The past 1623 was a seemingly "decided" year for Europe.

The Protestant coalition forces in Germany continued to retreat, and the Count of Tilly, who had returned from a heavy wound, swept through almost the entire Upper Palatinate with a fierce imperial army composed mainly of Old Christian nobles from Bavaria, and the army was directed towards the Dutch border.

Frederick V, who had been living in the Netherlands for many years, was desperate and destitute, and had placed his last hope on the Protestant aristocratic alliance, which was still recalcitrant in Germany.

A large number of displaced people were forcibly requisitioned by the army, all kinds of weapons were distributed to these peasants who had lost their land and homes, and mercenaries from the Netherlands, Denmark, and Switzerland were promised all kinds of outrageous promises. In a word, this time I fought with Earl Tilly!

The remnants of the defeated army began to muster the last courage, and every day troops were massing towards the Stadlung region on the Dutch border, and American muskets and cannons were brought in from the Netherlands to enrich the Protestant aristocratic alliance.

Unlike the 12,000 demoralized Protestant forces in the Battle of Stattron, the strength of the Protestant coalition forces this time was close to 15,000 men in five brigades, and at least a quarter were armed with sophisticated American muskets, and even a dozen American cannons.

As for their opponents, the Holy Roman Empire of Count Tilly, the number of people also swelled to more than 18,000, and the proportion of American-style equipment also exceeded a quarter. As long as this victory comparable to the Battle of the White Mountain is obtained, the German War of Religion, which has lasted for many years, will be over!

All eyes of Europe were focused on that tiny Stadron. At this time, the war in Europe had nothing to do with the "domestic affairs" and the old and new sects that belonged to the Holy Roman Empire, and had evolved into a major event affecting the strategic pattern between European countries. The unprecedented power of the Habsburg family alliance in Europe made France, which was also Catholic, nervous.

However, the outcome of the battle was still not a big change, the Protestant coalition army was almost completely annihilated, and the army of the Earl of Tilly lost thousands of elite troops in this fierce battle.

The spectacle of muskets and artillery fire made the battle spectacular, as the flintlock pistols of the export models did not provide bayonet holders. The warring sides still regarded the spear phalanx as their main combat unit, and thus flesh and blood flew under the bombardment of American-style firearms. It is said that a few months after the battle, the stench of corpses wafted throughout the Stadlung region.

The wall fell and everyone pushed it. Soon after, a Spanish army also marched into the German Lower Palatinate and began to plunder, destroying the local German towns.

is about the scandal of Shi Wenbo's daytime prostitution and being broken by his wife Anna on the spot. Quickly spread in a certain small circle in the Azores Heroísto.

Early in the morning, as soon as Shi Wenbo entered the corridor of the Consulate General, several European employees hurriedly retreated, all with their heads down, and as soon as Shi Wenbo walked by, a strongly suppressed chuckle appeared behind him, and Huo Qian, who was chatting with a European businessman in the corner, threw a playful smile.

"Brother Shi, was it okay last night?" Huo Qian, senior commercial director of the state-owned import and export group, smiled sheepishly and walked over with a cigarette in his mouth.

"What's the matter, can she still turn the sky upside down!" Swenbo pursed his lips silently. After arranging his tie, he walked into the living room of the Consulate General with dignity.

In the spacious meeting room, Foreign Minister Su Zining and several aristocratic officials from Spain had been sitting for a while, and the two sides were laughing heartily, as if they were talking about something.

"Those Bohemian and German Protestant rebels that even God hates. It's as disgusting as maggots in a dung heap! They multiply and are constantly being trampled on by our Holy Roman Empire allies. An old Spanish acquaintance, the chubby Baron Diaz, held up the iced juice and shook his head, "Your Excellency Minister Su, I represent His Majesty the King." Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your support for the alliance between Spain and the Holy Roman Empire! We also support any military action by your country against the English hillbillies in the Atlantic! ”…,

As soon as he saw Swenbo come in, Diaz, who knew that the other party had now married the only daughter of the Marquis of Santa Cruz in the Kingdom of Spain, quickly stood up and nodded in greeting, and the other Spanish officials who followed him even bent down collectively to salute.

"Oh no, you have misunderstood, Your Excellency, and we will continue to maintain a position of neutrality. The last trade was based on the contents of an unfinished contract that had been signed prior to the congressional arms ban. But personally, I would like to congratulate the Kingdom of Spain and the Holy Roman Empire on the victories they have achieved on the battlefield and will be achieved. As for the conflict with the Kingdom of England, our government will establish a workable model of dialogue with them through normal diplomatic channels. ”

Su Zining skillfully defined the national position, and even avoided the military alliance that the other party unilaterally deliberately guided and exaggerated.

