On February 13, 1703, on a sunny day on the Iberian Peninsula, the Earl of the Palace of Jimenes once again came to the small town of Gibraltar controlled by the East Coast.

Before coming, he met a special envoy sent by the Privy Council of the Kingdom. The special envoy was full of worries, but he still firmly told Gimenes that "the East Coast people only hoped to drag the problem down, and they had no sincerity in negotiating." He also said that the French also believed that "the East Coast people had no intention of withdrawing troops." The Spanish Kingdom must be "more bold" at this critical moment.

Gimenes agreed with their views on the East Coast people. In fact, after these confrontations, he had seen the plans of the East Coast people. They did not want to leave the bay at all, and might even continue to conquer cities and expand their control areas. But he did not agree with the French that instigated the Spanish army to start a war on the East Coast, believing that this might lead to a full-scale war and bring a catastrophe to the Spanish Kingdom. Not to mention anything else, is the Potosi silver mine? Is the Mexican gold mine? Is the Cuba, which produces sugar and tobacco, still want? These are very realistic issues and must be considered comprehensively.

But it doesn't matter what he thinks, because the superiors have decided that they must express their unfriendly actions against the East Coast people. It has nothing to do with anything else. The glory of Spain and the face of the king must be maintained. The East Coast people cannot unscrupulously bully an empire with great glory.

However, at last, there was still a little rationality at the upper class. The envoy of the Privy Council clearly told Earl Gimenes that, first, an ultimatum was issued to the East Coast people. If the East Coast people were willing to leave, then everyone would be happy. If they were not willing, then follow the resolution and send troops to seize the small town controlled by the East Coast; second, it is strictly forbidden to declare war on the East Coast Republic of China, and try to treat this matter as a general armed conflict and handle it in a low-key manner to avoid the situation from escalating.

Earl Gimenes understood the good intentions of the people, because he knew that once war was declared, the gold, silver, gems, minerals and high-value tropical products of the New World would be completely interrupted, and the finances of the Kingdom of Spain would collapse immediately. Even if the royal family cuts expenses, the nobles and the church tightened their belts (will they?) and donated their personal property in large quantities. This could only delay and could not prevent the collapse from finally coming, because Spain's ability to create wealth (food, industrial products, etc.) was too weak, and most commodities were dependent on imports, and the balance of payments was seriously unbalanced.

Therefore, when facing the provocations of other countries, the Spanish Kingdom can be unafraid. At worst, the war will be better. If you spend more money, you will not beg for mercy. But the country on the East Coast is really disgusting. Their local area is closely related to the Spanish overseas colonies and the navy is also very powerful. This is no longer a question of spending more money, but a question of whether there is money to spend. Think about it, the Spanish navy has just been hit and is temporarily unable to fight the enemy. The navy on the East Coast is very powerful, especially the majestic iron-armored warships. Once they block the Spanish coastline and prevent any merchant ships from coming to trade, there is no doubt that the Dutch dares not do this for the time being, but the East Coast people will definitely dare to use the weak production capacity of the Spanish Kingdom and not explode with huge inflation.

Furthermore, even if they do not block Spain's overseas lines or fail to block it successfully, and just take over the Spanish overseas colonies is enough to make the Spanish government have no money to purchase foreign goods, which will also cause the entire country's economy to collapse. After all, relying solely on land trade with France, Savoy, Portugal and other countries is really a drop in the bucket and nothing is needed.

Therefore, even if we have face-to-face with the East Coast Army, we cannot declare war no matter what! If we don’t declare war, there will be a chance to turn things around. If we declare war, things will not be so easy to calm down. Earl Gimenes understands this very well, which is why he believes that the upper class of Madrid still has rationality.

So he came to the East Coast controlled area in a heavy mood and solemnly demanded that the East Coast people evacuate, otherwise the Kingdom of Spain would take tough action. There is no doubt that the request of the Earl of the Court of Jimenes was rejected by the East Coast Special Corps.

"As far as I know, your country has no cash, and it has long been supported by bankers from France and Germany in terms of finance. But now the continent is full of war and the Great Northern War is intensifying. This will inevitably have an impact on the markets in Hamburg, Lübeck, Berlin and other places, and lead to local monetary tightening. Faced with such a prospect, the Livornian financial market is not shuddering. In fact, the Baltic bankers are trying to withdraw capital recently. Have you ever felt that the cost of borrowing is higher?" The commissioner sat leisurely behind his desk, looking at his negotiating opponent and said, "Ah, I seem to have forgotten that your country's financing cost is the highest in history.

