Emperor Ming Dynasty

The reason why Russia has been expanding east and south is because its north is occupied by the Kingdom of Sweden, and its west is the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.

Although Russia took advantage of the civil strife in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth to obtain Eastern Ukraine, the Pingdu town of Ludabobo still has strong strength.

Polish Rangers deter Europe.

Even decades later, Poland went south to Vienna and blocked the Ottomans who wanted to destroy Catholicism. To a certain extent, it saved the whole of Europe.

Sweden is also at its peak at this time.

Therefore, Russia at this time is out of reach for the Baltic Sea.

In the south, the Crimean Khanate relied on the Ottomans and continued to attack Eastern Ukraine and Russia, unable to expand at all.

Moreover, today's Russia's eastward policy has also suffered setbacks: the Manchu and Qing forces occupied Lake Baikal and forcibly occupied more than a dozen Russian strongholds.

Facing Siberia thousands of miles away, Russia naturally couldn't fight against the [-] Manchu cavalry, so it could only compromise.

Not to mention the Khanate of Kazakhstan. Although it is divided into three Yuzi, it has tens of thousands of cavalry, which is not afraid of Russia at all.

For a moment, Alexei was quite confused. Looking around Russia, there was no room for expansion.

It is impossible to go to North Siberia to eat ice cubes.

"Money, money—"

Alexei gritted his teeth: "Russia needs an entrance to the sea."

No matter how many territories are expanded, no port trade will bring more money.

What plagues Russia today is the financial problem.

……

After staying in England for a few days, Dong Ren was threatened by the Black Death and war. He no longer dared to stay. He returned to Portsmouth, crossed the English Channel by boat, and arrived in Le Havre.

Although France declared war on Britain and stood on the side of the Netherlands, it was nothing more than verbal actions, and there was no action at all.

After all, it is impossible for the French Army to fight across the sea!
Therefore, Le Havre, the mouth of the Seine, is still doing business, and the ships are sparse.

After all, when a country is fighting a war, what it needs is money. It is normal to do business while fighting a war.

England wanted French wool, and France wanted cheap English textiles.

No one can leave anyone.

When Dong Ren arrived at the port, he showed his identity according to the old rules, and was then taken to the port, changed into a small boat, and went upstream to Paris on the banks of the Seine.

Paris, also known as Paris Island, is the most prosperous place in France with a dense population.

But the Sun King Louis XIV, like the European monarchs, did not want to be crowded with the untouchables in the city, so he lived in the Palace of Versailles dozens of miles away.

When they arrived at the palace, Dong Ren and the others saw luxury.

Although it has only been built for six years, the luxury goods in the Palace of Versailles have already been delivered.

The Daming Palace emphasizes majesty, but this Versailles Palace is extravagant and gorgeous.

There were no less than a hundred carriages parked in front of the palace, and nobles kept coming and going, which was extremely lively.

Therefore, the Palace of Versailles was known as the first royal palace in Europe before it was completed, and was widely envied by the royal families of various countries.

Hundreds of halls and halls have been built, all of which are resplendent and luxurious.

The interior decoration is mainly sculptures, huge oil paintings and tapestries, as well as Chinese porcelain shipped from the Far East.

The rare treasures of all countries can't wait to take them out for others to see.

This made several people quite speechless.

The monarch is rich all over the world, no one can compare with the common people, why should he show off everywhere like a nouveau riche?

Besides, extravagance leads to subjugation!
Dong Ren thought in his heart: how many countries do you travel to and from, why do you feel like the country is subjugated?

When seeing Louis XIV, Dong Ren and others bowed down again.

He was wearing a pair of high-heeled shoes with pinned red flowers, tight red pants, a white coat, a pair of silver gloves, and a rich black wig, which was wavy and very conspicuous.

"This is the envoy of the Ming Dynasty?"

Louis XIV glanced at him and said.

Dong Ren and the others who appeared in front of him were wearing scarlet and blue broad robes, which almost reached their knees.

An indistinguishable animal print was painted on the chest, and he wore long black leather boots.

In particular, wearing a light hat on the head, it is also fun to shake it when walking.

More importantly, their robes seemed to be made of silk, how expensive it was!

