1635 Han style rises again

Chapter 864

September 1671, 9, Amsterdam.

Compared with France, Spain, and the Holy Roman Empire all have a king and have established a strong centralization, but as the richest and freest inter-provincial republic in Europe, it has been in a period of no governance for a long time.

In 1650, William II, the ruling king of the United Provinces of the Netherlands, died of smallpox, and his only son (later William III) came to the world eight days later.Under such circumstances, the local self-government faction of the United Provinces was elated, and immediately held a parliamentary meeting to discuss the abolition of the hereditary ruling king and the restoration of local self-government.

You must know that William II of the Orange family has always been arbitrary during his administration. He used the army in his hand to force the parliament to act according to his ideas, and arrested several noble members who opposed him.The strength of William II worried the nobles and businessmen, and they were always worried about the money in their pockets and the heads on their heads.

In fact, the Netherlands at that time was concerned about whether to take the road of centralization in the country. The country was divided into the centralization faction headed by the Orange family and its supporters, who advocated maintaining a strong army, and the business oligarchs represented by local councils. Zemstvo faction.The two sides argued endlessly about their respective ideas, and internal friction continued.

At this time, William II died unexpectedly. His posthumous son William III was just a baby who had just fallen to the ground, so there was nothing to fear.Thus, the Zemstvo faction jumped up and became the master of the Netherlands.

In 1653, the liberal leader John de Witt was elected as the speaker of the three-level conference, presided over major affairs inside and outside the inter-provincial republic, and began his 20-year parliamentary governance.

Under the leadership of John de Witt, the Liberals first manipulated Parliament to pass a bill stipulating that the United Provinces would no longer be ruled by a ruling king and would no longer have a unified army.Then, in order to prevent the Orange family from regaining the throne as the ruling king, the parliament took over the responsibility of William III's upbringing and put little William under house arrest in the name of guardianship.De Witte became the most important figure in Dutch politics during the Anarchic period.

The Dutch temporarily eliminated the dictatorship and enjoyed freedom, but the next thing was not as perfect as expected.In order to compete with the Netherlands for maritime supremacy, Britain provoked two Anglo-Dutch wars.The regents who ruled the various provinces of the Netherlands, due to the lack of unified leadership, led to great chaos in national politics.What's more terrible is that this is also the case in the army. There are 7 local armies and 5 naval departments in the Netherlands, all of which are under the independent leadership of their respective commanders.

Although the governors of the provinces tried their best to fight, it was common for them to lose battles due to improper coordination.The status of the "sea coachman" in the Netherlands has also begun to shake, and it is no longer the strong position it was before.Moreover, due to the two Anglo-Dutch wars, when the Netherlands faced the huge threat of the United Kingdom at sea, the provinces had to vigorously expand their naval armaments, and the construction of the army was somewhat neglected.

The country of the Netherlands at that time was called the United Provinces of the Netherlands, and its regime was the operating system of the Federation of Provinces.After the death of William II, the various federal provinces completely let themselves go and began to do their own thing.

If the Dutch government wants to sign a treaty, the head of the inter-provincial republic has no choice but to take the treaty to the provincial councils of each province for discussion and approval, and each province has some autonomous cities, so the treaty must first be approved by each province. Approved by the council of the municipality.Then, the decision to approve or disapprove goes back the same way to the Provincial Assembly - the Assembly and Head of the Inter-Provincial Republic.Not only is its efficiency extremely low, but as long as a provincial council disagrees, the plan cannot be passed.It can be seen from this that the Netherlands at that time did not strengthen the centralization of power at all, and it was really difficult for the central government to do one thing well.

During this period, the entire Netherlands was still divided, with the more Catholic and more conservative southern part under Spanish rule.They would rather be ruled by distant and declining Spain than by the Protestants of the north, much less by their French neighbors who threatened to annex them at any moment.

According to the "Pyrenees Peace Treaty", "Aachen Treaty", "Nijmegen Peace Treaty", Spain ceded part of the territory of the Spanish Netherlands to France.In the Treaty of Westphalia, Spain not only agreed to cede to the land previously occupied by the Republic of the Netherlands in Flanders, Limburg, Brabant, etc., but also agreed to close the Scheldt River to the outside world. trading.This suffocating operation crippled Antwerp's commerce and seriously affected the economy and trade of the Spanish Netherlands.

A few years ago, under the pretext of inheriting the Spanish heritage, France aggressively invaded the Spanish Netherlands. In a short period of time, it captured Franche-Comté. The march was like an outing. Eight thousand Spanish soldiers were captured by the French army. Crush easily.

The Federal Republic, feeling deeply bitter, immediately joined forces with Britain and Sweden to form a triangular alliance, and united with other countries wary of France to request an armistice from France.

