1635 Han style rises again

September 1683, 10, Amsterdam.

Jose Manuel García Viscount Magalio, Spanish Minister to the Interprovincial Republic, sat on an oriental wooden chair and looked around the large reception room.It may be that in order to highlight the cultural attributes of his own country, the owner hangs a few oriental ink landscape paintings on the wall. The thickness and light blend with water, and the shape seeks the spirit. The ink rhyme can be seen in the brush. have completely different styles.

On the desktop, on the rack, and on the window sill, there are pieces of oriental porcelain with different shapes and exquisiteness.

According to Viscount Margaret's knowledge, most of the porcelain that is currently popular in European courts and many wealthy businessmen's residences comes from the trade channels of Qi State.They occupy almost all the key nodes in the entire Indian Ocean, thereby controlling the key trade routes between the East and the West, and continuously transporting countless precious porcelains to Europe, earning amazing trade profits.

Oh, by the way, as the closest partner of Qi State, the East India Company of the United Provinces also followed suit. In addition to selling a large amount of spices to the European market every year, they also obtained a large amount of porcelain, tea, Traditional oriental commodities such as silk are resold to European consumers, earning a lot of money, and have grown into the largest colonial-trading company in Europe.

Once upon a time, our Kingdom of Spain also transshipped these unique oriental commodities from the American territories to Europe through the trans-Pacific trade route, and also earned several times more profits.But time has changed. With the loss of the Philippine territory, we Spaniards have completely lost the dominance of the Eastern trade. We can only watch helplessly as the Dutch make the lucrative Eastern trade flourish. Take massive wealth.

It is a pity that our Kingdom of Spain is not only declining militarily and has been repeatedly defeated by the French, but also is declining in terms of trade and economy. Much of the merchandise trade in the homeland and American possessions was controlled by merchants from both countries.

The only thing that can support the kingdom's finances now is the continuous flow of gold and silver from the American territories.However, the various expenditures of the kingdom were too complicated and huge to improve the distressed finances of the kingdom at all. The gold and silver brought in only passed a hand in the hands of the Spaniards, and in a blink of an eye, they flowed into the hands of many creditors.

The kingdom of Spain has experienced too frequent and intensive wars. For more than 100 years, almost all the wars that broke out in Europe have involved the kingdom. From the Netherlands to Italy, from Germany to the mainland of the peninsula, and from land to sea, Spain has been involved One conflict after another devoured and consumed all the wealth the kingdom had amassed.

During these wars, the once powerful Kingdom of Spain became weaker and poorer, and lost territories one after another.

It's time to end, stop those senseless wars, and save a little life for the declining Spanish Kingdom.The greedy Louis XIV's thirst for territory seemed endless, and his coveting of Spain was even more unrestrained.

In order to compete for La Plata and Patagonia, the kingdom and Qi have been at war for seven years. Facing this maritime power in the Indian Ocean region, the kingdom's navy has become more and more difficult to deal with. In just a few years, there have been many More than forty large and small ships were sunk and injured by Qi State, causing heavy losses.

In order to make up for the lost sea power, in addition to several large shipyards in the mainland such as Guarnizo, El Ferrol, and Havana in the American territories, they have successively received orders and started to build ships. The Kingdom of Spain also entrusted Genoa, Venice and other countries built warships on behalf of them.

However, the tyrannical Louis XIV interfered in the affairs of the Republic of Genoa helping Spain build four warships.He sent at will a common nobleman as his emissary to forbid Genoa from starting work on the warships for the Kingdom of Spain, and threatened its consul, Palial Les Carlos, that if he disobeyed, he would be punished. will be severely punished.

The Genoa side immediately passed on Louis XIV's warning to the Spanish Royal Government, asking whether it could provide firm and powerful assistance when the Republic of Genoa was threatened by French force.

It is said that in order to maintain the dignity of the Kingdom of Spain, the Prime Minister of the Kingdom, the Duke of Valenzuela, has promised the Genoese that the Kingdom of Spain will abide by the treaty of friendship and cooperation between the two countries and provide them with the necessary military assistance so that they can rest assured to build the four warships commissioned by the Kingdom.

God is sorry to see that the Spaniards strengthened their maritime armed forces not against the French, but to maintain the transoceanic material transportation between the kingdom and its territories, and to defend the American territories.As for attacking France, the Spaniards, who have already been psychologically shadowed, have long since given up this unrealistic idea.

In the entire European continent, the most aggressive country is France, and their king Louis XIV is a king who likes to "make troubles" everywhere, seeking to continuously expand their French territory to all directions.The Netherlands, Germany, the Holy Roman Empire, Italy, and Spain were all wary of any move by France lest it start a new war.

Oh, by the way, more than a month ago, the world-renowned Battle of Vienna came to an end.To the horror of all European countries, this grand battle has turned into a situation where both sides suffer.Although the Ottoman Empire did not capture the city of Vienna, the armies of the Holy Roman Empire, the German states, Poland-Lithuania and other countries were also severely damaged and their strength was severely weakened.

