As long as the Ottoman army did not invade the north in a large scale, the Allies could barely cope with the Qing army's attack, although this reluctance could only be regarded as formal.
Because terrible news came from the Apennine Peninsula, that is, half a million Qing troops went south to Rome and even invaded the Kingdom of Naples.
Of course, Turena knew very well that the defensive strength in the south was far inferior to that in the north and Venice, and he had never thought that the Tatar cavalry would fight deep into such a long hinterland.
However, facts speak louder than words. The other party did what Hannibal wanted to do but failed to do before BC, and far exceeded his expectations.
Turenne was sitting in Munich, and he had already thought of the situation and tragic results of the Tatar cavalry burning, killing and looting in various parts of the southern Apennine Peninsula.
He had no idea whether the Tatar Emperor would take advantage of his troops to move south to immediately raise troops to retaliate after the attack was thwarted.
After Leopold and Armand severely damaged the enemy and returned victorious, they were both very surprised by the unhappy Turenne.
The situation is obviously very good, how can he still look like this?
We didn't win!
The opponent did not lose!
Losing one million troops may be almost equivalent to annihilation for a country like Poli.
But for the Qing Dynasty, it may only be equivalent to a loss of one-quarter or one-fifth of its troops.
The Tatar emperor still had at least three million troops at his disposal.
Even at the current pace, it would still take six years to wipe out all the opponent's forces.
What's more, after the other party suffered a big loss in the South German region, they would not make similar mistakes again.
The battle with the Tatars will become more and more difficult in the future. In other words, everything has just begun...
Poli and the eastern and southern parts of Germany were all beaten to pieces. This was something that everyone was mentally prepared for.
However, Switzerland, Venice, Rome, southeastern France and the Kingdom of Naples were also destroyed, which was not expected in advance.
It is obviously not cost-effective to exchange the economic interests and part of the population of central and southern Europe for only one million Tatar soldiers.
The reality is so cruel, whether you are willing to accept it or not, this not-so-pleasant result has already occurred.
As the war progresses, perhaps in a few years, the area east of France will be similar to Poland now.
The greater the scale of the war, the more destructive it will be to civilization!
Turenne experienced the all-out war between the Ming Empire and the Qing Dynasty and had a deep understanding of this.
The Qing army penetrated as far as Liaodong into the Huaihe River region, which was almost the same as the opponent's attack from Eastern Europe to eastern France.
Turena was powerless to prevent this kind of thing from happening. At most, he could do something within his own power, that's all.
"European God of War" is just a nickname used for publicity and to appease the public, and Turena thinks he deserves it.
Fortunately, his previous gamble-like tactical decision was correct, allowing the Allies to still inflict heavy damage on the enemy without losing too many troops.
This is the most praiseworthy thing. As for other aspects...
There is long-term pain and there is short-term pain. This is the price of war!
Leopold even planned to eliminate all the Tatar cavalry that invaded southwestern Germany by consuming the main force of cavalry.
Turenne hurriedly advised him to give up this dangerous idea. Once he did so, he must first think about what it means to light the army!
France can send 500,000 troops, which is close to the limit of its financial resources.
It's not that we can't use more troops, but that we can't let France fall into the abyss with the Holy Roman Empire.
As long as Turenne has this will, Louis XIV will most likely agree to carry out general mobilization.
But where does military spending come from?
Do we still need to beg the Ming Emperor to buy another 50 million silver coins in national debt?
If the national debt matures and France is unable to repay it, the direction of the relationship between the two countries will be difficult to predict.
First borrow 50 million, then borrow 50 million, which adds up to 100 million silver coins. This does not include France's own military expenditure.
If it were not to occupy most of the European continent, Turena believed that there would be no need to borrow money to fight a war.
France sent troops just to help Leopold gain a foothold in his own country and to gain access to western Germany.
If the effort is completely out of proportion to the reward, and the survival of France is not at risk, then it can be ignored...
