I

  Chapter 757 754 [The Anglo-Dutch War]

   "Banned to port?"

  When the Chinese mission came to Spain, it was the first time that it encountered a merciless rejection.

Prince Charles said with a smile: "This is normal. Philip IV is known as the 'King of the Earth'. His most embarrassing thing, apart from losing the Thirty Years War, was the independence of the Netherlands and Portugal. He recognized the independence of the Netherlands , that’s because the Netherlands itself is very powerful. As for Portugal, Philip IV does not recognize it, and he always thinks that he is also the king of Portugal.”

Picking up the binoculars carelessly, Charles observed the situation in the port and said, "But you, have signed a treaty with João IV and openly supported the independence of Portugal. As the king of the earth, Philip IV has been disgraced, how could he allow China to The ship docked? Also, the Philippines is the treasure of Philip IV, but China seized Luzon Island by force. Go to war with China!"

  Zhang Ruifeng was a little surprised: "His Royal Highness is very familiar with the situation in various countries?"

   "What's the use of familiarity? I don't even have a knight around me." Prince Charles grinned, showing no sign of frustration.

  This guy is smart, witty, humorous, bohemian, superb riding skills, and heartless. In fact, he is very suitable to be a ranger. As for being king, he's just too out of tune.

  Since it is impossible to dock in Spain, the fleet can only continue sailing, planning to visit Britain and France first.

  Zhang Ruifeng asked: "Your Highness, can you tell us about the current situation in Europe?"

Charles said: "France is fighting a civil war, known as the Fronde War. Cardinal and French Prime Minister Mazarin, at the end of the Thirty Years War, borrowed money from merchants to raise military expenses, and paid taxes to merchants as a means of repayment. Now that merchants have The right to levy taxes, don’t you collect taxes to the death? The local provinces have been squeezed out, and the French government and businessmen are eyeing Paris. Coincidentally with the victory of Prince Condé, the Queen Mother and the Prime Minister took advantage of the victory of the foreign war to arrest the rebels The leader of the movement. The people of Paris were angry, and finally an uprising broke out. Prince Condé led the army back to Paris to quell the rebellion, and finally ended the civil war."

   Such a big thing, I didn’t find out about it in Portugal.

  Zhang Ruifeng was shocked by this: "The king was fighting a war and borrowed money from merchants. Because he couldn't pay back the money, he asked the merchants to collect taxes and deduct them by themselves?"

   "Although it's stupid, it's true," Charles said with a smile, "Prime Minister Mazarin's brother is a big businessman, and he made a lot of money from it."

  Zhang Ruifeng thinks that European countries are strange. The appointment and dismissal of officials and the collection of taxes are the most important weapons of the country. No matter how corrupt the Ming Dynasty was, it would not directly hand over the country's tax collection power to businessmen as a means of repaying loans.

  This kind of tax system can only be implemented. In a certain area and a certain type of tax, how much money can be deducted, and then let the merchants collect it at will.

  Businessmen encounter such a good thing, how can they let it go?

  The government said that the tax can be discounted by one hundred thousand taels of silver. Believe it or not, the merchant can collect one million taels. One hundred thousand taels was handed over to the government to repay the loan, and the remaining nine hundred thousand taels were all his own.

  Of course, this kind of thing also happens in China.

  First, it appeared in the Yuan Dynasty, and the whole country was engaged in a tax package system.

  The second appeared in the Qing Dynasty. Opium could not be banned, so the Qing government legalized opium, which could not only develop the local opium industry, but also reduce the outflow of silver and increase government tax revenue. After the legalization of opium, the Qing government found that it was unable to collect taxes, so it contracted the opium tax to businessmen, so that it could be collected in full.

  Zhang Ruifeng asked: "Has French Prime Minister Mazarin not resigned yet after such a big disturbance?"

"In order to quell public anger, Mazarin has been exiled," Charles laughed. "The Queen Mother still wanted to keep him, which made Prince Condé's plan to seek the prime minister fail. Not only that, Mazarin also arrested Prince Condé, declaring that Prince Condé intends to rebel."

  Zhang Ruifeng asked: "So, how did this prime minister get exiled?"

Charles said: "After Prince Condé was arrested, his cronies rioted in the local area, and the church and nobles also united against the French royal family. The rebels also united with the Spanish army and invaded France all the way. This civil war defeated the French king. The Queen Mother submits. The Prince of Condé is released and the Prime Minister Mazarin is exiled. But the matter is not over."

   Zhang Ruifeng became more and more curious, and said, "Please tell me."

Charles said: "The current situation has been calmed down. The Queen Mother of France suddenly became stupid and called back Mazarin who was exiled. Prince Condé was furious and once again joined forces with Spain to attack France. The people of Paris also spontaneously revolted and even drove away King Louis of France. Fourteenth. Mazarin was so frightened that he resigned as prime minister, the anger of the people of Paris subsided, and the king was welcomed back. The rebellion of Prince Condé was suppressed, and he is still in exile abroad."

  Zhang Ruifeng sighed: "This French king is really lucky!"

  Why is it a blessing that the country has two civil wars and made a mess?

