Gou was a member of the imperial family in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 1082 Ambition
In addition to the silver, the note from the Ministry of Internal Affairs made Zhu Mincheng even more excited, because this note actually allowed him to directly withdraw a large amount of military equipment from the Ministry of Internal Affairs. These weapons included bows and arrows, swords, spears and armor, in addition to firearms that were enough to equip 300 people. These firearms included not only the most advanced muskets in the Ming Dynasty, but also powerful artillery such as the Portuguese and the tiger squat cannon. With these things, Zhu Mincheng was more confident.

"Thank you, big brother. Thank you, big brother, hehehe..." Looking at the things in his hand, Zhu Mincheng smiled and thanked the prince repeatedly.

"You are my brother. There is no need to thank each other between brothers. You chose this path yourself. If you have changed your mind before, don't force yourself. Just tell me and I will ask father to choose another place for you. But if you insist on going there, I hope you won't regret it later." The prince said to Zhu Mincheng in a serious tone.

"Brother, I have made up my mind!" Zhu Mincheng answered seriously.

Looking carefully into his brother's eyes, the prince sighed softly, raised his hand and patted him on the shoulder but said nothing. Everything was said without words.

With the support of the crown prince, Zhu Mincheng felt relieved and more confident in opening the New World to foreign powers. However, it was not so soon to go to the New World. His marriage was already scheduled, and he had to get married first. In addition, the fleet he had sent out had not returned yet. According to the time calculation, if everything went well, it should have figured out the route and started the return journey. As for when it would return to Ming Dynasty, it was unknown, but it should be soon.

Just as Zhu Mincheng was looking forward to being officially appointed as an imperial guard next year and was making preparations, several ships from Europe entered the South China Sea. These ships were not ordinary ships, but the ships that the diplomatic envoys to Europe were carrying. Wang Fuzhi and Zheng Hongkui, who had been away from the Ming Dynasty for nearly three years, finally returned.

"Finally home!"

When the ship passed through Malacca and entered the South China Sea area and was about to arrive at the Ming Dynasty, Wang Fuzhi couldn't help but sigh.

It was fine when he was in Europe, but as he got closer to Ming Dynasty on the way back, his homesickness became more and more serious. Not only him, but also Zheng Hongkui and the members of the diplomatic corps who followed them on the mission.

This time the envoys finally lived up to the emperor's expectations and completed their mission successfully. They not only went to Poland and the Kingdom of Sweden as originally planned, but also passed through Portugal, Spain, France, Germany and other countries and regions, and met with the monarchs and some great nobles of these countries.

It can be said that they made history. They were the first official delegation sent by the imperial court in Chinese history to land on European soil and conduct diplomatic communication with European countries. They also had a good understanding of the current situation in Europe, including local customs and practices, and recorded a large number of notes. These are first-hand materials, laying the foundation for future exchanges between Ming Dynasty and Europe.

Before returning, they had originally planned to stay in Sweden for a few more days, but after negotiating the cooperation between Ming and Sweden and receiving a warm reception from King Christina of Sweden, Wang Fuzhi soon changed his original plan and decided to leave Sweden early and return to Ming.

One reason is that they have been away from Ming Dynasty for too long, and it is indeed time to return.

Secondly, their mission to Europe has been basically completed, and they have even gained more than they originally imagined.

As for the third reason, it was because of Charles II. The nominal King of England planned to go to Ming Dynasty with them, but his identity was special and his current position in Europe was extremely sensitive. Although some arrangements were made to cover up their tracks, these arrangements would eventually be discovered. If they delayed in Europe for too long and were known by Britain, and if France and other countries tried to stop them for their national interests, it would bring unnecessary trouble to the delegation.

In addition to these three points, what is more important is that Wang Fuzhi sensed the breath of war.

The Thirty Years' War in Europe had just ended, and the agreement between the countries had just been signed. On the surface, peace had come and the war had ended, but in reality, the possibility of another war was still brewing in Europe. This was especially true in the Kingdom of Poland, which they had just visited. It was unknown what the members of the Polish Parliament were thinking, or whether the Polish King Władysław IV had other intentions. Currently, the border between Poland and Tsarist Russia was not peaceful, and both sides were moving troops to the border. Judging from the situation, a war between the two countries was very likely to break out.

Although the war between Poland and Tsarist Russia was what the Ming Dynasty wanted, and the more intense the fighting in Europe, the more beneficial it would be for the Ming Dynasty in the East. But the problem is that the Ming Dynasty's envoys are in Sweden, and the Ming Dynasty has just come to Sweden from Poland, and signed a series of agreements with Władysław IV when leaving Poland. If the war breaks out when the envoys are in Europe, then the Ming Dynasty envoys, who have just established diplomatic relations with Poland, must make a statement, and their statement also represents the attitude of the Ming Dynasty, which will fall into a passive situation in terms of diplomacy in Wang Fuzhi's view. After all, Wang Fuzhi's diplomatic mission is not to tear his face and provoke a war immediately, but to clearly stand in the war between the two sides. Once this is done, there is no room for maneuver, not to mention that Wang Fuzhi's authority is not enough. Such a major event requires the authorization of the emperor. In order to avoid being involved in this trouble, Wang Fuzhi considered it and pretended not to know and decided to return early.

