Chongzhen did not pursue Empress Zhou's false words, but he did not mention the matter again. The reason why he didn't pursue the queen was because he also knew that what Queen Zhou said was actually reasonable. The current situation of the Ming Dynasty should really consider the problem of the back road, but this matter cannot be mentioned easily, because this matter is too politically correct. When Emperor Chengzu set the capital in Beijing, one of the reasons was that "the Son of Heaven guards the country". Moreover, when Emperor Yingzong was in power, the Tumubao Change, the 500,000 army was destroyed, the emperor was captured, and the first soldiers came to the city, and the Ming Dynasty did not move the capital to escape. Now, to be honest, the situation today is much worse than when Tumubao was in the time, when Tumubao was in time, I did not have such a serious financial crisis in Daming, although hundreds of thousands of troops were lost, but Daming still had the money and food to form and maintain the army, and there were also Qinwang troops who could fight in various places. And now, Chongzhen sometimes thinks that if at this time, Beijing is suddenly surrounded by Jianxuan or Li Chuang, then Beijing is really a soldier who can not be rescued outside, and there is no food available inside. However, in any case, there are no enemy troops outside Beijing? Before the enemy arrived, the Son of Heaven first started the idea of escaping, is this still my Ming Emperor? Chongzhen still wants to be faced, so although he knows that there is some truth in this matter, he doesn't dare to take the initiative to mention this kind of thing.

However, since the Manchu Qing Dynasty was finished and the customs were over, the situation gradually stabilized, Li Zicheng merged with Luo Rucai, and now he is also in a hurry to rectify the interior, and it seems that he has no intention of continuing to expand his territory in a short time. So the situation has stabilized temporarily. Of course, everyone knows that this stability is extremely precarious.

Taiwan's North Port, a foreigner's residential area, is holding a ball for the newly arrived trade representative of Caro. This is not only a celebration, but also a way to get acquainted with the subordinates and the newly arrived superiors more quickly. Since allied with the Zheng family against the Spaniards, business for the Dutch has been getting better and better. Today, the vast majority of Chinese goods are re-exported to Europe through the Netherlands. The vast majority of trade between the Dutch and China was concluded in Taiwan and Fujian through trading with the Zheng family. So now the trade representative of the Dutch East India Company in North Port has naturally become a sweet tooth, because here, even lying down, can "make outstanding contributions" to the company. The former delegate had already been promoted for his "outstanding contributions" and was in Amsterdam where he was said to be on the board of directors. And the newly arrived Mr. Cairo is also said to be from a famous family in Amsterdam.

Amid the sound of music, a couple of men and women are dancing on the dance floor, and the host of this ball, Carro, is not dancing on the dance floor, but sits on the sofa on the side, holding a glass of cold wine, watching others dance and chatting with a few other people.

"Mr. Cairo, you've only been dancing for a while, why don't you jump?" A man with a curly mustache asked.

"Ah, Mr. Robben, this is mainly because the weather in Taiwan is so hot. I don't feel it when I don't move, but when I move a little, it makes people breathless. When I was in Amsterdam, I could dance for two hours in one go, but here I only danced two pieces and I was out of breath. Kyro smiled wryly.

"Ah, I thought it was because our girls weren't good enough." Robben laughed, "If you want to talk about the stuffiness, it's really hotter here than Amsterdam." But it's also home to some of the most lucrative businesses, and it's hard to part with. And, in the future, I think we might be able to expand the size of our business even further. ”

"Oh, Mr. Robben, have you observed anything new?" Kyro asked.

"It's not a new situation either. It's just that our business partners may be preparing to get involved in a war of great proportions. And you know, Mr. Cairo, that at all times, war means that there is business to be done. Robben replied.

"Tell me what you know." Cairo drank the wine from his glass and said.

Robben took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and said to Carrot, "Mr. Carro, would you like one?" ”

"Cigarettes for the Chinese? I've tried it on the ship here, and it's much better than our own. Speaking of which, their tobacco is also bought from us, and I don't know what process they use to have such a taste. These Chinese always have some technical secrets that we don't know. Kyro sighed.