Faced with the request of the Republic, one can imagine Louis XIV's mood - in his eyes, it was a great humiliation to him that a tiny country like the Netherlands dared to stand in front of him.But although Louis XIV's mind is not as good as Caesar's, he also knows how to assess the situation.Knowing that France was not yet ready for all-out war, he agreed to the signing of the peace treaty—with an exasperated and forbearing attitude.

On June 1668, 6, a mayor of the Netherlands presided over the conclusion of the Spanish-French treaty.For the Republic, this is undoubtedly the glory of showing its status, and the peace treaty also forced France to abandon the occupied Franche-Comté, which made the French think that they had suffered a great shame.While the rest of the world felt that France had exercised sufficient restraint (for its great power), the Netherlands was disappointed that the French-occupied Flanders had not been returned to Spain.

As it turns out, they were right to be concerned.The French are planning to use the territory of the French Netherlands as a springboard to launch revenge against the Republic.French Flanders is the gateway to the Netherlands. When Louis XIV compromised the Republic, he was already thinking about how to destroy the country.

Although during this period, Dutch merchant ships carried four-fifths of the world's trade and almost monopolized French maritime transport, there were also dangerous wires brewing.Since 1667, there have been frequent tariff disputes between France and the Netherlands.The growing trade conflict between France and the Netherlands also made Jean-Baptiste Colbert, the French Royal Secretary of State, Minister of State for the Navy and Auditor-General of Finances, propose: Just as we destroy Spain on land, we must Destroy the Netherlands at sea, and the Netherlands has no right to monopolize all trade.

However, the Republic was far less secure than it had hoped.Although it once formed an alliance with Britain and Sweden, the former was originally the Republic's maritime opponent, and the latter was not very interested in restricting France.At the same time, Louis vigorously expanded the army and built large-scale construction projects in the country. France was not shrouded in the shadow of failure, but became stronger.

But at this time, the Republic was deeply mired in the split caused by the conflict between the republican faction and the princely faction, showing undue insensitivity to external crises.While its navy remained disciplined and powerful, its army was filled with incompetent sons of the bigwig or rogue replacements, and the republicans in power lacked the resolve and grip to reform.

"All kinds of situations indicate that France's invasion of the Netherlands has been regarded as a dead arrow. The time for the outbreak of war may be at the end of the year, and it will not exceed the turn of spring and summer next year at the latest." Qi Guo in Europe Ding Jingping, the military attache and Lieutenant (Colonel) Zhaoxin of the Navy, gently put the several pieces of information in his hand on the table, and sighed, "It's ridiculous that the Dutch don't want to step up their preparations, but they still take chances." , sent various envoys to European countries, trying to form another anti-French alliance, to make some kind of warning deterrence against France."

"It is said that the British have an ambiguous attitude and are indifferent to the Dutch's request. It is estimated that they want to take advantage of the situation during the Franco-Dutch war to weaken the Dutch's sea power." Captain Xuanjie, the black-clothed guard (Major) Dong Shili said: "As for the countries of Sweden, Denmark, and Germany, I am afraid that they are not willing to get involved in the Franco-Dutch war and just stand by. I guess the only country that can help the Netherlands is Spain. Yes. If France wants to attack the Netherlands, it will definitely beat the rabbits and seize the Spanish Netherlands."

"Spain's economy is in decline, and their finances are always on the verge of bankruptcy. They may not be able to raise the extra money to fight the war." Another officer of the Navy's Xuanjie Lieutenant (Major) said: "Furthermore, Spain was beaten by France a few years ago. Looking for teeth everywhere, in less than 20 days, they lost Franche-Comté, Flanders and other Spanish Netherlands regions. In the past few decades, Spain has suffered a series of defeats in front of France , I’m afraid they will all be out of the shadows. I think that after the outbreak of the Franco-Dutch war, Spain may not dare to make a move.”

"Compared to Spain's poverty, the French are really rich, especially their King Louis XIV, who spends money like water." An officer stationed in Europe of the General Staff said with a smile: "In May, Louis XIV Fourteen organized a grand parade, which can be called a luxurious festival scene. From Saint-Germain to Lille, the luxurious, luxurious, majestic and grand scene of the scene, even if our ancient emperors travel, have nothing to do with the splendor and magnificence of this parade. It is far behind in comparison. It is said that there are 30 advance teams responsible for opening roads and building fortifications, the garrison guards along the way, and the entourage of the royal family."

"Hehe..." Everyone couldn't help laughing when they heard this. Everyone has heard about this grand parade.Louis XIV wanted to demonstrate the power of the French royal family in the newly occupied land, and tried to win the hearts of the people among the new subjects. At the same time, he also wanted to show off the strength and wealth of France and dazzle the surrounding neighbors. Longing thoughts.

