Chapter 322: The Dominom Effect

[Today's first update, there will be a second update later, so stay tuned.] 】

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

With the establishment of the Chinese Empire, the east of the world underwent great changes, and the butterfly effect brought by Deng Haonan finally evolved into a huge storm, sweeping the entire Asia-Pacific region.

At the same time, on the other side of the planet, the countries of the Atlantic coast of Europe, were also affected, and like dominoes, one by one, one by one.

The Zhenyuan first-class sail battleship ordered by the British East India Company from the Royal Shipyard of England in the Chinese Empire was supposed to be completed in early November of the second year of Tongzhi, that is, around December 1629 AD.

However, because of the discord between King Charles I of England and Parliament, Charles I closed Parliament, and some members of Parliament were dissatisfied, so he secretly instructed the common people of Scotland to rebel.

Charles I was troubled by the Scottish rebellion, and he now had insufficient funds to suppress the rebellion. So Charles I prepared to reopen Parliament.

However, at this moment, the influence from the East caused a domino effect in Britain. After the return of the envoy sent by Charles I to the Ming Dynasty, Duke Dudley-Diggs brought Deng Haonan's handwritten letters and swords, and concluded the Sino-British Treaty of Alliance.

Charles I was very pleased with this, and the political significance of the alliance with the Ming Dynasty was huge, which made his attitude towards Parliament even tougher. As a result, Charles I gave up the idea of reopening Parliament and was determined to suppress the Scottish rebellion.

In order to suppress the rebellion of the Scottish people, Charles I had to embezzle the funds of the Royal Shipyard first, so that the construction progress of the two battleships, the Maritime Sovereignty and the Zhenyuan, was suspended due to lack of funds.

When the Pacific Trading Company's European trading fleet arrived in London, England on time in November, Rear Admiral Yang Chen, the Imperial Navy commander who was responsible for receiving the battleship Zhenyuan, rushed to the British Navy shipyard in Portsmouth and was extremely annoyed to learn that the battleship Zhenyuan had been suspended.

At this time, the British government already knew that the British East India Company had built this first-class battleship for the Ming Empire. Originally, the King of England had to blame John the Governor of the East India Company, but Duke Dudley-Diggs brought back the good news of the alliance in time, so that the King did not pursue it.

For the British government's misappropriation of the ship's construction funds, the Duke Dudley-Diggs was appointed by the Special Adviser to King Charles I to apologize to Yang Chen and his party, and promised to restore the progress of the project as much as possible.

However, Charles I squandered this year's revenues, and the suppression of the Scottish rebellion required a large amount of money, which could only be made up for next summer. In other words, the battleship Zhenyuan will not resume construction until next June.

At this time, the Zhenyuan was still three months away from completion, and if it dragged on, it would have to wait for more than ten months. The battleship Dingyuan, which was built at the Senazaire naval shipyard in France, will be completed in May next year, so that if it drags on, the two warships will not be able to return home on time, which will affect not only the combat deployment of the navy, but also the entire naval industry. Because the Empire's naval industry is waiting for the two most advanced capital ships in Europe to return to study it

Unable to wait, Yang Chen found Marquis Li De, the president of the trading company, to discuss.

"The Zhenyuan still needs the final payment to complete the final construction"

Yang Chen said this, Li De already understood what he meant, so he asked, "What are you going to do?" ”

"We can't wait that long," Yang Chen said directly: "The Empire's military operations in Southeast Asia have been delayed, mainly because of these two warships. Europe is far from the Empire, and a delay of ten months here will certainly affect the military deployment of the Empire in the Far East. For this reason, I have consulted with the Duke of Dudley-Diggs, and the construction of the Zhenyuan must be completed immediately, and we will pay for the necessary costs."

Li Deleng paused for a moment and asked, "Shall we pay?" ”

"Pay for us"

Yang Chen replied in the affirmative, which made Li De puzzled.

"The final payment still needs 180,000 silver dollars, you can help pay it first"

Li De shook his head and said, "This is not good, you are equivalent to taking out 180,000 silver dollars for nothing, and more importantly, without the approval of the Admiralty, this expenditure is equivalent to illegal." Even if your starting point is for the Empire, it will be a thankless task in the end."

