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Cromwell served as Lord Protector of England, Scotland and Ireland under the new constitution, as amended.

In his inaugural speech, he declared: "The Lord Protector serves for life, holds the legislative power together with the Congress, and exercises executive power with the State Council...The bills of the Parliament must be approved by the Lord Protector to take effect."

What do you mean?

This position is for life, will not step down, and does not need to be re-elected midway.Legislative power and executive power still belong to the parliament in name, but any decision must be made by the protector of the country.

The British Parliament has been preserved, but only an empty shelf.

"The king was killed, so he is definitely not Yi Yin or Huo Guang. But he did not usurp the throne and become king, so he is not Wang Mang's generation." Zhang Ruifeng discussed this, "So, what is Cromwell, the protector of the country?"

What kind of?Similar to a dictatorial president for life.

Pan Wei thought carefully and said: "China has not had such a political system since ancient times, and we cannot judge the present from history. A country cannot live without a king. Although this statement comes from a Taoist classic, it is also an irrefutable fact. Cromwell's most fatal weakness , It’s because he didn’t establish a succession system. He’s monopolizing the power right now, and of course no one dares to object, but what about after he dies?”

Cai Yuncheng said: "When Cromwell dies, Britain will inevitably be in chaos. There are no more than three situations. First, his confidants support his son as the protector of the country; second, the royalists welcome back the restoration of the royal family; The previous republic. These three situations are likely to occur at the same time, and it depends on which side wins."

Zhang Ruifeng said: "Even if his son succeeds, it won't be possible for a long time. Because the position of protector of the country is not right, the words are not right, and it is only a temporary establishment."

In the eyes of the Chinese envoys, Cromwell was really not good at thinking.

Now that he has mastered a country's military and government, the first thing he needs to establish is his own legal system and the continuation of the legal system.

Cromwell's legal system was borrowed from the Parliament, and the legal system itself is still in the Parliament, and it is logical that he must return it after his death.In this way, it is a one-shot deal, and I am so happy that I will die, regardless of the affairs behind me.In China, they will be liquidated after death, and it is normal to ransack the family and exterminate the family.

If you want to solve this problem once and for all, you must get rid of the parliament.

Either really dissolve the parliament, or replace the parliament with your own people.But neither of these methods is possible. Without Parliament, Cromwell's legal system is gone.As for the members of the parliament, one radish and one pit, Cromwell can't change it even if he wants to.

After a long time, Zhang Ruifeng made a concluding evaluation: "Cromwell is a powerful minister and warlord who is incapable of being king. What he really should do is to institutionalize the 'protector of the country' in order to save his own affairs. If the ' The protector of the country is hereditary, and will be opposed by the whole country. Therefore, the protector of the country should be elected. Doesn’t the European parliament like to vote? Then let the parliament vote for the protector of the country.”

Cai Yuncheng nodded and said: "That's true. Once the system of voting for the protector of the country is established, after the death of Cromwell, the goal of the British powers will become a battle for the new protector of the country. No matter who succeeds the protector of the country, they will Support Cromwell's system and do everything possible to prevent the restoration of the British royal family. In this way, Cromwell will not be whipped to death."

Pan Wei shook his head: "The power of the protector of the country was taken from the parliament. If one Cromwell is enough for the parliament, they will elect a second one? If the parliament is allowed to elect a new protector of the country Lord, the first reaction of the parliament was to vote to abolish the protector system."

A knot that cannot be untied.

In the British revolution, too little blood was shed, and compromises were everywhere. Cromwell was not qualified to be Napoleon.

Lu Tianxiang said: "There is no need to discuss what happened to Cromwell. What does this man mean? He actually disagrees with the alliance between China and Britain to deal with the Netherlands in Asia."

"I don't understand." Zhang Ruifeng shook his head.

Of course, normal people can't understand it, because Cromwell's ideas are too weird.

He first wanted to engage in the Anglo-Dutch Commonwealth and together dominate the world.After the Dutch clearly refused, they wanted to form an Anglo-Dutch alliance and use the Dutch overseas power to help the British colonial expansion.

The Dutch are not fools. I worked so hard to break through the situation, let you British guys come to pick peaches?