The Keeper of the Seals and the Chief Justice, Duke Pierre Serguier, is in charge of French diplomacy and justice. He is an old man in his eighties and a hale and hearty man.

"Your Majesty, in the trade of the Ming Dynasty, I heard that Portugal can obtain no less than one million gold louis a year. This is a great wealth."

Pierre Serguier smiled lightly, and the wrinkles on his face seemed to have stretched a little: "Although France can't sail far, it can't get a share of the pie."

"Oh?"

Louis XIV showed a hint of surprise.

Although France has not yet gone to war, the treasury is by no means rich, and who doesn't like Louis d'Or?

"Now our country is forming an alliance with the Netherlands to deal with England together. As long as the war is won, it is also necessary to form our navy."

"At that time, as long as the fleet can enter the port, it will be profitable."

"too slow."

Louis XIV shook his head: "Going there for more than half a year, I really can't quench my thirst."

Pierre Serguier could only smile wryly.

France has been a land power country since ancient times, and occupation and plunder are always faster than trade.

The young king loved nothing more than Holland and Spain.

Now, war against Spain is imminent.

It turned out that last year, that is, in 1665, King Philip IV of Spain died of illness, and Louis XIV married his eldest daughter, so he asked for his inheritance: the West Netherland region.

As a result, the Franco-Spanish war was imminent, and both were mobilizing.

According to common sense, such a request is very unreasonable. After all, there is a son who inherits the throne, and no daughter has ever brought the family property to her husband.

But there is no way, who made Spain weak, and Louis XIV was arrogant!

Of course, Louis XIV has always been domineering. Carlos II of Spain died extinct, and was lured by his ministers to pass the throne to his grandnephew, Philip, the grandson of Louis XIV.

This is off the charts.

After all, Western Europe is the eldest son heir, and women have no inheritance rights at all.

At that time, Austria was also the Habsburg family, so naturally it could not sit back and watch the throne fall into the hands of France, so the Spanish succession war began.

Regarding the French king, Dong Ren still emphasized Ming's rule over the entire Far East:
"That's what your country calls Asia, Burma, Siam, Brunei, Japan, North Korea, etc., all of which are our vassal countries and are treated as the mainland. If your country wants to communicate, you must ask for our country's permission."

"If there is a private relationship, it doesn't count, and the consequences are at your own risk."

Louis XIV was provoked by these words: "It is said that the East is the country of silk and gold. I wonder how many troops Ming has?"

Hmph, in Paris, there are 8000 guards guarding the royal palace, and the standing army in France is nearly [-], ranking first in Europe.

Dong Ren smiled in his heart, and said solemnly: "As far as I know, there are 20 Beijing camps protecting the capital of Beijing."

"There are [-] frontier troops guarding the frontier."

"There are more than 25 patrol battalions in [-] provinces across the country."

"60?" Louis XIV was shocked.

That's six times that of France.

How is this played?
"Based on this, your country probably has a population of 6000 to [-] million!"

"The world has been peaceful for 20 years, about [-] million."

Dong Ren said truthfully: "According to those literati, this situation is only the number of Wanli years 50 years ago."

My God, there are only 2000 million people in France now!

Louis XIV was hit.

At this time, among European countries, England has only 600 million people, Spain and Portugal together have only 300 million people, and the Netherlands has only [-] million people.

This is why Louis XIV thought that France was the number one in Europe. With such a large population, it was enough to crush most countries.

"Your country produces a lot of grain!"

Louis XIV smiled awkwardly, and then the conversation stopped.

Dong Ren was also very savvy, and when he picked up the gift from the emperor, it made His Majesty the King happy.

As a result, it also bestowed a large number of valuable gifts.

It contained mirrors, big mirrors.

Louis XIV calmed down his mood: "From the map, your country is not far from the Ottoman Empire?"

"I don't know if your country can move westward and destroy this stone lying on the Silk Road?"

Looking at this vast map, Dong Ren vaguely heard that the emperor also had it. He found the location of Daming and pointed out several mistakes and omissions.

Especially in the Western Regions, Daming and Ottoman have completely bordered each other.

Dong Ren said helplessly: "As far as I know, the Ming Dynasty has now captured the Bukhara Khanate, and there are still a few small countries away from the Ottoman Empire, such as the Persian Empire."

