesty personally.Moreover, we hope that your government can present the portrait of His Majesty the Emperor to the mission, and we will bring it back to the country to show His Majesty's heroism to the Dutch people and tell his deeds, so that the glorious image of this great monarch can be seen in the country. Spread across Europe! "

The talks were held in the second hall of the Yamen of the Ministry of Rites. The officials of the Ming Dynasty participated in the talks, Chen Qiyu, a scholar of the Martial Arts Hall, Zou Weilian, the Minister of Rites, Li Jinfan, the Minister of Honglu Temple, and the Prime Minister of the Spinning Department. In the Netherlands, only Van Bronhaus Te and Pahlavit, Huang An continued to serve as the on-site interpreter.

In order to prevent conservative bureaucrats from spoiling the atmosphere of the talks, Zhu Youjian did not allow several ministers from the Ministry of Rites to participate in the talks.

After the two parties sat down and exchanged a few pleasantries, Van Bronhorst stood up solemnly, expressed his gratitude to the Ming Dynasty for the official hospitality, then spoke highly of Zhu Youjian, and made an unexpected request for a portrait.

While smiling, Chen Qiyu and the others listened to this brown bearded, tall Dutchman's praise of Daming. Everyone was very grateful, especially when they heard the other party's praise of the Emperor of Ming. It was a proud expression.

When Huang An translated Van Bronhorst's request, Chen Qiyu and the others were stunned for a while, and after they exchanged glances with Zou Weilian, Chen Qiyu immediately nodded happily and agreed to the other party's request.

Although the emperors of the Ming Dynasty in the past had sent envoys to Daming from countless foreign countries, no one had made a similar request. I didn't expect this Hongyi from the far west to have such thoughts. Daming present here The official's affection for the bearded man suddenly rose several notches, and even Huang An straightened his chest involuntarily, and his voice was extraordinarily loud when translating.

Judging from the expressions of Van Bronhorst and Pahlavit, Chen Qiyu quickly concluded that the other party's request was indeed sincere, and that there was no intention to obtain bargaining chips through this request.

"Your envoy, please sit down. On behalf of the Ming court, I would like to express my gratitude to your country for your respect to our emperor.

My Great Ming has inherited thousands of years of Chinese etiquette, and made a strategy for a country based on benevolence and filial piety.The old and the old and the old, the young and the young and the young, so that the widows, the widows, the lonely, the disabled and the sick can all be cared for. This is the essence of our Chinese civilization.

On the land of China, the emperors of all dynasties have used this as the basic policy of governance, and my emperor Ming today is the sage, and he has further carried forward the core essence of Confucian civilization. When it comes to the word benevolence, my emperor can be said to be one of the only ones in the world. ! "

Chen Qiyu made a speech with a solemn expression, Zou Weilian and others also nodded frequently to express their agreement. Werther also nodded in appreciation when he half-understood.

As soon as the talks started, the atmosphere became heated, which seemed to indicate that the next negotiations would achieve certain results. Van Bronhorst and Pahlavit couldn't help but have more hope for success in their hearts.

"Dear gentlemen, the main purpose of our trip to the Far East this time is to reach a comprehensive trade agreement with the Ming Empire. For this, we also have the greatest sincerity and vision. The signing of the agreement will be completed, which will be of great help to the improvement of the national strength of both parties.”

After Pahlavit bowed slightly to signal, he spoke out the demands of the Dutch side.

The difference from the meeting on the first day was that he did not mention the Taiwan issue on this occasion, but made comprehensive trade the main purpose of the negotiations between the two sides. This subtle change was sensitively captured by the cunning Chen Qiyu and Zou Weilian.

"Although I am not familiar with the theory of comprehensive trade that your envoy mentioned, I do understand the general meaning. But what I want to emphasize again is that Taiwan is the inherent territory of Ming Dynasty, and it is illegal for any other country to occupy an inch of Taiwan's land. Other than this point, everything else is negotiable!"

After Pahlavit finished speaking, Chen Qiyu first nodded to express his understanding of the other party's appeal, but then firmly set the tone of the negotiation.

"Respected Vice Minister Chen, according to what we have learned, Taiwan is far away from the mainland of the Ming Dynasty. Before the Ming Dynasty government, the land we are in has changed countless dynasties, but none of them regarded Taiwan as China's traditional territory. , That's why we in the Netherlands just built a castle on the island as a transit point for our Far East trade. I hope your government can understand this.

Now your Ming government suddenly proposed that Taiwan Island is the territory of the Ming Dynasty. This statement made it difficult for us to accept for a while.In order for the negotiation between the two sides to be successful, we hope that you can properly consider this issue!

We believe that the two sides can completely divide the border on Taiwan Island and make Taiwan a land jointly owned by the Netherlands and the Ming Empire. This will lay a good foundation for the comprehensive cooperation between the two parties in the future! "

Facing the tone set by Chen Qiyu, Pahlavit raised doubts from the Dutch side, and euphemistically expressed the idea that the Netherlands does not want to monopolize Taiwan.

"Hehe, I don't agree with your envoy's statement that Taiwan is not an inherent part of China.

I just cite one example here: as early as 300 years ago during the Wei and Jin Dynasties of the Three Kingdoms, King Wu sent generals Wei Wen and Zhuge Zhi to command an army of [-] across the sea to Taiwan, and set up a monument with them. This alone is enough It can be explained that Taiwan is the inherent land of China.

And my emperor Ming inherits the orthodoxy of China, and naturally inherits the jurisdiction of the previous dynasties. There is no doubt about this!
Last year, the battle between your country's army and our Huangming partial division ended in the annihilation of your country's army. After hearing the news, our emperor immediately rewarded our Taiwan garrison and planned to transport the elite division at the right time Go to the island in order to completely recover the entire territory of Taiwan.

Although my emperor is a benevolent lord, he has never been merciful when it comes to matters related to the territory. Now that the internal and external troubles of the Ming Dynasty have been eliminated, hundreds of thousands of brave soldiers are worrying that they have no place to make contributions, and the personnel of your country on the island of Taiwan , I am afraid that they will all be rewarded by the officers and soldiers!

And what your envoy said just now, your country occupies Taiwan as a place for trade transfer and storage. In other words, this place is only a temporary place for your country. If there is another better place, your country can abandon it and not use it. .

According to what I heard, your country is based on business, and what you ask for will be profitable!If the benefits far surpassing Taiwan are placed in front of your country, will your envoy and your court still be in the current state? "

(End of this chapter)