The Ming Dynasty did not revolutionize

Chapter 4: We Can't Follow Louis XVI's Path
This was the first time that Zhu Jianxuan expressed his serious political views and analyzed the logic and possible impact of a specific political event.

The views and analysis themselves are not complicated. When Zhu Zhonglin saw the news, these were the first things he thought of.

But when these analyses were made by a child under five years old, it had a very strong impact.

An average four-year-old child may not have any logic when speaking, let alone make such an organized analysis.

Zhu Zhonglin and his wife were both filled with astonishment, and they once again looked up and down at the child in front of them.

After a few seconds of silence, Zhu Zhonglin smiled and nodded in response to Zhu Jianxuan:
"Xuan'er's analysis makes some sense. There is indeed a possibility of a civil uprising in the United States, and it is indeed possible that it will affect our export trade.

“However, America was originally a colony, and the demand for silk and porcelain was very low, and the tea consumed was also of the lowest grade.

"So even if a civil uprising really breaks out in the United States, the impact should be minimal."

Zhu Zhonglin obviously did not take the civil uprising in America seriously.

How could a minor conflict between barbarians on the other side of the distant world significantly affect the stability of our great Ming Dynasty?
If Zhu Jianxuan hadn't mentioned it specifically, Zhu Zhonglin would have forgotten about it after reading the news.

Now that his son has expressed his opinion on the matter, he, as a father, casually discusses it with him. His main purpose is to encourage his child to think divergently.

Zhu Zhonglin's nonchalant reaction surprised Zhu Jianxuan very much.

Zhu Jianxuan took the initiative to bring up the matter of America, with the intention of observing his father's attitude towards America.

Zhu Jianxuan subconsciously thought that since Chongzhen was a time traveler, he should leave some historical experience for future generations, right?

For example, writing a pamphlet to predict major future events in the world and reminding future generations to pay attention to certain opponents that may become powerful.

When he died, he passed it on to his successor and it became a secret reference manual for future emperors.

But his father, the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, seemed to have no similar knowledge at all, otherwise he would not have taken America so seriously.

After being stunned for a few seconds, Zhu Jianxuan suddenly felt that it was possible that Chongzhen really had left nothing behind.

I instinctively regarded the time traveler as a "talented and strategic" politician.

But time travel itself should be completely random, and the time traveler may be an ordinary person with no interest in politics and history.

He may even be a street-smoking, drinking, and permed-hair-wearing shamatte, or an idol otaku who only knows how to play with his phone and chase stars.

With this line of thought in mind, looking at what Chongzhen did, we can find that this guy initially wanted to just lie down and let things go.

He probably fled to Nanjing just to save his life. He ran without caring about anything else and did not think about taking control of the military power on the way.

After arriving in Nanjing, they began to delegate power to others without any bottom line, and the operation of reorganizing the Nanjing court may have been passive.

In the end, the Southern Ming Dynasty was able to survive, and his symbolic significance as a legitimate emperor may have been more significant than the impact of his own operations.

He probably knew nothing about science and technology and military affairs, and in the end he did not leave behind any important inventions.

If I had traveled through time and space and become Chongzhen, the Ming Dynasty would have launched the Industrial Revolution a hundred years earlier.

Another possibility is that Emperor Chongzhen did leave something behind, but his descendants did not take it seriously.

In the eyes of the angry young people in the Ming Dynasty, Chongzhen was very similar to Zhao Gou, the founding emperor of the Southern Song Dynasty.

Apart from not paying homage to the Qing, his other performances may even be worse than Zhao Gou's.

Chongzhen killed a large number of "loyal ministers and good generals" in Beijing, and after fleeing to Nanjing, he had no intention of launching a northern expedition to the Central Plains.

Not only was he content with pleasure and took the initiative to negotiate peace with the bandits, he also set up a powerful vassal state that was completely impossible to control.

Chongzhen lived to be almost eighty years old and made Zhu Cilang the crown prince for sixty years. However, he died just three years after he ascended the throne.

The reason why history books and the imperial court did not make up stories about Chongzhen was probably because he was, after all, the legitimate emperor of the Ming Dynasty and he succeeded in prolonging the life of the Ming Dynasty.

The key is that he implemented feudal system and decentralized power, giving the scholar-officials enormous power and lasting benefits.

So traditional literati would not say bad things about him.