In the early morning of September 9 (three days later than the original time and space history), when the coalition forces headed by the Duke of Lorraine arrived near Nussdorf, the Ottoman army had already begun to deploy defenses on the hills around Nussdorf.In order to compete for favorable terrain, a bloody battle soon broke out between the coalition forces and the Ottoman army.Although the defending Ottoman army was mainly drawn from the Balkan client states, it showed remarkable resilience under the command of its commander Ibrahim Bey.Facing the superior strength of the European coalition forces, they held on to Nussdorf for several hours, and even when the surrounding highlands fell, they continued to resist in the villages below.

At noon, the weak defenses in the surrounding area of ​​Nussdorf were quickly broken through by the coalition forces. Faced with the attack of the coalition forces coming from all directions, Ibrahim was forced to take the initiative to retreat with the army.Just when the battle was in turmoil, more than [-] Ottoman Sipahi elite cavalry corps suddenly launched a sudden attack on the exhausted European coalition forces.

The European coalition forces were caught off guard, and the entire army immediately fell into chaos. After suffering heavy losses, the Hannover army took the lead in fleeing the battlefield, making the situation of the coalition forces extremely dangerous and impending collapse.

The Polish army on the right flank of the coalition forces was slow to move at the beginning of the war because they had not received proper rest the previous day.It was not until [-]:[-] noon that day that we arrived in Daunbach.Due to the sparse trees in this area, both sides on the battlefield can easily recognize the distant army.The army of the Duke of Lorraine cheered ecstatically because of the arrival of reinforcements, and the chaos was contained.

The exhausted Ottomans fell into panic. Although the Ottoman army repelled the first wave of Polish cavalry at first and barely maintained the front line, their situation was far from optimistic.The Army of the Duke of Lorraine in the north, Bavaria in the northwest, and the Polish army in the west have formed a double-teaming trend against the defending Ottoman army.

At three o'clock in the afternoon, King Sobieski of Poland gathered all the cavalry of the coalition army and launched a charge of 8000 people.Among them, more than [-] Polish hussars were the vanguard. They wore heavy armor, colorful bodies, beautiful feather ornaments on their backs, and held lances four or five meters long. .

The cowardly Tatar cavalry of the Crimean Khanate did not dare to face the enemy head-on, so they turned their horses and fled towards the left flank of the battlefield.Just as the Ottoman army was penetrated in several places, the officers and soldiers of all ministries finally felt overwhelmed and were about to be defeated.The more than [-] Sipahi cavalry, who were already tired, mustered their remaining courage and launched a countercharge against the coalition cavalry under the order of the coach Ibrahim.

So far, the largest cavalry battle on the European battlefield broke out. The scene was extremely tragic. After only one encounter, the brave cavalry fell to the ground one after another, and then they were trampled by countless horseshoes, turning into pools of flesh .

The sound of horns, shouts, neighing of horses, screams, the sound of weapons being exchanged, the sound of bones being broken...the whole battlefield was clamorous, and corpses littered the field.

With their extraordinary courage, the cavalry of the European Allied Forces managed to disperse the formation of the Sipahi cavalry, but they also suffered heavy losses and failed to regroup again to attack the Ottoman army formation.After the Ottoman coach Mustafa resolutely transferred the siege Janissaries to the battlefield, the two sides had a tacit understanding to temporarily leave the battle.

In the next few days, more than a dozen small-scale battles broke out between the two sides, but they failed to repel the opponent and gain the initiative on the battlefield.

On September 9, seeing that the Ottoman army had missed the best time to conquer Vienna, they slowly withdrew from the battlefield and retreated to Hungary.The European coalition forces followed carefully, and did not return to Vienna until it was confirmed that Ottoman had completely retreated.

After the war, both sides claimed that they won the final victory, dealt a heavy blow to the other side, and consolidated their respective strategic advantages.

The Spaniards learned through Habsburg relatives that in this battle, the European coalition forces killed more than [-] people and injured [-], which can be described as extremely heavy losses.On the Ottoman side, although the loss of personnel may be slightly more than that of the coalition forces, the most elite Janissary Army of the other side has hardly suffered any losses, and all the seizures and logistical supplies have been preserved. From those slave states in the Balkans, it can be said that the Ottoman Empire still retained its basic strength.

This result is definitely a big bad news for the Spaniards.The Holy Roman Empire was beaten almost to death by Ottoman, with little power to fight again. Hanover, Lorraine, Bavaria and other states lost their troops and lost their troops, and it was difficult to recover in a short time.In this way, the military pressure on the east of France will be greatly reduced. It is foreseeable that Louis XIV will transfer more French legions from the east to the Pyrenees or the Spanish Netherlands during the next war. area.