During Louis XIV's parade, he also customized a large number of luxurious and comfortable furniture to stay in each city along the way.After arriving in these cities, grand and luxurious masked balls or masquerade balls will be held, or fireworks will be set off, and sumptuous banquets will be held.All subjects received by Louis XIV will be generously donated gold, silver and jewelry, and will even spend 1 gold louis in one day (12 gold louis is approximately equal to 16-1 livres, 8 livre is approximately equal to [-] taels of silver), it is simply inhumane!
"By the way, last month, the French invited our Qi ambassador to Europe to go to Paris. It was intimidation and temptation. They wanted us to abandon the Netherlands and make friends with France instead. Under this situation, I don't know How did Peng Youqing respond."

"How else can we deal with it?" Ding Jingping said: "The Netherlands has always been our closest partner in Qi. As long as there is no order to change course from the mainland, we will naturally support the Netherlands. In the past half a month, the Dutch have visited many times. In addition to inquiring about our current position on them, the representative office of the Qi State also wants to request the necessary financial and material support from the Qi State."

"The Dutch shouldn't be short of money, so why come to us for financial support?"

"The Netherlands borrowed money from our country of Qi, mostly to confirm our attitude. As for the provision of supplies, I am afraid it is not realistic. Our country of Qi is so far away from Europe, and we just want to bring him something. thing!"

"...the Dutch want us to transfer the cement formula to them." Dong Shili said: "In this way, the Dutch can strengthen the existing town defenses on the French-Dutch border and try to build a solid fortress group to resist the powerful French army. .During the European War (30 Years War) decades ago, the Dutch relied on the many strong fortresses in their territory to exhaust the Spanish Army."

"As early as ten or 20 years ago, the Dutch stole the general formula of cement from our country. Although the strength and dry hardness are slightly inferior to our local cement, it is definitely better than the mortar they used before. Much stronger."

In ancient times, Europeans used a method called masonry to connect stones together to build castles and other buildings.Greystone masonry involves cutting stones to specific shapes and sizes and carefully putting them together to form a strong and durable structure.The stones are often assembled using a masonry technique called "dry stone," which relies on the natural interlocking shapes of the stones to hold them firmly together.

Later, with the advancement of construction technology, European countries began to fix a large number of stones together with mortar, which is a mixture of sand, lime and water to fill the gaps between the stones.The mortar is applied with a trowel and allowed to dry and harden, creating a strong bond between the stones.

To further strengthen the structure, metal clips and tie rods were sometimes used to connect the stones and help distribute the weight of the structure evenly.These clips and tie rods are made of iron or other metal and are inserted into drilled holes in the stone.This kind of strong and durable large-scale castle and fortification is an extremely challenging test for all attackers, and these strong castles can only be conquered through siege.But it will greatly consume the financial resources, time, and manpower of the attacking party. Even if the fortress can be taken down, after a long-term siege, the attacking party will still lose more than the gain.

"If the Franco-Dutch war breaks out, those army colleagues who have just arrived may be the most excited." The naval lieutenant (major) Xuanjie said with a smile: "A few days ago, a group of more than [-] of them followed Several Dutch military officers went to Maastricht Fort to observe and inspect the Dutch border defense facilities. When they left, they were all very excited, as if they could immediately participate in a grand war when they went there."

"Hey, if the Franco-Dutch war breaks out, will our country of Qi play?"

"How to play? It took six to seven months to cross tens of thousands of sea miles, not to mention the war. The consumption of personnel and supplies also made it difficult for our navy to continue. After arriving in Europe, it would not be able to form combat effectiveness at all. Sending troops here rashly, It's purely a gift of thousands of miles!"

"Of course we can't send troops to Europe, but can we unite with the Dutch to attack the French overseas forces?"

"As far as the strength of the French in the Indian Ocean region is concerned, it is worthwhile for the Qi State Navy to do it! Any South African trading company or Indian trading company can overthrow the French. ... However, I think that our Qi State may still be like During the last Anglo-Dutch war, they maintained neutrality on the surface and secretly gave financial and material support to the Dutch."

"It's a pity, our country of Qi is still too far away from Europe. Otherwise, we can bring warships here to practice and test our maritime combat power."

"That's true. Unlike the army, not only can a large number of officers be sent to Europe to observe the progress of the war, but also some new army equipment can be transported to the Ottoman Empire to verify the performance of the weapons."

"You said, if more European countries were involved due to the outbreak of the Franco-Dutch War, would the Ottoman Empire take the opportunity to attack the hinterland of Europe?"

"It's very possible! The current Ottoman Empire has been governed by the Koprulu father and son two generations of grand viziers, and its national strength has recovered a lot. Maybe it will expand again."

"In this way, our country of Qi can export a large amount of ordnance and other war materials to the Ottoman Empire. Hey, I remember that the Ottomans should owe us a lot of money, right?"

"That's not true! After more than ten years, the Ottomans owe us almost 400 million Hanzhou silver dollars."

"The Ottomans really don't have anything that our Qi country needs except wool, minerals and female slaves. I don't know what they will use to repay these debts in the future."

"Hehe, the Ottomans can sell their land!"

(End of this chapter)