On 11 November 1688, a small flotilla led by the three-deck battleship "Executive Committee" sailed into the important trading port of Vlissingen in Zeeland Province.

Vlissingen was an important port of entry for goods on the East Coast, and was home to a large number of maritime merchants, and was always an important support force for the republicans. Moreover, Zeeland was also the stronghold of the West India Company, from the big merchants to the ordinary citizens, many of whom were shareholders of the West India Company. Although the company had been recapitalized twice by the East India Company due to financial difficulties, the East India Company was now also friendly to the East Coast (they had recently given a loan that had been relented by the East Coasters to the Ottomans), not to mention the small shareholders who had made real gains on the East Coast.

Therefore, when the "Executive Committee" arrived in the port of Vlissingen with two frigates, four light cruisers, and an ammunition supply ship, they received a rather warm welcome from the locals. The two Dutch warships in the harbor also came out and exchanged salutes with the people on the east coast, and the scene was very harmonious for a while.

However, when the ships on the east coast berthed and the officers and men went ashore, they were met by some Dutch who showed hostility. Yes, even in a city like Flissingen, where capitalist commerce was very developed and republicans had been running for many years, there was still a certain number of people inclined to Orange. Most of them are old-school aristocrats and old-fashioned elements, and they are not particularly interested in overseas trade, particularly hostile to France, and not very friendly to infidels.

But the opinions of these people are really insignificant, and no one cares what they think. After coming ashore, the naval officers on the east coast had lunch with some Dutch militia chiefs and naval officers in the port of Vlissingen and did some goodwill activities. In particular, they donated 100,000 dong (about 33,000 yuan) to the orphanage, which won the favor of the Dutch citizens and covered this action, which was originally a propaganda of force.

Of course, the preaching of force is still real. The three-deck battleship "Executive Committee" surpassed any warship in active service with the Dutch Navy in terms of tonnage, firepower, and maneuverability. In the United Provinces, where maritime awareness is very strong and overseas trade is unusually developed, the "persuasiveness" of such warships works more than anything else! Many Dutchmen who did not keep their minds up to date had always thought that the Dutch navy was the only one in the world, but after seeing the small but very elite fleet of the East Coasters, they were also a little silent, and at the same time thought about the future of the United Province Navy and overseas trade.

"We've found something interesting lately." Sitting opposite Captain Moree Moree, the former ambassador of the United Provinces to the East Coast and now a member of the Zeeland Provincial Council, Hieronymus van Beverninghe, said with a smile: "Wilhelm III has transferred a lot of money from the treasury in order to 'entertain' his German friends, which has caused many people to be dissatisfied, especially the Dutch Army, whose share of its military spending has been reduced. In addition, some of the funds used for the construction of roads, fortresses, piers, and seawalls are also considered to have been misappropriated, and we have found out with great difficulty, and the total amount is about 30 million guilders, which have been taken by the Orange family, and their whereabouts are unknown. But we have reason to suspect that the money was used by them to hire foreign mercenaries, mainly Prussians, Saxons and Walloons in the South Netherlands. These troops were to be secretly brought to England by William III to support him on the throne. ”

"Misappropriation of funds? What kind of damage could these have done to William III? Will it be enough to shake his rule? Mo Lie's eel was a little interested after hearing this, and immediately asked.

"You can make him a big fool, but you can't get him out of office for the time being. You know, their family has been rooted in the army since the last century, and although many soldiers are now opposed to him because of the coveting of the throne of England, there are still many loyal to him, and most of them are concentrated in the northern provinces, and Amsterdam is also controlled by an army that is completely loyal to him. In the somewhat precarious southern provinces, more than 20,000 allied troops from Germany have recently been stationed, completely at the behest of Wilhelm III. These people had a lot of bad things with the local Dutch army, and they did not have a good relationship, and many people regarded them as invaders. Van Beferninghe said: "I mean, what Wilhelm III has done in the last year has been a big disappointment. Many people don't understand why he should be the king of England when he is already the ruler of the United Provinces, and that position is so appealing to him. These have undoubtedly bred too many people's dissatisfaction. No one believed that if he succeeded in ascending to the throne of England, he would be evenly seated between the two countries, after all, your throne is in London, not The Hague, right? ”

Mo Lie's eel was a little unimpressed after hearing this. The misappropriation of funds for the construction of people's livelihood to engage mercenaries for their own personal interests is of course a big scandal, which will reduce the people's prestige, which is already much worse than before, and more people will be shaken and dissatisfied with the military system. But the question is, who is going to organize them to rise up against William III? It is a pity that the republicans are currently in a state of cooperation with some officers, but it is not enough! What about William III's reputation? If you don't overthrow him, will he go on his own? Now it is necessary to continue to create public opinion to expose the old black materials of William III, but it is also necessary to master some powerful weapons, which is the biggest shortcoming of the republicans!

