In terms of IQ, Su Changqing may not be able to compare with the top talents of this era, but in terms of vision, he is not comparable to anyone in this era.

Whether it is Mao Yuanyi, Sun Chuanting or Sun Chengzong, the world they have known since childhood is this piece of East Asia, and their thoughts and thoughts will naturally not leave this world. But Su Changqing is different, the world he has seen since he was born is the whole earth, a complete world.

Therefore, no matter how brilliant Mao Yuanyi and Sun Chuanting's intelligence is, they can't imagine what the world is like in Chongzhen's eyes, it's not that they lack intelligence, but that they know too little about this world. After all, in Su Changqing's time, human beings could already see the appearance of the earth from outside the earth.

Mao Yuanyi and Sun Chuanting were at a loss for the emperor's questions, and then a little at a loss, and before they obtained the same information as the emperor, the world in their eyes was still fragmented and difficult to piece together.

Although the General Staff has finally memorized the locations of the world's continents and the locations of Eurasian countries under the indoctrination of the emperor over the years, they still have not been able to turn the color blocks on these maps into specific national images, so as to correctly measure the true power of each country.

They also don't know where history is heading, and therefore how to distinguish between the enemies of the present and the enemies of the future. In the fog of geography and history, in the face of the question raised by the emperor, although a lot of information came to their minds, they still could not sort out a complete clue.

Seeing that the two of them wanted to speak and stopped, Zhu Youzhen withdrew his gaze, re-focused on the globe in front of him, and said flatly: "Before talking about Sino-Russian relations, we might as well take a look at the world we live in.

If the world is measured in terms of population, culture, technology, and military power, if the whole world is set at 100 points, then Eurasia accounts for at least 80 points. Whoever rules Eurasia rules the whole world. ”

Zhu Youzhen said and glanced at the two deputy chiefs, looked at the two of them and frowned slightly and listened to their own explanations, so he looked at the globe and continued: "Even if our current information about Eurasian countries is not perfect, but based on the current intelligence, we can also judge that with the current strength of Eurasian countries, no country can rule this Eurasian continent alone, even if it is my Ming Dynasty."

However, judging from the changes in Daming over the years, I think you should be very clear. The best way to resist natural disasters is not to pray to the gods and worship Buddha, but to implement industrialization. The wealth created through industry is exchanged for grain and other natural resources from overseas markets, so as to make up for the losses of our country, which is the best choice for the Ming Dynasty to tide over the difficulties at present.

However, industrial development is necessary through the expansion of overseas markets to digest our annual increase in industrial products, if the overseas market can not absorb our increased production of industrial products, then the industrialization of the Ming Dynasty will stagnate, the surplus agricultural population will not be able to continue to transform into industrial population, the imperial court will not be able to solve the problem of disaster relief, what choice will the peasants who have no food to eat, we have seen it in the first and second years of Chongzhen.

Therefore, in order to ensure that the overseas markets of the Ming Dynasty can continue to expand, so as to meet the industrialization of the Ming Dynasty, we must establish a global order that can ensure the interests of our country, in other words, to ensure the relative advantages of the Ming Dynasty over the countries of Eurasia.

Such a global order cannot be established on our own. ”

Zhu Youzhen said, then moved his fingers, drew a triangle around the Eurasian continent and said: "As long as you have learned a little physics knowledge, you will know that triangles are the most stable structural form.

The Ming Dynasty, Britain, and Russia happen to be at the three corners of the Eurasian continent, and we have two common interests with Britain: the first is that we do not want the unification of Europe; The second is to replace the maritime hegemony of Portugal, Spain, the Netherlands and other countries. Therefore, there is a basis for an alliance between the two countries.

And what about between us and Russia? I thought there was a basis for an alliance. First, the Russians believe in Orthodox Christianity, while their old enemy, the Ottoman Empire, believes in *religion, and they are the enemies of *civilization just like us.

Second, with the character of the Russians, who do not spare the cold land of Siberia, then the warm land of Central Asia is obviously more attractive to them.

So what kind of existence does Central Asia have for our country? This area not only belongs to the circle of civilization, but also a place of refuge for nomads.

Since the Warring States Period, the nomads in the north have been the confidants of our Central Plains. Emperor Taizu expelled Meng Yuan to restore the Central Plains, and Emperor Chengzu made five northern expeditions to the grassland, but still failed to eradicate the threat of nomads to our Central Plains.

But what will happen to them if, behind these nomads, there is also a powerful state that is eyeing them? The Qing Dynasty established by the Manchus deterred Mongolia in southern and northern China, which made the Mongolian tribes in these two regions defect to our Ming and Qing dynasties.

