Chongzhen's domineering

Chapter 330 A Display of Military Might in a Foreign Land Stirs Up Europe (Part 2)
Valdes had been waiting in the capital for almost half a month, but he wasn't impatient.

This was because he was quite aware of how far the capital of the Ming Empire was from Southeast Asia; even if the emperor of the Ming Empire sent an edict, it would probably take ten days or so.

That was only the message sent to Luzon. It would take at least ten days for the Ming Dynasty garrison in Luzon to carry out the order and seize the Dutch ships.

That's about twenty days. By the time news gets back from Southeast Asia, it will probably take at least a month.

He also knew that these things couldn't be rushed; it was normal to sail for months on the vast ocean. It used to take him several months to return to his homeland from the Far East.

It's only been less than half a month, what's the rush?

He was also planning to take this opportunity to explore the capital of the Ming Dynasty.

When Zhu Jue heard that he wanted to wander around, he did not order anyone to put him under house arrest and prevent him from doing so. Zhu Jue even assigned dozens of Imperial Guards to take him around.

However, he could only wander around the southern outer city, the northern outer city, and the inner city of the capital. There were no factories in these three places, so it was fine for him to look around.

As for the other outer cities, which are densely packed with factories, he can't be allowed to go there.

Although Valdes was a little disappointed, he was still having a great time shopping, because there were so many shops in the capital of the Ming Dynasty, and he could buy all kinds of goods that he had seen before and even those he had never seen before.

Moreover, it was very convenient to travel around the capital of the Ming Dynasty. His Majesty the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty not only provided him with guards but also a horse-drawn carriage, so he didn't have to carry anything he bought.

This fellow was having a great time strolling around when His Majesty the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty sent someone to summon him.

He dared not delay, and around 1 p.m., he arrived at the main hall of Yuxi Palace on time.

At this moment, Zhu Jue seemed to be staring at the world map on the table, pondering something.

Without a second thought, he immediately prostrated himself on the ground and respectfully said, "Greetings, Your Majesty the Emperor of the Great Ming Empire."

Zhu Jue nodded slightly, then raised his hand and said, "Valdes, come and take a look at the map."

Can I still see maps of the Ming Dynasty?
Maps are classified information to them.

Valdes excitedly leaned over to take a look, and couldn't help but reveal a hint of admiration.

The world map drawn by the Ming Dynasty is so comprehensive! Their maps aren't even that complete. There are many places he's never seen on a map before. Moreover, the Ming Dynasty's map uses colors to distinguish different countries, making it very intuitive and convenient to look at. Unlike their maps, which are just black and white and make him dizzy just looking at them.

Seeing that this guy could read the map, Zhu Jue didn't explain anything. He pointed directly to Java on the map and said, "Our fleet has already taken Batavia. However, the Dutch don't seem to have many ships in the Far East. We have only captured more than 30 armed merchant ships and six warships so far."

You've already taken Batavia!

Upon hearing this, Valdes' eyes widened in surprise.

He knew Batavia, of course; he had even been there.

That place has two bastions, and given their strength in the Far East, it's simply impossible for them to take it. Therefore, they never even considered Batavia.

Who would have thought that the Ming Empire would conquer Batavia, which seemed insurmountable to them, in one fell swoop!

Valdes paused for a moment before nodding repeatedly and saying, "Your Majesty, Batavia is the headquarters of their East India Company, not their naval base."

The Dutch East India Company only had a little over a hundred armed merchant ships and forty or fifty warships in total, and most of them were engaged in cargo transport at sea, so it was unlikely that they could capture too many ships.

Do you know so much about the Dutch East India Company?
That saves me the trouble of explaining.

Zhu Jue nodded slightly and said, "Yes, the Dutch East India Company has too few ships. It's simply impossible for us to deliver a hundred armed merchant ships and warships to you every month."

It seems we'll have to go to the eastern waters of America to seize their armed merchant ships and warships for you. You should be quite familiar with this area, right? There should be enough ships to seize there, shouldn't there?"

Do you also want to send a fleet to the eastern waters of the Americas?
That would be great!
Valdes nodded repeatedly and said, "Yes, Your Majesty, we are extremely familiar with this sea area. We have even scouted their shipping routes. If Your Majesty could send a fleet there, capturing hundreds of armed merchant ships and warships a month would not be a problem."

You wish.

I only want you to be evenly matched with them, not to completely defeat them.

It's impossible for us to capture hundreds of armed merchant ships and warships for you every month.

Zhu Jue slowly shook his head and said, "Your familiarity with this sea area doesn't mean we are. We don't even know their strength. How many armed merchant ships do they have, and how many warships do they have?"

How do you say this?

Valdes thought for a moment before cautiously saying, "Your Majesty, they only have many ocean-going cargo ships; they don't actually have many armed merchant ships and warships."

The Dutch had an estimated total of around a thousand armed merchant ships and warships, while the British and French combined had fewer than a thousand.

You expect us to rob a hundred armed merchant ships and warships for you every month, and keep doing so for a year?
If you continue looting like this, you'll have more armed merchant ships and warships than the Netherlands, Britain, and France combined. What's more, fighting might break out during the looting, so losses are inevitable.