Cromwell was too conceited to think he had the Dutchman.

In fact, the final treaty between Britain and the Netherlands only forced the Netherlands to recognize the "Navigation Regulations".And this kind of acknowledgment is a superficial acknowledgment, and it is violated in actual operation.

Except for the reparations and an island, nothing changed for Britain.The indemnity was not enough to make up for the war expenses, and the island was not very useful. The British fought for nothing. Under extreme depression, there was the second Anglo-Dutch war.

Pan Wei said: "Cromwell is really unreliable. How about... a rare commodity!"

As soon as the words came out, everyone immediately understood.

The family of the British royal family in exile is currently living in Port Grace, France, with a horse donated by France. Prince Charles rides horses for recreation every day.

Zhang Ruifeng said with a smile: "Take the British royal family back to the country, and tell His Majesty to raise them. After Cromwell dies, we will send troops to escort him back. Most likely, we will be able to help him restore the country."

Cai Yuncheng said: "China is too far away from Europe. If we hear the news of Cromwell's death and then escort that Prince Charles to sea, it will take more than two years to reach the UK. Will someone get there first?"

"Then take it back and raise it for a few years, so that he will admire me, China," Zhang Ruifeng said, "When the raising is almost done, then send it to Portugal to wait for the opportunity. China and Britain can also marry each other. Of course, the nobles of the Celestial Dynasty are not allowed to marry foreign barbarians. There are many descendants of Portugal in Macau. Choose a beautiful woman, and His Majesty can adopt her as a righteous daughter. Then reward her with the title of princess and marry her to the British prince!"

This is a routine operation. During the Han and Tang Dynasties, many princesses who got married were maids of honor who were named princesses.

Zhang Ruifeng didn't even bother to send it to the court lady, so she directly asked a Portuguese woman to replace it.

Pan Wei smiled again and said: "In Europe, blood is important. It doesn't matter if it is the royal family or not, as long as it has a noble blood. The Portuguese Joao IV is actually a Spanish noble, but he was elected as the king anyway. After becoming the king of Portugal, he rolled up his sleeves and fought against Spain."

"What exactly do you want to say?" Zhang Ruifeng asked.

Pan Wei said: "Joao IV had few heirs in the first place. Before that, a son and a daughter died, and a son and a daughter died recently. Now the oldest child is the 15-year-old third princess Caterina. The third Princess, everyone has seen her, she is dignified, well-educated and reasonable. Since King Joao IV is looking for a marriage, you can persuade His Majesty to be the crown prince's side concubine. If you give birth to an heir, you can look for opportunities to seize the throne of the Portuguese king."

Zhang Ruifeng didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "The more you talk about it, the more distant it is. There is no shadow... But, it can be considered. This matter should not be disclosed publicly. It must be discussed with His Majesty in secret. It doesn't matter whether it is completed or not."

Cai Yuncheng said: "Even if the prince's heir becomes the king of Portugal, it will not be of much use. On the European side, the system is self-contained, and it is difficult to integrate with China."

Pan Wei showed a sly smile: "If the heir of the crown prince becomes the king of Portugal, and my Chinese emperor also confers on him as an overseas vassal. If things go on like this, as a system, after two or three generations, Portugal may become the North Korea of ​​Europe! "

"The reason why North Korea is North Korea is that its monarchs, ministers and gentry all write Chinese characters and admire Confucianism," Cai Yuncheng immediately went back, "You let the Portuguese nobles write Chinese characters and let them abandon Christianity and devote themselves to Confucianism. King of Portugal At this time, the reason why I want to marry China at this time is because Portugal is rejected by the Pope. If there is a Chinese royal heir who comes to Portugal to be the king, the Pope will definitely intervene, and maybe even fight because of it!"

The two have different backgrounds and different ways of thinking. They often have disputes when discussing matters, and others have long been accustomed to it.

Moreover, Pan Wei really took it for granted that normal European royal families would not intermarry with pagan royal families.The Prince Charles of the United Kingdom, as well as the current Portugal, are only a little operable because of the special circumstances of the special period, and it is absolutely impossible to become an institutional operation.

