This time, the British envoy sent an envoy to China, one hundred and forty years earlier than another time and space. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 ｉｎｆｏ

And today's Britain, at least until the Dutch, is not a first-class European power.

"What about the initial contacts on the part of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs? The British want us not to meddle in the affairs of the Dutch, but do you have enough leverage? Li Hongfei asked.

In state-to-state exchanges, interests always come first.

If the British can give enough benefits, Li Hongfei can't consider stabbing the Dutch in the back, after all, the Dutch have begun to set the sunset, and it is difficult to save.

Moreover, between countries, their own interests must be the most important.

"The British promised that if our army could abandon cooperation with the Dutch, then when they defeated the Dutch, they would share the interests of the coastal areas of India equally with the Ming Dynasty." Foreign Minister Liu Kongzhao said.

Liu Kongzhao originally belonged to the Donglin Party, and in the face of Li Hongfei's strong suppression, he first chose to "return to obedience", and because he was sleek in the world, good at all kinds of prevarication, to put it bluntly, he was good at balancing, and his official tone was good, but in fact he did not have much opinion, so he was sent to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs by Li Hongfei.

Dealing with Fanbang, on the contrary, requires this kind of slick person, and it is easy not to let the messengers see the hole cards.

"Humph! Deuce? How to divide it evenly? Taking the interests of the Dutch, Kang Yingren's anger, this abacus is too good! Li Hongfei sneered.

The Dutch did sunset in the Far East, but the emaciated camels were bigger than the horses, and the Dutch fleet might not be as good as the British fleet, but the fortresses and garrisons in the ports were incomparable to the British.

Today's British, who mainly defeat the Dutch in Europe itself, only need to block the routes to Europe, and there is no such long-term consideration for the colonies in the Far East.

Therefore, even if you take the initiative to give up all the coastal interests of India, it is understandable, and if you share half with the Ming Dynasty, the other half will be earned.

It is not difficult to imagine that once the Ming army wants to enter the coast of India, it will inevitably fight against the land of the Dutch, and the most lost in this transaction is the Ming Dynasty.

"Actually, I think that with the current strength of the Great Ming Water Division, it is enough to occupy the east coast of India, and it is impossible to chew it if you are greedy." Li Dingguo said.

The biggest weakness of the Ming Dynasty sailors today is that they do not have enough ocean-going capabilities, so that Li Dingguo feels that it is enough to carve up half of India.

"You're still too conservative, in my opinion, either don't want it, or take it all!" Li Hongfei said.

Li Hongfei's strategic goal at sea was to seize the entire Indian Ocean as an outpost, and eventually enter Egypt to find a way to take the lead in opening the Suez Canal and gaining control of the canal.

So on the east coast of India, Li Hongfei didn't pay attention to it at all.

"All wants? But......... We don't have enough strength to defend it! Li Dingguo said.

The navy is not something that can be cultivated overnight, if the Ming Dynasty can send a fleet to the Indian Ocean and even further to the Atlantic Ocean like the Dutch, that is the real peak of the Ming Navy.

"So we can't accede to the British's request for the time being." Li Hongfei's words were astonishing.

Once a treaty was signed with the British and the Dutch were driven out of the Far East, the Ming Dynasty might have gained a lot of money in the short term, but in the long run, it would dig a hole for itself.

Even if the Ming Dynasty can unilaterally tear up the agreement with the British for the sake of interests, the Europeans are not stupid, and the Ming Dynasty's intentions to get involved in Europe will soon be exposed.

Therefore, not only could not agree to the conditions of the British, but also tried to maintain the status quo, not let the Dutch lose too quickly, and let the two major naval powers continue to consume strength, which was what the Ming Dynasty should do.

"The minister understands, the left minister is relieved, and the minister will let the Ministry of Foreign Affairs reply: The Ming Dynasty only wants to ensure normal overseas trade and will not participate in the maritime hegemony." Liu Kongzhao said.

"Don't worry, do you remember how the first pot of gold of Huaxia Ocean Trading Company came from?" Li Hongfei stopped Liu Kongzhao.

"You mean.......... Arms trafficking? However, the firearms of the Westerners are not much worse than those of the Great Ming, and only the most advanced artillery and steam engines of our army will interest them. Li Dingguo was the first to react.

