New Shun 1730

Even language communication is not a problem for both sides. Most of the senior officers of the Dashun fleet can speak some French. The higher the rank, the better. They were taught by their instructors.

The biggest difference may be that the two navies have different ideas and strategic significance for building the army. As a result, Dashun likes to rush to attack and hit the waterline to injure each other; France likes to find the downwind direction to run away and hit the mast.

This is determined by the geographical location and surrounding environment of the two countries. It cannot be said that France is wrong. It can only be said that this meets the actual needs of France.

However, these are all minor problems. After all, it is still Dashun's strategic thinking. It still hopes to attract more allies and attack Gibraltar first.

As long as this is decided, it will be easy to say.

Now the engineers and artillerymen are resting in Mahon first. The upper echelons are still waiting for a definite news, that is, the diplomatic situation in Spain.

The warships only slightly blockaded Gibraltar at sea, but Gibraltar is not an island, but a peninsula cape. Spain cannot be surrounded without going down.

Even if Spain is neutral, the Jews and Moors can still get enough supplies for the British garrison.

It is impossible for the navy to sail on land and pull the boats to the isthmus of the peninsula to capture Jews.

Moreover, the terrain of Gibraltar is there, and it is impossible to attack at sea. The literal translation of Gibraltar is a big rock on the cape. The whole big rock is stuck there, and the artillery can pose a great threat to warships.

Here, the diplomacy between Dashun and Spain is quite interesting.

There is a historical legacy issue here, which is the definition of "neutrality".

That is, when George Anson led the fleet to supply in Lingdingyang to attack Manila, Dashun said that it wanted to be neutral, and Britain also stood up at the time to say that this was a kind of neutrality - that is, marking out specific ports to ensure that the warring countries can supply in this specific port is also a kind of neutrality.

Now, the question is back.

Spain can certainly follow the example of the story of the Lingdingyang of the Dashun, and set Algeciras, opposite Gibraltar, as neutral.

The British said that at that time - marking out specific ports to ensure that the warring countries can resupply in these specific ports is also a kind of neutrality - so now Spain also follows the story of the past and is neutral, of course it can.

Theoretically, both the Chinese and British fleets can resupply in the specific neutral port of Algeciras. If the British don't come, don't blame Spain for not being neutral.

After all, it was explained in this way at the beginning: George Anson can resupply in Guangdong, and you Spaniards in Manila can also come to Guangzhou for resupply. Who can you blame if you don't come?

However, the significance of this kind of nonsense is mainly for the pleasure of revenge.

In other words, it is a bottom line choice for Spain not to participate in the war and remain neutral.

In fact, Dashun wanted Spain to join the war, and was not in a hurry to take Luzon. At first, they planned to let Britain occupy Luzon so that it would be convenient to seize it in the future. Who would have thought that Spain won the Jenkins Ear War and Luzon would be taken back? Britain also sneakily made an India replacement plan after Dashun went to Southeast Asia.

Now that the matter is done, we can only not be anxious for the time being, because Luzon will not fly anyway.

Therefore, it seems that the ownership of Manila is what determines Spain's attitude, at least that's what Dashun's negotiating officials think.

Macau was taken back by Dashun, India went to war, Southeast Asia was taken back long ago, Bengkulu must have fallen, and the broken fortress in East Timor can be captured by a hundred soldiers...

Now, in the Southeast Asia region, Dashun really has everything under one hand.

The Manila issue, like many things in Dashun's diplomacy, forced the other party to believe, or could only hope that Dashun would keep its promise.

Just like the Indian issue, it is a standard set of having to believe.

It's not rational belief.

But it's not okay not to believe, what can I do if I don't believe?

There is also the issue of Nanyang, which was the same at the beginning.

The Netherlands could only acquiesce and have to wishfully believe that Dashun would not go to Nanyang.

Otherwise, what else could they do?

Because if China had woken up earlier, there should not have been Westerners in places like Malacca and Malacca three hundred years ago.

The appearance of Westerners in Nanyang itself was based on the fact that the giant was asleep and would continue to sleep.

Now that it has woken up, the power in Nanyang is really a matter of hand-holding. This is an era when all countries are seriously insufficient in terms of force projection. In order to project thousands of people to the Mediterranean, the General Staff of Dashun has been preparing for nearly 20 years.

The Spanish sold their kidneys and could only hold back two battleships in the direction of Manila. In addition to wishful thinking and praying that Dashun would not be interested in Luzon, what else could they do?

