New Shun 1730

But Earl Bentinck's thinking was a bit too much.

In the current situation, as a monarch and consul, it is useless to replace him.

Besides, what William IV said was very reasonable. Can Britain let the Scottish rebels march straight into London for the sake of the Netherlands?

Unless the Netherlands is Britain's father and mother, there would be no such selfless people.

Although it is just a rumor that the little throne usurper has landed in Scotland, it has not been implemented yet.

However, the Scots still support the Stuart family. Regardless of whether they are Catholics or Scottish nobles who pretend to be Protestants, if they really land in Scotland, they can really pull out a team of thousands or even tens of thousands of people. of.

After Dashun came off the field, with this perfect set of punches, the Netherlands actually had no way out.

The only turning point was that Prussia jumped back again and Russia took British money to help Austria.

But this turnaround point now seems far away.

The last time there was mediation, Prussia withdrew from the war. It was only two or three years since Prussia declared war again, and Prussia's credibility made it difficult for the Netherlands to see the possibility of Prussia withdrawing from the war again.

Liu Yu and the French ambassador carried out a coup in Russia, making it difficult to predict Russia's diplomatic attitude. It is difficult to say whether the Russian Queen will choose neutrality because of favors between China and France.

There is no need to side with France, as long as they choose neutrality, Britain and the Netherlands will feel very uncomfortable.

Because all the allies that could be drawn were gathered, and after Dashun also ended up in Southeast Asia, the European countries are now evenly matched. The only one who can change the direction of the war is Russia in the north.

However, due to a series of activities of Liu Yu and the French ambassador in Russia, Russia's attitude was quite unclear at this time.

William IV had actually made plans to flee to England. He had only been consul for two or three years and already felt that his interest was waning, which was unprecedented.

"Your Highness the Consul, you should cheer up now. The current situation requires the British not to withdraw the Dutch garrison. Even if this is not possible, there is still a second solution."

Seeing William IV's lack of interest, Count Bentinck still tried his best to find a way.

"The only way to deal with France is to concentrate the forces of the Netherlands, Austria, and Britain. But now, the Austrian army is busy dealing with the treacherous Frederick."

"Now that the Chinese have attacked Southeast Asia, the Netherlands is also in serious difficulties. In this case, we can fully explain our difficulties to Austria."

"At the same time, if the French continue to advance, Hanover will also be threatened. Britain tried to mediate last time, and will definitely find a way to mediate this time to let Austria cede Silesia."

"If we can join forces with Britain to put pressure on Austria, forcing it to cede Silesia, feed Prussia, and get Prussia out of the war, relying on the power of Britain and Austria, the Netherlands can still be saved."

This can be regarded as a very clever and maneuverable diplomatic method, which is different from the Netherlands' previous wishful thinking of diplomatic peace.

Britain's enemy was France.

Austria's interests can be sold.

The reason why Prussia did not declare war this time was obviously because it did not cede enough land in the first place. Wouldn't Prussia be satisfied with just a little more cutting? Anyway, what was cut was neither British nor Dutch land.

If Austria is unwilling and insists on continuing the fight, then it will directly cut off aid. Without the money of the Netherlands and the UK, and without the UK and the Netherlands holding back the French army in the Netherlands, why should Austria fight against the Franco-Prussian Alliance?

If Prussia and Austria can cease the war, the situation in France will instantly become ugly. Once again, we fell into the situation before the "strategic counteroffensive", with enemies on all sides.

Not to mention whether Dashun, a very powerful ally, will fully participate in the war. Even if they participated in the war, it would be because they were powerless. Spain could not transport 20,000 soldiers to the Ming Dynasty, and Dashun could not transport 20,000 soldiers to Europe.

If this is the case, at least the Netherlands can be saved, and Hanover will no longer be a threat.

The King of England cared a lot about Hanover, he was Elector of Hanover first and King of England second, not the other way around. After all, George II's father, as the King of England, couldn't even speak English and didn't bother to learn it.

After being the King of England for more than ten years, I still can't speak English. This cannot be explained by simple stupidity or being a native speaker of German.

Fighting definitely costs money.

Austria's way of governance makes it difficult to borrow national debt, and when it seems that they are about to lose, who is willing to borrow money?

Now Austria is entirely supported by financial aid from the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. Count Bentinck believes that this is entirely possible as long as the United Kingdom can be persuaded to make up its mind.

Besides, the Netherlands is really in chaos now. If they continue to send money out, the people will really be angry.

Just when William IV thought Count Bentinck had a good idea, someone came in in a panic from outside and told William IV a very terrible news.

"Your Highness! Your Highness! A riot broke out in Friesland against the proportional tax in the seven provinces! A 'rebellion' broke out against the tax collectors in Groningen and Zeeland!"

The person who reported the news looked panicked.

William IV, who had just ignited a glimmer of hope, suddenly felt his spirit weaken.

The external matter has not been resolved yet, and something happened internally.

In fact, it was not just riots and rebellions against tax collectors. In fact, in the southern Netherlands and the Austrian Netherlands, large-scale "Robin Hood"-style bandits gathered in the mountains and forests.

In the Netherlands, which is known as the richest region in Europe, hundreds of bandits appeared and looted homes. This in itself shows that it is almost collapsed.

