When the Holy See issued a decree to the entire Western world, Cromwell, the protector of England, was worried about the future of England. He had just rejected Parliament's request for a coronation.
At this time in England, Charles I had long been guillotined.
Cromwell's military dictatorship in England, Scotland and Ireland was rock solid.
However, Cromwell did not have the prestige of Chongzhen in the Ming Dynasty, and there was no group of loyal students in England's parliamentary army like the Shiziying in the Ming army. What was even more troublesome was that Cromwell was not able to establish a group in London in time.
He established a military academy that was completely loyal to him, and then trained a large number of junior officers who were loyal to him.
So Cromwell suffered the backlash of military dictatorship.
The trouble with military dictatorships lies in the warlordization of local officials.
This is the same situation as what happened after Yuan Shikai stole the fruits of the Chinese revolution.
After Yuan Shikai stole the fruits of the Chinese revolution, he successfully became president with the support of the New Beiyang Army. However, the New Beiyang Army inevitably split into local factions such as the Fengcian, Zhili, and Anhui factions. As time went by, the local factions
The tendency of independence is getting stronger and stronger, and the conflicts between various factions are becoming increasingly fierce.
Yuan Shikai couldn't bear the disturbance and thought of rectifying the problem by ascending the throne and proclaiming himself emperor.
As a result, it turned out that this was a dose of poison. Yuan Shikai's ascension to the throne and the generous rewards to local military leaders not only failed to bridge the conflicts among various factions and bridge the separatist tendencies in various places, but accelerated this trend and eventually led to the protection of the
When the Chinese War broke out, the Beiyang Army was completely disintegrated.
The situation faced by Cromwell was actually similar to that of Yuan Shikai.
Although Cromwell divided the entire England into thirteen military regions and promoted thirteen major generals to serve as commanders of these eleven military regions, this only delayed the trend of local warlords.
Cromwell watched helplessly as England slid into the abyss of warlords' melee, but could do nothing. This kind of anxiety really cannot be described in words. It made the 54-year-old Cromwell's hair turn white.
As if he were seventy years old.
What is very funny is that there was also a "crouching dragon and phoenix chick" in Parliament who gave Cromwell the same bad idea.
The couple proposed that Cromwell be crowned king of England, Scotland and Ireland, and then give dukes to senior military officers, including the commanders of the eleven military regions, in order to ease the conflict.
However, Cromwell was smarter than Yuan Shikai and refused to be crowned.
Because Cromwell knew his senior officers very well, once he was crowned King of England, these senior officers would immediately come up with the idea of replacing him and raise troops without hesitation.
But Cromwell also knew very well that a military dictatorship could not last long.
If the problem of warlordization of the Parliamentary Army cannot be solved, England will either fall into a warlord melee, or the Stuart dynasty will make a comeback and rule England again.
Although Charles II was so poor that he relied on performing arts to make a living, it is an undeniable fact that this guy still has a very high prestige in the hearts of the conservative nobles and people of England, Scotland and Ireland. No matter what, he still has a very high prestige.
Both were once kings of England.
But how easy is it to solve the warlordization of the parliamentary army?
One careless move could spark a rebellion among senior officers.
When the time comes, he will make the same mistake as Charles I.
Then at this time, the papal decree arrived in London.
This decree of Alexander VII allowed Cromwell to see an opportunity to solve England's warlord tendency, which was to send these increasingly unruly and proud generals to the battlefields of the Eastern Expedition, in exchange for the Roman Catholic Church.
And with the support of England's conservatives, he can be crowned naturally.
For this purpose, Cromwell even recalled his eldest son Richard in advance.
As the eldest son of Cromwell, Richard has been carefully nurtured over the years.
But unfortunately, Richard's ability cannot be compared with that of his father.
"Father." Richard, who was already twenty-seven years old, was still like a child in front of his father, trembling fearfully for fear that if he said something wrong, his father would scold him.
"Richard, I need your help."
Cromwell rarely showed his affectionate side.
Such a father made Richard even more frightened.
"Father, if you have anything to do, just tell your son."
Looking at his frightened son, Cromwell could only straighten his face again.
"In the far east, an empire called the Ming Dynasty rose. Did you know?"
"Yes, I have heard some. It is said that the Dutch expedition fleet was completely destroyed, and the merchant ships of the Spanish and Portuguese East India Company were also plundered and suffered heavy losses."
