Dominate the Country

After the beginning of summer, the temperature in Nanjing city rises rapidly, which makes smoothies and iced snacks become indispensable snacks in Nanjing from the streets to the deep residences and courtyards, and from the deep residences to the palace.

Afternoon is the hottest time of the day. But this time is also the time to go to work in the afternoon. Whether you are a high-end government department or an inconspicuous small company employee, you have to be on your way to work at this time. The streets are busy with traffic, but luckily there is no dust yet. As the capital of Chen and Han, Nanjing, which has completed urban transformation and basic urban construction, is so clean and beautiful.

Walking under the shade of the trees on both sides of the sidewalk, it is rare to experience a touch of coolness in the hot air. Even the scorching sun in the sky and the constant sound of cicadas in the ears cannot stop the pedestrians' mood. Become brisk one or two.

A solemnly decorated black carriage, surrounded by four cavalrymen, drove into the gate of Chen Han's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and finally stopped in front of the office building. After the door opened, first a secretary jumped out, and then Chen Han Gao Leisi, currently the right minister of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, got out of the car with a serious face. A middle-aged official standing at the side of the parking lot quickly greeted him and handed a document into Gao Leisi's hand.

"Sir, this is the summary of recent European intelligence that has been compiled just now. It has been compiled according to the country's strength and priorities according to your instructions. In addition, according to your instructions, Lord Shangshu has also sent a copy. "Gao Leisi, the right minister, is in charge of European foreign affairs in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

During these days, the proportion of Britain and France integrating has continued to rise, and preliminary conclusions have been reached in both Belgium and Luxembourg. Napoleon made big concessions, and so did the British.

The French spit out the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, and Napoleon, in order to express his sincerity, even allowed Prussia and Austria to garrison troops on the territory of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. Of course, the French also occupied a piece of territory and stationed a large army. The British gave Napoleon huge support in this regard.

The small principality of Luxembourg has almost minimal economic and political benefits. But Luxembourg's greatest interest lies in its military value.

In the 21st century, Luxembourg is the only remaining grand duchy in Europe. It is located in northwest Europe and is surrounded by neighboring France, Germany and Belgium. It is a small landlocked country, a pocket kingdom, and is called " The country of a thousand forts.

As we all know, European castles have a certain military defense significance. From this aspect, Luxembourg's military value is undoubtedly revealed. Although the area of ​​this land is small, the terrain is complex and changeable, and it is located on the strategic route between Germany and France. The terrain is dangerous. It has been an important military fortress in Western Europe for thousands of years, and is known as the 'Gibraltar of the North'.

Luxembourg was originally controlled by the Duke of Burgundy and was a French territory. However, after the War of Spanish Succession in 1714, Luxembourg was transferred to Austria along with the Spanish Netherlands. It became the Austrian Netherlands. It was not until 1795 that Luxembourg, like the Netherlands, was fully occupied by the French army.

Now that Napoleon's ambitions are shattered and Britain and France merge, historical issues such as Luxembourg must be carefully discussed. The courageous Napoleon expressed his willingness to spit out Luxembourg, but Napoleon could not allow Prussia to completely occupy Luxembourg. He brought in Austria, his wife's natal family, and at the same time, France refused to change hands on a piece of land. Luxembourg now has three pillars, but the Nassau family has no rights at all. According to European inheritance laws, the position of the Grand Duke of Luxembourg belongs to Prussia, but Nassau in the Netherlands replaced it with Prussia with a series of German fiefdoms. The Prussians also knew very well that France would not be able to sit back and watch them occupy all of Luxembourg.

The Confederation of the Rhine under Napoleon's wings has not yet been broken, and France still has huge interests in the German region.

"... Luxembourg belongs to the Netherlands in terms of regional factors and should be merged into the Netherlands. However, the King of Prussia, as the closest heir to the earliest Luxembourg dynasty, made territorial claims to Luxembourg. In the end, the King of the Netherlands used his own Nassau family to claim territory. A series of territories in the Rhineland were exchanged with Prussia. In 1783, the Nassau family separated. The branch reached a family agreement. The Duke of Nassau of the Welburg branch had the right to inherit the territory of this branch if the Dutch king had no male heirs. Therefore, Luxembourg did not smoothly merge into the Kingdom of the Netherlands, but was established independently. A grand duchy, co-owner with the Netherlands, and according to the Nassau family agreement, the Dutch king has no male heirs, and Luxembourg is inherited by the Duke of Nassau..."