But I have to give some good warnings, dear Count. From the most informed aspects of the financial world, the Baltic International Bank has been officially established, and German bankers are optimistic that the Kingdom of Spain can no longer expect any financial aid from Hamburg, Lübeck or Riga. In addition, considering the maritime power deployed by our country in the Caribbean, as long as we want, it will inevitably cause an unprecedented financial collapse in your country, the people are hungry, and the front line is exhausted. And the financial crisis can trigger a political crisis, I think His Majesty Philip V does not want to see these happen, right?

The commissioner's words really hit Spain's fatal hole, making Earl Gimenez not know what to say. Spain does not have enough industrial production capacity, and even basic things like gunpowder must be imported from the outside world to make up for the gap. The agriculture aspect is also in decline due to the lack of national investment. Drought has always plagued the country's main agricultural production areas, so that it has to buy food from the outside world. In fact, although the East Coast Commissioner's words are not pleasant, it is really not exaggerated at all. Spain's foreign trade deficit is serious. If there is no direct external capital inflow (such as loans, investments, etc.), the country is likely to fall into huge turmoil. After all, you cannot work and remit money to the homes of large-scale dog owners in the Middle East to make up for the trade deficit of more than 100 billion US dollars like a later generation of South Asian countries. How are you funny?

"My opinion is not that pessimistic, sir." Although Count Jimenes admitted these facts, he did not intend to bow his head before the East Coast people, he heard him say: "The Kingdom of France has generously given us sufficient assistance, and our alliance is not just a false reputation. If you think we are not ready for war and do not want to fight, it is wrong. In fact, to defend our territory, King Philip V has made up his mind to use all necessary means."

"You don't need to say this to me. I just want to emphasize one thing, that is, your country must unconditionally respect our right to eliminate pirates in the Gulf of Gibraltar. For this reason, we can guarantee that if Gibraltar is not used for strategic purposes, it will be peaceful and harmless. Earl, I hope that reason can prevail in your decision-making body, which will be beneficial to everyone." The commissioner said directly, and did not care about the dark face of Earl Gimenes.

"I have read some academic works of your country, and the descriptions of capitalism are particularly wonderful. In my opinion, your country's capital is already well developed enough to affect the economic, financial and even political decisions of many countries. What I want to say now is that capitalism has developed to the extreme, probably imperialism. What is the difference between what you are doing now and an inflated empire? The Roman Empire was eventually destroyed!" After taking a deep breath, Earl of Gimenes said: "Your country hopes that our country respects your rights in the Bay of Gibraltar? How ridiculous! I hope that your country respects the sovereignty of the Kingdom of Spain and withdraws its troops immediately, otherwise our country will take tough measures to drive away."

"Dear Earl, don't let the intense emotions dominate your reason." The commissioner stood up and said slowly: "If you can exert a beneficial influence on His Majesty Philip V and prevent him from being too enthusiastic about Gibraltar, it will be of great benefit to your entire country. Otherwise, there may be many great men in the future who will tragically walk on the gallows for the impulse of today. Why is that going to be a pain?"

It seemed that he could no longer bear the shamelessness of the East Coast people. Earl Jimenes immediately stood up, even avoided the polite farewell, and left the venue directly and returned to the Spanish controlled area. After he left, the East Coast Commissioner also changed his previous arrogant attitude and ordered to the escort with a serious face: "Keep paying close attention to the development of the situation and send the record of today's talks to Dangi. By the way, is the Milan Parliament in an adjournment period?"

"Commissioner, the Northern Italian Federation is in a state of war and Congress has not adjourned." The Attachment replied.

"Well, that's good. Where is the Portuguese Kingdom? I remember that many people in their country disagree with going to war with the Spaniards?"

"The commissioner, as far as I know, is a thing of the past. Under the influence of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Lisbon has just experienced a huge personnel change and there are no obstacles at present."

"Very good." The commissioner said excitedly: "Cross a copy of the record to Lieutenant Colonel Zhou Yafu, he has the right to know. Forget it, I'll go to him personally. Some things are more reliable in person. Now it's a critical moment."
Chapter completed!