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

Chapter 965 Furious

On this topic, Zhu Shenzhui and Adolf talked about the current spheres of influence of the maritime countries such as the Netherlands, Spain, Portugal and the United Kingdom. Adolf also explained this. Although his knowledge was not complete, he knew more than ordinary people. In particular, when talking about the wars between these countries in recent years, including the complicated situations of the various royal families, he spoke very clearly, which made Zhu Shenzhui listen with great interest.

"The strongest maritime power now is the Netherlands, followed by Spain and Britain. Britain's national strength increased greatly after defeating Spain, and it also won several victories in the war for the New World. However, Britain's domestic situation has been very serious in recent years. Since the death of Elizabeth I, the Virgin Queen of Britain, decades ago, the British throne was inherited by James I of the Stuart Dynasty, and Britain's upward momentum has stopped."

"James I was a tyrannical and tyrannical monarch who advocated divine right of kings. He had a very bad relationship with the British Parliament and the conflicts were extremely intense. During his reign, he even dissolved Parliament by royal power. Many of his actions aroused strong dissatisfaction among the British nobility and civilians, which led to chaos in Britain."

"Twenty years ago, James I died and his son, Charles, Prince of Wales, succeeded to the throne as Charles I. This king was almost identical to his father, James I. He also distrusted Parliament and even raised taxes without Parliament's approval to finance foreign wars, causing great dissatisfaction within the country."

"Ten years ago, the opposition in the UK assassinated the Duke of Buckingham, who supported the king. At the same time, after Parliament passed a resolution condemning the king's illegal taxation, the king and Parliament came into a standoff. He used his status and power as a king to forcibly appoint a new archbishop to strengthen the royal power, triggering the Bishops' War in the UK."

"Charles I was defeated in the First Bishops' War, but he was unwilling to accept defeat. In order to raise funds for the war, he forced Parliament to pass a funding proposal, but was rejected by Parliament. Therefore, Charles I took the same approach as his father and dissolved Parliament again, which triggered the Second Bishops' War. This war had not ended when I left Europe, but European countries believed that Charles I's defeat was inevitable, and that the Second Bishops' War might even lead to a full-scale English Civil War. Once the English Civil War broke out, I'm afraid only God knows what Britain would become..."

Through Adolf's narration, Zhu Shenzui heard a familiar name, which he called the current King Charles I of England.

This king is the one that Zhu Shenzhu has the deepest impression of among all the kings of Europe that he knows about this era. The reason is very simple, because of the title of Charles I. In Zhu Shenzhu's later era, there was also a British king named Charles who had just ascended the throne. It was precisely because of this Charles III who became the King of England in the 21st century... Yes! It was the guy who served as the crown prince for 70 years and was known as the guy who served as the crown prince (crown prince) for the longest time in human history that people paid attention to the title of the British King "Charles".

In the process of understanding, Zhu Shencui specifically read the records about Charles I. This unfortunate British king can be said to be the first king to be beheaded in Britain. It was during his reign that the British civil war broke out, and he was eventually sent to the guillotine by his subjects. After the death of Charles I, Britain was controlled by Cromwell, who called himself the Lord Protector, and entered a short republican period.

At present, the civil war in Britain has not officially broken out, or it has already broken out but the news has not yet reached the Ming Dynasty. But no matter what, the life of King Charles I of England has begun to count down. From this point of view, Adolf and many European royal families and nobles' judgment of Britain is accurate, because the original development momentum of Britain was curbed due to the civil war, thus losing the aggressiveness and glory of Elizabeth I's reign.

These situations will continue for a long time. It will not be until the Glorious Revolution in Britain several decades later that Britain's national strength will rise again. By the Victorian era, Britain will become the world's hegemon, gradually forming the final birth of the British Empire.

After talking about Britain, Adolf finally talked about Portugal. His evaluation of Portugal was just average. Although Portugal had a glorious past and is still a maritime power, it has also declined.

Especially not long ago, Portugal and the Netherlands broke out in colonial wars all over the world, and in the battle for Brazil that has not yet ended, Portugal and the Netherlands fought fiercely. The two sides have been fighting back and forth for several years.

Although Portugal now has the upper hand in its colonies in Brazil, it was defeated by the Netherlands in the Far East, and lost Ceylon and the extremely important Malacca successively, which greatly damaged Portugal's power in the Far East. The Netherlands further rose and controlled the important sea routes to the Far East.

"Although the Netherlands is powerful, it is far inferior to your Ming Empire. In the Far East, your Ming Empire is the real overlord." Adolf did not forget to flatter the Ming Empire and praised it sincerely.

Zhu Shenzhui smiled and said, "The Dutch are indeed rising rapidly. I have also heard about their strength in the ocean when I was in Ming Dynasty. Now that the Dutch control Ceylon and Malacca, I am afraid they are the only dominant power in the South China Sea, right?"

"One dominant company? Why do you say that? Isn't the South China Sea the territory of the Ming Dynasty? How can other countries get involved in it?" Adolf asked in confusion. Zhu Shenzhu was slightly stunned by this. He asked Adolf why he said that. After defeating Portugal in the Far East, the Netherlands not only controlled Ceylon and Malacca, but also greatly increased the strength of the Dutch East India Company. Isn't the South China Sea controlled by the Netherlands now?

