New Shun 1730

Duke Guo of Qi attached great importance to this matter, perhaps because he really felt that the Westerners were already ahead in some places.

But Liu Yu actually doesn’t support the spread of Western learning to the East and the translation movement, at least at this time.

The premise of the Arab Centenary Translation Movement is that the technical level in the world is almost stagnant, and translation can be done slowly and influence can be slowly exerted.

Now, let’s not talk about three changes in a year, but say that in ten years many unprecedented theories will be produced, and translation is not enough. If it were at the end of the Ming Dynasty, maybe the translation movement would still have time, but now it really can't.

Some technical books are of little use even if translated. Today’s technology still requires apprenticeship to be learned from an early age.

Harrison, who made Newton and other top mathematicians disgraced and made a navigation clock, Liu Yu seriously doubted whether he could write.

Watt may not be illiterate, but that's probably all.

As for professional mathematics, before Euler unified mathematical symbols and brought up calculus, Newton's books had to be translated by the best people to understand them, which was of little significance.

As for algebra and the like, someone needs to be able to write a set of teaching materials instead of translating all previous papers.

Of course, translation still needs translation.

Liu Yu felt that the translation movement should focus on literature and history books, while those on science and engineering should wait until he finishes compiling textbooks and wait for those orphans to grow up before starting a new one.

"That's what the Duke sees. If the translation names are not unified, it will be really difficult. Let me publish a book that popularizes Western geography and brief history, and future translations will be based on this."

Duke Guo of Qi praised: "Shou Chang is really easy to understand. This is exactly what I mean, and so is your Majesty. You still have to handle this matter. Anyway, I heard that your Majesty said that you are quite free in Weihai. Everything is going according to plan. The navy has already It can operate on its own. But you, if you go to Songjiang today and look for Batavia tomorrow, you are idle. "

"As for the translation, I'm waiting for news from you. Another thing is that His Majesty intends to ask me to take charge of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Rakshasa people want to send a higher-level envoy because of the border demarcation matter. The Rakshasa side That's easy to talk about. But His Majesty asked me to ask you something about trade with the Swedes."

Trading with the Swedes is quite important, but not many people know about it.

Since Qi Guogong said that His Majesty asked him to take over, it seems that the emperor told him something, and Liu Yu no longer concealed it.

"This matter is both troublesome and simple. Your Majesty intends to explore Southeast Asia, and this time he also sent a ship to Sweden to sell goods."

"Once a war breaks out in Nanyang, the Dutch will rob our ships. East of Malacca, we don't have to be afraid. But after passing Malacca, our ships will not be able to go to Europe. They will be robbed and bankrupted by the Dutch halfway. ”

"This is what I think. There will be a war in Europe. Once a war breaks out in Europe, France and Spain will rob the merchant ships of the Netherlands and Britain; conversely, the Netherlands and Britain will also rob the merchant ships of France and Spain. This is an excellent idea. Opportunity, our country's trade is completely controlled by Westerners. Westerners have the final say on what to buy and sell, and the profits in the process are also made by Westerners. "

"Therefore, taking advantage of this European war, since they are hijacking each other's ships, of course we must take advantage of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to sell our goods to the West."

"It's just that... if we go through the Southeast Asia, we will definitely go to war with the Dutch. So we are thinking of borrowing Sweden, borrowing chickens to lay eggs, flying the Swedish flag, or talking about trading companies with the Swedes. The Swedes are definitely not willing. To give up the interests in hand, this matter must be done through diplomacy.”

Unlike Europe, Dashun's "Ministry of Foreign Affairs" is actually not of great significance. But if Liu Yu wants Dashun to let go of China and enter the world, he can only make people think that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is of great significance. Even if he pretends to take off his pants and fart, he has to create this illusion.

Duke Guo of Qi understood it as soon as he heard it, and frowned: "The Netherlands... The Netherlands should not be underestimated."

"When I was in France, it was at the time of the war. France is a powerful country, and its military strength is really amazing. But even so, it was forced to fight several times, and it didn't even have the courage to start a war near the Netherlands, for fear of dragging the Netherlands into the country. Into the war. Although the Netherlands is small and has not many people, it is very powerful. "

Liu Yu didn't think so, and said with a smile: "You can't wear Lu Guan at the end of a strong crossbow. The Dutch are just rich, and war is about making money. But no matter how rich he is, he will not spend too much money in Nanyang. In Nanyang, it is not arbitrary. I'm waiting for you. I'm going to Europe this time. Can I check the European tariffs?"

This Duke of Qi really inspected it.

"Check it out. When I went there, the Dutch happened to come to France and were talking about tariffs. Their products are similar. If they are like Henan and Shandong, they compete with each other. If the Dutch don't tax French wine, then Those who make wine in the Netherlands cannot make a living, and vice versa.”

"This matter is difficult for the country and the DPRK to handle. Firstly, there is no competition at this time to exchange what is needed; secondly, the coast between the country and the DPRK is long and it is difficult to manage customs duties. The more they collect, the more smuggling will happen. From Weihai to Guangdong, you really can’t find those ships.”

"His Majesty asked me to handle this matter and cooperate with you. But I really can't cooperate."

