When the sky in Moscow was slightly brighter, Prince Nicholas and other important officials rushed to Emperor Lucia's imperial conference room one after another.
Emperor Paul entered the conference room with two maids, took a brief look at the clothes of everyone present, and then subconsciously looked at his own clothes.
Above Lucia's court, most civil servants and relatively older people basically wore Ming-style loose robes, and the emperor also wore Tuanlong uniforms similar to those of the Ming emperors.
Most military attachés and young people were basically dressed in the same Ming style a few years to more than ten years ago, but they have gradually changed in the past ten years.
They gradually changed into Thai and Western clothes, tight-fitting knee-high socks and breeches, double-breasted flower-collared shirts and heavy putty tuxedos.
When they saw the way they saluted, they were divided into two groups accordingly. Some of them bowed with their hands raised like Akito, while others knelt down on one knee, caressing their chests and bowed their heads.
Emperor Paul, who was used to it, didn't say much. After everyone saluted, he sent the message he had received for them to circulate.
"Everyone, tell me, what should Lucia do now?"
After reading the information, the officials at the scene had very ugly expressions, and several of them closed their eyes directly.
The thirty-two-year-old prince Nicholas spoke first:
"Father, are you sure that the Ming people are not 'bluffing'? We all understand the current war situation, and we all feel that even though we are powerful, we cannot use it.
"As long as we build our positions well, so what if the Ming people use all their strength? There is no way they can reach the Ural Mountains.
"We can also go 'bluffing', just in time to find out the person's true identity!"
The prince's radical views, which were obviously leaning towards Lucianism, immediately aroused the approval of ministers with similar thinking tendencies.
Not far away, the Minister of War, the sixty-year-old Earl Bennigsen, Levin August, very helplessly dissuaded:
"Your Highness must not be reckless, Ming's 'bluff' can become true, because Ming still has great potential that can be tapped.
“They are removing vassals to appease the vassal states, opening up the royal family’s exclusive industries to appease local capital while controlling the refugees, and are beginning to develop new industries for the royal consortium.
“But Lucia’s bluff can only be false, because we have reached the limit, so we released the hint that peace can be negotiated.
“Once Ming insists on fighting, Lucia will have no choice but to make a fool of herself and even face a large-scale defeat.
"So regardless of whether Ming Dynasty is bluffing or not, the Lucia Empire currently has only one choice, and that is to put down its illusions as soon as possible and seek peace."
The other relatively conservative and traditional ministers nearby immediately echoed:
"Yes, asking for peace from the Ming Dynasty is not considered weak."
"The great Emperor Peter the Great once asked for peace from the Ming Dynasty."
"The Dutch, Portuguese, and Spanish all once sued for peace from the Ming Dynasty."
"Lucia must stop the war. The court is bankrupt and order in the cities and countryside is about to collapse."
The old people in Lucia actually have no psychological burden on suing for peace with the Ming Dynasty.
My ancestors had done it a long time ago, and other Taixi people had done it too. Why couldn't I do it again?
However, this kind of traditional remarks made the emerging nationalist officials of Greater Lucia a little angry.
Under the leadership of Prince Nicholas, they came back without hesitation:
"Have you all forgotten the purpose of our participation in the war?"
"Now that we are seeking peace with the Ming Dynasty, what is the point of all our previous efforts?"
"We have sued for peace, how will we face other Europas in the future! How can we return to Europa!"
"Seek peace today, ask for peace tomorrow, when will we Lucians stand up!"
Emperor Paul saw that the two sides were almost quarreling, and suddenly he patted the table irritably:
"Shut up, everyone!"
Emperor Paul stopped the dispute and was about to scold them loudly.
Just at this moment a secretary ran in quickly and handed a new telegram to the emperor.
Emperor Paul took it over and took a look, his face suddenly lit up with joy, and most of the anger he had just dissipated in an instant.
He circulated the telegram to the ministers and said with a rather emotional smile:
"The Tatars in Anxi are actually smart sometimes..."
After reading the telegraph newspaper, Count Bennigsen couldn't help but beam with joy:
"If the Three Kingdoms of Anxi are willing to mediate, then this time they are not asking for peace. This is considered a tie!"
