Later historians attribute the rise of England in modern times to two men.

The first person was Elizabeth I, who was actively admired by both nobles, wealthy merchants and low-level commoners.

Mercantilism, the protection of the country's handicrafts, the promotion of literature and art, the promotion of religious reform, the implementation of currency reforms, the strengthening of royal power, the support of privateer warfare at sea, and the financing of seafaring exploration...... This lifelong virgin king of the 16th century did almost everything that should have been done for the modern rise of England, achieving the first strategic transformation of the Kingdom of England, thus laying the foundation for future generations.

The second person is Cromwell, who has a mixed reputation. He stubbornly chose a path that completely broke the English crown, but he created another personal dictatorship with extreme domineering, and took away a part of the light of the times that should have belonged to King Louis XIV of France.

Cromwell not only executed a king in front of the whole of Europe by blaming Charles I for his civil war, but also used force to dissolve the National Assembly, proclaimed himself Lord Protector, and even established a hereditary system in which his son succeeded the Lord Protector and became another form of King of England.

After ten years of dictatorship, Cromwell died of illness in 1658. Just two years later, Charles II, in exile, was restored with the support of the heavily armed Duke Munch. In 1661, Charles II ordered Cromwell's body to be exhumed and hung on the gallows for a "posthumous hanging" to avenge his father's death. Cromwell's skull was displayed on a wooden pole for more than twenty years before it was stolen by a sentry.

Although the English Civil War was called an armed revolution of the bourgeoisie, it eventually fulfilled Cromwell's own political ambitions, and became a power violence that was so bad that it was regretted by many Parliamentarian activists at the time. The death of Charles I also triggered a unanimous reflection in England, and even the general public considered it the most unregulated political violence in the history of England since the promulgation of the Magna Carta. The Glorious Revolution in England that followed and established a constitutional monarchy laid the groundwork in this panic and anxiety.

But the truth is. Whether politically, militarily, or economically, it was under the leadership of Cromwell that England completed the second strategic transformation of this European island nation, truly based on the expansion of the entire maritime industry, and became a real modern sea power country. The spirit of the Royal Navy of England was also condensed and formed in the Cromwell era, and embarked on the road of two-hundred-year hegemony of the world's oceans.

……

Saturday, November 8, 1642.

Autumn is already in the northern hemisphere, and while heavy snow is gradually covering the Scandinavian peninsula in northern Europe, the green island of St. Helena in the South Atlantic is still a warm and pleasant world.

The gunboat "Weasel", which is part of the Caribbean Fleet, appeared on the horizon north of Green Island. The black-and-white battleship, with a full load displacement of only about 900 tons, seems to have experienced a thrilling long voyage, and the hull, which is much thinner than the ocean-going capital battleship, has left the scars of a storm.

"It spans almost the entire South Atlantic, and perhaps the naval command is counting the guts of a bunch of madmen...... It was lucky, but I bet it would have disintegrated in the storm if the rift had been a few inches bigger. ”

After receiving the cable thrown by the Weasel, the sailors of the Green Island Naval Base expressed their opinions on the slightly deformed steam chimney and a crack in the side of the ship that was torn open by the force of the storm, paying no attention to the pale and frail comrades on the deck of the Weasel.

A young captain strode off the ship's board, and after a long journey, there was no trace of fatigue in his body. On the contrary, because of an exciting storm journey, there is still a feeling of unfinished business.

This was Zhou Ping's first independent voyage mission after serving as the acting captain, and it was also the first time to come to the legendary "penal colony" Green Island. It is said that when Yan Xianping knew that his cousin's first voyage destination was the distant green island in the South Atlantic, he deliberately went to the Navy Headquarters to find Rear Admiral Sun Yang, Chief of Staff of the Navy, to verify the sailing order.

The old mother, Yan Qigu, is still mourning in the Far East and has not returned, which gives the restless Captain Zhou Ping the greatest freedom and presumptuousness. This hyperactivity has not diminished even if you are married. And having a Raccoon-class gunship, which is built in large numbers by civilian standards and can only operate in mid- and near-sea areas at most, depart from Butterfly Island Naval Base for an emergency voyage is in itself a daunting order.

Depart from Butterfly Island Twin Ports Naval Base and go directly to Green Island Naval Base via Taoyuan Island (Fernando de Noronha Island). Both have a range of close to 3,900 nautical miles, while the Raccoon-class gunboats have a maximum endurance of only 4,300 nautical miles at a standard cruising speed of 12 knots. From receiving the information about the departure of the Wild Weasel to seeing the other party entering the port. Judging from the time spent, there must have been more than one full-speed voyage on the way, and even with extra coal, there was almost no room for any difference, and the captain of the ship, Captain Zhou Ping, was surprisingly bold.

