The Ming Dynasty did not revolutionize

Chapter 317: Desperate Future and Potential Opportunities

Franz listened to his uncle's reminder and was obviously stunned for a moment. He asked back in a somewhat broken-down mood:
"Taking away the territory through division and marriage, this is not the worst outcome?

"What's the worst possible outcome? How bad can it get?"

Joseph laughed dryly and continued to explain what he knew:
"After becoming a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty, the succession of the monarch is no longer determined by ourselves, nor is it determined by our traditional inheritance rules.

"On this basis, to obtain the official canonization from the Ming Emperor, a document from the Ming Honglu Temple is required.

"The Ming Dynasty could allow only direct descendants to inherit the territory and title, and after the direct descendants are extinct, refuse to allow collateral descendants to inherit, and then declare 'no sons, the country will be abolished'.

"Then the emperor took the fiefdom as his own and handed it over to the Ming central government to set up provincial governments, prefectures and counties for administration.

“There were actually many indigenous states around the Ming mainland, most of which had long been subject to the Divine Continent Central Empire court.

“However, during the reign of Emperor Chongzhen, the Ming Dynasty gradually eliminated these vassal states and brought them under the jurisdiction of the central court.

"Just over a decade ago, the current Ming Dynasty Emperor Gong presided over the annexation of Korea, which had existed for as long as the Ming Dynasty, and Japan, which had been independent for a long time.

"Some of the feudal states in the Ming Dynasty were annexed by the emperor, and some were relocated to Africa, and the latter was actually a good outcome.

"In short, once we become vassals and subjects of the Ming Emperor, the future fate of our family will depend entirely on the attitude of the future Ming Emperor towards us.

"In the cultural system of the Ming Dynasty, there is basically no absolute orthodox principle. They are essentially a civilian court."

Franz almost despaired after hearing this:

"It's like the Ming Emperor could revoke the vassal states at any time? Or annex the fiefdoms of the vassal states?
"Then what should we do? Reject Ming's request? Continue to maintain independence? That means giving up Bavaria.

“The point is, even if the Habsburgs continue to maintain their independence and retain all their existing territories, they will not be able to confront the Ming Dynasty, right?
"Even if the Ming Dynasty does not take action itself, even if it only asks other European countries that have pledged allegiance to the Ming Dynasty to send troops, it is possible to defeat us."

Joseph II sighed deeply and began to analyze the situation to his successor earnestly, while also encouraging his courage:
"There's no need to be so desperate, we don't necessarily have no chance.

“Other European countries, and even the original vassal states of the Ming Dynasty, may not be truly loyal to the Ming Dynasty.

"Shenzhou no longer has any real orthodox principles. The feudal lords, generals, and officials of Shenzhou all want to become the supreme ruler.

"Because the Ming Dynasty is very powerful now, these people seem to be very loyal.

"But once the power of the Ming court began to weaken, their loyalty would also sour.

"The major European countries were forced to submit to the Ming Dynasty at this time.

“If there really is a chance to get rid of the Ming, most of them would be willing to participate.

“It is not uncommon for conquerors in European history to quickly conquer and occupy a large amount of territory and then quickly collapse.

“Even in Shenzhou, there are many cases where a newly established powerful dynasty perished in the second generation due to various internal and external reasons.

"The current Ming Dynasty, the current Ming Emperor, how much land and population has he conquered in recent years?

“Half of Shenzhou, all of Australia, all of Africa, all of America, and half of Europe.

“Does Ming have the ability to truly control these lands and populations?
"What about the successor of the Ming Emperor? Can he truly inherit the authority of this world conqueror and maintain such a huge empire from disintegration?
"Originally, according to the Ming Dynasty's traditional system of primogeniture, even if the eldest son as the heir is incapable, he still has the highest legitimacy in the Ming Dynasty's tradition.

“The vast majority of ordinary Ming people will accept this kind of heir. This is the most stable and widely recognized way of inheriting power and wealth.

"But the Ming emperor wanted to abolish this system and adopt a secret testamentary inheritance system that was full of uncertainty.

"If nothing unexpected happens, when the new emperor of the Ming Dynasty ascends the throne, there will likely be uncontrollable political turmoil or even a coup d'état..."

