Winter London is warm and fascinating because of a little coal.

And the Netherlands, who lack food and clothing, live like a year throughout the winter, whether they are Spaniards or Dutch.

As the Duke of Avar said to Philip II when he left Spain, he wanted to make the Netherlands a new world.

Alpha immediately set up a "Rebellion Committee" to suppress the revolution in bloody ways, and more than 8,000 rebels were executed, including the nobles Count Egmont and General Horn. The mayor of Antwerp, the head of the bourgeoisie, was also sent to the gallows. Alfa also instituted a new tax system, with a property tax on all movable and immovable property and a transaction tax on all goods, in an attempt to economically stifle the Dutch Revolution.

He said viciously: "It is better to leave a poor Netherland to God than a rich Netherland to the devil." ”

The establishment of the Investigation Committee almost threw the entire Netherlands into chaos, disrupting the proper order of the Netherlands, and the nobles and commoners were in danger, and could be arrested at any time because of rumors.

A startling uprising ensued throughout the Netherlands, spreading throughout the Netherlands, with millions of Dutch people supporting and sympathizing with them.

The Spaniards, who had firmly held the cities, could only defend themselves and completely renounced their domination over the rural areas.

Subsequently, the rebel army, under the guidance of merchants, nobles, and Englishmen, began an era of full-scale counter-offensive.

By the beginning of 1567, the entire northern provinces of the Netherlands had largely become independent from Spanish rule.

And in the southern provinces, although not yet free from Spanish control, the Duke of Avar did not have a good time.

The Dutch formed "forest beggars" guerrillas in the dense forest, constantly attacking small Spanish troops, punishing the Spanish minions, and beating the Duke of Avar into a daze.

At first, he dealt with the rebel forces in the provinces with all his might, and carried out fierce attacks on the major cities.

He carried out the brutal sacking of many cities in an attempt to stop this trend by violence, but it could not save Spain from defeat in the northern provinces.

In this environment, however, the Dutch people became more and more courageous and fearless of death.

At that time, the Venice ambassador to the Netherlands wrote: "It is noteworthy that, despite the timid nature of the inhabitants of the cold climate, when the death penalty was imposed, they all defied fate with rare courage." ”

In desperation, Philip II had no choice but to summon the Duke of Avar back to Spain and appoint a man named Lieson as the governor of the Netherlands.

In January 1567, with the exception of Amsterdam, the Netherlands, Sealand and the whole of northern Dutch were liberated from Spanish rule.

At this time, the northern provinces, anxious to free themselves from Spanish rule, jointly recommended Louis, the new Prince of Orange, brother of the late William, Prince of Orange, as governor.

However, the Dutch nobility, in view of the lack of prestige of the new governor Louis, established the Independent Council of the Northern Provinces to exercise great power.

Therefore, in order to better free the whole of the Netherlands from Spanish rule, the provinces of the Netherlands decided to convene a three-tier parliament to discuss the future direction of the Netherlands.

When Philip II learned of this, he was furious, and he ordered the new governor to use all means to organize the convening of the Estates-General.

In March, the new governor went to great lengths to surround the seaside city of Lydon in an attempt to prevent the convening of the Estates-General.

In this regard, the small Lyden City has held on for more than three months, and it has almost reached the point of running out of food.

"This group of Spaniards is really amazing!" A young nobleman on the city wall, wiped the sweat from his forehead, looked at the blood and limbs everywhere, and then looked at the crowded Spanish soldiers, and couldn't help but sigh.

"Don't worry, we'll win!"

At this moment, there was a sudden sound in the ears of the young nobleman, and he turned his head to see that it was Mr. John from England.

As the spokesman of England in the Netherlands, this gentleman distributed gold coins and supported many of the revolts, and even most of the weapons and equipment were transferred from England by him.

Even, a few years ago, due to the tyranny of the Duke of Avar, the Netherlands was collectively short of food, so that this low-country country almost did not survive.

After all, starvation to exterminate infidels is not just rhetoric.

For this reason, it was heard that the English transferred grain directly from Ireland and transported it directly to the Netherlands.

Although the price is much more expensive, the rest of the countries dare not offend Spain and dare to transport grain.

Therefore, the Dutch are deeply grateful to the English, and to His Majesty Edward, whom they have never heard of.

"I have overcome such a difficult moment, what is so terrible about this difficulty!"

John looked at the endless Spanish soldiers under the walls, and then whispered to the young nobleman.

"I'm afraid, we'll all end up jumping into the sea!" The young nobleman sighed helplessly.

"Sea, sea—" John exclaimed abruptly at the words.

Leiden City is only six nautical miles from the sea, and its low terrain is protected by sluices, which is why the city is born.

But what if the floodgates open?

On this day, the defenders of the city suddenly opened the sluice gates in a state of confusion on the faces of the Spaniards, and the outside of Leiden suddenly became a flooded country, and the Spanish troops besieging the city were all trapped in the sea, suffered heavy losses, and finally had to withdraw in embarrassment.

The victory in the Battle of Leiden greatly consolidated the victory of the uprising in the northern provinces and also promoted the uprising activities in the southern provinces.

In response, His Majesty Edward of London directly toasted a glass of wine.

And King Philip II of Spain became more and more grumpy, rubbish, garbage, such scolding on the street, endlessly.

John of England took advantage of this rare opportunity to gather the spokesmen of the northern and southern provinces and began a new round of meetings.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the chains that the Spaniards have placed on the Dutch are about to be destroyed, and at this time to celebrate, we have to face the question: What is the future of the Netherlands?"

The aristocracy of the year came to power, and in the city of Ghent, raised such a thought-provoking question.

"I propose that Governor Louis be appointed Governor Plenipotentiary of the Netherlands and continue to lead the Netherlands uprising against Spain!"

There was even a proposal to make Charles II, the younger brother of the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian II, the Grand Duke.

Of course, it was also suggested that King Edward VI of England should be brought in to counter Spain.

Thus, in the city of Ghent, after much debate and discussion in the Estates-General for nearly a month, a proposal was finally put forward: to repeal all the decrees issued by Alfa, to reaffirm the original rights of the cities, and to unite the north and the south against Spain.

As a result, it is also known as the Ghent Agreement.