Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 1996 The Ambitions of the Land Power Nation

"The ambition of the French must be curbed, it must be!" On October 1687, 10, a policy debate was being held in the London Iron Mansion and the Chinese East Coast Republic's embassy in England.Both sides of the debate are staff with certain positions in embassies and commercial stations, and the main body is the East Coast's policy towards the European continent and the Kingdom of France in the next stage.

Undoubtedly, in today's China East Coast Republic, although the idea of ​​containing the mainland powers has prevailed, there are still some people who will put forward other political ideas, such as development and Ottoman, Russia, France, India, Qing Dynasty, Shunguo Good relations with major countries including China, expanding trade volume, and promoting the prosperity of domestic industry and commerce.Generally speaking, these people are mainly big businessmen, but there is also a considerable political force behind them, so the voice has always existed for many years.

Take France as an example. Since the country was sanctioned by the United Provinces and its trade fell into a slump, they negotiated with Lin Dingzhi, the ambassador to Paris on the East Coast, and finally reached an agreement to reduce import tariffs on some commodities and promote trade between the two countries.In order to repay the friendly gesture of the French and firmly bind the largest single market in Europe, the East Coast people also exported some steam equipment to France to help them improve their backward industrial production facilities, such as steam flour production lines etc.

This kind of export of controlled goods is the first time it is said, but the effect is very good, at least in the eyes of many people who are deeply involved in overseas trade.The French are also very excited about obtaining a steam engine that is comparable to (or even better than) the British. The British have studied it for many years before them and invested more, but the French rely on imports from China to obtain it in one step. With a device of this level, it is indeed something to be happy about.

Of course, the British also mocked the French for their sweet dreams. The steam engine production line sold to them by the people on the east coast is better than that of the British, with higher quality, lifespan, and reliability, but so what?This level of equipment cannot be replicated at the level of the French—at least not at the same level—but the British can infinitely replicate their own steam engines and other equipment, which can be said to have independent core technology. It is clear at a glance which is higher and which is lower.

But in any case, this competition between Britain and France still reflects their desire for new technologies and their admiration for advanced productivity.Therefore, quite a few people in the East Coast pointed out that this kind of behavior of exporting cutting-edge technology to European countries without authorization is a "wrong behavior" that must be strictly prohibited.Even if France's neighbor England has already practically used these steam engines and widely used them in industry, the east coast should not export such equipment for so-called commercial interests, which will increase the degree of domestic mechanized production.The reason is very simple, that is, once the European countries use steam engines on a large scale (this trend is already obvious), then their production efficiency will definitely increase, and the cost of many industrial products will also drop, and the goods on the east coast will naturally increase. get hit.

Someone in the Founders Council asked, who approved this blatant act of endorsing the enemy?Do the bureaucrats of the Ministry of Science and Technology still have points in their hearts?Abandoning principles just for the sake of some commercial interests, can any cat or dog be a state official now?Members of Parliament who agreed with this behavior laughed and said that now the steam engines made by the English have appeared in mines and logging fields in Sweden and North Germany, making huge profits and the additional commercial benefits brought about by them. People turn a blind eye to this, but always complain that the Ministry of Industry and Commerce cannot open up more markets. Isn't this ridiculous?

Most of these people are large trading companies or export-oriented companies. They are very excited about the reopening of the market in France, a large country with a population of more than 2000 million. Therefore, they look down on those who they call "conservatives" and feel that these people The melon seeds in the head are full of water, and the changes in the international situation are completely invisible.Because according to their theory, the overseas colonies on the east coast should not get steam engines, and everyone has closed their doors.They are completely unaware that the correct approach is to constantly innovate, improve their own technology, manufacture more advanced machinery and equipment, and then throw out the antique goods that are several generations behind, suppress other people's related industries, and grab excess profits.

The melee between these two trends of thought has now continued to the interior of the London embassy.Many people here have lived in England for a long time, and they have a better understanding of everything that has happened in this country. They are very clear about how far the British have reached in the application of steam engines, and they know that the British have begun to try to imitate primitive and crude trains, and how Bring the steam engine on board.Although such attempts have ended in failure so far (the main reason is that other industries have not provided support), but their efforts speak for themselves, that is, their yearning for new technologies and new productivity.

