In February, the news of the arrival of the Ming army in Ribbens swept through Western and Southern Europe.

Due to the deep involvement of trade between the Ming and Spain, many people suspected that the Ming Dynasty's visit to Europe was actually to help Spain win the religious war.

Among them, the nobles and commoners of the Bourbon dynasty in France were the most concerned about the Ming Dynasty.

The nobles were worried because of profit, while the commoners were worried because of their own lives.

In short, when the news came, the whole of France was almost boiling.

France is now ruled by Louis XIII the Just, and its population is as high as 20 million, accounting for nearly a quarter of the population of Europe.

It's just a pity that, unlike the impression that "the Xiaoice period is not serious and Europe has not been affected", Europe at this time can be said to be an era of crisis.

War, hunger, and heavy taxes made French society full of vagabonds, beggars, and outcasts.

Europe is fortunate that they did not suffer from the same large-scale drought as the Ming Dynasty, but at the same time they are very unlucky.

The Ming Dynasty avoided war because of Zhu Youzhen, but Europe did not.

Under the situation of reduced food production caused by the low temperature of the Xiaoice River, Europe was still in the midst of a religious war between Protestantism and Catholicism.

The ravages and repercussions of the war were enormous, with nearly 60,000 beggars in the city of Paris, which now has a population of nearly 200,000.

The war impoverishes the population and in turn keeps civilians in chronic conditions of malnutrition.

People born in the past 20 years are generally weak and susceptible to various diseases and plagues.

It just so happened that the environment in Paris was very dirty, and the streets were narrow and winding, with houses crowded with streets, and the streets were full of garbage and filth.

But even with this environment, Paris still has a population of nearly 200,000 and 25,000 houses.

However, in such an environment, it is not a good thing to have too many people.

Since France declared its entry into the war, large numbers of marginalized people have lost their jobs, and peasants have been turned into beggars because they have been unable to farm.

The presence of this group of people has put a great deal of pressure on the security of Paris, and the bubonic plague has repeatedly invaded the city, claiming many lives.

Beggars huddle in the filthy streets, and rats with shiny fur roam the streets, trampled and crushed to death by men or wagons, adding to the stench.

It can be said that the whole of Paris is full of chaos.

However, the chaos of the commoners often had nothing to do with the aristocracy......

"He had sixty thousand troops, more than ten thousand artillery pieces and close to five hundred warships of two to three thousand tons, all armed with flintlock pistols."

When a nobleman was standing in the corridor and "telling the truth" about the strength of the Ming army to a person's back, the person with his back to him also turned around and walked towards the depths of the corridor.

It is a gorgeous corridor of 300 meters long, the corridor is very long, surrounded by trees, and there are birds and dogs, and from time to time foxes can be seen passing by outside the corridor.

The first prime minister of the Bourbon dynasty of France, the Duke of Richelieu, was reporting the matter......

The person he reported was naturally Louis XIII, King of the Bourbon dynasty of France.

Richelieu had just returned to Paris from the south, and he did so because he smelled "opportunity".

"Will Da Ming help Felipe?" Louis XIII frowned slightly, his chin held high, as if to assert his identity.

Louis XIII was the eldest son of Henry IV, the founding monarch of the Bourbon dynasty, but he had little talent.

In life, he is weak and lazy, his personality is introverted, gloomy, and unlikable, and his only hobby is hunting, so under the aura of his father's "Mingjun", he looks particularly mediocre.

However, unlike the lazy and mediocre king, Louis XIII was actually a dutiful king.

As an adult, he knew that he was not good at managing specific affairs, so he reused Richelieu, and for this reason he did not hesitate to break with his mother, wife, and younger brother, and even sacrificed himself to allow himself to be "overheaded" by Richelieu.

In the details, he seems mediocre and lacks assertiveness, but at the critical moment that determines the fate of the country, he always makes the right choice and unswervingly implements it.

It can be said that he is like a copy of Wanli, but the difference is that Wanli chose to exile Zhang Juzheng's family who "overhead" him, while Louis XIII chose to trust Richelieu.

The facts are also positive, and Richelieu has lived up to his trust.

Thanks to the efforts of him and Richelieu, France, which was originally riddled with holes, internal and external troubles, and was in ruins, has been continuously reformed politically, socially, and religiously in the past ten years, and the country has flourished.

It's just that because his personality is too strong and his style is too strong, Richelieu seems to be a little "hated".

"I don't think the Ming are here to help Felipe, judging by their last visit to Europe, their target may be the Americas."

Richelieu's words hit the nail on the head, and the reason why he was able to observe the intentions of Xu Xiake and the others was because they chose the location of the landing.

