On July 12, the expeditionary fleet arrived at the Port of Bruges in the South Netherlands. The ports of the Netherlands are generally located behind sandbanks, and some even have to enter the inland rivers. This is not so suitable for this large fleet with a single ship displacement of no less than 2,500 tons, and the Dutch are not so relieved. The Port of Bruges is also a carefully selected port by Li Junwei.

This port was once the pearl of Europe. A century ago, its status was the same as that of Amsterdam now, and it was an economic, financial and trade center. However, as the silt became more and more serious, the city slowly declined. What really killed the fate of this port was Louis XIV's ambition to conquer. The continuous invasion of the French made the port completely decline.

The southern Netherlands region where the Port of Bruges is located is sandwiched between the United Republic of the Netherlands and France, but it is the territory of Spain. This is also the reason why Li Junwei chose this place. Although the empire and the Netherlands did not declare war, the relationship between the two countries was in a very vague state due to William III, and it was not so appropriate to rashly enter the port of the Netherlands.

The Expeditionary Fleet was warmly welcomed by the local people, which was closely related to the normalization of the relationship between the Empire and Spain. Last year, the Empire's colonial customs cooperation with Spain had bear fruit, and successfully completed the customs tax target, giving the Spanish royal family a feeling that it seemed that sharing the American colonies with the Empire was not a bad thing. The royal family's income not only did not decrease, but increased a lot. Last year, the increase in the customs revenue exceeded the losses caused by the gold and silver mines.

The Expeditionary Fleet also maintained good discipline. They cooperated with the local shipping department and obtained anchorages. Navy officers and soldiers did not carry firearms when they entered the city. Moreover, they bought and sold fairly, which brought a lot of benefits to local merchants.

The main force of the fleet was stationed in the Port of Bruges and sent squadrons to visit the main ports of the Netherlands, especially the Netherlands and Zeeland. The third-level parliament of the Netherlands received hospitality, which caused an uproar in the Netherlands. After all, the country to which this fleet belongs is the enemy of the ruling William of the Netherlands. Heinsius explained at the meeting, clearly stated that the empire was the enemy of the ruling William of the ruling Kingdom, not the enemy of the United Provinces.

Although this explanation has caused a lot of controversy, it has also been supported by most people in the Netherlands, because the biggest threat to the Netherlands now comes from France, and the Expeditionary Fleet is here to mediate and end the war. The Netherlands urgently needs the help of the empire. It is impossible to drive away friends who come to help because of the ruler William alone.

"Your Highness, aren't the hotels in the city comfortable enough? Why do we have to go back to the flagship?" Marshal Eugen sat in the carriage heading to the dock and asked Li Junwei.

Li Junwei said: "I want to meet a special friend in secret."

"Will I be there for you?" Eugen asked.

Li Junwei nodded slightly: "Yes, you are an excellent Field Marshal. In fact, I specially invited you to come to this meeting to provide me with some help in war."

"You have many professional officers around you. I communicated with them by boat. Although these people have no experience in commanding wars, they have professional military qualities, especially map work, which God can testify. I have never thought that battlefield information can be expressed so clearly. Now I even want to find a suitable opportunity to study in the military academy within the empire." Eugen said sincerely.

Li Junwei said: "Marty, they are very professional, but they are all staff members. The staff members are only responsible for one aspect, so they do not look at the problem comprehensively. Moreover, the staff members have an inherent flaw, which is that they must speak amazingly, otherwise it will be difficult to be recognized. But I need real suggestions, and those who make this suggestion must have the ability to look at the overall situation.

Of course, I invite you to come because of our friendship. If you think what you are going to do today will harm the national interests you are loyal to, you can choose not to say a word, and I will not blame you. But it is not harmful to listen to it, because I want to meet Heinsius, the Great Speaker of the Netherlands."

"It turns out to be Lord Heinsius, so I am honored to serve you." Eugen said.

Marshal Eugen is now loyal to the Habsburgs in Austria. During the Grand Alliance War, he established a deeper friendship with the Netherlands. The cooperation between the Empire and the Netherlands can only include two things, one is aimed at Britain and the other is against France.

Although Britain was once an ally, it was not that important for Austria, and dealing with France was something Austria liked. In this way, it seems that it is impossible to provide some help.

Heinsius was accompanied by Joseph. At this moment, he was observing in the engine compartment of the Falcon. Although he was stained with a lot of coal ash, being able to understand the steam engine as a miracle at close range still made him feel that this trip was very rewarding. Heinsius met Li Junwei for the first time and felt that this Chinese prince was not good-looking, and even felt that it was easy for people to see clearly. After a while of conversation, he felt a sense of intimacy and trustworthiness.

"Your Highness, I've been very anxious during this period. Seeing the alliances one by one have escaped from the sea of ​​suffering, we are entangled with Louis XIV, which is really uncomfortable." Heinsius said helplessly. In fact, the Netherlands is also very eager to withdraw from the war, but Li Junwei has always asked the Netherlands to ease first. Heinsius then put forward some requests that Louis XIV is not easy to accept.

Li Junwei said: "His Excellency Heinsius, everyone here knows that Louis XIV is a tyrant, he is a person who is not easily controlled. Although I have always restricted him, you and I know that the rope can only be tied to pets, but cannot be tied to mad dogs. The biggest worry I ask you to slow down is that when I hand over all the chips that I control Louis XIV, this guy will beat the rabbit and hurt the Netherlands."

This is also Heinsius's concern. Now the Great Alliance is left with Britain and the Netherlands. With France's current strength, after obtaining the ironclad ships purchased from the Empire, it can do its best to attack the Netherlands, the Navy attack Britain, and occupy the two countries.

