King Felipe IV of the Spanish Habsburg Dynasty learned about what happened in the port of Assur Grana.
His body was shaking with anger, and the Spanish Habsburg dynasty continued to decline under his rule.
The last time Felipe IV was so angry was a few years ago when the Spanish Armada defeated the weak with a strong force, but lost to the Dutch fleet that rebelled against Spanish rule.
At that time, the combined fleet of Spain and Portugal consisting of hundreds of warships was defeated by the Dutch fleet of 13 warships.
This war turned Spain from prosperity to decline.
The Great China Empire's occupation of Gibraltar will cause the Great China Empire to discover the decline of Spain and gradually seize Spanish territory.
Felipe IV knew that Spain was seizing colonies in America and Asia in this way.
Felipe IV staggered and kept pacing the room. He finally gritted his teeth and said: "I agree with Louis XIV's proposal and will discuss the creation of a combined European fleet in Madrid."
The French Emperor Louis XIV proposed that in order to deal with the invasion of the Chinese Empire, European countries should abandon their previous differences and form a joint fleet to jointly resist the Chinese Navy.
Felipe IV had always disagreed with this proposal.
The prerequisite for France and England to form a joint fleet is that all countries put aside their past differences.
There are two proposals that Spain cannot accept at all.
That was when Spain gave up its rule over the Netherlands and Portugal.
With the strong assistance of France, the Netherlands had expelled the Spanish forces.
Spain had only nominal rule over the Netherlands.
Portugal saw the decline of Spain, and they also wanted to be independent from Spain. The situation in Portugal tended to collapse.
If Felipe IV agrees to the demands of France and England, he will be the most useless king in the history of Spain.
But the current development of the situation has forced Felipe IV to compromise.
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Letters from Felipe IV arrived in various European countries.
The biggest obstacle to the European Union, which had been making no progress before, has disappeared.
This time we mainly discussed the formation of a combined fleet and the people who came to Madrid for the meeting.
Both England and the Netherlands sent their main naval admirals to participate in this meeting in order to compete for dominance.
As the main initiator, France sent Prince Condé to participate in this meeting.
The Holy Roman Empire and the German countries, as well as Norway and Sweden, only sent people to participate in this meeting symbolically.
Admiral Oquendo, as the host of the meeting, greeted the representatives from various countries at the gate.
Everyone in Spain knew that this was a humiliating meeting, and they refused to participate in it.
This meeting was again related to the navy, with Admiral Oquendo serving as the captain during the war with the Dutch navy.
The admiral who led a powerful navy and suffered a disastrous defeat could only bear the humiliation of this meeting.
Louis II de Bourbon, Prince of Condé in France, looked at everyone attending the meeting, especially Spain, which did not have any important ministers participating.
He acted like a master and said: "His Majesty King Felipe IV agreed to the request we jointly made with England.
If European countries want to unite, they must resolve the issues left over from previous wars.
The Netherlands is a country with a powerful navy.
They wanted to get rid of the rule of the Spanish Habsburg Kingdom.
This is the prerequisite for forming a combined fleet.
Just in case, we will sign the relevant contract first."
Louis II de Bourbon, Prince of Condé in France, immediately took out several contracts and placed them on the table.
He looked at the Spaniard's ashen face, but was indifferent.
It was he who led troops into the Netherlands and defeated the Spanish army.
This caused the Spanish, who had failed in the naval battle, to completely fail in their strategy of winning on the road.
Louis II de Bourbon, Prince of Condé in France, believed that his ability was enough to defy the Spanish generals.
This time the European Union proposal was proposed by France.
But Spain is facing the biggest crisis, and the Chinese fleet must be docked in Gibraltar now.
Once Gibraltar is blocked, the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean will be inaccessible.
France was greatly affected, but Spain was even more severely affected.
The Spanish Navy will be divided directly into two halves, the Mediterranean Navy and the Atlantic Navy.
The Spanish navy, which was already in decline, would be completely devastated.
The Great China Empire wanted to expand its European colonies, and Spain, which was just around the corner, would be their main choice.
Louis II de Bourbon, Prince of Condé in France, believed that any European country could only understand the Chinese Empire.
It is certainly impossible for them to ignore the Great China Empire and establish colonies near their own country.
With the Imperial Navy fleet occupying Gibraltar.
