Chongzhen's domineering

Chapter 278 I'll Beat You Up If You Don't Pay for Land (Part 2)

Zhu Jue originally wanted them to just get out and give up their Southeast Asian colonies.

However, that seems a bit too rigid, leaving no room for negotiation, no room for discussion at all.

Right now, they still want to obtain a lot of raw materials from others for development, so it wouldn't be good to make the relationship too strained.

Therefore, he came up with the idea of ​​buying it with money.

This leaves room for negotiation and allows for discussion.

Of course, this is just his opinion; other people's opinions are quite different.

This is because his request was truly excessive; in modern terms, it was an international joke.

Can you really sell off the colonies that people have worked so hard to build?

Isn't that asking the impossible?

Valdes was at a loss for words.

If the Ming Empire hadn't been so powerful that they couldn't afford to provoke it, he probably would have already lost his temper.

He was stunned for a long time before cautiously saying, "Your Majesty, I'm afraid I can't agree to this condition. There's no precedent for it."

These days, are we talking about precedents?
Have you ever had a precedent for seizing colonies everywhere?

These days, it's all about fists.

Zhu Jue suddenly straightened his face and said domineeringly, "Nanyang is the gateway of the Ming Dynasty, and we will never allow others to lay a finger on it."

I have prepared thousands of warships and hundreds of thousands of troops. Next month, I will lead my army south to reclaim the territories of all the vassal states in Southeast Asia.

I will take back the places you have occupied, such as Luzon, and the places the Dutch have occupied, such as Java. I am only paying you to buy them because we have a cooperative relationship.

Otherwise, I will directly send troops to Luzon and seize it by force. Do you think we can't take it back?

That's just how domineering he is.

That's just his nature; when he needs to be domineering, he can be incredibly domineering.

Upon hearing this, Valdes' face was filled with horror.

Although he didn't understand all of the long passage, he did understand the parts about thousands of warships, hundreds of thousands of troops, the recapture of Luzon, and the forced plunder.

His Majesty the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty meant that if they wouldn't sell, then we'd have to fight!
Could they defeat the Ming Empire?
Without a doubt, they would never win. Let alone in the Far East, they wouldn't be able to win a war in the Americas or even in Europe!
The Ming Empire was too powerful; even at its peak, they couldn't defeat it.

Moreover, they are currently being attacked by various European countries, and their strength has already been severely depleted.

He was stunned for a long time before he quickly shook his head and said, "Your Majesty, that's not what I meant. What I meant was that His Majesty the King did not authorize me to sell all the colonies in Southeast Asia."

Do you expect me to ask your king?

Just kidding.

How long will it take?
Zhu Jue coldly said, "My meaning is that if you are willing to sell, then I will pay for it. Moreover, I will entrust the medicine and shoe business to you, and I will also send you a batch of medicine and shoes as samples."

"If you are unwilling to sell, then I will simply send troops to take it. In that case, not only will you not get a single tael of silver, but our business will also be ruined. The choice is yours: sell or not."

Don't be like this.

How am I supposed to choose?

Our King instructed me that we absolutely cannot lose the business; he never authorized me to sell all the colonies in Southeast Asia.

The problem is, if I disagree, His Majesty the Emperor will just start a war.

At that time, not only will Southeast Asia be given away for free, but we won't be able to do business there either.

Valdes hurriedly thought for a moment before carefully saying, "Your Majesty, if I had to choose, I would naturally choose to sell."

The problem is, His Majesty the King probably won't agree to the sale. Could you give me some time to write a letter back and properly discuss this matter with His Majesty the King?

I don't have time to wait.

Your king wouldn't agree to such a thing either. Zhu Jue slowly shook his head, then changed his expression and patiently advised, "Valdes, you should know very well that every time I talk to you about something, you seem to be at a disadvantage, but in fact you haven't lost anything at all. In fact, you've gained quite a bit of benefit each time."

For example, you open your ports and wharves in the Americas to us, and we send our own fleets to deliver and pick up goods.

At that time, you may have felt that you had suffered a great loss, but it turned out that you had not suffered a loss at all. Our fleet not only delivered more goods to you, but you also saved a lot of cargo ships.

For example, we are collaborating on the development of the Viceroyalty of Peru.

Back then, you probably felt you were at a huge disadvantage, but now it's proven that you didn't lose out at all. Now you're earning over ten million taels more every year, and with our development, you'll definitely earn even more.

This time is actually the same. It may seem like you lost out by selling off your colonies in Southeast Asia, but that's not the case.

The pills and shoes I've given you are no small amount; just from these alone, you can earn at least tens of millions of taels of silver. And with the money from selling the Southeast Asian colonies, I won't let you suffer any losses.

Furthermore, you don't actually make much money by guarding the Southeast Asian colonies. After we take over the Southeast Asian colonies, you can save a lot of troops and energy to devote to the European battlefield.

More importantly, His Majesty the King also had the Governor of Peru tell us that you want to buy warships from us, which is not impossible. As long as you agree to sell your Southeast Asian colonies, we can immediately sell you a batch of Centipede ships.

Think about it, wouldn't you make a fortune like this?

Furthermore, the reason you are able to engage in such a back-and-forth battle with European countries right now is because of the money you make from doing business and the steel we provide, isn't it?
If we stop doing business with you, you will definitely be unable to hold on for long.

If you agree to sell us your colonies in Southeast Asia, we can also sell you a large number of ships, which you could use to defeat the European countries.

Your Majesty the King is certainly aware of all this, therefore you don't need to worry about him disagreeing. After gaining so many advantages, he naturally won't say anything. You just need to agree.”

Uh, you've said so much, I can't process it all.

Upon hearing this, Valdes looked at Zheng Zhilong with a pleading expression.

Zheng Zhilong immediately translated it for him.

After listening to Zheng Zhilong's translation, a look of realization appeared on his face.

Yes, he always felt like he was being taken advantage of, but actually, they all made a fortune.

This time is the same.

They didn't make much money guarding their colonies in Southeast Asia. Apart from business with the Ming Empire, they were lucky if they could make a few million taels a year.

This amount of money is negligible compared to the profits from the American colonies.

Crucially, they also need to invest a large amount of manpower and energy to defend their colonies in Southeast Asia.

So, when you calculate it this way, they actually gained even less profit in Southeast Asia.

The military and energy they spent in Southeast Asia, not to mention the European battlefield, would have yielded ten times more benefits if they had been invested in the American colonies.

The key is that they absolutely cannot lose the business of the Ming Empire.

Their King himself wrote a letter to him about this.

In other words, even if he agreed to sell the Southeast Asian colonies, it wouldn't be considered against His Majesty the King's wishes.

Why would he disagree under these circumstances?
If he disagrees, His Majesty the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty will beat them up, and more importantly, they will lose the Ming Dynasty's business because of it.

Their King certainly doesn't want this to happen.

Valdes thought about it carefully, then gritted his teeth and nodded, saying, "Alright, I agree to sell the South Pacific colonies to you."

Hehe, I knew you wouldn't dare disagree.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Jue nodded with a look of satisfaction.

Upon hearing this, Zheng Zhilong's eyes widened in surprise.

You actually agreed to this?
He truly never expected that someone would sell off the colonies they had worked so hard to conquer.

There's really no precedent for this.

(End of this chapter)