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The Chinese diplomatic mission was invited to participate in Cromwell's "enthronement" ceremony.

Cromwell served as Lord Protector of England, Scotland and Ireland under the new constitution, as amended.

In his inaugural speech, he declared: "The Lord Protector serves for life, holds the legislative power together with the Congress, and exercises executive power with the State Council...The bills of the Parliament must be approved by the Lord Protector to take effect."

What do you mean?

This position is for life, will not step down, and does not need to be re-elected midway. Legislative power and executive power still belong to the parliament in name, but any decision must be made by the protector of the country.

The British Parliament has been preserved, but only an empty shelf.

"The king was killed, so he is definitely not Yi Yin or Huo Guang. But he did not usurp the throne and become king, so he is not Wang Mang's generation." Zhang Ruifeng discussed this, "So, what is Cromwell, the protector of the country?"

What kind of? Similar to a dictatorial president for life.

Pan Wei thought carefully and said: "China has not had such a political system since ancient times, and we cannot judge the present from history. A country cannot live without a king. Although this statement comes from a Taoist classic, it is also an irrefutable fact. Cromwell's most fatal weakness , It’s because he didn’t establish a succession system. He’s monopolizing the power right now, and of course no one dares to object, but what about after he dies?”

Cai Yuncheng said: "When Cromwell dies, Britain will inevitably be in chaos. There are no more than three situations. First, his confidants support his son as the protector of the country; second, the royalists welcome back the restoration of the royal family; The previous republic. These three situations are likely to occur at the same time, and it depends on which side wins."

Zhang Ruifeng said: "Even if his son succeeds, it won't be possible for a long time. Because the position of protector of the country is not right, the words are not right, and it is only a temporary establishment."

In the eyes of the Chinese envoys, Cromwell was really not good at thinking.

Now that he has mastered a country's military and government, the first thing he needs to establish is his own legal system and the continuation of the legal system.

Cromwell's legal system was borrowed from the Parliament, and the legal system itself is still in the Parliament, and it is logical that he must return it after his death. In this way, it is a one-shot deal, and I am so happy that I will die, regardless of the affairs behind me. In China, they will be liquidated after death, and it is normal to ransack the family and exterminate the family.

If you want to solve this problem once and for all, you must get rid of the parliament.

Either really dissolve the parliament, or replace the parliament with your own people. But neither of these methods is possible. Without Parliament, Cromwell's legal system is gone. As for the members of the parliament, one radish and one pit, Cromwell can't change it even if he wants to.

After a long time, Zhang Ruifeng made a concluding evaluation: "Cromwell is a powerful minister and warlord who is incapable of being king. What he really should do is to institutionalize the 'protector of the country' in order to save his own affairs. If the ' The protector of the country is hereditary, and will be opposed by the whole country. Therefore, the protector of the country should be elected. Doesn’t the European parliament like to vote? Then let the parliament vote for the protector of the country.”

Cai Yuncheng nodded and said: "That's true. Once the system of voting for the protector of the country is established, after the death of Cromwell, the goal of the British powers will become a battle for the new protector of the country. No matter who succeeds the protector of the country, they will Support Cromwell's system and do everything possible to prevent the restoration of the British royal family. In this way, Cromwell will not be whipped to death."

Pan Wei shook his head: "The power of the protector of the country was taken from the parliament. If one Cromwell is enough for the parliament, they will elect a second one? If the parliament is allowed to elect a new protector of the country Lord, the first reaction of the parliament was to vote to abolish the protector system."

A knot that cannot be untied.

In the British revolution, too little blood was shed, and compromises were everywhere. Cromwell was not qualified to be Napoleon.

Lu Tianxiang said: "There is no need to discuss what happened to Cromwell. What does this man mean? He actually disagrees with the alliance between China and Britain to deal with the Netherlands in Asia."

"I don't understand." Zhang Ruifeng shook his head.

Of course, normal people can't understand it, because Cromwell's ideas are too weird.

He first wanted to engage in the Anglo-Dutch Commonwealth and together dominate the world. After the Dutch clearly refused, they wanted to form an Anglo-Dutch alliance and use the Dutch overseas power to help the British colonial expansion.

The Dutch are not fools. I worked so hard to break through the situation, let you British guys come to pick peaches?

Cromwell was too conceited to think he had the Dutchman.

In fact, the final treaty between Britain and the Netherlands only forced the Netherlands to recognize the "Navigation Regulations". And this kind of acknowledgment is a superficial acknowledgment, and it is violated in actual operation.

Nothing changed except for reparations and an island for England. The indemnity was not enough to make up for the war expenses, and the island was not very useful. The British fought for nothing. Under extreme depression, there was the second Anglo-Dutch war.

Pan Wei said: "Cromwell is really unreliable. How about... a rare commodity!"

As soon as the words came out, everyone immediately understood.

The family of the British royal family in exile is currently living in Port Grace, France, with a horse donated by France. Prince Charles rides horses for recreation every day.

Zhang Ruifeng said with a smile: "Take the British royal family back to the country, and tell His Majesty to raise them. After Cromwell dies, we will send troops to escort him back. Most likely, we will be able to help him restore the country."

