Just as John Hill and others were hotly discussing the East Coast in London, in the city of Amsterdam, separated by a strait, Zheng Yong, the plenipotentiary of the East Coast Republic of China, was also having a secret conversation with several special guests.

The meeting was neither in any public place nor in the relatively crowded East Coast Commercial Station. Instead, it was disguised as a shop that operated Italian cheese.

One side of the talks was the East Coast diplomat led by Zheng Yong, and the other side was the representative from the English military. To be precise, Cromwell's deputy and Captain James, the private representative of the famous Major General Lambert. Therefore, you can see from the sensitive identities of both parties to the talks that this private collusion cannot be announced to the public at all, because everyone cannot afford to leak the secrets.

At this time, the talks between the two sides had been going on for half an hour, but judging from their cautious language, both Captain James and Zheng Yong had doubts about the other party. Especially Zheng Yong, he was very suspicious of Captain James' motive for the hard-working Republican soldiers coming to the door, so he kept saying temptations.

"Captain James, you said before that some of the large wholesalers in London are intensifying their plots. They want to control the situation in England after the death of the Duke of Guard, want to overthrow the existing republican government, and even want to invite the exiled royalists back to the country to restore the monarchy?" Zheng Yong stroked the lid of the teapot in his hand and asked softly. Finally, he commented: "As one of the few republican countries in the world, our East Coast Republic of China understands your pursuit very much, and is extremely disappointed to let the corrupt and incompetent nobles rule the people of England again. Captain James. The lofty ideals of you and Major General Lambert are admirable. So what do we need to do? What price can you pay?"

Captain James did not directly answer Zheng Yong's words. He seemed to be in a certain mood and kept telling some things in a low voice: "I came from a farmer family in Oxford. I have three brothers and sisters. We have always been poor. If there were no such war, maybe I think this would be the case in my life. Fortunately, I met Major General Lambert and Duke Guardians. Then I joined the Model Army, and my fate was greatly changed. Major General Lambert is a good man. His father is a judge in a court in Yorkshire. Therefore, he received a certain degree of education since childhood. He taught us to read, teach us to believe in God, teach us to unite and help, teach us how to understand the world, and most importantly, he sympathizes with us, hates aristocrats, and firmly believes in the republic system..."

"Do you know Thompson of Morris Stone Tucker? During the war with the Netherlands, he did nothing, and once accused the government of the war that led to his two transport ships being captured by the Netherlands. But when the Navy auctioned the captured Dutch ships, he bribed the judge and obtained eighteen ships at almost free price. The soldiers who fought with the Dutch in the Strait of Dover until the last moment were still struggling to survive with a meager pension. Morris Thompson stole thousands of pounds of wealth with his shamelessness and wrists. He spent more than three hundred pounds at a time, but he was stingy with giving three pounds to make a good life for a military family who had lost their husbands or children. If the Duke of the National Guard died unfortunately and let these people take over the power of England, it would be a disaster for everyone..."

"Do you know, East Coast native, I have read two publications from Major General Lambert, one of which is called "East Coast Review" and the other is called "People's Livelihood". In the public publications, you seriously discuss spending a lot of money to popularize education. All children of appropriate age have the right to receive education. Major General Lambert said that his eyes were wet when he first read this. He recalled that his father had to spend hundreds of pounds of wealth in order to allow him to receive education to give him the opportunity to study in London. He believed that the wealth of the country could no longer be allowed to be stolen by the nobles and wealthy businessmen. It should be concentrated in the hands of the government, which is best controlled by the soldiers, and then use it to everyone as much as possible. He hopes that children in England can have the right to be educated..."

After hearing Captain James tell such a long "moving twists and turns" story, Zheng Yong cooperated to wipe the corners of his eyes with a scarf, and then said: "Yes, the republic system is the perfect system. It protects the rights and interests of the poor and limits the wealthy. The republic system in England should not be overthrown, it should continue to exist and go deep into every corner of society Captain James, even though he has been in charge of England for so many years.

Oh, you should also see that even in the capital London, it is not accepted by most people, right? The remnants of nobles and wealthy businessmen are still stealing the wealth of the country without scruples! Therefore, you Republican soldiers should not only maintain the existence of the Republic, but also deeply promote the concept of republic to every corner of England, and capture all those illegal businessmen and royalists. Only in this way can the future of England be brighter, right?”

Regarding Zheng Yong's naked instigation of "lack of level", Captain James did not answer directly, but turned to another topic: "We are very worried now, because there are still a large number of officers with indecisive will in the Republican army. Even former royalists like George Monk, Major General Lambert has never been able to understand why Duke Guardian brought this speculator as his confidant and gave him military power, which makes our republic action look like a joke. Therefore, we now need assistance from the outside world, especially you, the East Coast people who also uphold the republic philosophy."