Franz listened to his uncle's analysis and regained some of his spirits:
“So our choice now is to reject the deal with Ming, continue to remain independent, and wait for problems to arise within Ming.

"Then contact and persuade other European countries to break away from or even resist the conquest of the Ming Dynasty?"

Joseph II was silent for a few seconds:

"Everything else is correct, but I need some time to think carefully about whether to remain independent or to join the Ming Dynasty as a whole."

Franz was acutely aware of a word:

"You said 'temporarily'?"

Joseph nodded slightly:
"Yes, temporarily, becoming a vassal of Ming Dynasty as a whole is not without benefits.

“We can temporarily expand our actual territory within the framework of the Ming Dynasty and at least get the Venice area.

“When there is a chance to secede, there will also be a chance to take the expanded territory with us.

“At the same time, after becoming a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty, there should be more opportunities to directly come into contact with the military technology of the Ming Dynasty.

"Including Ming Dynasty's rapid-fire rifles, super rapid-fire machine guns, and even flying machines.

“If we can obtain some of the technology and build a production plant in our own country, we can enhance our combat effectiveness and narrow the gap between us and Ming Dynasty.

“But of course it’s risky, because it means giving up… at least temporarily, my autonomy, so I have to think about it carefully.

"Go and take a rest first. I'll call you over after I make a decision."

Franz suddenly realized, then agreed seriously and carefully left Joseph II's room.

During the two days when Joseph was thinking about this, Russian envoys came to Vienna and brought the news that the Ottoman Empire had declared war on Russia.

Russia invited the Habsburgs to join the war to jointly defend the land gained in the last war against the Ottoman Empire, and even to further divide the Ottoman land.

Russia wanted Bulgaria and Constantinople, the Habsburgs Macedonia and Albania.

At the same time, they hoped that the Habsburgs would invite the Ming Dynasty to join and let the Ming Dynasty be responsible for seizing the Ottoman Mesopotamian region in Asia and even the Anatolian Plateau.

After listening to the report, Joseph II was stunned for a moment. He did not immediately respond to Russia's proposal, but quickly made another decision in his mind.

Joseph II immediately said that he needed to think about it for a while and asked the Russian envoy to go to the guest room to rest first.

Then he immediately arranged for the servants to call Crown Prince Franz over.

Franz did not dare to neglect his uncle's order and soon came to Joseph II's meeting room:
"Uncle, have you made a decision?"

Joseph II took a long breath and said:
"Yes, we have now joined the Ming Dynasty as a whole and become a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty.

"Because an important news just came. The Ottoman Empire declared war on Russia, and Russia invited us and the Ming Dynasty to join the war.

“For the Ming Emperor, this is a great opportunity to further his ambition to conquer the world, and he will most likely be willing to intervene in this war.

"We can now see whether the Ming Dynasty, after conquering Africa, America, and Europe, still has the ability to directly swallow up the Ottoman Empire or Russia."

Franz was not too surprised by the war between the Ottomans and Russia, as the two were also famous enemies, but he was a little confused by what Joseph II said:
"Uncle, is there a direct relationship between our war with Russia and the Ottoman Empire and whether we become a vassal of the Ming Dynasty?"

Joseph II paced back and forth in the room, slowly explaining the logic:

"If the Ming Dynasty could directly swallow up the Ottoman Empire or Russia, it could continue to maintain stable rule over the whole of Europe.

"Then the power of the Ming Dynasty will not be something Europe can resist.

"It is meaningless for us to remain independent, as we will soon be dismembered and annexed by the vassal states led by the Ming Dynasty.

“In the future, we can only struggle to survive within the Ming Dynasty’s system.

"If the Ming Dynasty annexed the Ottoman Empire or Russia, it would no longer be able to maintain stable rule.

“That’s our chance to expand our territory and become independent again through Ming.

"You can go back to Antwerp directly and ask for some additional conditions based on what Ming Dynasty originally offered.

"You can talk about the whole papacy.

"If we really can't come up with more conditions, we can accept Ming's current conditions.

