"Hmph! They really dare to raise a price!"
The person responsible for contacting the commander-in-chief of the Ming-France-Dutch Allied Forces was Finance Minister Danby. Since the price had already been reported to Cromwell Jr., Danby could not counter-offer immediately and could only come back and report it to Charles II.
Three hundred and fifty million silver coins!
How many people are there in the entire UK?
Doesn't this mean that everyone is burdened with a debt of no less than tens of thousands of silver coins?
The question is how much value can each person create each year?
When will this debt, as heavy as the Alps, be paid off?
Regret after being owed?
I heard that the opponent has an army of 200,000 and a weapon called a tank, which can easily defeat even the cavalry.
Charles II thought for a long time, but had no choice but to ask all his dear friends.
"Your Majesty, I heard that little Cromwell and other rebels brought their remnants to the Thames Estuary, and they seem to want to join forces with them!"
Danby was escorted over by the Duke of York's men, otherwise he would have been captured by the rebels.
Although negotiations with parliament are ongoing, a final agreement on the amount has not been finalized and signed.
But the royal army has achieved restoration, so it is natural to call the other side rebels.
The Duke of York didn't want to disgrace his brother. What he actually meant was that if the other party really joined forces, he would really be unable to defeat him.
"Hyde, how do you think this sky-high compensation should be resolved?"
The Chief Minister is equivalent to the Prime Minister of France, with a high position of power, and Hyde is also the leader of the ministers.
But there was nothing that could be done about the sky-high compensation.
"Your Majesty, I believe that no matter what, we should avoid letting the rebels join forces with the other side. As for the compensation, we have to discuss it again!"
Such a large amount of compensation would definitely not be passed in Parliament, so Hyde could only use delaying tactics.
"Danby, what do you think?"
After talking a lot of nonsense, Charles II felt very unhappy and asked his finance minister.
"Your Majesty, I agree with what Hyde said. The top priority should be to defeat the rebels and then slowly negotiate with the other party. The rebels should not be able to raise a deposit of 10 million silver coins. We should still have room to operate."
Danby didn't want to be scolded, but there was no way to solve this problem without money.
"Since there is nothing we can do, let the parliament solve the problem. Doesn't the parliament want to take back the royal power? Now that it has the power, let them negotiate with the other party!"
Parliament had rejected Charles II's proposal to retain the royal army. After the war, the king could only retain a guard of no more than 5,000 men.
At present, the strength of the royal army is as high as 30,000. Although it is similar in size to the parliamentary army led by Cromwell Jr., it has a relative advantage in momentum because Cromwell is dead.
In fact, this is also the case. Cromwell and his gang have voluntarily abandoned London and fled eastward.
The royal army then marched into London, receiving warm cheers from the city ministers.
One-third of the MPs fled with Cromwell and their families, while the remaining two-thirds entrusted Hyde to negotiate with Charles II.
There is a lot of negotiation content, but there are only a few main points.
First, only punish the culprits led by Cromwell Jr., reduce the scale to less than twenty people, and pardon the others.
Second, the royal army was abolished and only the guard of 5,000 people was retained. The king could not interfere with the parliament.
Third, regarding personal beliefs, they must not be forced...
Correspondingly, in order to maintain the expenses of the king and the palace, the Parliament will allocate a part every year.
It means giving Charles II regular pocket money so that he can have fun.
Now that the army is approaching, there is an opponent more formidable than the Congress and the rebels combined.
In the eyes of Charles II, Parliament was bound to do so.
Didn't they want to limit the king's power?
Okay, you can handle this kind of thing yourself!
The royal army was not from London, and Charles II had no fixed residence in London.
As a king who even lived in a tree while fleeing for his life, does he care about leading his troops to evacuate London at this time?
"Brother Wang, over there in the parliament..."
After the meeting, the Duke of York inquired about the matter with a frown.
"Fuck Parliament! Without that traitor (Cromwell), they are nothing!"
Charles II hated Parliament no less than he hated Cromwell.
It was because Parliament provided a large amount of money to Cromwell's rebels that the rebels defeated the royal army.
"What should we do? If the negotiations fail, the situation will not be optimistic!"
The Duke of York also hated Parliament, but now wanted to take advantage of it.
