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"General Lanbai, first of all, I am not here to persuade you to give up attacking France."
"Then may I ask, Your Excellency the Ambassador, why did you rush here in such a hurry?"
"At Windsor Castle, I was warmly received by General Cromwell and General Lanbery, and we established a good friendship. As a friend of General Lanbery, I personally feel that now is not the best time for the general to attack France."
General Lan Bai smiled faintly and didn't listen to Zhang Haoran's words at all. In his opinion, Zhang Haoran was simply a full man who didn't know the hunger of a hungry man. You emptied the Louvre, forced France to cede Marseille and the surrounding Blue Coast area, and got two million taels of war reparations. All in all, you made a lot of money.
You only had a few hundred men and horses, and you broke into Paris. Now I am here with thousands of troops, and I have the exiled king Charles II as an excuse to start a war. You come to tell me that this is not the right time. Are you kidding me
"General Lanbai, in our Great Qin, there is an idiom that goes, 'When the snipe and the clam quarrel, the fisherman gains.' General Lanbai, think about it, if Britain launches a massive attack on France at this time, then the biggest beneficiary will surely be Spain, Britain's old enemy.
Looking at the whole of France, the north is a fertile plain, the southeast is the Alps, Pyrenees and other mountain ranges, and the capital Paris is located on the banks of the Seine River;
Although Philip IV's personal expedition might put great pressure on southern France, as far as France was concerned, even if it lost the mountainous areas in the south, it would not matter.
But the rich plains in the north must not be lost. Therefore, facing the simultaneous attack from your country and Spain, France must concentrate its heavy troops to deal with your attack first. Then your country and France will become a fight between the snipe and the clam, and the one who will benefit in the end will only be Britain's old enemy - Spain.
In our Great Qin, there is an idiom, which goes, "The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind it." Excuse me, General Lan Bai is now like a mantis that wants to pounce on the cicada, but forgets that there is an oriole behind it staring at him.
The rise of Britain's naval power has greatly affected the Netherlands' dominant position. I believe General Lanbai knows better than I do what caused the previous naval battles between your country and the Netherlands.
It was with the strong support of France that the Netherlands was able to resist the Spanish army and gain independence from Spain. In other words, France was indebted to the Netherlands.
Putting aside the so-called great favor, if your country is caught in the war with France and cannot be resolved quickly, will the Dutch warships gather in the English Channel? I don't know, but I believe General Lan Bai is more foresighted than me.
In short, if I were General Lanber, I might declare war on France first, but I would definitely not launch an attack on France at this time. I would wait for Mazarin to transfer the army to the south of France, and fight to the death with Philip IV who led the army in person. When both sides are exhausted, then... ... ... Hahaha..."
Amid Zhang Haoran's laughter, Lan Bai's face turned red and white. Thinking carefully, every word Zhang Haoran said made sense. If Britain attacked France at this time, France would definitely do its best to deal with the British invasion.
This would not only benefit Philip IV, but also, if the war reached a stalemate, there was no doubt that the Netherlands, which was competing with Britain for maritime hegemony, would send troops to blockade the English Channel or fight a decisive battle with the British navy.
In short, after hearing what Zhang Haoran said, Lan Bai really didn't dare to act rashly.
But Lan Bai is full of energy and is ready to do a great job. If you stop him suddenly, it will make him feel uncomfortable, right
In this world, blocking is often not enough, you also need to do some guidance. Like Lan Bai at this moment, you have to find something to let him vent.
Zhang Haoran continued, "General Lan Bai, I believe that I don't need to say much about the importance of the Strait of Gibraltar. General Lan Bai is also very clear in his mind. Whoever controls the Strait of Gibraltar controls the throat of Europe.
In my opinion, Spain now has to deal with the Ottoman Empire's navy on the one hand, and Philip IV is personally conquering France on the other hand. The country is very empty. Now is the best time to seize the Strait of Gibraltar."