"Neutral? I have heard His Excellency Minister Su emphasize this point on more than one occasion. Baron Diaz was slightly displeased, "I think the Kingdom of Spain deserves a clearer explanation. The damned French, the English, and the Danes, are all ready to move now! ”

"I'll explain that, Your Excellency." Shi Wenbo walked to Su Zining and sat down, and the female secretary on the side hurriedly poured him a cup of fruit tea, "The United States of America attaches great importance to the strategic partnership with the Kingdom of Spain, is committed to promoting exchanges and cooperation between the two countries in various fields, including economy and trade, and has made positive and unremitting efforts for the development of US-Spain relations. We hope that the Kingdom of Spain will put the overall situation first, abide by its commitments, respect and properly handle the important concerns of both sides on issues such as sovereignty and territorial integrity, and create conditions for maintaining and promoting the development of cross-Atlantic relations. ”

Yuan Xinyi, who served as the Spanish translator, glanced at the cheeky Shi Wenbo with disdainful eyes, and then translated such an obscure and extremely official sentence. As she thought, after listening to these words. The Spanish officials were all stupid.

"I don't really understand...... Diaz blushed, confused by this classic diplomatic routine from the 21st century, he could understand every word, but when combined like this, he was completely out of direction.

This means that we have no intention of settling disputes by military means, let alone interfering in other countries by military means. My Government has always been committed to establishing good-neighbourly and friendly relations of cooperation with our European friends, including the Kingdom of Spain. Disagreement on the issue of heavy dà. We hope to resolve the matter peacefully and in a calmer manner in advance of mutual respect. On the basis of Spain as a strategic cooperative partnership, we also hope that the Kingdom of Spain will respect our territorial rights and interests in North America and normal trade with other countries in Europe. ”

"This Atlantic trade and neutrality. Will fatten up those filthy robbers! Diaz finally understood what the other party meant, and couldn't help but stand up, "The Kingdom of Spain has the ability to play an irreplaceable role in Atlantic trade!" ”

"But the merchants of the Kingdom of Spain. Didn't it also have close trade relations with England, France, Denmark, Sweden, and even the Netherlands? Shi Wenbo drank the cool fruit tea, his eyes did not squint, and his smile did not change.

"But we ...... If your country does not open the ban on arms exports, the Kingdom of Spain will also consider restricting trade in the Atlantic! The Spanish baron choked up at this time, and it took a long time to hold back a threatening word, and then sat down stupidly.

"Then the navy of the Republic of China and the United States of America will resolutely defend its commercial interests in the Atlantic and Europe!" Shi Wenbo drank the fruit tea in one gulp,-for-tat.

"Your Excellency, don't worry, I can tell you good news." Su Zining interjected at this time and took a diplomatic document from the female secretary, which was unusually neatly bound. "With the approval of our Congress and the Ministry of Commerce, we and the Kingdom of Spain can sign a 'Caribbean Trade Cooperation Agreement'." …,

"This trade cooperation agreement allows the trade between the two countries in the Caribbean to enjoy many tax reduction policies and differential treatment. For example, for special commodities such as arms, Congress only bans arms exports from the European continent, but not the Caribbean. In that case......"

Su Zining wanted to speak and stopped, and smiled quite connotatively.

The United States of America has a much stronger international trade tax system than Europe, where the traditional cargo tax is calculated solely on the tonnage and weight of the cargo, while in the city of Twin Bays in Bermuda, there are more details of the cargo tax alone. Not to mention the easy tax on entry and exit defined by commodity classification, and the "tax reduction" in small places is almost insignificant.

Baron Diaz and other Spanish officials were slightly stunned, but quickly understood the deep meaning, and finally showed happy expressions one by one.

The two sides held in-depth discussions on topics of mutual concern, signed a large number of agreements on mutual economic and trade assistance, and put forward many forward-looking views on the development of bilateral relations.......

"Last quarter, Migugu 'smuggled' and sold 3,000 flintlock rifles to Spain and the Holy Roman Empire. Beginning in the next quarter, the arms trade to Spain will be relocated to Bermuda, and an additional 3,000 21B flintlock rifles and 16 12-pounder cannons will be indirectly delivered to the Holy Roman Empire, as well as a large number of cold weapons and leather armor. ”

"The Dutch, the Atlantic Trading Company, a purse of Guò Fanli, and Portuguese merchants smuggled and exported 2,000 flintlock rifles and 12 12-pounder cannons to Denmark and Sweden."

In the small dark room, Shi Wenbo flipped through his work records and made a summary of the flow of arms trade in the past three months.

"Well, according to the course of history, with the support of France, Holland and England, Denmark will enter the war next year! Now that the war in Germany is now settled and Frederick V has been publicly confiscated of his lands and the title of Elector, Fan Li and his team are now working to get the desperate Frederick V to England. Su Zining looked at the map and nodded slightly, "Next, Huo Qian, you have to use the Portuguese and the Dutch to slowly transport the arms to Denmark, whether Frederick V can stand up again depends on the Danes' performance next year and whether the English cooperate!" ”

"Since last month, I have been increasing the volume of arms for Van Li by passing the ships of the Guò Portuguese, ready to be transported from the Netherlands to Denmark! It is estimated that by next year, tens of thousands of muskets could be supplied to Frederick V and the Danes! ”

Huo Qian, who had never intervened in the state-owned import and export group, also proudly cocked Erlang's legs at this time, as if he had become the helmsman who mastered the direction of Europe.

"That's good, anyway, in the second phase of the Thirty Years' War, it's the French who come out on top, don't save them money. As soon as Denmark enters the war, Europe will be lively for several more years. ”

In the small dark room, there was a burst of laughter. (Your support is my biggest motivation.) )