Therefore, there is actually nothing to delay the negotiations between Dashun and Spain: young man, wake up. If I can't borrow your port, I can't attack Gibraltar. If I can't attack Gibraltar, I can only go home. When I bring the main force of the battleship fleet back home, with a belly full of resentment towards Spain, what do you think I can do in the South Pacific?

Now I give you a chance, will you stand on the side of Britain or me?

No neutrality.

Because of the terrain of Gibraltar, if you are neutral, it means you stand on the side of Britain. There must be a foothold for launching the attack, right? Are you asking us to attack the cliff from the sea?

If I stand on the side of Britain, you will be the first to come out. I may not be able to stain the Thames with blood, but I will still fight Luzon with my eyes closed, right? I will declare it with you when I am angry, and then go home to attack Manila to vent my anger.

Stand on our side, we can still negotiate: you see, cede Gibraltar to me, so you can take Gibraltar as a hostage, and we can take Manila as a hostage, wouldn't this ensure long-term peace between China and the West?

Even if we fall out in the future, you take back Gibraltar and we take back Luzon, you won't lose anything. Otherwise, you won't get anything, right?

You can't think that you can conquer the whole of China by sending 5,000 land troops to land as Matteo Ricci thought? Do you think it's realistic?

Dashun explained to Spain in detail: the stronger the fortress of Gibraltar, the more valuable the naval base of Dashun, and the larger the Mediterranean trade volume, the safer Manila will be.

Moreover, in fact, Gibraltar is now British, and Dashun wants to take it down from the British.

So, in fact, Spain should take the initiative to lease Ceuta in Morocco to Dashun, so that Dashun can take the initiative to build bases, station troops, and stabilize trade there.

This is equivalent to exchanging Ceuta for Manila, which is a big profit.

Otherwise, there are no hostages on both sides. Even if Dashun takes down Manila, what can you do? Think about it, is this the truth?

If you let go of Seville and Cadiz, let Dashun invest hard here, build shipyards, rent fortresses, warehouses, etc., it will actually be safer.

The more Dashun invests, the more valuable the lease is, and the safer Manila will be. This is equivalent to enhancing mutual trust between the two countries, and Dashun takes the initiative to hand over its weaknesses...

This set of standard imperialist bullshit theories makes the Spaniards feel that it is still a little reasonable.

Because Spain really has a Manila in Southeast Asia.

And the whole problem is also a historical legacy.

There is such a big monster in East Asia, and a colony like Manila should not exist. Its existence itself is a kind of accident.

Even in the original history, the productivity level of the East and the West did not open up until 1800.

At this time, when the Ottoman Empire could still beat Austria and Russia, the original colonial era pattern could be completely destroyed by purely technological means such as the central government not collapsing, spending money to train new troops, and training the navy.

Now that the Dashun Dynasty has fallen, the series of chain reactions it has triggered have forced Spain to think about it.

The current situation in Europe is that two major groups are fighting to resolve conflicts among countries.

Britain, Prussia, Hanover, Denmark. Whether Portugal joins the war depends on whether Spain joins the war.

Sweden has territorial claims over Pomerania, so it declares war on Prussia; there are conflicts between Sweden and Denmark, and there are also conflicts between Russia and Denmark, which is the conflict of Baltic trade rights laid by Liu Yu, so Sweden and Russia also declare war on Prussia and Denmark; Austria declares war on Prussia because of its core interests in Silesia.

This war was originally balanced by the British navy and Prussia's tactical genius, and no one could do anything to anyone.

Now the Dashun is in trouble, and it has taken out more than 30 battleships and a bunch of cruisers at once, and drove away the British squadron at the doorstep of Spain.

The balance of power has suddenly become unbalanced. Should Spain stand on the side and reap the fruits?

After the Dashun joined the war, the possibility of Spain joining the war has almost reached 99%. This does not require any conspiracy or diplomacy, but is just a nearly inevitable choice of interests.

In terms of religion, Spain is Catholic.

In terms of the royal family, they are all Bourbons.

In terms of territory, next to it is the coveted Portugal.

In terms of relations, the old king is gone, and Carlos III, who has just taken office, has his own personal grudges against Britain. He was stabbed by the British in the issue of the Kingdom of Sicily.

In terms of contradictions, there are colonial contradictions and trade issues between Britain and Spain, as well as the tax evasion humiliation of the South Sea Company and the smuggling issues of the Jenkins Ear War.

These things make the leaders of Spain, unless they are as crazy as Peter II, inevitably join the war.

