Zhu Jingyuan was the first to leave, and the officials and representatives in the hall, after a brief period of confusion and consternation, also stood up and left one after another.
The royal representatives from various countries in Europe and the West, when they stood up and walked out, looked at their companions around them, many of them showed thoughtful expressions.
Several princes recalled what Zhu Jingyuan said. What the real successor of Rome should be like, they can directly refer to the current status of the Ming Dynasty.
In China, no one asks which Ming Dynasty is, and no one does not know who the current orthodox dynasty of China is, and who are the successors of the Han and Tang Dynasties.
There is only the Ming Dynasty, and there is no second answer. All the countries surrounding China are de facto vassal states of the Ming Dynasty.
Looking at it in Europe, it is because our own country has not truly unified Europe, and it is because other countries that call themselves Rome still exist, and countries that maintain the claim to Rome still exist.
Therefore, our country is not the true successor of Rome, and there is no true successor of Rome in Europe today.
To become the successor of Rome, it must be eliminated...at least all countries with claims to Rome must be completely defeated and forced to give up their claims.
At the same time, key lands where the capital and birthplace of the Roman Empire were located were to be captured.
At least rule the Sardinian-Italian Peninsula, the Balkan Peninsula, and Asia Minor.
It is necessary to basically completely eliminate the Ottoman Empire, defeat Prussia, Austria, Lucia, and France, and force them to hand over some of their land.
The highest goal was to restore all Roman lands and turn the Mediterranean into its own inland sea.
This goal is basically impossible to achieve, and it seems completely unfeasible at present.
But the seeds have been planted in the hearts of the princes.
In everyone's subconscious, they have begun to regard the countries corresponding to the goals as opponents and obstacles that prevent them from becoming Rome.
But no one said it.
Princes and royal representatives thought they were keeping their thoughts to themselves.
However, the ministers of the imperial court clearly found that the royal representatives of several countries who were originally relatively enthusiastic have now become significantly colder.
The ministers were all worried and prepared to have a good chat with representatives of their royal family when they returned.
Let them recognize Zhu Jingyuan's sinister intentions, let them not take advantage easily, and let them not ignore reality for the empty title of Rome.
French Foreign Minister Talleyrand, after returning to the French representative's residence in the outer city, directly followed Prince Louis Charles into the room.
The twenty-year-old Prince Charles saw Talleyrand coming in. He was a little surprised and at the same time couldn't help but asked directly:
"Your Excellency, Foreign Secretary, do you think we in France have a chance to become the real Rome?"
Talleyrand reminded without hesitation:
"Your Highness, don't be deceived by Ming's words. The purpose of selecting Rome's successors is to provoke internal strife in Europe.
"Let our anti-Ming alliance collapse on its own, and then Ming can 'reap the benefits'.
"The Ming Dynasty will never simply watch us choose the real Rome."
Ciel seemed not to have listened at all:
"Your Excellency, what I mean is, is it possible for us France to become Rome?"
Talleyrand was a very flexible person. After feeling the persistence of his crown prince, he immediately changed his mind:
"If you want to say whether it is possible, of course it is..."
Prince Charles immediately became energetic:
"Tell me quickly, how can we make Prussia, Austria, Lucia, Ottoman, and Italy recognize that we are Rome..."
Talleyrand replied directly:
"It's actually very simple to make them recognize us. As long as we completely defeat the Ming Dynasty head-on, we will be the undoubted Rome."
Prince Charles was stunned:
"Simple? How can it be simple? Wait, how can we defeat the Ming Dynasty? What does this have to do with becoming Rome?"
Talleyrand saw that the prince was on the right track, and immediately followed this line of thought and continued to induce:
"Because the Ming Dynasty is the real obstacle to the emergence of a real Rome in Europe. We must first defeat the Ming Dynasty before we can compete for the title of Rome."
Prince Charles was a little distressed and said a little impatiently:
"It's because we can't defeat the Ming Dynasty that we want to become Rome. Minister, isn't this all nonsense?"
Talleyrand forced out a smile:
"It's not nonsense, this makes you realize that you first thought that you could not defeat Ming, and then you wanted to compete for the Roman title.
