"The tree wants to be quiet but the wind does not stop..." The Central Executive Committee, which was about to be re-elected at the end of this year, is likely to be postponed again due to the tension in the Netherlands and France on the European continent. This allows the national leadership team led by Qi Wangping, Ma Wanpeng, Zhou Shenwo and others to continue to rule for a period of time.

"But no matter how the situation in Europe changes, what we care more about is how to gain greater benefits from it, right?" Ma Wanpeng, the Central Executive Committee in charge of agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry and fishery, just attended the funeral of a time traveler and was in a heavy mood. However, when facing the visits of many younger generations in the system, he was still willing to talk to them and have a chat.

Many people came to visit him, basically the second generation, but there were also a few officials from time and space. They can be regarded as the "capital" accumulated by the three generations of executives of Jin Kela, Zheng Bin and Shi Qinjie. They are synonymous with the political forces called the "agricultural system" outside the world, just like the transportation system founded by Xiao Bailang and others.

"The French's determination to annex the lowlands will not change. Originally, their goal was to first the South Netherlands and then the United Provinces. However, due to the strong opposition of the Dutch and even economic sanctions and war threats, the French had to give up most of the spoils in the legacy war and only retained the seven cities of the South Netherlands. This made the young Louis XIV think he was greatly offended and began to regard the United Provinces as a thorn in his side, and he must pull it out first and then quickly." Ma Wanpeng said all the old sayings

But many middle-aged and young officials who participated in this private tea party listened very seriously, and only heard him continue: "So, this war is inevitable. At least half a year before the signing of the Treaty of Aachen, I think the French have already started preparing for war, because France investigated and dealt with the property of more than 20 corrupt officials or ‘rebellious nobles’ that year. While winning the hearts of the people, it also greatly enriched the treasury of France. This can be said to be the most direct evidence."

"What we need to do urgently on the East Coast is politically to reduce the risk of being involved in the war, and at the same time appropriately help the republicans in the Netherlands so that they will not lose their power too much; from a military perspective, be prepared for a certain degree of maritime or land war; from an economic perspective, we must seize more economic benefits and suppress the development of industrial industries in European countries, especially England. The country's concentration factory is now increasing, and the upward trend is obviously maintaining the inherent commodity market; from a geostrategic point of view, it is best to obtain ownership of the Cape Town colony from the Dutch so that it can occupy all South Africa." After taking a sip of tea, Ma Wanpeng slowly spoke out the strategic plan of the East Coast people.

Among the strategic planning mentioned by Ma Wanpeng just now, the most eye-catching thing is undoubtedly the "occupation of South Africa", and in fact, this has always been the goal of the East Coast people. From the first day of colonizing Hezhong Port, the East Coast people fought with the British, then the Netherlands, and later with France. Of course, we cannot forget the indigenous Kama Kingdom. In short, we fought in South Africa continuously, just to acquire the land that is not very rich, but the mineral resources are extremely rich (this is known to the East Coast people for the time being), and the strategic location is an extremely critical place.

However, after the British sold the Cape Town colony to the Dutch East India Company, due to the good relationship between the two sides, the East Coast people were unable to take it into their own hands, and could only build a semicircular encirclement around it, which in fact surrounded the Dutch South African colony, making it impossible for them to expand their territory around and control the situation within a certain range.

Of course, this situation is definitely unacceptable to the top leaders of the East Coast. In fact, over the years, they have been trying all kinds of ways to get the Dutch Cape Town colony, but unfortunately all actions were ultimately failed. The Dutch East India Company was very clear-headed (perhaps there are opinions from domestic knowledgeable people behind it). He knew the significance of this colony to the company's trading fleet, so he was unwilling to discard or sell it. What's more, after a large number of French and South Netherlands Protestants immigrated to Cape Town, the local economy also developed greatly. The development of industries such as agriculture, animal husbandry, winemaking, mechanical processing, ship repair and other industries was rapid and rapid. The Cape Town colony was no longer a simply losing money colony. On the contrary, it could also bring certain economic benefits to the company. Although it is still pitifully rare, it would be quite good if it included its extremely important geographical location.

Therefore, it is indeed extremely difficult for the East Coast people to get this important colony. Unless they take it, it is absolutely impossible at present. The reason why Ma Wanpeng mentioned it now is that there are some people inside the East Coast who want to take advantage of the inevitable outbreak of the French-Dutch war to see if there is any opportunity to win the chestnut from the fire.

"Commissioner Ma, will our country participate in the possible war between France and the Netherlands?" Chen Ke, a commissioner of the Beihejian region, came out and asked: "I heard that the French have grown rapidly at sea and have seventy or eighty heavy warships. If we join the war and are in a hostile state, trade will probably suffer a lot, right? Moreover, it is also a big blow to the source of immigration. If the French Eastern fleet attacks from Toulon Port, they can easily defeat our transport ships and small-scale escort warships. This is a trouble that must be considered."

"This is one of the reasons why I said that our country should try to avoid being involved in war politically. We cannot fight in the name of the country, otherwise it may lead to severe revenge from the French. But the soldiers who accept the Dutch employment for private reasons can play the edge. No matter how dissatisfied the French, we are also acting within the rules of the game. If he wants to use this as an excuse to question us or even hostilities, then the country's trade route to the East will probably not want in the colonies of North America and the Caribbean." Ma Wanpeng smiled and said, "This is our idea. As for letting us go directly to the war, it is impossible to do so without great benefits. So once the war breaks out, we should see what will happen in the early stage."