The Kingdom of France and England are only separated by a shallow strait, and many news will reach London in a short time. Therefore, the staff of the Iron Mansion are also very clear about what happened on the other side of the strait.They know that this country has a large population, and they also know that its productivity level is above the middle in Europe. They know that this country is ruled by a proud, conceited, and warlike king. Many surrounding countries are so afraid of France that they have to Do not join forces against this mortal menace of the behemoth.

Some diplomats believe that it is necessary to unite with other European countries and make every effort to curb French ambitions and prevent them from annexing the Lowlands, the Rhine Valley, the northern Italian city-states, and the Iberian Peninsula, otherwise the country will grow into a A freak, a country with a large population, well-developed commerce, and a powerful navy and army. This is very detrimental to the interests of people on the east coast in Europe, especially in the Mediterranean.Therefore, the domestic export of steam engines and some civilian product production lines to France is a desperate act. Although it has gained a part of the market and earned a trade surplus of 80 million yuan per year, in the long run it is not worth the loss and must be stopped immediately.

They even pointed out that after years of continuous development, the naval power of the Kingdom of France has reached a very good level. The combined two fleets are no less inferior to those of the United Provinces or England, at least in terms of the number of warships and tonnage. An old naval power.Although it is generally believed that the French Navy is still far behind in terms of personnel quality and strategy and tactics, the tonnage of the fleet is actually there, and it is indeed a big threat.The blockade of the coastline of the Republic of Genoa a few years ago is a clear proof of its naval ambitions. People on the east coast should not let it go, but should take the initiative to intervene and cooperate with the United Provinces and England to jointly suppress the ambitions of the French and maintain The established order of Europe.

In contrast to them, there are also some manpower who support strengthening ties with France.Their reasons are very good. The French market is unparalleled and coveted. Only a part of it has been opened up now. If they are persuaded to open up further in the future, the business circles of the East Coast Republic will gain greater benefits. This is good for the country. Both finance and people's lives have very positive promotion significance.On the other hand, the United Provinces, ever since William III took power, has been relatively indifferent to the East Bank, and has also strongly suppressed the republican MPs headed by Van Boiningen funded by the East Coasters (sometimes even using dirty political assassination methods), a large number of It is abhorrent to import British and North German goods to compete with the East Coast, so there is no need to be hot-faced and cold-ass, and it is more important to focus on the interests of the French market.

Cai Shengguo, the East Coast ambassador to England (and also a popular candidate for the next special envoy to Europe), is inclined towards the former, that is, to adhere to the strategy formulated by the older generation of diplomats, to contain all land powers that may rise, and to ensure The interests of the East Coast Republic of China are biased toward sea power.Moreover, the current diplomacy is generally dominated by the containment faction, rather than the cooperative faction that focuses on commercial interests, so he is still able to control the diplomatic thinking of the Iron Mansion with ease, even if there are occasional disagreements internally, he can easily Suppress it.

"Because of the cowardice of the Spaniards, the French have tasted the sweetness in the lowlands. Now they have turned their evil eyes to the Rhine River Basin. Louis XIV coveted the German princes on the east bank of the Rhine River very much, and wanted to annex them into the Kingdom of France Then hurry up. And now is a very good opportunity for them. The co-lord of the German princes, Leopold of the Kingdom of Austria, is busy with the war in the Balkans, and most of the troops are involved there. It is impossible to deal with two fronts at the same time. We are worried that it will be difficult to curb the French ambitions with a United Province alone. We must find a way to unite more forces and let them fight the French, so as to maintain the balance of power in the European continent. A senior intelligence officer patted the table vigorously and said: "Louis XIV is very jealous of Leopold's great reputation for fighting the heretics, so the possibility of doing something against the Holy Roman Empire is very high. We You must keep your spirits up, otherwise no one will be able to hold back the runaway wild horse of France."

