Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 1577 Iron Mansion ([-])

Sir William Temple had just come out of the Iron Mansion, then got into a four-wheeled carriage and went to the estate of the Duke of York, brother of King Charles II in the suburbs.

He has returned to London for a long time after handing over the ambassador to The Hague, but he has not been assigned a new position. He just acts as the liaison officer between King Charles II and the people on the east coast, and his work is very leisurely.Being extremely bored, he simply stayed at home and finished the manuscript he had written for many years, a book recording the success of the United Provinces and the reasons for their success.After hearing about Sir Temple, James, Duke of York, was very interested, and immediately sent someone to invite him to his own manor outside the city as a guest, and Sir Temple had just left the Iron Mansion, the embassy on the east coast.

The Duke of York's manor occupies quite a large area, coupled with the magnificent buildings and a large number of servants, it shows the Duke's own wealth.But Sir William Temple was not too surprised by this, because His Excellency the Duke not only bought shares in the East India Company (this is what Sir Temple heard from his friend Josiah Child, who was working in the East India Company ), and is also one of the main shareholders of the Royal Adventurer Africa Trading Company. Coupled with the land rent income from the fief, he is definitely one of the top rich men in England. It is very unusual to be able to own such a manor.

"Sir Temple, just returned from the embassy of the people on the east coast. Is there anything interesting?" The Duke of York, who had just returned from hunting, looked at the former English ambassador to The Hague with a smile, and then asked the servant to bring two cups of fragrant green tea : "The gentlemen of the East India Company brought it back from Quanzhou, and now it is sold in all major pharmacies in London, at six pounds per pound, which is very good."

Sir William Temple picked up a cup of tea, took two sips, and said, "It tastes very good. It smells like 'silver coins'. It should be a very good business. I heard that green tea is a drink in Amsterdam. It's quite popular, of course, thanks to the other East India Company. I've been to Amsterdam many times, and I've seen the East India Company building, and it's not like this one in London."

"As for the interesting things in the iron mansion, well, I admit that there are not many things that caught my attention. People on the east bank are actually very cautious. If I have to talk about it, I think the way they work is very impressive. What we learn about is their efficiency, their enthusiasm, their copywriting and bookkeeping system. Of course, if you are interested in their food and exquisite art, you might as well ask their ambassador to come and talk about it." Temple The jazz said again, answering the Duke of York's question just now.

"Talk about your books, Sir Temple. I have read some of the manuscripts, but I still don't quite understand why the Dutch are so successful?" The Duke of York carefully took out some of the manuscripts in hand and asked.

"Because they are frugal, reserved, hard-working, and full of collective consciousness." Sir William Temple said without hesitation: "Different from countries such as England, France, and Austria, which are vassals and vassals, countries like Genoa, Venice, etc. Commercial republics such as the United Provinces and the United Provinces mainly rely on money to maintain their great power. In the chapter of my manuscript "Their Power and Taxation", this power of the Dutch is clearly described. The huge military expenditures in the United Provinces Among them, the province of the Netherlands bears 60% of the total cost, the province of Zeeland bears 15%, the province of Friesland bears 12%, the province of Utrecht bears 6%, and the province of Groningen bears 6%. The province of Deland hardly bears any costs. However, in recent years, the provinces of the Netherlands and Zeeland have raised objections to this method. The province of the Netherlands is dissatisfied because of their heavy burden, and the province of Zeeland is dissatisfied because of the war. Originally, it was extremely prosperous The Scheldt trade has gradually shifted more and more to the provinces of the Netherlands, so that the latest distribution rules now seem to be 58.3% for the province of Holland, 11% for Friesland, 9% for Zeeland, The three provinces of Gelderland, Utrecht, and Groningen each bear 5%, and the province of Oberijssel bears a little more than 3%. Not much more."

"I've read this section, but I didn't understand it at the time. Will the Dutch provincial government agree to such a ridiculous budget allocation plan? Because no matter how it is changed, the province will bear about [-]% of the cost." The Duke of York He asked in an inconceivable tone: "Is it because they are richer? I don't think this reason is sufficient."

"In fact, the parliamentarians of the Dutch province are of course very dissatisfied with this, because their share is too high. But the representatives of other provinces will not agree to greatly increase their own expenditures, because no one is willing to pay more. However, their representatives in the three-level parliament threatened to withdraw from the alliance and demanded to continue to maintain their low share of expenditure. Taking into account many factors, the Dutch province finally reluctantly agreed to this distribution plan, but for Utrecht, Groningen, It is certain that Gelderland and other provinces are dissatisfied. Of course, the above-mentioned four provinces, including Zeeland, are also very dissatisfied with the Netherlands. This can be seen from the tense relationship between them. I am I really doubt that when foreign enemies invade one day, will the four southern provinces directly surrender to the enemy and then attack the Dutch in turn." Sir Temple is indeed a person who has worked in the United Provinces for many years, because of their administrative system and the intricate inter-province The relationship can be said to be well known.

"So, once we start a war with the United Provinces, then the conflicts among their provinces will also be one of the breakthroughs?" Hearing Sir Temple's words, the Duke of York was thoughtful, but he didn't say anything at this time.There must be a war between England and the United Provinces, but it is not now, but in the future, and this first depends on whether the "taken advantage" king of France will jump out first, so that England can then formulate corresponding policies.

The only obstacle is probably those members of Congress who have always refused to allocate funds. That is really nerve-wracking!The Duke of York thought that if England could have a tax system comparable to the United Provinces, then the power of the government would be greatly increased, and everything would be more perfect.

