Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 2311 Peace?Just a truce!

"Is it a historic moment? This is really ironic!" On September 1696, 9, in the shallows of Tethel Island, a man in a black dress and a top hat crumpled and tore up a ball of paper on hand. Then thrown into the sea.

He had just received the paper from a nearby boat selling melons and vegetables.The content on the paper is about the armistice negotiations that are being held at this time. It was provided by a clerk of the Dutch government bought by the people on the east coast. Buyers, people who are actually GNI officers receive.

"This is not a truce, but a truce. Hehe, after the death of the king of Spain, can these companies who sit down and talk about it really continue to have an attitude that has nothing to do with them? Is it possible?" The man in black shook his head. Shake your head.The oncoming sea breeze blew away the summer heat, making him feel comfortable in formal clothes, so he found a bench and sat down, thinking about possible changes in the future.

France has withered a lot of talent in the past decade or so.Colbert, Prince Condé, Prince Conti, Duke of Luxembourg, etc., among them were those involved in the construction of internal affairs and military generals.

Take a look at his current main minister of internal affairs, Kerber's son Baptiste is mediocre, and he can't manage the domestic industry and commerce in an orderly manner like his father.Now even Louis XIV can't tolerate him a little bit, and wants to replace him, and let the Minister of War Loire concurrently serve as the Minister of Commerce and Navigation.But Luwa's work is already very heavy. He has to take care of the logistics for the army, clean up the Protestants in the country, and clean up the nobles who oppose expansion in the country. He even has to do the invasion plan himself, so he doesn't have much energy. Take care of the rest.Moreover, it is said that he had recently fallen ill, and was so ill that the doctors were helpless, which greatly distressed Louis XIV.Because in his opinion, Loire is the most capable minister under his rule, and he can be regarded as a shrunken version of Colbert.

Finance Minister Piet has resigned because he failed to raise enough military funds during the war, which affected front-line military operations.Louis XIV needed someone as capable as Colbert was when he was in charge of the Ministry of Finance, so he picked Louis, a local aristocrat, to take over, but the effect is estimated to be limited.

Look at the generals of the army again!The Duke of Buterville, who gave the French Army the upper hand in previous wars, has passed away, and now a new generation of young people is leading the army, the fourth and fifth Princes of Conte. Their abilities are unknown, and there is no Even if their records prove themselves, they cannot gain people's trust.But so what?Now, except for the aging Marquis of Vauban, the French aristocratic generals are in short supply, and there is a shortage of talents, so they can only be used.Of course, the French army has dominated the European continent for so many years, it is impossible not to have outstanding military talents, but are they nobles?Is it royal?If not, it is difficult to have a bright future.This has been a chronic disease in Europe for thousands of years, especially in a country like France with a deep self-proclaimed background. It is unimaginable for a son of a serf to command an army of hundreds of thousands, even if this person has sufficient ability and brilliant records to prove that he can Not qualified for the post of commander-in-chief.The nobles would rather lose the war and pay compensation than let this happen.

The French economy is also in dire shape.The bad effects of the crop failures that have become accustomed to throughout Western Europe (France, the Iberian Peninsula, the Lowlands, Italy, and parts of Germany) are running deep, and large numbers of farmers are starving to death or left in a state of severe malnutrition.Due to heavy taxes imposed during the war, more than 100 rivers and roads across the country were guaranteed tolls, which made it difficult to transport grain between regions.The food in northern France, which was relatively lightly affected by the disaster, could not be transported to the south in time, and human factors amplified the impact of the disaster.All of this has caused the rapid decline of the French population. People either died of starvation or emigrated abroad. The population of the entire French Kingdom fell by a quarter, from 2300 million to less than 1700 million. The national finances were on the verge of collapse.

The venerable Archbishop of Cambrai wrote to Louis XIV himself: "Your Majesty, the person who has written this letter to you has no interest in this world, nor is it based on discouragement, ambition, or desire to confuse important affairs. He loves You don't want you to know that he found God in you... For almost 30 years your main ministers have held power and violated all the old maxims of the country and tried to increase your power. They don't talk about it anymore The state and the laws are only to the liking of the king, they consume the revenue of the state and your funds without limit. They exalt you to heaven, but cause poverty in all France; they want to exalt you above all classes in the country , as if all appendages that made you great had to be destroyed in order to make you great... They are heartless, arrogant, unjust, too brutal, they do not follow the law in their domestic affairs, they keep subjecting you to almost Idolatry-like over-appreciation, they made your name hated by the people of your neighbors...they are responsible for 20 years of bloody war, the frontiers expanded by war, all obtained illegally. The enemy you fell has only one thought : Rise up bravely and unite with one another against you...and at the same time the people whom you should love as sons, who are still so faithful to you, are dying of starvation. The soil is so uncultivable that the towns and villages The population is drastically reduced. The industry is dying, it can no longer support the workers, the commerce is destroyed, you have consumed half the wealth and sustainability of the country... The whole of France is now a huge hospital, deserted and lacking supplies The judges are exhausted and despised. There are riots, not even in your own Paris, and now you are so sad and humiliated to allow the riots to happen and grow with impunity... So far, God raised his arm to punish you, but he struck you slowly, because he had mercy on you, a king surrounded by flatterers all his life, and because your enemy was also his... Your Majesty, we look forward to you The Council of God will guide you in the right way. To save the country, you must return to the enemy as soon as possible all the spoils that you cannot keep with justice. Sire, he who tells you the truth is not against your interests. Make you aware—as God intended you—of your legitimate interests, and He will pray for you constantly."

