"Ladies and gentlemen, the President of the European Union, the King of Spain, His Majesty Felipe is here."

"God bless the Alliance, long live your Majesty!"

On March 1, 1640, at the Royal Palace of Aranjuez in Madrid, Spain, a grand dinner party was taking place that gathered dignitaries and wealthy businessmen from all over Europe.

"Everyone, welcome to tonight's banquet. Perhaps some guests who have been to the palace many times have keenly noticed that the decoration, especially the lighting, in the palace today is a little different. Especially the candlelight on this table, it is very...

It was dark. And none of the candlesticks on the ceiling were lit."

Glancing at the guests who were nodding slightly, Philip smiled: "Now, please take care of your partners, because next, we will have a moment of darkness. If because of your negligence, after the light comes again,

You find that your partner is missing, and I will not be held responsible."

"Hahaha~" Philip clapped his hands as everyone burst into laughter. A waiter had already come to the few candlesticks and almost uniformly extinguished the candlelight everywhere.

The entire hall suddenly fell into darkness. But this darkness did not last long. With Philip's "turn on the lights", the waiter who had been waiting at the light switch pressed the light switches everywhere at the same time, and then, in a "

In the exclamation of "Wow", the entire Aranjuez Palace showed its true splendor under the illumination of electric lights.

"Oh! God!" Countless ladies couldn't help but scream: This kind of light source, which is extremely bright and more stable than candlelight, is such a shock to people who see electric lights for the first time.

, as if people in the 21st century suddenly looked up and saw a spaceship coming.

"Everyone, everyone." After the exclamations at the scene subsided, Philip pressed his hands slightly, and then he said: "About twenty years ago, when the research and development of steam engines had matured and was about to become popular. We Aspen

Scientists at the Turia Academy of Sciences presciently began research on electricity. In the past twenty years, scientists have overcome one problem after another and made great discoveries one after another. Finally, six years ago,

, achieved a decisive breakthrough. Thunder and lightning, the most powerful force in the sky, was finally tamed by us Europeans.

Five years ago? A generator set driven by a steam turbine was installed on the battleship Prince of Asturias. Later battleships such as the Marquis, the Duke, and the Barcelo also adopted this system. Steam and electricity are two energy sources.

The cooperation of the Lord allowed us to build larger and stronger warships. These warships also helped us achieve great victories in America and Asia, allowing the believers of the Lord to severely punish the Chinese who had no faith. In recent years,

Our scientists did not stop, but continued to research, and finally, at the end of last year, we achieved long-distance power transmission. After repeated experiments, now, the Lachaman Fire Station, 60 kilometers southeast of Madrid,

The power plant has been put into operation, and the electricity required for all the lights in the Aranjuez Palace is transported from there by the power grid!

Everyone? We entered the steam age more than 20 years ago, and now we stand at the entrance of a new era. Yes, starting from today, we have officially entered the electric age! With the widespread use of electricity? Telegraph,

Telephones, washing machines, rice cookers, electric fans, radios and even subsequent refrigerators, air conditioners, televisions... will gradually enter human life in the next few decades. Praise God for allowing us to see such great things in our lifetime?

Scene. Praise our scientists because their efforts make our lives more and more convenient."

"Praise Your Majesty!"

"Hahaha, everyone? Let us give you a warm round of applause. Please name the protagonist of this banquet tonight? Professor Galileo, President of the Academy of Sciences of Asturias!"

In the warm atmosphere, Philippe and his queen completed the first dance. Then he ignored the fiery and bold eyes of the ladies around him, and after pushing Galileo to the throne, he slowly

He walked out of the main hall and came to his office. There, the Prime Minister of the Kingdom, Osvales, was already waiting.

"Dear Prime Minister, I have kept you waiting for a long time. You have worked hard during my absence in the country. To be honest, I did not expect that the generator set of Lachaman Power Plant can generate electricity so quickly. I am grateful for your excellent work.

I appreciate."

"It is an honor to serve you, Your Majesty."

"Please take a seat, my Prime Minister. Let's get to work. First, I need to know the income and expenditure of the Kingdom and the Alliance last year."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Osvales has been in charge of the country's government for more than 20 years, but Osvales, who is not yet 60 years old, is still full of energy: "Your Majesty, the revenue of the Royal Government last year was 490 million.

