(The new book "Back to the Ming Dynasty to Open a Factory" has been released, ask for support, ask for collection, ask for recommendation)

The course of the world is sometimes changed by small events.

Not many people would have had any impression of this phrase before 1689, but on May 6, 1689, the wrong decision of a customs officer aboard the "New Hope" outside the port of Dover, and a torn flag, caused far more turmoil than anyone could have imagined.

Twenty-six crew members were arrested, the captain and crew were beaten, and the news of the ill-treatment in prison was immediately transmitted to the "Little Celestial Empire" outside London, although the Ming and Britain at this time caused tensions between the two countries because of James II, but the Ming still did not withdraw the minister.

When Dover's news came, Minister Wan Zheng's first reaction was consternation, followed by anger, and it was not the more than 20,000 pounds of opium transported on the ship that caused his anger, but the British daring to tear down the Ming flag.

As a career diplomat, Wan Zheng thought first of the dignity of the country, then the crew of the incident, and of course, followed by the ecstasy in his heart, which was the opportunity he had been waiting for for a long time, but he could not show such emotions.

"None of them are from the Celestial Empire, they are all crew members of Zhuxia, and at least half of them are naturalized people in Nanyang......"

Facing the report of his subordinates, Wan Zheng sneered.

"So what? Even if they are not from the Celestial Empire, but they are Chinese, and the Celestial Empire is also the mother state of all Chinese people in the world, even if they are not Chinese, as long as their ship is hoisted with the Ming flag, the Ming has the obligation to protect them, and now, the British must pay for their stupidity! ”

After saying this coldly, Wan Zheng instructed his subordinates.

"Prepare the carriage, I'm going to see North, the Lord of the Seals."

Because the Ming did not recognize the "usurper". Therefore, the Ming Dynasty has always adhered to a non-recognition attitude towards the London regime, so the only connection with London is with the Keeper of the Seal, North, and the reason for maintaining contact with him is that North is also the Minister of the Seal appointed by James II.

At about ten o'clock in the morning, when Wan Zheng appeared at North's mansion, the latter already knew the reason for his visit, and he knew that these "Celestial Empire people" who were protecting their shortcomings would definitely appear in front of him, and he had been prepared for all this for a long time.

"Hello, Your Excellency."

After saying hello, Wan Zheng said directly.

"I must make the most serious protest to you!"

"You" ...... North didn't expect Wan Zheng to say this, in the past he had long been accustomed to "your country", but now Wan Zheng used "you", although he didn't make it clear, but he had clearly shown his anger, and he was no longer willing to be polite.

"Your Excellency, please be seated!"

North nodded pretending to sit down, but he stood there himself while taking a deep breath. Even though North had rehearsed the outfit he was going to play many times, he was still a little too nervous to say a word for the first few seconds.

Wan Zheng had his own understanding of North's silence, and he could sense the panic of the British.

"In the first place, I must inform Your Excellency that all these causes are due to the fact that they are a despicable opium dealer who have smuggled opium into England in violation of English law, and must be severely punished......

North explained loudly, but Wan Zheng didn't intend to listen to his explanation at all, but said directly.

"One thing we must note, Your Excellency, is that when you banned the importation of opium, their ships were overseas, and there was no way to get this information, and the opium trade in England was still legal when they left port."

Again, Wan Zheng played a game with words, he used "you" to describe William's regime, and "British" to describe the past, in fact, he told the other party in this way - the Ming did not recognize the current British regime.

For the current situation, North has long been prepared, as for whether the Ming Dynasty recognizes the British, it doesn't matter, the only thing that is annoying is their support for James II, but even if they buy the Celestial Empire, how can the Celestial Empire give up its support for James II?

"Two Britain", perhaps, this is the idea of the Celestial Empire.

"Even this does not change the fact that they were a group of smugglers who hid opium in tea bricks and tried to smuggle opium to Britain in the name of tea!"

North was confident in this meeting, and he had enough evidence that those people were engaged in illegal activities, and as long as this was confirmed, then their punishment was correct and legal. He believed that the people of the Celestial Empire could not say anything at all.

Regarding North's "smuggling" problem, Wan Zheng immediately defended their entry.

"This is simply nonsense, smuggling, how could they smuggle? There is a litany of issues that need to be clarified immediately, and we believe that they are not trading only with the British, they do sell tea to the British, but opium is destined for other countries......

This was clearly a distortion of the facts, and North immediately interrupted Wan Zheng's words; He shouted loudly, even screaming, as if to suppress his angry voice,

"Shipping to other countries? If that's the case, how can you hide opium in a tea brick? ”

"In order to protect against moisture, you know, there is a lot of humidity at sea, because the value of opium is higher, so it is necessary to use tea to protect against moisture......"

Are you treating me like a three-year-old?

North said angrily in his heart, he knew that Wan Zheng was talking nonsense there, and he also knew that the other party was simply arguing with reason, and the reason why he was like this was to save those people.

"Your Excellency, whatever you say now, it no longer makes any sense. Now we need to talk about a completely different issue, and now we need to discuss that Britain will inevitably tell the world by punishing them that any smuggling of opium into Britain will be punished severely. ”

Then North calmed himself down as much as he could, and then he talked endlessly about the damage that opium had caused to Britain, and about the trauma it had caused to the souls of men...... It seems that at this time, North hopes to awaken the sympathy and support of the other party in this way.

“…… Opium is the source of all evil, and it is opium that makes the people of England sell their daughters as long-term servants, and it is opium that makes people sell their souls to the devil. ”

Staring at Wan Zheng, North took a deep breath and said solemnly.