Yang Chen naturally understood, but as the commander who came to receive the battleship, he promised Deng Haonan to complete the task on time before setting off. A delay of 10 months would inevitably disrupt many of the planned deployments. At the same time, there is still an uncertain factor on the way home, half a year, a year, or longer, which no one dares to pack a ticket.

"I can't take care of it so much" Yang Chen said: "The British side has agreed that if we pay for it, they will do their best to restart the shipbuilding project and give priority to completing the Zhenyuan."

Yang Chen replied very resolutely, and Li De could only sigh helplessly. Along the way, the two sides have been together for nearly a year, and they can be regarded as friends.

"Okay" Li De nodded in agreement and said: "For the sake of my friends, I will lend you 180,000 silver dollars in my personal name, and you will pay me back when the government gives you money."

Yang Chen smiled slightly, this Li De is quite interesting.

Suddenly, Yang Chen's eyes flashed with inspiration, and he said: "Since you lent me money, it is better for you to give me a batch of goods on credit at a low price, and I will sell them at a high price, and the difference in price must be enough to pay this fee."

Li De was stunned for a moment, and then smiled: "I didn't expect you to have a business mind."

"How can I stand by the river without getting my shoes wet?"

"......" Li De rolled his eyes and said, "This seems to be a bit derogatory"

Yang Chen just smiled and didn't say anything.

With the help of Li De, Yang Chenshun raised the funds. Of course, Yang Chen can't be allowed to resell the goods, because Li De is afraid that Yang Chen will sell the goods low.

The Pacific Trading Company entered the European market this time, sending seventy ships of various kinds, carrying a large number of goods, with a total value of seven million silver dollars, far exceeding the combined trade of the British and Dutch East India Companies in a year. In Li De's words, you can only run once in two years, how can you do it if you don't make enough money at one time

These goods are in high demand in the East. For example, the scarce production of top tea, the top porcelain from Jingdezhen, and the tribute-grade silk and satin produced by Suzhou and Hangzhou weaving, etc. These things were luxury goods in the East, and they were even rarer after crossing the ocean to Europe.

Shipping from Asia to Europe, the profit will multiply by more than ten times or more. Li De initially estimated that the goods would net about 200 million silver dollars, but due to the Empire's hostility with Spain, the scale of the company's exports to Spain was reduced, so the profits might be affected.

Although 200 million silver dollars seems like a lot, if Deng Haonan knew, he would definitely complain that Li De sold it cheaply. Because a golden Hind of the British could earn 100 million silver dollars on a trip to China, of course, provided that currency depreciation was not considered.

However, Li De is not worried. Because the Spanish merchants did not care about the Spanish government at all, they still secretly traded with the Pacific Trading Company. This is mainly because of the huge profits that are deposited, because every year Spain plunders countless gold and silver from all over the world, and every year the Spanish princes and nobles will consume up to 300 million Spanish dollars. The Spaniards had money, which was the main reason why the Spanish Empire was still the largest power in Europe. Emaciated camels are bigger than horses, which is a portrayal of the Spanish Empire today.

Of course, what Li De didn't know was. The glory of the Spanish Empire was now like a return to the past, and there was no way back to what it used to be. At this time, Spain was preparing to use its national strength to fight France, and when the two countries fought this war, the Spanish Empire would also cede the position of the first power in Europe to France.

Li De learned that the battleship Dingyuan would be completed in May next year, so he was in no hurry to sell the goods. In this way, the goods will be slow to come out, and the price will be stable. It will not depreciate, but will sell for a good price.

Every day, a large amount of gold and silver will be put into the account, in addition to leaving a part of it as a turnover fund in Europe, as well as the purchase of rare goods and special goods in European countries, the rest of the gold and silver are all melted down, cast into gold and silver bricks, and then hoarded to be shipped back to China.

