Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 2036 Beihai ([-])

Heavy snow fell down one after another.Roads, villages, rivers, hills, churches, lighthouses and all artificial or natural landscapes are covered with a layer of silver-white makeup.

William III drank a cup of steaming coffee comfortably, stomped his feet lightly, and sighed contentedly.Outside the tent, the wind and snow were still howling, and large groups of soldiers were groaning in the freezing weather. They cursed the damn weather, complained about their superiors, and expected to be entertained by the local English soon. So that they can get out of the current predicament and take a good rest.

But to be honest, landing in the coast of England in such a freezing weather is not something ordinary people can bear.Just this morning, a whole regiment of infantry was stuck in the foul-smelling mud near the mouth of the Hull River.William III landed behind these people, and he was also in a mess for a time. His shoes were filled with icy muddy water, and his body was covered with snow.

William III was very fortunate at the time, fortunately, there were no enemy forces obstructing the landing site.Otherwise, based on the chaos they had when they landed, the enemy could drive them all into the sea as long as they had a well-trained army of infantry and cavalry.Of course, William III also knew that this was impossible!The vast majority of people in England are Protestants, so more than 1% of the people in the army are also Protestants. They are very dissatisfied with James II's "retrograde" religious policy, and their loyalty is pitiful.Otherwise, almost all Protestant officers would have rebelled as soon as William III landed in history.Therefore, it is really too difficult to expect that there are soldiers in England who can stand up to resist William III.In fact, even if William III came to London alone without bringing these more than [-] mercenaries, he would most likely be able to sit on the throne of the king.

The nobles and gentry of Lincolnshire, where the landing site was located, unanimously supported William III and his wife as king.Even a well-known bishop nearby drove over to visit the main businessmen, nobles and other decent people in the county, and at the same time did some military work, almost without any resistance in Lincolnshire. You can easily land and march.Even across the river, Yorkshire, which is nominally under the direct control of the royal family, completely fell to William III.The local Protestant soldiers cheered and directly tied up a few officials who were still loyal to the royal family—in fact, there were very few. Even a few Catholics in Yorkshire remained silent because of the power of the Protestants—and sent a group of An army rushed to Lincolnshire, intending to join the more than 1 mercenaries brought by William III and march to London together.

It can be seen from this that with so many people rushing to and fro, and so many Protestants welcoming them, William III landed in England and entered London with ease, without any difficulty.The current James II is probably in a state of serious panic. There are not many people available around him. Everyone looks like a mole. Things got worse.

Generally speaking, although William III suffered some hardships during the voyage and landing, compared with the strong expectation of being able to become king in London, his mood is relatively relaxed and happy.The crown of England is much more attractive than the throne of the United Provinces!William III is a man of understanding, not those fools who don't know anything. He has fought, fought, and governed the country, and he understands the difference between England and the United Provinces very well.

England is a country that controls England, Scotland, Ireland and some overseas colonies, and its total population is infinitely close to 1000 million.The domestic industry is developed, and the trade is quite good. It is a strong opponent of Dutch businessmen. On the surface, it seems that it is not as good as the United Provinces (mainly because no one has more money), but it is really not the case!The country's abundant population resources and developed industry and commerce are not comparable to the Netherlands, and these are actually the main components of national strength, not just money.

What's more, the crown of England can be hereditary.Although William III and his wife have no children now, how can they know that there will be no children in the future?It is great that children can inherit the throne and continue to be the ruler of a country, even if the power is limited to a certain extent.Compared with England's crown, the ruling position of the United Provinces is much more fucked up!

First of all, this position is even more restricted than the king of England. Many major domestic and foreign policies are dominated by the three-level parliament in The Hague, and the parliament has been fighting against William III, which annoys him. As for living in Amsterdam a lot of time, I really don't like the city of The Hague.Secondly, the position of ruling is theoretically not hereditary!Although members of the Orange family have often sat on this throne in history, this does not mean that others have not been in power.In other words, the United Provinces can theoretically be governed by rotation, which disappointed William III very much.After all, he had no confidence that the position would still be held by his son (if any) or other family members after his death.

So, in general, if you can be the king of England, a fool will be in power as the United Provinces.However, if you can hold these two positions in your hands, and one person holds the two most popular positions of the governor of the United Provinces and the king of England, then it would be great.

Obviously, William III has this idea now!So far, everything seems to be going well.

After drinking the warm coffee, King William III stood up and moved around a few times, and then had a conversation with his wife, Mary, the daughter of James II, and talked about the customs and customs of London, and then he did not stay in the tent. The army is patrolling outside.

Some English nobles nearby rushed over with their soldiers and weapons to show their loyalty to him. William III took the time to meet with them and took them to review some of the rested German mercenaries.For these small nobles in the county, William III still gave great patience.Because he understands that since he landed, there is actually no way out, so maintaining a relatively good image seems to be a necessary condition for success.You must know that these little nobles may also enter the Congress and become honorable members.If William III wants to gain a foothold in England and be a good king, it is absolutely right to have a good relationship with Congress.This point, after experiencing Charles I and James II, the father and son kings, were driven to death by Congress, William III has already deeply understood.