  Because Mazarin is a powerful minister, and Prince Kong Dai is a local powerful faction. After two civil wars, Louis XIV, the young king, was able to get rid of the constraints of powerful ministers and local factions at the same time. Once in power, Louis XIV's dictatorship will reach the peak of all French kings.

  Charles looked at Zhang Ruifeng in surprise. He only briefly explained the situation, but this Chinese official could see through the whole situation.

  As for French Prime Minister Mazarin, he will return to Paris to be a demon. In the end, the two brothers begged for a hammer, and the street lamps were hung up by the angry Parisians.

  The uprising tradition of the people of Paris can be said to have a long history.

  In the past few years alone, there have been several uprisings one after another, saying that if the king is driven away, the king will be driven away.

  Charles continued: "Britain and the Netherlands are at war. As a British, I hope that Britain will win. But personally, I hope that Cromwell will lose."

   "Who does His Royal Highness think will win?" Zhang Ruifeng asked.

  Charles said: "Britain will definitely win, there is no doubt about it."

   "Why?" Zhang Ruifeng asked, "Hasn't the Dutch navy always been very strong?"

  Charles smiled contemptuously: "The Netherlands is ruled by a group of businessmen, how can businessmen be reliable?"

   "Britain will definitely win for three reasons:"

   "First, the whole of Britain, from nobles, businessmen to commoners, is extremely angry with the Netherlands. All British people can unite to fight."

   "Second, the Netherlands sold its capital ships to the UK for profit, and the purchase fee was also loaned by Dutch merchants. The Dutch navy has suffered heavy losses and can only recruit merchant ships to fight. And those merchant ships are not willing to fight at all."

   "Thirdly, before the war, the British Navy strictly rectified military discipline. The Dutch Navy, as well as the Dutch merchant ships, have extremely loose military discipline, and they may not obey orders during combat."

  The envoy fleet came to France, and when it docked in Port of Grace (Le Havre), news of the Anglo-Dutch war came.

  Hmm... Britain and the Netherlands both said they had won.

  Britain claimed victory because they killed the commander-in-chief of the Dutch Navy and sank 11 Dutch warships.

  The Netherlands claimed victory because they severely damaged 35 British warships and lifted the British Navy's blockade of the Netherlands.

  More detailed news came, which completely verified Charles' statement.

  When the two sides were at war, the British navy was strictly disciplined.

  As for the Dutch Navy, the captains of many requisitioned merchant ships did not obey orders at all. As a result, the number of ships was clearly superior, but the siege of the British navy was unable to be launched, and the ship of the Dutch navy commander was exposed. The naval battle had just begun, and the commander of the Dutch navy saw God.

   Besides other battlefields, the ships of the Dutch East India Company continued to do their own business in Asia. However, all the ships of the British East India Company were recalled to the mainland and scattered in various sea areas. They attacked Dutch ships when they saw them, and even Dutch fishing boats were not spared.

  It is really unreliable for merchants to rule the country, and the naval decisive battle still thinks about profits.

   Port Grace.

  When the Chinese envoys got off the boat, a large number of businessmen surrounded them, and the businessmen spontaneously organized to welcome them.

  A leader of the chamber of commerce stepped forward and asked excitedly: "Mr. Chinese envoy, have you brought spices, tea, silk, porcelain and tobacco on your ship?"

  Zhang Ruifeng smiled and nodded: "I have brought some of these goods."

  The businessman excitedly said: "Mr. Messenger, you can sell the goods to our chamber of commerce. We can increase the price by another 30% from last year's market price!"

Prince Charles, who has now become Zhang Ruifeng's adviser, reminded: "Don't promise him, the auction can sell at a high price. The Dutch port was blocked by the British for several months, and the Dutch merchant ships were attacked everywhere. The British merchant ships did not do business, and all participated War. Nowadays, goods from the East are hard to buy even if you have money. These merchants are going crazy, and the whole of Europe is short of Asian goods."

  Zhang Ruifeng said with a smile: "Thank you for reminding me, I will make people prepare for the auction." Pointing to the mouth of the river and asking, "Can we reach Paris through this river?"

  Prince Charles said: "This river is the Seine, which can go straight to Paris."

  The auction is being organized. In the evening, Zhang Ruifeng called a meeting.

Zhang Ruifeng sighed and said: "This British prince in distress is not an ordinary person. He knows everything about military affairs, politics, business...and has a big picture. A coppersmith. If this person can return to the country to seize power, I am afraid that he will be a wise monarch again."

"No way," Cai Yuncheng said, "this prince is fooling around and commenting on the current situation in a joking tone. He is a little arrogant, as if everyone else is a fool except himself. If this kind of person is a king, if he is not diligent in governing and loving the people, It will bring disaster to the country and the people. Because he is too smart, wise enough to refuse remonstrance and not listen to harsh advice."

  Lu Tianxiang said: "The queen of England has revealed her intentions and wants to follow us to China. She dares to think about it and wants to ask His Majesty to send an army to help her son return."

  Fan Chao said: "Leave this matter to His Majesty, and we will bring him back to the country."

  (end of this chapter)