When the British returned, they took the ships of the Hua Dynasty, and the speed increased significantly.

These iron-clad wooden boats were equipped with a complete set of steam devices, and although the power was mainly derived from the sails, the auxiliary effect of the steam engine made the sailing speed greatly increased.

In less than half a year, the British mission was back on the island of Britain, where the air was not so polluted that it was dark when it rained.

Li Siqi stepped out of the carriage and stretched her waist, the exotic scenery did not bring her too many surprises, but on the way to sail, she felt enough novelty.

Those terrible storms, huge sea beasts, and beautiful islands and reefs all brought her different feelings.

Hamilton obviously saw the gap between Jinling and London, and knew that this was not enough to amaze the princess, so he stepped forward with an embarrassed face and said, "Shall we go to meet the Lord Protector today?" ”

Cromwell forced the British monarch to abdicate, dissolved Parliament, and turned Britain into a bourgeois republic, established the English Republic, and served as the Lord Protector, becoming the de facto head of state of Britain.

Li Siqi has learned English, and half a year of sailing time has given her a certain understanding of England and Europe. In particular, the University of Oxford, which has been established for more than 500 years, and the University of Cambridge, which has been established for more than 400 years, made her very eager to visit it.

"What's there to do in your English?" Li Siqi smiled brightly, shook off the green silk, tied a simple and generous bun, and asked abruptly.

Gu Tong of the Hua Dynasty delegation was instructed by the emperor before leaving, how could he allow Li Siqi to go alone to visit the mountains and rivers, coughed lightly, and said: "Let's go and meet the protector first, the lower officials have a task on their bodies." ”

"Okay then" Li Siqi, who was a little disappointed, spread her hands and compromised, delaying her godfather's business, she didn't dare.

"Then you go, I'll wait for you outside with the others." Li Siqi didn't want to see the protector of England, and in her opinion, there was nothing good to see about these people

At his estate, Cromwell received guests from the East, dressed in traditional English dress with black lapels, and his thinning hair hung down to the sides, looking very tired.

Cromwell's physical condition deteriorated, the domestic economic situation continued to deteriorate, and the class contradictions became increasingly acute, and Cromwell was never able to stabilize the situation. His performance in politics was far less brilliant than in the civil war, and the British still needed an emperor from the bottom of their hearts.

Cromwell insisted on refusing to be emperor, because it was contrary to his philosophy.

The news of the arrival of the envoys of the Chinese Dynasty made the protector a little excited, and he had long heard about the Chinese attacking the Dutch and Spain in the Far East.

Britain and the Netherlands are now in full swing and are completely suppressed, and it is also a good choice if they can temporarily integrate the internal and resolve the contradictions through external wars.

Unfortunately, they could not defeat the Dutch, although the Chinese dynasty had seized the East Indies, causing the Dutch to suffer heavy losses. But years of capital accumulation still allowed them to steadily suppress the British navy.

Maybe I can borrow the Chinese and defeat the hateful Dutchman

With this in mind, Cromwell set up a sumptuous reception luncheon, with British delicacies on sterling silver tableware.

Led by the servants, he came to Cromwell's own manor, and saw the Protector dressed in funny clothes, and Gu Tong and the others had been prepared for a long time, so they did not laugh out loud.

"My guests from the East, thank you for coming all the way, please be seated."

Cromwell tried to maintain gentlemanly manners, and the British cared about this very much, and they were afraid of losing face in everything they did.

The lids in front of the table were lifted by the servants, revealing the food inside. At this time, there was no such thing as not eating offal, in fact they ate almost everything, and they also liked to dye it red, just like the raw.

Symbolically eating some bread or something, Gu Tong couldn't help but rejoice in his heart, fortunately, His Majesty was far-sighted and ordered us to bring a cook, otherwise we would have to die here if we drank blood so much.

After half a year of sailing, most of the people accompanying him learned simple English from Siyi Pavilion and foreigners.

Gu Tong wiped his mouth and said in his heart: On such an occasion, it is not the place to discuss national affairs, it is better to wait until their court.

After eating, Cromwell led everyone to his study, looking left and right, and estimated that this place was almost the same as the Nuanfang Pavilion in the Forbidden City, but it was 108,000 miles lower.

"Your Excellency the Lord Protector, we have come to England this time, and we have been entrusted by the Holy Lord to convey it to His Excellency the Lord Lord of the Protector. We, the Chinese Dynasty, are willing to work with England to formulate new rules of navigation as terms and norms for all nations. We in the east and England in the west supervise and control the sea to maintain peace and stability at sea. ”

When the interpreter explained these words, Cromwell's eyes lit up, which coincided with his ambition.

Cromwell's Britain began to show signs of rising as a world power, and the sea power strategy that ran through it was an important manifestation of Britain's rise: through the use of the navy, the government of the Republic was able to unify the British Isles; defeated the Netherlands in naval battles, making the Law of Navigation the new rule of international trade; Through the Anglo-Spanish War and a series of subsequent diplomatic means, it extended its sea power throughout the Atlantic, and ultimately improved Britain's international standing.

Even after Cromwell's death, he caused the provisional regime to disintegrate, but the successive British governments, including the Restoration Dynasty, inherited Cromwell's sea power strategy, and even the strategic goals he did not achieve were realized in later generations, so the Cromwell era can be regarded as the initial stage of British sea power, and a number of sea power initiatives of Cromwell and his government laid the foundation for the development of later generations and created a precedent.

"If we are willing to form an alliance with your country, then what kind of help will we get? I mean, of course, in the Far East and with us here. Cromwell's voice was a little hoarse, but he was very succinct and clear. His understanding of the Chinese Dynasty became more profound with the arrival of more and more Chinese merchants. Especially the Cossacks, who were famous in Europe, were beaten by the Chinese army and could not lift up, and it is said that tens of thousands of heads were cut off.

This sentence was asked very abruptly, without the slightest concealment and tactfulness, fortunately Gu Tong had already prepared. Before leaving, His Majesty's teachings were kept in mind, and he said casually: "You will get an allied force of no less than three hundred ships of the expeditionary fleet, which will be enough to crush the enemy in front of you. ”

Expeditionary fleet? Wouldn't that mean that the Chinese want to meddle in the continent? Cromwell keenly caught this, frowned and asked, "Where do your expeditions plan to land?" ”

He didn't want such a powerful force to land in the British Isles, even if they were acting as allies. Pragmatic Europeans are the ones who love to sign contracts, but they are also the ones who don't believe in contracts, and when you are strong enough to get out, contracts are a piece of waste paper.

"Of course it's Spain, the Western rebel chieftain has an enmity with our Hua Dynasty, and our Majesty said that in the next few years, Dahua will set up a governor's palace in Madrid."