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Chapter 1421 The Ambition of Charles I
In the era when the wheels of history are rolling forward, every kingdom and empire has its own troubles, and it is impossible to predict whether their future will be the same as they imagined.

When the Mughal Empire was caught in a conspiracy for the throne, the British Kingdom on the other side of the ocean was also caught in a storm.

King Charles I of Britain announced in Whitehall, London, the preparations for the establishment of three standing infantry regiments, one standing artillery regiment, and one standing cavalry regiment, and named them the Royal Army.

The news quickly spread throughout the small British Isles, causing an uproar.

There has never been a tradition of kings maintaining a strong army when not in war, and without the approval of parliament!Where does the cost of maintaining a standing army come from?What should the army do to deal with the parliament, the gentry, and the peasants in the future?
As far as the Presbyterian Church in Scotland is concerned, Charles I's sudden preparation of a standing army may be to use force to unify the churches of the two countries.

For a while, people were in panic, and even the shrewd nobles could not see clearly what the future of England would be like.

This uneasiness about the future is fully reflected in the conversations among the teahouse nobles.

The teahouses set up by Chinese merchants in the city of London have already become the favorite gathering places of the British upper class, and drinking tea has become a symbol of upper class figures.

Tea, especially the black tea from Mount Wuyi, is sought after by the British, and is equivalent to gold!

Since Charles I announced the preparation of the Royal Army, more nobles gathered in the teahouse recently, gathered in the teahouse to discuss the right and wrong of Charles I's approach, and they often argued with each other.Maybe Chu Yun couldn't imagine the scene where almost all the people drinking tea in the teahouse were blond Britons.

"A few days ago, these nobles praised their King Charlie when the Royal Fleet's victory in the Mediterranean Sea, and now they are attacking him again not long ago." The waiter said to the shopkeeper.

"They are not fools on the wall. If you listen carefully, you will know that they did not oppose the establishment of the Royal Army because of the great victory in the Mediterranean Sea. Instead, they think that the king should obtain the consent of the parliament before deciding to establish it. Without the consent of the parliament, they will think that The king has exercised power beyond what he should have. If you do not strive for such rights, tax collection and military use will be at the king's whim." said the shopkeeper of the teahouse.

In the process of dealing with the British people, they also gradually learned about the traditions here, and they have already been able to comment on one or two things.

While Charles I was preparing for the Royal Army, Chinese businessmen stood by and watched. They came here to make money. Unless their interests were threatened, they had no reason to intervene in this matter.

An officer wearing a Chinese military uniform pushed open the door of the teahouse and walked in. The British nobleman sitting in the teahouse glanced at him before continuing his conversation.

This is a teahouse opened by Chinese merchants. Occasionally, Chinese soldiers stationed in Portsmouth stop here when they go to London to do business, so the British nobles have long been familiar with it.

"Mr. Sun, why did you arrive in London? Is there anything you need to do?" Seeing that it was Sun Chuanting, the commander of the Far West Dispatched Army, the shopkeeper of the teahouse hurriedly put down what he was doing.

After all, the Far West Expeditionary Force is an overseas garrison and is not allowed to be stationed in the city of London. Instead, it is stationed in Portsmouth Port like the Fourth Fleet.

"King Charles has something to do with our garrison, so he has to come to London City. He will probably stay in London City for a while." Sun Chuanting said.

"What is Charlie looking for from you?" the shopkeeper of the teahouse asked puzzled.

"It's nothing more than hoping that we can help him when something goes wrong. After all, he bypassed the parliament and directly announced the preparation of the Royal Army. The spoils they obtained from the Great War in the Mediterranean provided him with funds and confidence. However, he wants to maintain a The standing army depends on taxes rather than spoils of war, so it comes back to the question of whether the king has the power to levy taxes or the parliament has the power to levy taxes." Sun Chuanting said.

"Charlie took the initiative to find us as a way out, presumably because he has no confidence in his own words?" The shopkeeper of the teahouse ordered the waiter to pour tea for Sun Chuanting.

He heard a lot of stories from the British nobles in the teahouse, and he also wanted to hear the gossip about Charles I from his own mouth.

"I feel that there are five or five nobles who support and oppose him. In their view, both the king and the parliament are indispensable, but the legislative power must be in the hands of the parliament. The members of the original parliament also planned to take this opportunity to ask the king to reorganize the parliament. Otherwise, even after the establishment of the Royal Army, they will not pay taxes to maintain such a standing army. Charles is unwilling to reorganize Parliament, which will weaken his power and rule. That's why we have the current dilemma."

"Do you think the people in the parliament will completely freeze with the king, and no one will be able to step down by then?"

"Who knows, anyway, dead friends don't die poor people, we just need to stand by and watch their family affairs quietly. Unless it comes to a critical moment, we will definitely not take action, it is not in our interest."

"Sir, you are right. Our business here is so booming. If we can avoid the outbreak of war, we can make money with peace of mind. In the past, we could make a lot of money by transshipping tea from the south to the north. Now the tea Selling them to the West will make more profits, but I don’t know how long this grand situation will last.”

"Now the business has just started, and you still need to open teahouses throughout the important cities of Britain and the European continent."

"That's natural. I'm afraid that the supply of tea will not be enough. After all, the consumption of tea in our country is much higher than here. Compared with the tea consumed locally, the tea we transported by sea is a drop in the bucket. After all, Scotland and Ireland are added here. There are only a few million people, and there are hundreds of millions of people in our own country, and the consumption of tea is not at the same level."

"It is enough to sell tea to other kingdoms. It is said that there are 2000 million people in the Kingdom of France and 3000 million people in the Ottoman Empire, plus other scattered kingdoms, islands, and North Africa. It should be about the same size as the local market. Now Three important markets have been formed, the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean, and the Atlantic Ocean, all of which are markets with hundreds of millions of people. No matter which market you do well, you businessmen will be blessed when they see this opportunity.”

"Sir, what are you talking about? Although the prospects are bright, we don't have so much energy for each of us. You see, I have to work hard to improve the taste of this teahouse just to attract nobles. Consumption, and we plan to open a branch in Cambridgeshire..."

The shopkeeper of the teahouse and Sun Chuanting sat chatting together, suddenly there were noisy footsteps and voices outside, making the shopkeeper and Sun Chuanting look towards the gate involuntarily.

(End of this chapter)