Ming Zuo

For a country to become a world hegemon, it needs the superposition of many factors.

First of all, it is indispensable to be at the forefront of world development in the fields of culture, thought, science and technology, and to transform advanced productive forces into national power.

The second is the unity of all people from top to bottom, transforming the harmony of people into a general trend.

As the saying goes, the trend of the times and the will of the people.

Once again, there must be a good opportunity to weaken the opponent.

The way of heaven is to make up for what is lacking.One rises and the other falls, it is the truth of the world.

Especially among countries, it is the normal state of world history to focus on the opportunity of the opponent's weakness to flourish, and then to complete the overtake.

Of course, there is another factor that is seldom mentioned, but it is absolutely important.

That is geographic location.

Where a country is in the world will have a huge impact on its temperament and attributes.

It is impossible for a landlocked country to become a maritime power anyway.

In the era of land power, whichever country produces more food and which country has stronger cavalry can become the overlord.

This is also the successive emergence of overlords in the Central Plains such as the Han and Tang in China, as well as powerful powers such as the Huns, Turks, and Mongolia that swept all directions.

Britain's ability to catch up from behind in modern times and become the world's hegemony is inseparable from its geographical location.

Britain is an island country.

This determines that the economic life of the entire country is inseparable from the ocean.

This is a factor that exists in the bones of the British, making them very sensitive to the ocean and always able to seize opportunities.

The biggest advantage of the UK in terms of geographical location is its distance from the European continent.

The island nation has ensured that the United Kingdom can be targeted and move freely in the face of the turbulent situation in the European continent.

Great Britain will actively intervene in European affairs when it is advantageous;
When the going gets tough, Britain can easily cut ties with Europe to avoid being dragged into the swamp.

On the contrary, countries on the European continent do not have this kind of convenience, so they are always battered by various chaos.

Of course, the distance from the mainland cannot be too far.

Otherwise, it will be impossible to adjust the strategy freely.

After all, this is the age of sailing, and the speed of the sailing ship is a factor that must be considered.

The location of the UK determines that it is perfectly blessed in the age of sail.

Once something happens in Europe, the British fleet can participate efficiently enough.

When defending against foreign enemies, the English Channel is completely a natural barrier.

The United Kingdom is using its own advantages to play the policy of outlying islands to perfection, and it also has the European countries in its hands.

It's just that the development of science and technology, the appearance of steam engines and ironclad ships, gradually weakened Britain's advantages, which in turn brought about the change of hegemony.

If you study carefully, you will find that the geographical location of the United States is actually very similar to that of the United Kingdom.

Compared with the whole of Europe, isn't the United States an outlying island?

It happened that the appearance of steam ships and the increase in speed made the United States replace the position of Britain, and also came from behind.

So in Zuo Menggeng's eyes, isn't the empire an outlying island outside of Europe?
What Britain can play, the Empire can also play.

The only difference is that the nautical technology of this era determines that the empire has no way to intervene in European affairs more deeply.

In order to change the development trend of Europe, the empire must leverage its strength and make full use of the contradictions among European countries.

The chosen target of the empire is the Netherlands.

The Holy Roman Empire has been declining day by day, and it is deeply inland, so it has no power to interfere in Britain's internal affairs.

Spain and the empire have fierce conflicts of interest around the world, which are the first priority of the empire to resolve.

Spain and Portugal have another advantage, that is, their ties with the colonies will not be cut off by Britain.

Without urgent interest considerations, how could these two countries be used by the empire?
France is a land power, strong in the army, not the navy.

Moreover, France has always been at a disadvantage in the confrontation.Although it was able to expel the British aggression, it was disappointed.

Only the Netherlands.

As a resource-poor country, all wealth for development needs to be transported from overseas, and all the shipping routes are under the threat of the United Kingdom.

It is only necessary for the Dutch to recognize this fact, and they are naturally willing to interrupt the ongoing bourgeois revolution in Britain according to the idea of ​​​​the empire.

So Xu Erjue only drew two crosses, and Britain immediately became disgusting in the eyes of the Dutch.

Not long ago they declared that Britain was their close friend.

It can only be said that in the face of national interests, nothing is reliable.

Behind the back of the imperial mission, the Dutch held a closed meeting.

"Your Highness, although I don't know why China is so hostile to Britain, Mr. Xu's analysis is very reasonable. Once the British Parliament defeats the king, the country's industry and commerce will develop without restrictions, and it will definitely become a powerful opponent for the Netherlands. We It is time to take measures so that our interests can be protected.”

Anthony van Diemen's status has soared and he has been able to attend such meetings.

He is an unquestionable pro-China faction, and he is of course on the side of the empire.

"We cannot lose New Netherland, otherwise our country will have no future."

The weight of Marton Tropp is there, and his words made the high-level people think.

To be honest, when every Dutchman sees the two forks on the map, he can't help feeling terrified and terrified.

"With the strength of the Netherlands alone, it is impossible to achieve this. China must be asked to come up with more things, and it must also be ensured that other countries will not become British helpers."

The Dutch tacitly forget the same questions of faith as the English parliamentary nobility.

God can't change money, and once Britain becomes strong, it won't be tolerant to the Netherlands for God's sake.

It just so happens that there is civil strife in Britain at this time, and it is irresponsible to the Netherlands not to take the opportunity to weaken the strength of Britain.

However, the Dutch are still wise, knowing that the strength of the Dutch family alone is incapable of interfering in British affairs.

Since the point of view was put forward by the empire, shouldn't it contribute to this?

While the Dutch were meeting, the imperial mission was also communicating with the Portuguese ambassador to the Netherlands, Diego Carlos.

"Once France abandons Catalonia, it will be easy for Spain to quell the rebellion. At that time, Spain will have no worries, and Portugal will fall into a catastrophe."

Diego Carlos briefed the Empire on the situation in the Iberian Peninsula.

The Catalans have never obeyed Spanish rule. The 30-year war gave them the hope of independence, so they set off a vigorous uprising.

They were aided by France in a string of brilliant victories.

But now that the 30-year war is coming to an end, France has achieved what it wants, and it is not so active in supporting the Catalans.

Anyone with a discerning eye feels that it will be a matter of time before France abandons Catalonia.

Among them, Portugal has the heaviest sense of crisis.