Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 1657 Struggle and Preparation ([-])

"Konrad, is this your country's final decision?" In the commercial station in Amsterdam, Li Qing, the special envoy to Europe with a pipe in her mouth, looked at Van Boyningen with a serious face.

Van Beuningen is a republican figure and a rising star in politics. He originally had a great future, but as the saying goes, he was unlucky. After the French invasion and Prince William of Orange came to power under the influence of public opinion, his great future was basically ruined. At present, he is gradually being marginalized in the diplomatic service, and holds some unimportant idle positions.

This time the Prince of Orange sent diplomatic envoys to move around. An experienced and veteran diplomat like Van Beuningen did not get the task of going to Spain, Brandenburg-Prussia, Sweden, Austria, England and other countries. Instead, sitting in Amsterdam with nothing to do is already telling the story.

Of course, Van Boyningen can’t say that he is completely idle, because the Prince of Orange quickly gave him a task, that is, to go to the trading station of the East Coast people in a semi-official capacity, find their special envoy, Mr. Li Qing, and then inform East Coast The United Provinces on the coast may terminate the purchase contracts of some commodities including woolen fabrics in advance - the duration of these contracts ranges from 5 to 10 years - I hope the people on the east coast will express their understanding.Moreover, the Prince of Orange even stated that Van Boyningen could hint to the people of the East Coast that if they were willing to "calmly accept" the termination of these contracts, then the United Provinces could no longer hold those responsible for the massacre in Gwangenport Prison Square .

To be honest, Van Beuningen is also a little disappointed about this.Although he is a core member of the republican faction and has a close relationship with people on the east coast, he is a Dutchman after all, and he is very sad that his compatriots were massacred by the heathen army from the New World, although this does not mean that he will take the initiative to do so. something.But what would the Prince of Orange want to do?He actually wanted to turn a major issue into a minor one. In order to achieve his own strategic goals, he did not hesitate to let the executioner who slaughtered his own people go. With such integrity, how can he blame others at will?

Of course, Van Boyningen also knows that the Prince of Orange's actions are intellectually beneficial to the United Provinces, because they obviously urgently need England to join their side, which will not only free up a large number of naval fleets to block the coast of France, but also the British. It is also easy to arm tens of thousands of army troops to help the United Provinces fight, which is a help that the people on the east coast cannot provide.However, the people who died were in vain. The Orange faction used this method to attack the republicans who had the upper hand in the parliament when they were dormant in the past, such as the people who died due to the famine caused by the blockade during the two Anglo-Dutch wars. .It turns out that none of you is a pure white lotus, so why did you talk nonsense in the past?

Well, without further ado.The reason why Van Boyningen was sent to negotiate with the people on the East Bank was because he had been the ambassador to the East Bank for many years, he was familiar with the situation on the East Bank, and he was familiar with the people.However, the friendship between him and Li Qing and others belonged to friendship. When the national interest was involved, everyone had to deal with business and make it clear.

"Conrad, if this is really the final decision of your country, then I think I'm really telling the truth. The United Province is a great country that has always paid attention to national reputation and business contracts. Now your country wants to tear up the With all due respect, this is unacceptable. You know, in order to catch up with these huge orders from your country, we have adjusted our domestic economic system, expanded many factories and production lines, recruited a large number of new workers, and purchased A lot of new transport ships are just to be able to supply the shortage of various commodities in your country. But now you want to tear up the peace treaty, please tell me, who will compensate for our losses?" Li Qing took a pipe and pressed it vigorously in the ashtray Knocked, and said dissatisfiedly: "Especially in this woolen wool industry, China's woolen wool production has quadrupled in the past few years, and the output value has grown very rapidly, reaching more than one million yuan. If your country insists on If you want to tear up this commercial contract, I think the backlash will be very violent."