As Zhu Jianxuan thought about this, sweat began to ooze out of his forehead.

If this senior is not strong enough, it will be difficult for me to do it. Zhu Jianxuan shook his head and sighed helplessly, and then he had to continue to persuade his father to take the affairs of America seriously as much as possible:
"What if... Britain's old enemy France takes advantage of the American rebellion to strongly support the American rebels?

"France was defeated in the Seven Years' War and lost all its colonies in North America. It must have been accumulating strength over the years and must want to avenge its previous defeat.

“Will Spain, whose interests have been robbed by the British around the world, also take this opportunity to join the war against Britain?

“King Felipe V of Spain is the uncle of King Louis XV of France, so it is natural that the two would join forces to fight the enemy.

“Louis XV certainly wanted to regain his North American colonies, and the Spanish wanted to regain Florida and the East Indies.

"If other European countries and organizations feel that the British are not only immoral, but also monopolizing more and more interests.

"Seeing that France and Spain have crushed the UK, do they all want to take advantage of the situation and get a piece of the pie?
“If a local war turns into a European or even global war, the impact on our export trade will be obvious, right?

"During the Seven Years' War, the full-scale war between Europe and America had a significant impact on our Ming Dynasty's trade, right?"

After hearing this, Zhu Zhonglin was obviously stunned again. You are a really thoughtful kid.

If the major European countries took advantage of the American rebellion to collectively participate in the fighting, it would indeed affect the export trade of the Ming Dynasty.

Precious metal currencies in the Ming Dynasty court and among the people will become tense again.

But this is too much to take for granted.

Zhu Zhonglin touched Zhu Jianxuan's hair and said, "I don't know whether to laugh or cry.
"The French and Spanish certainly don't mind tripping up the British, but they won't go to such lengths to go against them.

“You are right. France suffered heavy losses in the war ten years ago and it probably hasn’t fully recovered yet.

“Their domestic situation is not very good to begin with, and if their anger with the British leads to a rebellion in their own country, it would be more trouble than it’s worth.

"Things in the world are very complicated. When analyzing changes in the situation, we must also consider reality and the possible costs and benefits."

Zhu Jianxuan now felt that his father's thinking was completely different from his own. He gave a helpless compliment and asked back:
"Father, you are the emperor of China. Of course you will be far-sighted and you will be able to consider the overall situation.

"But what kind of monarch do you think Louis XV of France was?

"Will he consider any far-reaching issues after he takes power?"

Louis XV may be dead by now, and his grandson Louis XVI may have succeeded to the throne.

But the people of the Ming Dynasty don’t know yet, and they have to wait a few more months before they can get any news.

However, compared with his grandson Louis XVI, Louis XV's behavior in his later years might have made the people of the Ming Dynasty feel that he was even more foolish.

When Zhu Zhonglin heard the name Louis XV, he instinctively looked disgusted:
"With a monarch like Louis XV... you can't predict what will happen. France might actually get angry and join the war.

“Once the French come out to consume Britain, even if the Spanish consider it calmly, they will feel that it is beneficial to participate in this war.

“Especially when the King of Spain and the King of France are uncle and nephew.

"Once these European barbarians start fighting again, our business in the Ming Dynasty will become difficult again.

"The war in Europe a few years ago did make Ming Dynasty very uncomfortable.

"But this is also an opportunity. We in the Ming Dynasty can seize the opportunity to participate and get a piece of the pie.

"Kick the dog when it's down? Besides driving the British out of Southeast Asia, we can even go to India and America to seize some land.

"According to the records in Kunyu Geography, the southeastern United States is another Jiangnan, and the central part of North America is similar to the Great Plains in the north.

"It's a pity that the distance is too far, otherwise I could find a way to take a piece of it and give it to you, Xuan'er, as your future fiefdom."

Zhu Zhonglin felt that his thinking was correct and that this was a natural thing to do.

Zhu Jianxuan realized that his father had finally taken his deductions seriously and paid more attention to American affairs.

However, this direction of emphasis gave Zhu Jianxuan a shock.

Zhu Jianxuan almost subconsciously wanted to ask back:
Dad, don’t you realize that although Ming Dynasty is rich now, its internal situation is not very stable?
If you insist on interfering in the American War of Independence, don't end up like Louis XVI!

(End of this chapter)