The development of history is always accompanied by metabolism, just like the human body. The old does not go, the new does not come, and the alternation of the old and the new is always accompanied by labor pains, which is necessary and inevitable.

On July 8, 1584, in the living room of the Dutch Governor's Palace, in the heart of Amsterdam, we met Prince Wilhelm van Orange, the famous patriotic nobleman who led the Utrecht League, and who led the whole of the Netherlands before the North-South split, and the first consul of the Dutch Republic.

The European great, fifty-one, was thin, elegant and wise. Born in Nuremberg, Germany, in 1533, his ancestors became the Holy Roman Emperor of Germany. William's grandfather inherited a large area of land in the Netherlands and was a prominent nobleman.

In William's generation, his cousin René inherited the Duke of Orange and served as the governor of the Netherlands, but he was killed in battle when he was ordered to attack France.

So the eleven-year-old William succeeded to the Duke of Orange, who also served as the governor of the Netherlands, and existed as a vassal ruler of Spain. Under King Philip II of Spain, William Orange rose through the ranks to become a member of the Council of State, and was appointed governor of the Netherlands, Sealand and Utrecht.

However, the world is always unpredictable, and affection may not be long-lasting. In March 1559, France and Spain signed a peace treaty in which they decided to work together against the Protestants.

When William learned of this, he immediately went to Beijing to face the saint, but when he heard King Philip II of Spain talk about the plan to drive the Protestants out of the Netherlands, William, who sympathized with the Protestants, was shocked and kept silent in public, so he became known as "William the Silent".

His silence was a silent protest of the emerging bourgeoisie against Spanish rule. Despite his preeminent position under Philip II, William Orange stood firmly on the side of the Dutch nation in the face of the great rights and wrongs of the people's independence, waged an indomitable struggle against Spain, and became a well-known patriotic nobleman who was admired by others.

This battle lasted for 80 years, and is known as the "Eighty Year War" in history. William Orange was courageous and determined, but his military ability was really not very good. In the struggle against Spain, he was defeated and defeated repeatedly, and it was common to kneel in a wave of ten, but this did not shake his determination to fight for independence.

However, the economic base determined the superstructure, and the military defeat did not change the reality of the growing economic gap between the Netherlands and the Netherlands, and Spain's control over the Netherlands became an unavoidable fact.

Just three years ago in 1581, William Orange deposed Philip II and officially established the United Provincial Republic! Because the Dutch province is the largest of the provinces of the United Provincial Republic, the most economically developed, and is the political center of the republic, the United Provincial Republic is also known as the Dutch Republic, and William was elected as the first governor of the Dutch Republic.

From then on, the northern part of the Netherlands became an independent state, and the southern part remained under Spanish rule, and the two sides gradually became estranged, and eventually failed to become a state.

As the situation develops, the strength of the Netherlands continues to grow, and just this year, the provinces of the Dutch Republic are preparing to adopt the respected and meritorious Wilhelm as king, and the time is just four days later, on the 12th of July!

Reading Elizabeth I's letter carefully, reading it again, reading it again, and seeing it for the third time, William Orange closed the letterhead and handed it to Prince Maurice, who was standing behind him, his own son, a military genius, and then looked at me gently and smiled: "Your Excellency, thank you for bringing Queen Elizabeth's sincerity, which gives us the people of the Dutch Republic new hope and strength!" ”

I know that in her letter the Queen expressed her congratulations on the coronation of William as King of the Netherlands, and also explained that the next step will continue to strengthen cooperation, in trade, in shipbuilding and navigation, in the great cause against Spain! And I, Sun Qilan, the Honorary Earl of the British Royal Family and a young general from the east of the earth, will be the closest link between the United Kingdom and the Dutch Republic!

This is undoubtedly gratifying – despite the high political skill of the Queen, who did not give anything substantial, was given a closer ally to the Netherlands, and a man who was willing to go back and forth for it, and that was me, and of course it would do me no harm.

As for looking at this matter from William's point of view, it is even more worthy of excitement - the Netherlands is like a rich businessman, with a lot of money, but no political status, and now it is going through a process from wealth to establishment, as a political * power, Britain can express recognition and congratulations at such a sensitive moment, this must be a great victory!

That's why I was treated to a high standard, which is understandable. Before meeting William, I was led by Prince Morris on a tour of Amsterdam's canals, windmills and the Hague Knights' Hall. In the exchange with Prince Morris, I expressed my gratitude to King William—

This is a way of congratulating in advance from the East – a sign of great respect for leading the Dutch people to victory over nature, over enemies, and towards glory!

And it was a good feeling and friendship between me and Prince Maurice, and it was a joy for an eighteen-year-old young man to hear his father affirmed, a Puritans who were not well received in much of Europe.

After meeting the supreme leader of the Netherlands, William Orange, I presented a letter from Queen Elizabeth I of England, which amounted to a letter of letters, and also won William's joy and praise. As a liaison between the two countries, on behalf of Queen Elizabeth, I put forward the "three mutual" principles of "cultural mutual trust, economic mutual benefit, and military mutual assistance" – of course, with the Queen's permission – and this was naturally endorsed and praised by William.

