Although Tromp led the fleet into the Thames River and sank the excess British warships that he had lost, he still could not force Cromwell to admit defeat.
The only good news for the Netherlands is that both Cromwell and Mazarin's health is running out, and they may be running out of fuel in the next few years...
It was a happy event to be able to survive two opponents. After all, his successor would not have such a powerful ability.
Even in France, Mazarin's ability was not as good as Richelieu. France only benefited from its alliance with the Ming Empire.
They captured the Spanish Netherlands and also occupied the northern part of the Apennine Peninsula. Apart from the Rhineland that had not yet been acquired, they were able to obtain two of the three pieces of land.
It is said that Louis XIV will personally take power in the future, but before the old minister has died, he still has to save some face.
Tromp and the deacon William II were worried that with the death of Mazarin, the young and vigorous Louis XIV would choose to go back on his word.
How long can the peace bought with 20 million silver coins last?
This is a big problem for the Netherlands...
It was a powder keg that could explode, but it was damp for the time being.
The explosion of gunpowder barrels made the Netherlands exhausted, because as the war continued, Dutch merchant ships were plundered by British warships and brought to Britain every day.
To solve the fundamental problem, either destroy the British fleet or occupy London and force Cromwell to make compromises and concessions.
Obviously, for the Dutch Army, capturing London was nothing more than a luxury hope. As a result, all the pressure fell on Tromp.
Fortunately, this extremely capable commander did not die in the war a few years ago, which can allow the Dutch Navy to survive for a while.
For the Netherlands, which has little strategic depth and relies heavily on overseas trade for survival, it would be very disadvantageous to fight a protracted war with the United Kingdom, which has a geographical advantage.
But if Black's fleet is not defeated now, it will be impossible to end this war.
When Blake chose to actively avoid the battle, Tromp could only ensure the safety of the Strait route first.
If we lead the fleet into the Thames again, we will suffer great losses if we are attacked by an arson ship.
The only weapon Tromp can pin his hopes on is the six ironclad ships that are about to be completed!
Together with the second batch of purchases and the ironclads purchased in exchange for New Guinea Island, the Dutch Navy will soon have as many as ten ironclads.
Looking at the whole of Europe, they are also tied for first place with France. They are the biggest reliance on defeating the British Navy.
Through the Battle of Thames, Tromp and other Dutch admirals also saw the tremendous power of ironclads.
If it were not for the four ironclads, the losses of our own fleet would have been much higher under the attack of British warships and coastal defense artillery fire.
For this reason, Vice Admiral Luit was specially sent to lead eighty armed merchant ships to the Ming Empire to pick up the order.
If it is not completed by the expiration date, Ruyter can stay at the shipyard until it is completed before returning home.
This time when he came to the Ming Empire, Luit had a special task besides picking up the goods.
That was to cooperate with Mazarin's assistant Kolbe to persuade the Ming Emperor to export ironclad ship construction technology to the two countries.
Ruyter was accompanied by Putmans, and Colbert was accompanied by the Marquis de Turenne. It would be easier to negotiate business if he was introduced by an acquaintance.
"Output is not the problem, the question is how much money do you plan to invest?"
Having said that, a certain new emperor only recognized money, not people.
If you can get rich by brushing your face, why bother mining?
"I wonder how much your Majesty plans to sell this technology for?"
Luit was not a businessman, and there was no need to be tactful in the current situation, so he chose to ask the question directly.
"With a one-time payment of 100 million silver coins, construction technology can be transferred, excluding engines and anti-ship missiles. With an increase of 40 million silver coins, engine technology can be transferred. With an additional 40 million silver coins, anti-ship missile technology can be transferred. If it is too expensive, you can With the addition of four ironclad ships, the two navies can get exactly two ships each."
A certain new emperor does not accept any price reduction. If he wants to buy epoch-making technology and does not want to spend more money, then there is no need to talk.
"Your Majesty, a one-time payment of 100 million silver coins. Even if it is shared between our two countries, one country will still need to pay 50 million silver coins. It will put too much financial pressure!"
The ideal solution that Colbert came up with was to pay it off in five years, preferably with two free ironclads.
"So you want to pay in installments?"
It's not like a certain new emperor has never thought of this method, and he is not afraid of the other party playing the Immortal Jump, because he is completely prepared.
"Your Majesty is wise, this is best!"
After being translated, Ruyter hurriedly confirmed it and communicated with Kolbe on the spot.
