The Marquis of Mendoza left in despair. This Marquis who was loyal to the Spanish Empire and the Emperor would never have the chance to be the Vice-King of Peru because he simply could not complete the mission entrusted to him by Emperor Leopold...
However, the mission of French Foreign Minister Leodo and Cardinal de La Magarra continues!
"Your Majesty the Emperor," Cardinal de la Magarra said, "the Catholic Church has never attempted to conquer China. We only hope to spread God's message peacefully in China..."
"Hmm!" Zhu Heji's eyes widened and he looked at Drama Gala fiercely.
The latter shuddered, remembering that he was probably discussing with the devil about spreading Catholicism... Even if the devil could agree, he couldn't agree! Saying yes is making a deal with the devil!
"Forget it, we the Catholic Church have given up!" said Cardinal De La Magala, "We only want to be able to preach freely west of the Strait of Malacca."
"It's west of Myanmar!" Zhu Heji corrected, "In addition, the Catholic Church is not allowed to go deep into the snowy plateau... No Westerners are allowed to enter there!"
"Okay, okay..." Cardinal de la Magala shrugged, "If you don't let us go, we won't go."
French Foreign Minister Leonard said: "We can guarantee that no Westerners or Catholic missionaries will be allowed to enter the snowy areas... If anyone does not comply with the regulations, France - the Frankish Empire will not be responsible for their safety any obligation.”
Cardinal de la Magala added: "The Church will have nothing to do with them."
Zhu Heji nodded with satisfaction. The statements of Leonardo and Drama Gala meant that Westerners had recognized the sphere of influence of the Ming Dynasty!
Now all it takes is a Spanish emperor who is dead or has lost all of Mexico to show the majesty of the Ming Dynasty. In the next one hundred or even one hundred and fifty years, no one will dare to directly offend the Ming Dynasty.
However, the long-term peace between Eastern and Western civilizations guarding their borders is not what Zhu Heji wants... It is a beautiful imagination to be prepared for danger in times of peace. In most cases, people will forget dangers in times of peace.
Therefore, the Ming Dynasty needs an enemy that can promote its own progress!
But Ming Dynasty and this enemy had better not go to war directly...the main force is out of reach!
Thinking of this, Zhu Heji said to Leonard: "Minister of Foreign Affairs, the long distance between the Ming Dynasty and France - the Frankish mainland determines that our two countries are unlikely to go to war directly in the foreseeable era!"
He spoke very slowly, as if he was carefully considering every word. After finishing a paragraph, he stopped, waiting for the recording and translation to be completed.
"Your Majesty, you are right," Leonard finally smiled and said in Latin, "Confrontation between our two countries can be completely avoided."
"No!" Zhu Heji interrupted Leo Na directly and said in Chinese, "War should be avoided, but confrontation is impossible to avoid! Our two countries should control the scale of the confrontation and prevent it from escalating into a war. A long-term and difficult-to-win war. Maybe the two of us can have a cold war!"
"A cold war? Your Majesty, you mean..."
Zhu Heji said: "I mean don't really start a fight, but you can use all means other than direct war to fight!"
He paused and then said: "In order to prevent confrontation from escalating into a war, we'd better demarcate one or two frontier areas...such as the New World, such as the Indian Ocean, or the Balkan Peninsula, North Africa, and West Asia. !
In addition, both of us should maintain a policy of non-alignment or careful alliance... The Ming Dynasty will not form an alliance with the Ottoman Empire, the Kingdom of Persia, the Hindustan Empire, or the Aztec State. I also hope that France, the Frankish Empire, will not ally with Mongolia and exercise restraint in America. "
After hearing Zhu Heji's words, Leona knew that his trip to the East had been a success! And Louis XIV's bastard daughter was not given away in vain, because the policies proposed by Zhu Heji were exactly what France, the Frankish Empire, needed.
France - the Frankish Empire also needs a great dynasty that can be seen but cannot hit the enemy!
Only by being visible can Europe remain united. Only if France cannot be defeated can the Frankish Empire be invincible! It's hard to say whether it's possible...
Thinking of this, Leona said to Zhu Heji: "Your Majesty the Emperor, your request is acceptable to the French Empire. Can we sign an agreement?"