On the basis of the initial consensus, I cleverly proposed the task and idea that Queen Elizabeth I had given me to develop the New World of Virginia, which fully attracted William's strong interest!

The reason for this is simple: in the previous decades, although the Netherlands had developed its economy and controlled the economic lifeline of Spain with the help of Spain's overseas trade free ride, it had naturally put forward its own political demands, although the previous ones were peaceful and economic.

But as the ruler, King Philip II of Spain refused to open up his political authority to these wealthy lowland masses, and instead adopted a high-pressure policy! These high-pressure policies include bloody repression, exorbitant economic taxes, and freedom of movement, such as the Spanish King's Decree, which prohibits the Dutch from participating in the development and trade of the new continent!

Therefore, in the past few decades, although the shipping technology of the Netherlands has been called the world's first-rate, the degree of participation in the development of the new continent is still almost zero! The reason for this is that in the early struggle with Spain, William and the Netherlands as a whole focused more on the economic field and equal citizenship. In the later period, the north and south of the Netherlands were divided, and the Utrecht alliance in the north, that is, the Dutch Republic, spent too much energy in order to fight for independence, and did not have the heart to mix in the troubled waters of the new continent.

But when I proposed the Virginia Colonial Development Plan, William showed great interest in it! Or the sentence to make a fortune, make a fortune, the Dutch are rich, and naturally need more value and market development, and the new big * Lu is undoubtedly the fattest piece of it!

As William was preparing for the rehearsal for the coronation ceremony in a few days' time, he regretted that he could not negotiate with me on the further development of the new continent, and this responsibility was entrusted to Prince Morris. William was very fond of this son, and Morris himself was in high spirits. For me, it is much easier and more enjoyable to talk about trade with a hot-blooded young man than to play Tai Chi with an old fox! So everyone is happy.

Therefore, in the following cooperation negotiations, I put forward three cooperation proposals.

First of all, in view of the fact that there is still a gap between our naval strength and that of the Spaniards, in order to enhance local combat effectiveness, I need to obtain financing from the Bank of Amsterdam in the Netherlands and purchase a state-of-the-art warfleet from Britain as the core force to participate in the Virginia conquest.

Morris said that as a private joint-stock investment bank, the Bank of Amsterdam does not accept the guidance and orders of the government, but as himself, the second largest shareholder of the Bank of Amsterdam, he has no opinion. And the largest shareholder, Mr. William Orange, presumably has no opinion. Especially when I offered to dedicate a colony to the Netherlands north of Virginia as a base for the development of a new continent, this proposal was quickly put on the agenda of the Board of Directors of the Bank of Amsterdam!

And two days later, I had enough money to equip a fleet that was on par with the flagship I had led earlier! Interest-free, guarantee-free, and can be repaid with the proceeds of the New World's operations, and the colonies north of Virginia that I promised can also be converted into a part of the funds to offset the principal of the loan!

So, I borrowed the Queen's credit from the Netherlands, took the loan to England to buy a ship, and helped the British to seek the right to rule Virginia, and then enjoyed its thirty years of thirty percent of the annual income, and then used this right of income to pay off the few remaining Dutch debts! What a perfect chain! This is the empty glove white wolf! That's the power of modern finance!

Secondly, I suggested to Morris that, since the new continent had gathered three detachments of the Spanish Armada, which was almost a third of the strength of the Spanish navy, if we hastily went there, even if we succeeded, we would have suffered heavy losses. Therefore, I ask the Netherlands to cooperate with me to a certain extent and implement the strategy I had conceived and determined before to divert the tiger from the mountain and encircle Wei to save Zhao!

Listening to my strategy, Morris himself was full of passion, but a head-on conflict with Spain was a major event, especially when William was about to be crowned king, he did not dare to make his own decisions, and he had to report to William's consent before he could carry it out. However, he himself was very much in favor of this method, which was "full of ancient oriental wisdom", and said that he would do his best to promote it.

As for the third point, I am suggesting to Morris himself that because William's coronation is imminent, many foreign hostile* forces will have red eyes, and I suggest that Morris be more vigilant, and at the same time advise Mr. William to strengthen his own defense.

William laughed and agreed. For the Dutch, who value business and not politics, assassination rarely appears in their dictionaries and sequences of action.

The talks were successfully concluded. We all got what we wanted, and we were happy for everyone. Morris personally hosted the welcome dinner, and it was not to mention that my mind was not here when I was staggering with everyone.

Historically, a few days later, to be exact, July 10, 1584, two days before the coronation, William Orange would have been assassinated by the Spanish Assassins! And Maurice will inherit his throne and lead the Netherlands forward!

Despite all this, I had no intention of informing William or Morris of this bad news in advance, and the warning was already the limit of what I could do!

It may not seem benevolent, especially as an ally eager to cooperate, but I have no doubt about the right choice. Why did I choose to do this? Can you guess?