In fact, Ma Wanpeng's attitude is also the attitude of the officials of the Executive Committee of the East Coast Republic. These conservative guys are not willing to show their position in the first place, because that is not beneficial, and on the contrary will cause considerable economic losses. Therefore, these "economic animals" became turtles with peace of mind, intending to stand outside and watch first.

In addition to the East Coast, there is also Spain. Perhaps it is more appropriate to say that it is forced to be held by the East Coast people and not allowed to move around, because the East Coast people do not want this huge and weak country to be involved in the fight between the jackals. As early as a month ago, Mr. Mo San, the highest head of the East Coast diplomatic department, told Baron Bravo, the Spanish ambassador to the East Coast. He kept talking about the French-Dutch war that would likely break out next year, and asked him to persuade King Carlos and the Queen Mother not to be encouraged to join the war, because the French were not their target this time. Mo San even pointed out explicitly that if the French team needed to pass through the land of the Spanish Netherlands, then let them pass. It was no big deal, just avoid falling into endless wars.

The reason why he said this is related to the special geographical location of the Spanish Netherlands. As we all know, France is not bordered by the Union Province, and there are only two ways to attack. One is to go to the Spanish Netherlands and go all the way, provided that it is allowed by Spain. There may be some troubles here, because the Spanish are sometimes unreasonable, and they may lose face of the French. At that time, whether you fight or not, it will always be a pity; the second is to cross the Rhine, detour through the moral will area, and attack the Union Province from the flanks. Considering that the small states here have long been bribed by the Dutch and are determined to go against the French (in fact, it is not okay to do it right, because they are also afraid of being annexed by your French), they basically have to fight this way.

Therefore, the East Coast people judged that King Louis XIV of France might choose to avoid the battle in Germany and instead marched into the United Provinces from the Spanish Netherlands. This would require the "cooperation" of the Spanish. Mo San asked them not to be too nervous, because the French would not be able to do anything to the Spanish Netherlands for the time being, and it was still from the Spanish Kingdom. They could prepare first and then watch the war.

Baron Bravo's request to Mo San may have said that it did not give a positive answer, or perhaps it was a humiliation in his opinion. Although what the East Coast people said is reasonable, however, as a loyal and qualified diplomat, Baron Bravo also said that he would return the matter to the country as soon as possible and hand it over to King Carlos (actually the Queen Mother and Don Juan) to decide.

"In the next period of time, you still have to do your own job well." After chatting with everyone for a while, Ma Wanpeng decisively ended the topic and said: "Hejian area is our foundation. We need to build it well. Some projects that should be fought for should be taken now. In another year and a half, you may not have the chance to get approval from superiors. Once the war starts, military spending will increase sharply. How can you spend a lot of money on people's livelihood projects? It would be good to be able to ensure some of the most basic projects, so you must be clear about your own mind and know what to do."

...

After saying goodbye to a group of young cadres, Ma Wanpeng rode a carriage and returned to his villa in the suburbs. While passing the Navy Building on the road, he met Major General Guo Zili, the Chief of Staff of the National Armed Forces who also drove out. Seeing this hurried face, he probably had to go to the ministry to get into the army and argue with the horse manures in the army.

The old army gangster Mo Ming is not a good deal. This guy fought with several naval ministers, civil servants, and competitors within his army. He has never fallen. He is capable. This time, the situation in France and the Netherlands is tense. With the east wind of forming a "war army", the army has expanded four mixed battalions, greatly increasing its strength, and also put great pressure on the navy. You must know that the military expenditure in the east coast is counted every year. The army will eat more and the navy will eat less. Therefore, when it comes to such core interests, the army and the navy have no way out to retreat, so they can only fight with all their strength!

Ma Wanpeng vaguely heard that after the army expanded four battalions and thousands of people, the navy also launched calls for restoring some of the sealed warships and ready for combat at any time, and it soon spread to the entire army. Some more radical naval officers said that the Dutch spent millions of yuan to rebuild the navy in the Second Anglo-Dutch War, and also spent money to maintain it after the war. After the French completed the five-year construction plan of 65 heavy warships in 1665, they immediately launched a new round of shipbuilding operations. The strength of the two main fleets in the East and West was greatly enhanced. The East Coast people blocked their doors and fought for the East Coast that year were probably gone forever; in addition, the navies of England, Spain, Portugal and other countries were not without small compensation, and quickly caught up with the East Coast Republic in terms of professional naval warships.

Therefore, they said that the Navy had not increased its tonnage much over the years, but at least some of the warships sealed off due to disarmament in the previous stage should be re-activated in case of emergency? If I were afraid of spending more money in the past, then now even the Army has expanded its troops, so why should the Navy continue to save money? Therefore, they strongly demanded that they also expand their troops.

Guo Zili was helpless with this voice inside the navy. Although he had always followed the Executive Committee, his soldiers had no false statements at this time. Therefore, he also tended to use the sealed naval warships and recall the personnel who were laid off. And he also judged that once the army's participating troops arrived in the United Province, he did not expect that the army might not be willing to send people to Europe as cannon fodder and participate in the defense of some solid fortresses, which may lead to the French taking some less friendly actions against the maritime trade line on the east coast (of course, it is just speculation at present), so a large number of warships are needed to escort. Considering the current strength of the First Navy Fleet, it is really difficult to defend the local area, to station in the Cape Verde Islands, and to defend the area of ​​Huaiyuan Island (Trinida), so it is inevitable to expand the naval strength.

Ma Wanpeng knew these things well, and he could only sigh helplessly. Although he was not willing to see the increasing strength of the army, and although he was not willing to see more than half of the country's fiscal revenue being charged for military expenditure, he had to admit that at these important historical moments, a powerful army was still needed, so that the voice of the speech was loud.
Chapter completed!