Ribens, the stronghold of the Portuguese aristocracy......

Richelieu didn't believe that the diplomats of the Ming Dynasty didn't know about the rebellions that had been breaking out in Portugal in recent years, after all, they had established colonies in Africa, so they should know very well.

Now that they understand, they should be walking in a direction that is beneficial to them every step they take.

For the Ming Dynasty, the war with the current European continent did not do them any good.

If, on the other hand, the war in Europe were to be used for the New World, it would all make sense.

Spain had the most colonies and city-states in the New World, and Spain had rejected the Ming Dynasty's proposal to buy colonies in the New World.

Since he can't buy it, then Daming can only use other means.

"...... Americas," Louis XIII muttered softly, and Richelieu nodded: "That's right, America!" ”

Although Richelieu was a powerful minister, he was not the kind of usurper who did everything for the national interests of France, and without the unwavering support of the king, a person like Richelieu would have been ruined in the complicated court struggle.

Although he made France powerful, he also achieved a higher fame than King Louis XIII.

Using the power of France to enhance his reputation, if it weren't for the large enough strength and mind of Louis XIII standing in front of him, he might have died on the battlefield or in prison.

Therefore, he had great respect for Louis XIII and was overwhelmed with the words:

"The reason why Felipe and they can stalemate with us for so long is mainly because the goods of the Ming Dynasty have stabilized the prices within Spain, and the saltpeter imported by the Ming Dynasty has given the Spanish army several times more firepower than ours."

"Now that the Ming wants to get the New World, I think we can use this to undermine the trade relations between the Ming and Spain."

"Sabotage? How to destroy? Louis XIII had a bad feeling in his heart, and Richelieu bowed his head:

"We may be able to cede colonies in the New World."

"Well......" Hearing Richelieu's words, Louis XIII nodded calmly, which is enough to reflect its strength, in exchange for Felipe IV, I'm afraid Richelieu has been dragged out.

Richelieu also knew that it was not good to cede the colony, but he felt that it was worth it, so he explained:

"We don't suffer, now we have less than nine hundred immigrants in the New World, and the annual tax revenue is only thirty gold louis, and it is easy to get them back, five ships are enough."

"Compared with us, Felipe transports more than 4 million silver pesos and more than 200,000 gold pesos through the New World every year, and he will definitely be reluctant to give up his overseas colonies."

"As long as the countries above the New World withdraw one after another, then when only Spain is left above, the contradictions between the Ming and Spain will be magnified."

"As long as we write to the Netherlands, England and Sweden, I believe that they will all give up their colonies in the New World one after another."

Richelieu, the greatest, most scheming, and at the same time the most ruthless statesman in the history of the Kingdom of France, knew very well that war was a continuation of politics, and that if it could not be won politically, there would be no winner in the war, even if everyone was killed.

"England, the Netherlands, and Sweden, with only a few thousand taxes and populations in the New World, I believe they would be overjoyed to know that they would be able to defeat the Catholic League after withdrawing."

"What if they don't want to?" Louis XIII asked Richelieu, but Richelieu shook his head and said:

"They won't be unwilling, even in the Netherlands, which make the most of their profits from the New World."

"The Netherlands and the Ming army have fought the most, and they should know the strength of the Ming very well."

"The Ming Dynasty has the strength to expedition fifty or sixty thousand people, and this group of people is armed with flintlock muskets, if they attack the Netherlands from the sea and land, with the situation of the Netherlands, they will not be able to last a year."

Richelieu already has a high opinion of the Netherlands, after all, the population of the Netherlands is only about 1.2 million, and the number of troops is only more than 50,000, of which 20,000 are navy.

The Netherlands was never strong with the army, but with the navy.

But the problem is that the Netherlands' finances are mainly imported from overseas.

Once the Netherlands occupied the South Seas, its global commercial hegemony has been firmly established across the globe.

The East India Company had more than 15,000 branches and accounted for half of the world's trade.

More than 10,000 armed merchant ships flying the Dutch tricolor cruise the world's oceans.

At that time, there were 20,000 ships in Europe, and the Netherlands alone had more than 15,000, more than the total number of ships from Spain, Britain, France, and other countries.

And yet? When the Ming Dynasty sprung up and recovered Taiwan and Nanyang, the financial revenue of the Netherlands was almost halved.

Later, the Ming Dynasty marched into India, and the Netherlands was almost beaten back to its original shape.

Given the Netherlands' small territory and sparse population, it is no wonder that it was able to gain independence from the unwieldy Spanish Empire and once dominate the European continent.

