The Chinese envoy was invited to attend Cromwell's "enthronement" ceremony.
Under the revised new constitution, Cromwell served as Lord Protector of England, Scotland and Ireland.
In his inauguration speech, he declared: "The Lord Protector serves for life, jointly holds legislative power with the Congress, and exercises executive power with the State Council... Bills of the Parliament must be approved by the Lord Protector before they can take effect."
What does it mean?
This position is lifelong, will not step down, and does not require re-election midway. Legislative and executive powers nominally belong to the parliament, but any decision-making must be made by the Lord Protector.
The British Parliament was preserved, but only as a skeleton.
"The king was killed. He is definitely not counted as Yi Yin or Huo Guang. But he did not usurp the throne and become king, so he is not Wang Mang." Zhang Ruifeng discussed this, "So, who is Cromwell, the protector of the country?"
What is it? Similar to a lifelong autocratic president.
Pan Wei thought carefully and said: "China has not had such a political system since ancient times. We cannot look at the present from history. A country cannot be without a king for a day. Although this statement comes from Taoist classics, it is also an irrefutable fact. Cromwell's most fatal weakness
, because he did not establish the inheritance system. He has monopolized power at this time, and of course no one dares to object, but what happens after he dies?"
Cai Yuncheng said: "Once Cromwell dies, Britain will inevitably be in chaos. There are no more than three situations. First, his confidants support his son as the protector of the country; second, the royalists welcome the restoration of the royal family; third, the restoration
In the previous republic, these three situations are likely to occur at the same time, depending on which side wins."
Zhang Ruifeng said: "Even if his son can succeed to the throne, he will not be able to last long. Because the position of Protector of the Country is not justified in name and words, and it is only a temporary appointment."
In the eyes of the Chinese envoys, Cromwell was really stupid.
Now that you have taken control of a country's military and political affairs, the first thing you need to establish is your own legal system and the continuation of the legal system.
Cromwell's legal system was borrowed from Parliament. The legal system itself is still with Parliament. It should be returned after his death. In this way, it is a one-time deal. You will be happy until you die, and you will not care about what happens after you.
In China, after death, people will be liquidated, and it is normal to confiscate their homes and exterminate their families.
If we want to solve this problem once and for all, we must deal with the parliament.
Either dissolve the Parliament or replace it with your own people. But neither method is possible. If the Parliament is gone, Cromwell's legal system will be gone. And the members of Parliament are like carrots and pitfalls.
I can't change it even if I want to.
After a long time, Zhang Ruifeng made a concluding comment: "Cromwell is just a powerful minister and warlord who is incapable of becoming king. What he really should do is to institutionalize the 'protector of the country' in order to protect his legacy. If he
The Protector of the Nation is hereditary and will be opposed by the whole country. Therefore, the Protector of the Nation should be elected. Don’t European parliaments like to vote? Then let the parliament vote for the Protector of the Nation."
Cai Yuncheng nodded and said: "That's true. Once the system of voting for the Protector is established, after Cromwell's death, the goal of the British powerful will become the fight for the new Protector. No matter who succeeds the Protector, they will
Support Cromwell's system and do everything possible to prevent the restoration of the British royal family. In this way, Cromwell will not be whipped to death."
Pan Wei shook his head: "The power of the Lord Protector was taken from the Parliament. If the Parliament has had enough with one Cromwell, they will elect a second one? What if the Parliament is allowed to choose a new Protector?
Lord, the first reaction of the parliament is to vote to abolish the system of protecting the country."
A dead knot that cannot be untied.
The British Revolution shed too little blood and was full of compromises. Cromwell was not qualified to be Napoleon.
Lu Tianxiang said: "There is no need to discuss Cromwell's death. What on earth does this person mean? He actually does not agree with China and Britain forming an alliance to deal with the Netherlands together in Asia."
"I can't understand." Zhang Ruifeng shook his head.
Of course normal people can't understand it, because Cromwell's idea is too weird.
He first wanted to form an Anglo-Dutch Federation and jointly dominate the world. After the Dutch clearly refused, he then wanted to form an Anglo-Dutch Alliance and use the Dutch overseas power to help British colonial expansion.
The Dutch are not fools. I have worked so hard to get out of this situation and let you British guys pick peaches?
Cromwell was so conceited that he thought he had conquered the Dutch.
In fact, the final treaty between Britain and the Netherlands only forced the Netherlands to recognize the Navigation Regulations. Moreover, this recognition was superficial and was violated in various ways in actual operation.
Except for receiving reparations and a small island, nothing else changed for Britain. The reparations were not enough to cover the war expenses, and the island was not very useful. The British fought in vain. Only after being extremely depressed did they have the following
The Second Anglo-Dutch War.
Pan Wei said: "Cromwell is really unreliable. How about... a rare commodity!"
As soon as this statement came out, everyone immediately understood it.
The British royal family in exile are currently living in Port Grace, France, with horses donated by France. Prince Charles spends his time riding horses every day.
Zhang Ruifeng said with a smile: "Take the British royal family back to the country and report it to your majesty for later care. When Cromwell dies, we will send troops to escort him back. By then, we will probably be able to help him recover."