Let’s just talk about Russia, eagerly wanting to intermarry with European royal families, but all the tsars in the past have married German princesses.

The entire German region (including the mainland of Denmark) is about the size of Sichuan, Chongqing, and Hunan combined. At its peak, there were [-] to [-] lords (not counting those without actual fiefdoms), and those who were qualified to be called "kings" As many as one or two hundred.

This is the power delegated by Emperor Shenluo. A cat or a dog can be called the king, and princes and princesses are everywhere.For example, Catherine II’s father, although he is the king (duke) of a principality, but the income of the territory cannot sustain consumption, and he has to go to other places to work as an officer to make money-well, the king goes abroad to work for others, and the people in the country should reflect .

The tsar wanted to imitate others in royal intermarriage, but was looked down upon by the real European royal family, so he could only choose a "princess" from Germany to marry.

Russia at least still believes in the Orthodox Church, and at least they believe in God. It is so difficult for royal marriages.China wants to control Portugal by long-term marriage, it is purely ignorant scholars talking in their dreams.

The two argued for a long time, and Zhang Ruifeng's ears were numb, so he said, "Okay, stop talking, talk to Cromwell first."

Since the missions went to sea, Cromwell is the most hated leader of a country.

Whether it is Mughal, Persia or France, even the king of Portugal is generous.Delicious food and drinks are offered, and you can just say what you want. There is a valuable meeting gift when you come, and there is a farewell gift when you leave.

Cromwell didn't say anything, and the meeting ceremony was pitifully shabby.

This product was at war with the Netherlands, and the British finances almost collapsed.He spent a lot of his own savings during the uprising, so he couldn't afford to entertain the Chinese envoys.

Even for ordinary diplomatic contracts, Cromwell is always careful, for fear of being tricked by China.

You can see that the Queen Mother of France almost never objected to the conditions proposed by China, and never thought of taking advantage of China through the treaty.

Chapter 767 [Cromwell Difficult to Communicate]

"Oh!"

At the negotiation scene, Zhang Ruifeng was so angry that he slapped the table, pointed at Cromwell and cursed: "Zhuzi, how dare you play me like this!"

Cromwell didn't want to get stuck, so he quickly explained: "Mr. Messenger, what I said just now was just a proposal, and everything can be discussed slowly. If Mr. Messenger agrees, Britain will definitely reciprocate, and you can put forward any conditions."

Zhang Ruifeng wanted to leave in a huff, but suppressed his anger and said, "Although Sulu, Brunei, and Palembang are all Chinese territories, they have their own customs. Especially in Sulu and Brunei, they have kings." .They did not betray His Majesty the Emperor of China. Chinese officials cannot interfere. You'd better put away your gangster ideas!"

Sulu, Brunei, and Palembang all generally believe in Green Christianity. Now with the support of China, missionaries have been completely expelled and Christian churches have been demolished.

Cromwell actually wanted to obtain missionary rights in these three places through China.

In addition, Sulu and Brunei are also rich in commodities such as pearls and spices.These goods were initially controlled by Spain, after which China and the Netherlands jointly monopolized the trade.

As the naval battle between China and the Netherlands broke out, the sultans of the two countries quickly made their attitude clear, announcing that spices and pearls were only sold to Chinese businessmen.

Cromwell was simply inexplicable, and he wanted to obtain the trading rights between the two countries without doing anything.

As the negotiations went on, the Chinese envoys felt more and more that this guy was crazy.

Cromwell has always been like this when it comes to diplomatic negotiations.

He demanded the annexation of the Anglo-Dutch Federation, and then the Anglo-Dutch alliance. This has already been said, so I will not repeat it.

A few years ago, Portugal just wanted to establish diplomatic relations with Britain, and Cromwell threw out a bunch of conditions out of thin air, treating Portugal like a colony.

For example, allow Portugal to open global ports, allow British missionaries to preach and build churches in Portugal, and so on.At that time, Joao IV was dumbfounded, and even suspected that there was something wrong with his ears.Each of these harsh conditions is more outrageous than the other.Portugal is a country that believes in Catholicism. What does it mean to allow British Protestants to come in?The 30 Years War of Religion had just ended.