Having studied Dutch history, he knew that the Orange family had been anti-Spanish and anti-French and had run the army for many generations and had a deep-rooted power. Even after the death of Wilhelm II, the republicans mixed a lot of sand into the army, which only reduced the family's control a little, not to mention the fact that they reorganized the army during the Franco-Dutch War, and their control was greatly increased. What really had a fatal effect on the Orange family's influence in the army was William III's intention to become king of England, which made it impossible for him to morally claim to be a Dutch protector, after all, the protector would not betray Dutch interests.

In addition to the Army, the Orange family has also focused on infiltrating the Navy over the years, eliminating the phenomenon of the republican dominance of the Navy in the era of the DeWitt brothers. In the current United Province Navy, the influence of the Orange family is still very strong, and at least a considerable part of the ships can be controlled for their own use, and the Republicans have fallen into disadvantage.

Therefore, Mo Lie's eel now feels that the republicans are a little unfocused. You're actually right to make black materials, because it can win you some momentum, but isn't it more important at this time to turn this trend into a winning trend? Mo Liege felt that he should remind these fellows that it was time to follow the example of William III and rely on foreign forces to back them up in order to gain an advantage in the brutal battle for power in the future.

"Hieronymus, allow me to interrupt, but I really want to know, how many armies are you able to influence at the moment? I mean, in the event of a conflict with the Orange faction, how many troops will be resolutely on your side, and how many will remain neutral? Hearing Van Beverningh's tirade, Moree immediately interrupted: "This is very important, please answer me after thinking about it." ”

"I guess there were about 10,000 people, I'm not sure for sure, but we had a lot of officers who were in contact with him, and they were very unhappy with William III and said they wouldn't go with them to England. There were quite a few people in the navy who were co-opted by them, because many of the big wholesalers in Amsterdam were deceived by William III, believing that he would bring them unimaginable benefits once he took over London, which influenced many naval choices. As for how many of them, it's really hard to say. After thinking for a long time, Hieronymus Van Beverninghe said with a little blush: "Actually, I don't care too much about this matter, this has always been done by the Conrad faction. ”

Mo Lie's head grew when he heard it. These waste republicans are full of "maybe" and "maybe", which are pure speculation and directly give people an unreliable impression. They also said that many officers did not support William III's entry into London, but that does not mean that they would support you republicans! He said that he could control more than 10,000 troops, but Mo Liege felt very suspicious, because people's hearts are very complex and can change at any time, and maybe one day they will turn to the side of the Orange family.

"Hieronymus, I now formally suggest that you immediately hire a group of troops as a core of armed forces that you can directly command. With these people, you can use this as a core to influence and coerce more Dutch troops, and then take on the Orange family. To put it mildly, if you don't have an army at your disposal that you can absolutely trust, the generals who have been in contact with you and expressed their support may be co-opted back at any time. You see, Wilhelm III knew that he had hired men from Germany, stationed in Nijmegen, and echoed his troops in Holland and Groningen, wouldn't you learn from it? Moree looked at Van Beverningh and said, "Weren't you interested in the Seventh Mixed Battalion before?" I tell you now, yes, yes, you can hire them now. This time I arrived in Vlissingen with a group of left-behind personnel of the 7th Mixed Battalion, and the affairs on the Black Sea side are almost understood, and the main forces of the 7th Mixed Battalion may return at any time, so I will have people inform the Viana Castel side, and as soon as I arrive, I will immediately move north and arrive in Vlissingen, how about it? ”

"I have no opinion. Hire the Seventh Mixed Battalion, it was Conrad's idea. He believes that the 1st Mixed Battalion saved Speaker De Witt in The Hague and is our unbreakable ally, and that the 7th Mixed Battalion is also a unit with great achievements, and I think they can also do a good job. Van Beferningh replied.

"Good." Mo Liege nodded and said: "It's not enough to have a seventh mixed battalion, in fact, we will also recruit three thousand mercenaries in Portugal (in fact, the same one that went to the Black Sea before), the cost will be paid by you, they have fought with the Russians, have rich combat experience, and can be trusted." Of course, if you are willing to pay more, there are still a lot of Cossack prisoners over there, which can also be used. ”

"Go and prepare, sir, time is precious." "We'll return to Bruges in a few days, and then we'll organize a fleet to cruise the Strait of Dover to see if anything happens," said Moriel. ”