After leaving Antwerp, Gao Wengang took another land route, avoiding the battle area between the French and the Dutch, and took a car, horse, and boat. He went through a lot of trouble to enter Zeland Province and arrived at the city of Behenopzom, where the soldiers of the East Coast had fought.

The city has been several years since the floods were destroyed and has not yet fully recovered. Frank Banning, who is the mayor, has a good impression of the East Coast people. Although Yang Liang's army tricked them when he retreated, he didn't seem to mind. He still remembers the scene of fighting side by side against the French.

However, Jan Marco Van Beresten, who was a lawyer, angrily asked the East Coast soldiers to compensate for the losses, because during the battle of Behenopzom, they robbed all the supplies, food and even military pay that should have been prepared by mercenaries more than once. Even the moment before the withdrawal, Major Yang Liang's troops forced away a lot of military supplies that should have been prepared for Prince Orange's troops from the garrison, and these were undoubtedly the people's fat and ointment of Behenopzom.

Gao Wengang was a little embarrassed after hearing this. Fortunately, Mayor Frank Banning was quite generous and said that this was all things in the past, and there was no need to keep it still. It was said that mercenaries from all walks of life gathered in the seven provinces, and the East Coast people were considered to have good military discipline, but the Army Department of Zelan Province was too overdoing, and officials and nobles stole the warehouse (and even sold it to the French), so that the food that should have been allocated to the mercenaries was not very sufficient, and they accumulated a lot of resentment, so that the East Coast people simply refused to give face and took it to "take it out".

"Don't pay attention to him. This guy with the surname Van Belesten in his name is just a pitiful person. He is almost unable to support his family." Frank Banning walked up and shook Gao Wengang's hand, saying: "He used to earn 600 shields a year, but now he can earn 100 shields is God's blessing. There is no way, the war has not yet ended, and the local economy has not fully recovered. Now there are few people in lawsuits, so I asked him to go to the city government to serve as a judicial official."

"But even in financial difficulties, those disgusting Catholic priests can earn 450 gulf a year." Van Belesten also came up and shook hands with Gao Wengang, and said in a jealous tone: "I just think they are unhappy. These people do nothing, and the French don't cause trouble during the war."

"Even the Catholic priests are servants of the Lord. When will this respectable profession be so disgusting? God, we, your lovely servants, have been so despised, that there are so many inferior servants in this world who have received higher respect than your holy servants." Hearing Van Belesten say this, Pastor Johnnies couldn't sit still and immediately stepped forward to rebuke.

The smile on Frank Benning's face became even more awkward. He first stopped the quarrel between the two, and then decisively changed the topic: "Dear Mr. Envoy, it is the best choice to switch to Behenopzom to The Hague. As your first stop in the United Provinces, we have received orders to escort you and your entourage to The Hague as soon as possible, where Prince Orange will meet you. Let's set out next year, how about?"

"I have no problem." Gao Wengang replied.

Everyone exchanged greetings on the street and then entered a beautiful villa that was used as the city government. Here, Frank Banning had a sincere conversation with Gao Wengang, which undoubtedly made him have a lot of first-hand information, and he was the first to hear about the war process. Of course, more importantly, not only the two of them participated in the talks, but also Conrad Van Boyningen, a backbone of the Republican who came from Amsterdam after hearing the news.

"There has been a riot in Breda to the east. Farmers outside the city have had fierce conflicts with militias in the city due to tax issues. How many more than fifty people have been arrested. This kind of thing has happened so frequently in recent years that I have become numb. The farmers' fields are soaked in sea water, cattle and sheep are stolen by the French, and their houses are collapsed and collapsed. The losses are so heavy that they still cannot get the right to exempt tax. This is really crazy." Van Boyningen took the cigarette and matches handed over by Gao Wengang, looked at it calmly before lighting the cigarettes and said in a sarcastic tone: "Breda is an Orange school city. In order to provide supplies to the troops fighting on the South Netherlands front, the nobles and officials there have reached an extremely exaggerated level and do not consider reality."

Frank Banning felt sad after hearing this. Their Behenopzom City is naturally not a city with the majority of Orange factions, but it is not the case if it is controlled by the Republicans. It can only be said that they are slightly inclined toward the Republicans. Of course, Frank Banning, as mayor, is now supporting the Republicans.

There are also some cities similar to Behenopzom. Of course, those who clearly support the Republicans such as Leiden, Haarlem, Delft, Rotterdam, Flissinen, etc. are as many as those who support Prince Orange, such as Breda, Horen, Utrecht, and Enkecherzen. The United Provinces are always in a state of division, as they have shown in history, and everyone is combined together through alliances.

"After marrying James, Duke of York, William III is now very confident, but unfavorable news and financial pressure on the battlefield prevented him from continuing to expand the war. He is tired now and knows that if it continues, the outcome of the war will be difficult to predict, because the French army has recently adjusted its military deployment and launched the largest offensive in a year on the South Netherlands, quickly breaking through many defense lines of the United Provinces and the German army, and occupying big cities like Ghent in one fell swoop. William III was afraid that the ten southern Netherlands provinces would fall, and the United Provinces would lose an important buffer layer, so he did not refuse to negotiate with the French, but he obviously has not made up his mind completely. He is always picky about the conditions offered by the French and often does not respond. Anyone with discerning eyes knows that he is unwilling to give up." Van Boyningen continued.

As a backbone of the Republicans, Van Boyningen's Chinese language is highly valued by Gao Wengang. Therefore, he has been quietly listening to it, and sometimes he gently signaled his assistant to record what content.

