The bustling city of Paris is not suitable for people who are half a century old, especially if they stay there for too long, they will suffer from kidney deficiency.
Fang Yizhi was already immune to this. The reason was that the Yangma's body odor was too great for him, so he could only watch it from a distance.
Occasionally, you can have some fun, but if things continue like this, there is a real danger of a sudden collapse...
Despite Louis XIV's warm hospitality, Jiexuan and William II did not stay in Paris for long, because the war to destroy Britain was about to begin.
On April 4th, the combined fleet of the Ming Dynasty, France and the Netherlands appeared in a mighty manner at the mouth of the Thames River. There were many "greeters" on the shore, and there were quite a few people.
Mainly including Cromwell's son, Charles? Cromwell.
Cromwell's first general, Thomas Fairfax.
His adjutant and general, Henry Ayrton, was the man who captured Charles I that year.
There is also Cromwell's staunch supporter Andrew Marvell, who called Cromwell "the angry sky fire"!
John Bradshaw, the presiding judge who sentenced Charles I to death, was also in the team. If he didn't run away, he would die.
The "angry sky fire" had been "extinguished" seven days ago, and everyone felt powerless to fight against Charles II, who was trying to restore.
Especially if they are afraid of being liquidated by the other party, the new generation of "angry sky fire" will burn themselves to ashes!
Rather than welcoming him, it is better to say he is fleeing, or escaping with Cromwell's coffin!
Because Monk, the former commander of the Scottish garrison, had rebelled and surrendered to the enemy, he introduced the royal army to the mainland.
So now London is already the territory of Charles II, especially after the defection of the impoverished Parliament...
At first, Charles II had a good attitude and said everything could be discussed.
After discovering that "Regicide" Cromwell was terminally ill and unable to recover at all, his attitude gradually became tougher.
His brother, the Duke of York, said that none of the main players involved in the murder of the king could escape!
After saying these cruel words, more than 20 people from the criminal gang immediately fled, and their main destinations were the Netherlands and France, which were hostile to the British!
Through these people, Louis XIV and William II gradually mastered a lot of information about Britain, especially the London area.
After all, they are all parties involved and can provide much more detailed information than peripheral informants.
Although the reputation of surrendering to the enemy was bad, it was much better than being executed by Charles II.
Many people already knew that their fleet was besieged by the French and Dutch fleets, and some even heard that the Yellow-skinned Monkey Empire would send a fleet to retaliate.
As for whether they landed on the British Isles, they are still in the rumor stage, and there is no convincing evidence.
Now the enemy has finally arrived, and the scale is far beyond the imagination of Cromwell's group.
Fairfax, Marvell and others also knew that the current situation was extremely serious. After Blake's fleet was unable to confront the enemy head-on, they still wanted to negotiate peace with Charles II.
Once the invading enemies are defeated, a smooth transition can be achieved and power is returned to the son of Charles I.
Unexpectedly, after lengthy negotiations, the two parties could not reach an agreement in the end.
Charles II saw the opportunity and demanded the unconditional surrender of the parliamentary army, and those responsible must face trial.
To Fairfax and others, this was unacceptable and was tantamount to being sentenced to death.
As the situation continued to deteriorate, little Cromwell did not have the prestige and ability of his father.
This makes our situation not optimistic. To be precise, we have lost the initiative.
With the same number of troops as before, they could not compete with the king's army, let alone win in battle.
If we can't reach an agreement, we'll fight, but we still can't win.
If you want to save your life, you can only find foreign help!
Now, foreign aid is finally here!
Whether it is William II, Budes or Jiexuan, they are all people who mean what they say.
According to the agreement, Budes was the commander of the army, Jiexuan was the commander of the fleet, and the highest-ranking William II was the commander-in-chief of the three armed forces.
"Your Majesty, two generals, it's great to see you!"
When little Cromwell saw the other party, it was like meeting his stepfather. If his stepfather recognized him correctly, he could save his life.
"Sir, I wonder how many troops you have brought with you? What is the situation in London?"
William II met little Cromwell on the shore. He was not in a hurry to go upstream now. He wanted to understand the enemy's situation first.
"We have about 30,000 troops, all of whom are elite soldiers. London has basically been occupied by the Stuarts. I wonder if your army can help our army retake London. I will be grateful!"
