Anti-Qing: Starting from the Reincarnation of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 130 The Sleeping Giant

The generals of the Ming army were shocked when they heard the sudden change, and their expressions changed rapidly.

But in the end, they all turned their attention to Zhu Jing'an, with a clear intention to ask the Governor to come up with this idea.

Seeing this, Zhu Jing'an lowered his head and thought for a while, and then spoke.

"At any time, it is a taboo for military strategists to set up enemies on multiple fronts!"

"For our Ming Dynasty, the most important enemy at the moment is the Qing army under Fulong'an who is heading south."

"As for foreigners, they are not susceptible to scabies."

"Currently, the most important thing for Ming Dynasty to do is to gather the main army and prepare to go north to meet Fulongan's Qing army."

"As for the foreigners, it's okay to tolerate it for the time being."

When the generals of the Ming army heard this, they responded one after another.

"The governor is wise!"

Zhu Jing'an nodded slightly, then took a deep breath again and spoke.

"Send the order and send fast horses to recover Huang Quan."

"Tell Mr. Huang that he can make appropriate concessions when he continues to negotiate with the foreigners. He just wants to stabilize the foreigners so that they will not launch a sneak attack while our main force of the Ming Dynasty is heading north to meet the enemy and the rear is empty."

"As long as we can stabilize the foreigners and ensure the stability of our army's rear, any conditions are acceptable!"

Zhu Jing'an said this.

Of course, if you agree to the conditions, you must agree to the conditions. Whether you can implement them or not take them is another matter.

To put it psychologically, Zhu Jing'an is now mentally prepared to fall out with foreigners.

After he finished fighting Fulong'an who went south, he was going to send troops to regain Macau and discuss the matter with the foreigners.

When the attendants around Zhu Jing'an heard this, they clasped their fists and passed the order.

……

Macao!

town Hall!
The Portuguese Governor of Macau, Sardanye, George, the director of the British East India Company, Charles, the commercial representative of the French East India Company, Felosa, the captain of the Dutch East India Company, and others gathered together.

While drinking tea, I waited for the reply from the rebel army from the Tatar Empire.

It is very obvious that at this time, except for the Portuguese who had a stronghold on the coast of China and a governor in Macau, most of the representatives of Britain, France, the Netherlands and other countries in the East were related to the East India Company of their respective countries.

Most of them are businessmen, not government officials.

But the East India Company is a little different. In the East India region, the East India Companies in various countries have certain government powers.

You can sign treaties, collect taxes, make laws, establish colonies, form your own army, and even develop your own fleet.

It’s equivalent to half a government!

It can be called a quite terrifying group of interests!
Shadanye took a sip of the fine Yuqian Longjing in front of him and said with some anxiety.

"Dear gentlemen, I don't think that rebel will agree to our request."

Shadanye felt from the bottom of his heart that the conditions they imposed on the messenger sent by the rebels were a bit excessive.

How should I put it, the Portuguese at this time were actually quite honest.

Whether it was the pre-Ming Dynasty or the Manchu Qing Dynasty, the Portuguese honestly paid rent to the Chinese government for renting Macau.

If a Portuguese commits a crime, he or she will be brought to trial by the Chinese government, and they will inevitably have their pants pulled off and slapped on the head.

But George, the director of the British East India Company, heard this and spoke.

"No, no, my dear Lord Governor, I think the conditions we are proposing are not excessive at all."

"Don't forget, the one we are negotiating with now is not the government of the Tatar Empire, but just a representative of the rebels."

"I don't think this rebel army with the concept of restoring the previous dynasty can truly overthrow the rule of the Tatar Empire."

George's words were full of certainty.

"The Tatar empire has a vast territory, countless people and wealth. They have to face countless uprisings by rebels with the concept of restoring the previous dynasty almost every year."

In the eyes of Europeans of this era, wealth means national strength.

Although the Manchus and the Qing Dynasty strictly enforced the maritime ban, the exchanges between the East and the West could not really be completely cut off.

The Europeans were not unaware of the deterioration of the Qing government's armament, nor were they unaware of the weakness of the Qing Dynasty at this time.

The main reason why they still attach so much importance to the Manchu and Qing Dynasties is because the Manchu and Qing Dynasties are rich.