The secret is simple: when the tobacco is processed, it is shredded, then in the extract of the coca leaves, and then roasted. To put it more clearly, these tobaccos contain a certain amount of cocaine, a potent stimulant.

"That's normal, too, because they have thousands of years of civilization after all. Naturally, there will be a lot of technical accumulation. And they're just as cleverly conceived. Robben said as he took out a lighter, yes, a lighter, this is another foreign trade product of the Zheng family. Of course, the lighter at this time could not be as small and sophisticated as the later generations of Zhibao lighters. In general, this thing is more like the firing mechanism of a flintlock pistol, a little smaller, except that instead of gunpowder, the place corresponding to the fire pool is cotton soaked in fuel. The whole lighter is about the size of a person's palm, so it can be easily put in a pocket.

Robben lit two cigarettes with the lighter and handed one of them to Kyro. Kairo took it, took a deep breath, and said, "Friend, let's continue the topic just now." ”

"Yes, Mr. Cairo. You know China is a very big country, almost as big as the whole of Europe. In a sense, you can think of it as a Rome that has always existed. "But this Rome is now suffering from the same problems as Rome in the past, the threat of the barbarians of the north, and internal divisions." Now there is a large-scale civil war in the north of the country, as well as a war with the barbarians. In these wars, the generals grew in power to the point of being completely independent of the sovereign, which was also something in Roman history, wasn't it? Our business partner, His Excellency General Zheng, is actually such a general. ”

At this point, Robben paused, took another puff of his cigarette, and continued: "Just as Julius Caesar crossed the Rubicon more than 1,500 years ago, our business partner intends to fully intervene in the civil war of the empire and the war against the northern barbarians, so as to make himself the ruler of the empire. You may not know that in China, there is no eternal aristocracy, and the emperor is no exception. A man does not need a reason for blood, but only because of his strength. Mr. Cairrow, if you are familiar with history, you know how much war this means, and how much business it means. ”

"My friend. How did you come up with such a judgment? Keiro asked, sitting up straight.

"Ah, Mr. Cairo, you know that it is impossible to prepare for a war of this magnitude without signs. And we are their largest trading partner, so it is not difficult to find out by studying them and our trade situation. You know, this business partner of ours is also our trading rival in some ways. For example, in the past, we could export all kinds of artillery to the Chinese, but later, when our trading partner started producing its own cannons, our products were squeezed out of the market. Not only the Chinese market, but also the markets of other East Asian countries. Of course, this loss is insignificant compared to the benefits we gain from maintaining an alliance with them. But recently, they have withdrawn from this market on their own initiative, and as far as I know, nothing has happened to reduce their production capacity, which can only be explained by the fact that they are preparing for war. "In addition to this, the trade in many other war-related materials can also be seen, such as the reduction of the export of various metals and metal products, including pig iron, wrought iron, copper, and the increase in the import of some materials, the largest of which is saltpeter." If that's not a sign that they're preparing for war, then I don't know what else is a sign of war. ”

"Mr. Robben, you have a very good point, it will be a big deal. However, what is the level of the army in the hands of General Zheng? Well, I know that their navy is very elite and has defeated the Spanish navy more than once, and even defeated us. At least in East Asia, it is an invincible existence. However, in order to pursue hegemony on a continent, the combat effectiveness of the army is more important. How about this General Zheng's army? Do we need to provide them with guidance on weapons and technology? Kyro asked.

"Mr. Cairrow, General Zheng's army has also been at war with the Spanish Army in Manila, and the situation is one-sided, and General Zheng's army has swept away the Spanish army in Manila with a terrible exchange ratio. Of course, this is only the army of the Spanish colonies, and there is still a gap between their level and the real Spanish army. But General Zheng's army, according to some veterans, at least had the general level of European armies. And the level of their equipment is even higher than that of Europe. Their armies were generally armed with flintlock pistols and heavily armed with artillery. As far as we know, it should be obvious that it exceeds the level of other armies. Moreover, General Zheng's financial advantage over his other opponents is also very obvious. So, I think the chances of General Zheng winning this war are very good. And given General Zheng's open-minded attitude towards trade, it would undoubtedly be very advantageous for us if General Zheng gained control over the whole of China. ”

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