As for the attitude of the Dashun towards Catholicism, that is not a problem.

Because Dashun was against the Roman Catholic Church, and Spain was quite dissatisfied with the Jesuits, Carlos III also intended to drive the Jesuits away.

The Jesuits were regarded as the "Ministry of Internal Affairs" of the Holy See. They were involved in all the affairs of the Holy See, and they were involved in all kinds of court conspiracies. In essence, it was a struggle between "country" and "world"; it was also a struggle between "political power" and "religious power".

It should be said that for China, the Jesuits coming to China was also a very dangerous thing. Before they showed their fangs, they gained the trust of the scholar-official class.

Although some people in later generations regarded them as treasures, in fact, if they really knew what the European Catholic countries in the 18th century were doing, they would definitely understand that the "anti-Buddhist" movement, which was taking history as a lesson, was now taking place in Europe.

And the new king of Spain, Carlos III, was the initiator of this "anti-Buddhist" movement in European Catholic countries.

When he was the king of Sicily, he reused the reformist minister Bernardo, and Bernardo's several policies were still very interesting.

One: No new temples can be built without government permission.

Second: The number of clergy will be reduced, and only 5% of the original number will be retained, and the rest will return to secular life.

Third: Marriage is a civil contract, and the church is prohibited from managing marriage issues, but marriage issues should be treated as civil issues.

Fourth: The 38 large temples with excess staffing will be abolished, and the temple land will be taken over by the government.

Five: Without the permission of the government, monks who appeal, accuse, or petition directly to the Roman Curia will be considered a crime.

Six: The king has the right to appoint monks to preside over the church, and monks who preside over the church without the king's commission are illegal.

Seven: Limit the tithe.

Eight: The church's property and land, check the land, and levy a tax at a rate of 2% and hand it over to the government.

Through these reforms, we can know what the church and the Jesuits are.

The winner of the Seven Years' War and the religious moralism that revived later were also very interesting to evaluate in the future.

The victors jointly certified Sicily's Prime Minister Bernardo, Spain's Prime Minister Count Aranda, and France's Secretary of State Choiseul as "typical representatives of tyranny."

[Their general hostility to the church stems from their determination to completely suppress human order and kindness. Their widespread influence is achieved by their high-pressure means of freedom of the church. ]

[He is a skeptic in faith and morality, and they are anti-moral because they desire universal tyranny of the country. 】

【Under this universal tyranny, human morality and freedom are gone. Under their theory of tyranny, the king should be a nominal leader, and the ministers, that is, themselves, are the masters. 】

【The reason they expelled the Jesuits was to accuse the Jesuits of "liberalism" because the Jesuits restricted their centralized tyranny. 】

【Their tyranny cleverly paved the way for the collapse of the revolution. 】

It should be said that everyone who has read history books on the Dashun side will feel an inexplicable familiarity when seeing these things - from Bernardo's Sicilian reforms; to a series of centralized measures by Choiseul, Pombal, and Aranda.

You can see the story of destroying Buddhism many years ago.

You can see that some people in the Donglin Party in the late Ming Dynasty even began to miss Zhang Juzheng's centralized mentality of suppressing all living beings.

You can see that the scholar-official group claims to be a pioneer of liberalism against the monarchy.

You can see that in the desperate dark age, some Confucians even did not hesitate to have the coexistence of kingship and hegemony, hoping that heretics like Wang Anshi and Guan Zhong would appear in the chaotic era.

And so on.

In fact, Dashun has already gone through many things.

Just like the abolition of the law of primogeniture, a revolutionary measure praised by later generations during the French Revolution and the American War of Independence, it was not highly praised in Dashun.

Because Dashun only had this law of primogeniture for titles in a small circle of aristocrats, while the vast majority of ordinary people, including large landowners, had already had a law of inheritance that all descendants could inherit.

Perhaps the only one of these evaluations that is not so ridiculous is that "their centralized power methods have caused problems with moral reform and religious education traditional stability, paving the way for the great collapse of revolution."

This is indeed true. Throwing away these broken things, controlling monks and temples, and suppressing religious power did indeed lead to a wave of earth-shaking French Revolution in Europe.

The reason why the UK also made such an evaluation is that in essence, the Anglican Church in the UK is not Calvinist Protestantism, but more like the Three-Self Patriotic Association with British characteristics. It retains the Catholic foundation, but is not controlled by the Roman Catholic Church, is self-governing, self-supporting, and self-propagating, and the political power is higher than the religious power. It is not a reformed Catholicism with a stronger flavor of retro fundamentalism.