Cromwell was like an unreasonable child, and the other children didn't provoke him, and even said out of kindness: "I think you are good, let's be friends." Cromwell replied: "Being friends is fine. You give me your toy and your lollipop, so that you can be my friend."

King Joao IV experienced this at the beginning, and the Chinese diplomatic mission is now experiencing it again.

Cromwell said: "As long as it obtains the right to trade in Brunei and Sulu, Britain agrees to form an offensive and defensive alliance with China to prevent the expansion of Dutch colonial trade in Asia together."

Zhang Ruifeng is a good-tempered person. He was so angry that he laughed, and his anger disappeared in an instant: "Your Majesty the Protector, China does not owe Britain anything, and does not need the cooperation of Britain to suppress the Netherlands to death. I Before going to sea, His Majesty the Emperor ordered dialogue and diplomacy with all countries on an equal footing. Since you are not sincere, let’s stop talking. In addition, I advise you to let officials do the negotiations in the future. It’s really not good for you to do it yourself. suitable."

Cromwell is really a diplomatic genius, as long as he participates in negotiations, he will offend one by talking about one.

Before letting the parliament be responsible for negotiating with the Netherlands, the talks were going well, but the Dutch were almost compromised.Cromwell insisted on standing up, forcing the Commonwealth of the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, and the Dutch negotiators were so angry that they almost flipped the table.

Facts have proved that after Cromwell personally negotiated, the armistice agreement signed with the Netherlands, although on the surface the United Kingdom won the hemp, but many treaties cannot be operated and have no practical significance at all.If the whole process is handed over to Parliament for negotiation, the UK will gain more effective benefits.

This guy seems a little narcissistic, and a little paranoid.

Leaving the negotiating table, Zhang Ruifeng strode out of the room, and said to the left and right: "I have nothing to say to this guy. When Lord Fan returns from the Mediterranean Sea, we will immediately return to China by boat. It's just... unreasonable!"

In the next half month, Cromwell talked in person several times.

Zhang Ruifeng always had a smile on his face. No matter how outrageous the other party's suggestion was, he always made an excuse to go back to China to ask Emperor Zhao for instructions.In a word, I'm tired and I don't want to talk to you.

Fan Chao finally came back with the fleet. He said: "I haven't seen the Pope, but the Pope sent someone to pass on a message. He said that if China wants to establish diplomatic relations with the Papal State, missionaries must be allowed to preach freely, and Chinese believers are not allowed to worship Confucius again." Ancestor. I was so angry that I didn't bother to wait any longer, so I visited a few small Italian countries by the way."

"How about those small states?" Zhang Ruifeng asked.

Fan Chao replied: "Those small countries are very polite, and they exchanged gifts. There are also several big families who sent their children to accompany the ship, saying that they want to visit China. Then they went to the Ottoman capital. , I almost got into a fight with someone, and I ran away with my troops when I saw that the situation was not good."

"Fight with Osman?" Zhang Ruifeng was quite puzzled.

Fan Chao explained: "Osman's empress dowager was killed more than a year ago, leaving a mess. Do you know who killed Osman's empress dowager?"

"Who killed it?" Zhang Ruifeng asked.

Fan Chao didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "It was killed by her daughter-in-law. The person who planned it was a black eunuch. Nowadays, the queen mother killed the empress dowager. After taking power, she only knows how to enjoy herself, and she raises dozens of little white faces as faces. Osman is so big In the country, the power is controlled by the black chief eunuch. The black chief eunuch only knows how to make money. In the court, several big families compete with each other for power, and there are sectarian disputes behind it."

What is this all about?

The queen mother who killed the empress dowager was born as a Ukrainian (Polish) slave girl.The head of the black eunuch who controls the power of the country is also of African black slave origin.

The two slaves turned themselves into masters and jointly controlled the Ottoman Empire that spanned three continents.

Fan Chao sighed and said, "I'm old and looks fierce, but I was seduced by the queen mother and wanted to sleep with me. It's probably because she has never seen a Chinese man, and she wants to try something new."

Pan Wei suddenly asked: "My lord, is Queen Osman beautiful?"

"A female slave who can be a queen mother is only in her 20s. Do you think she is beautiful?" Fan Chao asked.