One of the immediate causes of this miracle is the difference in the efficiency and capacity of the Netherlands' public debt system to finance its reforms.

The Netherlands' public debt system has performed far better than Spain's, and its strong ability to raise funds has given it a key military advantage over Spain.

During the 80-year war of independence with Spain, the Netherlands' fiscal revenues were supplemented by public debt in the form of annuities and short-term bonds, in addition to the main tax revenues.

In 1568, the war budget of the Netherlands was 2.9 million guilders (about 820,000 taels).

But by 1621, the first year of the Apocalypse, its war and military expenditure had reached 22 million dong (6.28 million taels).

There are seven independent provinces in the Netherlands, of which the Netherlands and Zeeland provide 70 per cent of the total funding, while the Netherlands alone accounts for 58 per cent.

Even though the Ming army later successively conquered the South Seas, India, East China, and South Levia regions, the Netherlands' war budget was still as high as 14 million dong (4 million taels).

The reason why the Netherlands are able to generate so much money each year with a population of 1.2 million is not because of how much gold and silver the Netherlands earn abroad, but because they have already started to raise funds in the capital markets.

The Netherlands began to raise funds from the capital market in 1600, and today the country's public debt is as high as 125 million dong (about 35.71 million taels).

Despite the surge in the Dutch Republic's public debt balance during the war, the Dutch National Credit Decree has gained the full trust and favor of many investors.

As a result, the Netherlands was able to raise funds for the war effort on a sustainable basis at a lower cost at the time.

However, the current Netherlands just experienced the "tulip bubble bursting crisis" last year, and even if the next public debt can receive a lot of funds, Richelieu is not sure whether it will be able to face the almost invincible Ming navy.

The Dutch War of Independence has been going on for seven decades, during which time even the "empire on which the sun never sets" such as Spain has declared bankruptcy four times because it cannot pay the interest on its debts.

The Netherlands, on the other hand, have been gritting their teeth and persevering, so they can continue to raise funds successfully.

However, capital is needed for financing, and the Netherlands' capital is its nearly 15,000 armed merchant ships at sea.

The biggest trade object of these merchant ships is actually the Ming Dynasty.

If the Netherlands and the Ming Dynasty go to war, the foreign trade revenue, which accounts for half of the Dutch fiscal revenue, will be cut in half, and the Netherlands will lose more than 400 dong in fiscal revenue.

This is also the reason why the Ming Dynasty repeatedly proposed to Spain and the Netherlands to buy colonies, but they were only refused, not by military means.

To put it bluntly, it can't be defeated militarily, and it is still very dependent on the Ming Dynasty economically.

If Spain and the Netherlands want to rebel against the Ming Dynasty, they will push themselves into the fire pit.

The global trade, which had developed in the sixteenth century, had now reached the volume and volume of trade a hundred years later, under the initiative of the Ming Dynasty.

The difference is that at the beginning of the eighteenth century, trade was between Europe and the New World, while now it is the Asian, European and African plates.

Richelieu didn't know what the future would bring, but he could see that Daming's desire for the Americas was stronger than anyone else's.

"If Daming's goal is the New World, then it is impossible for Daming to make compromises on matters in the New World."

"As long as the Ming Dynasty doesn't make compromises, it can only be countries that compromise, after all, their troops in the New World are too small."

"We have less than 900 soldiers and immigrants in the New World, only a few hundred and more than 1,000 immigrants in the Kingdom of England, and only about 6,000 soldiers and civilians in the New World after the Netherlands was seized by the colonies of the Far East and vigorously developed the New World."

"As for Sweden, Denmark and other countries, there are even fewer soldiers and civilians, only a few hundred."

"In terms of form, Spain is the most populous in the New World, with a population of 250,000, of which the army has reached more than 10,000."

"These populations and armies were the biggest obstacle to the Ming taking the New World, so this is also the reason why the last time the Ming visited Europe, mainly Felipe IV."

"Other countries can emigrate, sell their colonies, but Spain can't."

"The immigrants of the New World, they have spent hundreds of years of effort, and they will not withdraw unless they are in a desperate situation."

"This is the biggest contradiction between Daming and Spain in the Americas."

"However, this contradiction can be resolved by force, and this is our opportunity."

Richelieu went on to explain: "Spain's trading partner with the Netherlands is the Ming Dynasty, and the same is true for the Ming Dynasty. ”

"This is also the reason why the Ming Dynasty has led more than 10,000 troops to Europe last time, but he has not made a move on the New World."

"But if we can join forces with England, Sweden and other countries to abandon the colonies, and then rob the Ming Dynasty of trade with Spain, then Spain will be isolated in the New World."