After reading the message, other civil servants and senior ministers almost seemed to cheer.
"Facing Ming Dynasty, a draw is a victory for us!"
"The goal of the Anti-Ming Alliance has been achieved, and we can start discussing and planning the post-war order!"
"This is a victory for our entire Europa!"
"Europeans finally stand up!"
Facing the cheers from one side, Prince Nicholas on the other side was also a little surprised after reading the news.
He just looked completely calm on the surface, and deliberately snorted with a straight face:
"Don't be too happy too early. This is just an idea from the Three Kingdoms of Anxi, not an invitation from Ming Dynasty. Ming Dynasty has not yet agreed.
"The Ming Dynasty is exploring its war potential. If it directly refuses mediation, what should we do?"
At this time, the telegram had been circulated around. Count Bennigsen said with a smile:
"Your Highness, I don't think Daming will refuse. Although Daming still has strength, this battle is also very uncomfortable for them.
“It is almost impossible for Ming Dynasty to voluntarily surrender and admit defeat, so the biggest difficulty in this anti-Ming war now is how to end the war with dignity.
“Moreover, I even suspect that the mediation of the Three Kingdoms of Anxi might have been hinted by Ming Dynasty.
"Now the Three Kingdoms of Anxi have sent a 'step' to both sides. I think Ming Dynasty will take over this 'step'."
The surrounding ministers nodded as they listened, and Emperor Paul above couldn't help but ask:
"If the Three Kingdoms of Anxi were really hinted by Ming Dynasty, wouldn't it mean that Ming Dynasty really couldn't hold on anymore?
"Are they really just bluffing by withdrawing the vassal and lifting the ban? So do we still want to accept the mediation of the Anxi Three Kingdoms?"
The idea mentioned by Emperor Paul made many ministers' eyes light up. Prince Nicholas subconsciously wanted to speak:
"Then we can bluff and get more land from the east and south..."
Count Bennigsen immediately shook his head and killed everyone's delusions:
"We must not be greedy. We must not force Ming to accept a draw as victory. We must not force Ming to become angry because we simply cannot persist.
"However, we can be a little tougher at the future negotiation table and let Ming transfer as many benefits as possible..."
The earl's words immediately aroused the approval of the conservative ministers, and the radical young people did not object after considering it.
They all know what Lucia's situation is, and they have really tried their best until now.
As a result, the imperial meeting immediately changed direction, and everyone began to discuss how to negotiate with Ming Dynasty and what land or benefits they should ask for.
The most basic requirement is that if the Three Kingdoms of Anxi are to be split, part of it must be given to Lucia, and it cannot continue to be a forbidden concubine of the Ming Dynasty.
The mood of Emperor Paul and the ministers became more and more cheerful during the discussion, and the meeting room was slowly filled with a happy atmosphere.
It wasn't until almost an hour later that Emperor Paul's secretary ran in again and handed over a telegram again.
Then Emperor Paul was dumbfounded. He stared at it several times and read word after word:
"The Three Kingdoms of Anxi said that the Ming Dynasty refused to mediate-"
There was no need to circulate it now. The ministers below all understood what happened, and then subconsciously looked at Prince Nicholas.
Prince Nicholas was also completely confused. He was actually just being tough before.
In my heart, I was eager to stop the war quickly, but I didn't expect that I would actually get the result now.
According to Daming Yayan, this is a typical "crow's mouth"!
The key is that Ming Dynasty refused so quickly. This may be because the telegram had just been sent to Ming Dynasty. After seeing it, Ming Dynasty's telegraph operator asked the emperor for instructions, and the emperor directly refused on the spot.
At the very least, I didn’t think carefully about it at all. Otherwise, coupled with the transit time in Anxi Three Kingdoms, it would be impossible to deliver it to the capital of Lucia so quickly.
The ministers were happily discussing how to force Ming to make concessions at the negotiation table, but now they were all dumbfounded.
Especially Earl Bennigsen, who had previously speculated that the mediation between the Three Kingdoms of Anxi was hinted by the Ming Dynasty. However, he ignored the mediation and rejected it directly.