"Don't they want a deposit of 10 million silver coins? It's easy to handle. Go and talk to William in person and say that as long as they join forces with us, I will give them London as a deposit! How about it? It's very clever, isn't it?"
This was a solution that Charles II came up with in a flash. Since the Parliament did not listen to him and there were strong enemies outside, he could let them hurt each other.
"...Brother Wang, this..."
The Duke of York would not comment on this, but he had to say that this was indeed a way, but he didn't know whether it could satisfy the other party's appetite.
"This is just the first step. Doesn't William have a son? Our niece Mary is about the same age as his son, just right for getting engaged!"
Just using London as a deposit may not be enough, so Charles II thought of a marriage.
"Yeah! This can actually work!"
The Duke of York nodded, feeling that this matter was indeed feasible.
"Also, you hinted to William that when the coalition forces enter London, let them clean it up thoroughly to prevent it from being filled with dirt!"
Charles II planned to use the other party's army to wipe out the entire Parliament, so that there would no longer be those annoying flies in the future.
"Okay, as you wish!"
The Duke of York is also happy to do this kind of thing of eliminating dissidents without having to pay for it himself.
"By the way, tell William that as long as you are willing to help me eliminate the rebels and clean up London, after the war, our American territories can be given to them as compensation, as can the Newfoundland fisheries. As well as the parliament and the relatives of the traitors. Sell it to them at a discount.”
This is the third trick to win over the other party. After using them all, Charles II believed that the other party would be tempted.
"Brother Wang, if this happens, we will have nothing!"
The Duke of York quickly warned him not to act on impulse at this time.
"In addition to the 30,000 people in our hands, what else do we have now? Those you see are all from the parliament! You have also seen the conditions that the parliament gave me, which asked me to retain a guard of 5,000 people, and the rest of the troops are To be disbanded. Neither the navy nor the army is under my command, and I am not allowed to have a standing army. Doesn't this mean that I spent twenty-five thousand soldiers worth of money to come to London and stay in a hotel? They fooled me like a fool !”
Thinking of this incident, Charles II felt extremely annoyed.
The rebels were so frightened that they ran away. The other party actually dared to propose such conditions.
Well now, a force ten times more terrifying than the rebels has appeared.
It's best to use the military power of William II and his gang to eliminate those damn rebels and the hateful Parliament together!
Except that the compensation of 350 million silver coins was somewhat unacceptable, Charles II did intend to find ways to meet the other party's requirements.
"Brother Wang, if you have no other instructions, I will contact William right now!"
The Duke of York didn't want to bear the prince's anger anymore, so he quickly found an opportunity to leave.
"Okay! As soon as possible, don't give your opponent an opportunity!"
Charles II also hoped to persuade William and his group in a short time. This kind of thing would happen every night.
The matter was so important that the Duke of York did not dare to delay at all. He arrived at the coalition camp on the third day and met William II.
"That guy really knows how to think, hum!"
William II soon held a three-person meeting with Jiexuan and Budes, and all important matters were discussed and decided by the three people.
"You two are familiar with Britain, so is the city of London worth ten million silver coins?"
Jiexuan hopes to know the value of the object first, and then make plans.
"I think it's worth it, if those MPs and businessmen in London don't escape beforehand!"
William II did not deny the special deposit issued by Charlie. He laughed at it, but the other party was really willing to give it up.
"I think so too, provided that we don't fall into Charlie's trap and won't ambush us with the parliamentary army!"
Although Budes does not understand economics, London, as the capital of Britain, is not worth 10 million, but is worth 8 million.
But we must be careful not to be caught off guard by attacking London.
“I heard that Charlie also wants to marry his niece to your son?”
Jiexuan was not optimistic about this marriage, and William II would not agree to it unless he was stupid.
"Yes! He has a beautiful idea!"
William II did not have no plans for his son's marriage.
The first choice is the daughter of Louis XIV, so that France and the Netherlands will be completely tied together, and the Netherlands will no longer face military threats from France.
The second choice was the daughter of the Emperor of the Ming Empire. As the most powerful country in the world, being able to marry her would not only be an honor, but also bring huge benefits.
The second daughter-in-law is also from Bavaria. Everyone in Germany and the Netherlands are relatives, so this marriage is a close relationship.
