The Great War is finally over again, and Europe has returned to peace. At this time, both the victorious and the defeated countries are silently licking the wounds left by the war. At the same time, they are also preparing for the next war. Although the peace The treaty has been signed, but no one believes how binding that thin piece of paper will be. Due to the brutal plundering of the defeated country by the victorious country, it is impossible to achieve real peace among the countries. Now it is only It's just a temporary truce. When everyone has accumulated their strength again, a new war will inevitably start again.

The wars between France, Austria and Prussia did not have much impact on Iberia at all. Everyone was silently doing their job, and various constructions were proceeding in an orderly manner. It is now the end of June 1809, and after several months of intensive construction, many projects have highlighted their role. For example, the renovation project in Madrid is also part of the first phase of construction. After several months of construction, although it has not yet been completed, it has been greatly improved compared to before. The previous roads with pits and pits were all replaced by brand-new cement roads, which improved the traffic conditions in the urban area a lot. The sewer construction of the entire city has also been completed, which has greatly improved the sanitation and living conditions in Madrid. In addition, the old, old buildings with potential safety hazards have also been demolished, and the urban slums have been remodeled, making Madrid The whole city has a new look. Now the only thing left is the demolition of the city walls. When Xiao Jie proposed to demolish the city walls of Madrid and other big cities, many people raised objections, basically because the city walls can play a very good protective role, although This limits traffic. But Xiao Jie thinks that this is not a reason at all. Now that Iberia has been completely pacified, with more than 200,000 troops in hand, is it still afraid that some enemies will attack here? Therefore, under Xiao Jie's strong request, the city walls of all large and medium-sized cities, including Madrid, were completely demolished, of course, except for border areas and seaside areas.

In addition, the construction of the Talavera Armory has also entered the final finishing stage, and the production line has also begun to be installed. It is estimated that it will start production in July, which can also effectively alleviate the current embarrassment of the 88th Army's lack of weapons. Since all the ammunition produced by the Andresi Arsenal was consumed by Napoleon in the war, the 3rd and 4th Divisions of the 88th Army have no weapons in their hands, and France also lost a lot in the war. In the future, Napoleon will definitely restore his military strength, so the Andresi Arsenal can no longer count on it, and all the weapons of the 3rd and 4th Divisions will have to be resolved by the Talavera Arsenal. Fortunately, the Talavera arsenal is much larger than the Andresi arsenal. It can produce at least 20,000 rifles and other weapons every month, so it can take up to three to four months to make up for the gap in weapons. up. Of course, after that, it will be a change of troops. The performance of the 1808-style rifle is much better than that of the 1806-style rifle, so Xiao Jie plans to change all the troops in his hands in a year or so, and the weapons he uses now All of them were sold as shoddy goods to the French Ministry of War. In addition, the research of various new weapons has also achieved remarkable results. For example, the use of TNT and RDX will greatly enhance the power of weapons. Air-cooled heavy machine guns will replace the old-fashioned water-cooled heavy machine guns. In the midst of intensive research and development, it is expected that the troops will be equipped within this year, and various improved artillery will also enter the army one after another. By then, the combat effectiveness of the 88th Army will surely rise to a new level.

"His Royal Highness, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Earl Grigio, seeks an audience." Xiao Jie's new adjutant, Vindia, reported. For these new courtiers of Xiao Jie, Xiao Jie gave them a noble title. For example, Prime Minister Forbeck got the title of Marquis, and the ministers of the Ministry of the Interior, Police and Foreign Affairs got the title of Earl. All the ministers are viscounts. Originally, Minister of Finance Ottove Xiaojie also wanted to give him the title of earl, but he is a Jew, so he was rejected when he reported to the French Ministry of the Interior. He also became the minister of Xiaojie's ministries. He is the only one without a title, but no one dares to underestimate him, not to mention that he holds Iberia's money bag, the relationship between him and Xiao Jie alone has to be weighed by others. Those in the military were not left behind either. Dougal and Ike are both marquises. The commanders and deputy commanders of the 88th Army and Xiao Jie's sons are good friends. They are all Xiao Jie's old servants. The title of earl, several big bosses of the cavalry corps are also earls, Misend who surrendered and the division commanders under him also got the titles of earl and viscount respectively, and there are countless people who have been awarded viscount and baron, They constituted the new aristocracy of Iberia. It's just that compared with the nobles before, they lacked a very important thing, that is, the fiefdom. Now the whole of Iberia belongs to Xiao Jie, and the situation of "a country within a country" certainly cannot allow him to appear.