Sure enough, you want us to seize more of your armed merchant ships and warships than the Netherlands and Britain and France combined, so that you can roam freely in the European seas.

At that time, won't the Netherlands and England and France be beaten to a pulp by you?

Zhu Jue feigned difficulty: "Our Great Ming Empire doesn't have many warships right now. At most, I can only send you a few hundred warships and a few hundred armed merchant ships, which adds up to about a thousand ships. We can't let these thousand ships be scattered. If they are scattered and surrounded by them, we will suffer heavy losses."

Can you send a thousand armed merchant ships and warships over there?
Then, with our armed merchant ships and warships, we can gain a local advantage.

Then we can lure their fleet into fighting you a few times, seize hundreds or even thousands of their armed merchant ships and warships, and then we will have an absolute advantage.

Upon hearing this, Valdes nodded repeatedly and said, "Your Majesty, sending a thousand armed merchant ships and warships is more than enough. At least it will ensure that our goods and grain from the Americas are brought back to our homeland."

You've actually learned to spout nonsense to me, do you think I don't know that?
The Dutch and British are plundering your cargo fleets. If we escort your cargo fleets, we will definitely fight them.

You want to use me, but I also want to use you.

I can't possibly help you like this for nothing. I not only want to make money from armed merchant ships and warships, but I also want to gradually extend the influence of the Ming Dynasty into Europe!
Zhu Jue thought for a moment before solemnly saying, "The thousands of armed merchant ships and warships I have sent are all ocean-going vessels, equipped with a large number of naval officers and soldiers, and require a lot of supplies. You must open up your ports and docks in the eastern part of the Americas and even the western part of your homeland to us so that our ships can dock and resupply."

That's definitely not a problem. Since we asked you to help, we naturally have to provide you with supplies.

Valdes nodded repeatedly and said, "No problem, I can agree to this on behalf of our King."

And this is just the appetizer.

Zhu Jue then pretended to ponder and said, "We have over a thousand ships and at least a hundred thousand soldiers. You probably can't supply that much food, and we can't possibly transport so much food from our homeland. You also have to give us a piece of land so we can build ports, wharves, and cities, grow food, and stockpile ammunition, and so on."

Uh, you also want a piece of land to grow food?

Can I promise to provide you with enough food for more than 100,000 men?

That probably won't work. We only have a little over 300,000 troops in total. If we provide you with food for over 100,000 troops, wouldn't our food supply be reduced by almost half?
It seems you'll have to grow your own food.

Upon hearing this, Valdes cautiously asked, "Your Majesty, how large a piece of land do you desire, and roughly where is it located?"

Zhu Jue pointed to the narrow strip of land between South America and North America, which resembled a link between them, and said, "It seems you haven't stationed anyone in this area, have you? If you could give it to us, we could transport ammunition overland. What do you think?"

Do you want this place?
We did not station anyone here, because this area is all mountains and primeval forests, and it is impossible to travel by land.

Valdes said cautiously, “Your Majesty, although this area is not wide, it is more than two thousand miles long. If we give it all to you, I'm afraid our King will not agree.”

You probably didn't expect that a canal could be built in this area, did you?
I didn't intend to take it all.

Zhu Jue pretended to hesitate for a moment before pointing to the map and saying, "Alright, we'll take the narrowest part of the bottom half, that should be fine, right?"

It shouldn't be a big problem in such a small area.

Valdes thought about it carefully before gritting his teeth and nodding, "Alright, I'll go explain this to His Majesty the King."

Once we've given this place to you, you can forget about taking it back.

Zhu Jue then solemnly said, "We are going to build a port, wharf and city on this land, and we also need to relocate farmers to clear the land and cultivate it. We can't give it to you anymore. Can you make the decision to give this land to us?"

Do you mean a permanent cession?

Alright, as long as your warships can come and help, anything is negotiable.

If you don't come to help, we won't be able to bring back anything produced in our American colonies. Without the continuous flow of gold, silver and resources from the Americas, we're bound to suffer a crushing defeat.

Such a small piece of land can be exchanged for the strong support of your thousands of armed merchant ships and warships. Our King will surely agree.

Upon hearing this, Valdes hesitated for a moment before gritting his teeth and nodding, "Alright, I'll explain this to His Majesty the King as well."

Empty words.

Zhu Jue said decisively, "Then let's sign the agreement first."

Uh, another agreement to sign?
Valdes thought for a moment, then gritted his teeth and nodded, saying, "Alright, no problem, I'll sign this agreement. I just ask that His Majesty the Emperor send a fleet over as soon as possible."

There's no rush. Our new batch of Zhenyuan warships hasn't been built yet.

Zhu Jue pondered and said, "We need at least two months to prepare these thousands of ships. If you are in a hurry to go back, you can first sail your own ships to the South Seas. I will have Zhilong bring back all the captured warships and armed merchant ships for you. What do you think?"

Can I bring back a fleet of armed merchant ships and warships?

Upon hearing this, Valdes nodded repeatedly and said, "Okay."

Zhu Jue added, "These armed merchant ships and warships all come with a price tag."

No problem.

Valdes nodded repeatedly and said, "Your Majesty, rest assured, once the fleet reaches the Americas, I will have them deliver the money to you in the Viceroyalty of Peru."

(End of this chapter)