After leaving Antwerp, Gawain just took the overland route, avoiding the area where the French and the Dutch were fighting, and traveled all the way by car, horseback, and boat, and with great difficulty entered the province of Zeeland, arriving at the city of Behenopzom where the soldiers had fought on the east coast.

It's been years since the floods devastated the city, and it has yet to fully recover. Frank Banning, who served as mayor, had a good impression of the East Coasters, and although Yang Liang's army had tricked them when they retreated, he didn't seem to mind, and he still remembered the scene when they fought side by side against the French.

However, Jan Marko Van Beresten, who worked as a lawyer, was not angry enough to demand compensation from the East Coast soldiers, because on more than one occasion during the fighting in Berchenopzom, they looted the supplies, food and even salaries that should have belonged to all mercenaries. Even before the withdrawal, the troops under the command of Major Yang Liang forcibly took away from the garrison a lot of military supplies that should have been prepared for the troops of the Prince of Orange, and this was undoubtedly the people of Behenopzom City.

Gawain was a little embarrassed after hearing this, but fortunately, Mayor Frank Banning was more generous, saying that this was all in the past, and there was no need to hold on to it now. It is said that at the beginning, when all kinds of mercenaries gathered in the alliance of the seven provinces, the people on the east coast should have good military discipline, but the war department of Zeeland province went too far, and the officials and nobles stole and sold out the warehouses (and even sold them to the French), so that the food, military funds and salaries that should have been allocated to the mercenaries were never very sufficient, and a lot of resentment was accumulated, so that in the end, the people on the east coast directly did not give face and started to "take it for themselves".

"Ignore him, the guy with the surname Van Belesten in his name is just a wretched worm, and he can't even feed his own family now." Frank Banning stepped forward, shook Gao Wengang's hand, and said, "He used to earn 600 guilders a year, but now he can earn 100 guilders, God bless." There was no way, the war was not over yet, the local economy had not fully recovered, and there were few people in the lawsuits now, so I asked him to work as a judicial officer in the city government. ”

"But even if the financial difficulties are met, those disgusting Catholic priests can earn 450 guilders a year." Van Belesten also came up and shook hands with Gao Wengang, and said in a jealous tone: "I just see that they are unhappy, these people do nothing, and the French do not trouble them during the war." ”

"Even a Catholic priest is a servant of the Lord. When would this honorable profession be so repulsively despised? O God, it is a shame that we, your lovely servants, are so despised, and that there are so many inferior servants in this world who are held in a higher esteem than your holy servants. Hearing Van Beresten say this, Pastor Johannes could not sit still and immediately stepped forward to reprimand.

The smile on Frank Banning's face became even more embarrassing, and he first stopped the quarrel between the two, and then decisively changed the subject: "Dear Mr. Special Envoy, it is the most correct choice to go to The Hague via Bergen Opzom. As your first stop in the United Provinces, we have received orders to escort you and your entourage to The Hague as soon as possible, where the Prince of Orange will meet you. How about leaving tomorrow? ”

"I don't have a problem." Gao Wengang replied.

Everyone exchanged pleasantries on the street, and then entered a beautiful villa that served as the city government. Here, Frank Banning had a cordial conversation with Gawaingang, which undoubtedly gave him a lot of first-hand information, and he had heard a lot of news about the course of the war for the first time. Of course, more importantly, it was not only the two of them who attended the talks, but also Konrad van Boiningen, a key republican member who had arrived from Amsterdam after hearing the news.

"Riots have recently erupted in Breda to the east, with peasants outside the city clashing fiercely with militias in the city over taxes, and as many as 50 people have been arrested. This kind of thing has happened so often in recent years that I've become numb. It is maddening that the peasants' fields have been flooded with seawater, their cattle and sheep have been looted by the French, their houses have collapsed, and the losses have been so great that they have not been denied the right to tax exemption. Van Boiningen took the cigarette and match that Gawain had just handed over, looked at it steadily, and then lit the cigarette and said in a mocking tone: "Breda is a city belonging to the Orange faction, and the nobles and officials there have reached the point of extreme exaggeration in order to feed the army fighting on the South Netherlands front, and they do not consider reality. ”

Frank Banning listened to this, and his heart was concerned. Naturally, the city of Behenopzom is not a Orange-majority city, but it is not necessarily the case that it is controlled by the republicans, and it can only be said that it is slightly leaning towards the republicans, and of course, Frank Banning, as the mayor, is now supporting the republicans.

There are also cities similar to Berchenopzom, such as Leiden, Haarlem, Delft, Rotterdam, and Flissingen, which are clearly republican, and there are as many cities as Breda, Horen, Utrecht, and Enkhuizen that support the Prince of Orange, so that the United Province has always been divided, as it has historically shown, and everyone has been united in the form of alliances.

After marrying the eldest daughter of James, Duke of York, the current William III was really ambitious, but unfavorable news on the battlefield and financial pressures prevented him from continuing the war. He was now tired and knew that if it continued, the outcome of the war would be difficult to predict, because the French army had recently readjusted its forces and launched its largest offensive in a year on the South Netherlands line, quickly breaking through the defenses of the United Provinces and the German army, and capturing large cities such as Ghent in one fell swoop. William III was afraid that the ten provinces of South Netherlands would fall and the United Provinces would lose important buffer areas, so he was not very reluctant to negotiate peace with the French, but he obviously did not have a complete grasp of his mind, and he was always picky about the terms offered by the French, and often did not respond, and anyone with a discerning eye knew that he was not reconciled. Van Boiningen continued.

As a stalwart of the republican faction, Van Boiningen's words were highly valued by Gao Wengang. So he listened quietly all the time, sometimes whispering to his assistant what to record.

