Chongzhen's domineering

Chapter 327 Strong Army and Mighty Horses, Spreading Prestige at Sea (Part 2)

The Ming Dynasty was indeed quite far from Southeast Asia. The capital of the Ming Dynasty was nearly 6,000 li away from Luzon, and nearly 12,000 li away from Java.

This is just the straight-line distance. The journey from the capital of the Ming Dynasty to Java involves a long detour, which would take more than 15,000 li (approximately 6,500 kilometers).

In other words, it would take at least half a month for the South Sea Fleet to reach Java from the capital, and it would take at least a month for the news to be sent back after the battle there was over.

It would take a while for the journey to go smoothly. If there is a storm at sea, it could take up to a month for a one-way trip, or even two or three months to get the news back.

In addition, given the extremely backward communication methods of that time, Zhu Jue was helpless and could only wait for news.

Unexpectedly, before he received any news from Southeast Asia, he received news from Europe.

In early September, just as the rice and wheat harvest in the capital region was about to begin, the Spanish envoy Valdes unexpectedly came running over again.

This time, he came all the way from the Americas, but Zheng Hongkui's fleet refused to take him with them, so he had to travel by sailboat, following behind the American fleet.

Zheng Hongkui did return at the end of August, so Zhu Jue knew that this guy was coming.

He specially ordered people to decorate the European Palace in the Palace of Nations.

Valdes was truly surprised that this time, His Majesty the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty did not arrange for him to spend the night in the small courtyard by the dock outside the capital, but instead ordered people to take him directly to the capital by carriage and put him in a luxurious palace.

The palace was built in their European style. It was not only three stories high, but also had many tall spires on top. The rooms were filled with glass windows, carpets and murals, making it even more luxurious than their royal palace.

Living there was like a dream for him.

That's not all. When he woke up the next morning and looked out the window, he was completely dumbfounded.

The area where he lived was filled with all sorts of palaces, from Southeast Asia, Japan, and the West. Every type of palace he had ever seen in his life was here!
The construction level of the Ming Dynasty is truly astonishing.

Zhu Jue wasn't trying to show off the Palace of Nations. The key point was that the Palace of Nations had been built for almost half a year, and this guy was the first foreign envoy to arrive. He wanted to let this guy try it out and see what the Palace of Nations was like.

Around 9 a.m. that day, after he had finished processing all the memorials, he ordered someone to summon Valdes. This time, he didn't make any special arrangements; he simply waited for the man in the main hall of the Jade Palace.

When Valdes entered the Jade Palace, he was taken aback by what he saw.

The office of His Majesty the Emperor of the Great Ming Empire was actually a small palace!
He didn't think Zhu Jue was frugal; he thought it was too extravagant. Even kings in Europe only had a large room as their office, but His Majesty the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty had built a palace specifically for his office!
This is unimaginable in continental Europe.

He walked into the main hall of Yuxi Palace with a bewildered expression, and immediately bowed down, prostrating himself on the ground and respectfully saying, "Greetings, Your Majesty the Emperor of the Great Ming Empire."

This guy's Ming Dynasty Mandarin is becoming more and more refined, so refined that it's as if he were born in the Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Jue nodded slightly, then raised his hand and said, "No need for formalities, rise."

Valdes quickly got up from the ground, stood respectfully with his hands at his sides, and was extremely deferential.

Seeing this, Zhu Jue calmly asked, "Valdes, did you rest well yesterday? How is the palace I built for the foreign delegations?"

You built such a huge palace just to house the delegations of foreign dignitaries!
Valdes nodded repeatedly and said, "Your Majesty, I slept very well last night. That palace was so comfortable."

That's good.

Zhu Jue nodded slightly, then asked, "Is there something you need this time?"

There must be something going on.

Valdes said somewhat awkwardly, "Your Majesty, the anti-Habsburg alliance's offensive is too fierce, and we are struggling to hold on, especially at sea. The Dutch and British and French warships are too numerous, and our small fleet is no match for them."

Therefore, our King specially sent us to inquire whether His Majesty the Emperor could sell us some warships. If we cannot hold out at sea, we will not be able to bring back the resources from the Americas.

The Dutch, British, and French are now specializing in plundering our cargo fleets; they've stolen countless goods, even gold and silver, that we brought back from the Americas.

