Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 1167 A Quiet Change ([-])

While John Hill and others were discussing matters concerning the East Coast in London, Zheng Yong, the plenipotentiary special envoy of the East Coast Republic of China, was having secret talks with several special guests in the city of Amsterdam across the strait.

The venue for the meeting was neither in any public place nor in the relatively crowded East Coast commercial station, but in a small house that was indirectly bought by the East Coast people—it was disguised as a shop dealing in Italian cheese ——It shows the degree of secrecy of this matter.

One side of the talks was the East Coast diplomats headed by Zheng Yong, and the other side was representatives from the English military. To be precise, it was Captain James, Cromwell's deputy and the personal representative of the famous Major General Lambert.Therefore, you can tell from the sensitive identities of the two parties in the meeting that this kind of collusion in private cannot be announced to the public at all, because no one can bear the consequences of leaking secrets.

At this time, the talks between the two sides have been going on for half an hour, but judging from their cautious language, both Captain James and Zheng Yong have doubts about each other.Zheng Yong, in particular, was very skeptical about the motives of a die-hard republican soldier like Captain James, so he kept probing.

"Captain James, you said earlier that some large wholesalers in London are stepping up their conspiracy. They want to control the situation in England after the death of the Lord Protector, want to overthrow the existing republican government, and even want to send the royalists in exile overseas Please go back to the country to restore the monarchy?" Zheng Yong rubbed the lid of the teapot in his hand and asked softly, and finally he made another comment: "As one of the few republics in the world, the East China Republic understands you very well. I am also very disappointed in letting the corrupt and incompetent nobles once again rule the people of England. Captain James, you and Major General Lambert's lofty ideals are admirable, so what can we do? You, what price can you pay? ?”

Captain James did not answer Zheng Yong's words directly. He seemed to be in a certain mood, and he kept talking about something in a deep voice: "I was born in a farmer's family in Oxford. I have three brothers and sisters. We have always been close to each other. Poverty, if not for that war, maybe I think I will be like this all my life. Fortunately, I met Major General Lambert and the Lord Protector, and then I joined the Model Army, and my fate has been greatly improved. A big change. Major General Lambert is a good man. His father was a judge in a court in Yorkshire, so he received a certain degree of education since he was a child. He taught us to read, to believe in God, to teach us to help each other, Teach us how to understand the world, most importantly, he sympathizes with us, hates the nobility, and firmly believes in the republic system..."

"Do you know Thompson of Maurice Stone Tucker? During the war with the Netherlands, he did nothing, and at one point blamed the government for the war that caused his two transport ships to be captured by the Netherlands. When the captured Dutch ships were auctioned at a low price, he bribed the judge and got [-] ships for almost nothing. The survivors of the soldiers who fought with the Dutch in the Strait of Dover to the last moment are still receiving meager pensions King was struggling to get by, but Maurice Thompson stole thousands of pounds of wealth with his shamelessness and sleight of hand. The children's military families live well. It would be a disaster for all if the Lord Protector were to die and let these men take over the power of England..."

"Do you know, people from the East Coast, I once read two of your public publications from Major General Lambert, one of which is called "East Coast Review" and the other is called "Minsheng". Major General Lambert said his eyes watered the first time he read it, and he recalled his father trying to get him an education , had to spend a huge fortune of hundreds of pounds to give him the opportunity to study in London. He believes that the wealth of the country can no longer be stolen by nobles and wealthy businessmen, and should be concentrated in the hands of the government just like you— —preferably a republic run by soldiers—and then use it on everyone to the greatest extent, he wants the children of England to have the right to education..."

After listening to Captain James narrate such a long "moving and tortuous" story, Zheng Yong also wiped the corners of his eyes with a silk scarf in cooperation, and then said: "Yes, the republic system is the perfect system. It protects the rights and interests of the poor. , restricting the freedom of the rich, the republic system in England should not be overthrown, it should continue to exist, and penetrate into every corner of society - Captain James, even today when the republic has ruled England for so many years, you It should be seen that even in the capital London, it is not accepted by most people, right? The remnants of the nobility and wealthy businessmen are still stealing the wealth of the country with impunity! Therefore, you Republican soldiers should not only maintain the existence of the Republic, but also Promote the concept of republic to every corner of England, and wipe out those illegal profiteers and royalists. Only in this way, England's future will be brighter, won't it?"

Regarding Zheng Yong's "lack of level" blatant instigation, Captain James did not answer directly, but turned to another topic: "We are very worried now, because there are still a large number of unsteady officers in the Republican Army. Even In addition, there are former royalists like George Monk. Major General Lambert has never been able to understand why the Lord Protector attracted this opportunist as his confidant and gave him military power. It sounds like a joke. So, we now need help from the outside world, especially you, East Coasters, who share the same republican ideals."

