The reason why Russia has been expanding to the east and south is because its north is occupied by the Kingdom of Sweden, and its west is occupied by the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.
Although Russia took advantage of the civil strife in the Polish-Lithuanian Federation to gain access to Eastern Ukraine, it still had strong strength despite being able to control the country independently.
Polish tour destabilizes Europe.
Even decades later, Poland went south to Vienna and blocked the Ottomans who were trying to destroy Catholicism. To a certain extent, it saved the entire Europe.
Sweden was also at its peak at this time.
Therefore, at this time, Russia was beyond reach of 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, Russia's eastward policy has also suffered setbacks: the Manchu Qing conquered Lake Baikal and occupied more than a dozen Russian strongholds.
Facing Siberia thousands of miles away, Russia was naturally unable to fight against the 100,000 Manchu cavalry and could only compromise.
Not to mention the Kazakhstan Khanate. Although it is divided into three Yuzhi, it has tens of thousands of cavalry and has no respect for Russia at all.
For a moment, Alexey was quite confused. Looking around Russia, there was no room for expansion.
It’s impossible to go to Northern Siberia to eat ice cubes.
"Money, money——"
Alexei gritted his teeth: "Russia needs an entrance to the sea."
No matter how much territory is expanded, no port can bring as much money as trade.
What is troubling Russia today is financial problems.
…
After staying in England for a few days, Dong Ren was threatened by the Black Death and war. He did not dare to stay any longer. He returned to Portsmouth, crossed the English Channel by boat, and arrived in Le Havre.
Although France declared war on Britain and took the side of the Netherlands, it was just a verbal gesture and 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 there are only a few ships coming and going.
After all, when a country goes to war, what it needs is money, and it is normal to do business while fighting.
Britain needed French wool, and France needed British cheap textiles.
No one can live without anyone.
Dong Ren arrived at the port and showed his identity according to the old rules. He was then taken to the port, put on a small boat, and sailed upstream to Paris on the Seine River.
Paris, also known as Paris Island, is the most prosperous place in France and is densely populated.
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 others experienced luxury.
Although it was only built six years ago, the luxury goods in the Palace of Versailles have already been transported.
The Ming Palace emphasizes majesty, while the Versailles Palace emphasizes luxury and magnificence.
There were no less than a hundred carriages parked in front of the palace, and nobles were constantly coming and going, making it extremely lively.
Therefore, even before the Palace of Versailles was built, it was known as the first royal palace in Europe and was widely envied by royal families from all over the world.
Hundreds of halls and halls have been built, all of which are magnificent and luxurious.
The interior decoration is mainly composed of carvings, large oil paintings and tapestries, as well as Chinese porcelain shipped from the Far East.
The rare and precious treasures from all over the world, I wish I could take them out and show them to others.
This left several people quite speechless.
The monarch is rich all over the world, and no one among the people can compare with him. Why should he show off like a nouveau riche?
Besides, luxury can lead to the destruction of a country!
Dong Ren secretly thought: After traveling to several countries, why do he always feel like the country is subjugated?
When they saw Louis XIV, Dong Ren and others bowed to him again.
He was wearing a pair of high-heeled shoes with red flowers, tight red pants, a white jacket, a pair of silver gloves, and a rich black wig that was wavy and very conspicuous.
[A novel app that has been running stably for many years, comparable to the old book-chasing tool, and a source-changing app used by old bookworms,]
"Is this the envoy of the Ming Dynasty?"
Louis XIV glanced at the man and said.
Dong and Ren appeared in front of him, wearing long crimson and blue robes, which almost reached their knees.
There are indistinguishable animal patterns painted on the chest, and he is wearing long black leather boots.
What’s special is that wearing a light hat on your head and shaking it while walking is also a lot of fun.
What's more important is that their robes seem to be made of silk. How expensive is this!
Lord Chancellor of the Seal, Chief Justice Duke Pierre Seguier, is responsible for France's diplomacy and justice. He is an old man in his eighties and very energetic.