Zhu Heji shook his head and smiled: "No agreement is needed... We can jointly issue a joint statement announcing the bottom lines, goals and codes of conduct of our two countries."
Leona smiled and nodded: "This is the best. Let's make a statement... I believe that the whole world will benefit from the restraint and goodwill of our two countries."
...
Leopold I is dying!
He's about to commit suicide!
Although Big Devil Zhu and Little Devil Zhu on the other side of the ocean have already made harsh words to kill him, there are no telephones or telegraphs these days, and trans-Pacific communication can be as fast as March. If you miss it in the summer, the wind and waves in the North Pacific will be smaller. In this season, the boat carrying Demon King Xiaozhu has been drifting on the sea for half a year, and it is still uncertain.
Therefore, it was not Zhu Heji and Zhu Yimei who could really decide the life and death of Leopold I. Of course, it's not people like Montezuma, Huang Feiyu, Serington Dobu, Su Zhanyang, and Zhou Peigong - they may have the power at hand to defeat Leopold, but it is almost impossible to kill Leopold unless Leopold committed suicide.
And when Emperor Zhu and Demon King Xiao Zhu said harshly that they would kill Leopold, Montezuma's army had not yet completed the siege of Mexico City!
In fact, King Mengchuang did not have the troops to surround Mexico City. Mexico City was a very large city, and the perimeter of the outer city wall was nearly ten Spanish miles (55 kilometers). Although Leopold did not have enough troops to guard such a long city wall, along the outer wall of Mexico City, there was a triangular solid fort every two to three hundred yards, and there were cannons on the fort that could fire shotguns!
And there are two wide trenches outside these triangular forts!
As long as Leopold's men defended dozens of triangular solid forts, they could ensure that the outer walls of Mexico City would not be lost.
And Montezuma's army was only tens of thousands. Facing such a big castle, it was really powerless. It was impossible to besiege the city or break it, so he had to capture a castle called Turtitlan north of Mexico City. Small town - this is the fiefdom that King Montezuma gave to the Spaniards when he was a count. Then he built a large camp based on this small town to confront Mexico City.
In other words, if Leopold wanted to leave, he could leave openly at any time, escorted by one or two thousand German cuirassiers. Although Montezuma's tiger soldiers were capable of fighting, they were fusiliers, not cavalry. The Indians under King Mengchuang were almost all turned serfs. The military advisors sent by Shang Fang State could teach them to line up and shoot them, but it was difficult to turn them into cavalry comparable to the German cuirassiers.
So Leopold could leave at any time if he wanted to.
But Leopold, who had already lost an imperial capital, was now really interested in Mexico City - although this city did not have the status of a capital, and the current Spanish Empire did not have an official capital, in Leopold In Germany's mind, Mexico City is another Vienna. He has already lost one Vienna and must not lose a second one.
Of course, it doesn't mean he will die if he doesn't leave Mexico City...because he can still "cry for help", calling the Duke of Lorraine in Leon City to lead troops to rescue him, or calling for help from Guadalajara. Eugen von Savoy, who was pulling hard outside the city, came to the rescue.
As long as one of the two Spanish imperial armies returns to the Mexica Valley, King Montezuma will have no choice but to retreat with his tail between his legs.
But the problem is that once the Duke of Lorraine retreats, Leon will be gone! And once Leon is lost, the Zacatecas Silver Mine will also be lost... That is the second largest silver mine in the world!
And as soon as Eugen von Savoy retreats, the city of Guadalajara will be lost! This city is one of the largest cities in New Spain. The handicraft industry in the city is very developed, and it also controls several large ports in the Pacific.
Once Montezuma captures the city of Guadalajara, his strength will immediately reach a higher level, and he can also easily obtain military aid from the Ming Dynasty through the ports on the Pacific.
So Leopold was reluctant to reach Guadalajara!
And the situation in the Mexica Valley looks pretty good...
Standing on the Chapultepec Castle on the top of Chapultepec Mountain in the north of the outer city of Mexico, King Leopold I put down the telescope in his hand, breathed a long sigh of relief, and said to the Mexico City Defense Commander beside him: "S Count Talenberg, have you seen that? Montezuma's traitor who surrendered to the devil is in trouble. He is unable to attack at all and can only build fortifications outside Mexico City. This shows that the advantage lies with me... now As long as the Duke of Lorraine or General Eugen wins, glory and victory will belong to Spain!"