"Analyst Huang, don't forget that our people are still trying to contain the Russians in the Black Sea. Do you think our strength in Europe is enough to contain the ambitions of two land powers at the same time? You probably don't know that we are trying to contain the Russians' ambitions." And how much did it cost? Captain Mao took more than 5000 people to the Black Sea. The daily consumption is not a small amount. Do you think the Ottoman Empire and the Crimean Khanate will pay for us? Yes, no Wrong, the Black Sea trade is very important to us, and the annual profits are very large, but we have invested a lot of money, haven’t we? Once Ukraine is disrupted, the order collapses, and then the Russian Empire is evil, the Black Sea trade income is afraid. Should it be greatly reduced?" A business representative stood up and objected: "It is conceivable that regardless of whether the Russians win or lose, the Black Sea trade will be semi-paralyzed for a period of time after the war, and the sharp drop in income is a big deal. Probability event. And what are you doing now? Want to destroy our other important market in Europe, the Kingdom of France, for some unreasonable reasons? Have you intelligence agents and militants ever considered it from an economic point of view? Question? Know how our diplomatic, commercial, intelligence and military establishments in Europe are still functioning after losing two important sources of trade profits in a row? Is it completely funded by local funding? Sorry, after the collapse of trade, there is not much money in the local It is unacceptable for us to come to support us and possibly criticize our work instead."

"I'm afraid you don't know yet, right? According to the latest news we have received, the Russians were defeated outside the city of Azov, 15 troops collapsed, the Black Sea trade crisis has been resolved, and the local order should be restored as soon as possible. Now we can The eyes turned to France. This is a grand strategy that concerns a century. It is too superficial to focus on the immediate interests. You business representatives are too young, too naive, and sometimes even naive. It's not good! It's very bad!" Analyst Huang lit a pipe, and under Cai Shengguo's encouraging eyes, he said leisurely: "How can we just calculate economic accounts when it comes to curbing land power countries? The French Everyone knows their ambitions, and they must be curbed! You don’t have to struggle too much. Basically, the current local tone has been set, which is to support England, the United Provinces, Spain, Austria and other countries to form a big alliance to contain France. Kingdom, dispel the aggressive ambitions of the French and maintain the relative balance of power in the European continent. And only by maintaining the balance of power in the European continent can these European guys have no intention of colonizing overseas. This is the greatest interest of our country, not just staring at the eyes Xiao Zhang, you have only been a business representative for a few years, so why bother to speak for those traders? Our Great East Bank has been established for more than 50 years, and some small groups only focus on their own business. It is already not in line with the interests of the country. The executive committee members are wise and powerful, and they will clean up this unhealthy trend sooner or later. I think you'd better think about it carefully. Is the national interest or the interests of some small groups more important?"

Analyst Huang's words were actually a little heavy, and the young business representative Xiao Zhang's face turned red and white, which was very embarrassing.Ambassador Cai Shengguo watched everyone's debate with great interest, and did not stop him. It seems that he wanted Analyst Huang to explain some things clearly and thoroughly, so as to unify the thinking of the entire Iron Mansion and lay a solid foundation for the next one or two years. Years of work to lay a solid foundation - in the future, once the French cross the red line and want to annex more German, Italian or even Spanish lands, then the East Coast Ren will definitely not sit idly by, at least they will dispatch the navy to intervene. It will be time to coordinate interests with the Kingdom of England, which is the job of their Iron Mansion.

Of course, the people on the east coast will only dispatch the navy to intervene.As far as the strength of the Portuguese garrison is concerned, it is not enough for the more than 20 French troops to fill their teeth.What's more, it might be more useful for those of them to stay in the Don River and the North Caucasus region, and to serve the interests of the republic on the east bank, instead of rushing into the French battlefield and then being exhausted in an ordinary battle Do, that would be such a pity!

"The ambition of the Russians to conquer Ukraine has been fought back by us, and the ambition of the French to conquer Italy or Spain will also be fought back. Don't care about those pots and pans (loss of commercial interests), France is a market, but Italy and Spain are not markets. Not to mention that we have been friends with Spain and Italy for so many years, and we cannot just sit back and watch them get into trouble from an international moral point of view, so once the French cross the red line and launch a large-scale war of aggression, we must intervene, just like a few years Just as we decisively intervened in the blockade of Genoa by the French Eastern Fleet before, that incident won our country an excellent reputation in Italy, and made more and more states willing to cooperate with us. We must also take these into consideration Moral factors. The ambition of the French must be curbed. This is my point of view. It is also the point of view of Special Envoy Gao and the point of view of the local Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Please remember!” Standing up, he said to everyone: "I have received news that the Ministry of the Navy has once again strengthened the strength of the Cape Verde squadron. At the end of this year, some of them should be diverted to Portugal. Everyone should be very clear about the determination of the mainland. Right? Are you stupid to talk about the market and commercial interests at this time?"

(End of this chapter)