There is another reason why Wang Fuzhi was determined to have this idea, and that is the current attitude of the Kingdom of Sweden.

Although the monarch of the Kingdom of Sweden is Queen Christina, this queen is considered a "pacifist" and is not so keen on territorial expansion and war, as can be seen from her attitude during the Thirty Years' War in Europe.

But the problem is that Prime Minister Count Axel Oxenstierna has different ideas from the Queen. This prime minister is a thorough national interest person. In this sense, he is a capable minister of Sweden. Moreover, it was because of his persistence in the Thirty Years' War in Europe that Sweden became a victorious country and gained huge benefits, making Sweden's current national strength enter an unprecedented period of prosperity.

With Count Axel Oxenstierna's political vision, he could smell the smell of war that even Wang Fuzhi could sense. Logically speaking, the Swedish royal family and the Polish royal family were one family, and everyone was one family. In addition, the Polish king often lived in Sweden because of the domestic political system. The two royal families usually had a good relationship and friendship.

But Count Axel Oxenstierna was different from Her Majesty the Queen. After the Thirty Years' War in Europe, he had set his sights on the neighboring Polish territory and secretly planned for the Kingdom of Sweden to move south to annex Poland. This time, the attitude of the Polish Parliament and the conflict between it and Tsarist Russia were very likely to lead to a war, which was a great opportunity for the Kingdom of Sweden.

Count Axel Oxenstierna felt that if the war broke out, Sweden would likely benefit from it. Once Poland was defeated by Tsarist Russia, the Swedish royal family would have every reason to send troops in the name of "assisting" Poland and launch an attack to the south.

In this way, not only can they take this opportunity to severely strike Tsarist Russia, which intends to move westward, and curb its extravagant desire for western lands, but they can also take advantage of this opportunity to swallow up some of the territories bordering Poland and Sweden, carry out actual military occupation under the pretext of sending troops, and then annex and digest them.

If diplomatic means could be used to divide the Polish Parliament, or if something unexpected happened to the Polish King Władysław IV in this war, then the Kingdom of Sweden could openly annex the whole of Poland on the grounds that the two royal families were of the same descent, thus making Poland a part of the Kingdom of Sweden.

Once this is accomplished, the Kingdom of Sweden will become the most powerful country in the entire European region. Whether it is land, population, economy or national strength, it will be a leader. By then, whether the Kingdom of Sweden moves eastward, southward or westward to annex the German region, it will be a good choice. Maybe in the near future, the Kingdom of Sweden can replicate the glory of the Roman Empire and wear the crown of the Roman Empire.

Although this plan seems a little unrealistic, why not give it a try? What if it succeeds? And even if he can't annex all of Poland, annexing part of Poland's territory will be fine! Count Axel Oxenstierna has always hoped that Sweden can become the "Great Swedish Empire" and his name will go down in history. How can he give up this opportunity?

For this purpose, during the meeting with Wang Fuzhi, Count Axel Oxenstierna asked Wang Fuzhi indirectly about the attitude of the Ming Dynasty represented by him. The meaning was very clear, that is, he hoped that once the Kingdom of Sweden annexed the Kingdom of Poland, the Ming Dynasty would give firm diplomatic support.

Once the Ming Dynasty made such a statement, Sweden would certainly reciprocate in some ways. Not only would it help the Ming Dynasty target Tsarist Russia in the east, but the two countries could even join forces to attack Tsarist Russia at the same time, one from the east and the other from the west, thus completely defeating this barbarian country in the east.

Wang Fuzhi was not stupid. He did not even want to get involved in the impending war between Poland and Tsarist Russia, let alone Sweden's attempt to get involved. And no matter what the final outcome of this matter was and what the Ming Dynasty's attitude was, it would inevitably affect the diplomatic relations between the Ming Dynasty and Poland and Sweden.

The Ming Dynasty had finally sent an envoy to complete diplomatic communication and formally establish diplomatic channels. If political changes occurred in either Poland or Sweden in the later period, then all that the Ming Dynasty had done would be in vain, which would not be a good thing for the Ming Dynasty.

For these reasons, Wang Fuzhi not only did not agree to the other party's temptation, but even pretended to be deaf and dumb, and quickly decided to end the mission and return to Ming Dynasty. After Wang Fuzhi and his party left Sweden, the Swedish side did not send anyone to hinder them. When the ship they were on entered the North Sea from the Baltic Sea, and then went southwest through France, Spain, Portugal, and finally left Europe, Wang Fuzhi completely put down his hanging heart.

(End of this chapter)