New Shun 1730

In the eyes of British merchants, Spain is the number one enemy.

France has not yet established a foothold in India, and there are not many people in Canada. What British merchants need is the market.

Spain owns almost the entire Latin America and the richest Central America. It has been developed for hundreds of years, has a large population, and the Spanish handicraft industry is weak, which is a good market.

Woolen cloth cannot be sold in China, so can it not be sold in Spanish colonies?

However, after the Spanish Succession War, the Anglo-Spanish Treaty was signed, and Britain was prohibited from smuggling to Spanish colonies.

In order to ensure the effectiveness of this treaty, the Spanish fleet can board and inspect British merchant ships to determine whether they are smugglers.

Obviously, the Spaniards are not stupid and will not believe that they are going fishing.

Jenkins, who was holding his ears, had his ears cut off in this context.

This matter would not have caused any trouble, but capital can control public opinion and hype the focus. If things that happened six or seven years ago are turned over at this time, they can still set off huge waves.

Defeating Spain and seizing the sea power of the Atlantic is the dream of every British merchant.

As for France... there were only six battleships left in the port that could still move, the living standards of small farmers were high and they were unwilling to go overseas, and the policy in the colonies was also copied from the mainland, which made non-Catholics prefer to run to British colonies, resulting in a sparse population in the colonies and no consumption power... For various reasons, fighting was useless and the goods could not be sold. What was the point of fighting?

For the king's Hanover, to shed British blood? Spend British money?

Soon, public opinion in London fermented, and calls for war against Spain for Jenkins' ears broke through the door of the House of Commons.

Spain is a global empire, with territories in America and Southeast Asia.

The war in America must be fought, and the war in Southeast Asia must also be fought. If it wants to fight in Southeast Asia, it must be hoped to improve relations with China.

Although Britain and the Netherlands are allies, Britain will not forget the Ambon massacre that year, and will not forget the humiliation of the Dutch driving Britain out of Southeast Asia.

If a war is declared against the West, if the Philippines is to be attacked, the Netherlands will not allow Britain to dock at Dutch ports for supplies.

Because that would drag the Netherlands into the water.

Moreover, the British are not stupid, and the Dutch are certainly not stupid either. Under the condition of ensuring the dominance of Southeast Asia, the Dutch do not want Britain to replace Spain's rule in the Philippines, and it is even more impossible to support Britain in the war against Spain: at least, it is impossible to support Britain in Southeast Asia.

Sending a fleet to Southeast Asia at this time is a terrible task.

Merchant ships are okay, small boats are okay, but warships above level 5 have to go so far with a 60% mortality rate.

Once in Asia, where to resupply, after a round of hesitation, there is only one China left.

If it can negotiate the borrowing of ports for resupply in China, the East India Company is very confident to help the Royal Navy seize the Philippines and obtain the foothold in Southeast Asia that was driven away by the Dutch a hundred years ago.

Otherwise, it will only fight in the Americas, which is the business scope of the West India Company, and the East India Company is not very interested.

Whether it is out of the pressure of France's visit to China or out of consideration for the supply of the Anglo-Spanish war, George II made two decisions soon after returning to London.

Send a delegation to China to explain the possible slander of France, and hope to use Chinese ports for berthing and supply in the future Anglo-Spanish war.

Submit a letter of credence to Spain, asking the King of Spain to apologize for Jenkins' ear and apologize to Britain.

The envoys to Spain set off soon.

The envoys to China were also busy buying various gifts. Time was limited and they had to set off before March to catch the monsoon, otherwise they might not reach Asia this year.

…………

At the same time, Russia, St. Petersburg.

In order to westernize, Peter the Great moved the capital here away from Moscow ruled by the old aristocracy. This was a victory for the Westernization Party.

Peter II, the little kid, was controlled by the old aristocrats and moved back from St. Petersburg to Moscow where the old aristocracy was deeply rooted. This was a victory for the conservative party.

Queen Anna tossed around again and moved the capital back to St. Petersburg.

This time it was not a victory for the Westernization Party, but because another political force appeared in Russia: the German Party.

This relocation of the capital was a joint failure of the Westernization Party and the Conservative Party.

During his tenure for several years, more than 20,000 people were confiscated and exiled to Siberia; Duke Dolgoruky, a close friend of Peter II, was torn to pieces.

In order to prevent Princess Elizabeth, the spiritual leader of the Westernization Party and the only surviving offspring of Peter the Great at that time, from ascending to the throne, the Conservative Party invited Anna, who had a very low succession order, back from Germany for control.

At the beginning of his reign, he made three laws.

Without the permission of the Privy Council, no declaration of war; without the permission of the Privy Council, no marriage; without the permission of the Privy Council, no designation of an heir.

Anna agreed very happily. How could she become the Tsar as soon as she married the Duchess of Courland?

The Conservative Party thought that this person had no deep roots, had been in Courland for many years, spoke German better than Russian, and must be easy to control.

However, on the day of his accession to the throne, Anna brought the German forces and the already dissatisfied Westernization Party to a Roman tradition.

The Privy Council was dissolved, and the old aristocrats were either killed or exiled; the Westernization Party also discovered that this was not what they wanted.

The Westernization they want is the modernization of Russia, rather than embracing modernization at the expense of losing Russia, let alone a group of Germans ruling Russia. They would rather not have such Westernization.

During his lifetime, Peter the Great established two Praetorian Guards.

A Semyonovskoye regiment, which was similar to the Habayashi Guards.

A regiment of Preobrazhenskoye Guards, this is the Royal Guards.

The Preobrazhenskoye Guards are capable of arresting, killing, interrogating, and jailing.

