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Preface [Chapter 841] Joint Meeting of Western Powers

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    joint conference of western powers

    (0841)

    Against the White Army Alliance, the Dutch will definitely join.  They were originally the ones who took the lead in the organization, and they were the ones who hated the White Army the most.  After losing their interests in the Far East, the Dutch seemed like lunatics who had lost their minds and only wanted to seek revenge on the White Army.  Blinded by hatred, they once again overestimated their abilities.

    In fact, the Dutch losses in the Far East this time were still very huge.  They lost an admiral, a vice admiral, several rear admirals, more than a hundred large battleships, more than 10,000 skilled sailors, and more than 10,000 armed musketeers.  The loss of manpower is definitely the most fatal for the Dutch.  Because the total population of the entire Netherlands is only more than two million people.

    It is precisely because of the huge losses that the Dutch cannot swallow this sigh of relief no matter what.  They are still fantasizing about a chance for revenge.  Due to the aggressiveness of the White Army, the British also felt the danger and finally issued an order prohibiting British pirates from attacking merchant ships of other countries.  A large number of merchant ships from North America are finally completely safe.

    In order to build more warships, the Western powers have stepped up their plunder of North American land.  They plundered the wealth here, plundered the timber here, and plundered all the resources here.  Europe itself did not have enough wood to build warships, it had to be cut from North America.  For some time, more than 30% of the merchant ships plying the Atlantic Ocean were carrying heavy timber.  These timbers were transformed into warships in the shipyard.

    The shipbuilding ability of the Dutch is indeed very outstanding.  After losing hundreds of warships, they built hundreds more, which not only made up for the original number, but also surpassed it a little bit more than before.  At the same time, the displacement of the battleship is also greater.  The battleships recently built by the Dutch are basically battleships with a displacement of about 1,500 tons.  This kind of battleship is generally equipped with at least 90 artillery pieces.

    In 1633 AD, the Dutch still had eight large fleets.  Each fleet has more than fifty warships.  The total tonnage of warships in each fleet is more than 60,000 tons.  The number of cannon of various calibers exceeds 4,000.  In other words, the total tonnage of warships in the entire Netherlands exceeds 400,000 tons.  On average, each battleship has a displacement of more than 1,200 tons and more than 80 artillery pieces of various calibers.

    Such maritime military power is still the most powerful among the Western powers.  Ranking second is the United Kingdom and Spain.  When it comes to the total tonnage of the battleships, the Spanish should be slightly superior, with the total tonnage being about 350,000 tons.  The total tonnage of the British warships should be about 300,000 tons.  However, the quality of British sailors was slightly higher.  Therefore, the combat effectiveness of the British and Spanish is basically the same.

    At this Amsterdam meeting, the British were trying to muddy the waters and wash away the image of British pirates that had been left on people before.  At the same time, the British tried to replace the Dutch and become the world leader at this conference.  Therefore, the British are quite active in participating in this meeting.  The British Lord of the Admiralty was present in person.

    If the Dutch and the British were proactive and did not hesitate to participate in this meeting to jointly oppose the White Army, Spain seemed to be much more entangled.  After receiving the invitation from the Dutch, the Spanish senior officials were indeed conflicted.  Some people are in favor of attending meetings, while others are not.  The reasons, of course, are all there are.

    To be honest, this time the White Army Navy suddenly rose up and swept across the Pacific and Indian Oceans. The Spanish interests did suffer a lot.  It can be said that the Spanish interests in the Far East are negligible.  Although Manila is still in the hands of the Spanish, and the Spanish flag is still flying at the port, the merchant ships coming and going are all from the Ming Empire.  It was rare to see one of the Spaniards' own merchant ships for more than ten days.

    In a fair trade environment, without the protection of warships, the Spanish merchant ships simply could not compete with the Ming Empire's merchant ships.  The Ming Empire had the advantage of having the right time, place, and people in world trade, and other countries simply could not compete.  Regardless of the political and military aspects, Manila still belongs to the Spanish. In fact, this port, economically, has been completely controlled by the Ming Empire's commercial and trading groups.

