New Shun 1730

Edward Hawke had his own judgment. Even though he was a soldier at that time, he should resolutely implement the cabinet's policy.

But after Dashun joined the war, many of Pitt's cabinet's basic assumptions were wrong.

The basis of the global maritime strategy is that France was dragged down by the war on the European continent, and military spending was tilted towards the army, thus ensuring that Britain could theoretically face the two naval powers in Europe alone: ​​Spain and the Bourbon family alliance of France.

Before, Hawke certainly supported Pitt. Because he was a navy, he knew the ability of the British navy. It was theoretically no problem to gamble and ally with Portugal to defeat France and Spain.

However, after Dashun joined the war, the problem became that Britain needed to fight one against three.

On the Dashun side, there was a completely different situation from France, that is, there was no Prussia or Austria in East Asia, so it could free up its hands to deal with Britain.

His uncle was in charge of colonies and plantations, and he had been exposed to trade issues since he was a child.

Hawke didn't believe that Dashun joined the war because Britain's radical actions in India stimulated Dashun, threatened Dashun's bottom line, and other nonsense.

He hoped that the war would end in a way that Britain would suffer certain losses, rather than forcing China and France to a decisive battle in the Channel or landing in Ireland or Scotland. Britain could afford to lose its colonies, but it could not afford to lose Scotland.

Under this self-awareness of the army commander, the fleet that Dashun had mobilized to transport prisoners and corpses, which France had originally planned to use to land in Britain, arrived safely and smoothly in Dunkirk under the surveillance and protection of the British Navy.

Dunkirk, which had been basically abandoned, was the place in France that was most affected by the war at this time.

The fleet made a short stop here and soon connected with the diplomatic mission that came from Paris.

The one who was going to Britain on Dashun's side was Tian Ping, who had stayed in Europe for many years and was also an acquaintance of Chen Qinghai, and had often met him at Liu Yu's place before.

Shortly after the war began, he was regarded as an "unwelcome person" by Britain and sent to France. This was not because his intelligence and technology collection for Liu Yu was exposed. This kind of thing is obvious. Otherwise, do ambassadors these days just sit there and eat, drink and have fun?

It was mainly because of party disputes. After the war, someone must have used China as an excuse to attack the enemy faction. In addition, he was related to Liu Yu, and finally there was a lot of noise and he was escorted out of the country.

After the two sides met, Tian Ping introduced the French diplomatic ambassador. In the evening, according to the same rules here or there, they had a meal and got to know each other.

After the banquet, Chen Qinghai asked about the background of this French ambassador and what the French side meant.

We have to talk to our own people first, and we have to make it clear to Tian Ping what we are going to do and what we are going to achieve in the UK this time.

Another thing is to ask about the attitude of the French side.

Although in theory, military personnel should not interfere in diplomacy and negotiations, the situation on the Dashun side is really special.

The negotiations between Britain and France are based on how the military fights, and then the diplomats go to negotiate.

You take this island, and I exchange it for that island. For example, in history, Menorca was exchanged for Guadeloupe; Louisbourg was exchanged for Indian cities.

The situation on the Dashun side was completely different.

Dashun did not list India as a negotiation option at all: I took it, what can you do? Negotiation, what the hell.

After the army crossed the Cape of Good Hope and entered the Atlantic Ocean, the army itself meant the purpose.

In other words, the army knew the bottom line of Dashun's diplomatic negotiations earlier than the diplomatic department of Dashun. This is limited to high-ranking officers and generals of the army.

Because what Dashun wanted was not obtained by attacking a few islands.

Instead, it relied on the army to deter the British Channel Fleet, cruisers and merchant ships, hijacking ships everywhere, collapsing the British economy, and essentially promoting the disintegration of the British Navigation Act; promoting Dashun merchant ships to seize the East-West trade markets occupied by various East India Companies, such as West Africa, North America, the Mediterranean, and the Caribbean.

In addition to this major goal, Dashun was also responsible for the rebalancing of power in Europe and the final division of North America.

Here, we need the attitude of both Britain and France, which is a "suspicious ally".

Britain's attitude is still very important.

Similar to the pro-war and pro-peace factions in the Song Dynasty... Just like the peace treaty with France after the end of the Seven Years' War, there are those who hope to force France to death directly, and those who think that they should not force it too hard to make concessions.

Because a country is not a person, or a normal person without split personality.

After Dashun joined the war, there will definitely be many differences and conflicts of interest in Britain.

It does not mean that if Dashun forces Britain to open tariffs, all of Britain will definitely oppose it. For example, those who have long been dissatisfied with the East India Company obviously also hope to share some of the benefits of East-West trade.

In addition, there are contradictions between the British land aristocracy and industrial, commercial and financial capital. Under the condition that Britain's grain and other things can continue to be exported, for the aristocracy, they certainly hope that the prices of daily necessities and luxury goods will become lower and lower, so that they can pay lower wages to agricultural workers.

At the beginning of the war, the senior officials of the Dashun military knew "why this war should be fought and what the strategic goal of this war should be."

Because of the inconvenience of communication and the fact that this was not a war to conquer the surrounding areas for the purpose of occupying land, the military leaders had to be informed from the beginning of why they wanted to fight this war.

