Honora, the French ambassador to the Ming Empire, was stunned. He never expected that His Majesty the European Emperor would make such a statement. Even if he did not say it himself, it must have been published on the front page of the newspaper with his permission.
Is this because His Majesty is too pious, or is he following the advice of some idiot?
If I were present, I would definitely not agree with this decision.
Become an enemy of the world’s overlord…
In Akito's words, this is obviously out of his mind!
Although the total population of France is close to 50 million, the population of the Ming Empire was eight to ten times that of France!
Many of France's military technologies were imported from the Ming Empire, and the two sides had in-depth cooperation in many fields.
The navy of the Ming Empire is undoubtedly the number one in the world. Its strength is equivalent to the navies of France, the Netherlands, the Ottomans, and the Incas combined, and may even exceed the navies of the four countries combined!
Under such circumstances, what benefits could be gained by going against the Ming Empire for the sake of Rome?
A boatload of indulgences?
This meeting made Honora feel humiliated, because the Ming Emperor should have been angry about this.
If the value of cooperation between the Ming Empire and France was even less than that of Rome, then there might be no need for the two sides to continue to cooperate in the future.
What is even more unfavorable for France is that after the article in "Le Française" became news and spread around the world, it triggered a series of reactions.
First of all, the Ottoman Empire unequivocally supported the Ming Empire's military operations in the Apennine Peninsula and stated that it would provide all help within its power when necessary.
The Ottoman Empire is one of the four strongest countries in the world. The other three are the Ming Empire, France, and the Inca. The Netherlands can only rank fifth.
The Inca Empire then firmly supported the Ming Empire. The Inca Navy had already participated in the expedition to Denmark, and now there is no problem in participating in the expedition to the Kingdom of Naples again.
Poirot has even begun to reorganize the expeditionary fleet, and also announced that no less than three brigades of troops will be dispatched for landing operations.
Two of the top four supported the Ming Empire, which made France's position very embarrassing.
Later, Persia and Siam were also willing to assist the Ming Empire. The former would provide 5,000 high-quality Persian horses, and the latter would send ships of canned fruits.
Although after entering the armored era, the Army's need for war horses is no longer so urgent, most of the central and southern parts of the Apennine Peninsula are mountainous, and there is indeed terrain suitable for cavalry operations.
Canned fruit is one of the favorites of frontline soldiers. As long as the quality can be guaranteed, canned fruit of any flavor is in short supply.
Zhu Cixiang is very pleased with the support from his friends, which shows that the dog food spread over the years has not been wasted.
There is no need for them to send troops to assist yet, they only need to provide logistical support.
Rather than asking the Ottomans to send troops, it would be better to ask them to provide some dried fruits and refined oil.
The more troops participating in the war, the greater the pressure on logistics. Zhu Cixiang did not want the coalition forces to become Wallenstein's army of locusts.
Cleaning up the local area is necessary, but food cannot be eaten indiscriminately, otherwise without the indigenous people launching sneak attacks, the coalition soldiers will become excrement-making machines...
Military rations can be transported to the war zone from the Dnieper River Plain. Other food, such as dried fruits, fruits, meat, seafood, and refined oil, must be provided by friends.
Now, the division of labor is finally clear, and it will not put too much burden on the friends. Daming will purchase at a price higher than the cost.
Since ancient times, there has been a lot of help for those who are in good ways, but little help for those who are unjust!
If you can fight in a group, who the heck wants to fight one on one?
Zhu Cixiang just wanted to see who would dare to blatantly help Rome in a real fight!
After entering January, the pressure came to the French side. Louis XIV did not expect that the newspaper article would cause such a violent reaction from his old friend.
He was completely unprepared for the Ming Empire's general mobilization, and he didn't want to see such a thing happen to him.
If there is really a mistake, it must be the responsibility of the idiots in Rome and has nothing to do with me!
So far, the cooperation between the French Empire and the Ming Empire should be considered smooth and satisfactory.
The land exchange work of both parties is also proceeding in an orderly manner, and everything is developing in a better direction.
Louis XIV also did not want to see an irreparable rift in the relationship between the two countries because of Rome.
The previous articles were, at best, sympathetic, nothing more.
It was a result that Louis XIV could not accept if France were to charge into battle for Rome, resulting in tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of casualties.
In a war with the Ming Empire, the casualties were secondary, and the most important thing was the cost of money. France finally recovered from the European War.