“At the same time, we should try to put forward an additional condition, requiring the Ming Dynasty to make a commitment to the Habsburgs in the vassal agreement.

"For all the territories of the Habsburg family, the Ming Dynasty shall never split, transfer, change, or abolish the country in the future.

"The succession must always be by a member of the House of Habsburg, and if the main branch dies out, a branch line must succeed.

"This kind of promise is of little significance, it is just a moral constraint, but it is suitable for verifying the Ming Dynasty's ambitions towards Austria and whether it is really prepared to annex Austria.

"If the Ming Dynasty hesitates and considers before agreeing, it will be more reliable. If it directly refuses or accepts, it will be meaningless." Franz fully understood what Joseph II meant:
"I understand."

Joseph II patted Franz on the shoulder:

"I am old now, and the future of the Habsburgs depends on you."

Franz agreed again with mixed feelings, and then suddenly thought of a question that he was not sure whether it made sense:

"Uncle, if the Ming Dynasty...refuses to cooperate with Russia and us in attacking the Ottoman Empire, or even directly does not intervene in the war between Russia and the Ottoman Empire, what should we do?"

Joseph II was stunned for a moment, then smiled, shook his head and said:
“This is impossible, absolutely impossible.

"The Ming Dynasty had just forced Portugal to surrender, and then immediately declared war on Spain to occupy the American continent.

"At that time, the American war had not yet completely ended, and the situation in Europe was not the most suitable, but the Ming emperor could not help but intervene.

“Now that the wars in America and Europe are basically over, the two old enemies, Russia and the Ottoman Empire, have started fighting again.

"How could the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty let go of such a great opportunity?"

If it were a normal monarch, whether he was an Eastern emperor or a European conqueror, it would be difficult for him to bear it in this situation.

But Zhu Jianxuan is really a very pure political machine and rarely makes decisions on impulse.

At the same time, Joseph II thought he had enough understanding of Shenzhou, but this understanding was obviously not deep enough.

Therefore, when he analyzed the behavioral logic of Zhu Jianxuan and Daming, he was wrong in direction.

After Zhu Jianxuan forced Portugal to surrender and obtained the Brazilian colony, he did not immediately go into war with Spain.

Brazil had a total population of four million. It took Zhu Jianxuan and the Ming Dynasty three years to digest it, and at the same time began to prepare for war against Spain.

After Zhu Jianxuan seized Spain's American colonies, he immediately joined the European war, not out of ambition or desire for grandeur.

Instead, Zhu Jianxuan discovered that Napoleon was carrying out land reform, and if he continued to develop, he might pose a greater threat, so he had to take action in advance to kill Napoleon.

So for Zhu Jianxuan, participating in the European war was already a forced move and he had no choice but to do it.

Therefore, as long as the more marginal wars that are happening now do not contain threats that make Zhu Jianxuan alert, the Ming Dynasty will not forcefully intervene.

Franz also felt that Joseph II's judgment was correct, but after a few seconds of silence, he continued to ask:

“What my uncle said makes sense, but since I am going to Antwerp for negotiations again, I have to consider all the possibilities.

“Even if the probability is extremely low, as long as we think about it, we should make basic preparations, otherwise we may have to turn back again.

"So, if the Ming Dynasty really doesn't participate in this war, do we still have to become a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty as a whole?"

Joseph II thought what Franz said made sense, but he was in serious entanglement:
“No… That means that the Ming Dynasty believes that it does not have enough capabilities to continue to directly annex Russia and the Ottoman Empire, so it has to stop expanding.

“That’s not right. If the current emperor of the Ming Dynasty is really calm enough and can actively curb the urge to continue expanding, then the Ming Dynasty will become even more terrifying.

“When the Ming Dynasty had a great advantage and achieved an unprecedented victory, it still used the power of the Ming Empire very cautiously.

"If the Ming Emperor could patiently take full control of the resources of the American continent, he could stabilize the situation in Europe by enfeoffment and conquest of vassal states.

“If we are fully prepared for war and then forcibly annex any country, including us, the Ottoman Empire, and Russia, there will be no chance for resistance.

"He could continue this cycle, taking over the rest of Europe in turn, and eventually taking the entire world into his possession.

