The Black Sea, at least in the winter of the 18th year of the empire, was still exclusive to the Ottomans. The Crimean Khanate along the coast and the tribes of the North Caucasus were all vassals of the Ottomans. The Black Sea, as well as its surrounding areas, had long been accommodated in the trade circle of the Mediterranean and even the entire European.

The grain produced by the Crimean Khanate and the Cossack Autonomous Region on the northern coast of the Black Sea is as important as the Egyptian region. It is the main production area of ​​commercial grain for Mediterranean countries. In addition, it can also provide the livestock, fur and even white Slavic slaves that are very popular among Mediterranean countries. Because the Ottoman controlled the Black Sea and because the Ottoman controlled the only channel to and from the Mediterranean Sea, the Turkish Strait, this area is strongly dominated by the Ottomans. Even though this country is in a state of prosperity and decline, its geographical advantage is so obvious! Even hundreds of years later, the Ottomans no longer have become Turkey and have degenerated into Turkey, occupying the huge advantages brought by the strait.

Therefore, when the empire was seeking the Black Sea estuary, it had to consider this point, whether the Black Sea estuary could enter the Mediterranean trade circle, and if not, is there still a need to seize it.

This issue does not require much consideration for the Emperor Li Mingxun, the empire of the Crosser. The Black Sea does not have to be considered. There is indeed only one estuary in the Black Sea, but there will be more than one in the future. With the development of technology, Europeans connected the Rhine and the Danube by canal. From the Black Sea, they can directly reach Rotterdam in the Netherlands by boat. The Russians also have canals and reservoirs to connect the Volga and Don Rivers, and appeared in the inland shipping of the Black Sea to the Baltic and Caspian Seas. Although these were still far away for the empire in the seventeenth century, they promoted the empire to seize the opportunity to explore the Black Sea estuary.

Even without a canal, the Danube can radiate many countries and autonomous territories in Eastern and Central Europe, covering a population of tens of millions. The Don River, the Dnieper River, and the Volga River, which runs north and south through Russia's heart, can cover the entire Russia. Even these are a huge trade circle, no less than the profits brought by the South Ocean of the Empire to the countries of the Indochina Peninsula.

If you can make up your mind to open up the Black Sea estuary just for the trade circle between the Black Sea and the inland rivers, you should also consider the possibility of entering the Mediterranean and even Europe. In fact, it is to force the Ottoman to admit that the empire has the territory along the Black Sea and to a certain extent to develop the Turkish Strait, which is the throat of the Black Sea.

If we consider this, the men of the central government of the Empire concluded that instead of just sharing the Black Sea with the Ottomans, it is better to expand the Black Sea trade seats and increase Poland, Lithuanian Commonwealth and Tsarist Russia. If the Empire only seized the sea estuary alone, there would not be too many allies to support it, but if the Empire cooperated with Russia and Polish Federation, the power formed would be too strong. The Ottoman and the vassal Crimean Tatars were not enough to fight the alliance between these three powerful countries.

More importantly, after the war, there were four countries along the Black Sea coast. Then it was not only the empire that demanded the opening of the Turkish Strait to the Ottomans. Russia and the Polish Federation would also join in. The Three Kingdoms Navy would suppress the Ottomans and would occupy an advantage in future political, military and commercial struggles.

For the empire, there is another urgent problem to be solved, which is to need some imperial interest groups in the South China Sea. After all, in the past few years, trade with the Ottoman country, a country with a population of more than 30 million, has been rapidly developed. Spices, coffee, tea, slaves and steel from Africa and the South China Sea have opened up the Ottoman market. Although the empire has not yet owned its own port on the Ottoman territory, these trades have formed a powerful interest group in the South China Sea.

Shin Jing.

Emperor Li Junhua held a special state meeting for the Black Sea strategy. Compared with the Imperial Front Meeting, the State Council required representatives of the Senate and the House of Assembly to attend and speak. This was a necessary procedure in terms of the grand strategy that concerns the future and destiny of the empire. The current speaker is Chen Tingshu, who was the old man at the founding of the empire and the first to explore the South China Sea. More importantly, he was considered a relative of the imperial family. The eldest prince Li Jundu was his grandson-in-law, and there were many people who married cabinet ministers among Chen Tingshu's grandchildren. For example, one of his nephews married the daughter of Deputy Prime Minister Li Beiji.