As for British women, William II has never considered it. Considering the current situation and future development, he does not intend to marry her.
"If little Cromwell can't offer better terms, will we resort to tricks?"
Jiexuan understood what his allies meant and made a bold suggestion.
"I agree!"
The 100,000 French troops under Boudes have already sharpened their swords and cannot stay idle at the mouth of the Thames.
"You can do this!"
William II had no objection to this. Anyway, under the premise of destroying Britain, London must be destroyed.
Now that Charles II has taken the initiative to invite the coalition forces to bulldoze London, then accept the invitation and go there!
"What? Damn it Charlie! How could he do this?"
Young Cromwell heard the competitor's offer from William II and immediately became angry.
"Oh~! I don't know who came up with this idea!"
Marvell sighed. He had a premonition that the coalition forces had bad intentions towards London, but he didn't expect Charlie to be the leader.
"What do we do now?"
Bradshaw wants to return to London, but he doesn't want to see Charlie. He is the person with the lowest say here.
"It's very simple, we also agree to the coalition forces entering London!"
Fairfax came up with a countermeasure, and now that's all he can do.
"What?"
Everyone couldn't help but be surprised. Doesn't this mean that the coalition forces went to London to plunder?
"We can't come up with a deposit of 10 million silver coins. If we can't compete with Charlie, we will be the weakest of the three parties. If Charlie joins forces with the other party, you should be able to imagine the possible consequences. In this case, we The conditions must be at least the same as Charlie’s, and must not be lower than Charlie’s, otherwise we will be eliminated.”
Fairfax gave a clear explanation for this, which was completely reasonable and able to maximize the support of the coalition forces.
"...What about the Parliament?"
"They are Charlie's allies now, not our allies. If the Parliament supports Charlie, we are at a disadvantage. If the Parliament is not considered, just in a duel between us and Charlie, we have at least half the chance of winning, right? "
Fairfax has given up on those extremely shameful wallflowers. Since they choose to support Charlie, they don't need to worry about it.
"...Thomas is right! The Parliament is a group of villains who want to gain power between us and Charlie. These people are all traitors who are unjust for their own gain!"
Ayrton first stood up to support Fairfax, but in fact Parliament had betrayed them and surrendered to Charles.
"What about after the coalition forces capture London?"
Young Cromwell could think of what was about to happen, but for the rest, he had to consult elders like Fairfax.
"Let them remain neutral until we defeat the king's army!"
Fairfax's tactics to face the enemy were simple. After eliminating the swing factor of Parliament, the rest of the matter was easy to solve.
"Thomas is right!"
"That's right! It should be done!"
"Okay, if everyone has no objections, I'll go talk to William II."
Little Cromwell was only the nominal leader. In fact, he had to rely on extremely veterans to support this team that was on the verge of falling apart.
"Now they both start bidding, so let's just let nature take its course!"
After William II received the quotation from the Parliamentary Army, and with the consent of the two allies, he ordered the three armies to march towards London.
Moreover, the other side was notified in advance that the cannon moss must not be fired and the river channel must not be blocked. Otherwise, it will be regarded as a hostile act and the coalition forces have the right to counterattack.
This is equivalent to saying that the coalition forces reached London effortlessly, and the fleet already controlled the entire river from London to the outlet of the Thames River.
Cannon moss can still be controlled by the defenders, but as long as the coalition warships are on the river, the role of cannon moss can be reduced to zero.
One hundred thousand French troops were in charge of North London, while 40,000 Dutch troops and 20,000 Ming troops entered South London, with the Thames River as the operational demarcation line.
Prior to this, Charles II had led his troops to withdraw outside the city, and then informed the city minister of what was about to happen.
How they choose is beyond Charles II's control.
And because of the existence of Parliament, orders from the king would not work.
"I'm a member of Parliament, you can't treat me like this!"
The soldiers of the Ming army, led by the Ming people who had been plundered here, quickly found the local benefactor.
"Is this guy mumbling about a ball?"
"I don't understand! Who cares!"
"Fuck you uncle!"
A veteran got impatient and put the butt of a gun directly into his fat belly.
They come to the city just to scrape the land, no matter what the identity of the other party is, they will scrape it all!
