The decline of the Netherlands began when China was driven out of Southeast Asia, but the fatal blow came from Britain and France.
Britain wanted to gain maritime interests, and France wanted to invade the Dutch mainland.
When Britain was in financial difficulty, Louis XIV took the initiative to provide money, and Charles II immediately agreed to join forces with France to resist the Netherlands.
Financial support obtained out of thin air, of course, came with additional conditions. Britain and France signed the "Secret Treaty of Dover." The treaty stipulated that France would provide financial support to Britain, and Britain would gradually restore Catholicism and must join France in fighting the Netherlands. If Britain
Riots broke out due to the restoration of Catholicism, and France had to send troops to help Britain put down the rebellion.
After the secret treaty was signed, France suddenly declared war on the Netherlands, and Britain immediately withdrew from the Triple Alliance with the Netherlands and Sweden.
Immediately afterwards, Britain launched an undeclared war against the Netherlands and attacked a Dutch merchant fleet. The Third Anglo-Dutch War broke out.
The strongest fortress in the Netherlands collapsed completely like paper when faced with the French military strategist Vauban. Five of the seven Dutch provinces fell directly.
The Dutch Parliament urgently invited William III to be in power and formed an alliance with Spain, Austria, Prussia, the Duchy of Lorraine, and the Duchy of Palatine. It was obvious that all countries wanted to work together to curb the rise of France. France faced a comprehensive siege and had to fight in all directions, with its troops dispersed.
Afterwards, William III recovered the lost territories of the Netherlands.
Louis XIV once again waved banknotes and pulled Sweden, the Netherlands' ally, into his camp.
Sweden immediately attacked the German region, Brandenburg and Austria, and had to order the frontline troops to return to defense. France was relieved of the dilemma of being attacked from both sides and began to attack the Dutch and Spanish coalition forces.
The Swedish army was defeated by Brandenburg. Denmark immediately added insult to injury, formed an alliance with the Netherlands, and declared war on Sweden.
Seeing that France was about to be completely surrounded again, Louis XIV began a tariff war, which caused heavy losses to Dutch merchants. Immediately, the navies of Britain and France jointly attacked the Dutch navy, and then went to fight the Spanish navy to seize control of the sea in the Mediterranean.
As Spain lost control of the sea, the Italian states that surrendered to Spain took the opportunity to launch a national independence uprising.
The French army also defeated the German states and occupied the Lorraine area. Then they returned to attack Spain and occupied Franche-Comté and Flanders in Spain.
Britain, which had been helping France in the war, did not want to see France win a big victory, so it chose to jump again and suddenly announced the marriage between Britain and the Netherlands.
Being backstabbed by his allies, Louis XIV was furious, but he had to hold his nose and admit it. He took out a large number of gold coins and gave them to Charles II and the British nobles in exchange for the British slowing down the dispatch of troops. Then, the French army went crazy
attack, forcing the Allies to pray for negotiations.
During the negotiations, Louis XIV bribed Dutch businessmen and promised to reduce tariffs. The Dutch businessmen were so unjust that they ignored the national interests and collectively emptied the Dutch ruler William III.
At this point, France dominated continental Europe.
However, the cost of war and diplomacy was too high, and the people in France were in dire straits, and there were even peasant uprisings.
Britain first defected from the alliance to France, and then defected to the Netherlands in the process. It also received financial support from France twice. It can be said that it made a lot of money, and it also seized maritime privileges from the Netherlands.
However, in order to fulfill the secret agreement between Britain and France, Charles II was publicly baptized and declared a Catholic. He encountered fierce opposition from Parliament and the Anglican Church. He had to order the dissolution of Parliament, which kicked off the religious struggle in Britain. It was equivalent to giving a gift to his own son.
A landmine was planted, and in the end the eldest son died, and the second son also lost centralized power.
After successive wars, the Netherlands' economic situation was in a mess. China took the opportunity to seize Ceylon (Sri Lanka), and the Netherlands was completely driven out of Asia.
The current situation is that China colonizes the east coast of India and Ceylon, and Portugal colonizes the west coast of India. Countless Chinese goods are continuously shipped to India and then transferred to Europe by Portugal.
Portugal married the princess to China and used Chittagong as a dowry. At this time, it received generous returns, and the second-rate dealers did not feel too comfortable.
However, the political situation in Portugal is chaotic.
King Afonso VI, who was paralyzed and mentally ill since childhood, was cuckolded by his wife and brother. Even the queen openly declared that she had never consummated her marriage with the king, requested that the marriage be declared invalid, and then directly remarried the king's brother.
That's not all. After a couple got married, they teamed up to put the king under house arrest in the Azores.
Just five years ago, the king died of illness, and the dog man and woman successfully became king and queen.
Three years ago, the Portuguese princess Catalina, who was married to Zhao Han, received detailed news from Portugal and believed that her brother had been murdered, and asked Emperor Zhao to send troops to take charge of the overall situation.
Zhao Han immediately ordered the navy to dispatch, and without going too far, the Datong Navy stationed on the east coast of India went to blockade the Portuguese colonies on the west coast of India. He also ordered an increase in tariffs on trade with Portugal, and all merchant ships heading to the west coast of India were required to
Accept inspections and additional taxes along the way.
The Portuguese nobles and businessmen were shocked when they heard the news. They relied on China to make their money and were unwilling to fall out with China.
Two years ago, Zhao Kuangquan, the 25-year-old son of Zhao Han and Catalina, led eight warships, ten armed merchant ships, and 2,000 voluntary peasant soldiers to seize the throne from Portugal.