"Your Majesty, from the Ming Dynasty's trade, I heard that Portugal can earn more than one million gold louis a year, which is a huge fortune."
Pierre Seguier chuckled, and the wrinkles on his face seemed to relax a little: "Although France cannot sail far away, it can still not get a share of the pie."
"oh?"
Louis XIV showed a hint of surprise.
Although France has not yet gone to war, the national treasury is definitely not rich, and who doesn't like Louis d'Or?
"Now our country has formed an alliance with the Netherlands to deal with England together. As long as the war is victorious, it is also appropriate to form our navy."
"At that time, as long as the fleet can enter the port, profits will be made."
"too slow."
Louis XIV shook his head: "It takes more than half a year to go there, but it really doesn't quench my thirst."
Pierre Seguier could only smile bitterly.
France has been a land-based country since ancient times, and occupation and plunder are always faster than trade.
The young king was most passionate about the Netherlands and Spain.
Now, the war against Spain is imminent.
It turned out that last year, in 1665, King Philip IV of Spain died of illness, and Louis XIV married his eldest daughter, so he claimed his inheritance: the West Netherland region.
As a result, the French and Spanish wars were about to break out, and both sides were mobilizing.
According to common sense, such a request is very unreasonable. After all, there are sons to inherit the throne, and no daughter has ever brought family property to her husband.
But there is no way, who made Spain weak and Louis XIV arrogant!
Of course, Louis XIV had always been arrogant. Carlos II of Spain died without an heir and was seduced by his ministers to pass the throne to his grandnephew, Louis XIV's grandson Philippe.
This is also far off the mark.
After all, in Western Europe, the eldest son is the heir, and women have no right to inherit at all.
At that time, Austria was also part of the Habsburg family, so naturally it could not sit back and watch the throne fall to France, so the Spanish Succession War was launched.
Regarding the French king, Dong Ren still emphasized the Ming Dynasty’s rule over the entire Far East:
"That is to say, what your country calls Asia, Burma, Siam, Wen Lai, Japan, Korea, etc., are all our dependent countries and are regarded as our homeland. If your country wants to travel, you must obtain our country's permission."
"If you have personal relationships, it doesn't count, and you will be responsible for the consequences."
Louis XIV was aroused by these words: "It is said that the East is the country of silk and the country of gold. I wonder how many troops the Ming Dynasty has?"
Well, in Paris, there are 8,000 guards guarding the palace, and the standing army in France is nearly 100,000, the largest in Europe.
Dong Ren smiled in his heart and said seriously: "As far as I know, there are 200,000 soldiers in the capital protecting Beijing."
"There are one hundred thousand frontier troops guarding the frontier."
"There are more than 300,000 patrol camps in the 25 provinces across the country."
"Six hundred thousand?" Louis XIV was shocked.
This is six times that of France.
How to fight this?
"Based on this, your country probably has a population of fifty to sixty million!"
"The world has been at peace for twenty years, which is about 200 million."
Dong Ren said truthfully: "According to the literati, this situation was only the number of people in the Wanli period fifty years ago."
My God, France only has 20 million people now!
Louis XIV was shocked.
At this time, among European countries, England only had six million, Spain and Portugal combined had only ten million, and the Netherlands only had three million.
This is why Louis XIV believed that France was number one in Europe. With such a huge population, it was enough to crush most countries.
"Your country produces a lot of food!"
Louis XIV smiled awkwardly, and then the conversation stopped.
Dong Ren was also very sensible. When he picked up the gift given by the emperor, it made His Majesty the King happy.
As a result, he also gave a large number of valuable gifts.
It contains mirrors, large mirrors.
Louis XIV regained his composure: "Judging from the map, your country is not far from the Ottoman Empire, isn't it?"
"I wonder if your country can move westward and eliminate this stone on the Silk Road?"
Looking at this vast map, Dong Ren vaguely heard that the emperor also had it. He found the place of Ming Dynasty and pointed out several errors and omissions.
Especially in the Western Region, the Ming Dynasty and the Ottoman Empire were completely bordering each other.