Lan Bai said disapprovingly: "Dear Ambassador, you may have forgotten one thing. Philip IV personally led the expedition to France without using his navy."
General Lanbery was still relatively rational. As of now, Britain's naval power was not necessarily stronger than Spain's. It was just because the Spanish navy was pinned down in the Mediterranean by the Ottoman navy. If the Spanish navy fought a decisive battle with the British navy with all its strength, it was still unknown who would win.
Even if the British navy could win in the end, it would probably be a pyrrhic victory, and there was no guarantee that the situation would not be that the mantis stalked the cicada while the oriole waited behind. The Dutch were eager for Britain and Spain to fight to the death.
Zhang Haoran smiled faintly and said: "Although Philip IV did not use the navy when he led the army in person, the war was fought for money and food. The Spanish treasury was already on the verge of bankruptcy. Philip IV's personal expedition at this time was just a spent force. I believe that the treasury would be emptied as a result!
So in this case, can the Spanish navy still fight against General Lanbai on an empty stomach? Moreover, General Lanbai is not fighting alone. In addition to us, General Lanbai, please take a look at those Portuguese warships. "
The fact that two hundred Qin troops were able to capture Paris and capture the French king, queen mother and prime minister alive was due to some coincidence. However, if the Qin army did not have strong combat effectiveness, it would have been impossible to accomplish such an amazing feat even with the best opportunities.
Therefore, Lan Bai did not dare to underestimate the four warships and hundreds of troops of the Qin Army. If Portugal joined the war, it would be very likely to defeat the Spanish Navy and seize the Strait of Gibraltar.
General Lanbery was immediately attracted. The Strait of Gibraltar was too important. It was like a tempting piece of fat meat. Britain had always coveted it and wanted to defeat Spain and seize Gibraltar.
Zhang Haoran's words actually cater to the general's preferences, and are therefore very convincing. General Lan Bai himself would find reasons to convince himself, which is why catering to the general's preferences is often the most effective.
"Dear Ambassador, are you really willing to fully support Britain? And can you convince the Portuguese to join the war?"
"General Lan Bai, have you forgotten that Portugal and Spain are already at war? If Portugal can defeat Spain, it will be the happiest."
Lan Bai was a little embarrassed and a little angry when he heard this. Who doesn't know that Portugal and Spain are at war? Who doesn't know that Portugal is happy to see Spain lose
Is it difficult to persuade Portugal to send troops to attack Spain together? Not difficult at all. Without Zhang Haoran going, Lan Bai is confident that he can convince King John IV of Portugal.
When he asked this question, he was actually trying to distinguish who was the primary and who was the secondary. In other words, if the Spanish navy was defeated and the Strait of Gibraltar was captured, who would own the strait
If Qin and Portugal were only there to support their allies, after taking Gibraltar, Britain would only need to give the two countries some other benefits.
If Qin and Portugal sent troops not in the name of supporting Britain, but in the name of the three countries sending troops together, then after taking the Strait of Gibraltar, wouldn't the three countries have to share the benefits equally
If this is the case, why not just not fight at all
Lan Bai tried hard to be subtle, but Zhang Haoran pretended to be stupid. Could he really not understand what she meant
"Your Excellency, let's get this straight. If we defeat the Spanish navy and seize control of the Gibraltar navy, how will our three countries divide the benefits?"
This time it was straightforward enough. Zhang Haoran was amused. He said calmly, "I think it depends on how many troops each country dispatches and the role they play in actual combat. We, the Great Qin, are not very interested in such a long strait. However, I think we should discuss the specific division with the Portuguese. After all, we are allies. If we don't agree on an action plan first, it will be difficult to work closely together in actual combat."
Lan Bai was somewhat reluctant to discuss with the Portuguese. Portugal was just a small, unrecognized country, and Lan Bai felt that Portugal was not qualified to be on an equal footing with Britain.
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