Therefore, it is obvious that when the new emperor ascends the throne, in order to check and balance the Jinyiwei, he has to establish the East Factory and the West Factory.

This principle is valid in China, and it is the same in Russia.

In the Ming Dynasty, Dongchang and Xichang were eunuchs because they had no base among civil servants and generals and could only rely on imperial power.

Russia does not have a tradition of eunuchs intervening in politics, but there are Germans. They also had no base among Russia's civil servants and generals, and could only rely on imperial power.

Therefore, the Izmailovo Guards Regiment was formed, which was composed of German officers.

A secret criminal investigation office was also established, and the authority of the Preobrazhenskoye Guards, the "Jinyi Guards", was seized. They were killed first and reported later. The imperial authority granted permission to kill one thousand people first and exile 20,000 people.

After the Duke Dolgoruky's car was broken up, everyone was even more frightened and their expressions changed.

The chaotic political situation in Russia also scares many senior talents.

At the Academy of Sciences, Bernoulli left early, and Euler was already hesitating whether to go to Prussia or Dashun, even though Princess Elizabeth tried her best to stay.

At this moment, the atmosphere in the Winter Palace was different from usual.

Normally, there would be many court jesters performing funny farces, and the queen with the rural landowner aesthetic would burst into laughter.

But today, the atmosphere is a bit dull.

Bad news comes one after another.

Dashun's ship arrived in Sweden, returned the Swedish prisoners, and went to see the Swedish king. Did they reach some kind of deal against Russia?

The French envoy visited Beijing, the two sides signed a secret agreement, and France provided Dashun with a new type of firearms. This kind of firearm can have rifling, but also have the loading speed of a musket - at least, this is how the Russian envoy who returned to Petersburg from the capital described it.

Dashun's attitude on the issue of northwest border demarcation suddenly became tough, requiring Russia to dismantle several fortresses on the Irtysh River.

The news coming from China is worrying enough, and the news about France brought by the secret criminal investigation office is also very bad.

The French envoy in Russia has recently had frequent contact with the reclusive Princess Elizabeth. Although she has been avoiding her, it is obvious that the French are likely to be connected with the remnants of the Westernization Party in Russia.

To France, Germany was the enemy.

Prussia is not Germany, and Austria is not Germany; but Prussia is Germany, and Austria is also Germany.

Whoever is stronger is Germany.

Now, the Russian-Austrian alliance is extremely stable, and France is bent on dismantling this Russian-Austrian alliance, because Austria seems to be more powerful at this time.

Anna is half German, and Russia is a country where the German Party is in power. The French obviously hope that a more Russian monarch will come to power. Especially since the Westernization Party’s ultimate goal is to go west, it will inevitably conflict with Germany. This is diplomacy that is in Russia’s interests. policy. Of course, it is also in line with France's foreign policy to attack Germany from both sides, whether it is Prussia or Austria.

It is unclear whether the Frenchman and Princess Elizabeth were involved.

It can be thought of this diplomacy between France and Dashun, as well as Dashun's subsequent return of Swedish prisoners and sudden tough performance on the issue of border demarcation in Central Asia, all telling a possibility: France will use guns, Sweden will send people, The encirclement network sent by Ottoman and Chinese troops against Russia is slowly forming. The French are also trying to find suitable candidates to support them within Russia.

There is no shortage of talents in Russia. Faced with this situation, someone has already made suggestions to the Queen.

Strike first and strike later to control others.

There is still a war with Turkey. Although the Turks cannot defeat the Russian army, they have beaten Austria violently. The current situation is slightly advantageous for Russia.

Dashun's attitude is unclear. It is unlikely that a large-scale war will break out in the bitter cold land of Siberia. This can be resolved through diplomatic mediation.

The French only talk about strength. If they want to fight Russia, they must first step over the corpse of Austria.

Then, the weakest one is Sweden. While the anti-Russian alliance against Russia has not yet been formed, it is better to strike preemptively.

Diplomatically, the French were asked to act as guarantees, and a peace treaty was quickly concluded with Turkey. When Sweden was not ready, it went to war against Sweden to resolve its worries.

Then the highest-level envoys were sent, led by Count Andrei Ivanovich Osterman, a favored minister of Queen Anna, an important figure who helped Anna seize power, and the first minister of the cabinet. The Chinese delegation headed to Beijing.

He was granted the power of plenipotentiary to demarcate the northwest boundary, and at the expense of certain interests, he demolished several fortresses on the Irtysh River and drew a buffer zone.

This strategy is very smart, but... most people are against it.

The war with Turkey has lasted so long and so many people have died. Even if Azov can be regained through peace talks at this time, the right to enter and exit the Black Sea will definitely be vetoed by the Turks.

Then it makes no sense.

It’s better to wait and see. Although the Holy Roman Empire is now at a disadvantage...

But if something unexpected happens and Turkey is defeated in a battle, wouldn't it be possible to sign a peace treaty that is extremely beneficial to Russia? Who can say for sure what happens on the battlefield? The Turks can fight, but what if the Holy Roman Empire can win a battle?

We should wait and see about this Three Roman Wars.

Is the peace talk now a timely stop loss? Or is it a defeat without losing?

After spending so much money and dying so many people, we still hope for more results. Maybe the Holy Roman Empire is powerful. As long as they win a battle, they can sign the treaty that Russia has always dreamed of and seize the Black Sea outlet.

The problem Russia is facing now is that it does not have an accurate and sober strategy.

Fighting in the east, south, north, and west, it is really making enemies on all sides. Where should Russia put its strength?