From Sir Temple's book, the Duke of York clearly knows how the excise tax in the United Provinces accounts for the bulk of the tax revenue-for example, when a fish is finally served on the table, no less than 30 taxes have been levied , including fishing boats, fishing nets, and seasonings for making fish, which is extremely amazing-but his elder brother, King Charles II, has no such taxation power at all. He can only rely on import and export duties and royal land rent to realize his own plan of.Occasionally, members of Parliament may agree to a temporary tax increase, but it is not the norm after all, so this led to the failure of the Second Anglo-Dutch War, and the Duke of York, who was the commander of the British Navy in that war, has always been bitter about it Huai, I hope they will not interfere in the third Anglo-Dutch war that is about to break out in the future.

"William, do you understand the system or ideas of the people on the east coast? Now this country is becoming more and more impossible to ignore. They were so tough in this war, blocking the door of the French, and finally succeeded in letting Louis Fourteenth, that arrogant guy took out 100 million livres to redeem some Caribbean islands. Although the money is not a lot, this gesture is really rare, but the people on the east coast really did it, which is amazing." The Duke of York After chatting with Sir Temple about the customs and anecdotes of Holland, he changed the subject and asked about news from the East Coast.

"Their fleet is impressive, and the ships powered by steam engines are extremely flexible. There is no doubt about this, and it is also the direction of the English Navy's efforts." Sir Temple first said something that seemed irrelevant. , before saying: "This stems from their effective national tax system, which is particularly lacking in England. Their government is strong and able to collect taxes from every corner of the country, while we can only bid for the tax package by bidders , and most of the tax revenue is in the hands of Congress, the royal family has very little tax revenue, but has to bear almost all expenses including wars, this is probably the difference. Oh, yes, their government can use 4% Borrowing large sums of money with amazingly low annual interest rates, but we can't, that's a big difference. As for what they think, I'm sure they have great ambitions for the New World, but not much for the Old World , probably just to do business. That is to say, in my opinion, once France goes to war with the Netherlands in the future, they are likely to stand on the sidelines and not directly join the war. I hope this can help His Excellency the Duke and His Majesty the King , I don't think they have the courage to risk the severing of the trade line and join the Dutch side, it's impossible."

"This couldn't be better. The country on the east coast is now a big variable in the war. No one wants them to join in and destroy our plan." The Duke of York said.

……

And when the Duke of York and Sir William Temple mentioned the East Coast people in London, Li Qing, the special envoy to Europe in the East Coast Embassy in The Hague, had just returned from Aachen to rest.

The Aachen peace conference was finally over, and the long-delayed negotiations made the aging Li Qing quite overwhelmed. After all, arguing with people is also a very energy-consuming thing.Fortunately, everything is over. Representatives from France, the West, and the East signed the peace treaty, officially ending the state of war.The people on the east coast went home happily to continue doing business, the Spaniards went home to lick their wounds with mixed emotions, and the French went back to prepare for war with a gloomy face. Saint-Germain brought a large number of standing troops to the newly occupied land in the Southern Netherland. Along the way, they mobilized more than 20 people from the provinces of northeastern France, doing ostentation, building roads, building military depots, and transporting materials. Although the transportation materials were withdrawn later, the operation itself was a very eye-catching thing.

Li Qing suspects that this is Louis XIV putting pressure on the parties negotiating in Aachen to seek more benefits. The best route in the province.Although it is necessary to cross the other half of the Southern Netherland that the Spaniards still control, the Spaniards may not be willing to let it go under the pressure of the Netherlands, but the French can also attack the United Provinces around the moral will area, can't they?

In the end, Louis XIV's move did not win more benefits for France. He still only got Strasbourg and the four surrounding free towns in exchange for French Santo Domingo as compensation, and another 100 to the people on the east coast. Valerie's symbolic island redemption fee is also unavoidable - Li Qing has formally accepted the French proposal to use an aristocratic manor villa confiscated by Louis on the outskirts of Paris, because this manor can obviously be used to transform it into a The French embassy stationed on the shore - but the French rehearsal is still shocking, and it has greatly accelerated the speed of arming in neighboring countries and regions. The prices of grain, steel, leather, and draft animals began to rise slowly. Orders for armor are flying around, and the military industrial areas in England, Germany, and Italy ushered in a period of prosperity and prosperity.

Corresponding to the prosperity of the military industry, the spring of mercenaries has also begun to come!Many mercenaries in Germany are no longer ready to take long-term orders. For example, some mercenaries in Saxony began to delay the renewal of contracts with the Polish government after their defense contracts in Ukraine expired, because they obviously prefer to work for the big benefactor, the Netherlands. It is a pity that the Dutch are also hesitant and do not know what to do next, which makes these people quite disappointed.

Even Li Qing, the special envoy of the East Coast, was asked by the Dutch whether it was possible to hire "thousands or ten thousand" of the East Coast Army as a whole to the "commons" in the south of the United Provinces (ie Limburg, Brabant, etc.) Principality and other areas), to help defend the line of defense there.Apparently, these Dutch people think that the army on the east bank is well equipped, and they are idle in the New World. They might as well come here to help fight the war. Anyway, for the Dutch, things that can be solved with money are not a problem.

Special Envoy Li Qing felt a little ironic about the Dutch's brain hole, but he still politely rejected the Dutch, and at the same time said that the East Coast Army had "heavy combat missions" and would not accept employment from the United Provinces.However, after this incident, Li Qing also has a more and more perceptual understanding of the current tense situation. Louis XIV, a war madman, really never stops for a moment!Now that France has taken the lead in preparing for war (building a large number of roads and military depots, expanding the standing army, and preparing for long-term combat), then the United Provinces probably can't sit still?That's good too, let you toss and toss like this, consume excess energy, and save all of you in the Far East causing trouble for us people on the east coast!

(End of this chapter)