If France has achieved remarkable results under the leadership of Henry III and Catherine's obedience, France's strength is improving, and it also has the initial strength to compete with other countries, then Queen Elizabeth I of England has personally brought the country from the trough to the peak, laying the foundation for her to dominate the world for hundreds of years.

She had no intention of building an empire, but built a powerful, nay, most powerful navy. She resolved the religious contradictions with moderate means, and compared to the Thirty Years' War in Germany, where a quarter of the population died because of religious problems, the cost of Elizabeth's reforms was almost negligible. And she has always insisted on living a frugal life - the royal family is from top to bottom, so it also affects the bureaucracy.

Therefore, even though she imposed a great financial burden on the Spanish in the late years of her reign, she still increased the power of Britain because she controlled the spending of the power institutions very well. What's more, with her efforts, England and Scotland also formed a short-lived unity, all of which was enough to make this lifelong chaste queen famous in history.

If you want to rely on the power of Britain, you must have the approval of this great queen. However, for such a powerful superior, clever words will not work, let alone use her. So how do I approach her, convince her, and get her approval?

This is a task that must be completed, and in the face of a powerful Spain, without the support of the national power, then nothing can be said. After all, Spain's fleet alone has a displacement dozens of times greater than ours, not to mention that there is far more than this naval force in the country.

There must be a way, right? Even though I've got Henry's friendship, he's just a crown prince after all. There are still thorns on the road to kinghood, and I can't ask him for more help than intelligence. The Portuguese were even more unreliable. What other channels are there?

Henri was gone, I was still in the port of Bordeaux, my finger following the nautical chart all the way up to north-west Europe, and suddenly my eyes lit up!

Because I was attracted by the four words interspersed between the names of various countries and places - Low Countries!

Since the beginning of the century, the Low Countries, including the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg and other countries, have been under Spanish rule. Especially in the last twenty or thirty years, capitalism in the Low Countries has developed rapidly, and these countries are very economically developed, and the volume of trade in grain, timber, fish and cloth they control has far exceeded the traditional Mediterranean luxury goods trade, and the trade in spices, silks and precious stones that Spain and other Mediterranean powers are proud of is all over the place!

Sadly, despite Spain's long-term dependence on Northwest Europe, these Low Countries that had been under Spanish rule could not escape the fate of Spain - a large part of the gold and silver they earned were given to Spain to finance Spain's military expenses against the rise of Britain.

And more importantly, as religious reform spread from Germany all the way north to the Low Countries, this more concise doctrine was quickly accepted by the fast-paced people of the Low Countries, and a large number of Low Countries converted to Christianity. Note, however, that the successive kings of Spain, represented by Philip II, were extremely opposed to this, and they were extremely keen on the strangulation of Protestantism – just as the invasion of Navarre in France was true.

Especially more than ten years ago, Philip II appointed a rather extreme governor, the Duke of Alva, as the governor of the Netherlands to rule over these lowland people, and as a result, this guy bloodily executed* more than 10,000 Protestants after he arrived, and this atrocity instantly ignited the anger of the Dutch people!

But then again, no one can bear this matter anymore, and they spend money and die, and they can't live this day! So the seven northern provinces formed the Utrecht League and began to violently resist Spanish rule.

Beginning in 1568, the war for freedom was fought for eighty years, until 1648, when the Dutch Republic was recognized by other European countries.

The Dutch national anthem "Ode to Wilhelm" is 16 verses long, and it is estimated that it will take more than ten or twenty minutes to sing all of them, which is almost a narrative poem of the 80-year war in which the Dutch people sought freedom and independence! Modern important occasions are generally only played in one section, not all of them, otherwise some occasions are very inappropriate.

For example, in the World Cup, if Spain and the Netherlands face off, the national anthem is sung at the beginning, and if the Dutch players sing to the tenth quarter:

In the face of adversity,

I don't relent for anything else,

In addition to seeing the king

A land in decline –

You are trampled by Spain,

the sweet Dutch motherland;

If I think about it,

My noble heart will bleed.

......

It is estimated that the hearts of the Spanish players will bleed! Isn't it? Sixteen years have passed since the beginning of the Eighty Years' War, and the rich northern lowland countries, with the covert support of Britain and other countries, have erupted in waves of anti-Spanish rule!

Listening to Henry, it seems that the Netherlands is at war recently, and there is no small movement! It is said that there are firefights on land and sea, and the iron ore of the surrounding countries is sold out! The price has increased several times, and the supply of arms and arms is even more in short supply!

It is said that although Elizabeth I expressed neutrality in public, how is this possible? The masses across the narrow English Channel from themselves are opposing their number one enemy! How could Elizabeth not get involved in such a harmonious matter? I know that Elizabeth I was not keen on war, but she was never afraid of it!

So I decided to save the country with a curve! Head north to Holland and aid them in their war! Sneaking up on the Spaniards from behind can also be regarded as collecting some interest for the previous holidays! At the same time, I try to hook up with the Queen of England as much as possible - after all, I have helped her allies, and I am from the East of her dreams, so this is undoubtedly the perfect way to meet! I'm a voter!

