Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 2102 Europa Universalis ([-])

"Special Envoy Cai, the production and sales are booming. Congratulations." On July 1690, 7, in Amsterdam, United Provinces, East Coast Ambassador to Madrid Sheng Dehong happily said to Cai Zhenguo, the new Plenipotentiary Envoy of the East Coast Republic of China to Europe.

Cai Zhenguo took over from the position of ambassador to London to replace Gao Wengang, your country's special envoy just a month ago.If there is no accident after this gentleman returns to China, he will succeed Li Qing, who is in poor health, as the Minister of Foreign Affairs.And next year, he will probably be a member of the executive committee in charge of foreign affairs and foreign trade after the by-election, which is really enviable.

Of course Cai Zhenguo is not bad either.After working in the Iron Mansion for many years, he finally stood out among several competitors and was promoted to the hot post of plenipotentiary envoy. Since then, he has moved his office to the European continent (he did not choose Cadiz, but Amsterdam on the other side of the strait. He also serves as the ambassador to the United Provinces), and is fully responsible for the diplomacy, intelligence, commerce, immigration and many other affairs of the East Bank in Europe. He has great authority and a very high status. Many European countries depend on his face, not in general prestige.

Sheng Dehong didn't feel too much jealousy about this. After all, he came from the intelligence system, and his salary is still paid by the State Intelligence Bureau.The reason why there is an ambassadorship on his head is mainly for the convenience of handling affairs.Moreover, he will soon be transferred to Istanbul to serve as the ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, interchanging with Malati, who is currently serving as the ambassador to Austria. Much sake.

There are several other transfers similar to this one.For example, the ambassador to France, Lin Dingzhi, is about to go east to serve as the ambassador to Moscow. This is another interesting thing, because the people on the east coast are almost nakedly interfering in Russia's internal affairs, but they still maintain diplomatic relations with the people on the east coast. The Russians were surprisingly tolerant this time.Kang Youdao, the original ambassador to Russia, will pack his bags and go to Riga to serve as the person in charge of the Riga trading station, and at the same time be in charge of the foreign affairs of neighboring Courland, Poland, Sweden, Prussia and other countries.

As for the two ambassador positions in Paris and London, Xu Zhilong and Zheng Dexiang were transferred from the mainland respectively.These two are the best of the younger generation, and it's time to let them out to practice and practice. The East Coast people have always spared no effort in cultivating qualified junior talent echelon, although it seems that nepotism is still relatively serious at present.

Sheng Dehong ran to Amsterdam from Spain today, mainly to report to the new special envoy, and also to talk about the work plan for the next stage, so as to win the support of him, Mr. Cai.

What Sheng Dehong mainly wanted to talk about was the physical and mental condition of King Carlos II of Spain.Of course, before that, he had to compliment his nominal immediate boss, because he had just signed a large-scale arms purchase agreement with the Dutch to deal with the tense situation in Europe.In this way, domestic military enterprises will not have to worry about food, and they will also have enough profits to invest in the research and development of new products and new weapons, which is really gratifying.

"Hehe, in fact, Special Envoy Gao Wengang had been in contact with this before he left. After I came, I just sped it up a bit. I really dare not take credit for it, dare not take credit for it." Although Cai Zhenguo said so, he could see it. I am still very happy, because the amount of this business is not small, as much as 1000 million dong, and if it is true, his share must be indispensable, so I feel a little proud for a while.

"By the way, you just said that King Carlos II of Spain has mental problems. What is the situation?" After taking out a bottle of wine from the wine cabinet and pouring a glass for each of them, Cai Zhenguo sat down with a relaxed tone. asked.

"The queen of Carlos II died last year. She was a member of the Bourbon family. Carlos II was in a low mood and had some mental problems. According to our sources, Carlos has become more and more hysterical this year. Suspected to have auditory hallucinations, and his mental state is very unstable. We have reason to worry about his current physical condition. If he really falls down, it will be very detrimental to us." Sheng Dehong said.

"Although the power of the Spanish royal family is heavy, it can't reach the point where what they say is what they say. If Carlos is so mad that he dares to infringe on our country's interests, the other nobles probably won't agree." After thinking for a while, Cai Zhenguo said with a smile .

"But Carlos still has a lot of power, and other nobles can't form enough constraints on him. Moreover, once a person's mental state is unstable, who knows what he will do. We have to cheer up, it is impossible The words..." Sheng Dehong was used to conspiracies and tricks, so there was an "evil spirit" in his words, which made Cai Zhenguo frowned slightly.

"Don't be reckless, we haven't reached this point yet." Cai Zhenguo put down the wine glass in his hand, and said in a solemn tone: "What a big deal, as for fighting and killing? The lifeblood of Spain is in our hands, and they won't What a mess, unless the French army has reached Madrid, what will happen."

"That matter?" Sheng Dehong asked.

"Observe and observe first, and don't jump to conclusions." Cai Zhenguo said firmly: "Of course, we also have to closely observe Carlos II's physical condition. If possible, hire top doctors from China to help him check. Of course, this requires Get people’s consent in advance. In addition, Madrid’s sources of information must also be maintained, and money should be spent, and these will not be wasted. Keeping abreast of the Spanish royal family’s movements is our top priority.”

Sheng Dehong nodded silently after hearing this.Cai Zhenguo is the final speaker. It is impossible for him to bypass the special envoy to Europe to make troubles, which is not in line with the organizational principles.

"By the way, how is the domestic situation in Spain recently? I know they have officially declared war on France, but there doesn't seem to be such a tragic war breaking out in the Pyrenees." Cai Zhenguo said.