Those who think that France can wipe out most of the Tatar cavalry in one fell swoop by sending troops are just amateur ideas.
After just two years of fighting and four confrontations, Turena realized that the Allied forces alone, with over a million troops, simply could not end the war in a short time and get the results they wanted.
Either France will carry out general mobilization and add one million troops, which will also plunge the country's destiny into this catastrophe that it does not need to be involved in.
Or write a letter to the emperor of the Ming Empire, imploring the other party to send troops to attack the Dnieper River Basin, which is the home base of the Tatars.
The Ming Empire has built a super railway line from the northern capital to Boluo Fort. It is not too difficult to go south to fight in the western Black Sea region.
As long as the Emperor of the Ming Empire is willing to send troops, then after the event is completed, the area south of Minsk and east of Polly can be assigned to the Ming Empire.
In other words, the Ming Empire could annex the original Tatar territory, and I believe the Allied countries would have no objection.
Perhaps Louis XIV and Leopold would have reservations about this proposal because they did not want to see the Ming Empire grow bigger in Europe.
The problem is that now with the strength of the allies, it is difficult to defeat the Tatars easily, and this does not include the Ottoman Empire which refuses to give up Hungary.
The Austrian army is also well-equipped, with weapons and firepower far superior to the Tatars. It is both good at mobile warfare and capable of positional warfare.
The most important thing is that the Ottomans have a closer relationship with the Ming Empire than France, and they can secretly obtain a large amount of weapons and equipment support from the Ming Empire.
Turenne believed from beginning to end that it was not a good idea for France to go to war with the Ottomans. Although both sides were ostensibly allies, both sides knew that war was inevitable.
France can help Leopold, but there is a bottom line, not unconditionally or at all costs.
As long as he remains commander-in-chief, Turenne is determined not to put his subordinates in danger.
The French officers and soldiers are all French, and they are equivalent to Turenne's juniors.
As the elder of everyone, Turenne never wanted to see these young people fall in groups in front of the Austrian machine guns.
Machine guns are the nemesis weapon against infantry and cavalry. The Austrian army should have more machine guns than the French army.
One machine gun can kill one hundred people, and one thousand is equivalent to one hundred thousand people. Perhaps the actual number is higher than this standard.
Let the French army fight Budapest in the hands of the Austrian army for Leopold?
Turenne thought it would be more appropriate to talk about cooking or fishing!
If it really doesn't work, it's okay to talk about women...
There is no doubt that Bohemia, Moravia, Austria and Germany are all traditional territories of the Holy Roman Empire and the Habsburg dynasty.
Hungary, maybe, maybe not, after it was occupied by the Ottomans.
If it takes a huge price to get it, Turena thinks there is no need to covet it anymore.
In the absence of the Tatars, the areas south of Austria and east of Polly can be recognized as belonging to the Ottoman control.
Now that the Tatars have appeared and destroyed the territories held by both sides, especially Leopold's territory, it is tantamount to destroying the old order.
As long as the Austrian army does not attack north, the Allies should also exercise maximum restraint and acquiesce to the other side's control of Hungary and the south.
Don't think all day long that you can defeat the Qing and the Ottomans at the same time by mobilizing another million people. That is a daydream!
Both enemies can also carry out general mobilization, and the Ottomans can also obtain a large amount of weapons and equipment from the Ming Empire.
Turenne further agreed with Finance Minister Colbert's statement. If defeating the Ottomans requires 500 million, one billion, or even two billion silver coins, how can we raise this money?
Should we sell the whole of France?
It is foreseeable that with the advent of high-tech weapons and their large-scale equipment for the troops of various countries, the cost of future wars will become higher and higher, reaching a level that half of the countries cannot afford.
France's national strength can withstand the replacement of advanced weapons for the navy, army and air force, and it can also withstand being involved in a large-scale war.
But it is definitely not necessary to bear these two conditions at the same time. That would require France's national power to rise to a level close to that of the Ming Empire!