"This is what Ming Dynasty induced you to give up the fight with Ming Dynasty and instead fight with other European countries.
“During this war, all of us Europeans united and finally ended up in a draw with the Ming Dynasty.
“On the other hand, Ming Dynasty did not win in the end, so Ming Dynasty changed its strategy and started to use their tactics.
“If a war broke out among European countries over the title of Rome, the Ming Dynasty would have won without a fight.
"This is the so-called 'division plan', a classic conspiracy of the Ming Dynasty.
"You can think about it from another perspective. If you were the ruler of the Ming Dynasty, would you want a real Rome to appear in Europe?
"Do you hope that a new great empire will emerge in the world that can keep pace with you and threaten your status?"
Prince Charles finally fully understood:
"No, it's impossible. If I were the Ming Emperor, I definitely don't want to see this happen. So what should we do next?"
Talleyrand said categorically:
“Maintain alliances, avoid internal strife, unite and cooperate, and jointly defend against foreign enemies.
“British Prime Minister Pitt said very well at the meeting that the Anti-Ming Alliance is Rome, and we are all Rome.
“We should continue to maintain the anti-Ming alliance after the peace talks, and even continue to strengthen the anti-Ming alliance.
“Continuing to maintain military-level cooperation will make the alliance countries more closely connected, leaving Ming Dynasty unable to start.
“If after the armistice, Ming Dynasty has any objection to the name of the Anti-Ming Alliance, we can change the name.
“Just call it the Rome League or the Europa League.
“But we will never start another war unless necessary.
“We should use the peace period after this peace negotiation to strengthen our control over the Yinzhou and Mozhou colonies.
"Then based on the existing colonies, we will continue to steadily expand and control the area."
Charles understood what Talleyrand meant, but was not very clear about the specific operation:
"Then leave these matters to your Excellency, Minister."
Talleyrand stroked his chest and saluted:
"That's the job of the foreign secretary."
The French were very fortunate to realize Ming's purpose and tried to find a solution.
But many times, without coercion, things often do not develop as expected.
The court representatives of most other countries also understood the true purpose of the Ming Dynasty.
Some royal representatives are also aware of the problem, such as Archduke Karl of Austria, and do not need special persuasion at all.
However, representatives of some countries encountered some problems in the process of persuading their own royal representatives.
It is not necessarily possible to convince members of the royal family, even the clear crown prince.
Even though representatives from some countries understood Ming's intentions, their final decisions were far from those of the French.
Prussia was represented by its Foreign Minister, Carl August von Hardenberg, later Prince Hardenberg and Chancellor.
The representative of the royal family, Heinrich, the brother of the King of Prussia, returned to his residence with Hardenberg and visited General Blücher.
The three of them found a small living room, first explained what happened during today's meeting, and then asked Blücher for his opinion.
Blücher said very decisively:
"Da Ming is trying to instigate internal strife in Europe..."
The young royal member Heinrich asked slightly disappointedly:
"So should we boycott? Or even persuade other countries not to be gullible? Should we even persuade Europe to stay united?
"How can we truly unify Germany then? How can we seize Austrian lands?"
Blücher laughed and said:
“I didn’t say boycott, if we continue our Greater Germany strategy, infighting in Europe is exactly what we want to see.
“Although this will definitely help Ming weaken Europe, it will also help us continue to expand.
"Under this atmosphere and cover, we can continue to weaken Austria and truly unify all Germans.
"If the world really enjoys long-term peace after the peace talks, then our German future will end here."
Hardenberg clasped his fingers and said with emotion in his solemn tone:
"We are on guard against the English's return to Hanover, on our guard against the French and Lucian threats, and on the liberation of the Germans from Austrian rule.
“We Prussians, we Germans still need war, but only limited and controllable wars.
“We in Prussia-Germany are the ‘land of four battles’, we are enemies on three or even four sides.
“Seeing the reports and statistics on the Tianzhu battlefield, I can recall our German past.
"In every war in Europe, we Germans bear the brunt.
"German land is Europe's war, and the German people are cannon fodder for European countries.
“Until we in Prussia worked hard to annex the German states and unite more and more Germans together.
