Datang's consulates in Europe vary in size, and most of them are small-scale consulates. There are usually only a few diplomats stationed there, or even one or two.
The relatively large consulates are actually the Madrid and Constantinople consulates, because these two countries are actually the countries that the Tang Dynasty values more. The other countries are too weak and the Tang Dynasty looks down on them. The diplomats stationed there put it bluntly.
In fact, he is just a liaison officer and arms dealer.
Therefore, although to a certain extent, some relatively large countries in Europe today have established diplomatic relations with the Tang Empire, these diplomatic relations are fragile and not rigorous.
The diplomatic relations between many countries or regions and Datang are generally through Datang's local consulates, while some countries or regions have established consulates in neighboring Datang's overseas territories. For example, South Africa is where the consulates of various countries gather.
Basically, every European country of that name will have a consulate or office here.
India's Go River State, Colombo and Goa also have consulates and offices set up by princes and regions in India and West Asia.
But there were only a few who could go to the mainland of Datang to set up an embassy.
Currently, not many foreign countries have been approved to establish embassies in Datang.
In the early years, there were only Portugal and Spain, and later the Ottoman Empire was added. For a long time, there were just three countries.
Later, there were two dynasties, the Safi Dynasty and the Mughal Dynasty.
In the past two years, France has also been allowed to establish an embassy in Datang.
Now there is another England.
After all calculations, there are only seven countries in total.
The above-mentioned seven countries basically have a relationship with the Tang Empire, and except for England, the other six countries are all countries at war with the Tatars.
As for England, their maritime power has risen relatively rapidly in recent years, and they are constantly challenging the maritime supremacy of Spain and Portugal on the other side of the Atlantic. The Tang Dynasty is also happy to see this happen, and even deliberately supports it.
For those countries that were allowed to establish embassies in Datang, their embassies were basically established in Shanghai and were limited to the business zone.
As for talking about other places, even Jinling City, sorry, the Tang Empire does not allow it.
Although this is unfair and unequal, the Tang Dynasty was unwilling to let foreigners enter the hinterland of the empire, let alone the imperial capital Jinling City, so they had no choice.
This group of people from England came to establish England's ambassador to the Tang Dynasty. There were sixteen people in total, fifteen of whom were civil and military officials representing the royal family, and John Freeman came as a royal adviser.
He did not come to Datang to engage in diplomatic affairs, his real purpose was to come to Datang to study!
He built a steam engine in the early years. After working hard to increase the power of the steam engine to a certain level so that it could be used in mines, he and businessman Mark Bryan built the first steam engine company in England and even outside the Tang Dynasty.
factory.
Specialized in the production of steam engines for use in mines in England.
Unfortunately, the power and stability are not very good. Although it can be used, it is not easy to use. It is even more impossible to go further and become a regular power.
In the past few years, John Freeman has been trying to improve the steam engine and increase the steam pressure, but the basic technology was not up to par and he couldn't do it.
In the end, he had no choice but to find a way to come to Datang to study.
He knew that it was impossible for him, a foreigner, to study in a school or factory in Datang, but he came anyway.
As long as he came to Datang, he thought he would be able to find opportunities and methods to learn advanced technologies.
Unlike scholars like John Freeman, who had a very pure purpose, Enoch Barton, the head of the English mission and the consul general of England in the Tang Dynasty appointed by the English royal family, was different.
He came with a heavy national mission!
What mission?
Try to get England to gain the support of the Tang Dynasty, and then compete with Spain and Portugal for control of the Atlantic Ocean. Even if it doesn't work, a gap must be opened so that England can smoothly participate in various trades in the Atlantic Ocean.
Sitting in the four-wheeled carriage, Patton was thinking deeply about how to carry out his work, but after much thought, he had no idea.
The reason is simple. England is too weak. It is so weak that it even wanted to set up a consulate in Datang. It took many years to apply for it, but it was only approved this year.
The country is small and weak, this is the original sin!
I remember that when he led the delegation to arrive in South Africa from England in a hurry, he stayed for half a month and failed to meet the local senior officials of the Tang Dynasty. He only met a few mid-level officials.
You must know that his identity is England's ambassador to the Tang Dynasty, and he has the special meaning of plenipotentiary. However, he can't see anyone like this.
But that was not the first time. As a diplomat who traveled frequently to Cadiz on behalf of the English royal family in recent years, he had already seen the arrogance of the Tang people.
He could deeply feel that those people of the Tang Dynasty did not take Patton, or even England, seriously at all.
He didn't understand it at first, but when he went to South Africa and saw the steam and steel giant of the Tang Dynasty anchored in the South African port, he could no longer feel any resentment or anger, because he knew that the people of the Tang Dynasty had no
The strength that puts England in its sights.
He even believed that the Tang Dynasty could sweep across the entire Atlantic Ocean at any time if they wanted to. They did not even need to draw troops from home. Their fleet in South Africa alone could defeat the maritime power of the entire Europe.
Their Seventh Fleet in South Africa has a giant ship of more than 2,000 tons, and as many as a dozen giant ships of more than 1,000 tons.