In fact, for Major General Lambert, the most prestigious figure in the military regiment, if he had not been opposed by more than a hundred officers in 1657, Cromwell might have accepted the request of Congress to make him king. The East Coast people have also paid attention to collecting some scattered intelligence over the years, and learned that this man was a hard-core republican and had many supporters in the army (unlike the republicans in Congress, there were more officers supporting the republic in the army), and advocated the restoration of the major general system and established a highly centralized central government, advocated equality, improve people's livelihood, and led England to the peak. Therefore, this was his strong opposition (with a large number of officers breaking into Cromwell's mansion, you can imagine how shocked the Duke of Protecting the Country). The reason why Cromwell ascended the throne and became king is, as the saying goes, different ideals are also true.

In fact, it is ironic to think about it. In the early days of the revolution, Cromwell believed that "a captain from a peasant who knew why and loved the revolutionary cause was much better than a man who was called a gentleman without any strength." Therefore, he promoted a large number of people from poor and humble origins to officers. For example, Pride, who was once a coachman, Hughson, who was once a shoemaker, Fox, who was once a boiler, etc., these people defeated them because of their heroic fighting on the battlefield.

Wang Jun, who was mainly aristocratic officers, was promoted to colonel and major general by Cromwell. However, as Cromwell took power for a long time, the rift between him and these officers who once truly supported him (let him break through many obstacles and become the Duke of the Nation) became increasingly obvious. This was a clue from his appointments such as George Monk who became senior officers. After all, people have selfish intentions. He wanted to be a king, so he naturally went further and further away from his former brothers.

The old brothers were very dissatisfied with Cromwell's attempt to break up and destroy their "revolutionary army" (the army has done a lot of such things in recent years, and a large number of wealthy businessmen or sympathetic elements of the royal party were mixed in with the army. The factional struggle is becoming more and more obvious), and Cromwell was also very worried about these major generals who came from poor and humble backgrounds and had military power. It was only because of the existence of the rich men in Congress and the faint threat of the royal party in exile overseas that they maintained a delicate balance between them. But since Cromwell tried to ascend the throne (the officers believed that this was the conspiracy of the rich men in Congress), this balance was suddenly broken, and the contradiction between the two sides suddenly became fierce. Cromwell had to make a compromise. After hesitating for a long time, he announced his second Duke of Guardians and refused to serve as king, but have some things really returned to their original state?

"Major General Lambert's philosophy is naturally excellent, because our East Coast Republic of China has always been committed to building a democratic and equal country, so that the people can live in their old age, use their strengths, and those who are young and have good health. All those who are lonely and disabled have something to support (this passage makes the translator stunned...). Therefore, we are willing to help our English friends who uphold the same republican philosophy. So, can I now know how we need us to help you?"

Zheng Yong thought in his heart that although England was a republican system at this time, since the republican concept was not yet deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, the vast areas except London were actually still implemented in the old system, and what should be done. A large number of nobles were still ruling their territory alive, and the emerging bourgeois upstart class was also encircling land, artificially creating a large number of wandering peasants. The difficulty of people's lives was much deeper than before the revolution, which actually aroused many people's disgust with the republic.

In such a situation, although the officers led by Major General Lambert had a considerable number of troops, for the whole of England, they were actually just a small group and their strength was at an absolute disadvantage. As long as the emerging bourgeoisie reached peace with the royal party (which still had deep influence among the people) and announced that they would not blame the past for the suppression of the royal party, they could defeat the Major General Officer Group with their backhand. After all, their army is now in a de facto division, and a large number of people are invested.

The machine controls local military power, and they will definitely be at a disadvantage if they really fight. Therefore, if the aid of money and weapons can help the officers led by Major General Lambert regain their momentum and continue to take over the British power after Cromwell's death, which will cause chaos and even civil war in the UK, it will be a relatively cost-effective thing. Although this is not very likely, it is worth a try, isn't it? Therefore, this is why Zheng Yong's question just now, that is, he wants to know Major General Lambert's appetite and what price they can pay.

"We need a million pounds of cash and material assistance every year so that we can maintain the army." Captain James responded, "If a war breaks out, we hope you can increase the aid, otherwise we may fall into a passive position in the long-term tug-of-war with the rich businessmen and the royal party, and eventually lead to failure, which is obviously a great loss to the cause of the republic."

Damn, it's equivalent to more than three million yuan a year of aid! Zheng Yong was frightened by this number. He wanted to ask Captain James why he didn't go to beg for alms with the Dutch, but think about the leaks everywhere in The Hague (Parliament and government employees openly sold handwritten government documents to foreigners), and he also felt that Major General Lambert would not be so unwise. However, if England fell into a long civil war after Cromwell's death, it would be impossible for the Dutch to pay for Major General Lambert. After all, they had a record of aiding the royal party in exile overseas, although the strength was very small.
Chapter completed!