My British Empire

  Chapter 502 The Corrupted Netherlands Situation

   His Majesty the King looked thoughtful, sighed, and then said helplessly.

  As soon as this remark was made, especially when His Majesty the King had decisively agreed to the dissolution of the alliance between the two countries, the Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister quickly showed surprise, and there was an unconcealable fear in their eyes.

   "Your Majesty, given the current situation, the United Kingdom is still unable to withstand the Spanish navy!" Prime Minister William bent down hurriedly, persuading him.

   "Maintaining the alliance treaty is beneficial to the kingdom and not harmful!"

   "Yes, Your Majesty!" The Foreign Minister also hurriedly said, almost crying:

   "Spain's navy has been established for more than a hundred years and is the most powerful navy in the world. However, our English navy has been no match for Spain in the past few decades since the establishment of the previous king. Please consider it carefully!"

  Edward looked at the appearance of the two ministers, and felt that if he agreed to dissolve the covenant, it would lead to the destruction of the United Kingdom.

   Helpless, he could only explain with a smile:

   "My lord, the termination of the covenant does not mean an immediate war with Spain. The kingdom is very safe now!"

   "And then, even if the Spaniards come, although the Royal Navy cannot attack, it is more than enough to protect itself. Coupled with the alliance with Portugal, the outcome is still uncertain!"

  Listening to His Majesty's explanation, the Prime Minister and the 9 Foreign Ministers couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief.

  They are really afraid that His Majesty the King will directly go to war with Spain. This is no less than a disaster for the newly established United Kingdom.

   "Besides, breaking the covenant at this time is considered a good thing!" His Majesty the King smiled in his heart, thinking.

  After appeasing the two important ministers, His Majesty the King summoned the Minister of the Navy and asked the Navy to speed up the pace of expansion, and actively invited Spanish, Portuguese, and Dutch sailors to join the Navy to expand its strength as much as possible.

  After that, the Minister of Finance was also interviewed, and the appropriation for the navy should also be increased.

   Then, through the Office of Royal Affairs, a new message was issued: Pirates with privateer licenses are allowed to rob the Spaniards.

  As soon as this remark was made, the entire pirate group reveled immediately, and more and more pirates applied for privateering licenses.

  In a few months, because of the pirates, the royal family's finances increased greatly.

  However, the dissolution of the covenant still has an impact on England. The tariffs on goods going to Spain have increased, and the market share has been declining.

   Moreover, taking this opportunity, French businessmen began to enter Spain, injecting a little vitality into the messy French business.

   His Majesty the King doesn't care about this, the Portuguese market is enough to make up for its losses, and the conduct of Eastern trade will bring a new engine to the United Kingdom.

  The English are vigorously expanding their navy, while the Spaniards are attacking the Netherlands, encircling and suppressing the more and more active guerrillas, and gradually unable to do what they want.

  Due to the rebellion in the coastal provinces of the Netherlands, the Spaniards did not transport by sea. Instead, they let the expeditionary force assemble in Milan, then cross the Alps, and cross the European continent to the Netherlands.

  Spanish scouts, geography experts, transportation experts, and diplomats completed the selection, survey, mapping, and organization and coordination of the marching route with amazing efficiency and professional quality that year.

   This is a military and commercial route completely established in a foreign country, with a journey of more than 3,000 kilometers, passing through mountains, rivers and forests. It is called the "Spanish Road".

  As the commander of the expeditionary force, Duke Avar has three tasks.

  First, punish the opposition and rebels who have committed heresy and impiety;

  Second, to force the lowland provinces and cities to submit to the central government.

  Third, ensure that the government and the military have a permanent and stable financial base.

   "If you look carefully at what you are going to do, Your Majesty, you will see that it is tantamount to creating a new world." This is the feeling of Duke Avar.

The duke easily achieved his first objective, and by the fifth day he had established a secret court called the Reconnaissance Commission, to arrest and try suspects accused of heresy and rebellion, and such privileged men as Egmond and Horen Members of the Golden Fleece Knights and high-ranking nobles were not spared, and the entire Netherlands was in a state of panic for a while.

   As usually happens in high-pressure situations, whistleblowers proliferate and trust and security are undermined.

  The second and third points are difficult to complete no matter what.

Moreover, with the brutal methods, the business of the Netherlands began to stagnate, many rural villages were burned, a large number of small handicraft workshops began to go bankrupt, and banks continued to close down. The originally wealthy Netherlands suddenly became a white land. .

   At this time, the Dutch did not give in. They did not choose to attack the big cities occupied by the Spaniards. Instead, they hid in the rural areas, waiting for opportunities like poisonous snakes.

  The Netherlands is a lowland country, and a large number of rivers run through the lowlands. The Dutch people hold muskets and paddle boats, shuttle in the rivers, come and go without a trace.

   This made the Duke of Avar in Brussels very troubled, and he pulled a lot of hair for it.

What made the Duke of Avar even more irritated was that the rebels in the Netherlands became more and more active recently, looting the army food, sneaking up on the Spanish soldiers who were alone, and attacking them from time to time, which caused the Spanish army to shrink in the big cities and dare not go to the city. Countryside.

  Netherlands, a village in the province of Holland.

  Outside the village, a group of more than 500 Dutch militiamen escorted carts of grain, with a happy look on their faces.

   "Thanks to the English muskets, otherwise we really couldn't defeat the Spanish company of more than 100 people. Today is a lucky day!"

  A militiaman touched the matchlock gun in his hand, cherishing it, and then glanced at the grain and grass around him, and sighed.

"Yes! I heard that the king of England is very tolerant, opposed Catholicism, and abolished a large number of miscellaneous taxes. I heard from the coach that the population of London has reached 200,000!" Another militiaman next to him was full of envy. Said.

   "Why don't we have such a king!" The two sighed in unison, their eyes dimmed.

  As the seized items entered the village, the village with a growing population became more lively.

  The militiamen and villagers were happy for the victory and capture in front of them, and they sang and danced around the bonfire.

  The leading nobles shrank in the room, talking a lot.

   "Have you heard? England and the Spaniards have terminated the covenant!" A young nobleman explained to others with a happy face.

   "Of course I know, in this way, the support for us will grow stronger, and the time for us in the Netherlands to drive away the Spanish will go further!"

  The noble next to him also looked happy, as if he was as happy as marrying a wife.

  The other nobles also discussed the same, their faces full of excitement as expected.

  You can understand their feelings. This is equivalent to the British Prime Minister Churchill being so excited that he couldn't sleep when he heard that the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor.

  Chinese leaders are equally happy and rejoicing.

  (end of this chapter)