Chapter 1348: The Manifest Destiny of the Empire (First update, please subscribe)
On April 3, when negotiators from the Republic of South Africa and the United Kingdom appeared in Berlin, they began to argue for the best armistice conditions for each other, just as Britain wanted to end this long war in a dignified manner.
The British did not realize that so-called decency... was just a daydream and did not exist.
"Well, the war has begun."
Upon learning that the negotiators from both sides had already begun negotiations, Emperor Zhu spoke directly.
"No matter how the British want to end this war in a dignified manner, on one side is the Republic of South Africa, which ceded half of its land to the British. I cannot change the fact that the whole world has seen Britain's weakness. Since the Napoleonic Wars, what has Britain relied on to maintain its world hegemony? It is nothing more than relying on its strength and the deterrence brought by its strength. The British Empire..."
After a pause, Emperor Zhu looked into the distance and said to Zhu Youlin beside him.
“They may have established world hegemony for almost a century, but they are still a maritime empire after all. They still don’t fully understand what the mission of an empire is. A hegemonic power does not need a mission, but an empire cannot be without a mission… They don’t know that the hegemony of an empire cannot be challenged. They just want to get the dividends of the empire, but they don’t want to bear the responsibilities of the empire.”
Thinking of the examples his father had given many years ago, Zhu Youlin asked.
"Father, is this the reason why you said before that Britain is actually Carthage?"
"Yes, this is the choice made by the British people, and it is the choice that best suits their interests."
Emperor Zhu nodded slightly.
"Britain at the end of the 17th century was faced with two choices: one was to follow the path of the Roman Empire and conquer cities and territories, and the other was to follow the path of Carthage and establish a country through trade. The former was costly, but they had just experienced the Glorious Revolution. If they followed the path of the Roman Empire, there would be another risk, which was the strengthening of the monarch's power, which the emerging bourgeoisie could not tolerate. So Britain positioned itself like Carthage and established a country through trade. It was this positioning that directly led to Britain paying more attention to immediate interests. In fact, the British Empire did not establish world hegemony and become a hegemonic power until after the Napoleonic Wars. As for the empire... it was only in the last twenty years that this consensus was formed. They were unfamiliar with the imperial mission and did not know how to face it."
The imperial mission is actually a self-suggestion of the political elite, through which they draw the faith and energy to continue to advance the great cause of the empire.
"In fact, as far as Europe is concerned, Rome is the real empire. As for Carthage... Carthage must be destroyed! Why would the Roman Empire insist on destroying Carthage at all costs?"
"Because the existence of Carthage challenged the world hegemony of the Roman Empire, if they allowed Carthage to challenge, then the Gauls and barbarians would be encouraged by it, and then they would bring a devastating blow to the hegemony of Rome, just like... when Goguryeo challenged the East Asian hegemony of the Sui Dynasty, Emperor Yang of Sui was willing to destroy it at the cost of the empire's destruction. Even until the Tang Dynasty, several generations of emperors still persisted in attacking Goguryeo. The essence of this is that the hegemony of the empire cannot be challenged, and the challenger must be destroyed!..."
After thinking for a while, Zhu Youlin, the crown prince of the Ming Empire and the future emperor of the Ming Empire, said.
"Only in this way can we serve as a warning. Countries that attempt to challenge the empire will have to pay the price."
"Um!"
Nodding, Emperor Zhu looked at his son and said.
"Human society is essentially still an animal society. This is even more blatant in nature. In a monkey group, once a monkey wants to challenge the authority of the monkey king, there are only two results. One is to succeed in the challenge and become the monkey king, and the other is to fail in the challenge and be expelled from the monkey group, that is, death. There is no compromise in the animal world, because such compromise will only reveal the weakness of the king. And when the king reveals his weakness, then challengers will challenge his authority one after another. In the end, the king will be destroyed in such a challenge."
Gazing into the distance, Emperor Zhu thought of Rome, which was destroyed by the barbarian invasion, and the Central Plains dynasty, which was destroyed countless times by the barbarians. The mission of the empire requires a price, what is this price?
He then talked with his son for a long time, talking about Rome, the crusades of successive dynasties in the Central Plains against the Huns, Turks, Mongols, Khitans, and Jurchens, the compromises during the crusades, and the challenges of the barbarians who pounced on him like wolves and tigers after the compromises.
"...When faced with a challenge, a qualified empire must destroy it at all costs, killing the chicken to scare the monkey. If it doesn't kill the chicken, it will be like Britain now... Their peace talks actually give challengers an opportunity - even if they fail, they will only lose a little land. Why did no one dare to challenge Britain's hegemony after the Napoleonic Wars? It's not just because Britain was strong, but because after the war, Britain repeatedly rejected Napoleon's request for peace talks, and finally fought to Paris and destroyed the Napoleonic Empire."
When talking about Britain's most glorious moment, Emperor Zhu shook his head and sighed.
"But what about now? Because the Boers cannot threaten Britain's world hegemony, the British think that compromising with the Boers is no big deal. However, their weakness has given other countries an opportunity, such as the Russians. They have always been ambitious about Persia. Persian oil, Persian land, and even India. If they win, the return rate will be very high..."
Of course, Russia’s ambition was fostered by the Ming Empire, but now the British are weak and Russia sees an opportunity.
"When the British chose peace talks on the Boer question, war was inevitable. If you take a chance, a bicycle can become a motorcycle."
"Father, it seems that war is inevitable. What about us?"
Zhu Youlin looked at his father and asked.
"We are allies of the Roman Empire. If the Roman Empire goes to war with Britain, should we also go to war with Britain?"
Faced with his son's question, Emperor Zhu pondered for a moment and then spoke.
"Youlin, what your father wants to leave to you is also a great empire! What is the mission of the empire? It is to build a Chinese world, and this world will be ruled by you and your brothers... This is the manifest destiny of the Ming Empire!"
(End of this chapter)
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