The two sides decided to buy a complete set of technology first. If they are unable to pay subsequent payments, they can also allow the two countries to obtain the technology for building ironclad ships.
Since the two major customers had no objection to the total price, a certain new emperor was able to make concessions and gave France and the Netherlands a nine-year payment period, with an annual payment of 10 million silver coins.
The total amount is 180 million silver coins. After full payment, France and the Netherlands will receive a full set of ironclad technology, including engines and ship-borne weapons, bonus bronze gun technology, and six Zhiyuan-type ironclads.
A certain new emperor will first let the engineers and workers in charge of shipbuilding train the employees of the two major customers, and then go to Europe to provide on-site guidance, and then export steam engine and anti-ship missile technology depending on the payment status of the customer service.
Until now, the Netherlands has not imitated anti-ship missiles because they did not get the actual ones.
Whether it is the navy affiliated with the imperial court or Zheng Zhilong's side, if someone is found cheating, they will be executed by Lingchi, and their family members will also be sent to mine!
After signing the contract, Ruyter and Kolbe immediately paid the seller 10 million silver coins each.
A certain Xinhuang is also very efficient. Within three days, it will arrange for the customer's staff to go to the shipyard to learn relevant technologies.
Of course, we can only learn the Zhiyuan type. It is temporarily impossible for Laiyuan and Yoshino to sell it to the outside world, let alone export the technology.
The more powerful Dingyuan type is planned to be built this year, but as before, there will only be one test ship.
But unlike the prototype, the 7,000-ton Dingyuan designed by a certain Xinhuang Academy of Sciences was an enlarged version of Yoshino.
In addition to the twin turrets installed at the front and rear, the main focus is on the firepower output on both sides.
The maximum speed reaches more than ten knots and the endurance can reach about 5,000 nautical miles.
It is expected that the cost of the Dingyuan-type test ship will reach more than three million taels, which has already entered the threshold of a gold-eating monster...
But the wealthy Zheng Zhilong still spent 16 million taels and ordered four ships, completely buying them all.
Purchasing armored ships at super discounted prices is one of the benefits that the Zheng family gained from transporting soldiers, horses and people during their campaigns in the north and south.
Zheng Zhilong thought that a two thousand-ton armored ship was so powerful, and a four-thousand-ton armored ship was even more incredible.
If it reaches 7,000 tons, I'm afraid even a bunch of wooden ships in Xiyi's hands can't beat it!
This is completely paving the way for Zheng Chenggong by throwing money, and it is a golden avenue.
The construction time of the fifth batch was from the 34th to the 39th year of Chongzhen (1661-1666). It took a long time because there was a Dingyuan type test ship in it.
Tianjin Shipyard plans to start construction of one Dingyuan, seven Yoshino, and eight Laiyuan ships, and the Zhiyuan type will be reduced to four.
The shipyards in Dengzhou are all responsible for building Zhiyuan. In addition, Nandu has started construction of two Zhiyuan ships, and Fujian has started construction of four Zhiyuan ships.
A total of forty-six ironclads, six built in Fujian and Nandu, will be absorbed by the local fleet.
There is no need to worry about selling the twenty Zhiyuan ships in Dengzhou Shipyard. If they cannot be sold, they can be used to equip the fleet under Beiting's jurisdiction.
However, four ships have been sent out by a certain new emperor, and a certain new emperor previously received customers from Venice, and the introducer was the warlock Lao Tang.
The Venetian consortium has purchased two armored ships at a price of 12 million silver coins, which is a discount of 4 million taels for each ship. This is considered as a favor for Lao Tang and his colleagues.
After Lao Tang's earnest persuasion, a certain new emperor also agreed to let the Venetian consortium purchase two more warships at this preferential price if there were remaining warships in the fifth batch of construction.
The reason why it attracted a group of Venetians is because the canal connecting the Mediterranean and the Red Sea is about to be completed and opened to navigation. The Mediterranean will soon become active and restore its appearance during the Roman Empire.
In addition to building enough ocean-going merchant ships, the Venetians also intended to purchase ironclad ships to protect their fleet from enemy threats and plunder.
Their requirements are not high, as long as they can protect themselves, because Rome has reached a private agreement with the Ottoman Empire.
Venetian merchant ships can use the canal, but they must pay according to regulations. Warships must notify them in advance when passing the canal.
Merchant ships of this era will more or less carry some artillery. As long as they don't go too far, the Ottomans will not deliberately make things difficult.
