The Wanli Emperor of the Ming Dynasty was extremely rebellious

Chapter 701 Strong Promotion of Currency
The negotiations seem to have reached a pretty good conclusion.

At least it seems that the issue of compensation has been largely resolved.

Wanli's idea was that if someone couldn't repay the debt, they would write an IOU and pay interest annually.

Prince Maurice of Nassau and his associates didn't want to pay any interest; they just wanted to default on their debt.

Whether they can renege on this debt or not seems pointless to discuss.

We'll settle things with our fists when the time comes.

Is there anything else you can extort us from?
After careful consideration, Emperor Wanli suddenly thought of the issue of currency.

Right now, he's promoting the Ming Dynasty's currency all over the world, so this is a good opportunity to push it forward.

The Netherlands, England, and France were the three most developed trading nations in continental Europe, besides Spain and Portugal. If we could take over these three countries, the Ming Dynasty's currency would practically become the world's universal currency.

Thinking of this, Wanli held up one finger and solemnly said, "There is one more question."

Your methods of calculating money are different from those of our Great Ming Empire. We use taels, while you use pounds. Moreover, the currencies of your various countries are all different, making it very troublesome to calculate principal and interest.

This is definitely not acceptable. From now on, you must calculate money according to the methods of our Great Ming Empire, and you must use the gold, silver, and copper coins issued by our Great Ming Empire.”

It’s not over, right?
Can you agree to this?

They are well aware of how important the right to mint coins is.

If they could refuse, they certainly wouldn't.

The problem is, the consequences of not agreeing are very serious.

If they dared not agree, His Majesty the Emperor of the Great Ming Empire would lead his army to attack their homeland.

The three of them gritted their teeth and discussed for a while longer, when Prince Maurice of Nassau simply asked, "Descartes, it seems you are using the gold, silver, and copper coins of the Ming Empire, aren't you?"

you ask me?
Can I talk to you about this privately?

De Shera paused for a moment before cautiously saying, "Your Majesty, they asked us if Portugal is using the gold, silver, and copper coins of the Ming Dynasty."

You know how to handle people.

Wanli glanced at Li Guozhu beside him, then nodded slightly and said, "Just tell them the truth."

He meant to tell De Shera that he actually had people around him who understood Spanish and Portuguese.

As for why he had De Shera translate, it was simply to prove De Shera's relationship with the Ming Dynasty.

That way, their war would be legitimate, and he could extort money from these guys in a legitimate way.

Upon hearing this, Deshera nodded solemnly and said, "Yes, we have been using the gold, silver and copper coins of the Ming Empire for a long time."

Upon hearing this, Prince Maurice of Nassau solemnly replied, "Tell us the truth: are there any problems with the purity of the gold, silver, and copper coins of the Ming Empire? Are they adulterated?"

Oh, you're asking about that.

Without hesitation, Deshera replied, "You can rest assured about that. We have already tested it. The gold, silver and copper coins of the Ming Empire are made of high-purity gold, silver and copper, which are much purer than what we smelt."

That should be fine.

Since it's all real money, let's just use it.

Using this doesn't seem like a bad deal. The gold, silver, and copper used by the Ming Empire to mint coins are of higher purity than what they smelt. At worst, they can just melt down all the gold, silver, and copper coins and recast them into gold, silver, and copper.

They had absolutely no need to anger the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty over this.

The emperor of the Ming Dynasty is not someone to be trifled with; if you do, you'll have to keep beating them.

The three discussed in hushed tones for a while before Prince Maurice of Nassau slowly nodded and said, "Alright, we agree to this condition, Your Majesty. Is there no problem now?"

Since you've all agreed, then there's no problem.

The currency has been taken over by the Ming Dynasty; you will have no chance to turn things around in the future.

Upon hearing this, Wanli pretended to consider it for a while before slowly nodding and saying, "Yes, I have no problem with this. You can talk to De Shera about ceding territory."

We want to talk to you about the prisoners of war!

Now, our only hope of turning the tide is to ransom the prisoners.

If so many people are gone, then we have no hope of turning the tide, at least not for the next few years or even the next decade or so.

The three discussed the matter in hushed tones for a while, before Prince Maurice of Nassau cautiously said, "Your Majesty, could we first discuss the issue of prisoners?"

"We don't want the ships captured by your Great Ming Empire, but we hope to ransom the people."

Hmph, you think you can turn the tables?

There are no doors!

Wanli snorted inwardly, then slowly shook his head and said, "There's no need to discuss the issue of prisoners. I need a lot of manpower to mine right now, and prisoners will come in handy."

"Rest assured, the Ming Empire is a land of propriety and will not let them go hungry. As long as they work diligently, I guarantee they will have enough to eat."

Is it a question of whether they can get enough to eat?
We want to redeem them.

Why are you bringing up the issue of whether or not you have enough to eat?
The Emperor of the Ming Dynasty meant that the issue of prisoners of war was not open to discussion!
How to do?
There seems to be no way to solve this.

They didn't want to talk about compensation, but the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty insisted, so they had to.

If the emperor of the Ming Dynasty didn't want to talk about prisoners of war, then they couldn't talk about it.

There was no other way; the Ming Empire's power was far greater than the combined might of the three kingdoms. The three discussed in hushed tones for a while longer before Prince Maurice of Nassau said helplessly, "Your Majesty, surely we can ransom the nobles among the prisoners? You can't send them to work in the mines, can you?"