"The business situation is changing rapidly, and so is the international situation. Now that the Chinese government wants to terminate the contract signed with your country, it has naturally given sufficient consideration." Van Boyningen thought about the sentence, and said with some helplessness: "And, We will also make compensation, the Dutch Provincial Council has approved a proposal to compensate businessmen in your country with a total of more than 15 guilders in cash to help your businessmen and factories tide over the difficulties."

"15 dong, so bold!" Li Qing said in a slightly sarcastic tone: "This amount of money is enough to build a factory and buy a batch of raw materials. It's a lot of money! Humph, our country The government has fulfilled the agreement and sent a total of four battalions of the army to fight in your country, and there are two battalions behind in the Cape Verde Islands, which may arrive at any time. What will your country do? Tear up the existing The agreement, such a serious breach of contract, can be broken at once for 15 dong, is it possible?"

"Your country has not fully implemented the agreement..." Van Boyningen said a little weakly: "The four battalions sent by your country are not only seriously insufficient in number (there should be 5800 people, but actually less than 4000 people arrived) , and the combat effectiveness and weapons and equipment are also very different. I think this can be judged from the color of the military uniforms they wear? Our government has not paid much attention to this, and still distributes the expenses according to the unified guarantee. This point, always Facts?"

Li Qing was at a loss for words when she heard the words.What Van Beuningen said is also an indisputable fact. The fault is that the local military headed by Mo Ming, who used the name of the "participating army" to expand the army, but in the end only sent such a few shams When the troops came, it was no wonder that the Dutch said it to their faces.

However, Li Qing will naturally not be at a disadvantage in the quarrel at this time. He paused for a moment, then changed the subject, and said in a tone of hatred: "Conrad, the Prince of Orange It is unpopular and a disaster. Besides, what he did to you republicans, I think you know it well? Admiral Cornelis was arrested by them in Gwan Tortured in Genport Prison, it turned out that the so-called accusations were completely groundless; Speaker John DeWitt was assassinated one after another. A suspicious-looking young man named Jacob van der Grave, who was captured at the gate of the Prison, even admitted during interrogation that he had been ordered by Falconer to assassinate the esteemed Speaker. Falconer Who are the Kerner family, I think you know better than me, right?"

Van Beuningen felt a little helpless when he heard that, he could only shake his head, and said with a wry smile: "Special Envoy Li, of course I firmly stand on the stand of the republic, what I told you just now is only based on the position of my position. That's all. Since you just mentioned Speaker John and Admiral Cornelis, I can only say that I have great sympathy for them, and I am very angry at the Prince of Orange's move. Of course I will be in the third class There is a determined fight against the dirty elements of the Orange faction in parliament or government, but I still need to do my job first."

Li Qing listened for a while and didn't know what to say. The co-author is quite principled, and she couldn't see it before.But so what?Anyway, if the Dutch really blatantly tear up the agreement this time, then the people on the east coast will definitely formulate some countermeasures, such as suspending the delivery of military supplies ordered by the Dutch, etc.-but when it comes to this matter, they have to Let me mention that this time the Dutch really got it right, because more than a week ago, they had just received as many as eight ships of military supplies from the East Coast at the Amsterdam pier, and the quantity was a single The most deliveries, greatly enriching their arsenal.Considering that they may have also gone through the arsenals in Lisbon, Venice, Milan, Hamburg, Lübeck and other places during this period, and the output of the weapons workshops they invested in Sweden and North Germany has also increased a lot, it’s no wonder they dared to I played this with the people on the east coast, and the co-author is that their demand for weapons on the east coast is not so urgent now!But God knows how long this war will last, can you Dutch ensure that your military resources will never be short?Hope you have such good luck!