In their view, the Manchus could spend money to buy guns from Europe, hire troops, even invite instructors and generals to help them fight, or even directly purchase a fleet.

The Manchu Qing Dynasty, with its massive wealth, was just a sleeping giant in their eyes.

Although sleeping, he is still a giant.

Not to be trifled with!

George continued.

"Our current negotiations are not to negotiate with the rebels, but to prepare for subsequent negotiations with the Tatar Empire officials."

"We must take advantage of the fact that the rebels still exist and seize as much benefit as possible from China's coast in order to form an established fact."

"Even if the Tatar government regains lost ground from the rebels, they can only hold their noses and admit our existence."

"Use this to open the door to the Tatar Empire!"

George did not think that the Ming Dynasty could really succeed in revolting against the Qing Dynasty and restoring the Ming Dynasty.

Therefore, when he negotiated with Daming, he showed little sincerity at all.

They just wanted to gain an open and honest foothold on the coast of China from the Ming Dynasty and open the door to the Qing Dynasty.

While George was negotiating with Ming Dynasty, he was also preparing to send someone to contact the Manchu and Qing officials.

If the Manchu and Qing officials were willing to recognize the interests ceded to them by the Ming Dynasty, they could help the Manchu and Qing officials put down the rebellion.

Charles, the representative of the French East India Company, also said.

"If we want to protect our interests in China, we must have some strongholds along the coast of China."

"And here at the mouth of the Pearl River is our best choice."

The Dutch representative Felosa on the side also spoke.

"Haha, it just so happens that we have a batch of old artillery here that needs to be disposed of."

When Shadanye heard this, he couldn't help but clicked his tongue.

Good guy, after working on it for so long, it turns out that I am the only one who truly negotiates with the rebels in good faith.

In fact, this is normal, because Macau is now under the nose of Ming Dynasty.

Once the negotiations between the two sides collapse, Ming Dynasty may send troops to regain Macau at any time and expel the Portuguese.

With real interests involved, the Portuguese would naturally be more sincere when negotiating with Ming Dynasty.

But countries such as Britain, France, and the Netherlands are different!

The closest colonies of Britain and France were in India, while the Netherlands was as far away as Batavia.

Naturally, they dare to ask for high prices in negotiations.

Because they are confident that even if the negotiations with the Ming Dynasty fail, the rebel navy alone will not be enough to threaten their foundation.

As for trade...

In their view, even if Guangzhou is temporarily closed and their trade with China is cut off, it will actually be okay.

Because they really are not optimistic about this rebel army under the banner of the previous dynasty, their current thinking is that it is acceptable to temporarily cut off trade.

At worst, they could wait until the Tatar government successfully suppressed the rebellion before continuing trade with the Tatar government.

Among the three countries, Britain, France and the Netherlands, Britain and France are holding back their efforts to open the door to China.The Netherlands only wants to deal with a batch of old artillery.

As for opening China's door, the Netherlands, which is now in decline, cannot do it. The most they can do is wave the flag behind Britain and France.

Whether things work out or not ultimately depends on Britain and France.

Even if things are done, in the end, Britain and France will eat the meat, Portugal will chew the bones, and the Netherlands will drink the soup.

Four countries, three ideas, and there are still deep grudges between the remaining two. Now the foreigners in Macau are completely scattered.

However, when facing Eastern affairs, these scattered Western countries still very wisely pursue the principle of "unity".

Because they understand that Europe's current strength in the East is limited, and only if they unite can they have a chance to open the door to the Eastern Empire...

At this moment, an attendant came in and reported.

"Your Excellencies, the messenger of the rebels is here again!"

Hearing this, Shadanye nodded slightly, and then spoke.

"Go and invite people in!"

Not long after, Huang Quan was led into the Macau City Hall.

Shadanye spoke.

"Master Huang, please take a seat. May I ask how you have considered the conditions we have proposed?"

George on the side heard this and spoke to put pressure on him.

"We also hope that you can think carefully about whether to agree to our request."

"If you don't agree, we don't mind contacting the Qing court. I believe the Qing court will offer conditions that satisfy us."

On the surface, George seemed to be threatening Huang Quan, but in fact, this was what he really thought.

In his opinion, peace talks with the rebels will not last long after all.