What are people supposed to say about this?

I've helped you so much, yet you still couldn't hold on!
However, you've come at just the right time. I was just sending people to seize the Dutch ships, and the fighting in the South China Seas has probably already started.

Zhu Jue feigned difficulty: "You know perfectly well that building warships takes time, and we don't even have enough warships of our own, so how could we possibly have time to build warships for you?"

I know all of that.

The problem is, if our fleets transporting supplies from the Americas keep getting robbed, we're doomed.

Valdes pleaded in a humble voice, "Your Majesty, please help us no matter what. The price is negotiable; we can accept a higher price." *I've been waiting for you to say that.*

Zhu Jue pretended to ponder and said, "We really don't have time to build warships for you right now. However, I can order people to plunder the Dutch's armed merchant ships and warships. Do you want these plundered armed merchant ships and warships?"

Ah!
Are you planning to rob the Dutch armed merchant ships and warships?

That would be great.

If you seize one ship, not only will we gain one more, but they will lose one. In the words of the Ming Dynasty, this is a zero-sum game. If you can seize all their armed merchant ships and warships, we will win the naval battle without even having to fight!
Valdes nodded repeatedly, saying, "We want it, we want it!"

Of course I knew you would want it.

Zhu Jue then feigned difficulty, saying, "Robbing someone's armed merchant ships and warships will result in casualties. I don't even know how much compensation money we'll have to pay. If we really go and rob them, these armed merchant ships and warships won't be cheap."

At this point, we don't care about the price anymore. We don't dare bring back the gold and silver from the Americas anymore. It's perfect to use them to exchange for armed merchant ships and warships with you.

Upon hearing this, Valdes said rather eagerly, "Your Majesty, please tell me how much it costs per ship. If the price is right, I can place the order immediately."

I can't be too ruthless this time. My goal is to make you hold on. Only if you hold on can I make more money and acquire more resources.

Zhu Jue thought for a moment, then asked, "Two hundred thousand taels for an armed merchant ship, and five hundred thousand taels for a warship, what do you think?"

This isn't expensive at all.

Even if we offered that price to the Dutch, they wouldn't sell to us.

Valdes was about to nod when he suddenly realized something and asked cautiously, "Your Majesty, you won't take away the cannons from these armed merchant ships and warships, will you?"

What use would we have for those trash cannons?

Zhu Jue replied without hesitation, "The cannons will naturally be sold to you as well; otherwise, how could it be called an armed merchant ship and warship?"

That would be great.

Valdes nodded repeatedly and said, "If it comes with cannons, this price is perfectly fine."

The price is fine, the problem is, I can't snatch too many.

Zhu Jue asked bluntly, "You said you're ordering, but how many ships do you actually need?"

Naturally, the more the better.

Valdes thought for a moment, then cautiously asked, "Your Majesty, how about one hundred ships a month? We'll order a year's worth first. Don't worry, we have a lot of gold and silver stored in the Americas, so you'll definitely get your share of the payment. Just send someone to collect it."

You want 100 ships a month?

And once you sign up, it's for a whole year.

This is a one-off deal for me.

I don't know yet whether Zheng Zhilong will be able to seize a hundred ships this time.

However, I might consider intervening in the European naval war and sending a fleet directly to the European waters to fight the Dutch and British/French fleets. This would not only prevent them from attacking the South Seas, but also make a lot of money.

This is a good deal.

Anyway, the Ming Dynasty's navy was already strong and well-equipped, and it might not lose to the anti-Habsburg alliance even in a one-on-one battle. Moreover, it had the Spanish in Europe to cooperate with it.

Zhu Jue thought about it carefully, then slowly nodded and said, "Hmm, I can consider that. How about you stay at the Palace of Ten Thousand Nations for now, and I'll send some men to Southeast Asia to rob a few and see what happens?"

They've already started looting?
Upon hearing this, Valdes nodded repeatedly and said, "Okay, okay."

This time, the looting really started.

The Ming Dynasty's naval fleet had already sailed to the waters off Java. Whenever they encountered Dutch ships along the way, Zheng Zhilong would order his fleet to surround them and seize them without hesitation!

This guy was originally a pirate, so sending him to rob ships was the perfect choice.

(End of this chapter)