Cai Yuncheng said: "China is too far away from Europe. If we hear the news of Cromwell's death and then escort that Prince Charles to sea, it will take more than two years to reach the UK. Will someone get there first?"

"Then take him back and raise him for a few years, and let him admire me, China," Zhang Ruifeng said. "When he is almost done, he will send it to Portugal to wait for the opportunity. China and Britain can still marry. Of course, a nobleman from the Celestial Dynasty cannot marry a barbarian from a foreign country. . There are many people of Portuguese descent in Macau. If you choose a beautiful woman, your Majesty can adopt her as your adopted daughter. Then she will be given the title of princess and she will be married to a British prince!"

This is a routine operation. Many of the princesses who got married during the Han and Tang Dynasties were maids who were named princesses.

Zhang Ruifeng didn't even bother to send the palace maid away, so he directly asked a Portuguese woman to take her place.

Pan Wei said with a smile: "Here in Europe, bloodline is valued. It doesn't matter whether you are a member of the royal family, as long as you have the bloodline of a great noble. The Joao IV of Portugal was actually a Spanish nobleman, but he was still elected as the king. After becoming the king of Portugal, he still rolled up his sleeves to fight Spain.”

"What exactly do you want to say?" Zhang Ruifeng asked.

Pan Wei said: "Joao IV had very few children to begin with. One son and one daughter died in infancy, and recently another son and one daughter died. The eldest child now is the fifteen-year-old third princess Caterina. That one Everyone has seen the third princess. She has a dignified appearance and is well-educated. Since João IV is seeking a marriage, you can advise your majesty to make her the crown prince's concubine. If she gives birth to an heir, she can look for opportunities to seize the throne of the King of Portugal. "

Zhang Ruifeng didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "The more we talk about it, the more we talk about it. It's something that has no trace...but, it can be considered. This matter should not be discussed publicly. It must be discussed with His Majesty in secret. It doesn't matter whether it is done or not."

Cai Yuncheng said: "Even if the prince's heir becomes the king of Portugal, it will not have much effect. In Europe, the system is self-contained and it is difficult to integrate with China."

Pan Wei showed a sly smile: "If the prince's heir becomes the king of Portugal, and I, the emperor of China, also confer him the title of overseas vassal. If things go on like this, it will be established as a system. After two or three generations, Portugal may become the North Korea of ​​Europe!" "

"The reason why North Korea is North Korea is that its monarchs, ministers, and gentry all write Chinese characters and all admire Confucianism," Cai Yuncheng immediately retorted, "You ask all the Portuguese nobles to write Chinese characters and let them abandon Christianity and join Confucianism. King of Portugal , is willing to marry China at this time because Portugal is disliked by the Pope. If a Chinese royal heir comes to Portugal to be king, the Pope will definitely intervene, and maybe there will be a war because of it! "

The two have different backgrounds and different ways of thinking. They often have disputes during discussions, and others have long been accustomed to it.

Moreover, Pan Wei really took it for granted that normal European royal families would not intermarry with pagan royal families. Britain's Prince Charles, and now Portugal, are only slightly operable due to special circumstances in a special period, and it is absolutely impossible to become an institutional operation.

Let’s take Russia for example. It eagerly wanted to marry European royal families, but all the tsars in the past married German princesses.

The entire German region (including the continental territory of Denmark) is about the size of Sichuan, Chongqing, and Hunan combined. At its peak, there were 20,000 to 30,000 lords (those without actual fiefdoms are not counted), and only those who are qualified to be called "kings" As many as one or two hundred.

This is the power delegated by the Shinra Emperor. Cats and dogs can all be called kings, and princes and princesses are everywhere. For example, although Catherine II's father was the king (duke) of a principality, the income from the territory could not sustain consumption, and he had to go out to work as an officer to make money - well, the king went abroad to work for people, and the people at home should think about it. .

The tsar also wanted to imitate others in engaging in royal intermarriage, but he was looked down upon by the real European royal families, so he could only choose a "princess" from Germany to marry.

At least Russia still believes in the Orthodox Church, and at least it still believes in God. It is so difficult for royal intermarriage to happen. China wants to control Portugal through long-term marriage, which is just an ignorant scholar talking in his sleep.

The two argued for a long time. Zhang Ruifeng's ears became calluses when he heard it, so he said: "Okay, don't talk anymore, talk to Cromwell first."

Since the mission went to sea, Cromwell has been the most hated leader of a country.

Whether it was the Mughals, Persia or France, even the kings of Portugal were all generous. Delicious food and drinks are served, just tell us what you want. There are precious greeting gifts when you come and a farewell gift when you leave.

Cromwell said nothing, and the meeting ceremony was pathetically shabby.

This guy went to war with the Netherlands and nearly collapsed the British finances. His family's savings were spent a lot during the uprising, and he could not afford to entertain the Chinese envoys.

Even for ordinary diplomatic contracts, Cromwell paid every penny, for fear of being cheated by China.

If you look at the Queen Mother of France, she hardly objects to the conditions proposed by China, and she has never thought of taking advantage of China through treaties.