Steel Dynasty - Chapter 432

[Chapter 432 Three Bottom Lines]

The solemn and majestic soldiers made Rhodes feel a little uneasy.

The young King of Qi’s first words made Rhodes sweat on his back. He didn’t know much about the Great Yu Kingdom, so he didn’t understand what the purpose of the King of Qi was in saying this. Was he preparing for it? revenge? Or is it just a test?

After a moment of silence, Rhodes said cautiously: “His Royal Highness the King of Qi, I think the war with the King of Chu was not started by us, but by the King of Chu who had long planned to monopolize the maritime trade.”

At this time, everyone was talking. Outside the Dengzhou government office, Xiao Ming sneered and said, “Ambassador Rhodes, let’s talk inside the house. I know you Dutch people very well.”

Rhodes was startled, and he followed Xiao Ming into the government office. .

Everyone sat down and the officer served tea. Xiao Ming took a sip and said: “You have a total of twelve warships in East Asia. Ryukyu and Nagasaki are your two supply points in this area. You built two on Ryukyu Island.” There are three castles, one at the southern end of Ryukyu Island and one at the northern end of Ryukyu Island. Among the 10,000 garrison, there are more than 3,000 real Dutch soldiers, and the rest are local indigenous people of Ryukyu Island, including of course the Japanese pirates you hired. “

Xiao Ming didn’t say a word, and the cold sweat on Rhodes became more and more. He looked at Xiao Ming in disbelief and said, “Are you spying on us?”

“Yes, I am spying on you, just like you are spying on us. This king.” Xiao Ming said calmly.

Rhodes opened his mouth in surprise. His thoughts were a little confused now. Facing the King of Qi, he could not be as calm as he was facing the King of Chu, because the young vassal king in front of him seemed to have seen through him.

“Let’s talk about the purpose of your trip.”

Seeing Rhodes’ shocked expression, Xiao Ming changed the subject. His purpose had been achieved, which was to shock Rhodes.

After swallowing, Rhodes said: “Dear His Highness, King Qi, we are here to establish a long-term foreign trade relationship with His Highness and seek partners.”

“Foreign trade relations? Partners?” Xiao Ming sneered, He said: “Bombarding the merchant ships of our Great Yu Kingdom and occupying our coastal routes. This is your foreign trade relationship?”

Hearing this, Rhodes didn’t know how to explain it. Originally, they looked at the Great Yu Kingdom with the eyes of the Native Americans. , never took this seemingly powerful but actually weak country into consideration.

But now things have changed in ways they didn’t expect. There is obviously a very powerful force in the north of the country.

If this place was as close as the Americas, he wouldn’t be so worried, because the mainland’s continuous army will provide them with support, but now they are thousands of miles away, and since then, their people equipped with the same weapons have become dangerous.

“Your Highness King Qi, I think this is a misunderstanding. We only attacked King Chu’s merchant ship, not other merchant ships…”

“I know you colonists very well!” Before Rhodes could explain, Xiao Ming interrupted Luo Ming. German words, because Rhodes was obviously lying.

Staring at Rhodes sharply, Xiao Ming continued: “In North America you massacre the local indigenous people, in Africa you trade black slaves, in South Asia you plunder spices and various raw materials, your hands are stained with blood, and now you point the butcher knife at You know that my country is in a state of fragmentation and weakness, so you want to impose your trade hegemony on my country. “

“You… you… how do you know America and Africa? “

Rhodes could no longer be described as surprised. The flintlock gun had overturned their understanding of this King of Qi, and now the knowledge of this King of Qi shocked him even more.

He had spoken to many people from the Great Chongqing Kingdom, and no one knew about things outside the Great Chongqing Kingdom. To him, this was a closed country, but now the King of Qi had completely broken his understanding.

“I not only know America and Africa, but I also know where your Netherlands is? Between France and Britain, your Dutch life must be unsatisfactory.” Xiao Ming said with a hint of ridicule.

Whatever the Dutch were in Europe, the Dutch were now colonizers to him.

Rhodes’ psychological defense completely collapsed, the unknown was scary, and now he was facing an unknown.

“His Royal Highness King Qi, please believe in our sincerity. We do come with the original intention of establishing trade relations.” Rhodes said with difficulty.

In the Age of Discovery, no war was just. At this time, speaking relied on fists, just as the Dutch colonized Ryukyu and occupied trade routes, which were all supported by force.

As the saying goes, the truth is only within the range of artillery, and only the winner is qualified to formulate the rules of the game. For Xiao Ming, it is time for him to formulate the trade rules in East Asia, so he said: “It is okay to establish trade relations, but the first First, you must transfer Ryukyu Island to me. Second, the trade routes in East Asia belong to me. Third, Dengzhou will be your only trading point. If you agree to these three, I will agree to establish a trade route with you. Trade.”

“How is this possible!”

Rhodes stood up from his chair in anger. It was the Dutch who always made the rules for these indigenous countries. When did it become the indigenous people’s turn to make the rules?

What’s more, this rule will completely turn the Dutch from trade protagonists into vassals, which they cannot tolerate.

“Nothing is impossible. East Asia is our territory, and the rules here should be formulated by us. You Dutch are just outsiders, and abiding by the rules is what you should do. Moreover, Ryukyu belongs to the Chongqing Kingdom. You have to seize the territory.” This is already an act of aggression against the territory of Chongqing. I have the right to ask you to return Ryukyu Island.”

“His Royal Highness, your request is too excessive. We will not agree to any of these three items, especially Ryukyu. This is not the case. Your land, it belongs to the Netherlands now,” Rod said angrily.

“Ryukyu belongs to the Great Chongqing Kingdom!”

Xiao Ming’s expression turned cold. He had lost patience with this group of bandits. It seemed that the Dutch had not yet realized what they would encounter.

“I think we have nothing to talk about.” Rhode stood up at this time.

“As you wish.” Xiao Ming said firmly, because this is also his bottom line. He must get Ryukyu back, and he must also get back the trade routes.

With a cold snort, Rhodes stood up and walked out, followed by his entourage.

“Your Highness, these barbarians have always been afraid of force but not moral. No matter how much they talk, it is not as effective as a war. Moreover, the Dutch and the Japanese have made peace, which is very detrimental to us. The Japanese pirates outside the city wall all have muskets.” Niu. Ben looked serious now.

Xiao Ming nodded. In contemporary times, the Japanese country in the 16th century was once a world-class gun-making center. Data shows that the Japanese country at that time once produced 300,000 muskets.

Although subjectively he does not like to see Japan, objectively Xiao Ming has to admit that Japan is a strong opponent and should not be underestimated. Because of this, he wants to cut off the exchanges between the Dutch and Japan to prevent more Western technology from flowing into Japan. .

(End of chapter)