No matter how many people criticized the system of decentralizing power from merchants when the empire was established and that merchants and local representatives participated in the decision on the major affairs of the empire, it is undeniable that because of these systems, the empire achieved great success in overseas development, which burst out with more powerful energy than a country with pure imperial power.

Chen Tingshu belongs to the Nanyang faction. The main reason for being the speaker is to suppress the Jiangnan faction that he had risen rapidly in the empire after moving the capital. After decades of immigration and development, the population of Nanyang has advanced towards the 10 million population. The prosperity of maritime trade and the popularization of economic crops have made Nanyang a heavy tax area second only to the Jiangnan area. The amount of taxes paid for Shen Jing is directly related to the empire, especially the amount of power within the House of Commons. Chen Tingshu is also very tough in his words and actions.

Although Li Junhua supported Chen Tingshu as the speaker in order to balance domestic political power, it is undeniable that he also took advantage of the issues concerning the Black Sea and the Ottomans, because although Chen Tingshu was a South-Sea faction, it was not a foreign trade department. His family operated trade between many ports in Nanyang and domestic ports such as Shenjing, and invested in the ocean-going trade fleet in Europe and had little involvement in other foreign trade.

Therefore, after feeling the emperor's resolute attitude, Chen Tingshu resolutely expressed his support for the empire's Black Sea strategy, and the same was true for Li Beiji, who had already left Nanyang for many years.

"In fact, the trade ties between the South China Sea and the Ottomans have only developed in recent years, and are still to form a leading family or chamber of commerce. However, the gradual opening of the Ottomans made everyone realize that the Ottomans are a huge emerging market, so if a war against the Ottomans is provoked, they will definitely oppose it, but there will not be much political response." Deputy Prime Minister Li Beiji took the lead in speaking. He was the master of the empire in the South China Sea in the "Traditional Era" Empire. Emperor Li Junhua has always trusted this Deputy Prime Minister in matters related to the affairs of the South China Sea and the Indian Ocean.

Seeing Li Beiji say this, Chen Tingshu hurriedly added: "Because the trade with the Ottoman Empire involved spices, steel, coffee and tea, and various handicrafts, there were many Nanyang Chambers of Commerce and a wide coverage, so there were great local reactions. Nanyang merchants have always dared to take risks and have great ambitions. When the Wei minister was in Nanyang, he heard that the first group of people who entered the Egyptian region to smuggle even wanted to join forces with the local Mamluk nobles to restart the Pharaoh Canal that had been interrupted for a thousand years.

It was a canal that communicated with the Nile River and the Red Sea. It had been more than a thousand years. If it was opened, we would not have to bypass the African continent for trade to Europe. So there was a big response at that time, but the complex political and ruling situation within the Ottoman Empire made this idea invalid.

The Weichen said that this matter means that we cannot ignore the voice of Nanyang. The voice is very messy now, but if it is not handled properly, someone takes the opportunity to unite to make trouble, it will be very troublesome."

Li Junhua nodded slightly. As the emperor, he should take care of and balance the interests of all parties, so he asked: "Mr. Shen means to oppose the Black Sea strategy of the empire."

"No, no, your Majesty, I am in favor of it. It is the dream of all the merchants of the Empire who directly participate in trade in Europe. Whether it is the ocean-going trade fleet and the Pharaoh Canal fantasy, it is a means to achieve such a goal. If the estuary of the Black Sea is obtained in Western Xinjiang, it will be extremely beneficial in the long run, and the war against the Ottomans caused the interruption of the Ottoman trade with the South China Sea is only a temporary loss.

Weichen means that if possible, we must do it perfectly and take care of the emotions and interests of the provinces in Southeast Asia." Shen Tingshu wiped the sweat from his forehead and said.

His position in the State Council was the most embarrassing. He, a royal relative, was a good thing to others, but a bad thing to the real imperial seniors. Because he married the great prince rather than the current emperor, which was not good, so he rarely spoke and tried his best to consider the emperor and the imperial strategy.

