Chapter 1129: How Did the Great Ming Turn Into Profiteers Too? (Seeking Subscriptions)

"Also, we've recently heard a bit of news," Bruce Diemen blinked and said with a smile, "just a bit of news. After the Kingdom of Spain and the Kingdom of France complete their marriage alliance, they will devote their main energies to the New World!

You should know that the current prime minister of the Kingdom of New Spain, Don Juan José, is King Philip's illegitimate son, and also King Philip's most trusted subordinate!"

Li Shaoyou narrowed his eyes, looked at the "special envoy from the nation of profiteers" before him, and thought: Something's off! Would the Dutch profiteers be so kind? Leaking Spanish secret intelligence to the Great Ming? Who doesn't know you and the Spanish have already turned enemies into friends? If you hadn't been scheming behind the scenes, how could the English possibly have lost so many ships in their war with the Spanish?

"Mr. Diemen," Li Shaoyou pressed, "are you reminding our country that the Kingdom of New Spain will soon launch an attack on the United States of the New Continent?"

"Yes!" Bruce Diemen nodded. "In fact, King Philip has long wanted to do this, but his forces were tied down by France, England, and Portugal, and for a time he had no spare strength for the New World, so he could only watch helplessly as the United States of the New Continent grew strong.

And now, the younger Cromwell only wants to consolidate his power within England. His external goal is merely to expand colonies on the east coast of North America, and for the time being he will not come into conflict with Spain again."

Li Shaoyou nodded slightly. He knew Bruce was right. England was still a republic under the rule of the second Lord Protector, Charles Cromwell, but the younger Cromwell's authority still could not compare with his late father's, so he could only devote his main energies to domestic affairs and would not be as keen on European affairs as his father had been.

Bruce continued: "Although Louis XIV is ambitious, his country has no strong navy, and at the same time possesses considerable overseas interests, such as the colonies in New France, and the 'gift trade' with your country and the Ottoman Empire. This means that without the support of England or our country, Louis cannot attack Spain again."

However badly the Spanish navy is faring, it is still a global navy, not something the weak French navy can challenge!

So without the support of England and the Netherlands, Louis can only be Philip's good son-in-law.

"And as for us Dutch," Bruce said, "we do not wish the Spanish Netherlands to become part of France, so we are also unwilling to continue weakening Spain." He smiled bitterly. "That is how it is here in Europe — there are no eternal enemies, and no eternal friends!"

"It's the same everywhere!" Li Shaoyou said. "In the Southern Seas, there are also people who do not wish to be neighbors with the Great Ming!"

Bruce's face was expressionless as he continued: "As for Portugal, that is a tragedy. Everyone can take advantage of that country, and no one is truly willing to pay for Portugal, so that country cannot tie down Spain's strength either."

The Great Ming had also taken a bit of advantage of the Kingdom of Portugal.

Because the Great Ming had done its utmost to bring about the anti-Spanish alliance of Ming, England, France, and Portugal, the Kingdom of Portugal had lost all its privileges in Macau two years earlier. It had also opened up its colony on Timor Island to the Great Ming — Timor Island is very close to Australia, just over 1,000 li away, and could serve as a departure point for exploring Australia.

Of course, Zhu Cilang had not expelled the Portuguese residents of Macau, nor even revoked Macau's autonomy, nor closed the Catholic churches there. Instead, he made the Portuguese in Macau choose between the Kingdom of Portugal and the Great Ming.

Either swear loyalty to Portugal and become Portuguese residing in the Great Ming, or swear loyalty to the Great Ming and become subjects of the Son of Heaven of the Great Ming.

The difference between Portuguese residents and Ming subjects of Portuguese descent was that the former had no political rights in Macau — they could not participate in self-government (at present, the county and city levels and below in the directly administered provinces of the Great Ming had a certain degree of autonomous power), could not hold official posts in the Macau municipal government or its subordinate agencies (but could hold office at the directly administered provincial level of the court), and could not take the imperial examinations (including the official examinations and the entrance examinations of the government-run universities).