In fact, various internal conflicts in the Netherlands have been suppressed and have not been resolved.

As early as when Liu Yu came to Amsterdam, through chats and inquiries with the lower class people, guild members, and the self-defense corps of the city guilds with their own armed forces, he knew that this kind of armed resistance would be a matter of time.

The first is the provincial proportional tax system. Friesland was an agricultural province back then. When everyone was farming, the agricultural province naturally had to contribute relatively high taxes.

For example, taxes in Dashun, Henan, and Shandong are important tax sources in Dashun.

But since the proportions of each province were set 150 years ago, they have not changed for so many years.

Now the Netherlands has established a five-nation alliance treaty with Britain, Saxony, Poland, and Austria to fight against France and Prussia.

Fighting costs money.

The money has to come from paying taxes.

The proportions among the provinces remained unchanged and they paid more taxes than before, which made the Friesian farmers somewhat unbearable.

In the past, everyone either farmed or fished for cod, and those who farmed were not necessarily worse than those who caught fish. But now, in the commercial era, Friesland is still farming, and still has to pay a proportional tax that is only lower than that of the Netherlands.

Although Liu Yu left, he still kept people around for things like inciting emotions.

The people are dissatisfied with the proportional tax issue.

Not to mention the tax package system.

Tax farming is inherently an anti-human tax collection method.

Spending money on taxes is not to serve the people, but to make money. Spending 10 yuan in wallet tax and not earning 20 yuan will not be worth the high return on investment that the Netherlands has had before.

The Dutch people's armed resistance to tax farming was not instigated and bewitched by Dashun, nor was it that the Dutch people were so obedient in cooperating with Dashun and France's actions.

Rather, this matter itself has been suppressed for a long time, and it is completely "natural" to explode at this time.

Are Dutch people opposed to the tax farming system?

Of course I object.

Do Dutch people have the spirit of resistance?

Of course there is. At that time, independence was gained by "building every city into a fortress and causing the Spaniards to suffer heavy casualties in every city".

Why didn't we resist with armed force before, why do we have to wait until now to resist? So much so that it seems like it was funded and bewitched by foreign forces such as Dashun and France?

Because...the Orange family.

The Dutch people still have some unrealistic illusions about the Orange family.

Since William III fell off his horse and died in 1702, for 43 years, the Orange family has not come to power, and there is no consul in the Netherlands.

It is all the oligarchs, regents, and parliamentarians who preside over Dutch policy.

At the beginning, life in the Netherlands was not unbearable.

There is a saying that a skinny camel is bigger than a horse, although the whole world knows that the Netherlands has been in continuous decline since the end of its golden age.

However, the previous foundation was too strong. Even if it declines, it will take other countries decades or more to catch up.

I have a strong foundation and can tolerate taxes and other expenses.

However, as the Netherlands continued to decline, by the time Liu Yu visited Amsterdam, many people were already dissatisfied with the tax farming system.

But there is hope for the Dutch people.

Because, for more than 40 years, it was not the Orange family that was in power, but the oligarchs.

Therefore, many people will imagine that if the Orange family comes to power, will everything be fine?

Just like the proverb spread in Ceylon: Throw away the ginger, come out the chili pepper.

However, just like Ceylon, before experiencing Dutch rule, who knew that the Dutch would be more indifferent than the Portuguese?

Before the "chili pepper" really arrived, everyone thought that if ginger was thrown away, sweet dates would come.

And what is the status of the Orange family in the Netherlands?

When the Spanish ravaged the Netherlands, who stood up and led the Dutch people to resist?

Who exclaimed in The Hague: "Everyone knows that God commands a prince to cherish his subjects as a shepherd tends his flock. When a prince fails in this duty, when he oppresses his subjects, tramples on their rights and freedoms and treats them badly If a slave is a slave, then he is not a monarch but a tyrant" slogan?

It's the Orange family.

When the French attacked the Netherlands, the Netherlands was in danger and had to dig embankments to stop the French. When the Netherlands was about to be destroyed, someone came forward to mediate and persuade them to surrender, allowing the Netherlands to surrender and give up everything.

Who stood up and shouted, "My country is in danger, but I will not watch it fail, because I will die in the last ditch of the United Provinces" and lead the Dutch people to fight to the end?

It's the Orange family.

When the British fleet cruised on the waters of the Netherlands, every merchant ship and fishing boat in the Netherlands faced the threat of the British.

Who showed his strong diplomatic talent, spent a lot of money to lobby the British Parliament, aroused the fear of Catholicism in the UK, dismantled the Anglo-French alliance in one fell swoop, and made Britain and the Netherlands stand together against France?

It's the Orange family.

Of course, apart from the military, the same goes for political economy.

When Britain was in crisis due to years of war, who exerted their economic talents, established the Bank of England, attracted loans from the Netherlands, appointed Newton as the director of the mint to stabilize Britain's domestic finance, and rapidly increase Britain's national strength?

It was still the Orange family.

It was just that this was in the capacity of the King of England, but it was not bad. If they could manage Britain well, they could also manage the Netherlands well.

When the Orange family came to power, everything would be fine; when the Orange family came to power, there would be a clear sky; when the Orange family came to power, the Netherlands would return to the golden age!

People generally thought so before.