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The year 1642, the 15th year of the Chongzhen reign of the Ming Dynasty, was a year of major historical turning point for both the East and the West.
In this year, the Qing army captured Songshan, Hong Chengchou and Zu Dashou were captured and surrendered to the Qing, and the Ming Dynasty lost all its elite troops in Liaodong.
In this year, Li Zicheng's troops surrounded Kaifeng and dug the Yellow River to flood Kaifeng. He then defeated Sun Chuanting in Jiaxian County, defeated Zuo Liangyu in Zhuxian Town, and occupied Xiangyang.
For the Ming Dynasty in the East, this year it had no power to fight back either externally or internally, and officially entered the year of "sitting and waiting to die."
In this year, in faraway Britain, a major event that influenced the direction of world history occurred: Charles I directly declared a "crusade against Parliament", and the first civil war in Britain broke out.
It was also in this year that the radical bourgeois revolutionary Cromwell ushered in the most significant turning point in his life. He led a cavalry regiment of 60 volunteers with the rank of captain and began his journey to the pinnacle of life.
In the two civil wars that lasted for six years, Cromwell gradually became the main general of the parliamentary side with his outstanding military command ability. Finally, in August 1648, he led his army to defeat the army of Charles I and captured Charles I.
In January 1649, the House of Lords of the British Parliament declared itself the representative of the highest power in the UK, and the House of Commons declared itself the highest political power in the country. In fact, the UK became a republic.
Cromwell was appointed one of the judges to try Charles I.
On the 30th, Charles I was pushed to the guillotine, the British bourgeois revolution was victorious, the feudal monarchy was overthrown, and on May 19, Britain was declared a republic.
However, the first fruits of the bourgeoisie's victory fell heavily into the hands of the gentry and the nobles, which caused dissatisfaction among many lower-class people.
In order to protect his own interests, Cromwell began to despise the lower classes. He used force to suppress the Dragoon Rebellion and the Diggers Movement.
On August 1, 1649, Cromwell, as Lieutenant General of Ireland and Commander-in-Chief of the Irish Legion, led a fleet and 10,000 soldiers to leave the capital and launched an attack on Ireland.
But in May 1650, the war was not over and Cromwell was recalled to the country. Cromwell was appointed commander-in-chief of the entire armed forces of the Republic. He went back to the battlefield and defeated Scotland. Scotland became a British colony.
Cromwell returned to London, where the capital held an unprecedentedly grand welcome ceremony for him. The command of the British navy and army was now in his hands alone.
At this time, Cromwell's prestige reached its peak and spread far beyond the country.
Now, Cromwell, who holds the gun in Britain, is no longer willing to be manipulated by Parliament. He is ready to use his actions to illustrate a truth once again: political power comes from the barrel of a gun.
He and Xinfu's subordinate Lan Bai are actively planning to use force to force the parliament to hand over all power, so that he can become the de facto "king" of England, Scotland and Ireland.
Zhang Haoran was facing such an ambitious man who was always worried. Across the negotiation table, Cromwell himself came to the negotiating table with a serious face, which formed a strong visual contrast with the flowers in the middle of the table.
"Well, dear Commander, excuse me for asking a question. Has your Excellency the Commander obtained authorization from the British Parliament for this meeting? If an agreement is reached during the talks, will the British Parliament recognize it?"
Zhang Haoran smiled faintly, appearing calm and composed. However, these words, in Cromwell's view, were a deep offense to him, making him a little angry.
"Dear Commander. I have come from afar with the sincerity of Daqin, and I attach great importance to this meeting. This may be a meeting that lays the foundation for the friendship between the two countries for generations.
This envoy is here on behalf of the Emperor of Great Qin, and the British Parliament has declared itself to be the highest authority in the UK. Therefore, this envoy needs a positive answer before he can start a formal meeting with the Commander. If there is any offense, please forgive me, Commander."
"I am holding talks with His Excellency the Ambassador on behalf of the people of England, Scotland and Ireland."
A hint of pride naturally revealed itself on Cromwell's resolute face. In his opinion, Zhang Haoran was just an envoy, and he came in person to have talks with Zhang Haoran, which was already a compliment to Zhang Haoran. It was really unreasonable that Zhang Haoran dared to question his qualifications for the talks.