Little Cromwell's first name was also Charlie, and that damned Charlie didn't ascend the throne, so he was always called by his last name.
"Your Excellency, our army now has more than 3,000 warships and more than 200,000 troops. We are fully capable of helping your army retake London. I don't know how much I can thank you?"
William II was not in a hurry to fight at all, at least after watching the two groups of British troops merge.
Now that the other party wants something from you, you have to negotiate the price before taking action.
"Ten million silver coins!"
This is the bid that everyone had discussed before. If it fails, it can be raised to 30 million. If the person dies, the money will belong to Charles II.
"It seems a bit low. If you offer this price, you might as well discuss it with Stuart again in two days."
William II's intention in meeting young Cromwell was not about money, but...
"As long as your army helps our army win, I am willing to pay 20 million silver coins!"
Little Cromwell is now desperate. If he cannot defeat Stuart and his lackeys, his father's coffin will not be buried, and he will have to be dug out and whipped shortly after being buried.
"Let's put it this way, your fleet launched a raid on the southern part of the Ming Dynasty, causing the Ming Empire to lose more than 100 million silver coins in property damage. Your fleet also plundered our merchant ships at sea and caused huge damage to our fleet. The losses to maritime trade were hit by all previous actions. His Majesty King Louis XIV of France previously said that he demanded compensation from Britain and France for the Hundred Years War. The three parties finally came up with a compensation amount, France was 200 million silver coins, and the Ming Dynasty was 100 million Silver coins, our country’s price is 50 million silver coins, totaling 350 million silver coins! Don’t think it’s expensive, this is a very reasonable price!”
Since you have to settle accounts, let's do it carefully.
According to William II, the price is indeed not expensive.
Because if the time cost is included, even if the Jiangnan area is now compensated to the Ming Empire, the interest will be lost.
As for the Hundred Years War between England and France, France lost not a single thing, half of the country was occupied by the British army.
What Louis XIV wants to compensate at this time is undoubtedly adding insult to injury, but so what?
"This is impossible! You..."
"You want to say the word 'blackmail'?"
"..."
Little Cromwell did not admit it with his mouth, but that was what he thought in his heart.
"Dear Jie, what do you think?"
William II asked Jiexuan in English, so that he could just speak to him.
"Before I leave, His Majesty the Emperor of our country has a saying, which goes like this. If one party does not agree with the price, then step on his corpse and negotiate with the other party!"
Jiexuan didn't say who was stepped on, but the meaning couldn't be clearer.
"You are a military threat!"
Little Cromwell became even more angry after hearing this. The other party obviously didn't take him seriously and was asking for a high price.
"My fleet came from thousands of miles away not to threaten you! If you feel that you cannot accept the price, we will talk to Charles II and then cooperate with his army to eliminate you. The same goes for the other way around, it depends on who Even more stingy!”
Strength determines everything. In the face of absolute strength, eloquent words are pale and powerless.
"That guy can't come up with so much money!"
Little Cromwell was sure that the other party was also a poor man. One hundred million might be OK, but more than ten million was impossible.
"There are many ways to pay, what do you think, Your Majesty?"
Jiexuan kicked the ball to William II. After all, he was the boss here.
The people who hate the British most are not the Ming Dynasty, but France and the Netherlands.
The strategically important city of Dunkirk was sold to France by Charles II a few years ago.
The Netherlands even fought two naval battles with the British. This time it was larger than the last time and it was not over yet.
These two countries can't wait to divide the British mainland directly now and eliminate this scourge once and for all.
Scotland can be left alone, but England and Wales must be completely occupied and annexed if necessary.
"Dear Gee, you are right. The British occupied French land before, and now France can also occupy British land as compensation. If the mainland is not good, there are places in the Americas to choose from. In addition, the fishing grounds in the North Sea and Newfoundland Fish rights are also valuable. The property of those hostile forces can also be confiscated. If not, trees and food can be used to pay off debts. By the way, you also have a large number of ships, which can be worth tens of millions of silver coins. Those who are loyal to Charles II The troops and supporters of the world can be auctioned as slaves. One person is ten silver coins, and one hundred thousand people is one million silver coins. Isn't this great?"
William II had already seen the many methods of the Ming Empire, because the Dutch merchant fleet was engaged in this business.
As long as it is within the purchasing scope of the Ming Empire, the Dutch fleet can transport all materials and personnel it can plunder.