"I have heard a rumor recently, which may have been released by the Orangeists. When the second Duke of Buckingham came from England a few years ago to persuade William to agree to the peace talks, he said, "Don't you see that your country has failed?" William replied, "I won't watch it fail because I will die in the last trench left in our country." Although it is not clear what the purpose of this rumor was to spread at this time, we highly doubt that it was the Orangeists who cooperated with William III to improve his heroic image on the one hand, and on the other hand, he also showed his determination to temporarily not want to negotiate." Van Boyningen said: "Now, those who cherish the United Provinces' material resources and are promoting the peace talks are parliament and republican members."

"You have controlled the third-level parliament again?" Gao Wengang was a little surprised when he heard this, so he said in a somewhat urgent tone: "What about the government? Who has the final say now?"

"We are now the government," said Van Boyningen's face. He continued: "After the war has been going on, the entire seven-provincial alliance has paid a huge price. The manpower, material resources and financial resources have been consumed to the limit. Too many people realize that the war cannot continue, and the United Provinces need a breather. Therefore, the support we have received has increased significantly in the past two years. After all, there is no one French soldier in the entire seven-provincial alliance. Many people began to consider their future lives after the crisis. This includes not only merchants, citizens, and other traditional territory, but also many nobles and farmers - especially those farmers who have suffered huge losses in the process of digging up the seawall to submerge their land."

Van Boyningen's words made Gao Wengang feel a little excited. Originally, he thought that after turning the tide and expelling the French and inviting many countries to form an anti-French alliance, Prince Orange should have said the same thing. But now it sounds like, why did the republicans gradually become powerful and rekindled the reigns to control the parliament and greatly influence the government? This is really interesting.

Ah, yes, if it weren't for not being able to fully control the situation, why did Prince Orange use despicable means to murder the Dewitt brothers? If it weren't for not being able to completely control the situation, why did William III hurriedly marry the second heir to the British throne? You should know that the political significance of the two largest military and political groups in the Protestant Church was extremely important. But I heard that William III actually liked someone else, and he was very unaware of this noble cousin, so he could already have a glimpse of it.

"So, what is the situation now? What is your government and your allies' attitude towards peace talks?" Gao Wengang asked something he was eager to know step by step.

"Originally, the third-level parliament and government have tended to negotiate peace because people's lives are too difficult, but because Prince Orange's attitude is ambiguous - to be more precise, he tends to temporarily not negotiate - he has never made a final decision before. Although the envoys of both sides have been in contact with Eno many times, they have never achieved any substantial success." Van Boyningen smoked, looked out the window with his eyes, and said in a thoughtful tone: "But recently, King Louis XIV of France suddenly threw out his trump card, and the French agreed to lower tariffs and allow more Dutch goods to enter the country. This caused a huge wave in Amsterdam, causing many original centrists to join us."

In fact, as Van Boyningen said, in history, the Dutch had no confidence in continuing to fight because of the war. Then the French suddenly threw out the bait of low tariffs, which broke through the Dutch's psychological defense line, causing the backbone of society to support peace talks and resume business as soon as possible. At this time, Prince Orange, who had always shown his determination to resist the law, was a little embarrassed. Many people who originally supported him also turned to support the republicans after weighing the trade-offs and then seemed to be able to fill their stomachs. This can be seen from the republicans' re-control of the Amsterdam municipal government after 1677 that the republicans re-controlled the Amsterdam municipal government.

However, due to various factors, this time and space lasted until the second half of 1678. The republicans slowly gained advantages in many cities, and the parliament and governments. Previously, because of their feud with the Dutch, the East Coast diplomacy and commercial institutions were almost all withdrawn, and the news was a bit unsatisfactory. Therefore, only then did we know that the internal situation in the Netherlands was changed, but it was not too late!

"So, is it time for Speaker Devit to return to United Province?" Gao Wengang was already a little excited at this time, and his tone of speaking was a little urgent: "Can you not exert it? Let the government cancel the wanted arrest of the Devit brothers, or if it cannot be cancelled, it is okay to issue a pardon order. In this way, things will be great, and the hope of the Republicans will turn the tables much greater."

"There is no hope for a turnaround. After all, that man still has the army and has angered others, but he can do everything. Also, you forgot? The pardon order can only be issued by the United Provinces, which means it must be legally effective by William III." Van Boyningen said with a wry smile: "So you still need your help. You can use more means to use it outside. You know, the land nobles and merchants in Friesland, Groningen, Upper Ethel, Drente provinces, many of them operate harnesses, weapons, wood processing businesses, and have a lot of business dealings with the East India Company. They are the most important supporters of Prince Orange. If you handle them, things will be almost done."

"It's East India Company again, it's so damn! I feel that I've dealt with them too frequently recently!" Gao Wengang laughed suddenly when he heard this, and only heard him say, "If this is the case, then things will be easier. We can try to contact East India Company, but I'm really not sure if this will work."

"It may not work before, but now it is mostly there. Believe me, the situation is different." Van Boyningen said firmly.

"Okay, let's trust you for now. By the way, your government has agreed to the peace talks now, so what are the opinions of the allies?" Gao Wengang asked again.

"Austria agreed, Spain was hesitant because it was likely to lose its territory. In addition, Brandenburg-Prussia opposed it because it had to return the areas such as Western Pomerania that were snatched from Sweden through war. Oh, by the way, most of the princes of the Holy Roman Empire were actually opposed to the armistice, the Kingdom of Denmark also refused peace talks, and Switzerland had not made a clear statement yet." Van Boyningen replied, clearly pointing out the dynamics of the continental countries in a few words.
Chapter completed!