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"Wait a minute, Lord Wang, I think it's better to let Mr. Miao come in first, ask about the general situation, and then have a response!" Geng Jingzhong was just about to order a few British envoys to come in, but Yao Qisheng stopped him.

Geng Jingzhong was stunned, yes, he was a little impatient. It's better to ask about the general situation first so that you can make a decision. "Please ask the British envoy to serve tea in the living room first, and then let Mr. Miao come here for a while!" Geng Jingzhong turned his head and said to the guards who came to report.

"Yes!"

There were two British envoys who were ordered to come this time. Walpole, Vice-Ambassador, James. Francis. Edward, in fact, this deputy envoy William came to make soy sauce, but his identity is very noble in England, and he is the nephew of the current King Charles II of England. After the death of Charles II, the next king was his father James II, but his father James II was a short-lived king in history, sitting on the throne for only three and a half years before being ousted from his horse, and was the last Catholic king of England. But it cannot be denied that James's identity is honorable.

A few years earlier, the Second Anglo-Dutch War had ended in a small Dutch victory due to the plague in England, the Great Fire of London, and the miserliness of Parliament, much to the disappointment of the British people with the King. After several years of diplomatic mediation, King Charles II was determined to take revenge on the Netherlands, so he began to seek an alliance with France last year. In fact, not only him, but also the British side were unwilling to lose the last war and hoped for a comeback.

Just as James and Robert were on their way to the East, Charles II and King Louis XIV of France sent emissaries to begin close contact. It was at this time when they had just arrived in Fuzhou. Britain and France formally signed the Treaty of Dover. There are two main provisions of the treaty: 1. Charles II has the restoration of Catholicism in England. and the obligation to fight together with France against the Netherlands. After defeating the Dutch, the Dutch islands of Valhelen, Brill, and Kazander were annexed to the British; 2. Louis XIV had the obligation to send troops to suppress possible "riots" in England.

The first clause of this secret treaty was to use troops against the Netherlands together to launch the Third Anglo-Dutch War. Historical facts have also proved that Britain was right, and the Third Anglo-Dutch War was the final stage of the Anglo-Dutch naval struggle and an integral part of the Dutch-French War. The war involved many countries in Europe, and the Netherlands was one of the obstacles to the establishment of French hegemony in Europe, and King Louis XIV of France had long sought to carve up the Netherlands, and made the Dutch territories that are now part of Belgium as France's "natural borders". to consolidate the position of continental hegemony of France.

Since both sides have needs, Miao Quanchen's task in the UK is much smoother. Originally, Miao Quanchen arrived in England at the end of last year and early December, and as soon as he arrived in England, he directly acted as an envoy to King Charles II, and put forward the conditions and requirements given by Geng Jingzhong. However, instead of preparing to send dozens of warships to the East as Geng Jingzhong requested, the number was cut in half, and a royal caravan went to the East together.

"The subordinates see the son, and the subordinates just heard that the old prince has passed away. Is this true? As soon as Miao Quanchen saw Geng Jingzhong, he asked.

"Yes, my father's condition suddenly worsened. He died within three days. Geng Jingzhong said truthfully, Geng Jimao has been dead for a month and a half, and he is not as sad as he used to be, and he tries not to recall Geng Jimao's death, so as not to be sad.

"Lord Wang!" Miao Quanchen suddenly burst into tears, he was saved by Geng Jimao back then, and he stayed by Geng Jimao's side to serve in gratitude. Later, he has been reused by Geng Jimao, and his feelings are deep, almost like brothers. When he came back just now, he didn't believe it when he heard others talking about the death of the old prince, but when it came out of Geng Jingzhong's mouth at this moment, it was absolutely right!

Geng Jingzhong looked at Miao Quanchen's sad appearance, and his mood became heavy. It was not good to interrupt Miao Quanchen's crying, so he had to sit there quietly and remain motionless. Miao Quanchen cried for a while, for three or two minutes, and he also said that he remembered his important things. "The old prince died, but his subordinates couldn't stay by his side to serve, his subordinates should die!"

"Hey, Mr. Miao is serious. I sent you to the ocean, and the responsibility lies with me. The deceased is gone, and my father warned me that I must take the road in the future seriously, so I have to ask Mr. and the two staff officers Yao and Li to assist me more! Geng Jingzhong said seriously, when he was young, Miao Quanchen also gave him a year of lessons, and he still recognized Miao Quanchen's ability, although he had no military talent, but he was a good hand at handling internal affairs.

"The subordinate duty is to live up to the old prince's entrustment. By the way, the prince, the two British envoys have come down with their subordinates, do you want to meet immediately? Miao Quanchen asked.

