At the end of 1643, the whole 17th-century world was in a fog of ambiguity.

In Europe, England, which was originally an ally, formed an alliance with Spain, and then Spain actually agreed to Portugal's independent status, which made the old Portuguese aristocratic forces who had been running for independence instantly turn against each other and help Spain.

This change in strategy made the situation of the Dutch in Europe somewhat delicate, and if the French were to turn against each other at this time, the balance of victory in the war against Habsburg would have been broken.

Faced with such a situation, the Dutch had to come forward to negotiate with the Australians, hoping that Australia would send troops to Europe to participate in this war, which was extremely important to the Netherlands, and even related to the national fortunes of the Netherlands.

The rise of the Dutch was not only due to the decline of Spain, which was replaced by a strong economic benefit from the maritime transport business, but also due in large part to the struggle for supremacy on the European continent.

The French always wanted to become the hegemon of the European continent, and the British policy towards the European continent has always been to contain and maintain balance, because the Spanish threatened its European territory with a strong threat, so when the Dutch became independent, they sent troops to support it.

It is precisely because of their support that the Dutch have been able to go all the way to the present, but the Netherlands is a small country after all, and it is difficult to compete with Spain alone.

Even now, the Netherlands, with its many overseas colonies, seems to be powerful, but it is not comparable to the old empire of Spain. The demographic advantage alone is not comparable to that of the Dutch, so most of the Dutch soldiers who colonized overseas came from Switzerland.

The confusing changes are unacceptable to many people, and even many soldiers involved in the war do not know whether they are right or not.

this year. There are many things that have happened in Europe, and the balance of victory has been tilted in favor of the anti-Habsburg bloc, but with the inflow of Australian weapons, the other side is like a lion and instantly full of combat effectiveness.

The large-scale use of Australian weapons by both sides could not tell whether they won or lost, and in the end they could only be in a state of half-fight and half-stop.

The semi-armistice in the European theater has forced countries to lay down their arms and negotiate. On the one hand, the skirmishes also started a new prelude in the struggle for colonies overseas.

England, an important ally of the Dutch, turned against them, although it affected them considerably. But the contradictions between the royalists and the parliamentarians in England were also so great that they had to use war to solve the problem.

The final victory in this war pushed open the strong fortress of European royal power and provided the innate conditions for a constitutional monarchy. but also for the rise of England on the sea. Stepping onto the world stage has officially built a platform.

It can be said that 1643 and the beginning of 1644 were definitely the most important period of the century, as the changes that took place in the West and the changes that took place in the East were also taking place.

The Ming Dynasty, which was originally a great country, was overthrown by Li Zicheng's rebel army, and then set the capital in Beijing.

This year is the most crucial year, so for the traversal, a lot of things need to be straightened out.

At the end of each year. The New Year's Day party celebration is an indispensable program for Australian cities and business units, and this year in order to save money. For the first time, the government proposed not to hold a New Year's Eve party.

Subsequently, some other state-owned enterprises also announced that they would not hold New Year's Day and New Year's parties, and would take out the funds needed to hold the party and distribute them to their employees, so as to drive local consumption and inject a new impetus into industrial development.

While this is not very useful, it at least shows that state-owned enterprise groups are changing.

In the face of the chaos in Europe and the situation in the Ming Dynasty, the MPs discussed the theme of the last parliament at the end of the year, and also made all-round changes and transfers for the next work arrangement.

The Dutch want Australia to send troops to Europe to help them completely defeat the Habsburg group, which is absolutely impossible, Australia simply cannot project troops over long distances, and the logistics and materials cannot keep up, and the most important point is that the ultimate goal of the Australians is to make Europe chaotic.

The chaos in Europe is impossible to change, and the Spanish Empire, which should have declined, was able to continue to maintain its imperial glory because of the help of Australia, and relying on its strong diplomatic capabilities, it seems that there is a possibility of bringing the situation back.

But this is by no means what Australia wants to see, Spain's best position is to maintain the status quo, and the Dutch power must be suppressed again to make a stepping stone for Australia's rise in Southeast Asia.

The Dutch are still one of the largest forces in Southeast Asia from the current situation, and although Australia has the Sea Blue as a backing and can suppress the other side at sea, it has absolutely no advantage in terms of troops.

It can even be said that Australia's advantage is completely in weapons, and once the generation gap in weapons is smaller, this advantage will not exist, so now Australia cannot tear up its face with the Netherlands, and both sides need each other to continue to maintain the current relationship to maintain a balance.

As for the rising England, there will be some time before it officially rises, although this is the future maritime hegemon, but with Spain and the Netherlands, its life is definitely not easy, as for the suppression of Spain, Australia has already made a decision, that is, the competition between the Portuguese and Spain, who are not long independent.

The old Portuguese aristocracy, led by the Duke of Bragança, has always sought to revive the Portuguese Empire, and the seemingly generous granting of independence by Spain is a mockery and gift to them, which they will not accept in their hearts.

Not long ago, Yu Bowen had secretly met with the representatives of the Duke of Bragança, and the two sides signed an arms transfer agreement, and the Bragança group, which received arms support, would definitely not continue to submit to Spain.

What's more, the Dutch are not stupid, they have always maintained contact with the Portuguese, so the alliance between the two sides is inevitable, this state of mutual containment, so that Australia is very satisfied, as long as this state of affairs continues to be maintained, it is enough to make the future European powers on the road to rise a hundred years later.

Therefore, as for the extent to which the situation will develop in the future, in fact, the Australian crossing people do not know, and can only make various corresponding judgments and treatments according to the development of the situation, as long as it does not exceed their own estimates, it is good. (To be continued.) )