Historically, the title of the Royal Navy was given by Charles II.
So why is there no Royal Army?
Because of Charles II's compromise with Parliament, the royal family gave up military power over the rest of the army except the King's Guard.
In this time and space, Britain has a Royal Army!
After sorting out the financial problems a little, Charles II began to reorganize the army.
The Army was renamed the Royal Army and was organized into the Arakan Army, the English Army, the Scottish Army and the Irish Army. Most of the New Model Army formed by Cromwell was disbanded, and only the Coldstream Guards were retained to defend London. The size of the army was
Twenty-five thousand people.
The navy was renamed the Royal Navy, and the fleet admirals returned home one after another, kneeling before the king and swearing allegiance. The king's brother James was recalled to England, was made a duke, and served as the supreme commander of the Royal Navy.
At this point, Charles II took control of the army.
Legislative power still belongs to Parliament, but it is in the hands of the House of Lords, and the House of Lords is composed of traditional aristocrats. The squires and bourgeoisie in the House of Commons can only discuss amending local regulations. Their greatest power is to control the tax system (except tariffs).
Charles II seemed to have centralized power, but not completely. Taxation was always choked by the House of Commons.
Previously, Duke James had been serving as a soldier in France. Now he returned to England as the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy and immediately began to investigate the naval problems.
James discovered that 300,000 pounds of last year's 900,000 pound navy budget had disappeared, and no one knew where it was spent. The navy was severely corrupt, its ships were dilapidated and in disrepair, and its soldiers were in arrears with pay for half a year, and morale was extremely low.
what to do?
Let’s find a Dutch businessman to issue bonds and loans!
The Dutch stock market crashed a few years ago, and although it has barely recovered, investors have long lost confidence in the stock market. Due to the impact of China, the Dutch East India Company can only barely maintain its capital (the major shareholders are still receiving dividends). And the Dutch West India Company is still receiving dividends from its major shareholders.
Indian companies have been losing money for more than 20 years.
Dutch businessmen do not have good investment goals. Charles II is now issuing bonds and loans. This is a high-quality customer!
Charles II sent people to the Netherlands to issue bonds. In just two months, Dutch merchants subscribed for 500,000 pounds. Then, several major royal shipyards in Britain were in full operation, some used to repair old warships, and some used to build new ones.
Battleship.
The navy was being reorganized and the Royal School had not yet opened, but Charles II couldn't wait any longer.
Although the king took back the power of customs duties, all tax officials were members of the House of Commons, and corruption was extremely serious. He immediately issued an order asking each of the charitable high schools across the country to send one of its best graduates to London.
All universities in the UK at this time were church schools.
The rest are charity schools. Charity primary schools do not teach Latin, and they work for school directors after graduation. Charity middle schools teach Latin. The nobles are cultivating their own ruling power, and the school directors are mainly traditional nobles, who are related to the House of Commons.
The emerging class has nothing to do with it.
Two months later, more than 20 graduates of Charity Middle School gathered at Hampton Court Palace by the Thames.
These graduates are very excited. They are all common people, and the best ones are from down-and-out nobles. Now that they have been personally summoned by the king, they will definitely have a bright future in the future.
Charles II and high school graduates sat around a long table.
Dishes kept coming, which they had never seen before, and besides spoons, knives and forks, there were also unknown small wooden sticks.
I saw Charles II picking up chopsticks and saying to the graduates: "British tableware is too simple. France uses knives and forks, but Britain only has spoons. I went to distant China, and the Chinese emperor used chopsticks and spoons to eat. Now,
I will teach you dining etiquette. You should use a spoon to drink soup. For small pieces of food, if you can use a fork, use a fork. If you can't use a fork, you can use chopsticks. For large pieces of meat, use a fork to hold it down, and then use a knife to cut it.
open."
These graduates studied very seriously and learned the knife and fork very quickly, but they had some trouble with the chopsticks.
In addition, there is only a three-pronged fork at this time.
After learning table manners, Charles II said: "Let's all introduce ourselves and get to know each other, starting with my left hand."
A teenager stood up: "My name is John Joseph, from Meades Middle School. Nice to meet you all."
"Very well," Charles II led the applause, "Welcome, John!"
Hearing the applause of the crowd, the young man was very excited. He had never received such courtesy. He thought Charles II was the wisest king.
One graduate after another announced their name, and finally one stood up and said: "My name is Isaac Newton, from Grantham High School."
Nobles run charity schools and like to use the royal brand. The full name of the school Newton attended is "King's Grantham School", which is often translated as "Jinges Royal School". In fact, it has nothing to do with the king or the royal family.
Newton lost his father when he was young, and his mother remarried to a country pastor. He lived with his grandmother since he was a child, and threatened to burn down the house together with his mother and stepfather.
Before he graduated from middle school, his mother became a widow again, so she called him back home to farm.
