Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 1767 Trip to France and Harvest ([-])

Louis XIV's promise was, to be honest, very seductive.

Forming an alliance with a large land country with a population of more than 2000 million seems to have a lot of benefits. The first thing to bear the brunt is the predictable large consumer market, which is enough to feed many domestic enterprises and workshops on the east coast, which is of great significance.In addition, there are some diplomatic, military, and political conveniences, which are enough to benefit the people on the east coast, because when you have a powerful land power as an ally and this ally is willing to help you, many things will always appear easier Some.

Of course, everything in the world has advantages and disadvantages. After talking about the advantages, we have to face many real disadvantages.The first is also the loss of trade, that is, once the land power country and the sea power country turn against each other, the east coast that is allied with the land power country will face the risk of losing a huge commercial market. You must know that sea power countries such as the United Provinces Often has a huge commercial distribution network, which is unparalleled in France.Even if the relationship between the United Provinces and the East Coast is not good, the trade volume between the two parties has dropped to the lowest point in many years, but once they sign a peace agreement with France, the foreign enemies are gone, and the business relationship with the East Coast is gradually restored. probability event.Li Qing can tell which is more important between the markets of France and the United Provinces!

The second factor that cannot be ignored is that once a land power country becomes strong, it will pose a huge threat to all sea power countries, whether economically, politically or militarily, the threat is not small.Perhaps at this stage, the Kingdom of France is forced by the severe domestic and foreign situation, and will lower its profile to discuss cooperation with the people on the east coast. What about most of Germany?At that time, the enhanced version of the Kingdom of France (or Empire?) with a population of nearly 6000 million would still ignore you from the east coast?Well, even if they are willing to continue negotiating with you on the east coast, the French Empire, whose "bargaining power" has been greatly strengthened, must offer such harsh conditions that the people on the east coast will find it unacceptable, right?Li Qing is a traveler, and he knows a thing or two about Napoleon's so-called "Continental Blockade" plan against Britain in history. Naturally, he cannot tolerate the rise of the Kingdom of France more than 100 years earlier, and even conquer the whole of Europe. would be a huge hassle.

Therefore, combining the above points, it basically means that the people on the east coast cannot form a political or military alliance with the French, at least at this stage it seems that it is definitely not possible.On this issue, Li Qing, the plenipotentiary envoy to Europe, could even directly reject Louis XIV without reporting to the mainland, because this obviously did not conform to the consistent national policy of the East Coast.

Of course, Li Qing's words of refusal were more tactful, and the words were also very artistic, but with the IQ and experience of Louis XIV and Loire, they should understand without a doubt.Of course they were a little disappointed by this, but it was not strong, as if they had expected this a long time ago.People on the east coast should understand that even if France signed a peace agreement with the United Provinces and Austria this time, it is actually temporary. Maybe everyone has a truce for a few years, and when their strength recovers, a new round of fighting and fighting will start.At this time, it is unwise to rashly get involved in the war. It is the right choice to sit on the sidelines and wait for the best time to enter the market, just like what the British choose today, isn't it?

After both parties tacitly ended the topic that was destined to fail to reach any consensus, everyone turned the topic to the common enemy United Provinces. Strictly speaking, the United Provinces have never declared war on the East Coast, even being bullied There is no East India Company—Louis’s Minister of State, Loire, talked about the now-sensational Anglo-Dutch marriage, that is, the ruling of the United Provinces, William III, Prince of Orange, and his cousin Princess Mary, the second heir to the United Kingdom The matter of marriage.

The reason why this incident was a sensation was probably because it was a sign of the further development of the relationship between England and the United Provinces.The union of the two maritime powers, even if it is only superficial, is enough to worry the land powers, including France, and may cause even greater troubles in the expansion of the Kingdom of France in the future.

But to be honest, this kind of thing is inevitable and cannot be stopped.The most suitable marriage partner for William III is his cousin, and the Protestants in the UK are worried about the Catholicism of Charles II and his brother, the Duke of York. The combination of the third generation is welcome.

Coupled with the fact that many Dutch businessmen, artists and social elites immigrated to England during the French-Dutch War, they also welcomed William III to marry his cousin.In this way, it is not surprising that the political marriage is a happy one for the elites of both countries (the big businessmen who immigrated to England, but still have huge influence in the United Provinces) .

It is said that after Louis XIV heard that William III was married to Princess Mary, he privately told Loire and Colbert that he might have made a mistake. The Sea Coachman is one of the few countries in the world that can check and balance England's maritime power. This war was severely weakened, and then forced a lot of talents and capital to flow into the safer England, which further strengthened the country's strength. This is not a good thing for the Kingdom of France in any way.Of course, this mistake was only a small mistake in Louis's view, because seizing the lowlands is an important national policy of France, and it is completely inevitable to tear the face off with the Netherlands, and this will naturally lead to an alliance between the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. It is what it should be.

However, in the eyes of Louis XIV, this mistake may be just a "little mistake that makes him feel a little uneasy", but in the eyes of people on the east coast who can penetrate the fog of history, this is not a small mistake, but A major mistake related to the 300-year national destiny of the Kingdom of France!

Historically, the Netherlands has been involved in continuous land wars since the 17s, and the continuous outflow of talents and capital to London has led to the gradual decline of various industries that the United Provinces originally had great advantages and even monopolized. The whole country is inevitably caught in a long-term downward channel.Under such circumstances, the sea power of the United Provinces itself gradually withered, but the sea power of the British who fought against him in three Anglo-Dutch wars rose rapidly. During the War of Spanish Succession, the national power of the United Kingdom has not yet been qualitatively improved. France has won the Seven Years' War without the participation of the British; the large-scale Napoleonic War, if the English, who controlled the huge treasure house of India, did not intervene, the French People are undoubtedly the winners; so that the rise of Prussia and Germany was entirely thanks to the British, which completely plunged the French into the abyss.