These European nobles have a deeper understanding of the Han forces in Europe.
The deeper I understand, the more I realize that the Great China Empire is unfathomable and has a huge desire for territory.
Admiral Oquendo's face was ashen, but he had been fully prepared before.
But when he heard the urging of Prince Condé of France, his face still didn't look good.
Admiral Oquendo thought of Felipe IV's confession.
He took out his quill and signed the contract recognizing the independence of the Netherlands and Portugal from the rule of the Spanish Habsburg Kingdom.
Admiral Oquendo knew that once this name was signed, his already bad reputation would become even more bad.
It was precisely because of his notorious reputation that Felipe IV assigned him this task.
Representatives from the Netherlands and Portugal happily signed the contract.
From now on, they would be free from the nominal rule of the Spanish Habsburg dynasty.
Dutch Navy Vice-Admiral Marton Tropp, who is now the commander-in-chief of the Dutch Navy.
He led 13 warships to defeat the Spanish naval fleet with a weak force, laying a solid foundation for the Netherlands to get rid of the rule of the Spanish Habsburg Kingdom.
With the emergence of this treaty, the dream of the Dutch for generations was finally achieved.
Louis II de Bourbon, Prince of Condé in France, and Robert Blake, the English Admiral, signed the treaty as witnesses.
Louis II de Bourbon, Prince of Condé in France, applauded after signing the signature. He said excitedly: "The foundation for the European Union has been laid."
He was extremely happy, as this would be the most important step in the strategy of Greater France.
France promoted the alliance of European countries in order to become the hegemon of the European continent.
France's own navy was not strong, which prompted European countries to form a joint fleet. They wanted to achieve several goals.
The most important purpose is to expel the power of the Great China Empire in Europe.
This powerful empire in the East has spread its influence deep into Europe, and all European countries are on tenterhooks.
There is another unspeakable purpose, which is to weaken the naval strength of European countries.
Because France was caught in the Thirty Years' War, it had not gained any colonial benefits before.
The main forces of the combined fleet this time were England, Spain, and the Netherlands, all colonial powers.
When they fight against the Imperial Navy of Great China, their strength will inevitably be damaged.
This will slow down the expansion of their colonies.
France takes the opportunity to expand its navy, and the scale of its navy and colonies will have the potential to catch up from behind.
When France made this proposal, it was a conspiracy, and it was not afraid of delays from England, Spain, and the Netherlands.
These three countries are all traditional naval powers. When the Chinese navy occupied Gibraltar, they were the three countries whose interests suffered the most.
The interests of these three countries conflict with each other, and the three countries cannot trust each other. France must mediate.
English Admiral Robert Blake was a close friend of English Prime Minister Oliver Cromwell.
Before he came, he had obtained an explanation from Oliver Cromwell.
England must become one of the organizers of the combined fleet.
Which European country knows the most about the Chinese Empire? England dares to say it is second. No country dares to say it is first.
It is precisely because of their understanding of the Great China Empire that the British nobles are more afraid of the Great China Empire.
Prime Minister Oliver Cromwell also had his own arrangements. He wanted to use this war to take the opportunity to integrate Scotland and Ireland and make England a whole.
The English Admiral Robert Blake immediately seconded the proposal of Louis II de Bourbon, Prince of Condé in France.
“A single country cannot fight against the powerful naval fleet of the Great China Empire.
If we in Europe want to survive this crisis, we must unite and form a joint fleet, which is the only solution."
Representatives from various European countries basically support the formation of a combined fleet.
They were invited to come to Madrid, and in their hearts they agreed with the plan of forming a joint fleet.
Because of the emergency of the war, after many days of discussions, European countries have determined the size of the combined fleet.
Taking double-decker plywood warships common in Europe as a unit, there are thirty ships from England, forty ships from the Netherlands, forty-three ships from Spain, two ships from France, and fifteen ships from other countries.
The combined fleet has a total of one hundred and thirty powerful warships, as well as a number of arson ships and other auxiliary warships.
According to their understanding, the Dahua Navy fleet only has fifteen warships in total.
Even the Dahua Navy fleet is an armored ship that looks extremely powerful.
However, the size of the two armies is very different. With ten warships attacking one of their warships, they are very confident.