Gao Caisi took the document and hurriedly flipped through it while standing under the sun. Due to the glare of the sun, he could hardly see anything clearly, so he had to close the document first, put it in his briefcase, and then walked into the office building with a frown on his face. The middle-aged official followed behind him and explained.

“What about Southern Netherlands?” That’s Belgium.

"The establishment of the Kingdom of Belgium has basically been confirmed. After all, the people of the Northern Netherlands and the people of the Southern Netherlands have serious conflicts in terms of economy, belief, culture, and language."

Since the Reformation in the 16th century, the faiths of the Netherlands have been divided into Roman Unitarianism and Protestantism. A rough dividing line can be drawn from the southwestern province of Zeeland to the northeastern province of Groningen. The north of the line has traditionally been dominated by Protestantism, while the south of the line is dominated by Unitarian parishes. Protestantism itself can be further divided into many groups, such as Reformed Protestants, Liberal Protestants, and Lutherans.

In terms of language, the people of the North Netherlands speak Dutch [mostly], while the northern Flemish region of the Southern Netherlands mainly speaks Dutch, the southern Wallonia region mainly speaks French, and the eastern part of the eastern Liege Province speaks German.

Moreover, the people of the North Netherlands severely discriminate against the people of the Southern Netherlands in terms of social status and economically exploit them. The contradiction between the North and the South has a long history, but it has become more and more acute.

Therefore, the people of the Southern Netherlands decisively declared independence at the instigation of the French. Talleyrand was involved in this event, and the latter relieved a lot of pressure on Napoleon. In the early days, the Belgians tried to secede from the Netherlands and join France. This is naturally something that the European powers cannot allow. They are all worried that France will become super powerful again and they are trying their best to support the Netherlands.

Then Napoleon announced that France had no land claims on Belgium [Southern Netherlands], which changed Napoleon's political image in Europe to a certain extent. But this does not help to solve the North-South dispute in the Netherlands. Can't the two sides fight again? Whether it is the weak Netherlands or Belgium, which has just chosen independence, they have no great combat power. The Dutch have just restored their country, and their overseas colonies have been lost. The treasury is empty and can run horses.

Finally, Britain proposed a compromise plan to make Belgium an independent country, and Prince Leopold, the husband of the British Crown Princess Charlotte, the younger brother of Duke Ernst I of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, became the king of the new kingdom. Although the Belgian Parliament has not yet made a statement, it is very likely that they will pass a bill and accept the proposal. Britain is a thick thigh that the Netherlands must hold tightly today.

Princess Charlotte Augusta is the only child of the current British Regent. In 1811, the aged George III retired to the second line due to his health condition, and the Crown Prince George Augustus Frederick, Prince of Wales, served as the Regent. Princess Charlotte's status as the Crown Princess is set in stone!

"Is that the guy who became a colonel at the age of five, a major general of the Russian Army at the age of twelve, and a Prussian marshal at the age of 25?" Huang Song, the current Foreign Minister, looked at the intelligence summary while listening to Gao Leisi's report, and finally laughed out loud.

It's no wonder he thought it was ridiculous, because Leopold's experience was too incredible. His rocket-like promotion process made Huang Song think of the titles of XX Grand Commander and XXX Jiedushi awarded by ancient Chinese feudal emperors to their underage sons.

Although Archduke Karl also became a marshal at the age of 25, he won it on the battlefield. In comparison, Leopold's rank of marshal is really watery.

But no one can deny his good luck. As the youngest son of an aristocratic family, he not only married the British Crown Princess, but now he has a crown falling from the sky. Leopold's luck is really good.

