For a country to become a world hegemon, it requires the superposition of many factors.
First of all, it is indispensable to be at the forefront of world development in the fields of culture, thought, science and technology, and to transform advanced productive forces into national strength.
Secondly, the unity of everyone from top to bottom turns people and people into a general trend.
As the saying goes, the trend of the times is what the people want.
Once again, there must be a good opportunity for the opponent to weaken.
The way of heaven is to make up for the excess when there is damage. This is the right principle in the world.
Especially among countries, it is a normal phenomenon in world history that they take advantage of the weakness of their opponents to flourish and then achieve overtake.
Of course, there is another factor that is rarely mentioned but is absolutely important.
That's the location.
A country's position in the world will have a huge impact on the country's temperament and attributes.
A landlocked country cannot become a maritime power in any case.
In the era of land power, whichever country produced more grain and whose cavalry was more powerful would become the overlord.
This is also the reason why China has seen successive overlords of the Central Plains such as the Han and Tang Dynasties, as well as powerful powers such as the Huns, Turks, and Mongolia that have swept all directions.
Britain's ability to catch up from behind and become a world hegemon in modern times is inseparable from its geographical location.
The UK is an island country.
This determines that the economic life of the entire country is inseparable from the ocean.
This is a factor that exists in the bones of the British, which makes them very keen on the ocean and always able to seize opportunities.
The greatest geographical advantage of the UK is its distance from the European continent.
The island nation ensures that Britain can be well-targeted and able to respond freely when faced with the turbulent situation on the European continent.
When it is advantageous to do so, Britain will actively intervene in European affairs;
When times go wrong, Britain can easily cut off its ties with Europe to avoid being dragged into the swamp.
On the contrary, countries on the European continent do not have this convenience, so they are always struggling in various chaos.
Of course, the distance from the mainland cannot be too far.
Otherwise, it will be impossible to adjust the strategy freely.
After all, this is the age of sailing and sailing, and the speed of a sailboat is a factor that must be considered.
Britain's location determines that it is perfectly blessed in the age of sail.
Once something happens in Europe, the British fleet can participate efficiently enough.
When it comes to defending against foreign enemies, the English Channel can be regarded as a natural chasm.
The United Kingdom is taking advantage of its own advantages to master the outlying island policy, and has also manipulated European countries at its fingertips.
However, the subsequent development of science and technology and the emergence of steam engines and ironclad ships gradually weakened Britain's advantages, which in turn led to the change of hegemony.
If you study carefully, you will find that the geographical location of the United States is actually very similar to that of the United Kingdom.
Compared to the whole of Europe, why is the United States not an outlying island?
It just so happened that the emergence of steamships and the increase in sailing speed allowed the United States to replace Britain's position and catch up from behind.
Therefore, in Zuo Menggeng's eyes, the empire is not an outlying island outside of Europe.
What Britain can do, the Empire can also do.
The only difference is that the navigation technology of this era determined that the empire could not interfere more deeply in European affairs.
In order to change the development trend of Europe, the empire must leverage its strength and make full use of the contradictions between European countries.
The empire's chosen target was the Netherlands.
The Holy Roman Empire was in decline and was far inland, so it had no power to interfere in Britain's internal affairs.
Spain and the Empire have fierce conflicts of interest around the world, and they are the first priority for the Empire to resolve.
Spain and Portugal also have an advantage, that is, their ties with the colonies will not be cut off by Britain.
How could these two countries be exploited by the empire without pressing interests?
France is a large land country, and its strength lies in its army, not its navy.
Moreover, France has always been at a disadvantage in the confrontation. Although it was able to expel the British invasion, it was unable to do so.
Only the Netherlands.
As a resource-scarce country, all wealth for development needs to be transported from overseas, and all off-road routes are under the threat of the United Kingdom.
As long as the Dutch recognize this fact, they will naturally be willing to follow the empire's ideas but interrupt the ongoing bourgeois revolution in Britain.
So Xu Erjue just drew two crosses, and Britain immediately became hateful in the eyes of the Dutch.
Apparently not long ago they claimed that Britain was their close friend.
It can only be said that in the face of national interests, nothing is reliable.
Behind the back of the imperial mission, the Dutch held a closed conference.
"Your Highness, although I don't know why China is so hostile to Britain, Mr. Xu's analysis is very reasonable. Once the British Parliament defeats the king, the country's industry and commerce will develop without restrictions, and it will inevitably become a powerful opponent of the Netherlands. We
It’s time to take measures to protect our interests.”
Anthony van Diemen's status has soared and he has been able to attend such meetings.
He is undoubtedly a pro-China faction and naturally stands on the side of the empire.
"We cannot lose New Netherland, otherwise our country will have no future."
Marton Tropp's weight is there, and his words made the top management think deeply.
To be honest, when every Dutch person sees those two crosses on the map, they can’t help but feel frightened and terrified.
"It is impossible to achieve this with the strength of the Netherlands alone. We must let China come up with more things, and we must also ensure that other countries will not become Britain's helpers."
The Dutch tacitly forgot the same questions of faith as the British parliamentary aristocracy.
God cannot change money. Once Britain becomes strong, it will not be lenient to the Netherlands for the sake of God.
It happened that there was civil strife in Britain at this time. It would be irresponsible for the Netherlands not to take the opportunity to weaken Britain's strength.
However, the Dutch are still wise and know that the Dutch family alone is unable to interfere in British affairs.
Since the point of view was put forward by the empire, shouldn't it be appropriate to contribute to it?
While the Dutch were having an internal meeting, the imperial mission was also communicating with Diego Carlos, the Portuguese ambassador to the Netherlands.
"Once France abandons Catalonia, it will be easy for Spain to quell the rebellion. At that time, Spain will have no worries and Portugal will be in catastrophe."
Diego Carlos informed the Empire of the situation in the Iberian Peninsula.
The Catalans have never submitted to Spanish rule. The Thirty Years' War gave them hope of independence, so they launched a vigorous uprising.
They received help from France and achieved a series of brilliant victories.
But now that the Thirty Years' War is coming to an end, France has obtained what it wants, and is not so active in supporting the Catalans.
Anyone with a discerning eye feels that it will be a matter of time before France gives up Catalonia.
Among them, Portugal has the greatest sense of crisis.