"Not only that, the Ming Empire also invaded Central Asia and the Indian Peninsula from land."
"Really? If you put it that way, the Ming Empire is really powerful. But fortunately, there are tens of thousands of miles between the Ming Empire and Europe, so the relationship is not big, and it has no influence on us in England."
"No, no, you are wrong. The rise of the Ming Empire has threatened the entire Western world."
Having said this, Cromwell handed Richard the decree he had just received. After reading the decree from the Holy See, Richard looked disapproving.
"What does the Holy War called by the Catholic Church have to do with us Protestants? If the Catholics want to fight the Ming Dynasty, just let them fight it, but we Puritans have no need to participate in this Eastern Expedition."
Although Protestantism and Catholicism have the same origin, their relationship is extremely bad.
To use an inappropriate analogy, the relationship between Protestantism and Catholicism is like Sunniism and Shiaism between Green Christianity. They really want to grind each other's bones into ashes.
However, just as Sunnis and Shias can reconcile, cooperation between Protestants and Catholics is not unimaginable, at least in Cromwell's mind there was no obstacle.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! Cromwell was a politician first, and a Christian second.
In Cromwell's understanding, political interests came before religious beliefs.
"Child, I'm afraid we in England will also participate in this Crusade." Cromwell said earnestly, "In any case, we Puritans are God's people just like Catholics, and we worship the same cross, not to mention
, once the armies of the Ming Empire reach Europe, it will not only threaten the Catholic countries."
"Ah?" Richard said with a confused look, "England also wants to participate in the Holy War?"
"Yes, we will also participate in the Holy War." Cromwell nodded and continued, "And we will also dispatch all the elite armies of England, Scotland and Ireland to participate in the Holy War."
After a pause, Cromwell said again: "Richard, you will be the commander-in-chief of the British army."
"Me?" Richard said anxiously, "Father, I am afraid that I am not qualified and may disappoint you. Otherwise, should I let Black be the commander-in-chief?"
"Idiot, how can the position of commander-in-chief be given to others?" Cromwell suddenly became angry, "Do you know what the position of commander-in-chief actually means?"
"Knowing it means that I am your heir, father." Richard said in panic.
"So, you want Blake to be the Lord Protector?" Cromwell said angrily.
"No, father, that's not what I meant. I'm just worried that I won't do it well."
"Don't worry about this. I believe you can do it well. You just need to try your best."
Speaking of this, Cromwell said silently in his heart: "If you can kill all the 50,000 new parliamentary troops in England, Scotland and Ireland, you will be doing your father a great favor."
Cromwell warned: "When Black and his friends arrive later, you have to take the initiative to ask for a fight, you know?"
Cromwell knew very well that it was not easy to get military leaders like Blake to obey orders and take their proud soldiers to participate in the Crusade.
But as long as Richard participates in the Eastern Expedition, it won't be a big problem.
I have sent all my sons to the Eastern Expedition, what else can you say?
This is indeed the case. Under Cromwell's strong push, the new armies of England, Scotland and Ireland were quickly mobilized, and their assembly speed was even faster than that of the Kingdom of France.
While the armies of the various lords of the Kingdom of France were continuously gathering towards Paris, the new army of the Kingdom of England had already crossed the English Channel and was marching into the Kingdom of France.
…
When the news reached Rome, Alexander VII burst into tears.
Counting France, England, Spain, and Portugal, four major countries have already declared their participation in the jihad.
To be honest, Alexander did not expect France and England to be so actively involved in this holy war.
These two countries, although the Kingdom of France is a Catholic country in name, it actually does not take the Holy See seriously at all. Even the cardinals of the French diocese are not appointed by the Holy See, whether it is the former Richelieu or the Holy See.
Mazarin now doesn't take the Holy See seriously at all.
The Protestant and Catholic religions in the Kingdom of England are even more deadly enemies.
Alexander VII was originally worried that this call for holy war would lead to resistance from European powers such as France, England, and Tsarist Russia. If this was the case, this holy war would only be reduced to a joke, because only under the rule of the Holy Roman Empire
What can those big and small lords achieve?
But now, Alexander's hanging heart can finally return to his stomach.
With the participation of France and the Kingdom of England, the jihad became more powerful.
Of course, it would be best if Tsarist Russia and Sweden could also participate in this holy war.
If Tsarist Russia and Sweden could also participate in the Holy War, then all the major powers on the entire European continent would participate, and at least a crusade of half a million people could be assembled.