"you……"
Little Cromwell was so angry that he couldn't speak. According to the other party's standards, this was significantly weakening the possibility of British recovery.
This was clearly a sign that a civil war was about to break out in Britain, and he planned to extort both sides at exorbitant prices. If either side did not agree, it would be eaten.
"Actually, this is a good deal. You, your soldiers, and their families can survive, and you can still destroy the enemy. More importantly, you can continue to sit in that position and give orders. If not, you wouldn't be able to survive." You need to negotiate terms with me!"
William II had long had a fatal grip on both Charles II and Cromwell, because joining either side of the coalition would cause a devastating blow to the other side.
After the Ming army arrived on the British battlefield carrying a large number of steam tanks and missiles, no side was able to engage in a field battle with the coalition forces.
The result of fighting in the field is to be wiped out quickly. If you expect the British cavalry to attack the tank group, you will take the initiative to kill them.
If we can't fight in the field, we can only retreat to the city, defend it by the city, and then be divided into tactical islands by the coalition forces, and finally be eaten bit by bit.
"This far exceeds the repayment capacity of the UK. On average, a person needs to repay tens of thousands of silver coins, which is almost impossible to accomplish!"
Young Cromwell took more action on William II's words. After all, that was the purpose of coming here.
However, this sky-high price for sending troops is too high, and we must find a reason to significantly reduce it.
"The emperor of our country once said a famous saying, any problem that can be solved with money is not a problem. You can think about it carefully!"
Jiexuan suddenly interrupted, saying that it was necessary to remind this guy.
"I need to talk it over with the others!"
Little Cromwell didn't dare to make the decision himself. For such an important matter, he could only pool his wisdom.
"Of course you can, just reply before sunset. Even if you don't agree, you will leave here safely! If you agree, you need to pay a deposit of 10 million silver coins in advance, or items and personnel of equivalent value!"
William II acted very generously, because his side was sure of victory before the fight.
Budes never said a word from beginning to end. He is not good at negotiating. It is better to speak less about this kind of thing.
However, William II was able to grasp the overall situation, and with a few words from Jie Xuan, it was already difficult for the other party to counteroffer.
The most important thing is to stabilize this parliamentary army and let them fight with the royal army...
The strategy discussed by the three coalition commanders was to let the parliamentary army fight with the royal army so that they could take advantage.
If any party takes the initiative to attack one's side, then one's side will directly eat the other side.
It would be easier to solve if both sides attack their own side.
The problem is that if both sides don't fight each other, and they don't attack their own side, then destroying Britain will be very time-consuming...
Before sunset, in view of the current dire situation, the top brass of the parliamentary army could only agree to this extremely harsh condition.
But they really couldn't come up with a deposit of 10 million silver coins, so they only scraped together 3 million, and planned to repay the rest slowly.
This is impossible and the coalition forces will not agree.
However, we can also slow down and use Black's fleet and the other party's family as collateral.
When Blake brought the fleet to the mouth of the Thames, the coalition forces could dispatch troops.
Until then, coalition soldiers can enjoy the April sunshine at a nearby camp!
None of the three coalition commanders were worried that the royal army loyal to Charles II would take the initiative to attack their own side.
And I really hope that this kind of thing will happen. Field battles will save time and effort, and also reduce casualties.
I'm afraid that Wang Jun won't dare to come!
Within three days, the royal army did arrive, but it was Charles II's mouthpiece.
William II also made the same conditions to this visitor, waiting for him to report to Charles II when he returned.
Three hundred and fifty million silver coins is indeed a lot, so much that it needs to be carried on a ship.
It doesn’t matter if you don’t have money, there are people there!
There are five million slaves of working age in Britain, and one person can dig out ore worth at least one hundred silver coins!
To France and Holland, each of these slaves was only worth ten silver coins, but they also had an income of fifty million.
Louis XIV had already agreed with William II that the money could be divided equally between the two parties.
Twenty-five million silver coins per family were enough to purchase ten to twelve domestically made ironclads.
This is crucial to safeguarding the country's future sea control. Although it is not global sea control, only a quarter of the share can satisfy these two companies.
The top three countries in the world in terms of naval power have formed an alliance. In the next one hundred or even two hundred years, no other country will be able to get a share of the cake!
