Chapter 941 937 [Alliance of China, Britain, France and Portugal]
Charles was immediately crowned in London as Charles II.
The royalists who followed their mother and son into exile in the early years were canonized two dukes and three marquises in one go.
Although George Monk, who was stationed in Scotland, defected to Cromwell and did not leave after sending a message, he was once a royalist after all. Moreover, he now held a heavy army and also obtained the position of a marquis.
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As for Thomas and John, these two young men from the London countryside were made viscounts directly across the class hierarchy.
The title is not high, but it is not low either. The main reason is that the class has been improved and one can continue to rise at a young age.
What's more, they were appointed to important positions.
Thomas took five hundred Arakan soldiers to Huntingdon County, Cromwell's hometown, with the purpose of clearing out Cromwell's remaining influence. A large area of land there was assigned to Thomas as a fief, which far exceeded the
Viscount treatment. Moreover, each of the five hundred Arakan soldiers had a knighthood, and each was assigned a small piece of land.
John stayed in London, was responsible for guarding the court, and obtained a fief on the outskirts of London.
When Cromwell came to power, he not only killed the king, but also carried out a general purge. A lot of traditional nobles were killed, and some even had their descendants killed. The land and property were divided up by the revolutionaries. These lands can be recovered and given to the heroes again.
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Historically, when Charles was invited back to be king, he did not even dare to take back the royal land. Nowadays, the Revolutionary Party has to spit out a lot of what it has eaten.
Of course, Charles still chose to let nature take its course in those places that were too far away from London and had no victims. If he took them all back, it would force the gentry class to rebel and bring unnecessary trouble to himself.
The method is nothing more than to use both kindness and power, kill those who dance the most fiercely and have a bad reputation, and forgive and appease the rest.
Everything seemed to be settled, but Prince Charles... well, let's call him King Charles II, but he was speechless for a long time in front of a pile of accounts.
The old king, Charles I, was the one who failed in financial reform and led to a great uprising and was beheaded. Cromwell's son, as well as the previous military government, were also unable to establish their prestige because of financial problems.
Even if Cromwell were still alive, his rule would not last long.
Last year, the UK's annual revenue was 1.9 million pounds, fiscal expenditure was 2.3 million pounds, and the total government debt was 2.6 million pounds. Among them, military expenditures accounted for the bulk, with the army spending 1.1 million pounds a year and the navy spending 900,000 pounds a year.
Army military expenditures were mainly used to suppress the Irish uprising, which lasted for more than ten years and killed half of the Irish population.
Navy military expenditures were mainly used to fight wars with the Netherlands and Spain, and continued to engage in arms races.
Charles II, who successfully regained the throne, obtained a large amount of money by confiscating his house, but it was nothing compared to the fiscal deficit. Especially the 2.6 million pounds of public debt, which requires interest every year!
After thinking hard for many days, Charles II convened a parliament and directly announced his decision.
First, establish the Ministry of Administration, the Ministry of Taxation, the Ministry of Military Affairs, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, establish the Bank of England, and restore the Royal Privy Council.
Second, the functions of the House of Lords and the House of Commons are clearly divided. Officials of each ministry are elected by the parliament and appointed with the consent of the king. The king can directly appoint officials.
Third, formally determine consumption tax, monthly taxes and tariffs.
The consumption tax and monthly taxes were introduced by Cromwell and had to be collected with the help of the bourgeoisie and the gentry class. Now that Charles II has established them, it is equivalent to giving the House of Commons sufficient power.
The monthly tax collected from farmers, also known as land tax, accounted for one-quarter of farmers' total income. Because the tax was too heavy, farmers began to rebel, and Cromwell was forced to reduce it to one-eighth.
As for customs duties, they used to be contracted by the royal family to businessmen. Facts have proved that it is better to hire civil servants to collect them. Even if the civil servants are corrupt, the tariffs collected can be doubled.
After finalizing these, Charles II still sighed.
"I really envy the Emperor of China." Charles II said.
John, who was in charge of garrisoning the palace, knew what the king was thinking and said: "Education must be established in order to have enough officials."
Charles II said: "But I don't have the money to build a school."
Although Charles II did a decent job, Britain did not have a mature civil service system. In the past, it relied on the royal family and nobles to collect taxes, but now it can only rely on the squires and the bourgeoisie. In the long run, the power of the House of Commons will be enough to overthrow the king.
Historically, when Charles II wanted to reform in his later years, he could only hold parliament in Oxford and send troops directly to Oxford to suppress the situation. Because the MPs in London were too strong, he was afraid that he would be directly attacked by the MPs in the middle of the session.
Finished.
After thinking about it, Charles II said: "No matter how poor you are, you must build a school. First build an English Royal School. It does not teach theology, but only teaches Latin, English reading and writing, and accounting. It recruits students from common people in London and its suburbs.
, we will waive their tuition fees and arrange for them to work as port tax officers after graduation."
The king was so pitiful that he directly dispatched officials and only dared to start with customs duties and did not dare to touch other taxes. Otherwise, he would be fighting for power with the House of Commons.
Of course, Charles II also had long-term plans. When the group of port tax collectors grew up, they could be thrown into several major departments and mixed with sand.
After spending several years in China, Charles II did not just travel, he also learned Chinese methods.
Immediately, Charles II issued public bonds, used tariffs as collateral, and obtained 300,000 pounds from Dutch businessmen. As soon as the money was obtained, he began to disband the army, disbanded all Irish garrisons, reissued military pay, returned a severance pay, and gave Ireland
Tax reductions for nobles and commoners.