If the annual financial income reaches 500 million silver coins, His Majesty the Emperor can attack the Ottomans as much as he wants!
Otherwise, then think about how the poor live!
Colbert's words were harsh, but they were absolutely factual.
He had already promised that whoever could take his place would immediately resign to His Majesty the Emperor and go home to take care of himself.
However, there are probably not many geniuses in France who can increase revenue for the national treasury.
Louis XIV also half-jokingly said that as long as Colbert is willing, he can serve as Minister of Finance until God calls!
At least during the period when France first sent troops, Colbert must not resign, otherwise the finances would be in chaos.
It was necessary to support frontline supplies, maintain trade with the Ming Empire, and digest the Iberian Peninsula, northern Apennine Peninsula, and western England.
Coping with these three aspects at the same time is already a very difficult task, and only Colbert could meet the many requirements of Louis XIV.
Therefore, as the first person among civil servants, Colbert had a great say.
Colbert was justified in not agreeing to fight with Haussmann.
It is ridiculous to try to weaken the Ottoman national power through war.
If you want to weaken the Ottoman national power, you must achieve a prerequisite, which is to significantly weaken the national power of the Ming Empire.
Louis XIV tried this, and sold French North America and French America to the Ming Empire at a discount.
I hope to see the Ming Empire suffer from indigestion while swallowing such a large piece of fat.
Unfortunately, the other party has too many people and too strong strength. Not only is it swallowing, but it also keeps smiling...
It is nothing more than that the British and Spanish regular armies, after being broken into pieces, can use guerrilla methods to contain the Ming army's military annexation operations in various parts of North America, that's all.
At first, Louis XIV thought that these two forces could play a big role.
However, as millions of Ming and Japanese troops poured into North America, and new weapons such as bombers were introduced into the battlefield, Louis XIV's confidence in those two companies deteriorated sharply.
Maybe they can persist for ten or even twenty years, but they will eventually be completely wiped out by the Ming army.
There is no other reason. The financial income of the Ming Empire is growing rapidly at a rate of 40 to 50 million silver coins per year.
The same is true in terms of population, not to mention the field of military technology, which is too scary for France.
France's population is one-seventh or one-eighth of the other country's, and its financial income is not as good as its population.
With its huge financial income, the Ming Empire's national strength can fully support the annexation of North America, while continuing to massively improve the weapons and equipment of its own troops.
No other country can do this, and France is even more difficult to match.
The Tatar emperor may have also seen this. Even with an army of four to five million troops, he still did not dare to go north to attack the territory of the Ming Empire.
You know, the Ming Empire only deployed 100,000 to 150,000 troops west of the Ural Mountains.
The Tatar emperor had a military advantage of nearly thirty times, but he was still afraid of the Ming army, which explains the problem.
The reason is simple. The Ming army's troops west of the Ural Mountains were equipped with brand-new fuel tanks, which were equipped with breech guns and machine guns, and tracks were used instead of wheels.
There are more than a thousand fighter jets deployed in the area, and perhaps hundreds of bombers.
As long as a group of Tatar cavalry appears on the plains, there is no need to dispatch the army. Just carpet bombing by bombers can send them fleeing.
Modern warfare is the embodiment of the power of science and technology. The lagging side can only be beaten. The era of using cavalry to defeat everything has passed forever.
The local Ming army was equipped with one machine gun for every ten people, one tank for every thirty people, and one fighter jet for every one hundred people.
If the French army reaches this level, not counting other things, the number of fighter planes alone will reach 5,000!
With so many fighter planes, would the Tatar cavalry still dare to invade?
Therefore, the Tatar cavalry did not dare to easily go north to attack the land of the Ming Empire, because that would be tantamount to seeking death!
The Ottoman development model happened to be very complementary to the Ming Empire. Ottoman oil was the resource that the Ming Empire lacked for industrialization.
