Eighth year of Chongzhen

Chapter 755 The Spaniards Are Coming for Revenge
Shortly after the 15th year of Chongzhen’s spring ended and the imperial list was issued, Pahlavit, the representative of the Dutch East India Company, came to Daming again, preparing to sign a formal agreement with the Ming court on related matters.

Because of the warm hospitality received by Pahlavit during his visit to the Netherlands, Fang Yizhi was invited to meet with Pahlavit again. The two parties happily recalled several contacts in the Netherlands. Later, Fang Yizhi participated in the Talks held between Daming and the Netherlands on related issues.

Chen Qiyu, who was in charge of the affairs of the Ministry of Rites, only showed his face at the welcome banquet held by Daming when Pahlavit first arrived, but did not participate in the subsequent talks. The same was true for Zou Weilian, Minister of Rites.

Chen Qiyu has always believed that the responsibility of the Ministry of Rites lies in educating the people, and dealing with Western Yi can be left to Honglu Temple. Besides, he is currently busy attending the teacher appreciation banquet held by the new scholars, so he has neither the time nor the interest to participate in it. So-called diplomatic talks.

As the chief examiner of this year's Chunwei, Chen Qiyu is planning to take the opportunity of participating in various celebrations to observe and find out if there are any reliable official seedlings, so that he can be recruited under his family as soon as possible, and accumulate more contacts for his descendants.

He knew that what he did would not arouse Zhu Youjian's dissatisfaction. He could become the chief examiner. To achieve the purpose of balancing the relationship between court and church.

"Mr. Palewitt, since we parted last time and now we meet again, two years have passed in the blink of an eye. Mingshan and I would like to thank the Dutch government and Mr. Palewitt again for their care and support for our Daming Mission. Help, hope that the friendly relationship between the two countries can continue to develop, and cooperate in various fields to obtain more benefits and benefit the courts and people of the two countries!"

After staying in a foreign country for several years, under the influence of this period, Fang Yizhi, who originally advocated Wang Yangming's research and knowledge beforehand, became more pragmatic. In the opening remarks of the meeting, Fang Yizhi was not ashamed of the majority The literati are generally not interested in talking about interests, but directly mentioned the purpose of cooperation between the two countries - interests.

"Minister Fang, Deputy Minister Zheng, it is a great honor for me to meet with these two distinguished gentlemen again!
As Minister Fang said, on behalf of the Dutch government, I also hope to strengthen the friendly and cooperative relationship with the Ming Empire, conduct sincere consultations and cooperation at all levels, improve the level of trade between the two countries, and let more people benefit from it! "

At the welcome banquet held last night, Pahlavit had already learned that both Fang Yizhi and Zheng Zhifeng had been promoted to high officials after returning to China, which made him envious, but also full of confidence in this meeting.

Compared with the non-salty Deputy Prime Minister Chen last night, Fang Yizhi and Zheng Zhifeng, who know more about diplomatic etiquette, are the most suitable negotiating partners.

Pahlavit told the Ming side at the welcome banquet last night that the news that the Ming army had defeated the Spanish army and completely expelled the forces that had been operating in Manila for many years had caused quite a stir in Europe.

As far as he knows, such as France, England.The high-level governments of powerful countries such as Prussia are already formulating policies for dealing with the Ming Dynasty in the future. These new policies are obviously inclined to how to maintain a good relationship with the Ming Empire in the future.

But these policies are only in the making, and the actual bill has not yet been introduced, because these countries are waiting for a message.

After learning that their country's colonies in Southeast Asia were uprooted by the Ming Dynasty, the Spanish high-level officials had already mobilized for war, preparing to send troops to recapture Manila and regain and maintain their dominance in this area.

European countries are waiting for the final news of this upcoming war. If the Ming army wins again, then these bills to curry favor with Ming will be introduced immediately. If the Ming army loses, these bills will be shelved.

Europeans are so realistic. In fact, to put it bluntly, they are similar to those tribes on the prairie. They all follow the law of the jungle, but Europeans have higher attainments in technology and humanities, so they always deal with things in a tempting way. flag.

"Minister Fang and Vice Minister Zheng, your country's treatment of the prisoners of the defeated party has been unanimously praised by all European countries. This kind of humanitarian behavior of the Ming Empire should be publicized all over the world.

In the future, we hope to jointly establish a treaty, that is, the victorious side of the war should properly treat the captured personnel of the defeated country, including non-military personnel, especially women and children, who should receive the best protection.

According to the news received by our Dutch government, our initiative has aroused the interest of many countries. We hope that there will be an opportunity for the plenipotentiaries of all countries to sit together and jointly draft and sign this humanitarian treaty! "

Pahlavit smiled and continued.

If Zhu Youjian was present, he would definitely be surprised. Could it be because of his unintentional actions that the "Geneva Convention" that was hundreds of years later was born in advance?
Treating captives well is the general thinking of later generations. Zhu Youjian has already made a clear order on this, so after defeating the Spaniards in Manila this time, no matter whether it is the army or other personnel, the captives basically did not suffer any abuse. It has attracted a lot of attention in Europe.

"I will report this matter to the palace, and only the Holy Majesty will make a decision at that time.

I don't know why Mr. Pahlavit came here for this trip?
What is the attitude of the Spanish government after receiving our compensation notice?What is your country's opinion on our claim this time? "

After Fang Yizhi nodded and responded briefly, he couldn't help but ask with a smile.

After the second massacre of immigrants from the Ming Dynasty by the Spaniards broke out, the trade between the two countries via Manila was interrupted, so the number of merchant ships between Spain and the East dropped sharply.

When the Ming army raided Manila, the only three Spanish merchant gunboats went to South America and the mainland of Ming Dynasty respectively. As a result, a large number of Spanish prisoners were detained in Manila for a long time and no one cared about them until the merchant ships visiting Daming returned to Manila. Only then did I learn that the colony had changed hands.

The Ming army did not embarrass the returning Spanish Governor's Mansion staff, but asked them to transport a small number of women and children back to the mainland, and at the same time inform their government that the Spanish government and army should be fully responsible for the massacre, and they will send ships to pick up the captured people. At the same time, the victims of the massacre should be compensated at 50 taels of silver per person, totaling 80 taels in total.

"Respected Minister Fang, first of all, I express my indignation and regret over the massacre of civilians by the military. Our government deeply regrets and condemns the tragedy. War is a matter between the military and civilians should not be targeted!

According to the information I have received, the Spanish government has not prepared compensation, they intend to use force to wash away the shame of this defeat.

The Habsburg dynasty is now gradually decaying, but their army strength is still good.

Our East India Company has learned that the Spanish government has reached an armistice agreement with the Ottoman Empire, and then dispatched the elite troops fighting in the Mediterranean to return home, preparing to cross the ocean for revenge!
According to reliable sources, the Spanish government will send [-] elite troops this time. Their goal is to recapture Manila first, and then attack your country's mainland! "

(End of this chapter)