Li De's current status, ranking as a marquis, and his family fortune of one million, is absolutely impossible to get in Europe. At this time, Li De had completely regarded himself as a Ming person, because among the races in the world, the Ming people were superior people, even in Europe. Of course, he didn't know that the Ming Dynasty had become the Chinese Empire.

According to Li De's estimates, when he finally returned to China, he would carry 200 million silver dollars worth of gold and silver treasures, as well as a large number of European goods. This is a considerable wealth, and it is inevitable that it will not attract the prying eyes of other countries. Although Li De's caravan was armed merchant ships and escorted by twenty frigates, it was now at odds with Spain and the Netherlands, these two countries, the former was okay to say, and the latter was a bandit, and it was inevitable to attack the company.

The Dutch navy was much stronger than the fleet of the Dutch East India Company in Southeast Asia, and if the navy were involved in the robbery, the Pacific Trading Company might not be able to handle it. Therefore, Li De's support for Yang Chen to pay 180,000 silver dollars for the construction of the ship also has this consideration. If there were two first-class battleships to escort the ship, the safety factor would be higher.

It is said that after Yang Chen paid 180,000 silver dollars to the British Portsmouth Shipyard, under the attention of the British government, the Portsmouth Shipyard immediately started construction and completed the final construction of the Zhenyuan as soon as possible.

Due to the delay of the battleship Zhenyuan for three months, the completion of the Zhenyuan was delayed until March next year. The construction of the battleship Dingyuan in France is on schedule and will be completed on time in May next year.

However, Yang Chen was a little worried. Relations between Britain and France were not as calm as they seemed, and the two countries could be said to be old enemies, having fought a Hundred Years' War, and it seemed that there were still signs of another war.

There is no doubt that the French Navy is expanding. Because after Yang Chen arrived at the Senazaire shipyard, he saw that the French were building a powerful navy.

On the other hand, the British navy was different, Charles I did not attach importance to the navy, as can be seen from his embezzlement of naval military spending. The British Navy had not purchased more than a battleship of the battleship class for five years, and even inferior cruisers had only added less than 20 ships a year.

In the French Navy, on the other hand, the shipyards were built with battleships of the third and fourth ranks, and the number of cruisers increased at a rate of thirty per year.

Not long ago, the British and French navies clashed their guns, and it can already be seen that the contradictions between the two countries have intensified somewhat. However, Britain's main enemy now opposes the expansion of the Holy Roman Empire, while France, although it is a Catholic country, has to resist the expansion of the Holy Roman Empire in terms of national interests, which are consistent with the British style at this time. Therefore, both countries are deliberately suppressing the contradictions to prevent further escalation.

The second purpose of Yang Chen's visit to Europe was to observe the situation in European countries, at this time Europe was full of wars, and the Thirty Years' War against the Holy Roman Empire in Europe had entered a white heat. The two largest Catholic countries, France and Spain, were at war in Pau, Girona, Toulon and Stuttgart, but France seemed to be overwhelmed, and the two sides fought more than a dozen battles, large and small, and the Spanish army had defeated France in every battle with its large phalanx and strong forces, and had invaded large areas of French territory.

On the northern front, France and the Netherlands formed an alliance to resist the combined forces of Spain and the Holy Roman Empire, but the effect was not great, and the combined forces of Spain and the Holy Roman Empire continued to press, and there was a posture to take the French capital Paris in one fell swoop.

The borders between France and Spain on the southern front were similarly tight, and France lost large swathes of territory independently against allied forces from Spain, Portugal, and the Spanish colony of Turin.

In Northern Europe, Sweden could have held back the Holy Roman Empire, but Norway was afraid that Sweden would threaten Norway after a heavy military victory, so Norway suddenly went to war with Sweden, and the Swedish army had to withdraw from the Baltic Sea.

Similarly, the Ottoman Empire never gave up expanding into Europe, taking advantage of the chaos in Europe to send troops to the Holy Roman Empire. As the Ming Empire was replaced by the more powerful Chinese Empire, the Russian Empire abandoned its eastward expansion and went south to compete with the Ottoman Turkish Empire for territory.