Xiao Jie put down the document in his hand and said: "Let him in." At the same time, he was also thinking about Gregor's intention to come. Since Iberia is still a kingdom under the French administration in name, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs only needs to be responsible for the It is enough to contact Paris, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is therefore known as the most leisurely department in the government.

"Your Excellency Gregor, what's the matter? I haven't seen you for a long time." Xiao Jie said first.

Gregor first bowed to Xiao Jie, and then replied: "His Royal Highness is busy with affairs, if I have nothing to do, of course I dare not disturb His Highness."

"Oh, so you are looking for me today?" Xiao Jie asked.

Gregor nodded: "His Royal Highness, the new British Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Lord James, has arrived in Gibraltar. He asked to come to Madrid to see His Majesty. I think he should be because of the 20,000 British prisoners of war."

"Oh! If you don't tell me, I've forgotten all about it. I've been too busy recently. Let him enter the country. Besides, you'll be in charge of the negotiations." Xiao Jie patted his head and said.

"Okay. Then do you have any instructions for this negotiation?" Gregor asked.

"Let Mr. Autov cooperate with you. I believe he should be able to bring us surprises. I only have one request, and that is to strive for the greatest benefit." Xiao Jie said with narrowed eyes. That look seemed to be imagining how much wealth could be extorted from England.

Gregor nodded to express his understanding. It was not the first time for these important ministers to see Xiao Jie's expression. greedy. In fact, they all misunderstood that Xiao Jie's greed is inherent in him, perhaps brought from his previous life, and has nothing to do with Angel. Angel is so beautiful, how can she be compared with those Jewish businessmen who smell of copper?

Afterwards, Xiao Jie had no extra instructions, and Gregory left.

On July 12, Lord James, the British Deputy Foreign Minister, resisted Madrid. He was going to meet Xiao Jie, but unfortunately, news came from Valencia that the construction of the shipyard had come to an end. Leighton and the others are making final preparations, and the first warship is also ready to start construction soon. Upon receiving this news, Xiao Jie immediately set off with his women to visit the future naval base, which was considered a trip. In fact, Xiao Jie was worried about what problems they encountered. After all, it was the first time that steam engines were used on battleships, and everyone was still in the groping stage. At that time, I can also give them some useful suggestions.

In fact, this is a bit impolite, but compared to the future of his own navy, Xiao Jie, a small British Deputy Foreign Minister, will certainly not pay attention to it.

After James arrived in Madrid, UU reading www. uukanshu.com was very angry when he found out that this was the case, but he endured it when he thought of his mission. This time he came to Madrid on the order of the 19th Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, the Duke of Portland, to negotiate with Xiao Jie's government on the 20,000 British prisoners of war. adverse effects. You must know that the Portland government is under great pressure in the UK. The predecessor of the Duke of Portland, Lord Grenville, the 18th Prime Minister, caused the UK to lose a lot because of the failure of the fourth anti-French alliance. soldiers who were thrown out of power. Now that Britain has suffered another disastrous defeat in the Peninsula War, the Portland government has been questioned by the majority of the people. The failure of the Fifth Anti-French Coalition pushed the government to the edge of a cliff. If the issue of the treatment of prisoners of war If it is not handled well, the Portland government will have to resign from His Majesty the King just like his predecessor. So when James left the UK, Portland gave him a death order. At all costs, he must reach an agreement with the Iberian government to bring the 20,000 prisoners of war back to the UK, otherwise they will wait for the relatives of those prisoners of war anger. There are 20,000 prisoners of war, and their relatives must be at least hundreds of thousands. It is scary to think about facing so many people. Of course, if an agreement can be reached at the lowest cost, they are also happy to see it. James' main task is to minimize the cost while ensuring that the 20,000 prisoners of war are brought back to the UK. Thinking of this, James forced himself to calm down, and kept telling himself: A good diplomat should not get angry easily.

(To be continued, if you want to know what will happen next, please log in to .FU., more chapters, support the author, support genuine reading!)