The Ming Dynasty did not revolutionize

Chapter 260 Arriving in Europe
Zhu Jianxuan's fleet sailed south along the inland coastline of Shenzhou.

The intended goal was to go directly to Europe and send the troops to the European continent first.

However, every time the fleet replenished supplies in a large port city, Zhu Jianxuan would meet with local officials.

Ask about the local situation and say a few words to comfort and encourage them. After all, I was out on an inspection tour.

However, Zhu Jianxuan would only meet with officials who were promoted after the Northern Expedition and senior managers of Wangyou factories that were established one after another.

In other words, they are all vested interests under the new order and they all form their own community of interests.

As a traditional monarch who was committed to being the ultimate producer, Zhu Jianxuan would not parade in a car on the public streets like modern monarchs.

If it was before the Northern Expedition, Zhu Jianxuan might have done that, but now he definitely wouldn't do that.

There are too many potential enemies among the people.

All the businessmen who rode the wave of industrialization but went bankrupt during the national capitalist transformation must have hated themselves to the core.

There are too many people who want to die without a burial place.

Zhu Jianxuan took the boat and proceeded step by step, passing through Malacca, Ceylon and the Red Sea.

It arrived at the Suez Canal in late April of the 45th year of Xianning.

When the fleet stopped at the canal port for supplies, Zhu Jianxuan met with major officials from the canal and Egypt, as well as the canal company's manager, chief engineer, and managers.

The chief engineer reported on the situation of the canal. It has been one and a half years since the start of the double-track project, and more than half of the work has been completed. It is expected to be completed by early next year.

Zhu Jianxuan was quite satisfied with the progress, and he did not hesitate to encourage these officials and craftsmen, encouraging them to continue working hard.

When leaving Suez, Zhu Jianxuan left a main division stationed along the canal, responsible for strengthening the defense of the canal area.

The Suez Canal is currently the most important transportation hub in the world and must not be lost.

Especially during the French Revolution, there was an expedition to Egypt.

Zhu Jianxuan's fleet continued to advance and docked at Taranto, the southernmost tip of the Italian peninsula, and then left a main division to strengthen local defense.

The Italian Peninsula is located on the periphery of Europe. Although it may be attacked on land, the scale of the war will not be too large.

With a main division of the Ming Dynasty, plus the existing garrison and the subsequent Japanese vassal troops, they should be able to hold the city.

He instructed the generals who stayed behind to be prepared for defense as well as for taking the initiative to attack.

When the whole of Europe was in complete chaos, he seized the opportunity to send troops to control the region of the Two Siles.

After the fleet was replenished, Zhu Jianxuan led the fleet to continue westward, met with major officials from North Africa in Tunisia, and met with the Duke of Morocco in Morocco.

The fleet then crossed the Strait of Gibraltar into the Atlantic Ocean, turned north to the Netherlands, and entered the Ming city of Antwerp.

During the French Revolution, the Netherlands was arguably the most dangerous place in Europe.

It is adjacent to France, has a large French-speaking population, and is very close to Paris, the city of Enlightenment thought and the capital of France.

Ordinary people in Belgium could be influenced by the ideas of the French Revolution.

At the same time, France has coveted the Belgian region for many years in history, and France during the revolutionary period is likely to take the initiative to attack Belgium.

In the original history, the Belgian region belonged to the territory of the Habsburg family. When Austria joined the anti-French alliance, it attacked directly from Belgium.

Revolutionary France counterattacked, directly occupied Belgium, and then occupied the entire Netherlands.

Zhu Jianxuan decided to leave 30,000 main divisions in Belgium, and at the same time sent transport ships to Rotterdam and Hadlen, sending a main division to each of them for garrison.

At the same time, when the Ming Dynasty's large fleet arrived in Europe, it had already attracted special attention from European countries.

If it were under normal circumstances, the sudden appearance of the Ming Dynasty's large fleet would definitely cause panic-stricken opposition.

But in the current situation, everyone actually welcomes the Ming Dynasty sending troops.

This is also why Zhu Jianxuan took this opportunity to transport tens of thousands of main forces to the European continent.

There were envoys from various countries in Antwerp. When they learned that the Crown Prince of the Ming Dynasty, the King of Wu, the King of the United States, and the King of the Netherlands had come in person, they all came to ask for a meeting immediately.

Their intentions were very similar, which was to confirm whether the Ming Dynasty would join in the action of interfering in France.

At the same time, they hoped that Zhu Jianxuan would stay longer in Antwerp so that more important ministers of their country would come to visit him in person.

Zhu Jianxuan planned to stay in Antwerp for a while to inspect the fleet's ships, and then set off for North America after replenishment.

This period of time is a good opportunity to meet people from various European countries.

The first to come to pay their respects were the Duke of Belgium and the Duke of the Netherlands, both of whom were direct subjects of Zhu Jianxuan.