After disarmament, hundreds of thousands of pounds of military expenditure can be saved every year, and Ireland, which is riddled with holes, will no longer want to rebel.
However, naval military expenditure cannot be reduced and must be increased. The second Anglo-Dutch War may break out at any time.
what to do?
If you are looking for a marriage, you can choose from the princesses of France, Spain and Portugal. Because these three countries have the largest dowry for marrying a princess, you can definitely take advantage of the opportunity to make a fortune!
Portugal's only princess has married the Chinese emperor.
The French princess is not old enough either.
Charles II was very troubled by this. Royal marriage was a big deal. Britain was competing with Spain for the Mediterranean, and Portugal also had a bad relationship with Spain. Under such circumstances, it was impossible for him to marry a Spanish princess.
You can’t even find a marriage partner!
After much thought, Charles II decided to aggrieve himself and marry Louis XIV's niece - the eldest daughter of the Duke of Nemours in France, whose mother was the illegitimate granddaughter of Louis XIV's grandfather.
When the British envoys came to Paris, Louis XIV was intoxicated with Chinese art.
The French mission brought back a large number of literary and artistic works from China, which Louis XIV admired for several months.
"Are the Chinese glazed pagodas really that high?" Louis XIV asked repeatedly.
Colbert said: "It's really that high."
Louis XIV asked again: "How did Chinese architects build it three hundred years ago?"
Colbert shook his head: "I don't know. I only know that it took 100,000 craftsmen and took 20 years to complete. Your Majesty, we can build a shorter one. There is no need to build it according to Chinese dimensions."
Louis XIV was silent.
Although he has not yet taken office, he is already planning to build the Palace of Versailles, and said that it must include Chinese-style buildings.
It was another palace banquet. Not only were knives and forks placed on the dining table, there were also many chopsticks.
Louis XIV introduced to the nobles: "This is a chef from China. He originally cooked delicious food for the Chinese emperor. I spent a lot of money to invite him to Paris. Let us warmly welcome his arrival!"
"Snap, snap, snap!"
The nobles applauded collectively.
Qian Yigui grinned, but he was filled with contempt in his heart.
In fact, he was just a chef apprentice in Fan Lou. His father was seriously ill and he had younger brothers and sisters to support. Life was extremely difficult. The French envoys hired chefs everywhere, but no one wanted to go overseas. As soon as the money was expensive, for the sake of his family, he bit the bullet and agreed.
Yes, I received a full settlement allowance of 80 taels of silver.
When he came to Paris, there were not enough cooking raw materials, not even a wok, so he had to make everything slowly. Moreover, some things were not to Louis XIV's liking, so the taste of the dishes had to be readjusted.
By the way, Qian Yigui also took on more than ten French apprentices.
He is now the French palace cook, was awarded a baronet, and is married to the daughter of a musketeer (the palace musketeer is also a noble).
Traditional French appetizers were served first, and then a Chinese dish, all served on blue and white porcelain plates.
Louis XIV raised his chopsticks: "This dish is called tomato scrambled eggs. I heard that it is the Chinese emperor's favorite delicacy. Everyone, let's start."
Louis XIV had been practicing chopsticks for a long time. Holding chopsticks in his right hand and a spoon in his left hand, he ate tomato scrambled eggs with great intoxication.
The French nobles also picked up the spoons one after another, and they were all full of praise.
The maid brought another bowl of rice. This was an imported product, extremely expensive and scarce in quantity.
Louis XIV said proudly: "Stir the tomato scrambled eggs with the rice, and the juice will be incorporated into the rice, and the deliciousness will double."
The nobles followed suit and all praised the food as delicious, and some even drank it with wine.
There was no Chinese chef at Charles II's side, but he knew how to cook. When he was in exile in Europe, he even learned carpentry, and he also learned a lot of skills when he went to China.
The next day, the British envoy arrived.
Queen Anne flatly refused the marriage for the simple reason that she hated Charles II's mother and had a very bad relationship with her sister-in-law.
Prime Minister Mazarin observed the situation and immediately found a legitimate excuse for the queen: "We and the Netherlands are allies, and Britain and the Netherlands are enemies. We cannot marry the enemy of our allies."
Louis XIV did not think so. He said to his mother: "The sister of Charles II married the crown prince of China. If my niece marries Charles II, I will be the same generation as the Emperor of China and the same generation as the Emperor of China."
We are relatives."
The Queen Mother and the Prime Minister were speechless for a moment.
Louis XIV continued: "Britain and Spain are enemies, France and Spain are also enemies. The marriage between France and Britain can suppress Spain. As for the Netherlands, what is the use of this ally? The Dutch East India Company almost went bankrupt a few years ago, and the Netherlands
The army is not a threat. We should form an alliance with Britain and Portugal to jointly deal with Spain. Britain and Portugal both married their princesses to China, and they are joining forces to fight against Spain and the Netherlands. France should also actively join this alliance."
"No," Queen Anne said, "The French princess can marry anyone, but she cannot marry Charles II!"
This queen was angry with her sister-in-law when she was young, and she can hold a grudge for a lifetime.
Louis XIV said: "Mother, if my niece marries Charles II, what will he call you in the future?"
Queen Anne instantly became happy. The marriage was completed, and her sister-in-law (the mother of Charles II) would be her junior from now on.
Although Europe doesn't talk about seniority very much, it still makes her feel happy.
Through marriage, the alliance between China, Britain, France and Portugal began to take shape. Their current enemies are the Netherlands and Spain.
Of course, sooner or later, there will come a time when things turn out differently.