Pan Wei smiled knowingly.

"What are you laughing at?" Fan Chao said angrily, "I just heard about the Queen Mother's affairs when I first entered the city. After more than a year in power, she has raised dozens of face heads. Beauty is beautiful, but I am I don’t dare to go to bed with her, what if I get Hualiu disease? If I really get sick, I won’t be ashamed when I go back, and I will share my age with that.”

Zhang Ruifeng asked: "Why did you almost get into a fight?"

Fan Chao said: "I offended the queen mother by not having sex with her. Negotiations between the two countries were all done by black eunuchs. The head of the black eunuch was greedy and vicious at first glance. Without saying a few words, he Asking for money, I have to give him gifts for everything I want to talk about. I have been in war for half my life, but I was blackmailed by a eunuch, and he was a black eunuch. When I got angry, I didn't bother to talk anymore. "

"Unexpectedly, before I left, a noble minister came to the door. That minister, I don't know where he knew, I was angry in front of the eunuchs, and even instigated me to help them carry out a coup. He said he had soldiers, plus my soldiers , as long as it is taken by surprise, it will definitely enter the palace and kill the dissolute empress dowager and the greedy eunuch."

"I'm not stupid, of course I wouldn't agree. As a result, the next morning, the local officer hired in the area panicked and said that the situation was not good, and the palace seemed to be mobilizing troops."

"The dog entered, it must be the minister's mischief. When I hit a wall, I ran to the queen mother to make a false accusation, forcing me to send troops to fight the queen mother. I won, and they took advantage of the coup d'etat. I lost, and they have The merit of the prosecution."

"Damn it, I don't want to fight. It's not good to lose or win. Before the Queen Mother's army came, I immediately led the army to leave. No one dared to stop me when I shot all the way."

Everyone looked at each other in blank dismay, Fan Chao's trip to Ottoman this time was too exciting.

Moreover, everyone looked at Fan Chao differently.In their eyes, apart from being able to fight, this lord is actually a rough man who came from a water bandit.

Unexpectedly, the old man was as careless as a hair, and he saw the tricks of the rebel minister clearly.

Cai Yuncheng said with emotion: "Throughout the journey, everyone said that Ottoman was extremely powerful. Especially the European nobles, feared Ottoman's force. Who would have expected that this country would be usurped by two slaves. A foreign queen mother who caused troubles in the palace, and a power overlord The black eunuchs are simply unimaginable and unbelievable!"

Lu Tianxiang commented: "With such a chaotic political situation, Osman should stop contacting him. Even if we can get along with their queen mother, it may not be of much use."

"It's really useless," Fan Chao said. "The Queen Mother only wants to enjoy herself, and she doesn't bother to contact the foreign court. The black eunuchs only want to make money, and whoever gives the money will reuse it, and kill whoever is disobedient. In addition to making money and looking for beautiful men, they The other decrees of the two can't leave the capital at all. Ottoman's local provinces are all controlled by noble ministers, and it is said that they are fighting each other."

Lu Tianxiang asked, "Have you harvested the pasture seeds?"

"Accepted." Fan Chao replied.

"Then set sail and return home." Lu Tianxiang said.

Another task of this trip to various countries is to collect economically valuable crops along the way.

In particular, forage needs to be introduced and improved. This is not uncommon. Chinese alfalfa was introduced by Zhang Qian in the Han Dynasty.Alfalfa is not only used to raise livestock, it was also an important food material in ancient China.

During this trip to sea, he got ryegrass seeds in Persia and Europe.

The fairway of the golf course, the lawn is ryegrass, which is also an extremely important pasture.The ryegrass in Persia is suitable for planting in the northwestern provinces of China.The ryegrass in Europe is suitable for planting in the southern provinces of China.

In addition, the mission also collected some vegetable seeds.

For example, when the fleet sailed through the southwest corner of Africa and docked at the Portuguese colonial port, everyone clamored for vegetables.Therefore, they explicitly asked for vegetables to be supplied, and the Portuguese took the opportunity to rip off and send a lot of local fruits and vegetables at high prices.One of the vegetables was unheard of, and Zhang Ruifeng hurriedly paid for the seeds.