On the contrary, the development models of France and the Ming Empire were very close, and they became potential competitors.
The Ming Empire was far more vigilant against France than the Ottomans, and this became a deadlock.
France wanted to attack the Ottomans, but it could not attack the Ming Empire, which was bound to the Ottomans.
If Osman's backers cannot be defeated, then Osman himself will be fine.
As a result, the war in Central Europe became a situation in which both the Holy Roman Empire and the Qing Dynasty suffered losses, while France had to deal with the Ottomans and the Ming Empire behind them.
Colbert understood this, and Turenne also understood this, so he always exercised great restraint and did not want any military friction with the Ottomans at all.
However, the dangerous thing is that the European Emperor Louis XIV knew this, but still wanted to try it...
The emperor wanted to expel Ottoman power from Europe and make France truly the hegemon of Europe.
In a private letter to Turenne, Colbert explained his distress and the source of it.
Turenne sympathizes and understands this, because this is also where his distress lies.
It’s not that we have 700,000 to 800,000 allied troops in our hands, it’s just that it looks so glorious to outsiders.
The cruelty of war, the complexity of the situation, the sinisterness of people's hearts, and the good or bad luck are all far beyond the surface and expectations.
Before dying on the battlefield or being dismissed, Turena could only direct operations in a way he believed was reasonable and correct.
I hope I can see the day when this war ends. If not, there is nothing I can do...
The most contradictory thing at the moment is that Turena really wants to get reinforcements and heavy weapons from the mainland, because it can increase the chance of winning the next confrontation.
However, both of these are very expensive. Every additional plane on the front line means that the treasury is missing a bag of silver coins.
Turenne could only hold back his will for the time being and compress his demands to the minimum standard.
He would use whatever was provided by the rear, and basically would not take the initiative to ask for it.
The difficulties on the front line are actually the burden on the rear.
Tirena has tried so far to achieve maximum results by losing only a small portion of his troops.
This is basically the scope of his greatest ability. If he wants to achieve greater results, he may have to kill thousands of French soldiers.
Leopold didn't care about the casualties of his troops, not because he really didn't care, but because the Holy Roman Empire was already in a quagmire and couldn't extricate itself.
If you want to turn defeat into victory and completely defeat the Qing Dynasty, more people must die. There is no other way.
All Leopold had to do every day was decide which people to let die...
When talking to Turenne, Leopold said that what he had done was indistinguishable from death from hell.
Perhaps Leopold knew that if he kept doing this, he would go to hell after death, but he also knew that he had no way out.
It's like a person who is about to starve to death and still eats meat even though he knows it is rotten and infested with maggots!
In order to save more Zimin's lives, such a cold-blooded decision had to be made.
After hearing these words, Turena couldn't help but think back to his youth.
At that time, the Habsburg family was the enemy, and the war was far more cruel and difficult than it is now.
When I was young, I might not have been as compassionate as I am now, and most of the time I was thinking about how to complete tasks.
Maybe I can still serve France and His Majesty the Emperor for another ten years. Who knows what will happen in the future!
It is indeed a bit pessimistic to think this way, but this is what the Emperor of the Ming Empire planned to do in person.
Think about how to kill less people first, and then think about how to defeat the opponent.
Even if one's side cannot defeat the other side, as long as the loss of troops is small, it is a completely acceptable result.
This was the case during many Northern Expeditions, and Turenne also experienced it personally.
Therefore, the Battle of South Germany, which is about to end, is actually copying the model of that year invisibly.
At some point, Turena even wants to maintain the current situation four years from now.
By then, the French Air Force will obtain the "Hercules" bomber. With this weapon that can carry out carpet bombing, there will no longer be a need to fear the Tatar cavalry group!
If the French Air Force really acquires a hundred "Hercules" bombers, the other side may not dare to invade South Germany easily, and they will be bombed to death...
Although the idea is somewhat ridiculous, it is not completely impossible.
After all, at some point, people still have to keep some dreams!