"Sweden borders Rakshasa and is a sworn enemy. This can be a negotiation for distant relations and close attack, but how can I, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, take the final say in such a matter? If Sweden fights Rakshasa, I will intimidate Rakshasa. Shit, threatening to start a war, how can the Ministry of Foreign Affairs have such power?”

"The other one is tariffs. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has the right to decide who to tax?"

"So, I really don't understand what the Ministry of Foreign Affairs does. I think it's no different from the Honglu Temple, just managing etiquette?"

The new department will inevitably lead to the distribution and reorganization of power.

The advantage of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is that it will not encroach on the power and responsibilities of the etiquette government, which is equivalent to creating something out of nothing, and there is little resistance.

But the disadvantages also exist. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs cannot take away other people's power and is just a decoration.

Theoretically, if the Ministry of Foreign Affairs wants to get things done, it should enter the cabinet and the Tianyou Hall and be responsible to the emperor and prime minister of Dashun - the Son of Heaven.

The problem of Dashun now is that the power and responsibilities are not clear. The Tianyou Hall is in charge of everything and encroaches on the power and responsibilities of the six ministries everywhere.

But the six ministries actually have their own leaders and their own teams.

The emperor did not want to have a prime minister, so he set up a secretarial team in the previous cabinet or the Tianyou Hall of the current dynasty, but many things were difficult to handle.

It is easy for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to get things done now, because the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the Duke of Qi, who can bypass the Tianyou Hall and report directly to the emperor.

But what about the future? Without a clear distribution of responsibilities and discussion mechanism, what will happen if someone changes? We can't just rely on the nobles and turn the Ministry of Foreign Affairs into a nursing home.

It is reasonable to have one of the six or seven people in Tianyou Hall be in charge of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The British also have a similar situation, so they have a Foreign Office and a Commonwealth Office. Correspondingly, it can also fit Dashun, one in charge of tributary affairs, and one in charge of diplomacy outside the scope of tributary countries, calling the east of Malacca the Celestial Empire and the west of Malacca China.

But there must be a supervisor for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Rites, and he should also be in the cabinet.

The current situation is not big or small.

If you say you have no power, you can communicate directly with the emperor; if you say you have power, you can't make your own decisions.

Liu Yu thought clearly about this matter, which fell on him.

The emperor didn't want Liu Yu to manage too many things or grab too much power.

Originally, Liu Yu reported these matters directly to the emperor. Now, with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs between them, the exchanges and negotiations with Western countries actually changed from "relying on Liu Yu" to "relying on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs".

This is the emperor taking away power in advance, but just for the convenience of doing things, he let Duke Qi take charge. First, the candidate is suitable and has been to Europe; second, the emperor also knows the relationship between Duke Qi and Liu Yu.

In the future, when the team of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs can operate independently, there will definitely be a change of people.

Now the emperor wants to organize two teams, one for the internal Celestial Empire; one for the external China. The problem is that there is only one Tianyou Hall, which is both the Tianyou Hall of the Celestial Empire and the cabinet of China, which is very troublesome.

The emperor moved the inner court to the outer court and tried his best to grab power. Now he finds that his energy is limited, and he has to acquiesce to give up some power.

But there is no rule, and it is only supported by unspoken rules. When encountering a new department like the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, it is a bit blind, especially when there is no complete set of unspoken rules for operation, it is naturally blind.

Duke Qi also felt that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was a useless stamp.

"Shou Chang, look. The last time the French delegation came to Beijing, our chief envoy was Duke Ying. Duke Ying was the Minister of Military Affairs of Tianyou Palace, so the matter was settled."

"Then next time, if Luosha, Yingguili, and the Netherlands send delegations. If they want to discuss business, the one who comes out to discuss it must at least be a Minister of Military Affairs, right?"

"Then I am just responsible for etiquette? Provide some interpretation?"

Duke Qi was not too dissatisfied. He had no interest in entering Tianyou Palace, and he knew that the candidates for Tianyou Palace were almost fixed. Duke Ying was gone, and there was also the one who had fought in the northwest for many years and was now going to be relieved of his military power.

But since the emperor asked him to take charge of this new department, he had to consider the authority of this department.

In fact, Liu Yu did not really understand what the Ministry of Foreign Affairs did. Foreign policy must not be independent, but must consider a series of issues such as war and tariffs.

So the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is just a stamp? Speaking out?

Diplomacy, Dashun's geographical location determines that the only neighbors that are qualified to have diplomacy with Dashun are actually Russia and Spain.

Portugal occupies Macau, but it is nominally a tributary; Japan is not a tributary, but everyone pretends that it does not exist. If the Japanese affairs are really brought to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the world will be shocked.

Moreover, only Russia has a permanent envoy of similar level in Dashun, and this is because the border issue has been discussed all the time. Whether it can be permanent in the future is hard to say at this time.

Spain is a mess, and it is best to pretend that it does not exist for the time being. Once the Luzon massacre detonates public opinion, it will definitely cause an uproar; but in order to get rid of the Netherlands, it must hold its nose to communicate. After all, the Spanish-French alliance is all Bourbon Dynasty, and it will jump into this quagmire after getting rid of the Netherlands.

In this way, this is called a Ministry of Foreign Affairs?

This is clearly the "Department for Negotiations and Demarcation of Boundaries with Russia", and the style has suddenly dropped from a ministerial level to a department-level agency.