"Zuo Xiang must not! The steam engine and artillery are the weapons of the country, and they can't be spread out easily! Liu Kongzhao dissuaded.

"The second generation of steam engine power has been applied to warships, and although the first generation is not outdated, it can only be installed on merchant ships. Moreover, according to the intelligence department, the Westerners have already begun to study the steam engine, and sooner or later they will master this technology, so why not take the opportunity to earn some money for the military expenses of the sailors? Li Hongfei said.

At the beginning, the Westerners sold their soon-to-be-eliminated artillery to the Ming Dynasty at a high price and made a lot of money.

Nowadays, European countries are seizing the time to study the steam engine, but there is still a long way to go to success, so it is not clear how much a steam warship will cost.

Zheng Zhilong's huge fleet, with no more than 100 steam warships, further explains that the cost of steam warships is "expensive", and now the British and the Dutch are in a big war.

A steam battleship with an absolute overwhelming advantage will be a bargaining chip that both sides want to compete for.

No matter how outrageous the price is, as long as the Ming Dynasty reveals the sale information, the two countries will desperately fight for the right to buy.

If nothing else, just to quickly break the balance of today's battlefield.

"Do you really want to sell?" Li Dingguo was a little reluctant.

"Of course, it is necessary to sell, not only the Dutch and the British, but also inform the envoys of various countries stationed in Fanfang that any country that wants to buy steam warships can submit an application to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, especially the Portuguese and Spaniards, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will personally send this news to their envoys." Li Hongfei said with a smile.

Aren't the Europeans going to reshuffle their maritime power?

Then Li Hongfei will be a banker and make the whole European country chaotic.

Originally, the steam engine was invented, first for civilian use, and then for military use with the continuous improvement of the steam engine.

As soon as Li Hongfei came up, he took out military steam engine equipment, which was tantamount to cutting off the road of industrial development in European countries.

Without a solid basic knowledge, go directly to high-end products, which will make many European scientists take a detour.

Just like the Indian Ah San of later generations, he didn't even master the basic shipbuilding technology, so he tried in vain to directly launch a domestic aircraft carrier, isn't it a waste of time, and what is it?

"What do you mean, the one with the highest price wins?" Liu Kongzhao asked.

"No, no, no....... The key is to get enough benefits and always maintain a balance between the two sides, so that our arms business can continue to be done. Li Hongfei said with a smile.

If you really want to get it according to the highest price, then the Dutch are destined to monopolize the entire steam warship market, anyway, the profits they earned in the Far East are already difficult to convey back to China, it is better to break the kettle once.

"But then it should be difficult for the British to get a share of the purchases, after all, their interests in the Far East are not even as good as those of the Portuguese and Spanish." Li Dingguo analyzed.

Britain was a new colonial power, and before the Dutch overthrew the Dutch, they had no advantage in the Far East, not even the lonely Portuguese and the Spaniards.

"The British have a good thing, that is, wool textile technology, as long as we get this technology, we will have another set of tactics to deal with Mobei in the future, so we can not want the interests of the British, but this wool textile technology must be obtained." Li Hongfei said.

In the 15th ~ 16th century, the wool industry became the "national industry" of Britain, and the demand for wool increased exponentially.

The landlords converted their farms into pastures, and also concentrated small estates by enclosing fields or encroaching on public land, so that a large number of yeoman farmers lost their land and went bankrupt and became vagrants.

From 1530 onwards, the King of England enacted a series of bloody legislations that forced vagrants to be employed by new aristocrats and capitalists to participate in overseas colonial plunder.

After the 16th century, England successively organized many trading companies to carry out pirate plunder, and dock officials, customs officers, naval officers and soldiers, and even local high-ranking officials colluded with pirates.

The pirate J. Hawkins made his fortune by trafficking blacks, while F. Drake, under the patronage of Elizabeth I, plundered the Spanish American colonies and made a voyage around the world that shocked Europe between 1577 and 1580.

It was not until 1588 that England defeated the Spanish Armada and finally took the first step in seizing supremacy in the world's seas.