The principal liked Newton and personally persuaded Newton to complete his studies and gave Newton's mother some financial support. When Newton was studying, he stayed at a pharmacist's house and fell in love with the pharmacist's daughter.
After graduating from high school, he planned to study at Cambridge University, and the principal also opened a letter of introduction for him. Unexpectedly, the king gave an order, and the principal thought he had a promising future, so he sent Newton to London, so he no longer had to go to the troubled Cambridge.
University.
Charles II said to the teenagers: "You are all the best graduates from middle schools everywhere. I hope you can be loyal to the royal family and contribute to the country. Of course, I will also reuse you and canonize you as nobles in the future."
Are you willing to be loyal to me?"
The young men, including Newton, left the table one after another and knelt before Charles II to swear allegiance.
"Very good," Charles II was very satisfied with this, and then said, "In order to avoid the dissatisfaction of the House of Commons, I cannot directly give you high-level official positions, nor can I let you all be officials. Half of you will go to major ports,
If you serve as an ordinary tax collector, you can be promoted in two or three years at most. The remaining half will be my palace attendants. I will appoint different official positions as appropriate in the future based on your performance."
"I will swear allegiance to His Majesty to the death!" the teenagers shouted.
When Charles II was in China, he repeatedly studied the original version of "Datong Collection" and was also proficient in "Historical Masterpieces" such as "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms" and "Water Margin".
At this time, it was equivalent to Zhu Houzhao accepting his "adopted son", or the emperor personally presided over the palace examination, bypassing the old and new nobles and cultivating his own core strength.
Newton was assigned to work as a tax collector at a port, and he was an errand boy at the lowest level. As for whether he will continue to engage in research in the future, it depends on him. This man is not a nerd.
Historically, he was transferred to the Royal Mint. Not only did he take over a mess, but his job was also thankless. In the end, he was like Sherlock Holmes. He destroyed the largest counterfeit currency manufacturing gang in the UK and was promoted to the Royal Mint for his merits.
long.
After lunch and a short rest, Charles II smiled and said, "Come on, I'll teach you how to ride a horse."
After all, the Happy King is the Happy King, and when it’s time to entertain, you still have to entertain. By the way, you can get closer to the personal relationship with these teenagers.
It was Newton's first time riding a horse. Under the guidance of the royal guards, he was able to ride a horse and trot in half an hour. He pulled the reins and galloped at will, looking at Charles II in the distance, and secretly vowed to share his worries for his majesty.
Far away in Paris, Prime Minister Mazarin fell seriously ill, and Finance Minister Nicolas Fouquet came to power.
The seemingly inconspicuous Louis XIV quietly won over the palace guards when Mazarin was seriously ill, and asked his advisor Colbert to secretly investigate Fouquet.
Mazarin felt something bad. He was afraid of being liquidated after his death. During a meeting, Mazarin took Louis XIV's hand and pretended to be a loyal minister: "Your Majesty, after my death, you must personally rule."
, stop appointing prime ministers, and keep power firmly in your hands."
Louis XIV said: "I will appoint a prime minister. Please recommend a candidate."
Mazarin shook his head: "Without a candidate, the power of France will be concentrated in His Majesty."
In March, Mazarin died of illness.
Louis XIV immediately reorganized the Musketeers and took control of other palace guards. After a palace meeting, the powerful Finance Minister Fouquet was arrested by the Musketeers and imprisoned on charges of embezzling huge amounts of public funds.
Colbert, who led the mission to China, served as the new finance minister.
Then, Louis XIV kept the Minister of War in the palace for a night of secret talks, and completely took control of the national army.
A few days later, Louis XIV found Queen Anne: "Mother, you are a devout Christian, please go to the monastery to serve God."
Queen Mother Anne was shocked: "What did you say?"
Louis XIV repeated again: "Ask mother to serve God."
"You actually did this to me!" Queen Mother Anne was furious.
Louis XIV said: "The musketeers are arresting the ministers you appointed, and I think some of them must go to prison."
This removed Queen Mother Anne's confidants.
Queen Anne still refused to go to the monastery. Louis XIV was a little impatient and called the palace guards and said: "My mother is extremely pious and has sworn to serve God for the rest of her life. You escort her to the monastery."
"Queen Mother, please." The guards gathered around.
Queen Anne was almost dragged away, with only two maids accompanying her to take care of her future daily life.
The position of French prime minister is gone, and prime ministers will no longer be appointed in the future. The king directly issues orders to ministers. France has entered the peak moment of monarchical centralization.
At the same time, King Charles II of England also began a semi-centralized rule, and his efforts were also directed towards the centralization of monarchical power.
The political situation of Britain and France suddenly changed, and a marriage was announced.
In addition to the joy of the Portuguese, the surrounding countries were facing formidable enemies. The King of Spain even mobilized a large number of troops on the border, and at the same time let the fleet patrol around the clock, for fear that Britain and France would suddenly take action together.