The expenditure is 320 million. In this year alone, the country's fiscal surplus reached 170 million. The finances of other countries in the alliance have also improved significantly. Many countries that have been running deficits for many years have significantly reduced their deficits, even if they have not completely leveled off.

Scale. Your Majesty, I have to say that your decision to go on an expedition to India, against all opinions, is so correct and great!"

In 1637, the government of the Kingdom of Spain had an income of 320 million and an expenditure of 230 million. Just one year after taking over India, its income increased sharply by 170 million. To achieve such a huge increase, there is no doubt that Spain issued banknotes in India and received a huge increase.

wealth is its main source.

Speaking of which, Zhu Youdong still made the most common mistake that traditional Chinese people make on this point: Generally speaking, Chinese rulers like to stay tax-free for a few years after conquering a new place. On the one hand, it is to win over the people's support;

On the one hand, it also allows the country's new officials stationed there to carry out their work smoothly and establish order as soon as possible.

Zhu Youdong used this trick in East Asia and Southeast Asian countries, and it was basically very smooth.

So after Zhu Youdong took over India, he also habitually refrained from taxing India for three years. Officials such as Wen Tiren also treated the local area with leniency. But India is such a magical place. If you are polite to him, he will be polite.

I think you are easy to bully. In addition, this place has been deeply poisoned by Hinduism for many years, and the whole people have long had a special worship of white skin. Therefore, when the Europeans came over in 1638, the vast majority of Indians turned away.

When Philip arrived in Europe, as a historian, he was completely devoid of Zhu Youdong's kindness. Because he knew that the harsher you were to the strange people in this place, the more obedient they were to you.

Therefore, he started to issue worthless banknotes to gain wealth in India. He started to do it as soon as he landed. The key is that after doing it, the Indians did not say anything and accepted it honestly. Now, Spanish banknotes are in India

Not only did the issuance and application go very smoothly, a large amount of Indian gold and silver also rushed into the Spanish treasury.

After all, it is an ancient civilization with a population of more than 100 million. At this time, the accumulated wealth of the Indian Peninsula is far greater than that of the American continent. Therefore, Spain only took India for one year and was completely exhausted. Even the European Union's little brothers also made money.

The altar is full of alms bowls.

"Your Majesty, because of the acquisition of a large amount of wealth, the transfer plan of old European nobles and the re-enlistment plan that you promoted are now going very well. At present, the Royal Government and the Alliance Secretariat have received a total of 231 transfer applications. We

163 cases have been processed. In addition, since last year, we have received approximately 350,000 applications for enlistment... Now, the second batch of 150,000 reinforcements for the expeditionary force have all boarded the ship and are sailing to India. It is expected that by this year

In June, His Majesty Gustav and His Excellency Wallenstein will once again have half a million troops in their hands."

"Very good. Prime Minister, how is the construction of our warships going during my absence in Europe?"

"The fifth ship San Juan and the sixth ship Gonzalo of the Prince-class battleships have entered the outfitting stage. The design drawings of the new class Philip I, with a displacement of 15,000 tons, have been completed and are waiting for you.

Construction can begin after approval. As for cruisers of less than 10,000 tons, there are currently three under construction, and there are five lightweight warships of less than 5,000 tons."

"Too little, dear Prime Minister, since we now have a power grid. Then I think that we should build a new power plant in each of the cities where the three shipyards are located: Bilbao, Seville and Barcelona. Let these three

This shipyard has stronger shipbuilding capabilities."

"Yes, my Majesty, I will make arrangements later. But..."

"What's wrong?"

"Your Majesty, although the inclusion of India has greatly increased the revenue of the royal government, the large number of standing army expeditions has also caused our expenditure to increase rapidly. When the Chinese navy is almost completely wiped out, you are still building ships on such a large scale?

"

"Oh, no, no, no, my Prime Minister. Please don't underestimate the Chinese. They are crazy, and their shipbuilding capabilities are only much greater than ours. I must take advantage of the fact that the Chinese and we have technology now."

During this window period, I can completely defeat the opponent!"

"Uh, Your Majesty. With all due respect, with half a million troops, even with an invincible navy, we still can't conquer and occupy China."

"Yes." After holding up the bridge of his nose, Philip smiled slightly: "I never thought about conquering or occupying China. Our biggest enemy is not China, but their current emperor. I just need to kill him.
Chapter completed!