In fact, for Major General Lambert, one of the most prestigious figures in the officer corps—if he hadn’t brought more than 1657 officers to oppose him in 100, Cromwell might have accepted the request of Congress to make him king—East Coaster Over the years, I have also paid attention to collecting some scattered information, and learned that this person is a hardcore republican and has a lot of supporters in the army (unlike the republicans in Congress, which are a minority, there are more officers in the army who support the republic) , advocated the restoration of the major general system, the establishment of a highly centralized central government, advocated equality, improved people's livelihood, and led England to its peak.Therefore, this is why he strongly opposed (bringing a large number of officers into Cromwell's mansion, one can imagine how shocking the Lord Protector was) Why Cromwell ascended the throne and became king, just as the so-called ideal The difference is also.

In fact, it is quite ironic to think about it. In the early days of the revolution, Cromwell believed that "a captain from a farmer who knows why he is fighting and loves the revolutionary cause is far better than a person who is called a gentleman without any advantages." Therefore, a large number of people from poor and humble backgrounds were promoted as military officers.For example, Pride who used to be a coachman, Huxon who used to be a shoemaker, and Fox who used to be a boiler worker. These people fought bravely on the battlefield and defeated the royal army mainly composed of noble officers, so they were defeated. Renwell has been promoted to colonel and major general.But as Cromwell has been in power for a long time, the rift between him and the officer corps who once sincerely supported him (which allowed him to break through many obstacles to become the Lord Protector) has become more and more obvious. The clues can be seen when Monk and his like serve as high-ranking military officers. After all, people are selfish. If he wants to be a king, he will naturally go further and further away from his old brothers.

The old brothers are concerned about Cromwell's attempt to dismantle and eliminate their "revolutionary army" (a lot of such things have been done in recent years. A large number of wealthy businessmen or elements sympathetic to the royal party have been mixed into the army, and factional strife is becoming more and more serious. The more obvious) was very dissatisfied, and Cromwell was also very worried about these major generals who came from poor backgrounds and held military power. A delicate balance has been maintained between them—but since Cromwell tried to become king (the officers believed that this was a conspiracy by wealthy members of Congress), this balance was suddenly broken, and the conflict between the two sides suddenly became fierce. Will had to make a compromise. After hesitating for a long time, he announced that he would be the second Lord Protector and refused to be the king, but have some things really returned to normal?

"Major General Lambert's idea is naturally excellent, because our East Coast Republic of China has always been committed to building a democratic and equal country, so that the people will have a good time when they are old, strong and useful, young and strong, lonely and lonely Those who are disabled can be supported (this paragraph stunned the translator on the side...). Therefore, we are willing to help friends in England who hold the same republican ideals, so now, let me know how we can help you?"

Zheng Yong estimated in his heart that although England is a republic at this time, the concept of republic has not yet been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, and the vast area except London is actually the old system. What should we do? A large number of nobles are still alive and kicking In his own territory, the emerging bourgeois upstarts are also wantonly enclosing land, artificially creating a large number of homeless peasants, and the hardship of the people's lives is much worse than before the revolution. This has aroused many people's resentment towards the republic.

Under such circumstances, although the officer corps headed by Major General Lambert has a considerable number of troops, as far as the whole of England is concerned, they are actually just a small group, and their strength is at an absolute disadvantage.As long as the emerging bourgeoisie reaches a peace with the royal party in exile (which still has a deep influence among the people) and declares that they will not be blamed for suppressing the royal party in the first place, then they will be able to defeat the forces of the major generals. After all, their army is now It is also in the midst of a de facto split. A large number of speculators control the local military power. If they really want to fight, they will definitely be at a disadvantage.Therefore, if the officer corps headed by Major General Lambert can be revived through the aid of money and weapons, and continue to be in charge of the British power after Cromwell's death, it will be more cost-effective to cause chaos and even civil war in the UK thing - it's not very likely, but it's worth a try, isn't it?Hence Zheng Yong's question just now, that is, he wanted to know Major General Lambert's appetite and what price they could pay.

"We need 100 million pounds in cash and material assistance—every year—so that we can maintain the army." Captain James responded, "If a war breaks out, we hope you can increase the assistance, otherwise we may die Falling into a passive position in the long-term tug-of-war with wealthy businessmen and the royal party, and eventually leading to failure, this is obviously a great loss to the cause of the republic."

Fuck, it’s equivalent to an aid of more than 300 million yuan a year!Zheng Yong was suddenly frightened by this number.He wanted to ask Captain James why he didn't go to the Dutch for alms, but considering the leaky situation in The Hague (Parliament and government employees openly sold government document manuscripts to foreigners), he also felt that Major General Lambert was not unreasonable. Wisdom to such an extent.However, if England falls into a long-term see-saw civil war after Cromwell's death, it is not impossible for the Dutch to contribute money to assist Major General Lambert. After all, they also have a history of assisting the Royalists in exile—although the intensity is very small.

But the figure of more than 300 million a year really made Zheng Yong a little embarrassed. He even forgot to ask the Englishmen what price they planned to pay, so he hurriedly told Captain James that the matter should be consulted and authorized by the country, and then the trip was over. talks.

(End of this chapter)