Although overseas plundering made Britain eventually become a world power, in the final analysis, it was because of wool.

Because of the emergence of wool, Britain needed more land to ensure the leading position of the wool textile industry.

Because of the appearance of wool, the number of unemployed vagrants in China has increased exponentially, providing enough troops for overseas plundering in the future.

Wool was the backbone of the British economy, and the craftsmanship of its production was naturally not easily revealed, but the British had to gamble against the far East and the threat of war they were now facing.

As for why Li Hongfei had to get the wool making process, it was not to learn the British enclosure movement.

After all, since the full popularization of the steam engine, the "land enclosure movement" formed by the bourgeoisie has gradually spread in the country, if it were not for the formal implementation of the new land reform, coupled with the years of war, the population suffered heavy casualties, the number of unemployed people in the Ming Dynasty would have exceeded the critical value.

Even if these policies have temporarily stabilized the domestic situation, with the gradual improvement of the industrial system, even if there is no wool, the time will eventually come.

Wool weaving technology, when used properly, will not lead to a surplus of unemployed, but will create more employment opportunities.

Because Li Hongfei wants to apply this technology to Mobei.

Mobei is a gathering place for nomads since ancient times, they don't need to farm, and there is no "enclosure movement", and the useless wool in the hands of Mobei herdsmen can be turned into valuable clothes, which can not only earn more profits for Daming, but also greatly alleviate the unemployment rate in Daming.

The most important point is to make the nomads of Mobei completely dependent on the Ming Dynasty economically.

For hundreds of thousands of years, why Mobei has always plundered China is not because China is too rich.

There are too many things in Huaxia that the nomads in Mobei yearn for, but because they have no money to buy them, they can only rob them with their lives.

If there is an opportunity for common prosperity now, who wants to raise swords again among the tribes in Mobei?

A soldier who surrenders without a fight is the best in the art of war.

Although it seems that the Ming Dynasty recognized it and ceded a lot of benefits, in the long run, this hand just choked the economic lifeline of Mobei, so that it could only obediently obey the mercy of the Chinese.

It is not difficult to imagine that in the future, after the profit of wool is even higher than that of war horses and cattle, those nomads, unless they have a bad brain, will use their limited pasture to raise cattle and horses.

"Zuo Xiang's move is really clever, not only to solve the problem of military spending of the naval division, to lay the foundation for the future Daming naval division to gallop across the ocean, but also to solve the hidden dangers of Mobei, it is simply a lot of one stone!" Li Dingguo admired his face.

The temptation of interests is the most terrifying, and when all the nomadic people raise sheep on a large scale, the so-called Mongolian iron horse, there is no enough war horse to gallop in the north of the desert, and the tiger without claws and fangs, can it still be called a tiger?

After thousands of years of war, the Mobei problem in China has not been completely solved, but now it can be solved by economic means.

At the same time, the sale of the ships of the naval division that is about to become obsolete, raise sufficient military funds for the Daming naval division, and let the naval fleet form combat effectiveness as soon as possible, in the current view, is just a little benefit incidentally.

"You have to remember that the British are not good birds, and the Dutch are the only existence that can suppress them now, so the Dutch side can't treat each other too badly." Li Hongfei said with a smile.

After pit the British, they naturally have to turn around and pit the Dutch.

"But......... Today's Dutch people don't seem to have much good except money. Liu Kongzhao said.

Well, now Liu Kongzhao's vision has finally become a lot higher, and he doesn't pay attention to the profits in front of him.

"There are still good things, such as the Strait of Malacca, which is still in the hands of the Dutch, and we can do without the east coast of India, but this choke point into the Indian Ocean, nothing can be said to be occupied by the Dutch all the time." Li Hongfei hit the idea to the Strait of Malacca.

"With such an important strategic location, the Dutch may not be willing to let go." Li Dingguo said.

The Dutch are not stupid, the Strait of Malacca is the throat of the South Sea to the Indian Ocean, although they are afraid of the steam warships of the Ming Dynasty sailors, the Dutch have to give up most of the interests of the South Sea, but they have always controlled the Strait of Malacca.

From Singapore to Kuala Lumpur, the Dutch built fifteen forts, and even the Ming sailors did not dare to break into this area.