    It turns out that the Black Tide route, the most profitable route for the Spaniards, has been completely crippled with the addition of a large number of Ming Empire merchant ships.  People all over the world in later generations will know that if there are Chinese people in a certain field, and the system can give the Chinese people relatively fair opportunities to compete, there will be no trade barriers or anything like that.  This field will definitely be occupied by the crazy Chinese in the end.  Others simply cannot survive.  The same is true for the Kuroshio route.

      The Spanish merchant ships traveling between Mexico and Manila were only about a dozen a year.  However, there were dozens of merchant ships from the Ming Empire coming and going every month.  Almost the entire Kuroshio route was dominated by the merchant ships of the Ming Empire.  The Spanish merchant ship transportation volume is estimated to be less than one-tenth of the Ming Empire's merchant ship.  However, the Spanish merchant ships could not use force to protect themselves. How could they be opponents of the Ming Empire's merchant ships?

    With the crazy influx of merchant ships from the Ariake Empire on the Kuroshio route, the Spanish colonies in North America were also greatly affected.  The area of ??the Inca Empire originally controlled by the Spaniards has always been famous for its gold production.  The Spanish seized large amounts of gold and silver from Mexico every year.  According to later research, almost 30% of the silver in the world at that time was produced in the Inca Empire region.

    And the people of the Ming Empire were definitely not as coveted for gold as the Spaniards.  The so-called money and silk move people's hearts.  As long as there is enough wealth, people can take desperate risks.  With a profit of 300%, he would not hesitate to go to the guillotine.  What's more, it's not just 300% profit.  As a result, armed caravans appeared one after another.  They were running wildly across North America in search of the remaining gold from the Inca Empire.

    Faced with the appearance of the Ming Empire¡¯s armed caravans, the Spaniards were certainly unwilling.  However, they were unable to stop the crazy infiltration of the Ming Empire people.  Whether it was a private conflict or a public challenge, the Spaniards were no match for the Ming Empire.  A few years later, the Ming Empire had intervened everywhere in the areas originally controlled by the Inca Empire.

    In this case, of course the Spaniards will not do it.  Their interests in the East are gone, and now, their interests in North America have been violated again, and of course they are not happy about it.  No matter who it is, once their core interests are damaged, it is impossible to give up.  After suffering the loss of the Spanish, the voices clamoring for war gradually became stronger.  Many high-level Spaniards rushed to each other and called on the people to unite and not hesitate to fight the White Army.

    For the Spaniards, there is still a huge threat.  When the white-coated navy appeared in Europe, the Spanish were the first to bear the brunt.  You must know that both Las Palmas and Madeira have a lot to do with the Spaniards.  The mouth of the Mediterranean Sea was also controlled by the Spanish.  If the White Army Navy wants to attack Europe, Spain is undoubtedly the best bridgehead.  If the Spaniards don't want to disappear from now on, they have no choice but to fight back.  Otherwise, they are likely to perish at the hands of the white army navy.

    Finally, the Spaniards finally made their choice.  They were determined to go to war with the White Army Navy.  As a result, just as they expressed their intention to participate in the joint conference in Amsterdam, the White Army and Navy had already arrived at the city gates of Manila.  The Spanish Governor in Manila had long known that this would be the result, so he obediently raised his hands and surrendered unconditionally.

    With the fall of Manila, the Spanish interests in the Far East were finally completely lost.  But that's not the most important thing.  The most important thing is that after the two sides broke up, the Marine Corps in White Army officially landed on the coast of Mexico.  With the intervention of the regular army of the White Army, the Spanish interests in North America were already in jeopardy.

    It was at this time that the Spaniards realized how big of a mistake they had made.  If they had known that there would be such a result, they should have learned from the Portuguese and tried their best to have a good relationship with the White Army.  Unfortunately, it's too late to say anything now.  The White Army would not give Spain a chance to repent, and the Spaniards, unable to dismount, had no choice but to go to a dead end.

    The French and Italians are actually indifferent characters.  The French do not have much interest in the Far East.  They attend this meeting purely to protect Europe.  The French have always believed that they are the boss of Europe and the overlord of Europe.  Now, if a foreign enemy arrives, as the boss, of course, he must be proactive and prepare for all responses.

    After the Roman era, the Italians¡¯ performance in war was really a bit bad.  With the fall of the Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantine Empire), the Italians had almost no spirit left.  They attended this meeting purely in a dream.  Dream of being able to return to the glory of Roman times.  Of course, their interests have indeed suffered great losses.  Especially on the issue of glass, Italy suffered great losses and had deep complaints against the White Army.