What's more, the navy relies heavily on scale. With more than a hundred warships facing off against a dozen warships, no one can think of a way to defeat them.
As representatives of various countries, they reached a consensus and the establishment of the combined fleet was a certainty.
But on an extremely important matter, everyone has been debating it for many days, but no result has been achieved.
That is the commander-in-chief of the combined fleet. Who is in charge?
Louis II de Bourbon, Prince of Condé in France, said angrily: "Everything has been settled, and you continue to fight over this matter.
That is time for the Imperial Navy of Great China to recuperate.
The Imperial Navy of Great China may receive reinforcements and may arrive in the Mediterranean at any time.
To deal with a navy composed of more than a dozen ironclad ships, we need to use the capabilities of the navies of various countries.
If another forty armored ships come, how can we resist them?
The Imperial Navy of Great China can delay this war, but we cannot delay it.
The results will be discussed today, and the combined fleet cannot end because of difficulty in giving birth to the commander."
Admiral Oquendo diverted the trouble and said: "I support Louis II de Bourbon, Prince of Condé in France, to become the commander-in-chief of the combined fleet.
Your performance during this period is obvious to all.”
Admiral Oquendo chose Prince Condé of France, which was also the most helpless choice.
This time the combined fleet is to deal with the Imperial Navy of Great China, and the battle situation will be very dangerous.
The commander-in-chief of the Combined Fleet must not be Vice Admiral Marton Tropp of the Dutch Navy.
Once this man becomes the commander-in-chief, the Spanish Navy will definitely become an outcast.
Spain also has a conflict of interest with England.
The Netherlands wanted to break away from the rule of the Habsburg Kingdom of Spain, which had a close relationship with Elizabeth I of England.
Both of them are major maritime powers. If they have an order to cause heavy losses to other countries' navies, they will definitely give it without hesitation.
Louis II de Bourbon, Prince of Condé in France, heard of Admiral Oquendo's recommendation.
He quickly refused: "I am an army general and I am not familiar with naval operations at all.
You put the combined fleet, which is related to the fate of Europe, into my hands.
I thank you for your trust, but I am unable to bear this responsibility.
Everyone must choose someone who can shoulder this responsibility."
Louis II de Bourbon, Prince of Condé in France, would not assume this thankless position.
There must be naval generals from the three sea powers countries.
Only in this way can the heavy losses of the Combined Fleet be caused not by France's conspiracy but by the commander-in-chief of the Combined Fleet.
It is also beneficial to France to make these maritime powers suspicious of each other and unable to achieve cooperation.
Dutch Navy Vice Admiral Marton Tropp stood up and said loudly: "Oquendo, you are a defeated general.
If you hadn't been so fast back then, I would have sent you to the sea to feed the fish.
Our Dutch Navy can produce more main warships than the English Navy.
From this, we can also see the gap in strength between the two countries. The commander of the combined fleet this time is none other than me."
When Admiral Oquendo heard these words, his livid face immediately turned purple.
He took two steps forward, took out the knife from the guard's hand, and wanted to kill Marton Tropp with one blow.
The naval battle a few years ago was the pain of his life.
It was by no means that the Armada was inferior in strength, but that the Spanish fleet and the Portuguese fleet had no cooperation and held each other back, resulting in a disastrous defeat for the army.
English Admiral Robert Blake saw this as an opportunity.
He was also dissatisfied with Marton Tropp. If it hadn't been for the English Civil War, which had slightly affected the navy, why would he have lacked confidence?
Marton Tropp immediately stepped forward to stop Oquendo and whispered in his ear.
The two nodded tacitly and reached an agreement secretly, without saying anything.
English Admiral Robert Blake won the support of Spain and France and became commander of the combined fleet.
Admiral Robert Blake brought his skills to bear.
He proposed a plan to unite the fleet to fight against the Imperial Navy, which was approved by many naval generals.
Everyone went through detailed discussions about the war and everyone reached a consensus.
The major countries participating in the combined fleet began to prepare for returning home and dispatched their navies to assemble at designated locations.
The war between the combined fleets of European navies and the naval fleet of the Great China Empire is about to break out.
But European countries thought of the powerful strength of the ironclad ships of the Imperial Navy.
They all had a tacit understanding not to declare war on the Great China Empire. If the combined fleet was really defeated, they would still have room to do so. (End of Chapter)