It should be said that the Archbishop of Cambrai's personal letter played a certain role, making Louis XIV seriously think about giving up some spoils in order to end the war as soon as possible.Of course, everyone knows that maybe the bishop's letter played a role-there is no doubt that the influence of the bishop cannot be underestimated-but everyone understands that the severe harvest failure in agriculture, the endless bandit riots, and the extremely sluggish industry and commerce , the rapid accumulation of import payment arrears, and the people in exile overseas, all of these also played a very critical role. In the end, the two parties worked together to make Louis XIV finally give up the remaining illusions and make up his mind to end the war. That is why the peace negotiations being held at Riswick Castle near The Hague are nearing completion.

People on the east coast have been very active in collecting information about the warring parties over the years, especially the four key countries of France, Holland, Austria, and Britain. At least they have spent tens of thousands of dollars to buy information, so they still have a good understanding of France's current plight. Have some understanding.Especially at the beginning of this year (1696), when the French asked for a loan of 500 million yuan from the east coast, they had already seen the weakness of France. Last year, the French government received less than 9000 million livres, but pointed out that it was as high as 2.2 million.In the end, they basically rejected the loan request from the French, and only agreed to loan 70 yuan to obtain two kinds of goods to enter the French market. Apart from that, they have been sitting on the sidelines and watching the development of the situation.

France is so miserable, and other countries are not much better.Although the United Provinces have not been ravaged by war, they have paid a great economic price for arming their armies - whether their own or others' - to support their allies and win over neutral countries.At present, the total government debt of this country has exceeded 3.3 million guilders, and many economic rights and interests in the Baltic Sea have also been ceded to the United Kingdom, and many commercial interests in the Mediterranean Sea have been divided up by the British, East Coasters and re-emerging Italian businessmen.This means that the United Province is not only burdened with heavy debts at present, but its future potential is also greatly overdrawn. It is no wonder that many businessmen have immigrated to London. They have seen through the bleak future of this country.

The Austrians seized opportunities to expand in Hungary, Serbia, Bosnia, Dalmatia, and more.Because a large number of elite troops were annihilated by the French on the Western Front, and a lot of money was spent, the Austrians were unable to launch a large-scale war against the Ottoman Empire in the Balkans.From this perspective, it is unreasonable for the Turks to accuse Louis XIV of not fulfilling the alliance treaty, because they attracted 10,000+ German coalition forces and did not escape the war at all.

The only ones who made a lot of money were the English.Except for fighting against James II's army twice in Ireland and winning, the rest was to besiege the French at sea.While this also cost a fortune, it was almost nothing compared to the trade income that flourished during the war.They did not fall into a costly land war. This is the greatest luck for the English. They can calmly accept wealthy immigrants and sell everything from arms to daily necessities. The domestic industry, commerce and banking have achieved considerable development. The comprehensive strength has already ranked first in Europe-yes, it is stronger than the strength of France after the population is severely weakened.

The parties involved in the war were negotiating peace near The Hague, and the British representatives were probably the most absent-minded.Even thinking viciously, maybe they want the war to continue, because the French have shown signs of decline, Austria, Holland and other countries have more than enough defense, but not enough offense. England is at its best.

Fortunately, things did not go the way the English hoped.All parties participating in the war are still rational. Although everyone is arguing like swords and swords on specific terms, there are not many scenes of mutual compromise.In particular, the French are willing to hand over most of the "unjust" spoils, including the German territory in the Rhine Valley and some towns in the Southern Netherlands. This is their huge concession, which is enough to satisfy Austria, the Netherlands and other countries— You know, the French just occupied Barcelona a few months ago and won a victory in the Southern Netherlands, annihilating thousands of Dutch and Austrian allied forces.

From this point of view, the peace negotiations will probably be reached soon.The French urgently need to recuperate, and they have also received a small number of towns in the Southern Netherlands and the land ceded by the Principality of Savoy as rewards, which is enough to live on.The United Provinces need to restore the commercial network that was greatly damaged during the war, and the Austrians have to go back to lick their wounds, and at the same time deal with the Turks who have breathed a sigh of relief.

"So, that's why the clerk used the phrase 'historic moment' this time. Hehe, I'm still too impatient. Let's talk about it after the peace treaty is formally signed." The black-clothed intelligence officer said with a smile: "But even if A peace treaty is signed, so what? This is not a real truce, but a truce of several years. When the day when King Carlos dies, will the war resume and business as usual? Europe, there is no hope !"

(End of this chapter)