    As for the Germans, they had no navy.  Nor have any of their interests been violated by the White Army.  But the Germans were very aggressive, they were combative, they loved war.  They have considerable confidence in their land forces.  Moreover, the Germans have always wanted to be the overlords of Europe.  From the perspective of the Germans, the arrival of the White Army is like the Huns and Mongols in the past, and it is an opportunity for the Germans to rise.

    On the European continent, only the Portuguese did not join the Joint Conference.??.  The Portuguese have determined to follow the footsteps of the White Army, and naturally they will not go against the White Army.  They have always been very low-key, so low-key that European countries have almost forgotten its existence.  This result is exactly what the Portuguese need.  Otherwise, they will be in a dilemma.

    Soon, the three-day meeting was over.  The participating countries unanimously reached an agreement to jointly deal with the White Army.  The coalition decided to deploy powerful fleets in Madeira Islands, Serbia and other ports to block the white army's navy from moving north.

    As orders from various countries were issued, a large number of naval warships and pirate warships began to assemble in the waters near the Madeira Islands, preparing for a decisive battle with the White Army Navy here.  For a time, near the Madeira Islands, warships were overwhelming and the atmosphere was tense.  Battleships of all sizes gathered together, as crowded as dumplings in a steamer.

    At the same time, all countries have announced to increase the number of standing armies so that if the navy is defeated, they can still fight on land with the White Army.  They all knew that if the White Army wanted to conquer Europe, it would not be possible to rely solely on the navy. They must also deploy the army.  Having experienced fighting against the Huns and Mongols, the Western powers were not very panicked.

    The most active Germans announced that they would increase their standing army from 100,000 to 300,000 in one go.  The French did not show weakness and also announced that they would increase their standing army from 200,000 to 350,000.  King Gustav of Sweden even announced that he would increase the number of the standing army from 150,000 to 500,000, a full increase of three times!

    "What is Gustav going to do?"

    "This madman? Where did he get so much military spending?"

    Facing the Swedes¡¯ crazy military expansion plan, Europeans were all stunned.

    You must know that Europe at that time did not have a large population, and the number of armies was even smaller.  A country's standing army basically ranges from 100,000 to 200,000.  Gustav, a madman, expanded the number of the army to 500,000 people in one breath, which was simply terrifying.  With an army of half a million men, where did Gustav get the military funds to feed them?

    However, before the Germans had time to think, they also announced that they would increase the number of their standing army to 500,000.  Obviously, the Germans didn't want the Swedes to steal their limelight.  In fact, Swedes and Germans have always been enemies.  Gustav's coveting of the Germanic lands was no longer a matter of a day or two.  If given the chance, Gustav wouldn't mind at all and would eat Germany first before the White Army arrived.

    An undercurrent flows quietly between Sweden and Germany.

    Of course, no one at this moment will realize that the contradiction between Sweden and Germany will seriously affect the course of the future war.  Their eyes were all focused on the white-clothed army and the golden dragon dancing sword flag.

    ¡­¡­

    When the Western powers were holding a meeting, a special figure came from the White Army Navy.  His name is Xu Canxu, also known as Shaoan.

    Except for fleet commander Chen Zhan, no one knows the true origin of Xu Canxu.

    Xu Canxu, who is only seventeen years old, came to the Fourth Fleet of the Navy as an intern as a second lieutenant.  The internship position is as a deck officer of the Fourth Fleet flagship "Zhan Zhao".  The name of the flagship of the Fourth Fleet was chosen by Xu Xingxia himself.  The origin of the name is, of course, Zhan Zhao, the imperial guard beside Bao Zheng in Kaifeng Mansion during the Northern Song Dynasty.

    In the composition of maritime warships, deck officers seem to be a soy sauce position.  In addition to being responsible for handling various supplies on the deck, there seems to be nothing else to do.  In fact, this position is definitely the most important.  Because this position is flexible and may be deployed to other key positions at any time.  For example, in hand-to-hand combat, the deck officer himself is the vanguard.  If there is a shortage of people in a certain position, he will reinforce a certain position.  Therefore, he must master some basic skills for each position on the battleship.