Joseph asked, "Your Highness, is there such trouble? What is the reason why Louis XIV has to withdraw from the Grand Alliance and reach a peace treaty with France?"

"I ask you two, who can represent the Netherlands? After you, Lord Heinsius, signed the peace agreement, what if the French insisted that William III was the master of the Netherlands, what should we do then?" Li Junwei said.

Joseph was speechless for a moment, and Heinsius was stunned on the spot. Lee Junwei said: "So, if the Netherlands wants to achieve peace, it must complete the transfer of power, completely ban William III's position as the governing province of the United Province, and bring all power to the third-level parliament, so that the government recognized by the third-level parliament becomes the only legal government in the Netherlands, so that the Netherlands can solve external problems on behalf of the Netherlands, right?"

Heinsius nodded slightly, and Li Junwei asked, "Sir Heinsius, have you made up your mind?"

"Of course, I have mobilized a lot of people in the third-level parliament, but the Orange faction has a great influence in the Netherlands, especially in the army. I am very worried that this transfer of power will turn into a bloody conflict." Heinsius said.

Li Junwei said: "It doesn't matter. In this regard, the Empire is willing to provide assistance. Within half a month, a brigade of the Imperial Expeditionary Force will arrive in Bruges. In addition, the two Ukrainian troops who were rotated from North America can also come here. Including, the number of troops on board the Expeditionary Fleet is definitely more than 20,000."

Instead of being happy with the news, Heinsius frowned. Li Junwei smiled and added tea to Heinsius, and said, "Lord Heinsius is worried that we will take the lead and control the Netherlands by military control, right?"

"Although this is hindering our friendship, I still think it's a reasonable guess, isn't it?" Heinsius said.

Li Junwei laughed: "Don't worry, this will not hinder our friendship. I like honest people. This can burn a lot of suspicion and make cooperation more smooth. In fact, from your perspective, you should not only worry that the empire will take the lead, but also worry about land threats from France. This is Marshal Eugen. You must have heard of his name. He will bring you some news, but these news is not that wonderful."

Eugen gave a brief introduction. It turned out that after various countries reached a truce with France, the military disposal of each country was not exactly the same. Spain and other countries had horses put swords and guns into the warehouse and enjoyed peace. The countries represented by Prussia withdrew their troops back to their homeland and carried out reforms and training. Although the forces such as Savoy and Lorraine, which bordered France on land, maintained their military preparations to prevent France from going back on their word. France transferred a large number of troops from the Rhineland and Northern Italy battlefields to northern France to enrich the direction to the Netherlands.

It can be said that France now has the ability to attack together with the navy and the army.

The situation of the Netherlands, or the Republicans in the Netherlands, was very bad. The Netherlands expanded more than 70,000 troops in the war, most of which were led by Orange generals, and were also in the same place with the British army. Even if a peace agreement was reached with France, these 150,000 troops could turn around and destroy the Republicans in the Netherlands. With the 20,000 people in the Imperial Expeditionary Force, they could not stop it.

Heinsius fell into deep thought, and Li Junwei was waiting for him quietly. After a long time, Heinsius could not solve this problem. Li Junwei said: "Your dilemma now is that you need an army that not only guards us, but also makes France attack the threats from the British-Dutch coalition forces, aren't you?"

"It's impossible, it's impossible." Heinsius said after all.

"I have seen this a long time ago. If I really can't do it, I will not lead this fleet here." Li Junwei said.

"Your Highness, you have a good idea, right?" Heinsius became eager.

Li Junwei focused heavily: "Actually, the key is the British Army stationed in the Netherlands. This army has 80,000 people, more than your army. The army is instable. After all, they all know that the British mainland will encounter an invasion, but they can do nothing. This fragile army can be used by you as long as reasonable conditions are obtained. If the British army turns against each other, the Orange-controlled army will not have much will to resist, especially under the threat of the three aspects of the Expeditionary Force, the British Army and the Republican Army.

By then, if you have 150,000 troops in control, France will not act rashly, so we will not be threatening, aren’t we?”

"It's the case in theory, but it's very difficult to operate, very difficult." Heinsius suppressed the excitement in his heart and said honestly.

Li Junwei said: "This kind of thing is like sorting out the thread ball, and it is very important to find the thread tip."

"Who is the thread?"

"British Army Commander, Churchill." Joseph took the lead in reacting.

"That speculator?" Heinsius couldn't believe it.

Joseph laughed: "Heinsius, my old friend, what you need most now is speculators and fences. You think that Churchill is in charge of the main force of the British Army, and everything he has in the UK, he can only watch everything lose. As long as His Highness is willing to help you, plus the help of King James, he can give Churchill a reasonable position in the future Britain. King James and Churchill were good friends, but he surrendered to William because of the general trend. Now that the general trend is in James, what does he count as changing his family?"

"James is not one ten thousandth of his heart than His Highness. Louis XIV hopes that Churchill will suffer both of us. What should we do?" Heinsius said.

Li Junwei said: "James II is now Louis' puppet, but no puppet is willing to be a puppet. Churchill has an army of 80,000, and now he can become a bargaining chip for you to resist enemies from outside and suppress internally. In the future, he can also become a bargaining chip with the same function of King James. With such an army, he is the real British king."

"Okay, I'll try it out."

"It is not difficult to convince a fence-bearer, but it is difficult to convince a smart fence-bearer. Churchill is very smart." Li Junwei reminded.

"What do you think?"

Li Junwei said: "So I have prepared a few chips for you, and I think this will help you convince Your Excellency Churchill."
Chapter completed!