I

Page 704

Traveling all the way to Goa, the ruler has changed here.

The insurgent Shivaji that Lu Tianxiang met last time successfully defeated the Bijapur army and occupied half of Bijapur's land.Moreover, while fighting against Bigapur, he was also actively attacking the territory of the third prince Aurangzeb.

The entire Indian subcontinent has become a mess.

The ship sailed to the Persian Gulf, and the Omani and Persian envoys landed and returned home.In fact, these two countries are already engaged in trade with China, shipping back Chinese goods from Coconut City or Palembang.

However, Persian envoys brought back a large number of literary and artistic works.

There are paintings purchased from China, and Chinese works translated by envoys.They returned to the Persian capital, and immediately caused a great reaction.

Abbas II, the wise monarch who loves art, specially hosted a banquet for the returning envoys.

At the banquet, the envoy said to the emperor and ministers: "The Chinese emperor is great, and Chinese officials are also friendly. China and Persia have a long history of friendship and exchanges. We and Chinese scholars studied history and wrote a thesis, the content is about The ancient exchanges between Persia and China. Persian carpets and musical instruments have long been transmitted to China, and have derived different types. And Chinese culture has long been transmitted to Persia..."

The envoy talked a lot about the achievements of the exchange, took out his papers and recited them on the spot, and also took out Chinese paintings for everyone to appreciate.

The Persian rulers and ministers clicked their tongues in admiration, and asked the envoy what he had seen and heard in China.

That night, Abbas II began to read the translated version of "Water Margin", and was so obsessed that he stayed up all night.For a month in a row, the emperor continued to read, finishing "Water Margin" and "Journey to the West", and Zhao Han's "Legend of the Condor Heroes", and even "Jin X Mei".

In the end, Abbas II ordered: "Except for "Golden X Plum", the others are printed so that more Persian people can appreciate them. Also, after learning Chinese painting, they will all serve as court painters in the future."

Abbas II also received a reply letter from Zhao Han, and he also planned to write a reply letter, asking the Persian businessman to take it to Nanyang, and asking the Chinese governor there to forward it.

"Respected Chinese Emperor Zhao Han: I have received your letter, and at the same time, I have learned more news about China from the envoy. China, like Persia, is a great and prosperous country. May our two countries be able to Friendship lasts forever. I like Chinese ones very much, their stories are so wonderful. I also like Chinese paintings, which are completely different from Persian paintings..."

"I also wrote a poem for Your Excellency: I can't describe my joy and excitement, so I have to write it all on white paper. There are countless flowers blooming in the garden. Its fragrance is as if from the far east. In the far In the east, there is a kind and wise emperor. I have never met him, but it seems that I have known him for many years..."

Zhao Han has so many pen pals, and they are all monarchs.

It's a pity that the Indian emperor Shah Jahan probably won't receive Zhao Han's reply.

Chapter 936 [England, your king is back]

Four Chinese ships encountered wind and waves at the Cape of Good Hope, and sailed dangerously into False Bay for refuge.

After the wind and waves weakened, we went around the Cape of Storms and came to Cape Town, a Dutch colonial port.

Cape Town has hundreds of residents, but there are only a few hundred Dutch people, and the rest are all natives of Southeast Asia.There is no need to worry about food here, but it is still impossible to repair the ship. With the letter from the governor of the Netherlands, everyone has supplied some fresh water and food.

In the Portuguese colonial port in the north, there was a full month's delay, mainly to repair damaged ships.

At this moment, Cromwell had died of illness for three months, and his son Charlie Cromwell took over as Lord Protector, and the conflicts in Britain accumulated over the past ten years broke out completely.

It was mainly a battle between the civil service and the army, with Charles Cromwell trying to rely on the power of the civil service, and the military officers strongly opposed it.And those civil servants are also extremely hostile to the army, and believe that the army should not interfere with the operation of the parliament.

Parliament still exists, but only the House of Commons and the House of Lords has not yet been restored.

The civil servants basically came from the gentry class of the House of Commons, and they came to power through the Cromwell rebellion.Similarly, the army followed Cromwell, mostly from the bourgeoisie and gentry.The two parties were once revolutionary partners, but after the execution of the king, they fell into a state of fierce hatred.