Not to mention these steel steam battleships, even the ordinary armed merchant ships of the Tang Dynasty were a huge force when assembled, because most of these armed merchant ships were equipped with steam engines, and their maneuverability was far better than traditional pure sailing ships.
Nowadays, even if they are as powerful as the Spanish, the Portuguese have to adopt a vague alliance strategy in the Atlantic to resist the Tang Dynasty's invasion of the Atlantic. However, this resistance is more of a psychological self-comfort.
It is almost an impossible task to resist the Tang Navy!
No country in the world, not even the whole of Europe combined, can do this.
When the strength gap between the two sides was so great, Barton, as an English diplomat, really could not muster any confidence to face the Tang Dynasty.
A weak country has no diplomacy!
Under such circumstances, it would be very difficult for him to complete his diplomatic mission.
But with the fate of his country and nation on his back, he knew that he had to do it no matter how difficult it was.
Under the leadership of the diplomats of the Tang Empire, Barton arrived at the consulate assigned to them by the Tang Dynasty. At the consulate, the Tang Dynasty was as unreasonable as ever.
When Datang established consulates overseas, it often required regional autonomy for the consulates, did not allow local countries to interfere, and even required the garrison of troops to protect the safety of diplomats.
Today, the Datang Embassy in Europe, located in the Port of Cadiz, Spain, is huge in area, but it is a country within a country. The local Spaniards cannot enter at all, nor can they interfere with the Tang people inside.
But when it comes to Datang, this is not allowed.
Foreign consulates can only be opened in fixed buildings provided by the empire, and they still have to charge rent.
At the same time, they were not allowed to bring troops to garrison, and these diplomats had to abide by the laws of the Tang Dynasty. If they broke the law, they would be punished by the laws of the Tang Dynasty.
However, Datang's diplomats stationed in other countries were not subject to the laws of other countries.
Not only the diplomats of the Tang Dynasty, but also the people of the Tang Dynasty were not subject to the jurisdiction of foreign laws!
reason?
On the one hand, other countries simply do not have a complete legal system.
On the other hand, these are the subjects of the Tang Dynasty, the people of the Holy Emperor. Only the Holy Emperor has the power to reward and punish them. Barbarians also want to do things for the Emperor, which is a good idea.
However, although there are various restrictions and unequal treaties, Datang does not force you to come or not.
As for Datang’s consulates abroad, if you refuse to let us come, we don’t have to go.
Anyway, the Tang Empire never paid much attention to diplomacy.
In the diplomatic negotiations with the Portuguese that year, the imperial diplomats only acted as liaisons. Even the subsequent armistice negotiations did not involve any actual negotiations. The imperial study room came up with the conditions and asked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to forward them to Portugal.
If people agree, the war will cease; if they don't, the war will continue.
Rather than using diplomacy and repeatedly negotiating to obtain benefits, the empire is more willing to directly attack and take away the benefits.
In this environment, the empire's foreign affairs were actually dispensable.
But the Englishman Patton didn't know this yet.
He still came to Datang Shanghai with determination to overcome all difficulties and devote himself to his motherland.
After Barton and others settled down, they went about their own business, and John Freeman also entered his own world.
On the second day after arriving, he left the embassy and went straight to the local bookstore.
Bookstore means knowledge!
It didn't take long for him to find a small bookstore nearby, but when he wanted to go in, he was stopped at the door. He saw a young Tang man covering his nose and saying: "Go away, go fast, where are these barbarian beggars?"
it stink!"
John Freeman had studied Chinese. Although his spoken language was not very good, he could recognize the characters and his hearing was not bad. Otherwise, he would not be able to read Chinese books, so he would naturally hear what others said.
Immediately, a look of shame appeared on his face.
Too careless!
He forgot that he hadn't showered in four or five days!
And I forgot to wear perfume!
He immediately turned around and left, returning to the consulate to take a shower.
Although he has taken a shower more than a dozen times since arriving in South Africa, he still feels uncomfortable after taking a shower.
But for the sake of knowledge, he endured it!
After half a day, he had freshened up and put on clothes from the Tang Dynasty, trying to blend in with the surroundings as much as possible so as not to stand out and attract the contempt of others.
This time, he successfully entered the bookstore!
This is not the first time he has seen books from the Tang Dynasty. In fact, at home in England, he has at least hundreds of books from the Tang Dynasty in his study room. These books are all Tang books that have been exported to Europe, and many of them are precious.
's manuscript.
Later, in South Africa, Colombo and other places, he also found local bookstores, but he could not find the scientific books he wanted, not even a book on basic physics.
But now, when he went to any bookstore in Shanghai, he saw countless science books. On the science bookshelf, he immediately saw the "intermediate physics" that he usually regarded as a treasure and never easily showed to others.
Looking again, there were numerous scientific books, and he couldn't help but start reading them!
Unfortunately, he would not know that most of the books for sale in bookstores are actually simple and easy-to-understand popular science books, or simply teaching aids for primary and secondary schools.
Real professional science books cannot be found in small street bookstores like this!