"You always have many reasons and always think about things from the national level, but are you sure Prince William of Orange thinks the same way? No wonder you republicans can't beat the Orange faction, hehe!" Li Qing waved her hand, irritated He said calmly: "Well, I won't talk to you anymore. Let me express my position here - you can also think that this is the attitude of the East Coast Republic of China. I think I still have the qualifications as a plenipotentiary envoy." ——We 'resolutely oppose' your unreasonable act of breaking up the contract, and we will inevitably take countermeasures against it, including commercial, political and military measures. In terms of business, of course, we will terminate some of your countries equally commercial contracts, such as artillery purchase contracts, etc.; politically, we will require the troops under the command of our generals to withdraw to the Southern Netherlands, withdraw from this war, and actively seek reconciliation with the Kingdom of France to deepen the relationship between the two parties ; At the military level, we reserve the right to all freedom of action to compensate for the losses caused by your country's unilateral breach of the contract, and this freedom of action is not limited in scope or time."

"Do you understand, Conrad? Please also tell your boss and the Prince of Orange." Li Qing lit a pipe for herself, and said in a more emphatic tone as she smoked, "I repeat, Our country 'resolutely opposes' your actions, and I hope you can rein in the precipice and not really implement this policy, otherwise it will be too late to regret it."

Konrad Van Beuningen nodded silently, then left the East Coast Trading Station and went back to report.This poor man gave the French an excuse to go to war because he cast a medal with the inscription "Stop when the sun sees me". The Orange faction criticized him for a long time; Today, he was sent to Li Qing's side by the government dominated by the Orange faction to be a villain again, which made him a person on both sides, and he was quite aggrieved.

On the afternoon of the day after Van Boyningen left, Li Qing immediately sent two messengers with her own letter to the city of Bergen op Zoom in the Duchy of Brabant, Netherlands, and handed it over to Major Yang Liang.Li Qing explained to Yang Liang in the letter that due to the change in the situation, they—including more than 2000 infantry battalions of the Third Mixed Battalion, the National Defense Army, and the Zhongguo Army—were ready to retreat immediately. The goal is the Southern Netherlands.

In her letter, Li Qing described in detail the diplomatic ideas and achievements of the United Provinces in the recent period, and asserted that between England and the east coast, the Dutch decisively chose England, which was considered to be more helpful to them and was also a Protestant country. This matter will definitely be carried out, so many commercial cooperation between them and the east bank will definitely be suspended. It seems that the army on the east bank no longer needs to continue to serve them, and they can retreat to the Spanish Netherlands to rest, including the current There are more than 500 people in the two Black Eight Banners infantry battalions who are still on the way and have not arrived here.

Major Yang Liang had only two words to comment on this: "Damn it!"However, he had to carry out Li Qing's order.The Dutch are like this, if you serve them again, what is it?Therefore, Major Yang watched the impending war with reluctance—in his opinion, it seemed to be an excellent opportunity to learn the combat experience of the large corps and feel the atmosphere of the big battle—while thinking about whether he would cheat the Netherlands before leaving. With one hand, have all the materials and military salaries needed to withdraw the headquarters to the Southern Netherlands have been raised?

On November 1673, 11, the government led by the Orange faction formally wrote to Li Qing, requesting to officially terminate the purchase contract of five categories of commodities including woolens from next year (10) (the remaining period is 1674-4 years) ranging), the amount involved exceeded 8 million yuan, which immediately caused a series of chain reactions.

Li Qing first stated in public: "It is regrettable that the United Provinces tore up the sacred contract. People on the east bank reserve all rights to recover losses; Yang Liang's detachment, including the elite third mixed battalion, immediately terminated the operation. Leaving the Principality of Brabant in the Netherlands, go overland to the nearby Southern Netherlands, break away from this war, and join the [-]st Mixed Battalion."

Li Qing's speech is basically consistent with what she said in the previous conversation with Van Boiningen, but she didn't mention the improvement of relations with France. It sounds like they still don't want to cooperate with France, and they are very wary of the French. .But even so, his statement still attracted the attention of representatives of many countries, including of course the United Provincial Government. There is nothing else other than the "shameless act" of the employment agreement. It seems that they are determined to win over the UK, and they should have made substantial progress.

Now, the ball has basically been kicked to the east bank side by the Dutch, and it depends on how the members of the local executive committee take up the move.

(End of this chapter)