Do not believe the nonsense that the Great Qing's GDP once accounted for thirty-three percent of the world's GDP, ranking first in the world.
This statement, used by the bao yi aha to glorify the Great Qing, first appeared in "A Thousand-Year History of World Economics" by Madison. It was entirely based on assumptions and estimations of per capita GDP in China throughout dynasties, then multiplied by population size to derive the total economic output. This calculation lacked rigorous computation and verification.
For instance, some documents indicate that in 1820, the Great Qing's fiscal revenue was only forty million taels of silver, while Britain's, converted, was one hundred and fifty million taels of silver.
To take another example, in 1870, France, having lost the Franco-Prussian War, paid Germany fifty billion francs in reparations, equivalent to over seven hundred million taels of silver. The French paid this in three years. Meanwhile, the Great Qing's payment of over four hundred million taels of silver for the Boxer Protocol was to be repaid over thirty-nine years.
This was the Great Qing that accounted for thirty-three percent of the world's GDP?
Of course, before 1840, the Great Qing did indeed have a comprehensive trade surplus with the world, with large amounts of silver flowing into it. But where did all this silver go?
Did it go to the common people?
The answer is no.
A large amount of silver flowed into the Thirteen Hongs of Canton. After being channeled through them, most of the silver ended up in the pockets of officials, followed by wealthy merchants and magnates, and then the Great Qing's national treasury.
Within this process, these wealthy merchants and magnates had to constantly provide money to maintain their status, and the officials had to use silver to guarantee their positions. Therefore, this silver flowed to higher-ranking officials, all the way up to Qianlong the dog and Heshen.
So, here's the problem.
In this entire chain of events, which part was related to the common people?
The answer is still none.
Moreover, all the bao yi aha deliberately ignored one fact: Britain's pillar industries were mechanical textiles, steel, and so on, while the Great Qing's pillar industries remained silk, porcelain, and tea.
With the็ฏ็ export of agricultural and sideline products like silk, porcelain, and tea, and almost no imports, wouldn't silver then flow madly into the Great Qing?
Possessing large amounts of silver but lacking the strength to retain it, wasn't 1840 a natural consequence?
To put it bluntly, relative to the world's development, the Great Qing had been comprehensively lagging since the era of Mazigge. "Leftover wealth" was merely self-praise by the masters and fervent flattery by the bao yi aha, creating only an illusion.
In contrast, the utterly absurd reality was that the Great Qing turned a kingly title held for thousands of years into scrap iron, while the barbarians of Europa, through books like "Nongzheng Quanshu" and "Tiangong Kaiwu," slowly upgraded their scrap iron accounts to silver or even gold.
Even if Zhu Jinsong tried his best to upgrade now, he had only just reached silver, still a long way from the former kingly tier.
And this silver tier was also severely imbalanced.
In terms of ground military strength, the Great Ming could utterly crush any country on present-day Earth.
However, in terms of maritime military strength, the Great Ming's naval power was only enough to bully smaller nations like Jiaozhi, Siam, and Wa. Compared to the Stupid Eagle and England, it was far inferior.
In fact, the biggest reason Portugal had previously backed down and paid reparations was that Portugal itself was already on the decline, and they were intimidated by the Great Ming's land army and the attitude of Louis XVI of France.
If Portugal had truly adopted a "what's lost is lost" attitude and deployed all its maritime forces to fight the Great Ming, then the Great Ming would have been forced into a defensive stance.
To put it plainly, apart from the territories reached by its land army, the current Great Ming did not possess the strength to fight the entire world single-handedly, especially in maritime, economic, and livelihood aspects, where it was even slightly lagging.
Therefore, the Great Ming currently needs such a small pot to slowly extract the grease from the other barbarians on Earth.
Based on this theory, the remaining issues are easily understood.
Why did the Great Ming not bring the then more powerful Ottoman Empire into the small pot, but instead bring in the Stupid Eagle?
This is because the Great Ming did not need a powerful Ottoman Empire to join the small pot and compete for influence, nor did it need an Ottoman Empire that was close to England to act as England's dog in the small pot.
What the Great Ming needed was the Stupid Eagle, which had enmity with England but was not yet too powerful and posed no geographical threat to the Great Ming.
Not being too powerful meant that the Stupid Eagle would have to find a patron. Since the Stupid Eagle had enmity with England, it was obvious how they would choose, wasn't it?
Seeking refuge with France or seeking refuge with the Great Ming was essentially the same.
As for the last of the Five Benevolent Ones, Zhu Jinsong favored the current Mao Xiong.
The current Mao Xiong was in the fading glory of the reign of Catherine II, the only female Tsar in Mao Xiong's history. It had just experienced Pugachev's rebellion, which further strengthened serfdom. After Catherine II, her successor Paul I reigned for only five years before dying in a political assassination. The subsequent Alexander I was preoccupied with playing with court ladies and researching mysticism, not paying much attention to political affairs.
Were there any better choices for the Five Benevolent Ones than these?
Since the Great Ming was selecting candidates for the Five Benevolent Ones, it naturally had to consider countries that had many problems themselves, harbored mutual contradictions, were not too strong but not too weak.
Governance, this thing, has never been a straightforward matter. Its darkness is so profound that even light cannot escape it.
Therefore, when Louis XVI of France, George III of England, Paul I Petrovich, the designated successor of Catherine II of Mao Xiong, and George Washington, the leader of the Stupid Eagle, had all arrived at Jinan Prefecture, Zhu Jinsong invited them all together.