    Obviously, Xu Canxu is very curious about everything on the battleship.  His eagerness to learn surprised many people.  Of course, I was just surprised and didn't pay much attention.  There are many young people in the White Army Navy, and Xu Canxu is not the youngest.  There were many more sailors younger than him.  The youngest sailor of the Fourth Fleet of the White Army Navy is less than sixteen years old.  Therefore, Xu Canxu does not appear to be very eye-catching.

    "Xu Canxu, I have something to do tonight, help me cover the shift." A navy lieutenant named Zhang Daniu said to Xu Canxu with a smile, and threw him a bottle of Roma wine.  This is the rule of the navy.  For a normal shift, the reward is a flat bottle of Roma.

    "Did you tell the boss?" Xu Canxu nodded and said cautiously.

    "I told you. Lao Gao said that as long as you agree, there will be no problem with him."?Daniu said.

    "Okay, I agree." Xu Canxu had no objection. He unscrewed the bottle of Roma wine and skillfully poured a sip into his mouth.  Despite his youth, he has been drinking for a long time.  He learned to drink almost from the age of three or four.  There is basically no big reaction after drinking a flat bottle of Roma.

    His mother, a woman from the prairie, would not strictly abide by the general prohibition on alcohol.  And because of his special status, others won't really embarrass him.  By the time he joined the Navy, Prohibition was dead in name only.  Because everyone knows that when sailing on the sea, it is difficult to live without drinking a little wine.

    Zhang Daniu is an observation post, mainly monitoring the surrounding activities at the top of the mast.  When it was time to change the shift, Xu Canxu came to the bottom of the mast. Navy Captain Gao Rusong was already supervising the shift change.  As expected, he had no objection to the two people's shift adjustment.  Of course, a few regular reminders are still very necessary.  After all, this is the doorway to Europe, and war will come at any time.  As the sender of the alarm, the observation post certainly cannot be taken lightly.

    Soon, Xu Canxu quickly climbed to the top of the mast and took over the special telescope for the observation post.  There is a dedicated location for the observation post, which is made of interwoven rattan.  When you are free, you can also sit for a while.  Of course, now is definitely not the time to sit.  The two armies were facing each other, and a war would break out at any time. The observation post did not dare to show any signs of neglect.  Otherwise, not only will he die, but also all his comrades in the entire fleet may die.

    This is not the first time Xu Canxu has been to the top of the mast.  When he was fifteen years old, he was already receiving basic training in the Navy.  This was specially arranged by his father.  In previous training, he had gone up to the top of the battleship's mast many times to serve as an observation post.  Deck officers are just soy sauce people, they have to know a little bit about everything.  However, this was Xu Canxu's first time to officially perform a warning mission.

    The sea all around was dark.

    In this era, naval battles basically did not take place at night.

    In other words, at night, all battleships are basically safe.

    Unless, God deliberately arranged for the two fleets to meet in the dark and open fire.

    However, such a thing basically does not exist.  Fighting at night has almost no results, and it is easy to hurt your own people.  Therefore, no matter how powerful the fleet is, it will avoid night battles as much as possible.  For example, tonight, the Fourth Fleet of the White Army Navy is far away from the Madeira Islands and obviously has no intention of starting a war.

    Xu Canxu once heard his father say that in the days to come, the human eye will gradually lose its role in naval battles.  Instead, they will be advanced instruments such as radar.  This means that night battles will no longer be a restricted area for naval battles.  Xu Canxu didn't quite understand what radar was, even though his father had specifically explained it.  However, to be honest, Xu Canxu felt that his mind was not particularly smart.  It is indeed a bit difficult to understand what my father said at once.

    "Axu, do you miss home?"

    Suddenly, the companion below suddenly asked.

    His voice seemed very lonely in the silent night.

    The person who performed the mission with Xu Canxu was another navy lieutenant named Wang Yunfei.

    Generally speaking, Navy observation posts perform tasks alone. Only in times of war, two people will be assigned.  Now, it is war time.

    "I want to, but I don't want to."

    Xu Canxu nodded, shook his head, and answered unconsciously.

    It is estimated that when he heard these words, he himself did not know what he was thinking.

    "Why do you say that?"

    Wang Yunfei put down the telescope and asked doubtfully.

