Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 1465 Information Preparation ([-])

On January 1667, 1, the last day of January, Li Qing quietly returned to her room after hosting a sumptuous dinner for all the staff of the Amsterdam Mercantile Station and distributing some small gifts.

There are two Greek maids in the room who are making the mattress. They are very cute and lovely. They were given to Li Qing by his friends when he was in the Ottoman Empire. They have helped him spend a lot of lonely time these years.However, as he was getting older and unable to do what he wanted, he also had the idea of ​​sending these women away, and he had already told them that when he returned to his hometown after his term, he would give them both a considerable sum of money. Severance pay, let them find someone to marry, so as not to delay themselves.

After asking the two maids to bring him a pot of tea, he waved them away, then carefully took out some documents from the safe, and studied them carefully with the faint yellow whale oil candle.The information on the letter is very messy, with various aspects, because it involves local sources of information, which are more sensitive, so if it is not necessary, Li Qing will personally review, refine, summarize, and summarize by herself, so as not to have too many people handling it lead to disclosure.

The first news came from Italy. Louis XIV, the Sun King of France, was in full swing, not only in the military and fame, but also in the academic and cultural fields.In 1663, at the behest of Louis, Colbert gave Arach, the director of the library of the Vatican, Graniaci, the minister of state of the Duke of Modena, Vociu, the historian of the United Provinces, the famous mathematician Huygens, and even Solicitation letters and grants from several professors in Altoff and Helmstedt, cities that the French are not very familiar with (Louis said in the letter that although he is not their monarch, please agree that he is their patron) After that, they continued to recruit talents all over Europe in the past two years, and the intensity was quite strong.

Louis XIV’s behavior of sprinkling money has aroused great repercussions, and put these scholars or artist monarchs (generally the main investors) in an embarrassing situation. I believe that if these scholars in the future Although France cannot guarantee that it will benefit from any research results, it is believed that there are some benefits.As for those artists, they will naturally repay their investors with poetry, drama or painting, so that the reputation of Louis and France may rise to a new height.

The second message came from London, and was revealed by an English and Italian businessman who knew the East Coast.The news is mainly related to the Black Death in London. The news said that the resurgence of the Black Death has caused a huge panic in London. The epidemic spread extremely rapidly, and the number of dead is increasing. Craftsmen working in St. Vedust parish, and they are an important link in the British shipbuilding industry chain.

The person who wrote the letter said that as some shipbuilders and other craftsmen died of illness or fled, the British who had just gained the upper hand in the naval battle with the United Provinces might encounter some troubles, that is, their methods of repairing ships and recruiting personnel The advantage will be weakened a lot, and may even drop to the same level as the Dutch, which is very unfavorable to them.You must know that repairing ships with fast speed and good quality may mean that you have more ships than others during the war. Originally, the United Kingdom relied on its strong industrial strength to take advantage of this aspect, so that it was against the Netherlands on the battlefield. prevailed.

But once the Black Death breaks out, the problem will be serious. I don't know how much success the British will have left.Anyway, their opponent, the United Provinces, has always been a "recharge player". Although the plague has also hit the country, and tens of thousands of people have died, but they are rich and powerful, and they can still buy ships, guns, supplies, and even purchases from foreign countries. People, this may allow them to gradually reverse their disadvantages in this naval battle that has gradually become a tug-of-war, and it is unknown whether they will climb back to the British in the future.

Seeing this, Li Qing also took out a local pen specially made for diplomats, dipped it in ink, and wrote a few lines of remarks behind the message.It is his habit to record events that are important and likely to have a major impact on the future situation. The Black Death that broke out in London and Amsterdam is likely to have a major impact on the ongoing war. What a qualified diplomatic officer must pay close attention to.

"...A lot of shipbuilding technicians in Amsterdam died, but there are already many shipbuilding employees in the United Provinces, and they have been transferred to surrounding areas. It is expected that there will be an impact, but it will not be great. Moreover, there are many ships, artillery, and supplies of the Dutch. The products are procured abroad, not in areas ravaged by the plague, so the losses may not be as great as imagined. As far as my observation is concerned, only the commercial circulation has been slightly affected, and the personnel and ships entering and leaving the port have been strictly controlled. It’s all about checking and restricting, which at most reduces some efficiency..."

“…London’s shipbuilding and related chains—coopers, ropes, cast-iron anchors, ballast stones, water pipes, canvas weaving, etc.—are mostly crowded in places like St. Vedas There are few dioceses such as St. Thomas and St. Thomas. Although there is no specific data on the disease attack this time, there must be a lot. The advantages of the British in ship construction and repair have been wiped out. Bristol, Portsmouth, etc. moved related industries - they must have been doing this - and there is also a small industrial base there, but chaos for months or even a year is inevitable , Many British ships returning to the factory for repair will be affected. Moreover, their sailors have also escaped a lot, and it seems that it is destined to be more difficult than before to call them to replenish the battle damage..."

In fact, in the three consecutive Anglo-Dutch naval battles in the second half of this year, the English had already gained the upper hand. They only lost less than 30 warships in the battle, but they caused the Dutch to lose 40-50 warships and personnel. Casualties are also much more than the English.In addition, they also captured and burned more than 100 merchant ships of the United Provinces, causing the Dutch to suffer a huge loss of more than 500 million guilders, which was almost half of the budget for rebuilding the navy last winter, which was extremely shocking.