The nobles in England are generally more enthusiastic.Some of them even sold part of their family property and used the funds raised to hire fighters, intending to follow William III into London and bet on their future.William III heard that a large number of gentry and nobles in neighboring Yorkshire and Norfolk in the south were also forming so-called volunteers and planned to march into London together.And even some aristocrats or businessmen with poor family property and no military skills are trying to win over the local army to lay a solid foundation for William III to become king.

William III was naturally very pleased with these phenomena.The Protestants in England were too passionate, and James II was stupid enough, to make this happen.The only chance for James II to keep his power is probably to agree to the suggestion of King Louis XIV of France and invite the French army to enter England to help James II keep the throne.However, due to various considerations, James rejected this proposal twice, and finally put himself in such a predicament.

Of course, William III did not think that the French army could change the situation.England's navy is powerful. Although France has invested heavily in the navy over the years, it is still not enough to shake the strong position of the British.This has nothing to do with big ships and cannons. It is also related to the training of naval personnel, the construction of reserve echelons, and the training level of officers and soldiers.The French would only blindly build ships stupidly, but the quantity was enough, but the quality was far from enough. Therefore, William III did not think that the French army had any hope of reaching England.Or even if they land successfully, the follow-up troops will be cut off from the landing route, and the people who landed in front will send their heads.

But when it comes to asking for foreign aid, James II is stupid enough, but the annoying republicans in The Hague are much smarter.These guys did not know how they did it, but they actually connected with the pagans from the east coast of the New World in the south, and managed to get them to send a powerful fleet to the southern Netherlands, giving the current situation Many variables have been added.

In addition, these goddamn east coasters seem to have dispatched a large army unit into the provinces of Zeeland, Holland and Gelderland.The republican deputies followed these troops and kept promising to win over Dutch army officers to "betray" William III and join the republican camp, which is really terrible!

William III has already made up his mind that the United Provinces must not let it go, and must find a way to curb the momentum of the republicans.If it really doesn't work, then even if there is a danger of civil war, he will order the Dutch army loyal to him to work with the German mercenaries in Nijmegen to defeat the chaotic and improvised armed forces of the Republicans militarily and establish the overall situation.After that, he has almost secured the throne, so if he discusses it with members of Congress, maybe he can mobilize part of England's power, and then turn over to interfere in the situation in the Netherlands, and completely sweep the annoying republicans into the trash .

"It's better to go to London first to seize the throne. My poor father-in-law may not know that almost everyone around him has betrayed him, even his close friends, daughters, and favorites. His every move has someone I know that no one listens to his orders, and his future is gloomy. If I were in this position, I’m afraid I would have fought to the death.” After reviewing the troops that had already landed, William III got on his horse with high spirits thinking.

He didn't want to do anything wrong. In fact, what he wanted was the throne, not the life of James II.If possible, he is still willing to let James II and his family live.We are all relatives, so there is no need to make things too extreme. He will have to win the support of members of the royal family in the future-don't look at the fact that he is getting along well with the Congress now, but once he becomes the king of England in the future, then he will be the king of England. The so-called ass decides the head, he also wants to fight the parliament, and the support of the entire royal family is crucial at this time.

On December 1688, 12, more than 13 troops rested on the Lincolnshire landing field without delay.They braved the wind and snow all over the sky, and rushed to London day and night.Along the way, more and more British aristocrats and military officers came to take refuge after hearing the news, and the number of volunteers quickly expanded to more than 1.These people, together with the troops directly under William III, totaled more than 5000 people, and they were already a force capable of changing the situation.

On December 12, despite the impact of bad weather, the army still arrived in the suburbs of London.Upon hearing the news, King James II knew that he could not resist, so he hurried away with part of his family and property, but was betrayed by his confidant Sunderland and captured by the English Army in the suburbs of London.After William III arrived in London, he visited his father-in-law as soon as possible. At the same time, he also persuaded some other people and gave James II a boat, allowing him to leave London and England.

There is no doubt that William's approach has won praise from many people.Everyone believed that William III's tact, intelligence, determination, and kindness were the necessary conditions for a monarch, so they sang praises for William III, who had not yet formally ascended the throne and became king.So far, the situation in England has largely been fixed, and it is unlikely that there will be any more changes.James II's ship sailed into the port of Le Havre in northern France, officially stating that he had renounced the title of king of England, because no king can live and settle far from England.

The ultimate home of James II is still France.King Louis XIV of France would grant legal new status to any Catholics fleeing from England.This ambitious man will only regard James II as a rare commodity to live in, leaving a good card for future intervention in the situation in England.

In the next period of time, William III will be very busy, and will devote most of his energy to the debate and compromise with Congress.He is an outsider, and it is rare for the gentlemen in the Congress to meet a relatively weak foreign king, so how can it be possible not to limit the king's power? William III's career as the British king has only just begun so far. If If all goes well with congressional negotiations.

(End of this chapter)