"Now I will convey your protest to the king and to the parliament, but what about you? Can you understand our decision to ban the opium trade? ”

Wan Zheng, who was standing there, stared at North, was the other party giving in? Apparently there were no concessions.

"Of course, we will understand your determination to stop the opium trade, and please understand that I have come here to protect the people of the Celestial Empire, who, according to reliable information, have been mistreated, and I must fulfill my responsibility to protect them......"

"They are not from the Celestial Empire, some of them are from the Lu State, some are from the Zhou State, some are from the Qin State, and none of them are from the Ming Dynasty!"

Then North paused to take a breath and solemnly declared.

"I suppose there seems to be some misunderstanding between us on this issue, what do you say?"

There is no reason, and there is no place to explain, those people are not from the Celestial Empire at all, what is the matter with you standing up?

"They are indeed not from the Celestial Empire, but the Chinese people, and the Celestial Empire is the mother state of the Chinese people all over the world, and we have the responsibility and obligation to protect them!"

This...... What is the responsibility?

For Wan Zheng's explanation, North's eyes widened, and his eyes were full of puzzlement, this kind of thing itself was enough to make him full of questions, "the mother state of the Chinese people", what is the reason for this?

Although he didn't know what he meant, in North's opinion, the "Chinese people" and "mother state" contained in Wan Zheng's words were nothing more than outrageous and shameless lies, and this kind of lies that were told effortlessly surprised North.

"Your Excellency, is there such an explanation? If your interpretation is true, is it possible to understand that Britain can protect the people of Europe? ”

North retorted loudly, apparently unable to comprehend a series of Eastern words such as "mother state".

"Is Europe British?"

Wan Zheng asked rhetorically.

"But Zhuxia was canonized by the Ming Dynasty, their monarch is the clan of the Ming Dynasty, they are ordered by the Ming Dynasty, the responsibilities and obligations of the Ming Dynasty to them are the responsibilities and obligations of the mother state, we protect them as a matter of course, and it is also the power given to me by the law, this point, you don't need to question it, your question is questioning the Celestial Empire!"

Finally, North stopped, and in the face of Wan Zheng's rebuttal, he stopped.

Pretentiously answered, and then North said.

"Well, even if we agree with that, note that they're a bunch of smugglers!"

Staring at Wan Zheng, North said.

"They were smuggling opium into the UK, and here are their confessions."

After taking the piece of paper, Wan Zheng didn't even look at it, just slowly dismantled the paper into four stacks, and put it in his pocket without looking at it.

Standing up, Wan Zheng said.

"The opium was destined for other countries."

There was silence for a few seconds, and North could be heard panting heavily.

"There are already crew members who have confessed to their smuggling!"

"That's a trick!"

Wan Zheng said directly.

"It's like this confession, it's just a piece of waste paper!"

Then he took a deep breath and coldly and calmly expressed regret for the incident, saying that the responsibility for it lay entirely with England.

"According to the authority granted to me by the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, I must fulfill the obligation to protect their legitimate rights and property, first of all, I demand that you must unconditionally release them and the seized property, and at the same time, in view of the fact that you have torn off the Ming flag, I demand that you must make an apology, an official and official apology, and must compensate the detained nationals for their losses."

After putting forward his own conditions, Wan Zheng said coldly.

"What a shameless act! Your actions will be condemned by the whole world, and if you fail to deal with this properly, you will regret it in the future......"

Wan Zheng said. He said this last sentence by staring North in the eye. Then, with a slight nod, he turned and walked slowly towards the door.

However, it was Wan Zheng's last sentence that once again made a wave of dissatisfaction swell in North's heart, and that familiar feeling was brought up, and he once again saw the high side of the Celestial Empire. He can turn a blind eye, and he can even shout angrily to vent his inner dissatisfaction. But to everyone's surprise, in the next moment, the dissatisfaction on his face disappeared, and he almost ran out from behind the desk, catching up with Wan Zheng on the way to the door, and walked side by side with him, touching Wan Zheng's sleeve with his hand from time to time. It seemed that he wanted to speak, but he couldn't find anything to say, and even wanted to stay with the other party.

They walked to the door like this, Wan Zheng's footsteps were not fast, and when he walked out of the door, he was even lagging behind, and he kept giving North a chance.

But all the way, North didn't speak.

By this time, they had already walked to the door, and North grabbed Wan Zheng's sleeve again, and could barely hear it clearly and incoherently said urgently.

"Please you have to understand...... Understand...... We...... I don't want to do that...... We want to maintain a ...... with it as a whole However, they must have violated the law......"

The last few words he said to the empty space, because Wan Zheng didn't look back, and he didn't delay a single step. It seems that for his explanation, he does not care at all, to be precise, such an explanation is futile.

North hesitated in the doorway, then turned and walked towards the house.

His steps seemed a little heavy, he didn't know whether it was right or wrong to do so, but he vaguely felt that perhaps, this matter must cause some trouble, as for how much trouble, it was not what he could imagine.

"Oh, really, that's a nuisance."

North muttered to himself.

"What should I do about this?"

North looked up to the south, and he could imagine that James II, who was in Dublin, might have gloated loudly when he found out about it.

"Damn, why would you get into such trouble?"

North glanced into the distance, then shook his head and sighed.

"Do you really want to let them out?"

In the next moment, he rejected the idea again.

"If you let them go, will they be showing weakness to the Celestial Empire, they will be proud in front of us from today onwards......" Northtun said angrily.

"These damn Celestial Empire guys, they don't know, this is the United Kingdom?"