Rather than negotiating terms with the rebels, he hoped to use negotiations with the rebels as a bargaining chip to force the Tatar empire to open its doors to them.

Huang Quan twitched the corners of his mouth, took a deep breath and spoke.

"As long as you can help the Ming Dynasty, provide guns and cannons to the Ming Dynasty, and send mercenaries to help the Ming Dynasty fight against the Manchus."

"Da Ming can agree to all the conditions you propose."

"This is a promise made by the Grand Governor himself!"

George, Charles, Shadanye, Felosa and others looked at each other, and they all saw the surprise and wavering in each other's eyes.

To their surprise, they did not expect that Daming would actually fully agree to their conditions.

The reason for the wavering is that the Manchu Qing Dynasty will probably not agree to the conditions offered by the Ming Dynasty.

In this case, should they still stand firmly with the Manchus?

Several people exchanged glances, and Macau Governor Sardanye was the first to speak.

"Hahaha, so best, so best!"

"For the sake of the traditional friendship between Ming Dynasty and Portugal, I think we will provide help to Ming Dynasty as much as possible!"

But when George heard this, he spoke.

"No!"

"It's too early for Governor Shadanye to make this statement. We still need to discuss this matter further."

After finishing speaking, he said to Huang Quan again.

"Master Huang, please go out and wait for a while! After we finish discussing it, we will give you an answer as soon as possible."

When Huang Quan heard this, his face visibly darkened and he asked.

"What do you mean by that, sir?"

"Are you having fun with me, Daming? I, Daming, have already agreed to all your conditions. What else do you want to discuss?"

Charles, the representative of the French East India Company, spoke up.

"Master Huang, don't be anxious. Although Ming has agreed to our conditions, how much help we want to provide to Ming still needs to be discussed!"

Huang Quan hit a soft nail, but when he thought about Zhu Jing'an's instructions to him to endure the humiliation and bear the burden of the foreigners for the time being, he was willing to accept the humiliation and humiliation of the foreigners.

He could only snort coldly, then turned and left the city hall.

Be prepared to wait outside for answers from foreigners!
After Huang Quan went out temporarily, George finally spoke.

"Three distinguished gentlemen, I have to say that the fact that the rebels fully accepted our conditions really moved my heart."

"But my opinion remains the same, I still don't think we should support the rebels!"

"Have you ever thought that once we support the rebels and the rebels are wiped out by the Tatar Empire, we may be liquidated by the Tatars after the war?"

"At that time, the Tatar government may even close the port in Guangzhou and completely cut off trade with us."

"This is an unacceptable thing for the people behind each of us."

Like Yingjiang in later generations, the Qing Dynasty in this era also likes to impose trade sanctions on other countries at every turn.

Apparently, it worked pretty well!
Charles, the representative of the French East India Company, also spoke.

"Yes, distinguished gentlemen, my opinion is entirely consistent with Mr. George's."

"Although for the time being, the benefits that the rebels can give us far exceed those that the Tatar Empire can give us, this benefit is not long-lasting."

"I don't think the rebels have a chance of replacing the Tatar Empire as the rulers of this land."

"For now, we must maintain relatively friendly relations with the Tatar government officials, and we must not stand against the Tatar government."

Dutch Felosa spoke.

"Yes, I completely agree with both gentlemen."

"However, this does not prevent us from selling a batch of old artillery to the rebels."

"Because we can also provide the Tatar government with more and more advanced guns and artillery."

Felosa's idea of ​​becoming an arms dealer has not changed.

The three of them looked at Shadanye together, seemingly seeking Shadanye's opinion.

But now that the three of them have made up their minds, what can Shadanye do?

In the end, he could only nod and say.

"Yes, I completely agree with these two gentlemen."

"So, what do we do next?"

George laughed and said.

"Don't the rebels want our mercenaries? Then we'll give them to them."

"But when it comes to the battlefield, whether the mercenaries will turn against them or not is beyond our control."

"Haha, mercenaries, a bunch of bugs who only have money in their eyes. No one knows what they will do, right?"

After hearing this, when the remaining three people looked at George with a warm face, a deep chill appeared in their eyes involuntarily.

All I can say is that George is truly an Englishman.

In terms of old silver coins and shit sticks, they are almost passive skills.

……

PS: I’ll update one chapter first, there will be another one tonight.

(End of this chapter)