"Your Majesty, the South China Sea is controlled by your Ming Dynasty!" Adolf could not help but answer, and then he recounted his experience of the Liberty when it passed through the Strait of Malacca and headed for Macau, especially when he said that the Liberty and the Brave encountered Ming Dynasty cruisers, and they took the initiative to stop and pay fees in exchange for passage, and only after flying the Ming Dynasty naval flag were they allowed to go north. He explained clearly the process.

Adolf also mentioned that he had asked the captain of the Liberty, and only then did he understand from the explanation of the Portuguese captain that no matter what country's ship wanted to enter the South China Sea and pass through to the Ming Dynasty, it must obtain permission from the Ming Navy and pay fees. Otherwise, let alone Portuguese ships, even the Dutch warships, which have strong power in the South China Sea, have no right to pass. Once this rule is violated, the Ming Navy will severely teach the other party a lesson. This tacit understanding has become the common code of conduct in the South China Sea and is accepted by all countries.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Shencui's expression remained unchanged, but he felt very unhappy in his heart. He calmly asked Adolf about the price that the Liberty had paid for the passage demand. When he learned from Adolf the amount of gold and silver that the Liberty had paid, Zhu Shencui became even angrier.

However, Zhu Shenzui did not show any anger in front of Adolf. He still chatted with him calmly for a while. When both sides had talked almost enough, he basically knew what they wanted to know. He also got the information he wanted in this private meeting. So he stopped talking and called Lu Jiude to take Adolf out of the palace and let him return to the Guest House to live. Other diplomatic communication matters would be handled by the Cabinet, the Ministry of Rites, and the Honglu Temple, and there would be no need for him, the emperor, to come forward in person.

After Lu Jiude took Adolf away, Zhu Shenzhui did not return to the Qianqing Palace immediately, but continued to sit in the original chair.

At this moment, his face was extremely gloomy, and his heart was boiling with anger. He gritted his teeth and cursed the three words "bastard".

Zheng Zhilong is a bastard, a wolf that can never be tamed. Zhu Shenzhui suspected that there was something fishy about the Dutch landing on Xiaoliuqiu so easily and burning, killing, looting, occupying and building cities on Xiaoliuqiu. You have to know that Zheng Zhilong was a pirate who traveled all over the world. The South China Sea was Zheng Zhilong's sphere of influence. Moreover, after he was recruited and transformed from a bandit to an official, his strength did not weaken, but became even stronger.

In the early years, it was heard that Zheng Zhilong had been collecting tolls in the South China Sea and acting extremely overbearingly. Any foreign ships that did not pay the tolls were not allowed to enter the South China Sea, let alone come to the Ming Dynasty. The key sea routes in the South China Sea were all controlled by Zheng Zhilong. How could such a tyrant easily let the Dutch occupy Xiaoliuqiu under his nose? There was nothing strange about this.

But Zhu Shenzui had only guessed before, without any evidence. And after Xiong Wencan reported the situation of the Dutch in Xiaoliuqiu, Zhu Shenzui ordered Zheng Zhilong in Fujian to be in charge of the matter, requiring him to expel the Dutch from Xiaoliuqiu as soon as possible.

It has been nearly half a year since the decree was issued, and Zheng Zhilong's response has always been to deal with the matter. He also reported that he had fought with the Dutch in Xiaoliuqiu, but because the Dutch were strong, it would be difficult for him to accomplish the court's task relying solely on his navy. He hoped to get military funding support from the court. Zheng Zhilong assured the court that no matter how difficult it was, he would expel the Dutch and complete the task. He just hoped that the court would consider the actual situation, give him more silver, and give him more time.

Zhu Shenzhui did not think much about this and asked Zheng Zhilong to think of ways to solve the problem as soon as possible. In order to make Zheng Zhilong pay more attention, he also specially allocated a part of the military funds to Zheng Zhilong. In addition, he urged Zheng Zhilong through Jinyiwei and other officials in Fujian, including Xiong Wencan, who had already taken office as the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi, that as long as he could do this well, he would not care even if there were some small thoughts as the emperor.

But no one expected that Zheng Zhilong, this bastard, was so bold that not only did he play the trick of keeping the enemy alive under his nose, but he also used his Fujian navy to continue doing unprofitable business at sea.

Being an official of the Ming Dynasty, receiving Ming Dynasty salary, supporting Ming Dynasty navy, but in fact still being the overlord of the sea, and being open about one thing and secretly doing another, how could Zhu Shenzhu not be angry? Especially when he learned from Adolf that this situation had always existed and had long been a routine operation, Zhu Shenzhu was even more angry.

Are all the officials in Fujian and Guangdong deaf and dumb? What is the Jinyiwei for? Why didn't anyone report this? How much money did Zheng Zhilong make in this way over the years? How many people did he support privately in this way? What on earth does this bastard want to do? Is he going to rebel?

(End of this chapter)