Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 2023 Backhand

272 backhand

St Thomas, London, 1688th June 6.

The secretary of Cai Zhenguo, the ambassador of the East Bank in London, secretly received a middle-aged British man here.This gentleman was an illiterate but highly skilled mechanic from Morrison Stone & Tucker, who was already a steam-engine supervisor in a lumberyard in the parish of St. Thomas.

The factory mainly produces standard panels, which are mainly used in marine, furniture and other industries.Since the main buildings in London have been mainly made of masonry, the demand for the timber industry has dropped sharply over the years, and the degree of industry integration has also deepened. A large number of companies that mainly produce steam engines have emerged. Morris, the pioneer of steam engines in England, Stone & Tucker is one of the best, although it seems that its steam engine level is still relatively low.

The mechanic named Blake in front of me is one of the mechanic responsible for managing and maintaining the steam engine in the lumber factory, and he is a relatively key member. He was developed into an informant by the people on the east coast many years ago, and secretly passed some information about the British embassy to the east coast embassy. Some information about the current commercial steam engine, so that the superior can make an accurate assessment of its overall level.

The conversation between the secretary and the mechanic has come to an end.A member of the embassy belonging to the National Intelligence Service took out two hundred shilling coins from a cowhide briefcase and handed it to the mechanic with golden eyes. The passage left—yes, the owner of the hotel we met was also a spy on the east coast.

The secretary then communicated with the two accompanying intelligence officials and felt that the meeting was very valuable.Leaving aside the development of British steam engine technology, it is very interesting to talk about the order disturbance of the timber factory under the jurisdiction of the Morris Stone Tucker Company of the British Navy Department.At first, the British Navy Department placed a large order of marine timber for this factory in the second half of last year. It is said that some warships parked in the port will be refurbished, but this order was canceled a month later. The same is the British Navy Department. under the order.

In March of this year, King James II's naval confidants came to the factory in person and requested to order a large number of shipbuilding materials including masts and ship plates (the company also operates ship trade in North America and the Baltic Sea), with a total value of more than Eighty thousand pounds is exactly the rhythm of building a large ship.However, half a month later, the British Navy canceled the order again on the grounds of insufficient funds, leaving the timber factory completely at a loss.

Cai Zhenguo's secretary knew that because of his long service in the navy, King James II of England still had some cronies in the navy system, but the navy also had a large number of officers who ended up in Congress.The two sides were originally evenly matched on the whole, but in recent years, with the division of the Congress (they have money), many navies that were originally loyal to the king have gradually fallen to the king, making the king's naval forces fall into a disadvantage. Can no longer dominate the situation.

Under such circumstances, it is not so surprising that orders are repeatedly placed and canceled, because this is not a group of people at all, but an internal struggle between two different forces.

The people on the east coast were also quite familiar with the situation in the North Sea at that time, so after thinking about it, they understood the mystery: this was probably because King James II was becoming less and less popular with members of Congress, the appropriation was decreasing day by day, and his party members were getting worse day by day. Withering, and the news that William III and his wife in the United Provinces are about to enter London are growing like weeds, so he wants to take a chance and use part of his naval power to stop the Dutch from the British Isles and enclose them. own throne.

There is no doubt that James II now had very few people to trust.Let’s not talk about the army that once killed the king (it’s not for nothing that the later British Army has not been “titled” by the royal family). Since the Cromwell era, this place has been the stronghold of republicans, and has never been interested in the king. After all, it goes back to its original source, but what about the New Model Army that defeated the king back then.James II has no foundation here. Even though he and his brother Charles II have been in business for many years and replaced many army officers who followed them in exile overseas, they have not been able to make this army obey their orders. It can only be said that they have some influence , but Congress should be far superior in this respect.

What the royal family really focuses on is actually the navy.When James II was the Duke of York, he served in the navy and participated in the Anglo-Dutch naval battle. His qualifications are quite good, and he also has some naval officers around him.But the navy has a problem, that is, it costs too much, but the royal family’s income is not very much, and the court is very expensive (James II is not very frugal), and it has to maintain the relatively poor influence in the army. Therefore, the huge investment in the navy over the years has been powerless.

The only solution for the royal family is to reform the current financial system, establish a modern tax system, and transfer as much financial power as possible to the royal family.At present, because of the great power of the Parliament in the United Kingdom, and the members are basically enlightened nobles or big capitalists, they are naturally not very active in collecting their own taxes.The current taxation in the UK is characterized by a small number of taxes, and the efficiency of collection is extremely bad. Not to mention countries like France and the United Provinces, even Italy and the North German states are not as efficient. .

The taxes that the UK collects every year are tight, apart from meeting the royal family's expenses and the country's normal expenses, let alone doing other things.Otherwise, why do you think the previous generations of English kings kept pawning royal assets (some even sold their wives' dowry) to raise funds?I really have no money!Whenever there is something wrong with the country, the king, as the head of state, can only ask the Congress to increase taxes, and at the same time ask the congressmen to "aid" a large amount of funds, which are basically temporary measures, which are completely different from the fixed tax system on the east coast. no the same.

