Chapter 968: Great News, the European Allied Forces Have Arrived, Let's Take Them Down Together!

August 13th, Beijing, Forbidden City, Qianqing Palace.
Zhu Cilang stood aside, contemplating as he looked at the map. Translated content:
After drinking a cup of tea, Chongzhen said, "What do you think should be the next step for the court's control over Nanyang?"
Zhu Cilang replied, "Your Majesty, I believe that we should station two Ming armies here and here, while restricting the Western Yi people to this area and ceasing the selling of goods beyond this point. Our dynasty does not need to venture into the Western territories."
He is referring to two places, one is Malacca and the other is the Strait of Malacca.
"Why not go to the West?"
"The journey by sea is too far, and there are many Western countries. It would be like sending sheep into a wolf's den if our merchants were to arrive in the West."
"What are the demands of Westerners?"
"Eastern goods."
Chongzhen said, "Since their demands are our goods, why would they want to kill our people?" Translation:
"But there are also many pirates there."
"Cilang, remember this, in this overseas trade, we are the dominant party, we hold what they want, even if our people reach there, they won't harm our people." Translation of Chinese dialogue:
"I remember."
Chongzhen walked over and placed a hand on Zhu Cilang's shoulder, saying, "Currently, the production lines of Beijing Textile Bureau, Nanjing Textile Bureau, Suzhou Textile Bureau, Shanghai Textile Bureau, and Guangzhou Cloth Store are all accelerating production. We have a large number of goods that can be continuously sold overseas."
"Father, we have achieved such great success in overseas trade, but the mainland is still impoverished."
"It's rare that you thought of this point. From now on, I will let you participate in the Ministry of Revenue, and you should seek advice from Bi Zhiyan more."
"One fundamental aspect of governing a country: first, understand the real situation among the people, and do not easily believe the reports from subordinates. Even if you become an emperor in the future, you must personally go down and investigate."
"2. The vast territory of the Ming Empire led to diverse local conditions, with geographical location determining local customs and culture. In order to classify the situations in different regions and determine the development factors, factors such as transportation convenience, population, education, and local natural resources should be considered. Based on these criteria, different provinces should be categorized and different policies should be formulated. One-size-fits-all approach should be avoided for all matters." Translation: "2. The vast territory of the Ming Empire led to diverse local conditions, with geographical location determining local customs and culture. In order to classify the situations in different regions and determine the development factors, factors such as transportation convenience, population, education, and local natural resources should be considered. Based on these criteria, different provinces should be categorized and different policies should be formulated. One-size-fits-all approach should be avoided for all matters."
In the past era, it was an era of maintaining stability. But the future era will be different. We must develop, constantly develop. Once we stop progressing, societal issues will arise, and the bourgeoisie will create internal conflicts. Therefore, while organizing a healthy social structure, we must ensure economic development, which is of utmost importance.
Fourthly, there is more than one country in this world. We must use our fists to establish our own rules. If we don't set the rules, our opponents will do it for us, and then we will be suppressed by them. Therefore, the court must spare no effort in developing the west through both sea and land routes.
"Fifth, once you start participating in matters of the Household Department, it's important to understand that when formulating national strategies, the financial situation of the Household Department must be taken into consideration. Many times, the best strategy is not the optimal one. Only by combining the financial situation can the most optimal strategy be made."
"Don't try to compensate for strategic shortcomings with tactical victories, as it will inevitably come at a cost."
"6. In order to make ministers listen to you, besides intimidating them, you also need to make them feel respected and cared for. Of course, the most important thing is to make them believe that following you is hopeful."
"Do you understand?"
"I understand, Your Majesty."
"In the future, if you have any questions, you can come to your father, we are father and son. Your father wishes to establish a trusted channel between us."
"Okay."
"The road of life itself is filled with various perplexities. Each of us will have many questions that we cannot fathom. There is no one who is born knowing everything, and that is why we need to communicate, constantly exchange ideas, learn, and gain insights." Please let me know if there's anything else I can help you with.
Zhao Yanlin on one side said, "Father, the Crown Prince went to the Ministry of Revenue, can I go to the Military Affairs Court to take a look?"
"Are you interested in the Military Affairs Court?"
"I heard that there are new-style flintlock guns recently, and I want to go and have a look."
Zhu Cilang smiled and said, "Third sister, aren't you afraid of not being able to get married in the future?"
“嫁不出去就嫁不出去，将来我要给太子哥哥统领千军万马，帮太子哥哥打仗！”
"You little girl, you think too far!" Chongzhen lovingly picked up Zhu Yanlin, gently stroked her forehead, and said, "You can go and play in the Military Affairs Council, but don't be mischievous. Don't ask unnecessary questions and don't speak out of turn, understand?"
"Hmm, understood."
Zhu Cilang suddenly said, "Father, I still have a doubt."
"Speak."
"If the countries in Southeast Asia unite to resist us, what should we do?"
"This question, I cannot say that you are wrong to raise it. Firstly, the probability of the Southeast Asian countries uniting is extremely low. Secondly, if they were to unite, it would be best indeed!"