The reason for the Russian Empire's war against the Ottoman Turkish Empire was in retaliation for the aggression of the Ottoman Empire and the Crimean Khanate against Russia.

At this time, the Ukrainian Khanate was isolated due to the surrender of the Mongol tribes, the Ukrainian Khanate was threatened by the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Turkish Empire, and finally the domestic forces of the Ukrainian Khanate supported the Russian Empire, so that the Russian Empire was ready to merge with the Ukrainian Khanate. In this way, the Ottoman Turkish Empire felt a great threat, and thus caused an escalation of contradictions between the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Turkish Empire.

Of course, the outbreak of the Russo-Turkish War was also influenced by the domino effect of the East, and the annexation of the Mongol Khanate by the Chinese Empire dashed the hopes of the Russian Empire's eastward expansion.

And the Russian Empire, for the needs of economic development, needed to open up access to the sea. The eastern outlet to the sea is shattered, and it can only go west or south. To the west was the mighty Holy Roman Empire, and the Russian Empire did not dare to touch its edge for the time being, so it had to turn south. In order to consolidate the northern coast of the Black Sea, which had been invaded by the Mongols in the 13th century, and to obtain the Black Sea outlet. The First Russo-Turkish War broke out between the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Turkish Empire.

In this way, the whole of Europe and West and Central Asia fought.

In addition to receiving two battleships, Yang Chen also shouldered the important task of protecting the safe return of more than 1,000 skilled workers to the motherland.

These workers have been in Europe for more than three years, from rough work at the beginning, to petty workers, to apprenticeships, and finally to participate in the design and manufacture of warships, they have systematically learned the shipbuilding industry in Britain and France.

After returning to China, these people will assume the backbone of the naval industry of the Chinese Empire, and will train countless outstanding skilled workers for the empire. If Deng Haonan attaches importance to the huge wealth that Li De has earned for him, then this group of skilled workers is even more important to Deng Haonan.

Yang Chen knew this very well, so when Li De planned to load more European goods on merchant ships and transport them back to China, he firmly opposed it. It was requested that enough space be set aside on the merchant ships to improve the living conditions of these craftsmen on their way home.

Because it is estimated that it will take a year, such a long time at sea, if the living conditions of the craftsmen are too crowded and harsh, it will cause many people to get sick and die.

Li De had no choice, he didn't want to load less goods, so he had to spend money to buy a few first-class passenger ships from the British to transport craftsmen. Although several passenger ships cost nearly 200,000 silver dollars, Li De was not distressed, because the European goods loaded on the vacated armed merchant ships would make more money after they were transported back to China.

Yang Chen stayed in Europe and was not idle, because European countries were very interested in the soldiers of the Ming Empire, so they invited Yang Chen and other officers to visit Wèn when they were trading with Li De.

In this regard, Yang Chen and others are very happy. It is a good time to take the opportunity to visit the development of cities in various European countries, and to get a sense of how effective the armies of various countries are.

Of course, the governments of the Netherlands and Spain were hostile, but they still invited Yang Chen and others to visit Wèn and took the opportunity to question. Because of the British and French defenses, the Dutch abandoned their hostility to the Pacific Trading Company. Spain, for the sake of the Holy Roman Empire's face, also said that it would not embarrass the Pacific Trading Company, but the Spanish Empire was still very annoyed by Britain and France helping the Ming Dynasty build battleships.

Once these two battleships arrived in the Far East, there would be no more warships in the Far East that could oppose the Chinese Empire. The Spaniards were not willing to lose the Philippines, so the Spanish government ordered Mexico to declare war on the Chinese Empire in order to recover the Philippines. But Mexico did not have first-class battleships, the most advanced were only third-class battleships, although the number was overwhelming the Pacific Fleet, but military strategists obviously did not think that third-class battleships could sink first-class battleships.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[Thank you for the valuable monthly tickets and rewards voted by friends such as Hua-Long, Brother Feng, Xiao Oh, UF2, MJU, Fan Chen, Changxian, Chunfeng~, etc.]

This chapter was uploaded by 16 booklovers E