But now this relatively favorable situation seems to have been reversed by the plague that has been raging for a long time, and the confidence of the British in winning this war has been seriously shaken.What's more, the Dutch's will to persist in fighting seems to be much more determined than it was more than ten years ago. Although their various losses since the start of the war, if they are all quantified in money, are almost two to three times that of the English, but who let the United Provinces How about a thick foundation?Who made them rich?If I spend money, even if two ships fight for one of you, it will be enough to kill you British, right?Unless your MPs are willing to give generously to additional funding for the Navy, which is hard, especially in this deadlock, no one wants to throw money into a bottomless pit unless they can definitely get it The war is won.

The Anglo-Dutch naval battle is related to the future direction of Europe, so Li Qing paid special attention to it. Before that, he was really worried because the performance of the British on the battlefield was really much better than that of the Dutch.But fortunately, the Dutch are rich and have a lot of money, which can continuously replenish the war damage!In addition, they also have an excellent admiral, Druiter, who is extremely good at melee combat in shallow water areas. He has never known to take advantage of the Dutch's advantages in melee and chaotic combat, and avoid an upright decisive battle with the British fleet. Therefore, Under difficult circumstances, he reversed the disadvantage of the Dutch navy alone, and even relied on his superb skills and the advantage that the British were not familiar with his tactics, and won several tactical games, which added to the confidence of the Dutch.

"Now the three-level parliament in The Hague is excited and insists on fighting, as is the public opinion from the outside world. In this way, even the Orange faction, who has always been at odds with the Republican Party, can't say anything. The United Provinces have raised taxes again this year for the war , The issuance of public debt is a good illustration of the situation. The British have never been able to compare with the United Provinces in terms of sufficient war expenses. If there is no accident, the British should not be able to spend the war first, and finally seek peace. , the situation has been settled." After writing the note, Li Qing took a sip of tea and whispered to herself softly.

After reading the news about the Anglo-Dutch war situation, Li Qing turned a page of the document in hand. What was before him was the most important news in the recent stage, and it was also the matter he had been busy with, namely, the West , News about legal relations.

In fact, news about the imminent outbreak of the French-Spanish War has spread throughout the European courts.Louis's envoys often made comments in public, pointing out that their king should enjoy "legal inheritance rights", and the Spanish Netherlands should be transferred to him and Louis as the inheritance due to Princess Teresa, otherwise They will claim their rights through war.This kind of words has undoubtedly exacerbated the tension between the two countries, and the Spaniards may not necessarily give in, just as their officials said to Li Qing: "Although Spain is weak, it also has dignity, Nannid Lan is the sacred territory under the name of King Carlos, and no one can covet it, even if he is the king of France."

Therefore, basically all countries have now understood that it is inevitable for Spain and France to fight over the inheritance of King Philip, unless the Spanish Kingdom government personally presents the Southern Netherlands before Louis launches the war of aggression, but this may Sexual infinity is approaching nothing, because the situation in Spain does not allow it.

Besides, is Louis XIV's goal really just a Southern Netherlands?I'm afraid not!Once the 20 troops really launch a war of aggression, how it will end at that time will depend on the situation on the battlefield. Which one is not Louis in the Southern Netherlands, Lorraine, Franche-Comté, and Strasbourg? Coveted for it?At that time, the fight will be smooth, and it may be possible to occupy all of them. How can this be accurate?

As the later Louis XIV wrote in his memoirs, Louis decided to launch a war of aggression against Spain by taking advantage of the death of King Philip of Spain and the convenience brought about by the Second Anglo-Dutch War. , to claim the right which should belong to me; the second is to defend Holland against England. I am glad to see that in both wars I have a good chance of making a name for myself... and I will always have to maintain a large army to fight them It is much more convenient to enter the Netherlands than to stay in the country and spend food and wages...Using the reason of fighting against the United Kingdom, I will send my troops and intelligence personnel into the Netherlands to start performing more important tasks..."

It can be seen from this that Louis XIV's attack on the Southern Netherlands was actually the first step in a series of plans. His ultimate goal is probably to completely annex the entire United Provinces and firmly hold this fat and oily land. in their own hands.Of course, this is relatively far away, but before that, it is probably not difficult to take down the southern Netherland, which has always been rich.

Therefore, in fact, the attitude of the Spaniards is really not that important now, because Louis will fight this battle anyway to achieve his ambition of annexing the Netherlands.It is estimated that the Spaniards also saw this, so they didn't say much, and started preparing for the war directly. Among them, they recruited people from the east coast of the New World to act as thugs, which was probably an important part of their war steps.As for the others, it is estimated that they are asking for help from the United Provinces, and the Spaniards can only do this. The relatives of Austria seem to have no hope for the time being, because these ungrateful bastards are also coveting the young King Carlos the throne of God, how disgusting and shameful it is!

"Then, the war is actually on the verge of breaking out. Now, let's see when the French will make a move!" Li Qing poured out some cold tea, then stood up, looking out the window where the heavy snow was falling, He breathed a sigh of relief, and muttered to himself: "The naval fleet is probably ready, right? Once the French officially declare war, the main fleet will immediately depart from the Cape Verde Islands and head north to Bilbao, Spain, and then Use this as a base to attack the French navy, block its overseas trade lines, and bombard its homeland by the way; and another partial division will also set off from Trinidad and go straight to the French colonial islands in the New World. Colonial slaves are completely messed up, look at the expressions of these guys with upturned nostrils!"

"Only in this way, the East Coast has also greatly offended the French. There is no need to think about future commercial issues. There must be no drama, and the political impact is estimated to be very bad. I wonder if the French navy will develop in the future. We won’t take revenge on the heretics on the east coast as our first goal. That would be a lot of trouble. Damn, the Spaniards dug a lot of holes for us this time, so it’s a pity that we didn’t kill them more. "Li Qing finally thought again.

(End of this chapter)