My life skills in Daming Liver

William van Orange served as secretary to King Carlos I of Spain, and later served as acting governor of the Netherlands, Zeeland, and Utrecht for King Philip II of Spain.

William was born in Dillenburg, Nassau, Germany on April 25, 1533. His ancestors had been Earls of Nassau.

He was once secretary to Charles V, Philip II's father, and was a close confidant of Charles V.

When Charles V wanted to clean up the Puritans in the Netherlands, William remained silent, so he was called William the Silent.

Since William took office as the ruler of the Netherlands, he has always been very protective of the interests of the local nobles of the Netherlands. He has even sheltered some Puritans and has a high reputation in the Netherlands.

Although appointed by the King of Spain to govern, William had become the spokesperson for the interests of the Netherlands.

From his interactions with the Amsterdam City Hall, Daguan already knew the situation in the Netherlands and was also very clear about the position of "William of Orange".

Da Guan sneered in his heart, the tricks played by these European nobles were considered as the remaining tricks in the East.

Including these Dutch nobles who touted themselves as monks from the East, they also saw the rising powers in the East and the huge profits from Eastern trade.

Although Monk Daguan is a monk, he is also well-read in poetry and books. He himself has also studied many of Su Ze's theories.

In his opinion, these political struggles in Europe are as simple as playing house with children.

And he could see at a glance that just as Grand Governor Su Ze had expected, the so-called "Habsburg Dynasty" was just an empty show that looked powerful. In fact, it was not as powerful as its territory showed.

Daguan once again admired Su Ze.

This great governor who was far away in the east actually made an accurate judgment on the situation on the continent as if he had personally traveled on the continent, and analyzed the root causes of the conflicts among the countries in the continent.

This insight is really amazing. Is there really anyone in this world who can achieve such wisdom with simple wisdom?

Daguan's admiration for Su Ze is beyond words!

Silent William is a typical European aristocrat.

Although Daguan didn't like the smell of the perfume on these European nobles, when he thought that they were the big customers who bought Southeastern perfume, he could only recite a Buddha's name silently to suppress his dissatisfaction.

William the Silent was also sizing up Daguan.

Daguan was wearing a monk's cassock, with a smile on his handsome face. Daguan was obviously not a young man, but he had the temperament of the most devout ascetics in the monastery.

From the attendant, William the Silent also knew that Daguan was a monk from the East and an official from an Eastern country.

This kind of thing is very common in Europe. It is too common for a cardinal to serve as the prime minister of the kingdom. Could this young monk be the cardinal from the East?

William was testing Daguan, and Daguan was testing the Dutch ruler.

According to Su Ze's prediction, the area with the most acute religious conflicts in Europe, the Netherlands, is now a dynamite barrel that may explode at any time.

The high-pressure policies of Philip II and his sons did not prevent the spread of Protestantism in the Netherlands, but instead allowed it to spread more widely in the Netherlands.

The Inquisition could deal with one or two heretics, but when everyone is Protestant, then the Inquisition is the heresy.

Philip II's exploitation of the Netherlands was also tied to the religious persecution in Spain.

Among the businessmen and citizens of the Netherlands, this understanding has emerged:

The series of stupid wars launched by the King of Spain for the sake of religion deepened the financial difficulties of the Spanish royal family, and the Spanish royal family had financial difficulties and had to suck blood from the Netherlands.

In addition, because Philip II and his son did not trust the Dutch, the priests assigned to the Netherlands were basically foreigners.

The tithes of the Catholic Church, as well as the land and privileges of the clergy, made the reputation of Catholicism even worse in the Netherlands, becoming a blood-sucking parasite lying on the Netherlands.

The Spanish royal family and Catholicism were bound in the Netherlands, which naturally became the best target for Protestant opposition.

Those who were opposed to Catholicism and to the rule of the Spanish kings gathered together and raised the banner of religion against the Spaniards.

Optimism looked at William the Silent, and William looked at Optimism.

Alfonso translated for the two of them, and it was a pleasant conversation.

William the Silent was very satisfied. He had long known the power of the Eastern empire from the merchants in the East!

This is a country that is more powerful than Spain, more advanced than Spain, and greater than Spain!

