Back to Ming Dynasty with Industrial Revolution System

Chapter 1136 The sense of crisis of the ambassadors of various countries
The feast hosted by Charles I for the Fourth Fleet and Chinese merchants who came to London City will be held in the luxurious Whitehall Palace, which has more than 1500 rooms, surpassing the Vatican, and was the largest palace in Europe before the expansion of the Palace of Versailles.

Before holding the banquet, the king had notified the famous British nobles. Many nobles arrived in London City by carriage from various counties. For a while, the streets of London City were crowded with carriages.

Li Jinde was received by Charles I when he came to London last time, and he was not surprised by similar scenes, but began to sell some of the goods he brought to British merchants.This time there are more than 20 large ships of goods, and it is not an easy task to sell all the goods.

The officers of the Fourth Fleet are not like merchants who need to deal with goods. They wander around the city of London with nothing to do, attracting the attention of many London citizens.

"It's unbelievable. Why can there be such a big difference in appearance between people?" The officers of the Fourth Fleet saw that most of the citizens on the street were blond and blue-eyed. They were very conspicuous in the city of London. Everywhere attracted many people to stop and watch.

"I don't know if there are any rare and exotic beasts in the banquet held by their king for us. I heard that their king has issued a notice to all the prefectures and counties to let the idle nobles come to London to participate in the banquet."

"Maybe they can eat something different. But they don't have a decent standing army here, only the security town guards. It seems that soldiers are recruited from the whole country when it's time for war. The combat effectiveness of such an army is too poor."

After the officers of the Fourth Fleet observed here, they found that the king here did not have any decent army. On the contrary, the power of private landlords and citizens was relatively strong, and the militiamen of the City of London also relied on the finances of the City of London to support them.

"Once the citizens rebel, it is very likely that they will form an army on their own to attack the king..." Ruan Youjin and Ruan Youyi, who were born in the Annan area, do not understand the complicated relationship between British citizens and the king.

From the perspective of the centralized kingdoms in the East, everything should be arranged by the government, and the emperor or king will have a powerful army to maintain their rule.At this time, the king of Britain does not have a trustworthy standing army, which is undoubtedly very useless.

"It is said that the purpose of the local king's levy of new taxes and wars is to convene a parliament to get the consent of the gentry and nobles. It may have something to do with the fact that the king does not have a standing army, otherwise the king can use force to make them submit." Arriving in London Before entering the city, some military officers had already done their homework in advance and had some understanding of the situation here.

"It's hard to say whether it's a good thing or a bad thing." Everyone didn't understand this kind of rule, and they didn't know the history of the struggle between the British monarchy and the parliament, so they couldn't draw a conclusion.

The officers of the Fourth Fleet, with their distinctive looks and clothes, inspected the local customs and armaments in the city of London. Every move of their group also fell into the eyes of nobles with military ranks.

They are quite envious of the richness of the East and the formation of the standing army. Now the militiamen in Britain have all kinds of weapons and clothing, and they will only temporarily form an army when they are mobilized during the war.This model has been followed since the Middle Ages. The king just relied on his territory and did not have enough money to support an army enough to launch a national war. During the war, he summoned the feudal lords and knights to improvise an army and go to war.

Among them, King Charles was the most envious. He was very eager to establish a standing army loyal to the king to consolidate the kingship.

King Charles suddenly announced a banquet to entertain guests from the East, and called China a "reliable ally". This matter quickly spread to all parties, not only the counties of Britain, but also the European continent across the English Channel.The news of the alliance between Britain and the ancient eastern powers came from businessmen from various countries who came to Britain for trade and ambassadors sent by various countries to Britain.

The French ambassador to Britain was the first to send news to the mainland that Charles I's wife, Maria, was the younger sister of the current French emperor, Louis XIII.

"The King of Britain and the rulers of China seem to have reached an unknown treaty to expand Britain's influence in Europe. We should be wary of their rise. The Chinese sent a powerful fleet to the Thames River. I don't know if they will fight with Britain. If they unite, what is the purpose?" In a secret letter to Emperor Louis XIII, the French ambassador emphasized that Britain might become another powerful kingdom after the rise of the Netherlands.

At this time, France was preparing to send troops to compete with the Habsburg dynasty for hegemony in the European continent, and France's naval power had begun to build.If nothing else, France will be able to dominate the European continent in 30 years and become the Sun King Louis XIV.

However, the arrival of the Huaxia Fleet seems to have begun to affect the normal historical trend.

"There is an extra naval force and a country's merchant ships in the English Channel. They will compete with us for the sea. I really don't understand why the British king would choose to cooperate with the Easterners. Perhaps the tyrant Charlie has obtained a lot of benefits from the other party... ...The Orientals have robbed us of the Spice Islands in the Netherlands, so that our East India Company has to pay high spice taxes to each other, and the profits have shrunk greatly. With the arrival of their merchants, our profits from the spice trade will be even greater Low... Their arrival may destroy our business, they have a large population, like locusts, and ordinary trade may not be able to satisfy their appetite..."

The Dutch merchants in the city of London also quickly wrote the news into letters and sent them to the governor of the Federal Republic of the Netherlands, expressing their panic about the arrival of the Chinese.In particular, the Dutch East India Company was expelled from the Spice Islands, which made the Netherlands brood over this matter and regard the Chinese as enemies and scourges.It should have been the era of "sea coachmen", but before Britain and France challenged their maritime supremacy, the Chinese fleet slapped them in the Spice Islands, which shamed the United Provinces of the Netherlands.

"The fleet of the Chinese who robbed us of Manila and Malacca entered the English Channel and collaborated with the British pirates. Our Spanish Empire must reconsider the matter of sending troops to France with the Holy Roman Empire. We should consider treating the Dutch and the British as For the enemy, strengthen the strength of the Armada, and control the oceans to obtain the greatest benefits..." The Spanish ambassador sent a secret letter to the Spanish emperor.

The situation of the 30-year war in Europe has undergone a huge turning point because of this news.

(End of this chapter)