The latter, however, were subjects of the Celestial Dynasty — beneath the Son of Heaven, basically equal!

Li Shaoyou did not wish to dwell on Portugal, so he turned the topic to the war in the New World. He asked: "Mr. Diemen, I wonder if you could reveal the position of the Dutch Republic on the upcoming war in the New World?"

Bruce Diemen nodded and said: "We Dutch are a commercial nation. Unless absolutely necessary, we will not directly join a war. Moreover, we have no interests on the west coast of the New World, so we only wish to remain neutral. At the same time, we also want to ensure, as far as possible, that trans-Pacific trade is not interrupted by the war!"

"In the Anglo-Spanish War, you Dutch were also neutral, were you not?" Li Shaoyou asked in return.

"Correct!" Bruce Diemen said with a smile. "But the Great Ming is not England. The Great Ming Empire is the maintainer of the existing order in the Southern Seas. As long as the status quo of the islands of the Southern Seas does not change, the Netherlands will be a reliable friend of the Great Ming Empire!"

The meaning of these words was very clear: if the Great Ming wished to continue advancing southward, then the Spanish privateers in the Pacific would become extremely ferocious!

"The Southern Seas." Li Shaoyou looked at Bruce Diemen. "What does that include at present?"

"It includes Luzon Island and everything south of the Kingdom of Siam!" Bruce Diemen said.

Li Shaoyou shook his head and said: "We believe that the Southern Seas include only the Spice Islands, Java, and the Strait of Malacca!"

Bruce Diemen's expression changed slightly. "Do you mean you intend to launch offensives in multiple directions at the same time?"

"We have that capability!" Li Shaoyou said. "And we are also willing to protect the interests of our friends. Dutch interests in the Spice Islands, Java, and the Strait of Malacca will not be infringed upon!"

This was in fact a threat!

If Dutch armed vessels flew Spanish flags and acted as Spanish privateers, then the Spice Islands would come under attack from the Great Ming!

"But the Netherlands also has friends north of the Strait of Malacca, the Spice Islands, and Java!" Bruce Diemen said, his tone growing heavier.

"The Netherlands can help its friends," Li Shaoyou said with a smile, "but it will not directly join a costly war for the sake of friends, correct?"

"Of course. The Dutch Republic does not like fighting!" Bruce Diemen nodded slowly.

Li Shaoyou stroked his beard and said thoughtfully: "Perhaps we could sign a new agreement to regulate freedom of trade in the Pacific, and to define the Netherlands' sphere of influence in the islands of the Southern Seas!"

Bruce Diemen's brow furrowed slightly. He was "Ming-savvy," and of course knew that Li Shaoyou would not conclude treaties with foreign countries. Empty talk was one thing, but if he proposed signing an agreement, it must have come with instructions from the Great Ming's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

And the new agreement Li Shaoyou proposed was in fact a demand to change the status quo and achieve the southward advance of Ming power!

This showed that as early as several months before (it took several months for orders to travel between the Great Ming and France), the Ming court had already designated a national policy of gradual southward advance!

After seizing Luzon Island, the Great Ming's targets should be the Sultanate of Brunei, the Sultanate of Sulu, the Sultanate of Patani, and the Sultanate of Perak (between Patani and Johor), because these four sultanates all took Islam as their state religion and were in fact "contested zones" between the Islamic civilizational sphere and the Celestial civilizational sphere. Moreover, Western Christian powers were also meddling there, making the situation extremely complicated, and it might take many years to settle completely.

Therefore, the Great Ming Empire could guarantee the security of Dutch possessions until the Sultanates of Brunei, Sulu, Patani, and Perak were pacified, in exchange for Dutch "limited intervention" — that is, struggle is struggle, business is business; as long as it does not come to an open rupture and war, business must continue.

This diplomatic line was of course politically incorrect, but Zhu Cilang, after more than ten years as emperor, still could not shed his profiteer's nature. In everything he did, he calculated the economic account first and the political account second — in this respect he was quite similar to the Dutch, and so a new version of the "Southern Seas Security Agreement" was already about to emerge.

(End of Chapter)