"With the volume of trade between the Ming Dynasty and Spain, our finances can grow, but Spain's finances will decline, and once the contradictions between the Ming and Spain cannot be reconciled, it can only lead to war in the end."

"As long as the trade volume of the Ming Dynasty to Spain is undertaken, then the Ming Dynasty can use troops against Spain."

"We can't defeat the New World, which is the rear of Spain, but the Ming can!"

Richelieu's words can be said to be the culmination of Louis XIII, and in their eyes, and even in the eyes of Britain and Sweden, the interests of the New World can be completely abandoned, after all, they have only colonized for more than ten years, and the population is too small.

If the New World can be exchanged for the Ming trade's propensity, it will undoubtedly be a good deal.

It was Spain that gained the greatest benefit in the New World, followed by Portugal, and then the Netherlands as the Netherlands.

Portugal had not yet become independent, so both Louis XIII and Richelieu felt that the two were one and the same.

As long as the Dutch were willing to withdraw from the New World, the Ming Dynasty's support for Spain would be weakened, and this power would be transferred to them, winning the war on the European continent for them, and thus defeating the Spanish and Austrian Haasburg dynasties.

"We can withdraw, but we need the approval of England, the Netherlands and Sweden and withdraw."

Louis XIII was not stupid, and the withdrawal of the family alone was of no use to the whole plan.

He was sure that England and Sweden would withdraw from the New World, after all, there were not many immigrants and troops in the New World.

However, for the Netherlands, Louis XIII was very uncertain.

"On the basis of supporting the independence of the Netherlands, we can let the Ming provide enough supplies to help them seize Artois, Flanders and other places."

Richelieu wanted to use the "Spanish Netherlands" between France and the Netherlands to get the Netherlands out of the New World.

If this plan could be realized, the Netherlands would be willing to abandon the New World.

After all, the homeland territory is real, and the overseas territory is virtual.

Even if the New World can bring gold and silver to the Netherlands, after learning that the Ming Dynasty intends to New World, the Netherlands, who have been defeated by the Ming Navy many times, will probably weigh the pros and cons.

Their colonies in the New World were not as stable as Spain's, and once a conflict broke out with the Ming Dynasty and the sea was lost, the Netherlands' finances would be in a huge crisis, the capital market would choose to withdraw their capital, and the Dutch War of Independence would fail.

"This time, we can negotiate with the Ming Dynasty with the Netherlands as the leader, as long as it succeeds, the Haasburg Dynasty will definitely suffer a heavy blow."

Richelieu said so categorically that Louis XIII immediately stated when he heard this:

"If that's the case, then I'll leave this matter to you."

"Don't worry......" Richeliu replied with a salute before exiting the bustling Louvre.

It was not long before Richelieu personally led his party to the Netherlands, and at the same time he wrote letters to the kingdoms of England and Sweden, and sent invitations to visit the Ming fleet where Ribens was staying.

This series of changes fermented in half a month, and the first to get the news was naturally England on the other side of the English Channel.

England at this time entered the Stuart period, and the king was Charles I.

Charles I has reigned for thirteen years, but during these thirteen years, he has brought endless wars and chaotic religious conflicts to England.

His English subjects were generally distrustful of his beliefs, but Charles I ignored them.

Last year, Charles I and the Archbishop of Cambury urged the Bishop of Scotland to force the Church of Scotland to observe the new "Book of Common Prayer".

The Church of Scotland elders objected and boycotted, and the result of the boycott was a riot in Edinburgh, which quickly led to a popular boycott in Scotland.

A few days before Richelieu's letter arrived in London, the Scottish people entered into a "covenant of nations" determined to uphold their religious teachings.

It is clear that if this continues, a war between Scotland and England is imminent.

This situation, coupled with the fact that both the House of Commons and the House of Lords of the House of Commons of the Parliament of England complained about the mishandling of Charles I's war with Spain over the Protestantism of France, and constantly opposed Charles I's attitude towards the Church of England, so Charles I realized that this was a good opportunity.

If he can increase his trade with the Ming and thus collect more taxes, the council will shut their foul-smelling mouths.

If he could obtain a large number of flintlock muskets from the Ming Dynasty, he would be able to intimidate the people of Scotland and continue his religious policy.

All this was enough for him to give up his colonies in the New World.

From this point of view, in the face of Richelieu's invitation, Charles I undoubtedly chose to agree.

As a result, in the five-nation talks between Daming and Spain, two countries have agreed to talks.

Next, it is only necessary to resolve the Kingdom of Sweden and the Netherlands, and then get the opportunity to visit the Ming Dynasty, and the five-nation talks will be half the success......