"What is the solution? If I can take care of it, I will take care of it, but if I can't do it perfectly, I will sacrifice the interests of a small number of people for the sake of the overall situation." The emperor said seriously.

Shen Tingshu raised his head and said, "Your Majesty, I have a small, not so mature suggestion. I would like to ask Your Majesty and all the ministers to discuss it."

"Please say it." Li Junhua smiled and signaled.

"The method of my husband is called "Good to promote war." Shen Tingshu said carefully. After hearing this name, Li Junhua laughed happily and said with his hands: "I have heard a lot about using war to promote peace. My father is especially good at this trick. This is the first time I have heard of "Good to promote war". Come on, come and have a tea. I want to listen to how to promote war with harmony!"

After receiving the tea from the attendant, Shen Tingshu became a little relieved. At least the emperor did not misunderstand his intentions, and was willing to listen to his suggestions at the State Council. This was particularly important for Shen Tingshu, who had just served as the speaker for a short time. The role of the speaker was very embarrassed in the empire, and his marriage with the eldest prince was even more awkward. Now it seems that it is a bit like getting on the right track.

Shen Tingshu said: "As the Deputy Prime Minister and Weichen said, the trade between all merchants in the South China Sea and the Empire is currently scattered and unsystematic. The reason is that these trades have been smuggled for many years, of course this is the definition of the Ottoman Empire.

However, the Ottoman Empire had a great demand for our goods, such as tea, coffee, and spices. As the Ottomans got into many European countries, the demand for steel and weapons also increased. But even so, the Ottoman Empire still allowed only a small number of imperial merchants to trade by port. The ports in the Red Sea and Persian Gulf were not open to us, and they were even less open than those in the Persian Empire. The main trade had to be purchased through intermediaries, such as Jews, Venetians and Armenian merchants, and the Muscat Sultanate, which was originally about to be run to death by African development companies and Portuguese allies, was rekindled because of intermediary trade.

Obviously, the merchants were very dissatisfied with this. They hoped that the Ottomans would open ports and formulate reasonable tariffs and management systems, rather than blindly letting those local lords exploit and oppress our merchants.

And these close merchants cannot do it, but their demands are always like this. If the empire comes forward and asks the Ottoman to open ports and trade rights, they will be supported by these merchants!"

"The Ottomans would not agree. Such royal feudal countries will not open up to the outside world. Only wars will make them open, such as Japan, India, etc.," Li Beiji shook his head and said.

Chen Tingshu smiled: "Of course, it would be better if they didn't agree. If we don't agree, we would start a war. But after doing this, this war against the Ottomans is not only for the Empire's Black Sea strategy, but also for many merchants in the Southeast Asian countries who want to open up the Ottoman market. The Empire is fighting for them, so they should support and should endure it for the long-term situation."

"Selling dog meat with the head of a sheep," Pei Yuanqi said aside.

"Shut up, vulgar!" Li Junhua glared at Pei Yuanqi. But he was satisfied with Chen Tingshu's suggestion. From the empire that harmed the interests of Nanyang foreign trade merchants for the overall situation, it suddenly became the empire that fought for the interests of Nanyang foreign trade merchants. This method of promoting war with peace is really perfect.

Chen Tingshu continued: "Of course, we can't just say and not do it. We must conduct real negotiations with the Ottoman in advance. Regardless of whether they compromise or not, the negotiations must be failed. The empire's navy and some military forces in the South China Sea should also cooperate, rather than just joining with allies in Western Xinjiang."

"It's simple. If they compromise, we will increase our investment layer by layer. As for the army's participation in the war, it is not a problem. A large number of ships are floating on the sea and swaying towards the Ottoman coast. It can be considered as participating in the war, right?" the Prime Minister said with a smile.

"In this case, the delegation cannot be sent by King Yu, but sent from Shen Jing." Pei Yuanqi thought of one thing, this was already a national strategy, not the willful Hu Wei of His Highness Yu in Western Xinjiang.

Chen Tingshu said carefully: "Your Majesty, if, if, if the war against the Ottoman went smoothly, the terms of opening the port could be added in the post-war negotiations, and... If it goes very smoothly, can the fantasy of the Pharaoh Canal be put on the agenda?"
Chapter completed!