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King Louis XIV of France was good at ballet and built Versailles. French soft power such as clothing, food, literature and art has conquered the world, and speaking French has become fashionable to this day. Russian Czar Peter I regarded backward Russia as a shame and a pain. He personally went to Europe to study the West comprehensively. He worked tirelessly to transform Russia, but he encountered misunderstanding, resistance, and even a military coup. He suppressed opponents with an iron fist, and finally built a medieval agricultural country that was greedy for land into a modern coastal cultural, economic, and military power. Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty came to the throne at a young age. He eliminated Obai, pacified the three vassals, took over Taiwan, resisted the Russian army, and destroyed Galdan. The Qing Dynasty reached its peak, ushering in the prosperous era of Kangxi, Yongzong and Qianlong. Kangxi developed China's feudal dynasty to its peak and also unveiled the prelude to its decline. Compared with Europe's freedom of thought, scientific and technological development, and the prosperity of the country and the military, Emperor Kangxi did not lay the foundation for a new era. China and Europe passed each other shoulder to shoulder and could no longer catch up.

The content of this book is centered on the 16th year of Zhengde (1521) and extends forward and backward to the entire reign of the two emperors Zhengde and Jiajing. The entire period is about sixty years. Prior to this, the economic, cultural development, and comprehensive national strength of European countries were not as good as those of the Ming Empire, far worse. However, in just these sixty years, through the Great Navigation, the Renaissance and the Reformation, Europe was like equipped with three rocket thrusters, speeding up and surpassing the Ming Dynasty. Let us read about these people and things in Europe with ease and humor.

In the fifteenth year of this Wanli period, with the departure of Zhang Juzheng, Shen Shixing, Qi Jiguang, Hai Rui, and Li Zhi one by one, the Ming Dynasty came to the end of its development. In 1587 AD, Britain was fighting for survival, France was fighting for faith, the Netherlands was fighting for freedom, and Spain was fighting for world order. Compared with the emperors and generals of the Ming Dynasty, the protagonists in this book include kings, queens, popes, slave traders, navigators, pirates of the Caribbean, colonists, astronomers, physicists, philosophers, thinkers, writers and artists. It is their contribution that Europe has reached a new stage of development.

Seventeenth century, forties. Ten years in the thousands of years of human history. It has been a decade of great changes in the world, Europe, and China. A decade that shaped the world today. The content of this book centers on the seventeenth year of Chongzhen (1644) and extends forward and backward, telling the rise and fall of European countries during the same period. Let us read about these people and things in Europe with ease and humor.