Geng Jingzhong nodded: "Sir, sit first." I definitely want to see you, no, I invited you here first, I just want to ask about the general situation in the UK first. Yao Qisheng and Li Guangdi also stared at Miao Quanchen and wanted to know the details.

Miao Quanchen cleared his throat, and then said: "My subordinates' trip to the UK is quite smooth, just like what you analyzed before, Lord Wang, Europe is indeed very chaotic now. The general situation is similar to our Sengoku period, but it is different. France is now the most powerful continent in Europe, and King Louis XIV is fighting in the east and west, expanding his territory. France had already set its sights on the Netherlands, sending envoys to meet with King Charles II of England early last year. Until the time of the return of his subordinates, Britain was still in contact with France, and I heard from the grapevine that Britain was preparing to attack the Netherlands together with France a year later, but this news was not widely circulated and unconfirmed, and it was not known whether it was true or false. But what is certain is that Britain and France should join forces, and the unfortunate days of the Netherlands are just around the corner, Charles II received his subordinates, and his subordinates negotiated with him according to the prince's instructions, and finally basically met the prince's requirements. Charles II's personal letter was from those two envoys. ”

I didn't remember the situation in Europe very well before, but after being reminded by Miao Quanchen, Geng Jingzhong knew everything. This third Anglo-Dutch naval battle, in which there is still a share of the French, how can they forget this article. The Netherlands is finished, and the peak of her golden age is about to come to an abrupt end. It is estimated that the Netherlands has no energy to pay attention to the far east now, so in this way, you can let go of your hands and feet!

"By the way, what's going on in Spain?" Geng Jingzhong continued to ask, in addition to attracting Britain as a shield, he also had to care about his main enemy.

"Back to the prince, the relationship between Spain and England is not good, last August, a man named Henry. Morgan's pirates led their troops to capture Panama, a major Spanish overseas city, and returned with a large amount of looted treasure on their ships. However, since the attack took place after the signing of a peace treaty between Spain and Great Britain, he was arrested and tried in London. Ironically, in the end, Morgan was acquitted, mainly because of another change in British foreign policy. This Morgan was not only pardoned, but also knighted. As Sir Henry, he was now designated as the new governor of Jamaica, to which the Spaniards were extremely unhappy, and the diplomatic situation between the two countries was grim. Miao Quanchen truthfully reported what he knew.

"Good! Originally, I also knew that after the war between Britain and Spain, Spain lost its maritime supremacy, and their relationship was extremely bad, and now this Morgan has made the relationship between the two countries even worse. So from this point of view, let's take Luzon Island, and then take the whole of the Philippines, and give all the islands in the south to Britain, presumably Britain is very happy. Also, how can they not be happy, it is none of their business, even if Spain is looking for trouble, they will not look for him directly. But with the British cross-lever, Spain will not dare to make a big move! Geng Jingzhong was overjoyed, and now that this information was confirmed, it would be of great help to his next moves, and they would not have to face so many enemies.

"Congratulations to the prince!" Yao Qisheng and Li Guangdi are also very happy, now that the situation is clear, the Western countries are entangled, and they are beyond the reach of the East, which is the best news for them. In the short term, those Western maritime powers will not focus mainly on the eastern region, then they will have enough time to develop and grow.

"Haha, rejoice! Let's go meet the British envoy! With that, Geng Jingzhong took the lead and walked in the direction of the living room.

This time, the British sent an envoy, but it was hundreds of years earlier than the original history. In the original history, during the period of Emperor Qianlong, it was the 58th birthday of the emperor of Qianlong, and the British sent Magalny to China to negotiate trade matters. At that time, Qianlong felt that China was a great country, and although there was a distinction between China and the world, there was no difference in territory. Therefore, the British envoy came from afar, and it was a tribute from Fanbang, not an exchange between the two countries. At that time, the British Empire was in the ascendant, and it intended to open up Britain's overseas markets by visiting China. Exchanges with China are between the two countries, and international relations of "equality" should be established. Therefore, the dispute between the two sides has become a misplaced distinction between "name and reality", and what the Qing Empire is trying to preserve is the prestige of the Celestial Empire; What the British Empire coveted, on the other hand, were the potential interests in the exchanges between the two countries. Eventually, Macartney came and went.

China has repeatedly given up the opportunity to integrate with the world, and has slowly fallen behind the world, so that it has fallen to the point of being passively beaten, and has been powerless to fight back for hundreds of years. The current Geng Jingzhong will definitely not watch himself fall behind, and he has been running towards the goal of leading the world since a few years ago when he was vigorously developing maritime trade. (To be continued......)