    "I miss my mother. The last time I saw my mother was more than eight months ago. But I don't miss my father very much. At home I have several homes, one in Ningxia Town, one in Xi'an Prefecture, one in Leizhou Prefecture  , I don¡¯t know which one to think about.¡±

    Xu Canxu held the telescope and said slowly.

    "What? You and your father don't have a good relationship?"

    Wang Yunfei stood up on a beam and asked a little strangely.

    "No, it's because he was too busy and didn't have time to pay attention to us. The last time I saw him was when we were in Leizhou Mansion. We were worried that he would pay attention to our homework, and we didn't dare to appear in front of him easily."

    Xu Canxu said slowly.

    "Is your father also serving in the army?"

    Wang Yunfei asked curiously.

    "That's right."

    Xu Canxu answered unconsciously.

    "Then your father is nowWhere do you serve?  "

    There are so many topics about Wang Yunfei.  I can't help it. Working at night is actually quite boring. If you don't talk or chat, time will pass really slowly.  After the shift was changed, the two of them had to hold on until dawn before someone would come to take over.  At this time, it was at least more than three hours before dawn.  It¡¯s really a long night!

    "Tianzhu."

    Xu Canxu gave a short answer.

    Wang Yunfei laughed and said: "My father is also serving in Tianzhu. He is the squadron leader of the Shengsheng Army. By the way, what is your father's rank now? What army is he in? Army? Navy? Or Marine Corps? My father is now  But he is a second-level captain."

    Xu Canxu smiled and said: "My father has no military rank and no clear unit."

    Wang Yunfei nodded and said thoughtfully: "Oh, it's a civilian cadre who manages logistics? That's not bad. You don't have to go directly to the battlefield. It's safe and leisurely."

    Xu Canxu smiled, shook his head, thought for a while, and said to himself: "When you say that, it seems that my father has not been on the battlefield for a long time He used to be very good at fighting. His  Archery is very powerful. Of course, it is the same now. It's a pity that there is no chance to take action. When his hands are itchy, the most he can do is find a place to practice when he has time. "

    Wang Yunfei said with a smile: "It's a good thing that you don't have to go directly to the battlefield. On the battlefield, no one can tell when the danger will come. However, the military achievements may be lost."

    Xu Canxu said with a smile: "My fatherit seems that there is no one who can promote him."

    Wang Yunfei sighed and said with deep feeling: "Well, my father used to be just like your father. He didn't know how to behave and offended too many people I forgot to mention that my father used to serve in the Nanming army. Later,  I just joined the White Army"

    Xu Canxu thought for a while and said with a smile: "My father used to work for the imperial court."

    His words obviously greatly deepened the relationship between him and Wang Yunfei.  The two couldn't help but scolded the original court on behalf of their fathers.  Wang Yunfei knew a lot about his father, and Xu Canxu also knew a lot about his father. This scolding was flesh-and-blood, without much fiction.

    The two of them talked incessantly, and time did not pass slowly.

    Of course, from time to time, the two of them would raise their telescopes and observe their surroundings carefully.

    In fact, there is really no movement in the surrounding sea.  The navy of the White Army was unwilling to engage in night battles, and the combined fleets of the Western powers were also unwilling to engage in night battles.  If the guess is correct, the enemy fleet should also be recharging its strength and waiting for tomorrow's battle.  So the night was, overall, quite peaceful.

    Suddenly, a voice came from below: "Salute! Commander!"

    Xu Canxu and Wang Yunfei looked down at the deck and found that Fleet Commander Chen Zhan was coming over.

    Chen Zhan raised his head and asked, "Is there any movement?"

    Wang Yunfei responded loudly: "Report! No findings!"

    Chen Zhan said: "Be alert! Be especially careful of ships that look like pirates!"

    Wang Yunfei agreed loudly.

    Xu Canxu remained silent and pretended not to see anything.

    Chen Zhan had nothing else to do. After asking, he quietly left with the guards.

    However, the naval captain on duty below the mast, Gao Rusong, felt a little strange.  The fleet commander has never stood under the mast to ask questions before. Could it be said that pirates will really appear tonight?  Thinking of this, Gao Rusong did not dare to neglect, and hurriedly climbed up the mast, leaned against Xu Canxu and Wang Yunfei, held up the telescope, and carefully observed the surroundings.  However, one night passed without any discovery.

    !#

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