“That was utter despair for us and Europe, and we had no chance until the Ming emperor died.

“However, the Ming Emperor is only 38 years old this year, younger than you.

"Faced with such a desperate situation, it makes no sense for us to remain independent and continue to fight, so the final choice in this situation is also to join."

Franz listened to his uncle's mumbling, and felt an inexplicable chill all over his body. He racked his brains to find a way to deal with it:
"Uncle...is there a possibility that we can make Ming's participation in the Russo-Turkish War a condition for us to become a vassal state of Ming?

"The argument could be that we have decided to join the war and we want to take Macedonia, Albania, and even all of Greece.

"If Ming does not want to intervene, then it cannot become a vassal state of Ming.

"Because if we become a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty, our joining the war would be equivalent to the Ming Dynasty also joining the war."

Joseph II nodded after listening, and then immediately shook his head:
“This strategy may work… but if the Ming Emperor can really resist the urge to participate, this simple reason will not affect his decision.

"But we don't need to worry so much. The judgment that Ming will not participate is just an unreasonable guess. The Emperor of Ming will not miss this opportunity.

"After all, we are all human beings. We all have our own desires and emotions, so we are proud and impulsive. It is impossible for us to be absolutely calm..."

Franz also breathed a sigh of relief:

"You have a point, but we will eventually lose our independence and freedom..."

Franz took a breath, continued to discuss some details of the negotiations with his uncle, and then packed up and headed for Antwerp again.

Coming back to this city that once belonged to the Habsburg family, Franz did not relax at all, but hurried to meet with Metternich who stayed here to exchange information.

Metternich's few words made Franz feel like he was falling into an icy cave.

"The armistice agreement that Ming and Spain have signed only confirmed Ming's ownership of the American lands, but did not force Spain to surrender.

“Spain is still independent.

“At the same time, I also heard a piece of news that was not very certain.

"Prime Minister Godoy, a favorite of the former king and queen of Spain, sought asylum from the Ming before negotiations.

“But after the negotiations, Godoy was escorted back to Madrid by the Ming Dynasty and handed over to the King of Spain for disposal.

"The King of Spain publicly executed Godoy, which slightly stabilized the situation in Spain..."

Franz was stunned for several seconds, then he couldn't help but grab Metternich's arm and said:
"What did you say? The Ming Dynasty didn't ask Spain to surrender? Isn't that just a matter of a word? Why didn't they do it?"

Metternich shook his head with a serious expression:

"Don't be impulsive, Your Highness. I don't know why either."

Franz let go of Metternich stiffly, and then continued to ask in a daze:

"What about other countries? Especially Russia?"

Metternich immediately told what he knew:

"The Royal House of Savoy and the Royal House of Naples Bourbon have also paid tribute to the Ming Dynasty.

"The two sides signed a vassalage agreement, and according to uncertain news, they should have completed the division and exchange of certain territories and population.

"The Ming Dynasty exchanged Naples for Sicily, but gave the population of Sicily to Naples.

"The Russian delegation has signed an armistice with France and Poland in Hamburg.

"Except for the battles between Russia and the Ottomans, all major wars on the European continent have ended.

"The only thing left is that we have not yet completed the final negotiations with Ming..."

Franz heard this and once again grabbed Metternich's arm:

"Wait a minute, what's going on in Russia? Is this the only sentence in the news?
"The Ming Dynasty ended the conflict with Russia so quickly. Is it going to cooperate with Russia to fight against the Ottoman Empire?"

Metternich shook his head again:
"There is no news about this. I haven't heard that the Ming Dynasty is going to intervene in the Russo-Turkish War..."

Franz was completely desperate:
"It's over. It's completely over. The Ming emperor is really a monster. Europe has no future."

Metternich seemed to understand what Franz was worried about, and asked Franz feebly:

"So what does His Majesty the Emperor mean? How should we respond to the conditions proposed by the Ming Dynasty?"

Franz leaned back in his chair, looked up at the ceiling, sighed deeply, and said in a tone without any fluctuation:

"Your Majesty believes that we have no choice but to surrender... The darkest era for the European continent has arrived."

(End of this chapter)