Britain is not anti-religious, but only anti-Catholic.

In France, including Spain, Sicily, and Portugal, which are "strong fortresses of Catholicism", the people in power are precisely the Enlightenmentists, who are not only anti-Catholic, but also anti-religion itself.

Carlos III came to Spain from Sicily to inherit the Spanish throne, and Bernardo could not have followed.

But the people that Carlos III favored in Spain were probably more radical than Bernardo.

Because the person he favored was Count Aranda.

During the War of the Austrian Succession, he got separated from his troops and walked to Paris. He was a professional member of the Enlightenment circle of Voltaire, Diderot, d'Alembert and others. He was a member of the Encyclopedia School, who wanted to let human reason crush religious ignorance and support the temple of reason to replace the church.

Historically, he even opposed the encirclement of revolutionary France and the Bourbon Restoration as the Prime Minister of Spain in the Bourbon Dynasty.

Moreover, he gave a feasible plan that could leave some dignity and imperial heritage for Spain - to form the Spanish Federal Empire, to split the Kingdom of Spain, the Kingdom of Mexico, the Kingdom of Peru, and the Kingdom of Venezuela - the King of Spain was promoted to the Emperor of Spain, and the Kingdom of Mexico and other countries had their own kings, forming a federal empire similar to the vassal system.

Because after he saw the North American War of Independence, he understood that the disintegration of the colonial empire was inevitable, so it was better to make plans early and leave some heritage for Spain, rather than to lose everything in the end and retreat to the Iberian Peninsula, playing for three hundred years in vain.

So, this kind of person is considered to be more intelligent.

At this time, Dashun wanted to negotiate with people who had brains, not with a group of brainless people.

Because, people with brains meant that they knew that Spain's participation in the war was of great benefit.

Under the overall situation, we are not afraid of those with brains, but those without brains, and we even hope that everyone has brains.

Therefore, although Spain is a Catholic country and one of the pillar countries of Catholicism.

However, Dashun's attitude towards Catholicism is not an obstacle to Dashun's negotiations with Spain.

On the contrary, before the Dashun took back Macau and the Lisbon earthquake, Liu Yu's remarks that he had to criticize the Holy See in front of envoys from various countries and that he would build his own Eastern Church under the management of the Lisbon government actually brought the negotiation closer and reduced the difficulty of the negotiation.

Because Count Adarlan was also prepared to drive away the Jesuits and even leave the Holy See. And the remarks before the Dashun took back Macau undoubtedly stabbed the Holy See hard.

Because after this stab, Pope Benedict XIV was gone.

Then, the Lisbon earthquake, the Jesuits launched a large-scale attack, saying that the Lisbon earthquake was a punishment from heaven, proving that the Portuguese were not pious, which directly led to the Portuguese Prime Minister Count Pombal expelling the Jesuits and reopening the Inquisition to judge the Jesuits.

Then, because Benedict XIV was firmly opposed to the Eastern rituals being adapted to local conditions, and Dashun publicly expressed its opposition to the Holy See, the new pope could only be tougher and could not compromise.

This was also within Dashun's expectations. After so much trash talk, if the new pope compromised, he would be uneasy. In history, Clement XIV, who was forced to disband the Society of Jesus, was poisoned to death by the Jesuits. It is no secret that the Jesuits are the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Holy See, a military organization specializing in religious censorship and religious trials. It would be strange if they were not assassinated or poisoned to death if they completely banned their own business, economic sources, military organizations and assassin groups.

You can have a spy agency and a professional heresy trial. But you can't let such a spy organization do business, make money, or even build colonies. If the pope bans such an organization, can he not die?

And now, the more confrontation, the more you can't compromise, and the more you are forced to be tough, the closer it is to the total collapse of the Roman Catholic Church in the future.

The compromise of the Holy See was what Dashun, Pombal of Portugal, Choiseul of France, Bernardo of Sicily and Naples, and the top French Enlightenment leaders did not want to see.

Count Aranda himself was a member of the Enlightenment's rational worship encyclopedia school. His view on the conflict between Dashun and Catholicism was naturally that of an ally rather than an enemy.

Because Dashun expelled Catholicism and was so tough that it wanted to reorganize the New Oriental Church District under the jurisdiction of the Li government, with the Li government conferring the patriarch and following the story of the Lushun.

That's why Dashun could work closely with the eldest daughter of God and the sword of God.