Facing such a dangerous international situation, the Spaniards must take action to plan ahead.A month ago, Viscount Magalio had informally contacted Zhang Songhe, Qi's general representative to Europe and minister to the inter-provincial republic, through the Speaker of the Dutch Province, to discuss the possibility of a truce between the two countries.

It is gratifying that the people of Qi also showed a strong desire to end this long-lasting war.However, they were concerned about the fact that the Spaniards blatantly executed more than 200 sailors and immigrants from Qi State three years ago, and they strongly demanded an apology from the Spanish royal family and compensation.

However, in the centuries-old history of the Kingdom of Spain, it has never happened before the royal family apologized and admitted their mistakes to other countries. Moreover, this is related to the dignity and honor of the kingdom. How can the noble Habsburg royal family be allowed to apologize to other countries A New World country that has only been founded for more than [-] years bows its head and admits its mistakes?
"Your Excellency, Viscount Magalio, the Spanish royal family must make an apology and compensation to Qi. This is the prerequisite for the truce between your two countries. If this condition cannot be met, there is no point in continuing the negotiation." Zhang Songhe said very seriously.

"Mr. Minister, the royal family, as a symbol of our Kingdom of Spain, cannot be desecrated or defiled." Viscount Magalio said solemnly: "Therefore, we cannot agree to your request. However, in the name of the Prime Minister of the Kingdom, we can ask you The State of Qi made a formal apology and offered certain compensation. After all, it was an order from our Privy Council to issue the death sentence to more than 200 sailors and immigrants in your country. Although the previous prime minister, Duke Don Juan Jose, has passed away , but our current prime minister, the Duke of Valenzuela, accepts all responsibility for this."

"As far as I know, any resolution made by the Privy Council of the Kingdom of Spain needs to be signed by the king before it can come into force." Zhang Songhe said with a straight face: "Therefore, we have reason to believe that the cruel killing of more than 200 people in our country The order of the sailors and immigrants was made by His Majesty the King of your country."

"Mr. Minister, if you want to trace the source, I would like to ask, where are the destinations of the more than 200 sailors and immigrants from your country, and where is the sea area where the wreck is located?" Viscount Magalio was a little annoyed. So determined to humiliate my Spanish royal family.It is clear that the source of all affairs is not caused by your Qi country's unauthorized invasion of our kingdom's American territories?

"Don't you take it for granted that the entire American territory and surrounding waters are the existing territory and territorial waters of your Kingdom of Spain?"

"Of course!" Viscount Margaret said proudly, "The entire America and the surrounding waters are under the jurisdiction of the Kingdom of Spain."

"Not necessarily so!" Zhang Songhe smiled slightly, leaned back a little, leaned on the back of the chair, and looked at each other meaningfully, "As early as hundreds of years ago, the entire American region should have belonged to the Inca Kingdom, and the local natives who have lived there for thousands of years. And your Kingdom of Spain, is just a foreign... invader."

"..." After listening to the translation, Viscount Magalio blushed and stared at Zhang Songhe, "Our Kingdom of Spain owns the entire American territory, which was officially authorized by the Pope."

"In this way, Brazil owned by Portugal, the east coast of North America owned by England, Guyana owned by France, Suriname owned by the United Provinces, and all the islands in the Caribbean Sea should be the territory of your Kingdom of Spain? "

"..." Viscount Margaret was at a loss for words. According to the Pope's meridian drawn back then, the above-mentioned territories mentioned by the population of Qi should indeed belong to Spain.

Of course they do!
The people of Qi wanted to deprive the Kingdom of Spain of the rationality of occupying the entire American continent from a legal point of view.The Portuguese can occupy these many territories, the English can occupy them, and the French can also seek them. Why not let the Qi people "touch" them?
"...Mr. Minister, if it is possible to exempt the Spanish royal family from apologizing and admitting their mistakes, but there are other ways to make amends, and my kingdom government will definitely consider it carefully?" Viscount Magalio's tone could not help softening a bit.

You talk so much, don't you just want to occupy more territory in my American territories, but you are asking for a price!

"As I said just now, your royal family's official apology to Qi State is a prerequisite for the truce and peace talks between you and us." Zhang Songhe restrained his smile, and said solemnly again: "If this cannot be achieved, follow-up There is no possibility of further negotiations."

"..."

"Oh, by the way, if Mr. Minister gets further authorization from your king after returning home, and plans to start peace negotiations with our Qi country again, please inform us as soon as possible." Zhang Songhe saw Viscount Magalio and his party getting up and leaving , he kindly reminded: "We have received the invitation of the King of France, and we will go to Paris next month to conduct in-depth exchanges and discussions on enhancing and promoting the friendly cooperation between our two countries. Of course, it may involve Depending on the evolution and development of the European situation, we will exchange our views and views at that time."

"..." Viscount Magalio was shocked when he heard the words, glanced at Zhang Songhe, then nodded slightly, and left the living room without saying a word.