The core contradiction is whether Britain should be governed by civilian officials or by military officers, and thus the long-term struggle for power can only be suppressed when Cromwell is alive.

Charlie Cromwell grew up in a honeypot. He didn't do anything in the revolution. How could the army ignore him?

When Charles arrived in Portugal by boat, the civil servants of the British Parliament passed a resolution restricting the military from interfering in politics.Those senior military officers began to force Charles Cromwell to dissolve Parliament.

Charles Cromwell had no choice but to dissolve Parliament and give more powers to senior military officers.

The senior officers just stopped, and the junior officers acted again!

After Cromwell's death, the treatment of the army became worse and worse. The civil servants and senior military officers of the parliament did not care about the life and death of the soldiers at the bottom.So the low-ranking officers connected with each other and rushed into London with soldiers, surrounding the Duke Protector's Palace.

"What are they trying to do? I have already dissolved the parliament!" Charlie Cromwell was shocked and angry, hiding at home and shivering.

The adviser replied: "They are asking for a parliamentary reorganization."

Charlie Cromwell didn't think about it: "Didn't the army ask me to dissolve the parliament? Why did it just dissolve and then reorganize?"

The consultant said: "It is the high-ranking generals who demand the dissolution of the parliament, and the low-level military officers who demand the reorganization of the parliament. Without the parliament, the treatment of soldiers cannot be improved. These low-level military officers actually want to raise wages."

Obviously, in the army created by Cromwell, the upper and lower ranks of the army have been separated.

"Go out and tell them I'll call Parliament again," said Charles Cromwell.

The parliament that had just been disbanded for a month was reorganized in such an outrageous way.

However, after the reorganization of the parliament, the civil servants once again suppressed the army, and they did not give soldiers wages.This move forced senior and junior military officers to unite, forcibly dispersed the parliament again, and formed a temporary military government called the "Security Committee".

Charlie Cromwell, Henry Cromwell, the two brothers were forced to swear that they would no longer be the Lord Protector of the United Kingdom in this life, and the military government would arrange houses and provide them with annuities.

The Cromwell family lost power, and the Lord Protector's seal was split in half.

The chaos has just begun, and the whole country refuses to accept the military government.Inside the military government, officers also began to fight for power.

George Monk, who led an army stationed in Scotland, heard that the situation in London was chaotic, so he led his troops to London under the pretext of defending the Parliament.This man was originally a royalist, and after being captured, he took refuge in Cromwell. He wanted to take the opportunity to capture London, and then welcome back the descendants of the British royal family, so as to obtain a higher title with his support.

This guy led the army to move to the banks of the Tweed River, and did not go directly to London. He stopped and issued a call, waiting for the royalists, capitalists and civil servants to come and join him.

At this moment, Charles was already in Portugal, joining his mother, who was surrounded by royalists in exile.

Four Chinese warships and more than a dozen Portuguese warships headed towards London mightily.

Before approaching the port, more than 30 British warships surrounded them and prepared to fight.

"Raise the flag!"

Charles ordered.

The British royal flag was hoisted on the mast, and the British warships stopped advancing immediately.

A naval officer came over in a small boat and asked loudly, "Which royal highness is on board?"

Charles leaned on the side of the boat and replied: "I am the son of King Charles I of England, Scotland and Ireland, and the crowned King Charles II of Scotland! I am about to return to London now to take back my title of King of England and Ireland. I am coming back I will give naval officers and soldiers the treatment they deserve!"

The officer was very excited when he heard this, and immediately rowed the boat back.

Soon, all the British naval ships closed their guns, retreated their barrels, and formed formations to meet the king.

The main reason is that the military government is too prestige, the civil servants have always been uncooperative, the military government can't even collect taxes, and the navy and army are naturally in arrears with their salaries.In history, no one attacked the military government, and those guys disbanded the military government themselves, because there was really no money to pay officials and soldiers.

"What, the prince is back?" Fleetwood was shocked.

This person is just a mid-level military officer, and he took control of the military government through a bloodless coup by repeatedly tossing the parliament and connecting the middle and lower levels of the army.