It's going to be war again! As soon as I made up my mind, everyone mobilized. Bordeaux is one of the most developed ports in France for the seafaring industry, on a par with Marseille, and I can get almost the best supplies here.

Why almost? Because of the accelerated research and improvement of ships in recent years, their new ships, such as the English Galen, are far above the average of ships of other countries.

But such a sharp weapon must be restricted from purchasing, otherwise the empire only needs to put on a vest, and it can be mixed to buy the latest warship, and it can also save the cost of research and development, and it will be embarrassing to use the spear of the other and the shield of the other! So I had to resupply in the existing conditions.

The shipyard in Bordeaux was turned around by me and did not consider new ships, because the new shipbuilding only has a cycle of dozens of days, so I "searched for treasures" in those second-hand ships.

Of course, we were able to deplete our capital very quickly, so I sold most of the goods brought from the Far East at the port – of course, all low-end goods, and I kept the high-end goods for other purposes.

Europeans are accustomed to drinking wine, and occasionally tasting wine from East Asia is really open meat! Coupled with the excellent texture of silk fabrics, tea leaves and precious stones, it was enough for me to become a local tyrant again.

When I was carrying a huge amount of money around, the owners of various shipyards offered me like a god of wealth, and soon I got what I wanted.

A large North Sea armed three-masted sailing ship, ninety percent new, the inner and outer decks have been tempered and reinforced, the bow rams, the stern has added a spinnaker, the interior pattern of the cabin is more than a combat pattern, and the ratio of combat and commercial use is about seven to three, which is very much in line with my current needs.

A Venetian gunboat, eighty percent new, although it does not look as good as the first one, but the advantage is that the gun emplacements are full, and there is no need to reinstall the guns. One hundred and fifty cannons fit my style of fighting while walking, so I took it too.

In addition, a few frigates, spinnakers and other small boats have been strengthened, and it is also a good choice to be cannon fodder at critical moments! Especially when the big deal of the first two ships was happily concluded, these small boats were actually half-bought and given away, and naturally everyone was happy.

Before I set off, I sent someone to inform me that I would not regret it, and not to disclose the relationship between us for the time being, they still used the name of the Blade Sea Chamber of Commerce according to the previous name, and I put on Hua Mei's vest, and the combat merchant fleet I am carrying now has the flag of the "Frost Rose" Chamber of Commerce!

Set sail! May 1, 1584, Labor Day. The weather in Beihai is calm, but it doesn't affect the waves in my heart!

It's been five years since I came into this world. I started as a scrap wood kid in a fishing village in Shandong, and today I have finally arrived at the center of the world in this era! In other words, the region with the fastest development, the most thorough reform, and the most fierce struggle was, of course, the birthplace of the subsequent invasion of the world.

North! North! Although I still remember my second uncle's advice in my heart, if I want to go to Italy, I have to go through the Strait of Gibraltar – or by land, of course, and both options are too dangerous, because the threat of the Spaniards hangs over my head like a sword of Damocles! I have to find a backer before I can develop it.

Two days later, we were near the English Channel, and as long as we continued north to the Thames Canal, we could soon reach London and connect with no regrets. But after careful consideration, I decided to go to the Netherlands first, and when I have a certain amount of capital, it is not too late to go to London!

We passed through many ports along the way without stopping, until it came to Antwerp, which belonged to modern-day Belgium, the seven lowland provinces of the time, and the most developed seafaring center, that I ordered the port to be sent. Before I officially rushed to Amsterdam, I had to gather information nearby, and I would not fight uncertain battles, which was my principle all along!

However, as close as I got to the port, I saw the city burning! What's going on here? Why are there fires everywhere?

There seems to be a fight at the dock not far away, and it seems that the situation in the city has largely gotten out of control! Should I check it out? Looking at the masses of people fighting together, I fell into deep thought.

At that moment, Christina pointed to the group and said, "It's the Utrecht League fighting the Doge's forces!" ”

I followed her finger and sure enough, some of the people in the battle had an orange strip of cloth wrapped around their arms, just like the world-famous golden tulips in the Netherlands!

It's just clear that the Utrecht League is far inferior to the forces directly under the governor, and they are losing ground and their positions are constantly being compressed in the direction of the port!

I thought about it for a moment and ordered: "Fire!" Support the Utrecht League! Hit those who don't have orange armbands! ”

Our fleet immediately slowed down, crossed the hull, and aligned its belly in the direction of the dock.

Both sides in the battle secretly screamed that it was over! Because they didn't have reinforcements, I was mistaken for each other's helpers by both sides, and the hearts of both sides were pulling out the cold!

But as the artillery began to roar, the frightened Utrecht Confederate combatants slowly let go of their hands on their heads—as the whistling shells swept over their heads and landed in the crowd of the Governor's troops!

Cheers! The Utrecht League has begun a counteroffensive!