As for the purchase of ironclads, Rome already has a very qualified introducer like Lao Tang, so the Venetians can enjoy preferential prices.
Because building the canal costs a lot of money, although the Ottomans intend to continue to purchase ironclads, they can only buy one more and wait for the return on investment to start before saving money to place an order.
As a result, the new emperor and the court had money in their hands again. Together with the many commodities purchased by Putmans and Kolbe in the northern capital, they received a total of 16 million taels of silver and 58 million silver coins.
It's a good time to catch up with good luck next week, and you won't have to worry about the silver reward from the Northern Expedition.
Colbert had only heard about how prosperous the imperial capital was and saw reports in newspapers.
I still didn't believe it at first, but when I saw it with my own eyes, I realized that what I heard and reported was not exaggerated, and what I actually saw might be even more exaggerated.
Just like Ruyter's first visit to Beidu, Kolbe was very curious about everything here. Fortunately, he could take photos as a souvenir, and now there are more photography projects.
On the other hand, the Marquis Turenne, who had been here for more than ten years, seemed to know everything very well. No matter what questions Kolbet asked, Turenne answered fluently.
However, Turenne and all the French troops under his command can return to their homeland this year, and a certain new emperor did not invite them to participate in the Eighth Northern Expedition.
In order to express his gratitude to the French soldiers, a certain new emperor gave them varying amounts of silver according to their rank. Those with the lowest military rank could also get ten taels of silver, and they could spend the money as they pleased.
Turenne himself received a bonus of up to 50,000 taels of silver, all of which the new emperor paid out of his own pocket, without spending a single tael of silver from the court.
As long as novel goods of the same value can be purchased and shipped back to France smoothly, fifty thousand taels can instantly become 150,000 or even 200,000 taels.
For the tens of thousands of his men, the Marquis of Turenne did not take them away by force. Those who were willing to retire can submit applications. Most of them were willing to stay in the Ming Empire and work as mercenaries like the Germans.
Those who are willing to follow him back to their homeland are queuing up to purchase various commodities, taking advantage of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make a huge profit from the price difference.
Turena believes that the experience of fighting in the Eastern world is a valuable asset for himself and for those officers and soldiers who are willing to return home.
Compared with the basic battles in Europe, the confrontation with the Tatar military group here is more like a war, and every time it is almost a war on the scale of dozens of legions.
This is a test for all French officers and soldiers, and it is also a kind of training. Those who pass the test will be promoted, and soldiers can become non-commissioned officers. The abilities of non-commissioned officers are enough to serve as low-level officers in the country.
Many French soldiers have already learned simple local expressions, such as hello, goodbye, what have you eaten, how much is it, this, roast duck, roast chicken, steamed buns, wine...
The officers and soldiers in the French army who lost their parents directly, or lost their parents indirectly (the parents did not care about them) basically chose to stay in the capital of the Ming Empire.
Those who have been hurt by French women, those who have been ostracized and suppressed in their home countries, and those who have criminal records all want to apply for retirement.
Here you can eat well, make a lot of money, have good medical care, and there is a lot of entertainment at night, so you can have a carefree and happy life. It is more than a hundred times better than Paris!
Especially the women of the Ming Dynasty, who were gentle and virtuous, were so different from the shrew-like French women!
Of course, upper-class women are not like this, but the vast majority of officers and soldiers will never touch someone's fingertips in their lifetime.
The women of the lower class are exactly the same as they remembered them. Even if they think about it for three days, they are still better from the Ming Empire.
Especially after seeing the Ming Emperor building houses for German mercenaries, especially buildings for officers to live in, many French officers and soldiers were already tempted.
Even if they return to France, they will not be able to enjoy this treatment. Instead, they can buy a small manor in the countryside. How can it be so lively here?
There are lights, telephones, movies, refrigerators, and railroads and trains, making it unforgettable day or night.
You can eat hot pot in the winter and ice cream in the summer. There are rickshaws and buses when going out. Not only you can make money by marching and fighting, you can also have a full meal, and you can often eat seafood.
Kolbe's feelings were exactly the same as those of his subordinates who had come here for the first time. If he hadn't been waiting to return home to resume his duties, he would have really wished to stay here for a few years and get a good feel for it.
But as long as I have the opportunity, I can still come in the future. After all, I am only in my early forties and still have a lot of time and energy to spend on studying abroad.