What kind of prestige can a mid-level military officer have?

He was not favored by civil officials, high-ranking generals did not favor him, and the burghers did not support him.Because he couldn't pay his salary, even the middle and low-level military officers began to oppose him.

Fleetwood didn't even dare to purge, he didn't kill anyone after he came to power, and he couldn't do anything about civil servants who couldn't collect taxes.Hearing that Charles came back with troops, his first reaction was to run away, but he felt that there was nowhere to run.

This guy immediately summoned the high-level members of the military government, threatening and intimidating: "Everyone, we killed the king. Now that the king's son is back, can we survive? He will execute us all! The only way now is to call soldiers , Defeat Charles who is about to land!"

An officer named Edel said: "But the soldiers have not been paid for two months. How can we make them obedient to fight?"

Fleetwood said: "Tell the officers and soldiers that as long as Charles is defeated, not only will they be paid back, but they will be doubled this month!"

Where does the money come from?

Of course it is to grab, grab those civil servants who are unwilling to cooperate!

The military government's order to gather troops was issued, but it was obviously not effective. Charles had already landed, and they only gathered more than 2000 soldiers.Even the artillery of the port battery had surrendered to Charles.

Under the leadership of Charles, the Imperial Guard organized by two thousand Arakan pirates marched towards downtown London step by step.

Charles said to these soldiers in Portuguese: "As long as I become king, I will keep my promise. Each of you will get a wife and a small piece of land. For those who have done meritorious service, I will reward you with titles!"

"Kill! Kill! Kill!"

The two thousand Arakan pirates are like a rainbow. They have traveled far and wide to Europe, and they will definitely not be able to return. Only by being loyal to Charles can they survive.

As for women, Ireland is plentiful, and you can easily get two thousand girls to marry.

During the 12 years when Cromwell ruled the UK, the population of Ireland plummeted from 146 million to only 61.About 55 people were killed, and 30 Irishmen were sold as slaves, mainly to English estate owners in the West Indies.

Other countries are engaged in the black slave trade, but Britain is engaged in the Irish slave trade, and regards Ireland at its doorstep as a colony.

"Boom boom boom!"

The Chinese, British, and Portuguese fleets bombarded the shore.

The military government summoned more than 2000 soldiers, but they couldn't bear the artillery bombardment. Not long after they left the city, they were taken back to the city by the officers, as if they were going to fight Charles in the streets.

However, as they ran, the soldiers scattered, and no one wanted to fight at all.

The Arakan pirates took the opportunity to rush into the city, and Charles led them straight to the parliament building, which is now the office of the military government.

After confiscating documents and materials, Charles ordered soldiers to hunt down important officials of the military government.

Then London suffered. These Arakan pirates, disregarding Charles' military orders, began to burn, kill and loot everywhere.London citizens and British soldiers spontaneously organized to fight, so that Charles could only come forward to appease him.

After a full day and night of tossing, the situation was finally completely stable.

Charles first recruited British soldiers and citizens to temporarily form a Royal Army.Then they counted those Arakan pirates. Two of them died of illness at sea, but now there are only 1746 people left, and the remaining 200 people died in street fighting during the robbery.

"How many times have I said this? Don't loot the city, this is my capital!" Charles cursed angrily.

He identified ten officers who led the robbery team, let the newly formed British Royal Army raid the formation, and executed them all in front of the citizens of London.Then an amnesty was announced, and the citizens and soldiers of London were all innocent, and then led troops to ransack the homes of all the senior officials of the military government.

Historically, Charles was invited back by the parliament, but now he is brought back with soldiers.

He doesn't have to be careful to forgive everyone, and after killing all the key officials of the military government, he arrests the civilian officials of the House of Commons.In another time and space, he executed only nine people, all of whom were officials who personally signed his father's death order.Now, Charles killed 65 civil servants in one go.

Cromwell was dug out and flogged his body. Cromwell's two sons were all beheaded and killed.

The exiled royalists he brought back, as well as the royalists who hid in England, were promoted to nobles.Then the parliament and the House of Lords were reorganized, and the obedient squires were allowed to form the House of Commons, and orders were issued to appease the troops stationed in various places. In just half a month, they took control of the whole country.