That's not a problem. They're just a few nobles. Sending them back won't hurt. Keeping them would be worse.

Not only would nobles waste food if they stayed behind, but they might also instigate trouble.

Upon hearing this, Emperor Wanli nodded slightly and said, "Give me a list, and I will send someone to inquire. I will release all those who are alive. Forget about the ransom; it's a waste of time to discuss such a small amount of money. I don't want it."

This small sum of money is nothing compared to more than 300 million taels of silver.

Upon hearing this, the three whispered among themselves for a while, then Prince Maurice of Nassau took out a quill pen and an exquisite silver inkwell, and then took out a blank sheet of paper and began to write.

Emperor Wanli patiently waited for the man to finish writing, then ordered the Imperial Guards to present it to him. He glanced at it casually before handing it over to Li Guozhu.

Prince Maurice of Nassau, seeing that he remained silent, couldn't help but ask, "Your Majesty, could we take this man back now?"

You think beautifully.

Emperor Wanli shook his head slightly and said, "I can forgo your ransom, but you must send me 200,000 pounds of real gold and silver and a thousand ocean-going ships as compensation before I can release the prisoners."

Furthermore, I am very busy, so don't keep me waiting too long. You'd better deliver the reparations in gold and silver, along with ocean-going warships, within two months. Otherwise, the war will continue.

you!
Their fists weren't as big as the other's, and the three of them were completely helpless.

They whispered among themselves for a while before Prince Maurice of Nassau said with a sigh, "Alright, let's talk about the issue of ceding territory."

After hearing De Shera's translation, Wanli Emperor said quite decisively, "You can talk to them about this. They don't have many colonies, so I don't want them. You can have whatever you can negotiate."

Compared to the vast territory of the Ming Dynasty, the Dutch and British colonies were nothing at all.

He was too lazy to send someone to receive it, and too lazy to send someone to guard it.

Since they could prioritize exploiting the resources of Portugal's colonies, he didn't need to waste his breath talking to these guys.

Upon hearing this, De Shera became even more enthusiastic.

These colonies, once negotiated, are essentially his. The larger his territory, the higher his status in Portugal.

He started talking to the three guys with incredible enthusiasm.

However, at this time, the Netherlands and Britain and France did not have many overseas colonies. In the end, De Shera only negotiated all their colonies and colonial outposts in West Africa.

De Shera had no choice; he also had to consider the issue of his men's movement. If the distance was too far, and it would take several months or even half a year to make a round trip, then it would be a real problem.

As they talked, the sun set and the sky gradually darkened.

Emperor Wanli, however, was not in a hurry at all. He immediately ordered people to light up all the large palace lanterns on the surrounding pillars, making the greenhouse as bright as daytime once again.

Upon seeing this, Prince Maurice and his two companions from Nassau couldn't help but show a hint of envy.

Their castle was also decorated with palace lanterns from the Ming Dynasty.

This stuff has been available in Europe for a long time, including lamp oil and kerosene, but it's too expensive.

Palace lanterns and kerosene were both expensive, and colorless and odorless lamp oil was even more expensive.

They consider it a luxury to light a few lamps in the evening.

The emperor of the Ming Dynasty actually ordered dozens of lamps to be lit, illuminating this huge place as if it were daytime.

Seeing that they had finished talking, Wanli then feigned politeness and said, "Gentlemen, it's time for dinner. I've already ordered a sumptuous banquet to be prepared. Why don't you stay and enjoy it with us?"

They had no appetite at all right now.

The problem is, it's already dark, and they need to eat something when they get back.

Moreover, it would take more than an hour to get back to their ship, and then it would take a long time to get food ready, by which time they would probably be starving.

There's nothing I can do; even if I don't have an appetite, I'll still feel hungry.

The three of them discussed it in hushed tones for a while, and decided to eat this meal before going back.

They originally thought that the so-called lavish banquet of the Ming emperor was just a few dishes. Although the European nobles lived an extremely luxurious life, they were not very good at cooking, and the dishes at the banquet were just the same few dishes over and over again.

To their surprise, the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty prepared an astonishingly lavish feast, with dishes laid out in front of them, covering every inch of the table.

On the other side, there were countless plates laid out densely, too many to count.

Emperor Wanli didn't prepare such a lavish banquet specifically for these three men; he mainly intended it to reward his generals.

They had now achieved a decisive victory, gained maritime supremacy, and had extorted the Netherlands and Britain and France. Naturally, they had something to celebrate.

Emperor Wanli, Descartes, and their generals were enjoying their meal immensely, while Prince Maurice of Nassau seemed to be forcing food down his throat.

After the three men filled their stomachs, they couldn't stay any longer and immediately got up to say goodbye.

Emperor Wanli did not keep them any longer; he immediately ordered a carriage to send the three men back.

Prince Maurice and his entourage in Nassau originally thought they wouldn't be able to leave tonight.

After all, it was already dark, and their fleet was surrounded by Ming Dynasty ships on both sides. If they were to sail blindly as if they were on a vast sea, they would inevitably crash into the Ming Dynasty's fleet.

When they arrived at the dock, they were utterly shocked.

All the ships of the Ming Empire were lit up, and there were more than one on each ship. The two huge square formations were as brilliant as two galaxies.

They changed their minds and decided to leave as soon as possible; they really couldn't stay in this place any longer.

(End of this chapter)