Chapter 439: Reactions from all parties
Chapter 439 Reactions from all parties
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Then, Edward received the envoy from France. He was cordial and kind, as if the person facing him was not an outsider, but his own good friend.
Although he is already an aristocrat and used to all kinds of political performances, this time the king of a country personally received him and spoke to him in a gentle tone, which made Baron Perigue slightly excited.
After chatting for a while and explaining the current situation in France, he directly asked for help.
"Your Majesty, the Catholic League headed by the Duke of Guise is gathering troops and preparing to slaughter us Protestants in one fell swoop. Hereby, I request you to send troops as soon as possible to stop the arrogance of those Catholics!"
Looking at the anxious envoy in front of him, His Majesty the King couldn't help showing a look of embarrassment:
"Mr. Messenger doesn't know that the current royal family's finances are overwhelmed. If it weren't for this, at the moment when the Protestants were slaughtered in this way, we would have sent troops to attack. How can we wait until now!"
As he spoke, His Majesty Edward showed a look of excitement and helplessness on his face, which was hard to find fault with.
"This..." Baron Perigue cursed in his heart, what he didn't know, the English were taking the opportunity to ask for it, and they were short of money? Will the big England be short of this money?
But he couldn't say it out. Although he was very anxious, he couldn't promise anything easily. His authority was not high.
"Your Majesty, we will certainly understand your difficulties!" Baron Perigue sat down, looked at the young king, and said sincerely, "I promise, there will be ten thousand pounds of gold coins, and I will send troops to you when you send troops." It will be delivered later. However, at present, it is better to send troops first, the shadow of war has shrouded the southern region, and the danger has come!"
Looking at the anxious and penniless baron in front of him, His Majesty the King felt contemptuous in his heart.
Who doesn’t know that France is very rich, with an annual income of millions of pounds, a mere 10,000 pounds, to send beggars!
Afterwards, His Majesty the King smiled, said that he had something to do, and asked the Minister of Finance to chat with him.
The Minister of Finance did not disappoint. After more than half an hour of negotiations, he finally raised the amount to 50,000 pounds.
Moreover, if the British army has achieved remarkable results, funds will be delivered one after another.
After the negotiations were over, the United Kingdom Army was ordered by His Majesty the King to prepare for the move.
The United Army has been conducting simulation training for the past few months. Today, it is finally coming in handy. Everyone is very happy.
Because of the preparation in advance, a militia of 5,000 people was recruited as a logistics force to be responsible for the logistics of the army.
The war preparation team is also very strong. Two sets of military uniforms for 10,000 people have been prepared, as well as boots, leather whips, belts, socks, medicines, wine, and food for three months, all of which have been prepared. , and some merchant ships have been requisitioned for transportation.
Such a result directly consumed 30,000 pounds.
As for gunpowder, 2,000 barrels were prepared in advance, which should be enough for half a year's consumption, but this item directly consumed 20,000 pounds.
That is to say, before the battle was fought, £50,000 was lost immediately.
The two armies, 7,000 of whom were commanded by the knight Alexander, were responsible for attacking the Normandy area.
The remaining 3,000 people have been stationed in Edinburgh. The original Earl of Wellington, now His Excellency the Marquis of Edinburgh, is in charge of commanding and attacking Brittany.
The reason why Brittany only has 3,000 people is because the Normandy region has a good economy and a large population. It is relatively close to the French capital Paris and faces more troops.
The second reason is that although Brittany itself has joined France, the barren land and the lack of economy are still not welcomed by the French nobles, and there are not many troops.
In order to cover the army's actions, the navy specially arranged hundreds of warships to **** them to prevent them from being attacked.
If so many people sink into the sea, our king will cry to death.
…
At this time, there was a lot of discussion in the Spanish court around whether to send troops or not.
"Your Majesty, the kingdom's finances cannot pay for the French. You know that the kingdom's finances have been in dire straits. It just went bankrupt a while ago, and the government can no longer allocate funds for the next war!"
Facing Philip II, the Chancellor of the Exchequer burst into tears, and his whole body was a crying face, wrinkled into a chrysanthemum.
A while ago, His Majesty the King had finally repaid part of the debt, and the government came out of bankruptcy. Who knew that His Majesty the King wanted to participate in the French Civil War not long ago, which made him feel overwhelmed and refused without even thinking about it.
Although the palace minister on the side did not express his attitude, he seemed to be neutral, which was the best statement: he did not want Spain to participate in this indifferent war.
In particular, His Majesty the King's sacrifice of the country's finances for the benefit of God made it difficult for him, as the Prime Minister of Spain, to agree.
Next, not only the Minister of Finance, but also the Minister of State, the Field Marshal, the Navy Marshal, the Chief of the Royal Family, the Chief Justice and others also expressed their opposition.
Even the Colonial Secretary objected, and with good reason.
"Your Majesty, although the gold mines in the colony are always shipped to Madrid in a steady stream every year, it is difficult to keep up with the financial deficit. If the plunder continues, the colonial system may collapse, and the kingdom's years of painstaking efforts will be exhausted. Once the credit is off!"
Although the colonial rule gave Spain a powerful blood transfusion, it was nothing more than a hundred thousand gold coins every year. The real explosion would have to wait decades later, after the colony was built.
The collapse of the colonial system was not what Philip II wanted, but the glory of God made it difficult for him to make a choice.
Your Excellency the Prime Minister saw the contradictions of the king, so he spoke up and made a final decision.
"Your Majesty, the current heresy in France is far from being an opponent of the Catholic League in terms of strength. If there is no accident, the victory of the Catholic League is only a matter of time!"
"Besides, the Netherlands region is unstable. In the Mediterranean Sea, there is a more difficult opponent than the Huguenots waiting for us (referring to the Ottoman Empire). It is really inappropriate for the kingdom to disperse its energy on France!"
Philip II heard this remark, coupled with the opposition of all the ministers in the court, for a while, his face was full of helplessness. The current plan is to give up his plan to participate in France.
"If I knew it earlier, I would have postponed the government's bankruptcy time for a few months, and those businessmen were in vain!"
Philip II looked at the sky and thought.
…
In Paris, the Duke of Guise gathered the troops of the nobles of the Catholic League. The army under him has exceeded 15,000 people, and the number of soldiers joining the army is still rising. Ten thousand.
As for the Huguenots in the south, although the believers had high morale and participated enthusiastically, they could barely recruit 5,000 people in a short period of time.
They took the initiative to attack.
(end of this chapter)