Immediately afterwards, an announcement was issued to Ireland and Scotland, saying that Cromwell was a big villain, and that he would treat the Irish and Scots well if he became king.

When the news came out, Ireland and Scotland instantly stabilized and regarded Charles as a benevolent monarch.

This benevolent monarch stopped the ship that was about to leave for America, and rewarded all the thousands of Irish slave girls on board to his subordinates.

Chapter 937 [Alliance of China, Britain, France and Portugal]

Charles was then crowned in London as Charles II.

The royalists who followed their mother and son into exile in the early years were conferred two dukes and three marquises in one breath.

Although George Monk, who was stationed in Scotland, had defected to Cromwell and issued a statement but stayed on the way, he was once a royalist after all.Moreover, now that he holds a heavy army in his hands, he has also won the position of Marquis.

As for Thomas and John, these two young people from the countryside in London, they were made viscounts directly across classes.

The title is not high, but it is not low, mainly because the class has improved, and it can continue to rise at a young age.

What's more, they were also appointed to important positions.

Thomas took five hundred Arakan soldiers to Cromwell's hometown of Huntingdon, with the purpose of sweeping away Cromwell's remaining influence.A large piece of land there was allocated to Thomas as a fiefdom, far exceeding the viscount treatment.Moreover, all of the five hundred Arakan soldiers had the title of knight, and each of them was allocated a small piece of land.

John stayed in London, was responsible for guarding the court, and got a fief on the outskirts of London.

When Cromwell came to power, he not only killed the king, but also carried out a big purge.A bunch of traditional nobles were killed, some even their descendants were killed, and the land and property were divided up by the revolutionaries.These lands can be taken back and re-given to heroes.

Historically, Charles was invited back to be the king, and he didn't even dare to take back the royal land.Nowadays, much of what the revolutionary party eats has to be spit out.

Of course, for those places that are too far away from London and there are no sufferers, Charles still chooses to let nature take its course.If all of them are withdrawn, it will force against the gentry class and bring unnecessary trouble to oneself.

The method is nothing more than a combination of kindness and force, to kill those who dance the most fiercely and have a bad reputation, and the rest Xiaoxiao will forgive and appease.

Everything seems to be settled, but Prince Charles...well, King Charles II, is left speechless with a pile of accounts.

The old King Charles I was beheaded because of the failure of financial reforms, which led to a major uprising.Cromwell's son, as well as the previous military government, were also unable to establish prestige due to financial problems.

Even if Cromwell is still alive, his rule may not last long.

Last year, the UK's annual revenue was 190 million pounds, fiscal expenditure was 230 million pounds, and the total government debt was 260 million pounds.Among them, military expenditure is the bulk, the army spends 110 million pounds a year, and the navy spends 90 pounds a year.

The military expenditure of the army was mainly used to suppress the Irish uprising. After more than ten years of suppression, the population of Ireland was halved.

Navy military expenditures are mainly for wars with the Netherlands and Spain, and the continued arms race.

Charles II, who successfully recaptured the throne, obtained a large amount of money by ransacking his home, but it was nothing compared to the fiscal deficit.Especially for the 260 million pounds of public debt, interest is paid every year!

After thinking hard for many days, Charles II convened a parliament and announced his decision directly.

First, the establishment of the Ministry of Administration, the Ministry of Taxation, the Ministry of Military Affairs, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the establishment of the Bank of England, and the restoration of the Royal Privy Council.

Second, clearly divide the functions of the House of Lords and the House of Commons. The officials of each ministry are elected by the Parliament and then appointed with the consent of the King. The King can directly appoint officials.

Third, formalize excise taxes, monthly taxes, and customs duties.

The consumption tax and the monthly tax were created by Cromwell, and they must be collected by the bourgeoisie and the gentry.Now that Charles II has confirmed it, it is equivalent to giving the House of Commons enough power.

The monthly tax paid to farmers, also known as the land tax, accounts for a quarter of their total income.Because the harvest was too heavy, farmers began to rebel, and Cromwell was forced to drop to one eighth.