Dong Ren said helplessly: "As far as I know, the Ming Dynasty has now taken over the Bukhara Khanate, and there are still several small countries away from the Ottoman Empire, such as the Persian Empire."
"Persia, I understand." Louis XIV looked at the map and sighed at the vastness of its territory, especially the Persian Empire, which was much larger than the entire France.
Why are all the countries in Asia so big?
After returning, Louis XIV expressed his concern to his ministers: "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 began."
After meeting the King of France, Dong Ren had a pleasant talk with his court.
Because Ming Dynasty and France are so far apart, there is no conflict of interest at all, and the relationship is naturally very good.
No one dares to offend such a huge empire in the distance, even if he is far away.
Originally, Dong Ren wanted to visit Paris, but after hearing the words of these nobles, Paris was a place for the untouchables, and some nobles had never even set foot in it in their lives.
Dirty and filthy everywhere, it's not a good place at all.
Might as well stay in Versailles!
What made Dong Ren stunned was that there were actually a large number of rooms in the Palace of Versailles that were borrowed by nobles.
The queen can easily meet any male noble.
Naturally, the king can also meet any noble lady at will.
In the palace, the most powerful person is not the queen, but the king's mistress.
Walking along the paths of Versailles, you can even spot men and women rolling in the grass. There are few people watching around them, and they don't mind the onlookers.
The nobles didn't take it seriously either.
"too messy."
Dong Ren shook his head, it was simply unsightly to see such a place within the confines of the imperial palace and an important part of the country.
After staying in Versailles for less than two days, a group of people 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 located in the Netherlands is not because the Netherlands is the most powerful country in Europe, but because the Netherlands controls most of Europe's trade.
The world's first stock exchange was in the Netherlands, and the first Ponzi scheme disaster in history also broke out: Tulip.
It can be said that in the Netherlands, you can take a boat to any country in Europe because it controls maritime hegemony.
Even Russia, which is under siege, needs the help of the Dutch to sell furs.
At this time, the Netherlands was not only a Protestant country, but also a republic without a king.
After all, the Netherlands had only been independent from Spain for a few decades.
Prince William of Orange helped the Netherlands become independent, but after the death of his son William II, his grandson William III was born eight days later.
After Youjunji succeeded to the throne, the parliamentary faction derived the governing system, and William III only nominally controlled the country.
Don't get me wrong, these congressmen are all from noble backgrounds.
So it was a republic in name only, but in fact it was just a co-governance by nobles.
Now William III is only sixteen years old, and he is not yet the powerful monarch who will rule England and the Netherlands together with his wife Queen Mary in the future.
In the eyes of the missionaries, the Grand Speaker John de Wit was the Dutch version of Yin Yin and Huo Guang, and he was extremely bold.
The arrival of Dong Ren and other envoys eased the tense situation in the Netherlands due to the war to a certain extent.
A large number of citizens came to the dock to watch these envoys from the distant east.
The strange appearance and different clothes all made them feel novel, and they kept chattering.
The person who welcomed Dong Ren was naturally the Grand Speaker John de Wit.
To their surprise, this oligarch and parliamentary leader was not as arrogant and arrogant as those powerful officials in history, but was instead humble and polite.
He has wavy black hair, parted on two sides, two mustaches on his lips, gentle eyes, and a smile on his lips. He looks like a gentleman.
Dong Ren gritted his teeth and smiled: "Your Excellency is so polite, it's really hard for me to do that——"
John de Wit smiled and said: "It is an honor for us in the Netherlands to have contacts with your country."
"please--"
In this way, the group arrived in Amsterdam.
When passing through the urban area, there were dense crowds of people on the roofs and in front of the windows, and the streets were even more crowded. People came forward to join in the fun as if they were attending a temple fair.
The carriage moved slowly.
When Dong Ren and others arrived in the city, seriousness was written on their faces.
The streets of Amsterdam are wide and neat, with well-groomed houses and shops and pedestrians everywhere. There are densely packed ships on the docks, loaded with 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. It can be seen that most people have an average level of food, clothing, housing and transportation, and are not hungry.