It was February, and the wind in the capital was still cold and the members of the cabinet in the Ganqing Palace gathered together.

"Let's take a look!" Zhu Cilang sighed and sat on the dragon throne.

Pang Dahai hesitated for a moment and walked to Liu Hongjian first. The cabinet chief Li Banghua did not look unhappy either.

Liu Hongjian was wrapped in a marten coat tightly, raised his hand and picked up the documents on the plate and stood up with a loud voice as soon as he saw it.

"It's simply a fool, this group of dogs, Dutch ghosts!"

It is not a question that Liu Hongjian was shocked. This document was a letter of nationality submitted by the Netherlands, or a letter of war.

The article is not long, and the beginning of the article lists the illegal actions of the Ming Navy in Sulu and Taiwan, and claims that it is the fault of the Ming people who launched a war. Unless the Ming people agree to the following terms, they will attack the territory of the Ming people.

Article 1 of the clause was to hand over the war criminal Liu Hongjian, the prince of Anguo, and to inform the people of the whole country of the crimes.

Article 2: Return Taiwan and its affiliated islands.

Article 3: The whole country mourns the Earls of Ovat and Earls of Jon, and compensates for the loss of 20 million taels of silver in the war.

Article 4: All relevant parties in the Ming Dynasty exempt Dutch merchants from tariffs, porcelain, tea, silk, etc., from trading rights to Dutch merchants must be handed over to the Dutch merchant group.

"Mad! Does the emperor know what this is called? It is called a tiger without showing its power. He thinks we are sick cats!" Liu Hongjian saw that the elders all respected him, and knew that his behavior just now was a bit out of control.

He originally wanted to speak to redeem, but the regulations were written really angered him, and dirty words appeared again as soon as he opened his mouth.

He dared to swear words in front of the emperor in the Ganqing Palace. Only Liu Hongjian is the only one in the court today.

Pang Dahai's mouth began to twitch again, but Zhu Cilang didn't say anything. He had read the Book of China long ago, but in fact he was stunned when he saw it.

To describe it in four words, it is shameless!

After reading it, Liu Hongjian handed it to the chief assistant Li Banghua, followed by the second assistant Han Yu and the Grand Secretary.

Li Banghua was still serious after reading it, but Shi Kefa was filled with righteous indignation. Grand Secretary Dong Ge's lips raised slightly after reading it, and seemed a little gloating.

If you could see his inner monologue at this time, Zhang Tianlu would say, if you saw it, you wouldn’t be able to pinch out the urine by catching a toad.

Isn't this a slut?

"You all have your own opinions." Zhu Cilang glanced at Liu Hongjian who was stepping on his tail and said leisurely.

"Ahem, Master, Taiwan is adjacent to Fujian and has been my territory of China since ancient times. The war between the two countries in Sulu was also caused by its infringement on our Ming people, let alone any war reparations. I think I would just ignore it."

The chief assistant to the cabinet, Li Banghua, coughed and took over the conversation.

Li Banghua also knew in his heart that Zhu Cixuan would not agree to the first one, let alone return the Taiwan and the war compensation.

Although the prince of Anguo was unrestrained, he was deeply trusted by the late emperor and Zhu Cilang. In the years since he was in power, the Ming Dynasty changed its decline and quickly solved the internal and external difficulties. Everyone understood these contributions.

"I think the Prime Minister is right. A mere small country, Europa, dares to make unrestrained words and threaten our Ming Dynasty. It's like a clown." Han Yu, a senior secretary of the Wenhua Palace, continued.

"But, having said that, as far as I know, the Dutch fleet has already reached the Ming Dynasty's waters, how should we deal with it?" Cheng Zhi, a Grand Secretary of Jianji Temple, raised the final question.

After finishing his work, he didn't forget to look at Liu Hongjian's position, as if he was questioning.

After returning from Sulu's trip, Qi Yuangong, deputy governor of the Beiyang Navy, entered the palace to report in detail to Zhu Cixuan and the members of the cabinet, including the Dutch army's armament, the power of warships, and the gap between the Beiyang Navy and the Dutch warships.

So much so that the old men here know that judging from the size of the navy and the artillery load of the warships, the Beiyang Navy not only lacks warships but also has a gap in the firepower of the warships.

What's more, during the Battle of Sulu, the Netherlands was not all warships, and not even half of their navy. In the distant Europa, the Netherlands had larger and more large warships with artillery.

It is reported that among the Dutch fleets that were cruising outside the Ming Dynasty this time, there were large Dutch warships arriving from the Indian Peninsula and Batavia.

"Are you asking me?" Zhu Cixuan naturally heard Cheng Zhi's voiceover and said a little unpleasantly.

"The emperor forgives his crime, I just know the truth." Cheng Zhi stood up and bowed.

"Oh? Is there any good idea for Cheng Aiqing?" Zhu Cixuan asked.

Zhu Cilang seemed to have obtained the true teachings of his father on this point.

"This..." Cheng Zhi hesitated for a moment, not knowing how to answer.

"Returning to the emperor, I think the Netherlands is completely wishful thinking. I have been fully expanding the navy in the past two years.

Now, the two navy troops in Nanyang and Beiyang have more than 50,000 soldiers, and the prince is here, why not be afraid of a small country? I think that the Dutch country dares to invade the territory, and the imperial navy will fight against it!"

The Grand Secretary of the Zhongji Palace and the Minister of Justice Shi Kefa ignored Cheng Zhi who was stuttering, but stood up and said generously.

Shi Kefa's personality is similar to Li Banghua in previous years. He is also a person who does not like to attract the power of the enemy. On the other hand, he has the integrity of Yan Yingyuan and others in the war.

Although it was a little pedantic, Yangzhou became a loyal minister after ten days of killing and becoming a loyal minister.

On the other hand, after experiencing the drastic changes in the Ming Dynasty in recent years, Li Banghua has become a little submissive and has lost the aura of a few years ago.

"What do Liu Qing think?" Zhu Cixuan asked casually with his fingers knocking on the handle of the dragon chair.

"Return to the emperor, I believe that it is not the time to confront the Netherlands."

If the Nanyang and Beiyang navy were forced to fight against the Netherlands, it would be hard to say who would win, but what to do with the coastline of the Ming Dynasty? Big, Little Franchi, and Frank are not fools either.

Moreover, the Rakshasa Kingdom in the northwest is eyeing it, intending to regain the land taken by the Ming Dynasty. The Ming Dynasty will have a battle with the Rakshasa Kingdom in the north. According to his speculation, this day is probably not far away.

Therefore, the Ming Navy cannot take risks. Unless he is sure to win, he must win completely.

Otherwise, you must preserve your strength and wait for the real ironclad ship to be built before you can talk about it.

Inspired by Liu Hongjian, the iron and water welding technology of Tianjin Bao Shipyard has been successfully tested. The first trial-made iron-clad ship is currently under construction. If nothing unexpected happens, it will not take long for the Ming Dynasty warship to be improved to a terrifying level.

"However, we still have to accept this war book. Not only do we have to answer, but we also have to reply to them. Just reply four words." Liu Hongjian stood up and walked around the crowd halfway.

"Oh? Which four words?" Zhu Cixuan was attracted by Liu Hongjian and signaled him to continue speaking curiously.

"Let the horse come here!"
Chapter completed!