"Sergeant, please take me to the base headquarters, I want to see your base commander, Captain Tong Li." Zhou Ping walked up to a European non-commissioned officer with a grin, and looked at the surrounding scenery while saluting the other party's military salute.

"Captain Tong received your departure notice twelve days ago, and perhaps even he did not expect you to arrive so soon...... It looks like it will take at least three days to get it up to scratch, but I feel like it has to be docked for a full inspection. And we don't have a repair dock here, maybe it won't be there until this time next year at the earliest. Looking at the young captain in front of him, who was almost about the same age as himself, the non-commissioned officer also had a hint of awe in his words.

"Really? It's okay, it's only two days in advance. Sergeant, you really only have three days to repair the Weasel...... It's a really good feeling to go full throttle, though. Zhou Ping looked back at the tangled expressions of his subordinates who were trembling off the boat, and the smile on his face became even worse.

……

Captain Tong Li, the commander of the Green Island Naval Base, was not at the base fortress headquarters, but was said to be a guest at someone's home in Green Island Town, and Zhou Ping had to take a horse-drawn carriage along the river valley path leading to the hinterland of Green Island to Green Island Town, led by a port policeman.

In the smoky town of Green Island, nearly 1,600 townspeople are ushering in a soothing pace of life for lunchtime. In addition to the small town hospital, a small amount of concrete, stone and timber houses are the most common architectural features in the town.

After passing through the center of the town, walking up a steep road, and bypassing several fruit groves and vegetable gardens, a two-story mixed wood building appeared in front of Zhou Ping's eyes. Several horse-drawn carts loaded with pumpkins and potatoes are parked outside the wooden building. A middle-aged woman is drying vermicelli made from a tuber plant starch in front of the door, which is the home of the mayor of Green Island.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Officer Benin, ...... you today" The middle-aged woman saw the policeman in front of her coming, stood up upright and was about to salute, when she saw a naval officer in a snow-white uniform followed behind, and immediately pinched the edge of her skirt and showed a nervous expression.

"This Mr. Captain came to Captain Tong, and I heard that Mr. Captain is here with Mr. Mayor." After the policeman finished speaking, he gave way slightly, and retreated a few meters in amusement.

"Yes, Mr. Cromwell is there." The middle-aged woman came back to her senses. Hurriedly wiped his hands and ran to the front of the wooden building and opened the door, "They are having lunch, do you need me to report first?" ”

"No, thank you, ma'am. I was a surprise for Mr. Cromwell. Zhou Ping smiled and gave a military salute and walked into the wooden building.

"Surprise? Is Mr. Cromwell leaving here? This isn't necessarily good news...... "The middle-aged woman muttered, as if puzzled by the fact that someone was always coming to "bother" during this time.

If it were a few years ago, perhaps every strange tourist here would be the happiest thing for these ordinary townspeople exiled to Green Island Town. Because it's so remote. Anyone who can bring news from the outside world will be unanimously welcomed by everyone.

But now it seems to be a little different, Cromwell, who was exiled to Green Island with his crimes, because his education was much higher than the average of the local population. Gradually, it played many important roles in the town. From accountants to mediators, from building directors to economic consultants, the townspeople have become accustomed to this taciturn but peaceful-minded outsider, even many times. If there is anything important to deal with in Green Island Town, people are willing to ask Cromwell's opinion first. If Cromwell were to leave Green Island, many of the residents of Green Island would probably feel like a great loss.

In the restaurant. Cromwell, once dressed in standard 17th-century casual clothes, was gesturing on a piece of paper at the dinner table, the old mayor on one side was nervous, and the captain sitting across from him was listening intently.

“…… As the mayor said, on behalf of all the townspeople, I hope that the daily supply procurement of the naval base can give the townspeople a more reasonable price, at least not much lower than those passing merchant ships, right? Also, this year's flax, wool and leather harvest was good, and the townspeople wanted permission to set up the 'Green Island Farming Company' to sell them. In addition, in addition to the military doctors at the naval base, we lack real doctors and nurses, and we hope to send a few more young people to study medicine outside, even if it is only in Nanshan Port Hospital for a few months, where the elderly, pregnant women and newborns need too much care. What do you think, Mr. Captain? ”

As a place of exile, Green Island is probably the most special local town in the whole of Huamei, there is no radio station here, and there is no post office. Almost all documents that need to be communicated with the outside world must be approved by the commander of the Green Island Naval Base before they can be sent. Except for the merchant ships that pass by from time to time for supplies, it is basically difficult for the residents of Green Island to have a stable foreign trading partner.