Count Stallenberg frowned deeply: "Your Majesty the Emperor, I still recommend that you move to the Port of Veracruz on the Gulf of Mexico... You can wait for reinforcements from Cuba there, and then bring Let them help resolve the crisis in Mexico City."
Emperor Leopold looked very unhappy after hearing this, "Crisis? Where is the crisis in Mexico City? Count, can't you defend Mexico City?"
"No, it's not..." Count Stallenberg shook his head, "Unless there are sufficient reinforcements, it is impossible to rely on the troops Montezuma has on hand to fight in Mexico before Mexico City's reserves are exhausted. The city wins."
Leopold said confidently: "There is enough food in Mexico City to last for a year!"
The situation in New Spain is similar to that of the Ming Dynasty. The land originally lived by tens of millions of people is used by millions of people, so the food supply is relatively sufficient, especially in the Mexica Valley where agriculture is quite developed.
Leopold asked again: "Then you are worried that the Duke of Lorraine and Eugen Savoy will be defeated?"
"No, it's not that..." Count Stallenberg shook his head and said, "The war progress in the direction of Leon and Guadalajara is very slow... I guess it will have to be fought. It could take months or even a year to determine the winner.”
The war taking place in Mexico now is somewhat like a novice chicken pecking each other. The Spanish Imperial Army on the Mexican battlefield was actually a "puppet army", consisting of a small number of white-skinned officers escorting mixed-race Indians into battle, and could not fight a tough battle at all. Although Montezuma's side was full of highly motivated Indians, there were too many new recruits and too few officers and veterans.
If new soldiers are not accompanied by veterans, they will be just as prone to chaos on the battlefield, and it will be equally difficult to fight a tough battle. Therefore, Montezuma, under Huang Feiyu's suggestion, could only build strongholds and fight tough battles while allocating fields to the Indians. Turn a military war into a political war!
So now there are three stalemates on the Mexican battlefield-in the three battlefields of Mexica Valley, City of Leon and City of Guadalajara, there are fortresses on both sides, and there are good defenses on both sides. , a battlefield situation that is not conducive to offense. This is also a characteristic of rookies pecking each other. After all, offense is more difficult than defense, so it is not suitable for a rookie-level army...
"Then what are you worried about?" Emperor Leopold looked at Count Starlenberg.
"Your Majesty the Emperor, I'm worried...worried that the merchants in the north will send troops!" Count Stallenberg considered for a moment and then said, "I think the outcome of the Mexican War will depend on Europe's Reinforcements arrived first, or was the Shang Kingdom the first to join the Aztec side in the war.
Your Majesty, I propose that the ownership of the Zacatecas Silver Mine be temporarily transferred to the Merchant Kingdom, and that they be allowed to lease the Zacatecas Valley for several years in exchange for their true neutrality. "
"No!" Leopold immediately shook his head and said, "I can't give up the second largest silver mine in the world... because that will greatly increase the national power of Shang Fang! Moreover, Shang Fang is a devil. Believers, I can't make deals with them, and I firmly believe that European reinforcements will arrive soon! In fact, they are already on the way. The expeditionary force led by the Duke of Vendôme and Admiral Churchill has left Europe and is on its way. Come!"
Although Emperor Louis the Great sent a bastard daughter to Demon King Xiao Zhu, he fully expressed his sincerity in the "Cold War" to the Great Ming Dynasty in advance. However, after the Versailles Conference, he ordered the dispatch of "NATO coalition forces" to the New World. This NATO coalition force is composed of the British and French armies, with a total strength of approximately 15,000 people. Together with the British troops that have arrived in the New World, the total strength can reach 20,000.
In addition, many Germans also arrived in Cuba. So Leopold was not completely hopeless... As long as these white veterans with rich war experience and well-equipped equipment arrived in Mexico, he would really be able to sit back and relax.
But at the same time, a merchant group with as many as 20,000 people, the Yin Family Alliance Army, has also completed its assembly in Tongbei City! A raid into the Zacatecas Valley is about to begin!
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