"We have gradually gained a certain say in Europe, and we have the ability to refuse the fate of becoming cannon fodder and battlefield.
"If we are to take full control of our own destiny and continue to raise our voice, we must unite all Germans."
Heinrich was a little excited now:
"Since both of you agree, what should we do next?"
Blücher thought for a moment and looked at Hardenberg, who was the plenipotentiary.
Hardenberg nodded slightly and began to explain his thoughts:
“First of all, we must make it clear that we in Prussia do not have the ability to fight against the entire Europe. That is a strategy that even Ming cannot guarantee victory.
“So my point is, war can happen, but it must be controllable.
“Once an anti-Prussian alliance emerges, our country will quickly fall apart and everything will go back to the way it was.
“Although we in Prussia often refer to China’s Qin Empire, I don’t have the Qin Empire’s Guanzhong Fortress as a retreat.
“We must be careful, we should ‘strike with strength’, we should first instigate other countries to enter the war first.
“For example, it drives the war between Austria and Italy, the war between Lucia and the Ottomans, and the colonial war between France and Britain.
“Then we join the war as an ally of one side of the war, not as the main force, and we must ensure that the war can be ended at any time.
"More importantly, we...should enlist Daming's help.
"If it is really necessary, if Ming is really willing, we can even consider forming an alliance with it."
Blücher nodded slightly as he listened:
"Yes, we should enlist Ming's help. Even nominal help can make surrounding countries re-evaluate their relations with Prussia."
After hearing this, Heinrich asked with some concern:
“Winning the Ming Dynasty’s help and alliance, does this count as seeking skin from a tiger?”
Hardenberg said with a wry smile:
"Outside of Europe, we Germans have nothing to lose. To get to the land in Mozhou, we must pass through the Ming-controlled area.
"The Ming Dynasty would not have any idea of ruling tens of millions of Germans, and it should have no idea of any European nation that is large enough.
“Because Europeans are not Indians, Yin people and Africans, they are not an ethnic group that can easily implement colonial rule.
"Those Boers in South Africa have caused Ming Dynasty trouble. Ming Dynasty should have no interest in Europe.
“And our goal is mainly in Europe for the time being, so we have a basis for cooperation.
“Of course, there can’t be complete cooperation, nor can there be complete trust.
"Everything must be done with caution. Again, we in Germany need war, but it cannot be a large-scale war that we participate in alone."
Heinrich basically understood it, and then said excitedly:
"Should we take the initiative to contact Daming? Show our sincerity in advance and cooperate a little bit in the conversation..."
Hardenberg directly waved his hand and vetoed this time:
"No need, people from Ming Dynasty should take the initiative to contact us, at least there should be a hint.
"Even if there is nothing, we can meet by chance at the upcoming banquet...
“However, we must never have direct contact with Ming Dynasty in private during the peace talks.
"Once discovered by other European countries, the consequences will be 'unimaginable'."
Blücher and Heinrich nodded at the same time, and the main members of the Prussian delegation unified their opinions.
When the French and Prussians responded to Ming's provocation, they had two completely different attitudes and ideas.
The French are quite satisfied with the current situation. Both the mainland and the Yinzhou colony are relatively stable and developing rapidly.
The French's plan for the long term in the future is to continue to expand their colonies in Mozhou and Yinzhou.
Due to the early appearance of steamships, human shipping capabilities were enhanced in advance, and the value of colonies rapidly increased.
The direct rule of overseas colonies by countries around the world has also advanced directly from the late nineteenth century to the late eighteenth century.
The development of the Yinzhou colonies of Britain and France also accelerated significantly in the eighteenth century.
Nowadays, the population has grown to more than 20 million, and it has reached a level where nothing can be lost.
So the French want a stable environment.
Of course, another key reason is that their challenge to Ming Dynasty failed, and they could only completely give up their coveting Xiaoxiyang.
This makes their goals even more focused.
Prussia was the complete opposite. They had no valuable colonies overseas and no enough navy for expansion.
Therefore, we can only focus on the local area, hoping to muddy the waters in Europe so that we can fish in troubled waters.