If it gets involved in the Apennine Peninsula dispute again, it is only one step away from bankruptcy, and its end will not be much better than the Habsburg branch of Spain.
Now the Spanish royal family is messing around in the Congo jungle with its remnants. This is the result of offending the Ming Empire.
In the days that followed, Louis XIV did not want to spend the rest of his life in the jungles of West Africa...
Louis XIV was not always concerned about his position as the world's hegemon, but he was concerned about it all the time.
But in view of the rapid economic and military development of the Ming Empire, he just thought about it.
According to the current situation, it will be very difficult for France to maintain the second place in the world.
Both the Ottoman Empire and the Inca Empire were chasing after them at full speed.
France's lead in comprehensive national strength is minimal. The Inca Empire and the Ottoman Empire have already surpassed France in terms of financial income.
The Ottoman Empire has become the undisputed number one in the world in terms of oil extraction and chemical industry.
The Inca Empire also became the world's number one in the mining and smelting of metal resources.
Not only that, the two countries are modernizing their military technology through the help of the Ming Empire.
Specifically, it is to introduce relevant bases and manufacture tanks, aircraft, artillery, and even battleships in domestic factories!
If France had not always cooperated with the Ming Empire in all aspects, and the development of all walks of life was relatively balanced, it would have been surpassed by the two countries that were seriously partial to science.
What made Louis XIV jealous the most was that the Inca Empire had no enemies in South America. Not counting the small piece of Dutch South America, it almost divided the entire South America with the Ming Empire.
It is very powerful in itself, and with the strong support of the Ming Empire, in the absence of foreign enemies, it can use all its financial revenue to develop its own economy and purchase advanced weapons and equipment.
War, especially large-scale war, is the most expensive. The Inca Empire did not have this problem at all.
As long as it did not get involved in a large-scale war, the Inca Empire could afford it even if it purchased capital ships every year.
There is another reason why France cannot compare, and that is that most of the population of the Inca Empire were Incas.
The white settlement area is only in the La Plata Plain area, which is very easy to manage and can also increase the cohesion of the Min people.
This is not the case in France. In addition to the French, through previous wars, it also absorbed some British, Spanish, Germans, and Lombards from the southeast region.
This does not include the millions of black slaves. It is estimated that there are already 10 million now. In the future, black people will also be a force that cannot be ignored.
The population ratio is so chaotic that it is almost like stew, a dish of the Ming Empire. This is a problem that the Inca Empire did not have at all.
Although the Ming Empire also absorbed a large number of black slaves, grassland people, and even gave birth to many mixed-race children, the main Min people still accounted for the majority and could not touch the country at all.
This is the huge benefit of the Juchu Min tribe, which can continuously assimilate other Min tribes and enhance their own strength.
Under the urging of Louis XIV, France is also trying to do this, but it will take hundreds of years to achieve results.
If we start a war with the Ming Empire now, we will have to break up the French Empire that was finally established.
The French Empire and the Ming Empire were not on the same level in terms of manpower, financial resources, and military strength.
According to Colbert's estimate, the Ming Empire's overall national strength was equivalent to six to eight Frances.
This is still an optimistic estimate. Kolbe will not say anything about the pessimistic estimate...
Despite this, the French military leaders still conducted a deduction.
That is France, the Netherlands, Prussia, Sweden, Switzerland, Rome, Venice, the United Kingdom, Spain, Portugal, Tsarist Russia, Poland, the Holy Roman Empire, against the Ming Empire, the Incas, the Ottomans, the Japanese, Kimchi, Siam, and Persia.
The tripartite operation of Tsarist Russia, Politburi, and the Holy Roman Empire no longer exists, but like Britain and Spain, the remaining troops can be used to increase the strength of one's own camp.
The conclusion is that if the two sides start a war in Europe, our own camp still has a great chance of winning.
On the contrary, the hope of winning is relatively small.
To fight outside Europe, you have to rely on the naval fleet.
In this regard, even if a combined fleet formed by France, the Netherlands, Sweden, Prussia, Venice and other countries would be difficult to defeat the Ming Empire Navy with a large number of aircraft carriers.
Aircraft carriers have now surpassed battleships and become the most powerful battleships in the navy.
According to the most conservative estimates, the Ming Empire Navy already has no less than twenty aircraft carriers and the same number of amphibious assault ships in service.