"I have recently heard a rumour, and perhaps from the Orange faction, that when the second Duke of Buckingham came from England a few years ago to persuade William to agree to peace talks, he said, 'Can't you see that your country has failed', to which William replied, 'I will not watch it fail, for I will die in the last remaining trench of our country.'" Although it is not clear what the purpose of such rumors was at this time, we highly suspect that the Orange faction was cooperating with William III's steps, on the one hand, to enhance his heroic image, and on the other hand, to show his determination not to negotiate peace for the time being. Van Boiningen said: "At present, it is the parliament and the republican parliamentarians who cherish the material resources of the United Province and promote the peace talks. ”

"You're in control of the Estates-General again?" Gao Wengang was a little surprised when he heard this, so he said in a somewhat urgent tone: "What about the government? Now who has the final say? ”

"Now the government also has the upper hand." Speaking of this, Van Boiningen's face finally had a smile, and he continued: "The war has been going on so far, the entire seven-province alliance has paid a huge price, and the human, material, and financial resources have been consumed to the limit, and too many people realize that the war can no longer continue, and the United Provinces need a respite. As a result, the support we have received has also increased considerably in the last two years, after all, not a single French soldier is now nowhere to be seen in the entire Seven-Provinces Alliance, and many people are beginning to think about their future lives after the crisis. This includes not only our traditional supporters, such as merchants and townspeople, but also many aristocrats and peasants – especially those who have lost a lot of money in digging seawalls to flood the country. ”

Van Boiningen's words made Gao Wengang feel a little refreshed. Originally, he thought that after turning the tide and expelling the French, and inviting many countries to form a grand alliance against France, the Prince of Orange should be the only one. But now it sounds interesting how the republicans gradually gained momentum, and even resurrected to control the parliament and greatly influence the government.

Ah, yes, if he couldn't fully control the situation, why did the Prince of Orange use all three indiscriminate means to murder the DeWitt brothers in the first place? If he was not in full control of the situation, why would William III rush to marry the second in line to the British throne? You must know that the political implications of the marriage of the heads of the two largest military and political groups in Protestantism are not insignificant, and I heard that William III actually liked someone else, and he was very uninterested in this noble cousin, so he could already take a peek at it.

So, what's going on now? What is the attitude of your government and your allies towards the peace talks? Gao Wengang asked step by step what he was eager to know.

"The Estates-General and the Government were already inclined towards peace talks, because life was too difficult for the people, but because of the ambiguity of the Prince of Orange's attitude, or more precisely, his preference for a temporary period of non-peace talks, he could not make a final decision. Although the envoys of the two sides had many contacts in Ainault, they never reached any substantive agreement. Van Boiningen smoked a cigarette, looked out the window, and said in a thoughtful tone: "But recently, King Louis XIV of France suddenly threw out the killer idea, the French agreed to lower tariffs and allow more Dutch goods to enter the country, which set off a huge wave in Amsterdam, and caused many original centrists to join us in support." ”

In fact, as Van Boiningen said, the Dutch did not have much confidence to continue fighting because of the exhaustion of money in the war. Then the French suddenly threw out the bait of low tariffs, and suddenly broke through the psychological defenses of the Dutch, so that the stalwarts of society turned to support peace talks and resume commerce as soon as possible. At this time, the Prince of Orange, who had always shown himself to be resolutely resistant to France, was a little embarrassed, and many of those who had originally supported him also turned to support the republicans after weighing it again, because they seemed to be able to eat their stomachs, which can be seen from the republicans' regain control of the city of Amsterdam after 1677.

However, due to various factors, this time and space lasted until the second half of 1678, when the republicans regained power in many cities, and the parliament and government slowly gained the upper hand. Previously, because of the bad relations with the Dutch, almost all the diplomatic and commercial institutions on the east coast were evacuated, and the news was inevitably a little ineffective, so at this time, I knew about the changes in the Netherlands, but it was not too late!

"So, is it the right time for Speaker DeWitt to return to the United Provinces?" Gao Wengang was already a little excited at this time, and his tone of voice was inevitably a little hurried: "Can't you just exert your strength?" It would be okay to have the government cancel the wanted warrant for the DeWitt brothers, or if it can't be canceled, issue a pardon. In this way, things can be done, and the hope of the republicans to turn the tables is much greater. ”

"It's not hopeful to turn the tables, after all, that person still controls the army and provokes others, but he can do everything. And, you forgot? Pardons can only be issued in the United Provinces, which means they must be in the hands of William III in order to have legal effect. Van Boiningen said with a wry smile: "So you still need your help in this matter, and you can use more means when you are outside." You know, the landed nobles and merchants of the provinces of Friesland, Groningen, Upper IJssel, Drenthele, many of them were in the business of shipyards, weapons, woodworking, and had a lot of business dealings with the East India Company, and they were the most important supporters of the Prince of Orange, and if they were done, it would be more or less the same. ”

"It's the East India Company again, damn it! I feel like I've been dealing with them a little too much lately! Gao Wen laughed as soon as he heard this, and only heard him say: "If that's the case, then things are a little easier." We could try to contact the East India Company, but I'm not really sure if that would work. ”

"It may not have worked before, but now it probably does, and believe me, the situation is different." Van Boiningen said firmly.

"Well, I'll trust you. By the way, your government has now agreed to peace talks, so what do the allies think? Gao Wengang asked again.

"Austria agreed, Spain hesitated, because it was likely to lose territory. Brandenburg-Prussia was opposed because he had to return West Pomerania and other areas that had been conquered by war from Sweden. Oh, by the way, most of the princes of the Holy Roman Empire were actually against the truce, the Kingdom of Denmark also rejected peace talks, and Switzerland has not yet made a clear statement. Van Boiningen replied, and in a few words he clearly pointed out the dynamics of the European continent.