The Duke of Belgium, originally the illegitimate son of the Marquis of Palatinate, was originally named Karl August, and now has a Chinese name of Gust.

The Duke of Holland was originally the hereditary ruler of the Netherlands, Prince William V of Orange, who now took the Chinese name He William.

Both of them have now changed into Ming-style clothes and have learned to speak Chinese and write Chinese characters.

In today's Netherlands, and in the areas around several Ming ports, these are the most fashionable trends. Both of these dukes are much luckier than in history because of the Ming's intervention.

The Duke of Belgium went from being an illegitimate child with no property or territory to inherit to a legitimate Ming Dynasty nobleman.

The territory is also one of the richest lands on the European continent.

Also, because it had restored its function as a seaport as the Ming Dynasty's trade window, the indirect income generated also benefited him again.

As for the Netherlands, in the original history, the Dutch East India Company, which was already on the verge of collapse, went bankrupt completely because of the heavy losses it suffered in the war with Britain.

Amsterdam completely lost its status as Europe's financial center, which eventually led to a rebellion by nationalist patriots in the Netherlands.

In this world, the Netherlands became a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty and was not beaten up by the British.

After Zhu Jianxuan became the King of the Netherlands, the financial situation of the Netherlands began to improve slowly as it was integrated into the Ming Dynasty's trade system.

The Netherlands' status in Europe and security expectations have increased significantly.

Amsterdam, which had been almost squeezed to collapse by London, has slowly regained some of its vitality as a financial center in recent years.

These things can be seen directly.

The lords can benefit directly.

So now the two dukes are very grateful, grateful that their father and themselves made the right choice.

I am glad that I accepted the conditions offered by Daming and Zhu Jianxuan.

However, the two dukes are now extremely anxious, because they are too close to France, where the trouble is now happening.

After greeting and greeting each other, Duke William of Holland immediately asked:
"Your Highness, the situation in France is too serious. Not only did they assassinate the original king, they also sent the newly elected king to prison.

"The point is that now in our own country, the Netherlands, scholars and students occasionally cause trouble, intending to learn from the French and rebel.

"Should we join the alliance organized by the British and jointly intervene in French affairs?"

The younger Belgian Duke immediately echoed his words.

Zhu Jianxuan directly ordered:

"Be prepared for war, be prepared to defend against a French invasion.

"But you are not allowed to leave the border without my order.

"Don't take the initiative to provoke France, let other countries interfere first."

The Belgian Duke Gust immediately said:
"Your Highness, do you mean that we should just sit back and watch the fight?

“But we are too close to France, and we are sandwiched between the Holy Roman Empire and France.

"If France attacks, can we resist?"

Zhu Jianxuan said casually:

"Almost. Let France and other countries deal with it first, and we will try to remain neutral as much as possible.

“Of the main Ming army I brought with me, 30,000 will be stationed in Antwerp.

"We can't occupy France with this amount of people, but we can still defend it."

Upon hearing that Ming Dynasty soldiers were coming to assist in the defense, the Duke of Belgium and the Duke of the Netherlands both breathed a sigh of relief.

Three days later, the British Prime Minister, the Marquis of Rockingham, came to Antwerp to meet with the Crown Prince of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Jianxuan.

In the eyes of European aristocrats like the Marquis of Rockingham, Zhu Jianxuan is a super aristocrat with a long list of titles and the most powerful person in the world.

After the meeting, the British Prime Minister saluted very respectfully and then directly stated the purpose of his visit.

He persuaded the Ming Dynasty to join the anti-French alliance, and at the same time hoped that the Ming Dynasty would send the legitimate King of France, Louis Joseph, back to Europe.

Zhu Jianxuan said that the Ming Dynasty was really helpless. It had a lot of things to deal with in its homeland and Africa, and it was temporarily unable to spare the time to participate in Europe's intervention.

However, the Ming Society would firmly stand on the side of the anti-French alliance.

He is also trying every possible means to raise manpower, and now has directly sent 70,000 main forces of the Ming Dynasty to Europe.

Later, there will be a vassal division composed of Japanese samurai and the United States Continental Army dispatched from North America.

At the same time, the Ming Dynasty would order Belgium and the Netherlands to strengthen their defenses and would never allow France to occupy these two regions.

This would at least cut off some of the possible offensive routes for France.

Marquis Rockingham felt that what Zhu Jianxuan said should be the truth.

The Marquis of Rockingham knew that the Ming Dynasty had just successfully conquered the Northern Expedition and immediately conquered Japan around its homeland. At the same time, it was also reducing the power of the feudal lords and moving them to Africa.

The Marquis of Rockingham had no choice but to accept Zhu Jianxuan's explanation and returned to England with great regret.

(End of this chapter)