When he walked into his office, Gao Leisi's first thing was to ask his secretary to get the documents from the General Office. Although he was the right assistant minister who transferred to European affairs and was old, it was impossible for him to continue to work in the next term. But these are not the reasons why he doesn't care about the major events of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It is true that his main energy is focused on Europe, but Gao Leisi also has to know some things that happened in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Huang Song is a show-off. He did not go to the vassal state in South America, but stayed in Nanjing. Then he got the position of the Minister of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but all the major events of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs were mostly handled by the left assistant minister Lu Yinpu. Lu Yinpu is Ji Xiaolan's in-law. His elder brother Lu Yinwen is Ji Xiaolan's eldest son-in-law. Although Ji Xiaolan did not contribute much to Lu Yinpu's growth, Ji Xiaolan helped Lu Yinpu find the organization.

In the early days of Chen Han's founding of the country, the political forces in the court were still divided into different categories. There were the noble faction, the dragon faction, and the surrendered officials of the former Qing Dynasty. These were all very clear. Later, the division between new Confucianism and old Confucianism, and the revival and introduction of various ideas, led to the emergence of small factions in several big factions, and finally broke the sectarianism.

Before that, Chen Han's way to climb up the officialdom was certainly not monopolized by various factions, but they at least did more harm than good. Lu Yinpu leaned against a big tree to enjoy the shade, so now he was only 55 years old and he had actually presided over diplomatic work. It can be said that half of the chair of the next foreign minister is already under his buttocks.

After the secretary went out, Gao Leisi walked around the office with his hands behind his back, and stopped by the window, stretched out his hand to open the curtains, and looked at the garden under the office building. It was white outside and the sun was strong, but it did not make his depressed mood relieved.

The compromise between Britain and France on the Luxembourg and Belgium issues can be regarded as a successful sign of European diplomacy after the merger of Britain and France. This means that the trust between Britain and France has taken a big step forward, which is of great significance to the integration and development of the entire European power.

For example, the four powerful countries of England, France, Prussia, and Austria, if Britain and France had each reserved seven percent of their efforts before, they were guarding against each other. Prussia and Austria played on the sidelines, but due to their respective strengths, they both stayed focused.

But now, Britain and France can each contribute another five points of their efforts, and Prussia and Austria can each contribute another three points of their efforts. Their reinforcements to Russia and the Americas will be directly doubled.

That means there can be 100,000 more French troops on the American battlefield, and 200,000 more European coalition troops on the Russian battlefield. Is there anything else that has a greater impact than this?

Chen Han seriously underestimated the progress of European integration. More importantly, after this war is over, no matter who wins or loses, Europe will reappear on the world stage as a powerful political, economic, and military cooperation body.

Britain, France, Prussia, Austria, Russia and other countries within them, no matter how big or small, are likely to have conflicts and disputes among themselves, but when it comes to the outside world, when the whole of Europe is united, it is a powerful force. An extremely powerful force.

To be honest, Gao Leisi was very dissatisfied with Chen Ming's insistence on elevating the war dispute between China and Russia into an all-out war between the East and the West.

Yes, in Gao Leisi's eyes, the initiator of this East-West war was largely Emperor Chen, who was already preparing to abdicate.

He doesn't think it's because the Europeans are ignorant and insist on confronting China forcefully. It's entirely his own fault. In Gao Leisi's eyes, the reason why the war between the East and the West broke out was entirely because Chen Ming squeezed the Westerners too hard.

Look at his demands for Russia, look at his insistence on American interests, look at his greed for African gold...

Gao Leisi still has a good impression of Europe subconsciously. Of course, he will never betray his motherland because of this, but there will inevitably be unusual changes in his emotional judgment.

Although he agrees with Chen Ming's tough stance against Russia, he also believes that the current situation has not developed to the point of taking military measures against the entire Western world. The current war situation between the East and the West is entirely caused by Chen Ming.

In contrast, Europe seems to be in constant disputes. Chen Ming seems to have chosen a very clever time. However, in Gao Leisi's view, it is precisely because of the oppression of Chen Han, a behemoth that continues to advance, that the entire Europe is quickly moving towards convergence. Otherwise, the two major forces represented by Britain and France may not be able to continue fighting.

Chen Ming's "toughness" and "greed" provide an excellent opportunity for Britain to solve Europe's problems and for France to solve its own crisis. Chen Ming is helping the Europeans even more, and as the war progresses, the entire Europe is rapidly integrating, and the strength they exert will become even greater.