At this time, Fangzhenghua walked in quickly and said, "Your Majesty, this has been sent by the Tianjin Manufacturing Bureau. It has been reviewed by the Ministry of Works and the Beijing Manufacturing Bureau, and there are no problems."
"Oh, what is it?"
Chongzhen opened and finished reading, feeling a shock in his heart, a steamship!
Tianjin Shipyard has actually developed a steamship!
Chongzhen immediately went to Tianjin and arrived at Tianjin Port. Chongzhen was astonished to find out that Tianjin Shipyard had successfully developed a steamship. He promptly made his way to Tianjin and arrived at Tianjin Port.
Three days later, he saw the first steamship of Ming Dynasty at Tianjin Port.
不过这艘船的体型不大，上面还装有风帆，并且蒸汽机装在船的两舷上。
"Your Majesty, the steam engine is too heavy. This vessel can't carry much cargo. For now, we should focus on ensuring its capability to navigate on water."
Indeed, the practical usage of the first generation steam-powered ships was quite limited, even inferior to sail-powered warships.
But this does not mean it is not important, it is very important, it is the future.
"No problem, this is already very good, we can try to make improvements, and we can start by investing in small-scale commercial transportation. Let Beijing Manufacturing Bureau order two ships first, as commercial vessels from Tianjin Dagukou to Liaodong."
"Yes."
This thing is definitely impossible to be immediately put into military use now, and it cannot outperform current commercial ships in civilian applications either.
However, all improvements and iterations happen in practice.
Moreover, once it is truly updated and the Ming Dynasty enters the era of steamships, the consumption of coal mines and resources would be enormous, and the current coal mining industry would not be able to support its extensive use. Translation:
This was just a minor incident that didn't attract much attention.
However, the news from Batavia reached Beijing during this time.
In Sun Chuanting's report, there were mentions of rumors from the Nan Yang region, stating that Europeans were dispatching reinforcements.
After reading this, Chongzhen not only did not panic but also laughed out loud: "The Europeans are sending reinforcements? Excellent! I want them all to come, preferably entering the South China Sea. If they are in the Indian Ocean, I won't be able to immediately engage in war with them."
He immediately summoned Yuan Keli and asked him about something: "Yuan Aiqing, during the last shipment to South Seas, how many Mighty General cannons were sent?"
"Report to Your Majesty, a total of 1000 Mighty General cannons were transferred to South Seas. Zheng Zhilong was allocated 400 cannons, while Sun Chuanting was allocated 600 cannons."
"The range of this third-generation mighty general cannon is 1000 meters, am I not mistaken?"
"No, Your Majesty, you are not mistaken."
"Good!" Chongzhen felt more confident. Once each ship is equipped with the Martial Might General Cannon, as long as they approach the enemy and coordinate with the current naval cannons to bombard together, it would truly be a devastating blow! Translated content:
On August 23rd, in Johor City, after Araruddin fled back to Johor City, he timidly started writing a letter of repentance and a letter of admission of guilt to the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, hoping that Your Majesty would overlook past grievances.
At the same time, those small countries on the Bohai Island suddenly became obedient, tremblingly writing confession letters.
For a while, countries in Southeast Asia cowered in the corner, trembling.
A batch of repentance letters were first delivered to Sun Chuanting in Malacca City, and then sent to Beijing by Sun Chuanting's men.
However, on September 1st, a Dutchman suddenly appeared in Johor Bahru and met Alauddin. The translation above is your requested translation. Do you have any other questions or need further assistance?
"Respected King, I am envoy of Admiral Anthony van Diemen, and I have come here hoping that we can cooperate once again."
Arlauding sneered, "You still want to cooperate? Are you crazy? Do you know that I was almost completely defeated by the Ming army? Now both the navy of the Kingdom of Banten and the navy of the Sultanate of Malacca have been dealt with by the Ming army."
"In this maritime region, I currently only have two opponents, one is the Kingdom of Vandam and the other is the Kingdom of Matalan. Both of them have been defeated now, but I have also suffered heavy losses. I will not cooperate with you."
The Dutch said, "Your Majesty, our reinforcements are about to arrive, you have no need to worry. This time the reinforcements have been assembled under the direct orders of the board, utilizing almost all the available military power in the Indian Ocean. Furthermore, the Portuguese have also agreed to form an alliance with us."
Alarudin immediately became excited: "Oh, how many warships did you mobilize this time?"
"Including the Portuguese warships, a total of one thousand!"
"One thousand warships!" Alarudin jumped up in disbelief, thinking that there couldn't possibly be that many warships in the entire South China Sea.
Of course, the Dutch certainly exaggerated their words; it is not possible to have a thousand ships, but there are still seven or eight hundred.
Of course, there are only around a hundred oceangoing warships.
"When will they arrive?"
"We have already arrived, but in order to completely defeat the Ming Army, we need to unite your forces."
A Laudeen said, "As long as you truly have the capability, I am ready to cooperate with you!"