"Persia, I understand." Louis XIV looked at the map and felt the vastness of its territory, especially the Persian Empire, which was much larger than the whole of France.

Why are all Asian countries so big?

After returning, Louis XIV said to his close ministers with lingering fears: "Fortunately, this empire in the Far East is in the Far East, thousands of miles away from France. Otherwise, my hegemony would have ended before it even started."

After meeting the King of France, Dong Ren had a happy chat with his court.

Because Daming is too far away from France, there is no conflict of interest at all, so the relationship is naturally very good.

No one dares to easily offend such a huge empire in the distance, even if he is in the distance.

Originally, Dong Ren wanted to visit Paris, but after hearing what these nobles said, the city of Paris was a place for pariahs, and some nobles had never even set foot there in their entire lives.

Dirty and filthy everywhere, not a good place at all.

Better to stay in Versailles!
What surprised Dong Ren was that in the Palace of Versailles, a large number of rooms were borrowed by nobles.

The queen can easily receive any male noble.

Naturally, the king can also meet any lady at will.

In the royal palace, the most powerful person is not the queen, but the mistress of the king.

Walking on the trails of Versailles, you can even see men and women rolling in the grass, and there are not many people guarding them, and they don't mind others watching.

The nobles didn't care either.

"too messy."

Dong Ren shook his head, such an imperial palace, an important place in the country, is simply unsightly.

In Versailles, a group of people stayed for less than two days, and they couldn't wait to leave France and go to the Netherlands.

That is the final destination of their trip.

The reason why the entire mission is set up in the Netherlands is not because the Netherlands is the most powerful country in Europe, but because the Netherlands controls most of the trade in Europe.

The world's first stock exchange was in the Netherlands. At the same time, the first Ponzi scheme disaster in history broke out: tulips.

It can be said that in the Netherlands, you can take a boat to any country in Europe, because he controls the sea hegemony.

Even Russia, which is under siege, needs the help of the Dutch to sell fur.

At this time, the Netherlands was not only a Protestant country, but also a republic without a king.

After all, the Netherlands has only been independent from Spain for a few decades.

Prince William of Orange helped the Netherlands become independent, but his grandson William III was born eight days after the death of his son William II.

You Junji succeeded to the throne, the parliamentary faction deduced the ruling system, and William III only controlled the country in name.

Don't get me wrong, these members of parliament are all of noble origin.

Therefore, it is a republic in name, but in fact it is just a co-government of nobles.

Now William III is only 16 years old, and he is not yet a powerful monarch who will rule England and the Netherlands with his wife Queen Mary in the future.

In the eyes of the missions, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, John de Witt, is the Dutch version of Yi Yin and Huo Guang, with audacity.

The arrival of Dong Ren and other missions eased the tense situation in the Netherlands due to the war to a certain extent.

A large number of citizens came to the pier to watch these envoys from the far east.

The strange appearance and the different clothes made them feel novel, and they chattered non-stop.

The person who greeted Dong Ren was naturally the Great Speaker John de Witt.

To their surprise, this oligarch and leader of the Congress is not as arrogant and arrogant as those powerful officials in history, but humble and polite.

He has black wavy hair that is divided into two sides, two mustaches on his lips, gentle eyes, and a smile on his mouth. He looks like a gentleman.

Dong Ren gritted his teeth and smiled: "Your Excellency is so polite, it's hard for me—"

John de Witter said with a smile: "It is our honor in the Netherlands to communicate with your country."

"Please--"

In this way, a group of people came to Amsterdam.

When passing through the urban area, people were densely packed on the roofs and in front of the windows, and the streets were even more crowded. People seemed to be rushing to a temple fair, and they all stepped forward to join in the fun.

The carriage moved slowly.

When Dong Ren and others came to the city, his face was full of seriousness.

The streets of Amsterdam are wide and tidy, the houses look like houses, shops and pedestrians are everywhere, and there are densely packed ships on the docks, full of goods.

Not to mention, in those small rivers, the rowing boats are like stars in the sky.

People are neatly dressed, and there are very few beggars, which shows that most people are at an upper-middle level in terms of food, clothing, housing, and transportation, and they will not be hungry.

Suddenly, this is the real Europe.