What's more, the country is overthrowing the emperor!

William the Silent was a learned scholar.

In fact, there are many exchanges between Europe and the East, and they have even seen Mongolian cavalry.

Even when the Ming Dynasty banned the sea, there were still goods from the East flowing into Europe.

Books about the East, including "The Travels of Marco Polo", are also very popular in Europe.

After the rise of the Southeast, more Eastern goods flowed into the European continent. Along with these goods flowed into the European continent, were various books and merchants' records about the East.

Those businessmen who have been to the East, whether they have actually been there or heard about it, or made up their own stories about the East, are very popular in Europe.

Su Ze's theories also began to flow into Europe along with these exchanges.

Such a thousand-year-old empire, such a country with a thousand-year imperial tradition, is actually fighting to overthrow the emperor!

This is too exciting and too advanced for the nobles of the Netherlands!

Moving on to the entire Netherlands, it is the region in Europe that favors southeastern thought the most. Even on the desk of William the Silent, there is a copy of "The New Meaning of the Three Classics" translated into German.

Some Dutch scholars also combined the new Eastern doctrines with the doctrines of the civil era of ancient Greece and Rome, describing it as a history more familiar to Europeans.

The civil politics of Athens in ancient Greece and the era of civil politics in Rome were surprisingly similar to some of Su Ze's theories!

Some scholars even wrote articles, saying that the agreement between the ruling ideology of the East and the sages of ancient Greece shows that the East and the West meet on the same road, that is, the idea that sovereignty lies with the people!

Some radical Dutch scholars even put forward the slogan:

Every country is a country of citizens, not a country of kings!

Of course, this kind of slogan is even more heretical than Protestantism. This kind of book can only be printed and published underground. If you are caught, you will be burned at the stake.

William the Silent also allowed these doctrines to spread.

Daguan was treated as a distinguished guest and enjoyed the warm hospitality of the Dutch nobles and bourgeoisie.

Daguan also has a strong language learning ability. He quickly learned German and French and was able to have simple conversations in just one month.

Just one month after Alfonso and Monk Daguan arrived in the Netherlands, in March 1566, news that shocked Europe spread back to Spain.

When the Spanish King's invincible American fleet captured Manila in the South Sea, it encountered a shameless sneak attack from the Eastern countries!

The entire fleet was wiped out!

This news brought huge shock to the European continent.

The East has long been a land power.

After all, there is the shadow of the Mongolian cavalry. It is natural for a large and populous country to have a strong army.

And a powerful army will not scare the European continent.

The reason is also very simple. Nowadays, Central Asia is supported by two huge empires, the Ottoman Empire and the Safavid Dynasty. It is not easy for the Easterners to reach Europe from the land.

But people on the European continent have forgotten, why can’t the Eastern Empire be a maritime power?

This time the destruction of the Spanish American Fleet finally caused the European countries to panic.

They are not afraid of empires on land, but what if the East becomes a sea power?

Will they compete for trade routes and colonies?

Or did they come directly from the sea to Europe?

This is not impossible. Since the Spaniards could establish a colonial empire in the distant Americas, why can't Easterners take a fleet to Europe?

As the defeated party this time, the King of Spain was so angry that he lost his mind.

On his desk, there is still a letter written to him by the Manila missionary Liguez. In the letter, Liguez explained the rising power in the East and asked Philip II to send a fleet to occupy the Southeast Asia.

When Philip II received this letter, he only sent a fleet from Mexico to start the expedition, and did not exclude the entire fleet from America.

Now that Manila has not been attacked, he has also lost a fleet.

This made Philip II, who had never suffered any setbacks after taking the throne, intolerable.

Philip II immediately called his military attache to give an order to the American fleet, requiring them to immediately set sail for Southeast Asia and fight in the southeast to recapture Manila.

But just when Philip II's military attache said that he did not want to use the entire American fleet for the distant east, Philip II's prime minister rushed into his palace.

Philip II heard a piece of news that shocked him. A revolution broke out in the Netherlands. The Protestants destroyed icons and destroyed the decorations inside the church. A large-scale iconoclasm movement broke out!