His answer was brief, but it revealed a lot of information and also revealed his ambition.
Zhang Haoran said elegantly, "Well, I am very honored to have this meeting with His Excellency the Commander. Our two countries now have very good trade relations. I want to further develop the friendly relations between our two countries. First of all, we should pragmatically resolve some of the differences between the two countries and lay a solid foundation for cooperation. I wonder if His Excellency the Commander agrees with this?"
The so-called resolution of differences means finding fault first, and Cromwell was fully aware of this.
But just as he was about to speak, Zhang Haoran, who had always been calm and composed, took the lead and said, "Your Excellency, Commander-in-Chief, what the Great Qin Emperor least wants to see is the separation of politics and religion. I believe that Your Excellency also deeply agrees with this.
Now, our soldiers of the Great Qin are fighting against the army of the Mughal Empire in India to change the phenomenon of secular rule in the name of religion.
Unfortunately, as far as I know, your country is still supplying weapons to the Mughal Empire. Because of your behavior, many brave soldiers of our Qin Dynasty have paid their precious lives.
What I want to say is that if your country does not immediately stop this behavior, I am afraid that it will be difficult to truly establish friendly relations between the two countries."
General Lanbai, who was sitting next to Cromwell, could not help but refute first: "Dear Ambassador, our country has established trade relations with the Mughal Empire many years ago. At that time, the Qin State had not yet been established, let alone set foot in India. Now the Qin State suddenly entered the Indian Ocean and supported the small countries in the central region to fight against the Mughal Empire. It did not communicate with our country in advance. How can you put the blame on our country?"
"General Lan Bai, don't get excited. If my Great Qin wants to hold you accountable, I'm afraid I won't be the envoy here. But having said that, before our two countries had no diplomatic relations, your behavior could be forgiven; but now that our two countries are going to establish diplomatic relations, your behavior of selling weapons to the Mughal Empire should be stopped immediately to show your sincerity in establishing diplomatic relations."
Cromwell and Lan Bai exchanged glances quietly. From an objective point of view, Zhang Haoran's request was not excessive;
But this hit the lifeblood of Britain. The reason why Britain was able to replace the Netherlands and become the most important trading partner of the Mughal Empire, and gradually penetrate into the core of power of the Mughal Empire, and finally obtain the tax-free franchise of the Mughal Empire, was because it relied on providing weapons to the Mughals.
Now the Mughal has sent 150,000 troops to attack Ottoman Empire and other countries in the south in an attempt to unify the entire Indian continent. It is in urgent need of British weapons support. If the sale of weapons to the Mughal Empire is stopped at this time, it would be like pulling the ladder up after climbing up the roof, which would undoubtedly make the Mughal Empire very unhappy.
It would be almost impossible for Britain to enjoy tax exemption and various preferential policies in the Mughal Empire. Even British merchants might be expelled from the country by the Mughal Empire.
Then Britain's interests in India will be wiped out, which will be like adding insult to injury for Britain, which already has a very serious fiscal deficit.
Thinking of these consequences, Cromwell resolutely said: "In our trade with the Mughals, weapons only account for a small share. Moreover, as far as I know, your country has deployed very few troops in India, most of whom are military instructors. The small amount of backward weapons we sell to the Mughals will not pose a threat to your army at all. What's more, the Netherlands, Spain, Portugal and other countries are also selling weapons to the Mughals..."
"Your Excellency, Commander-in-Chief!" Zhang Haoran interrupted Cromwell rudely, "It's a pity. I was sent by the Emperor of Great Qin with great sincerity, but now it seems that Your Excellency, Commander-in-Chief, does not seem to have the sincerity to establish diplomatic relations with Great Qin. So, please forgive me for being frank, but it seems that there is no need for us to continue the talks."
Why did Zhang Haoran mention that Britain provided weapons to the Mughals in advance, without mentioning anything else? Did the weapons provided by the British really pose a major threat to the Qin army
No, in fact the reason is very simple. Zhang Haoran also knows that this is the lifeline of Britain in India. If this lifeline is grasped, Britain will no longer have any advantages in India. Even without the Qin Dynasty snatching it, Britain will lose its original interests in India.
He asked Britain to stop supplying weapons to the Mughals, with a high-sounding reason, but it was a weak spot for Britain.
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.(To be continued..)
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