In other words, the military was deeply tied to many political and economic reforms from the beginning; on the other hand, the new school in the military took the lead, and they were more likely to understand this "war with the purpose of trade, market, and tariffs, which was completely different from the past form of occupying land and collecting taxes."

The victory or defeat of this war was actually more achieved within the opponent.

The British Admiralty has always had the task of planting trees in the native land, which is one of their responsibilities. There are trees, workers, and shipyards in the native land of Britain. If they are determined to fully mobilize the whole people to participate in this war and desperately build ships, Dashun will definitely not be able to bear it.

Therefore, Chen Qinghai's going to London is itself one of the strategic tasks of the military. It is necessary to use various means to promote the British "war faction" to step down as much as possible.

Including but not limited to intimidation, deception, contact and other methods.

Tian Pingjiu is here. Since he is going to London this time, he must have made some arrangements in advance.

What is the French side's intention? Chen Qinghai is not familiar with the French people. At most, he knows some historical achievements, but that was decades ago.

The ambassador sent by France this time, and the attitude of the French court, will inevitably have some intrigues with the "allies" after arriving in London.

Tian Ping briefly summarized the situation on the French side in his mind, and said: "The French side is similar to when we negotiated with Luosha. On the surface, my father is the envoy, but in fact, the emperor chose Shouchang to do it behind the scenes. It is hard to say what the French side means. The French side is presided over by the small circle of people around the King of France. They are considered to be people in the inner court, doing things for the outer court. Although I know the people in the small circle, it is difficult to find out what they mean."

After he made such an analogy, Chen Qinghai immediately understood that it was a bit similar to the Dashun side. The cabinet and the six governments have a set of things, and the emperor's small circle has another set of things. Although they are definitely different, they are not much different inside.

So he asked, "Then this ambassador is also from an old noble family in France? Sending him there, from the choice of person, can we tell France's attitude?"

Tian Ping shook his head.

"You can't tell just by looking at the choice of person. Because no matter his identity, relationship, title, or their aristocratic circle, this ambassador is the most suitable candidate. He is from the family of Prime Minister Mazarin who succeeded Richelieu, a noble of the Holy Roman Empire, a knight of the messy knights, and a doctor of the French Academy. Anyway, he has connections in Britain and is a well-known person. Someone in his family used to be a concubine of the King of England. She is quite charming and can charm both men and women. She has many connections there."

"If it is for collecting intelligence, he is also suitable and has a wide network of contacts."

"If it is really for peace talks, he is still suitable and has a high enough level."

"If it is the secretary who really talks about things, that is, the person in the king's small circle, I would rather Yes, I know him. We have communicated with him. "

"Young, promising. Good at fencing, quite chivalrous. Apart from his fetish of dressing in women's clothing, you can generally think of him as someone who did the same thing as Shi Shiyong when he went to Japan. The Jinyiwei of the previous dynasty and the children's army of this dynasty are probably doing this. I have no way of knowing what the king's small circle means."

"I still say the same thing."

"If it is for collecting intelligence, this guy is also fine, very suitable."

"If you really want to negotiate, this guy can communicate directly with the king, and it is also suitable."

"We can only respond to each move and take it one step at a time."

It is no wonder that Tian Ping could not see it, because what he said was indeed the truth. From the selection of people, it is really hard to understand what the attitude of the French side is.

The real ambassador is Louis Jules Mazarin.

The descendants of the Cardinal Mazarin family, the most popular and strange family in the reigns of Louis XIV and Louis XV.

Louis XIV's first love was from their family, that was true love. True love. Later, in order to achieve a political alliance, Mazarin made Louis XIV marry a Spanish princess and forced his niece to marry in Italy. Of course, her husband was surprised to find that Louis XIV's first love was still a virgin, and he was furious, because this meant that this was true love in spirit - since she was married, she must have psychologically accepted the fact that she was Louis XIV's mistress physically. The result was unexpected. The difference between psychological and physical lovers was still quite awkward. In the end, the couple broke up and Marie ran away.

In the generation of Louis XV, the court mistresses before Madame Pompadour, the Nelle sisters, were still from their family. The grandmother of the five Nelle sisters ran away to be a mistress of the King of England, both men and women, and hooked up with the illegitimate daughter of the King of England, Anne.

The Mazarin family is an astrologer, hypnotist, etc. It is estimated that they may have some skills in the boudoir. Relying on the daughters of the family, they have relatives all over Europe.

Nobles must be chaotic. The more chaotic and bizarre the situation, the more likely it is that the family is a prominent one. Not to mention the family name of the current ambassador, he also has the title of Duke of Neuville inherited from the red prime minister Mazarin.

In addition, he is also a member of the French Academy, which is what Tian Ping calls the doctoral or Hanlin of the French Imperial Academy - the one who studies grammar, standard French, rhetoric, archaeology, and history. It is the French Academy, not the French Academy of Sciences, and is responsible for the cultural front of making European courts speak French.

Naturally, whether it is for real business or for collecting intelligence, his identity is quite appropriate, and it is indeed hard to tell what the attitude of France is.