The total number of aircraft carriers owned by the European Combined Fleet is less than ten, and the carrier-based aircraft force has just taken shape, and has not yet gained much practical experience.
On the contrary, the Ming Empire Navy had already trained its carrier-based aircraft units in the war against Denmark and gained valuable practical experience, which was unmatched by the European combined fleets.
According to intelligence, the Ming Empire Navy continues to purchase large aircraft carriers with a displacement of at least 30,000 tons, and the number of equipment will not be less than ten in the next ten years.
During the same period, the total number of aircraft carriers in service in European countries will not exceed ten, and they will certainly not all be large aircraft carriers. There will only be two or three ships of the same class at most, and the rest will be small aircraft carriers with a displacement of less than 20,000 tons.
This means that in ten years' time, the gap between the two sides in terms of aircraft carriers will be further widened, so big that our own side will not be able to fight with the Ming Empire Navy's aircraft carrier battle group.
Moreover, the Ming Empire was still vigorously supporting the Inca Navy and the Ottoman Navy, helping them form aircraft carrier battle groups. This is a terrible thing.
The Ottoman Empire's geographical location is not close to the ocean, so it is not very interested in forming an aircraft carrier battle group. Its navy pays more attention to the purchase of battleships.
The Inca Empire was different. It had the advantage of two oceans, and its navy had a strong interest in new battleships, aircraft carriers, and amphibious assault ships.
The French Navy's estimate for the Inca Navy is that based on the current two large aircraft carriers, it will purchase at least two large aircraft carriers in the next ten years, thus forming four aircraft carrier battle groups.
What is this concept?
The strength of the Inca Navy will directly equal the French Navy!
This is not the most terrifying thing. The Inca Emperor Polo has previously publicly announced that he will form an eight-eighth fleet within twenty years.
That is, a powerful fleet composed of eight new battleships and eight large aircraft carriers to ensure the absolute safety of the Inca Empire's maritime transportation lines.
New battleships are battleships of level seven (King) or above. Not only do they have a large displacement, but the caliber and power of their main guns are also extraordinary. They are equipped with new boilers, making them faster and have greater endurance.
Assume that the Inca Navy now has four battleships and two aircraft carriers, and the Ottoman Navy has four battleships and one aircraft carrier.
Including the capital ships of the Ming Empire Navy, the total is twenty-eight battleships and twenty-three aircraft carriers.
In comparison, the combined fleet of the four countries of France, Netherlands, France, Netherlands and France has 15 battleships and 4 aircraft carriers.
If neither the Ottomans nor the Inca sent fleets to support the Ming Empire, in Europe, with the protection of land-based aircraft, the European combined fleet could still engage in a strategic decisive battle with the main fleet of the Ming Empire's navy.
As for land warfare, European countries can mobilize about three million troops, coupled with 10,000 tanks, which can compete with the menacing Ming Empire's army.
The key lies in the outcome of the air battle. Once the opponent seizes air supremacy, the Army's tanks will become living targets for enemy aircraft.
Since the manufacturing costs of the single-engine "Flamingo" and the twin-engine "Black-footed Albatross" far exceed that of the "Albatross" fighter, the air forces of various countries have a limited number of new fighter aircraft purchased.
Especially after the end of the European War, all countries are working hard to develop their economies, military expenditures have been suddenly reduced, and the number of advanced weapons purchased has naturally been significantly reduced.
The French Air Force is no exception, except for more than a hundred "Flamingos" and a similar number of "Black-footed Albatross".
The remaining are self-developed single-engine "Falcon" and twin-engine "Eagle" fighters. The former is equipped with more than 800 aircraft, and the latter has nearly 500 aircraft in service.
However, actual combat has proven that regardless of the quality of Holy Roman Empire pilots, whether it is a "Falcon" or an "Eagle", its performance is not as good as the Ming Empire's fighters.
The French Air Force estimates that the Ming Empire Air Force has nearly 5,000 "Flamingos" and the same number of "Black-footed Albatross", adding up to nearly 10,000 aircraft.
Although so many fighters have to be deployed around the world, once something happens in Europe, the Ming Empire can still mobilize more than 5,000 fighters to deploy to Eastern Europe.
This is not to mention the most spectacular bomber force. The Ming Empire Air Force is equipped with more than 5,000 heavy bombers. It is the only air force in the world that can launch a thousand aircraft bombings!