Cai Yuncheng said: "China is too far from Europe. If we learn about Cromwell's death and escort Prince Charles out to sea, it will take more than two years to reach the UK. Will someone get there first?"
"Then take him back and raise him for a few years so that he can admire me, China," Zhang Ruifeng said. "When he is almost done raising him, he will send it to Portugal to wait for the opportunity. China and Britain can still marry. Of course, a nobleman from the Celestial Dynasty cannot marry a foreign barbarian.
"There are many people of Portuguese descent in Macau. If you choose a beautiful woman, your Majesty can adopt her as your adopted daughter. You will then be given the title of princess and married to a British prince!"
This is a routine operation. Many of the princesses who got married during the Han and Tang Dynasties were maids who were named princesses.
Zhang Ruifeng didn't even bother to give it to the palace maid, and directly asked a Portuguese woman to take her place.
Pan Wei smiled and said: "Here in Europe, bloodline is important. It doesn't matter whether you are a member of the royal family, as long as you have the bloodline of a great noble. The João IV of Portugal was actually a Spanish nobleman, but he was still elected as the king.
After becoming the king of Portugal, he still rolled up his sleeves to fight Spain."
"What exactly do you want to say?" Zhang Ruifeng asked.
Pan Wei said: "Joao IV had very few children to begin with. One son and one daughter died in infancy, and recently another son and one daughter died. The eldest child now is the fifteen-year-old third princess Caterina. That one
Everyone has seen the third princess. She has a dignified appearance and is well-educated. Since João IV is seeking a marriage, you can advise your majesty to make her the crown prince's concubine. If she gives birth to an heir, she can look for opportunities to seize the throne of the King of Portugal. "
Zhang Ruifeng didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "The more we talk about it, the more we talk about it. It's a matter that has no trace...but, it can be considered. This matter should not be discussed publicly. It must be discussed with His Majesty in secret. It doesn't matter whether it is done or not."
Cai Yuncheng said: "Even if the prince's heir becomes the king of Portugal, it will not have much effect. In Europe, the system is self-contained and it is difficult to integrate with China."
Pan Wei showed a sly smile: "If the prince's heir becomes the king of Portugal, and I, the emperor of China, also confer him the title of overseas vassal king. If things go on like this, it will be established as a system. After two or three generations, Portugal may become the North Korea of Europe!"
"
"The reason North Korea is North Korea is that its monarchs, ministers, and gentry all write Chinese characters and all admire Confucianism," Cai Yuncheng immediately retorted, "You ask all the Portuguese nobles to write Chinese characters and let them abandon Christianity and join Confucianism. King of Portugal
, The reason why we are willing to marry China at this time is because Portugal is disliked by the Pope. If there is a heir of the Chinese royal family who comes to Portugal to be king, the Pope will definitely intervene, and maybe there will be a war because of it!"
The two have different backgrounds and different ways of thinking. They often have disputes during discussions, and others have long been accustomed to it.
Moreover, Pan Wei really took it for granted that normal European royal families would not intermarry with pagan royal families. Prince Charles of the United Kingdom, and now Portugal, were only slightly maneuverable due to special circumstances in special periods.
Institutional manipulation is absolutely impossible.
Let’s take Russia for example. It eagerly wanted to marry European royal families, but all the tsars in the past married German princesses.
The entire German region (including the continental territory of Denmark) is about the size of Sichuan, Chongqing, and Hunan combined. At its peak, there were 20,000 to 30,000 lords (those without actual fiefdoms are not counted). Only those who are qualified to be called "kings"
As many as one or two hundred.
This is the power delegated by the Shinra Emperor. Even cats and dogs can be called kings, and princes and princesses are everywhere. For example, although Catherine II’s father was the king (duke) of a principality, the income from the territory could not sustain consumption.
You still have to go out to work as an officer to make money - well, the king goes abroad to work for people, and the people at home should think about it.
The tsar also wanted to imitate others and engage in royal intermarriage, but was looked down upon by the real European royal families, so he could only choose a "princess" from Germany to marry.
At least Russia still believes in the Orthodox Church, and it still believes in God. It is so difficult for royal families to marry. China wants to control Portugal through long-term marriage, which is just an ignorant scholar talking in his sleep.
The two argued for a long time. Zhang Ruifeng's ears became calluses when he heard it, so he said: "Okay, don't talk anymore, talk to Cromwell first."
Since the mission went to sea, Cromwell has been the most hated leader of a country.
Whether it was the Mughals, Persia, France, or even the kings of Portugal, all of them were generous and generous. They provided them with delicious food and drinks. Just say what they wanted. They were given valuable greeting gifts when they came, and they were given farewell gifts when they left.
.
Cromwell said nothing, and the greeting was pathetically shabby.
This fellow went to war with the Netherlands, which nearly destroyed the British finances. He also spent a lot of his own savings during the uprising, and could not afford to entertain the Chinese envoys.
Even for ordinary diplomatic contracts, Cromwell was very cautious about spending every penny, as if he was afraid of being cheated by China.
You see, the Queen Mother of France has almost no objection to the conditions proposed by China, and she has never thought of taking advantage of China through treaties.