Green Island has been in existence for nine years, and every year a varying number of exiled families move in. If it weren't for the "lifetime exile" record in the national administration files, I am afraid that any merchant ship passing by for supplies would have regarded this place as a very normal small town. Compared to the locals, the isolated living environment here finally allowed those who used to have an awkward temper or impulsive personality to gradually settle down, have children, return to the twilight, and live a normal life.

“…… I will convey to my superiors the opinions of Mr. Cromwell and Mr. Mayor of the town on the need to send someone to study medicine. As for the application for the establishment of a local agricultural products marketing company, that is not within my purview. However, I can send your request documents to the Ministry of State Security and the Ministry of Commerce, and as long as they approve it, then Mr. Mayor can elect a representative to go to Nanshan Port to go through the formalities. ”

Tong Li's body sat up straight, and he maintained a consistent and attentive attitude to the hour-long appeals of Cromwell and the old mayor, without any objections.

"Hey, Tong Li!"

A young naval captain walked in at the door of the dining room and gave a military salute to the three people in the room.

"It's so fast...... Oh, let me introduce you, this is Captain Zhou Ping of the Caribbean Fleet, my classmate at the Naval Academy. This is Mayor Angel, and this is Mr. Cromwell. Tong Li stood up and introduced Zhou Ping, who had arrived early, to the others.

He's Cromwell, nothing special...... Zhou Ping looked at the middle-aged European man in front of him, who was more than half a head shorter than himself, with great interest, and he was still puzzled by the emergency sailing order jointly issued by the Ministry of Defense and the Navy Command.

"Welcome, Mr. Captain, but you interrupted our most important discussion." Cromwell bowed slightly, without humility or arrogance, and straightened his chest.

"Mr. Cromwell, huh? On behalf of the Ministry of Justice, I would like to inform you that your life exile sentence file has been retried by the Manchester District Court in our country, and the following changes have been made: Oliver Brown, a war criminal of the first degree. Cromwell, sentenced to six years' imprisonment for life exile, was released and returned to China on the same day he was sentenced to death. ”

After Zhou Ping finished speaking, he also made a naughty grimace at his classmates, because according to the principle of confidentiality, this instruction was not even known to Tong Li in advance.

"Congratulations, Mr. Cromwell!" The old town of Angel hurriedly saluted Cromwell, because he was the first person in the town to be pardoned, which meant that he would be able to leave Green Island soon.

Tong Li had a thoughtful expression, but Cromwell stared at Zhou Ping's face expressionlessly, as if he wanted to find some explanation from the other party's eyes.

……

Late at night, in the only tavern in Green Island Town, Cromwell and Tong Li were sitting face to face, and the locally produced wine in front of them seemed to have not decreased.

"Can you tell me why, Mr. Captain......" Cromwell raised his glass and looked out the window at the night, as if he had long been accustomed to the place.

"It's a pity that both Captain Zhou Ping and I are only carrying out domestic orders. You'll travel to San Salvador, Brazil, three days later with the gunboat Weasel and then back to Europe on a Portuguese merchant ship. ”

Transferred from Haitan Island (Diego Garcia Island) Naval Base to Green Island, Tong Li has been serving here for almost three years, during which time Cromwell is one of the few local residents who can make friends with Tong Li, and Cromwell now speaks Chinese Chinese fluently, most of which he learned from Tong.

More often, Cromwell often exchanged views with Tong Li on the construction of the Chinese Army and Navy, and even often used paper to write down Tong Li's words, and then privately pondered some inexplicable things in the eyes of others.

"Is something wrong with England? Did the king and the National Assembly begin to prove themselves on their own? Cromwell stopped the glass on his lips and suddenly burst into words.

Sure enough, he is a very responsive person! In fact, Tong Li only learned about what was happening in Europe through the Guò base radio not long ago, and he couldn't help but admire Cromwell's keen reaction.

"Well, from the standpoint of a country without a king, I can personally appreciate Mr. Cromwell's affection and understanding for England." Tong Li thought about it for a while, but still chose a tactful attitude, "Perhaps, the Manchester City District Court has found something unreasonable in your exile sentence. ”

"It's a great honor to meet the townspeople here, and Mr. Captain." Cromwell got up to settle the bill, and this time he very generously placed coins on the table that far exceeded the price of the wine.

……

Under the kerosene lamp, Cromwell was slowly sorting through the dozen diaries and books he had written over the years, while his faithful servant, who had been separated from him for a long time, came to his home and was packing up his salutes.

A diary was scattered on the ground, and when I turned the page, I saw that it was outlined with a pen similar to the pattern of marching battles, and the dense small icons symbolizing soldiers and cannons flickered in the light...... (To be continued......)