It can be said that it was Louis XIV's major mistakes in dealing with the lowland areas that led to the subsequent series of events.You must know that the British in later generations have always pursued a continental balance policy, because he knew that his army was inferior to France and could not compete with them, so he simply acted as a shit stick, implemented a continental balance policy, and used Germany and Tsarist Russia to check and balance France's land power.Therefore, if King Louis XIV of France had the foresight at this time, he should know that the United Provinces must not be overly weakened, but should also implement the policy of balancing sea power, that is, find some opponents for the British who can compete with them for sea power.

For this opponent in Europe at this time, there is no doubt that only the United Provinces are the most qualified and most suitable.Think about it, whenever the French in later generations want to exert their strength on land, the British, a sea power, will always jump out at the first time, and use the huge wealth obtained from maritime trade and overseas colonies to make the French fail. Poor The French can't do anything about them, because the army can't swim.And at this time, what if there is a sea power country that can compete with the British at sea?Then don't the French have a chance!

People on the East Coast have this kind of insight, but it does not mean that the French also have this kind of insight, whether it is Louis XIV, Loire, Colbert, or the Prince of Condé, the Duke of Luxembourg (that is, Butville), Marshal Vauban and the late The Viscount Turenne, they all have historical limitations, and they are already outstanding people who can predict the direction of the next 30 to 300 years. They cannot be expected to have the ability to predict [-] years.

Of course, in this time and space, with the series of French military operations in the lowlands, the national strength of the United Provinces has been greatly violated, but this does not mean that the sea power of the English is no longer checked and balanced.Because in the far south of the New World, the navy of the East Coast Republic of China, which once defeated the Spanish and Portuguese navies and made the main French fleet shrink back to Dunkirk and dare not leave the port, is also very famous!In particular, they invest huge sums of money every year to maintain a large-scale standing army at sea, open naval schools to train professional officers, and constantly apply the latest military, mechanical and navigation technology to the fleet, making this country's navy extremely elite, although the scale may not be large. It's big, but its strength really shouldn't be underestimated. At critical moments, it can threaten the English dream of sea power.

Therefore, when the British use their maritime advantages to continuously strangle France's overseas interests, then use Germany to threaten their homeland, and use Tsarist Russia to check and balance Germany, the entry of the people on the east coast can instantly make the game of the British impossible. Go down, because the people on the east coast themselves are the biggest sea power, how can you british people jump around?Maybe at that time, the European countries will become the backing of the British and help the British challenge the maritime hegemony on the east coast?This is all uncertain, and there is a high probability that it will become a reality, provided that the people on the east coast monopolize the maritime interests of the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean.

Of course, the above are still far away, and they are all strategies for the next few decades or even a hundred years. In the near future, the French may gradually feel the trouble caused by over-weakening the strength of the sea coachmen. They will come to the door and ask the east coast to help them fight the British navy. Whether it is ship technology or directly inviting the east coast to join the war, it is very likely to happen.And at that time, if you don't cut a few catties from the French, you won't be from the East Coast!Moreover, presumably the expressions on the faces of the British people at that time will also be very exciting, I still look forward to it when I think about it.

Within a week after the banquet, Li Qing, the special envoy to Europe, led Lin Dingzhi, and re-signed a series of economic and trade agreements with the French, which involved textiles, arms, chemical products, hardware products, medicines and tropical commodities. Hundreds of commodities can be described as magnificent.As compensation, the Huaiyuan Island of the people on the east coast will provide various commodities to the French Saint Christopher, Martinique, Guadeloupe, and St. Lucia at a par price; at the same time, if the French need it, the people on the east coast will The Caribbean shipping company is also obliged to send at least two ships a year full of various designated commodities to the north to provide various supplies for the French Acadia colony; finally, if the French colonial army on the Caribbean islands is defeated and has to retreat Finally, the east coast people must also provide them with a place of refuge.

The above-mentioned agreements are basically an upgraded and enhanced version of some agreements reached between the former ambassador to Paris Lin Dingzhi and the French. They were once suspended due to some factors, and they were simply re-concluded this time.And this kind of interaction between the East Bank and the French is obviously a prelude to strengthening bilateral relations. It is hard to say how far it will develop in the future.The British, Dutch, and even Spain will surely learn about these interactions between the East and France in the not-too-distant future. It can be seen.

But what is certain is that people on the east coast now have their own considerations for global interests, which policy to implement in which place, which country to get close to, and which country to stay away from, basically have a comprehensive consideration, which is far stronger than A place in the European countries.Those old European aristocrats may have a clear understanding of how to do things on their own one-third of an acre of land, but once their vision expands to the world, they will be powerless.The ones with a truly international perspective are actually those countries with a maritime tradition—more precisely, England and the United Provinces—and the people on the east coast basically have a basic strategy to deal with them. The measures to improve relations with the Kingdom of France are actually an important part of the future strategy.

The British have mixed the European countries into their balanced national policy. How can they know that the East Coast can't also mix Britain and the European countries into a balanced national policy?In terms of shit-stirring skills, people from the east coast who have the golden finger to see through the fog of history are the only ones.And the power of this golden finger is far stronger than any black technology golden finger, and its influence is also far-reaching. It may be doomed to the fate of hundreds of millions of people in the next 200 years.

(End of this chapter)