But if you can't control the financial power, then why does your royal family control the overall situation in the country and influence the army?Do you rely on loyalty to the emperor and patriotism?When James II first came to the throne, the scene of the Duke of Monmouth's rebellion and a crowd of people watching a play is believed to be familiar to many people.With such a low level of control, it is no wonder that King James II was very worried that the throne would be taken away by William III and his wife. After all, behind them were the wealthy people with ulterior motives in Congress, and they could also borrow a considerable part of the United Provinces, which is rich in continental Europe. Resources - William III recently promised many Dutch nobles and businessmen in The Hague and Amsterdam that once he succeeds in taking control of London, he will give the Dutch who supported him "great returns beyond imagination."

To be honest, this promise is quite deceptive.You must know that businessmen have no homeland. Large wholesalers in Amsterdam can make a fortune in the Netherlands, and naturally they can immigrate to London to make a fortune.What are countries and nations?Is there a cute golden coin?Therefore, William III still attracted some Dutch businessmen to invest in him, allowing him to hire a lot of experienced soldiers in the Southern Netherland and Germany for him to drive, because ordinary Dutch soldiers seem to have no interest in their initiative to enter London. Not very cold, as their roots are in the Netherlands.But for mercenaries, there is no such problem. They only serve for money. As long as the money is sufficient, you can ask them to kill their own people.

People on the east coast are undoubtedly very worried about this.They are afraid that once William III becomes the king of England, he will control the overall situation with the support of members of Congress, and then use England's resources and influence in the United Provinces to lead to the merger of the two countries. This is absolutely unacceptable to them.Taking a step back, even if the two countries have not merged, it would also be unacceptable if William III still relies on the United Provinces as the supreme head of state and can still profoundly affect the direction of the Netherlands.

Based on this consideration, since the first half of this year (1688), they have used various channels to assist the hardcore republicans headed by Konrad Van Beuningen, allowing them to use various means to create public opinion in the country and avoid the above-mentioned evil results. .It is reported that the republicans are still doing very well. They used printing equipment imported from the east coast to secretly print many pamphlets in the southern Netherlands, and then distributed them in large quantities in major towns in the United Provinces. England colluded with various things, and then pointed out how much harm it would bring to the vast majority of businessmen in the United Provinces once he was allowed to serve as the head of state of the two countries.

I have to say that the republican faction did a pretty good job.Mobilizing the masses has always been the best way to deal with a "warlord" like William III who holds a gun.After all, his army also comes from the people. They are unable to immigrate to London like big capitalists, or even if they can immigrate, their living standards will drop sharply. Therefore, William III may damage the interests of the United Provinces to enrich the United Kingdom (almost is inevitable) very dissatisfied.

And if no one organizes them, it’s fine, but now that the old political forces such as the Republicans are contacting and organizing, then this kind of dissatisfaction is likely to be incited, which in turn will cause huge political influence.William III should also feel a little unstable now. While making various explanations, he said that he would not harm the interests of the United Provinces, and kept attracting powerful speculators or bankers. When the local army is unstable, there are still soldiers in hand.

Of course, William III was very annoyed by the republicans' move to "shake the country", and was also very dissatisfied with the new printing equipment and personnel funded by the East Coast people.He sent an army that was still loyal to his family to vigorously suppress this dangerous pamphlet within the seven provinces, but it seemed that the effect was not good. On the contrary, it aroused more opposition, and the whole Netherlands fell into chaos among.

The above-mentioned information has basically been sent to Gao Wengang, the plenipotentiary special envoy of Cadiz through various channels, for him to provide support when making decisions.Generally speaking, people on the east coast are relatively optimistic about the current situation. There were rumors about the merger of Britain and the Netherlands in the Cromwell era, but it failed. It should not succeed now.The most ideal result would be that once William III entered London, the republicans would succeed in taking power, abolish the United Provinces' ruling position, and the country would be led by the speaker of the three-level parliament again, making the United Provinces a reliable partner on the east coast again.

"The economic complementarity between the two countries is really strong. If the republicans can be put in power, this can not only inject new impetus into domestic industrial development, but also weaken the speed of British industrial and commercial development. It really kills two birds with one stone." plan." On the way back to the Iron Mansion in secret, the secretary sighed softly: "It is a pity that we are not ready to intervene with enough power in such a delicate situation. The vital Portuguese garrison But because of the Black Sea Detachment, the main force was transferred eastward, and we only have a few warships in northern Portugal. If it really comes time for us to intervene decisively, will these warships be of great use?"

To be honest, the East Coast people themselves have no answer to this question.Because even if the Portuguese garrison was not transferred, would they really have the courage to land in the Netherlands and interfere with the situation?Do you really think that those 3000 people are made of iron and have immortal bodies?Compared with this, the fact that the people on the east coast helped the Dutch republicans to print and distribute pamphlets by donating a small amount of funds, equipment and personnel is quite a bit of a big deal.

Next, what they should do is actually use similar ideas to let the Dutch republicans play their subjective initiative, leverage domestic public opinion, consolidate their own advantages, and turn the tables in one fell swoop at the final showdown.You know, in this matter, the French may also be able to provide some help.

Of course, it would be even better if the Black Sea Detachment heading east could finish the local affairs as soon as possible and return to Portugal.After all, it is hard to say when they will be used. The republicans are naturally lame in the military.

The operation of my family members was very successful, and my bed companionship was over.I will return to Shanghai tomorrow and try to update it well. Thank you for your support.

(End of this chapter)