After a series of sessions involving conversation, banquets, leisurely strolls interspersed with conversations, Zhu Jinsong then had everyone invited to the Pearl Spring Courtyard and presented the "Small Pot Draft" that had been prepared long ago.
Zhu Jinsong's face was filled with sincerity, reliability, fraternity, benevolence, and all other beautiful adjectives: "The purpose of establishing the Small Pot is to ensure the stability and peace of the small pot on Earth."
"However, before establishing the Small Pot, I wish to hear your opinions first, because the Great Ming has no ambition to conquer the small pot on Earth, and the Small Pot also needs five benevolent ones to manage affairs."
"In short, all disputes must be controlled within the scope of what the Small Pot decides, so that this Small Pot doesn't end up fighting all the time."
Louis XVI casually picked up the "Small Pot Draft" in front of him, looked at it for a few glances, and then threw it aside: "On behalf of France, I agree to the Great Ming Emperor's proposal regarding the Small Pot. France is willing to strive for world peace."
George Washington, while examining the "Small Pot Draft" in his hand, cast a subtle glance at George III opposite him. Coincidentally, George III also quietly glanced at Washington.
Among the four speakers, only Paul I Petrovich looked at Zhu Jinsong and said, "Before we study this draft, shouldn't we first study, well, the Great Qing, and first study the affairs of the Great Qing?"
After listening to the interpreter's translation, the smile on Zhu Jinsong's face vanished, and he said seriously, "The Great Qing was once a rebel of the Great Ming. The matters between the Great Qing and the Great Ming should be resolved by the Great Ming itself. I don't think there's anything to study about that."
Paul I Petrovich let out a "ha" laugh and said, "Of course, the affairs between the Great Ming and the Great Qing are your own affairs. But the Great Qing is currently encroaching on our Mao Xiong's territory!"
Zhu Jinsong said, "Firstly, the Great Ming is unaware of the matters between the Great Qing and your Mao Xiong."
"Secondly, perhaps some situation has occurred between the Great Qing and your Mao Xiong, but the Great Ming has no intention of interfering."
"Thirdly, the Great Ming expresses extreme regret for the current situation between Mao Xiong and the Great Qing."
"Finally, the Great Qing is a rebel of the Great Ming and should be dealt with by the Great Ming, do you understand?"
Paul I Petrovich pondered, "What do I understand? Do I understand what you're saying? Are you trying to sound eloquent by saying all this nonsense?"
After a long silence, Paul I Petrovich frowned and said, "If your Great Ming does not resolve the Great Qing, then our Mao Xiong will resolve it in our own way."
Paul I Petrovich thought that since he had already issued a threat on behalf of Mao Xiong, the Great Ming Emperor Zhu Jinsong, unless he intended to go to war with Mao Xiong immediately, should at least make a statement, right?
However, to Paul I Petrovich's surprise, Zhu Jinsong merely chuckled and said, "As you wish. As long as your Mao Xiong has the capability, you can resolve it however you like."
Without paying attention to Paul I Petrovich's increasingly unpleasant expression, Zhu Jinsong continued, "Of course, I want to remind you, how you resolve the Great Qing is your business. But if your Mao Xiong dares to extend its reach to the Far East, to the lands that have historically belonged to my Great Ming, then all consequences will be borne by your Mao Xiong yourself!"
Paul I Petrovich's face darkened, and he boomed, "What? Are you threatening me?"
Zhu Jinsong replied, "I am indeed threatening you. So what?"
Just as Paul I Petrovich was about to slam the table and rise, the leader of the Stupid Eagle, the famous scalper leader Washington, reached out and pulled Paul I Petrovich, advising, "Young man, don't get so angry. Let's talk properly and discuss things calmly."
Paul I Petrovich shook off Washington's hand, glared at Zhu Jinsong indignantly, and said, "If we Mao Xiong agree to join this Small Pot, will your Great Ming then resolve the Great Qing?"
Zhu Jinsong said with a face full of sincerity, "Of course. After all, the Great Qing is a rebel of the Great Ming. Once the Great Ming is free, we will definitely deal with them."
Paul I Petrovich snorted coldly, then darkened his expression and remained silent.
George III, however, spoke up, "I believe this Small Pot Draft is indeed beneficial for the peace and stability of the entire small pot on Earth. However, please forgive my bluntness, but with just our five agreeing, what about the other countries?"
"If they do not agree, what should be done?"
Having said this, George III wore a cryptic expression and said with a sinister grin, "Therefore, we should first pick out a country that is not very obedient, a country that disrupts the safety and stability of the small pot on Earth, so that other countries can see what happens without the protection of the Small Pot..."
Zhu Jinsong nodded slightly and signaled to Zhang Dequan. Zhang Dequan immediately brought a large globe and placed it on the table.
Zhu Jinsong said, "What about the Ottoman Empire? Its territory is large enough, and its strength is also considerable."
The other leaders were instantly startled.
Louis XVI couldn't help but advise, "I know there's an old saying in your Central Plains, 'pick on the softest persimmon.' But I have to admit, the one you've picked is not soft."
After glancing at Paul I Petrovich, Louis XVI continued, "Mao Xiong and the Ottoman Empire have fought many wars over the years. They should have some understanding of the Ottoman Empire's strength."
Zhu Jinsong, however, said, "It's about killing the chicken to scare the monkeys. If this chicken isn't big enough, isn't fierce enough, how can it scare those monkeys?"