"No, of course not. In fact, the main battlefield between West and France is in the Southern Netherlands." Sheng Dehong cleared his throat and said, "Actually, the progress of the French in the Southern Netherlands is not very smooth. According to the latest According to the news, their army has been defeated by the Austrian army, although the loss is not great, but the loss of face is great."

The battle in which the Austrians defeated the French army had taken place two months earlier.On the banks of the Sambre River in the Southern Netherlands, the Austrian army led by Prince Waldeck repelled the French army led by Marshal Mier after hard work, and successfully protected the Southern Netherlands from further invasion by the enemy.

This battle broke the fear of many people about the French Army, indicating that after years of continuous learning and improvement, the gap between the Austrian Army and the French Army has been greatly narrowed, especially the bloody battle with the Ottomans on the Eastern Front for many years. The elite troops have not lost to the French front-line field troops.

After the news of the defeat of the French army at the Sambre River came back to Paris, it is said that Louis XIV was very angry and thought that Marshal Humière was very incompetent. An army re-enters the Southern Netherlands to fight the Austrians and Spaniards.Louis XIV believed that he mainly defeated Prince Waldeck, the leader of the Austrian army, and basically established the situation in the Southern Netherlands. The Spaniards were weak in combat power and their morale was low, and they did not have the courage to show their teeth to the French.

And the defeat in the southern Netherlands was not the only setback for the French in this war.In fact, in the German region, the Allied Forces of the Holy Roman Empire are slowly reversing the unfavorable situation, regaining the initiative on the battlefield bit by bit.For example, Charles V, Duke of Lorraine, who had been deprived of his homeland by Louis XIV, led his army to recover Bonn and Mainz, which ended his shameful record of consecutive defeats against the French.

The Austrian army led by Duke Charles was also mixed with the troops of some southern German princes, with a total of about 5 people.The general who once defeated the Ottoman Turks on the Eastern Front was deeply trusted by the Austrian King Leopold, and his fighting style was head-to-head dashing.In the battle of attacking Mainz, the French Marquis Yuxelles who defended the city was shrewd and capable. Only a few thousand troops continued to use firepower to kill and injure the enemy. In the end, they surrendered honorably and left. The Germans left a full 21 corpses under the city, and even more people were injured.But no matter what, in the end they took these two cities and achieved their tactical goals, although they suffered a disadvantage in terms of casualties exchange.

At present, the situation on the German battlefield has gradually stabilized. The French, who were originally in dire straits, have been contained, and some casualties have begun to occur. At the same time, some occupied cities have been lost, and the situation has become severe.Seeing this, the Dutch republican government immediately yelled hard. They raised a large sum of money, hired troops in the German region, and then continuously invested in various southern Netherlands and the Rhine River Basin. Hatred, it may not necessarily be disaster in the future.

We can't forget, of course, the anti-French celebrity William III.This guy is currently the king of England. He didn't know what method he used, but he even persuaded the rich men in Congress, made them generously donate money, allocated a large sum of money, and began to rectify the navy and army, preparing to join the anti-French campaign Go to the League and grab benefits for England.

It can be seen from this that the current situation of the French is not very good.They are threatened by the enemy in almost every direction, and the enemy's army number and economic strength exceed them, which makes it very difficult for them to achieve their goals.Therefore, Sheng Dehong, who has thoroughly studied the situation in Europe and maintained close ties with the Spanish royal family, is not worried about the Pyrenees at all. In his opinion, the French are temporarily unable to attack the Spanish mainland, and the Spaniards are also unable to push back. In the south of France, what is going on here is actually a different kind of "sit-in war", so don't worry at all.

However, considering that the French also invested an army on the Italian battlefield, considering the number and combat effectiveness of this army, if the Italians are quickly defeated, it is not ruled out that they will cross the Pyrenees and attack Spain native.Because according to intelligence, the army of the Principality of Savoy had already suffered a loss in the previous battle, losing about 2000 troops. It can be seen from this that they are not the opponents of the French, and the situation on the Italian battlefield is still very delicate.

"The French are fighting on all sides, the Southern Netherland, the Rhine, and Italy. They are so energetic." Cai Zhenguo took a sip of his wine and said with a smile: "They beat them, we just want to reap the benefits ourselves. The Italians are not in a hurry Have you ordered a batch of ordnance? Send it from other places nearby. I remember that there is a new batch of military supplies from Ceuta? Let’s ship it to the Italians for delivery, they need it urgently. Savoy is in the Italian states It can be regarded as capable of fighting, and there is nothing wrong with being armed."

"Another point is to increase publicity and let more European elites realize that the war-torn Europe is not suitable for them to carry out production and business activities. Our East Coast Republic of China has a stable political situation and a developed economy. Foreign investors and technical personnel It’s a good place for them.” Cai Zhenguo said again: “Well, this is not your job, I will specially arrange people to deal with it. The war is raging in Europe, and the people are in dire straits, but we are the ones who attract their high-end talents to immigrate. Great opportunity. Forget about the low-end ones. There are already a bunch of Caucasian slaves on the Black Sea side. It’s meaningless to add more. What’s more, the current domestic political climate is not right, and people from Catholic areas may not be willing to come, so we should handle it with caution. Bar."

Cai Zhenguo’s words actually had a hidden meaning behind them. Sheng Dehong was not a fool. After a little bit of dialing, he understood the joint, so he nodded immediately and said: "I understand how to deal with it. I will go to Italy after a while. Contact people in Genoa*, Savoy and Tuscany, and arrange some work. France attacked Savoy, and they should be scared out of their wits now. Some things were difficult to do before, but now they have to Much easier."

There will be dinners in the next two days, try to write a chapter. . . . . .

(End of this chapter)