Just as he arrived in Lisbon at this time, Zhao Kuangquan hung out the flag of the Portuguese royal family, and the entire Portuguese navy turned against him on the spot!
Of course, the royal flag is not that effective. The real reason is that the Portuguese navy’s military expenditures, as well as the interests of a large number of nobles, must rely on China and Chinese products. The navy does not dare to go to war with Zhao Kuangquan. Once a war starts, it will break up with China. From now on, they will
I can't even get a salary.
The army landed successfully, and King Pedro II urgently mobilized the army for defense.
A diplomat from Honglu Temple came to the city and shouted: "The Chinese princess, the daughter of King Joao IV, the Portuguese princess Caterina Enriqueta, has the right to inherit the Portuguese throne. The King of Portugal, Afonso VI,
He was murdered to death, and the pseudo-King Pedro was the biggest suspect. Now, Alfonso Zhao Kuangquan Enriqueta, the Chinese prince, grandson of João IV and son of the Portuguese princess, returned with his loyal army
.All Portuguese nobles, soldiers and civilians, immediately lay down their arms and welcome your new king!"
The nobles and soldiers guarding the city looked at each other in shock after hearing the shouting.
King Pedro II roared: "Shoot, kill him!"
The soldiers raised their weapons, but did not fire immediately. Instead, they turned to look at the officers. The officers then looked at the noble generals. These generals were hesitant. They did not dare to break up with China, otherwise Portugal's Indian colony would be lost.
At this time, the world’s largest gold mine had not yet been discovered in Brazil, and Portugal’s finances had to rely on trade with China to survive.
Pedro II yelled again: "You launched a coup with me and drove away Count Castelomelol. Could it be that with the new king, can you continue to live a carefree life as a noble? Open
Shoot him!"
When the nobles heard this, some of the guys who participated in the coup finally decided to go all out and maintain their power even if they broke up with China.
"Bang bang bang!"
More than ten bullets were fired, and the Honglu Temple diplomat was shot in the leg and scratched on his cheek. He was so frightened that he limped back.
"Your Majesty, Lisbon is difficult to attack. You can go north to attack Porto first."
The speaker was the Portuguese Governor of India.
Although he was appointed by Pedro II, he resolutely chose to betray Pedro II. Otherwise, not only would his position as Governor-General of India be lost, he would also be attacked by the Chinese fleet, and he might even die in India.
This guy took the entire Indian colony with him, declared allegiance to Zhao Kuangquan, and also brought the Portuguese Indian fleet with him (which was so weak that they were all armed merchant ships).
Zhao Kuangquan has been influenced by his mother since he was a child and has studied detailed intelligence about Portugal.
He knew that Porto is the second largest city in Portugal, the center of Portugal's handicraft industry, and Portugal's core port leading to Western Europe.
"Everyone go back to the ship and march to Porto!" Zhao Kuangquan followed suit.
During the voyage, the Governor-General of India suggested: "Your Majesty, you can send an envoy to contact the Count of Castrumello. He was the most powerful nobleman in Portugal after the king, but because of Pedro II
After a coup, he was forced to resign as regent. In the whole of Portugal, he is the person who hates Pedro the most."
Zhao Kuangquan left the port of Lisbon and took the Portuguese fleet with him.
In a blink of an eye, we arrived at Porto, and the nobles who defended the city fled without a fight because there were less than 500 soldiers here.
Zhao Kuangquan immediately summoned businessmen and scholar representatives from all over the city and announced that he would reduce business taxes and implement a policy of academic freedom in the future. The businessmen and scholars were overjoyed and pledged their allegiance to the new king on the spot, and spent their own money to form a militia to continue fighting with the king.
It is so easy, and it also has the aura of a Chinese prince. Businessmen rely on Chinese goods to make profits, and scholars infinitely yearn to worship Chinese culture.
Many of the militiamen recruited by these guys were homeless people and low-class people. They burned, killed and looted all the way. Zhao Kuangquan severely stopped them and even executed more than ten people on the spot. After the military discipline was strictly enforced, civilians enthusiastically sang their praises wherever they went and gave Zhao Kuangquan a nickname.
Called "The Merciful One".
Zhao Kuangquan's army fought all the way south, and many nobles came to surrender.
In particular, the joining of Count Castelomelol has extremely powerful appeal, which is equivalent to the recognition of the foreign prince by the Portuguese nobles.
With constant losses of cities and territory, Pedro II could no longer sit still and summoned an army of nobles to march north for a decisive battle.
The two sides met on the outskirts of Coimbra. The 2,000 fully armed Chinese peasant soldiers had been named the King's Guards by Zhao Kuangquan. They were peasant soldiers in China, but they were top elites in Portugal. They defeated Pedro II's army head-on, and Ca
Count Strumelor took the opportunity to pursue him with his cavalry.
A month later, Zhao Kuangquan announced in Lisbon that he was proclaimed king, known as "Joao V" in Europe and "King Chen" in China.
The Pope was furious and announced the excommunication of Portugal.
The Portuguese have long been accustomed to this. When Zhao Kuangquan arrived, he was already the fourth Portuguese king who could not be crowned by the pope.
Britain first recognized Zhao Kuangquan's throne, and then Louis XIV also expressed support. Both countries did not take the Pope seriously.
Spain, which had just been beaten by France, was facing a formidable enemy. It was afraid that Zhao Kuangquan would lead troops to stab the chrysanthemum, so it also publicly recognized Zhao Kuangquan's throne in exchange for the signing of a non-aggression treaty between Portugal and Spain.