Then a sufficiently strong Russia will also be able to allow the Oirat tribes and the peoples of Central Asia to choose their masters again.

We need a Russia that will be an important assistant in our settlement of the northern nomads and access to Central Asia, a powerful weapon for us to destroy civilization, and a natural ally to prevent the unification of Europe under one state..."

Mao Yuanyi's mouth was a little dry when he heard this, and after licking his lips, he couldn't help but ask the emperor: "Then what should we do to establish such an alliance?" ”

Zhu Youzhen turned his head to look at him, and said with a calm expression: "How to shape such a Russia, how to establish such a Triple Alliance, isn't this what the General Staff should tell me?" ”

Under the emperor's rhetorical questioning, the room suddenly fell into a tense silence, and after a while, Sun Chuanting finally spoke to the emperor: "The minister understands, and when the minister returns, he will re-examine the Sino-Russian relations and evaluate the issue of the Triple Alliance." However, he also asked His Majesty's permission to discuss the Triple Alliance issue not only about the strategic objectives of the Army, so he hoped that officials from the Navy Staff Headquarters would be invited to participate in the discussion. ”

Zhu Youzhen nodded at him and said, "I'm right..."

On April 21, the 11th year of Chongzhen, a fleet of five Chinese and British ships crossed the Cape of Good Hope safely and arrived at Jinghai City west of the Cape of Good Hope. The year's trip made Song Xiance feel a lot, and for the first time he appreciated the vastness of the world, which made him think that a lot of his previous knowledge was like the vision of a frog at the bottom of a well.

The "Mingwei" that Song Xiance rode on had a load of 660 tons, which was also the largest of the Ming-class warships. But in the wind and waves of the Indian Ocean, it is still like a fallen leaf in a bathtub, and there is no sense of security at all. Song Xiance, who was also fond of mathematics, began to believe that there might really be some gods in this world before the great power of nature, otherwise it would be impossible to explain where the power contained in these storms came from.

Although Song Xiance was attracted by the wonderful and magnificent natural scenery along the way, he also noticed a fact. That is, the ports on the coast of the Indian Ocean, in addition to Arab merchants, followed by European merchants. It is incredible that a merchant so far from the Indian Ocean could be located in a port along the Indian Ocean. You must know that China, which is closer to the Indian Ocean, has rarely left the Strait of Malacca for thousands of years.

After crossing the Indian Ocean, Song Xiance's first impression of Europe was that these European merchants had crossed the middle line of the Eurasian continent and were frantically developing their own power in Asia. These Europeans were much more enterprising than Chinese, Indian, and Arab merchants.

As for the Europeans occupying African ports and trafficking in local people, Song Xiance didn't care much. After staying in Houjin for so long, he was no longer surprised by the slavery system. Perhaps the biggest difference between these Europeans and the Manchus was that the Europeans treated their slaves more barbarously and brutally.

However, it was from these impressions seen along the way that Song Xiance began to pay more attention to his trip to Europe. During the long voyage, he worked very hard to learn English and Dutch from his English translator. It should be said that Song Xiance still has a talent for language, and when he arrived in Jinghai City, he was already able to conduct ordinary conversations in English and understand simple Dutch.

The fleet rested for three days in the city of Jinghai, which had already begun to cross the Coast Mountains into the interior and establish contact with the local Khoi people. The city of Silent Sea traded sheep and calves with the Khoi with the crops it grown, thus establishing a livestock farming industry, which made it an important supply point for ships passing through the Cape of Good Hope. A number of European colonists also began to settle in the area, bringing viticulture and winemaking techniques to the city.

After replenishing food and fresh water, the fleet left the thriving city of Jinghai and continued north, reaching the Cape Verde Islands in about 45 days. It is a key point of communication between Europe and South America, and it is also an area frequented by pirate ships.

The return of the fleet from the East had apparently aroused the pirates' interest, but with the addition of two British ships in the nearby waters, the force of the fleet outweighed the pirates' appetite and forced them to disperse. But the fleet was still in trouble, and as soon as they left Cape Verde, they were forced back by a Dutch fleet of eleven ships.

The fleet returning to the docks of Cape Verde was contemplating how to negotiate with the Dutch fleet when it received an invitation from the commander of the opposing fleet to speak with the Chinese envoys in the fleet. Although the captains of several British merchant ships who joined later were annoyed by the Dutch's interception of the fleet, they still hoped that Song Xiance would come forward to meet the commander of the Dutch fleet to avoid a winnable war.

Song Xiance thought for half an hour, and finally took his translator to the boat sent by the Dutch and went to the flagship of the Dutch fleet, the "Rubenny".