Eighth year of Chongzhen

Chapter 779 The old driver took me
After Pahlavit’s selective and abridged version of the commentary, Van Bronhorst also represented the Dutch government and presented the Dutch side’s views and suggestions to the Ming court.

The Dutch government believes that the formulation and implementation of the "Navigation Regulations" not only brought very serious losses to the Netherlands, but also seriously damaged the vital interests of Ming Dynasty, and it is likely to trigger a chain reaction in Europe.

Due to the long distance between the east and the west, except for the last visit to Europe by the official mission of the Ming Dynasty, no merchant ship from the Ming Dynasty has ever been to Europe. The long voyage, complicated and changeable sea conditions, unfamiliar shipping routes, hydrological data, and language communication The combination of many factors, such as obstacles in the sea, made the Ming maritime merchants know that this business route was very profitable, but no one dared to try it, so this most profitable business route was monopolized by the Dutch.

According to the "Navigation Regulations", if the current situation continues, or if the Dutch lose to the British in the end, then many commodities of Ming Dynasty will not be able to be transshipped by Dutch merchant ships. Workshops closed down, workers lost their jobs, and the pace of industrialization that had just begun in Ming Dynasty was forced to slow down or even stop.

It is obvious to all that Ming Dynasty lagged behind in high seas trade, and the Dutch saw this obvious weakness of Ming Dynasty, so they came up with the strategy of teaming up with the Ming Navy to deal with the British fleet.

The news that the North Sea and South Sea Fleets of the Ming Dynasty attacked the Spanish fleet in Manila Bay had already been sent back to Europe. The power of the "Kunlun" class warships was initially demonstrated in this naval battle, which made the Dutch feel a little regretful and disappointed. The Ming Dynasty Navy is rising strongly.

The range and caliber of the British fleet's naval guns are much stronger than those of the Netherlands. The Dutch fleet is strong in the number of ships, but it lacks iconic giant ships such as the "Kunlun" class. Even if they have now realized the power of giant ships, they still cannot It was too late to start building.

The construction period of the "Kunlun" class takes about two years. During these two years, if the sea route has been blocked, the national power of the Netherlands will have been exhausted long ago.

The only way now is to seek the help of the Ming Empire, try to convince the Emperor and senior officials of the Ming Dynasty, and agree to send the "Kunlun", "Mendian", and "Split Sky" classes to Europe, and join forces with the Dutch navy to defeat the powerful British navy.

Although the firepower of the British giant ship heavy artillery is also very powerful, it has not yet reached the monster level of the "Kunlun" class with 62 artillery pieces of various calibers, and even their gunboats are not even as good as the "Mending Sky" and "Splitting Sky" class. , These two warships are also equipped with [-] and [-] cannons respectively, which are also untouchable existences in European countries.

In order to reach an agreement with Daming as soon as possible, the Dutch side also showed a lot of sincerity, because the deterioration of the domestic economy no longer allowed them to look forward and backward.

The Dutch government is willing to transfer the colonial site of Batavia (Jakarta) to Daming, and promises to continue to help Daming develop the shipbuilding and navigation industries; the Netherlands is willing to join hands with Daming to develop the Hudson River Basin in North America, and establish new immigration in the local area point; the two sides can carry out broader cooperation in multiple fields, and the Dutch government will support Ming to obtain the corresponding status and rights in Europe.

After the talks between the two sides ended, Fang Yizhi and Zheng Zhifeng were ordered to enter the palace to submit the arguments and appeals of the Netherlands and the East India Company to Zhu Youjian, waiting for the emperor to make a final decision.

Although it is not clear what historical grievances and grievances there are between Britain and the Netherlands, but judging from the content of the "Navigation Regulations", the bandit mentality of the empire on which the sun never sets is deeply rooted. The "Navigation Regulations" are actually synonymous with arrogance and unreasonable.

Because the unreasonableness of the British Empire can be proved by the simplest facts: If the identities of Britain and the Netherlands were switched, and the role of "sea coachman" was Britain, would the "Navigation Regulations" still be born?

The answer is of course no.

This kind of behavior of only allowing state officials to set fire and not allowing others to smoke is a naked hegemonic thinking, which is never allowed by Huanghuang Daming, and corresponding strategies must be used to deal with it.

Zhu Youjian didn't mind letting the Dutch be the gunmen. The communication between countries is for profit. If there is no middleman in the Netherlands who makes the price difference, how can the many commodities that have brought countless wealth to Ming be sold to Europe?
Lacking channels to draw blood from other countries, and relying solely on the domestic market that has just completed its goal of food and clothing, will the road to China's revival have to wait until the Year of the Monkey?
Now the birth rate of Daming is in a period of growth. According to incomplete statistics, the total population has exceeded 3000 million. With the medical and health conditions greatly improved and the problem of food and clothing completely solved, the infant mortality rate has also been greatly reduced. If this momentum continues, the total population of Ming Dynasty will exceed 20 million in less than [-] years. As long as the overseas market expands smoothly, the demographic dividend of Ming Dynasty will greatly promote the overall development of the economy.

But the current situation is that there are a huge number of existing Dingkou, but the consumption capacity is seriously insufficient.

Do you expect farmers who face the loess all day long to wear satin clothes to cultivate?It's not that they don't love those exquisite blue and white buckets from official kilns, but they can't afford them.

Who doesn't have a big pottery bowl.

The implementation of the free admission system is only in its infancy, and it will take a long time to spread throughout Daming, and the consumption of paper will also take time and process.

White sugar is loved by men, women and children, but because the output is too low, the price is high, which is not a necessity for the common people.

The above-mentioned items are the hot items for export. If there is no middleman, where will the money come from?
The fleet of the Four Seas Shipping Company now has less than [-] ships, and the farthest voyage is Luzon. They also lack experienced captains, sailors, and ships. These cannot be solved in a short while. Before the Daming Ocean Fleet took shape, express delivery was still indispensable.

And the Dutch's appeal this time just echoed Zhu Youjian's wishes, so it can't be said that it was used by the Dutch.

Although the North Sea Fleet and the South Sea Fleet have won a big victory in Manila Bay, the battlefield of the naval battle is not always chosen by the Ming army. If you want to build a powerful and invincible navy that can coerce the world, in addition to ships that surpass the times Outside the ship, it is necessary to go through actual battles to test the quality and accumulate experience.

Daming Navy is now like a rich second-generation novice who just got his driver's license and bought a Lamborghini as soon as his parents were happy. No confidence.

Just when the rich second generation was yelling everywhere: "The old driver takes me", the old Dutch driver came, and he came voluntarily.

(End of this chapter)