10 Downing Street, London, UK.
British Foreign Secretary Grenville approached Prime Minister William Pitt with a telegram:
"The French don't want to continue the war. They want to bring us together to negotiate peace with Napoleon, and at the same time ask His Highness Prince Da Shi of the Ming Dynasty to mediate."
Peter was obviously shocked when he heard the news, but quickly regained his composure:
"They don't want to fight, and we don't want to fight either. This war has really exhausted our last strength. What are the conditions for peace talks proposed by the French?"
Grenville handed the telegraph newspaper to Peter:
“Abandon most of the land west of the Appalachians.
“France retained the former Canadian territories of Maryland and north, New York State and east, and south and east of the St. Lawrence River.
"We in the United Kingdom retain five territories: Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama.
"Napoleon gained Kentucky, Tennessee, West Virginia, Ohio, Indiana, and half of Pennsylvania west of Appalachia."
Peter took the telegram and asked subconsciously before he had time to check the details:
"Isn't this what Ming Dynasty proposed at the beginning, and the Ming Dynasty army directly participated in the war, as the main force to help us suppress the rebellion, and asked for compensation?"
Grenville nodded with a complicated expression and said:
“That’s true, it’s almost the same condition that Prince Dashi wanted back then.
“Now the land that should have been given to the Ming Dynasty has been turned into Napoleon’s use to establish an independent country.
“At the same time, we also sent out extra packages to the Chesapeake Peninsula and Long Island!”
“You have said it before, that kind of conditions are impossible to pass in parliament, and we can only choose to fight on our own.
“So we fought like this for nearly three years, and after spending a lot of people and money, we finally created Napoleon’s kingdom!
“The land we left to Napoleon still covers nearly half a million square kilometers, which is almost twice the size of mainland Britain.
"This is the iconic and beautiful result of the efficient decision-making method of our British civil service system!"
Peter listened to Grenville's complaints, looked through the details of the telegram, laughed dryly, shook his head and said:
"You don't need to be so anxious. This telegram is just a suggestion from the French. The final result may not be like this. Ming Dynasty may not allow Napoleon to become independent..."
Grenville seemed to suddenly react:
“What you mean is that we give up those lands west of the Appalachian Mountains to Ming Dynasty for disposal.
"Let Ming destroy Napoleon's kingdom and seize the areas now controlled by Napoleon.
“However, if we want to have peace talks with Napoleon, we and Ming Dynasty must provide safety guarantees.
"Napoleon would not have accepted the terms of an armistice if he had not been allowed to retain the independence of those lands."
Peter said with a smile:
"Napoleon did not have to accept the terms of the armistice, but the Ming Dynasty could also directly join the war.
"We don't even have to go to peace talks with Napoleon, we can go to Ming Dynasty alone to negotiate directly.
“Transfer the land ownership west of the Appalachian Mountains to Ming Dynasty and let Ming Dynasty clean up the rebels on its own.
“Just like the Spanish and Portuguese colonies in Nanyinzhou.
"Do you think that after Ming Dynasty gets the ownership of these lands, will it deal with Napoleon the same way it dealt with Bolivar and Martin Sun?
"Napoleon can fight more than Boliva and Martin Sun. He can consume some of Ming's strength."
Grenville understood what Peter meant, and then asked with some confusion:
“Is there any real benefit to the United Kingdom if we do this?
"The key is that, including Princess Charlotte, the three royal family members are still in Napoleon's hands.
"If we don't give Napoleon a guarantee of safety, there's no way we can get them to release three members of the royal family."
When Peter thought of the three royal members, the smile on his face disappeared:
"Hey, let Prince Charles of France contact Prince Dashi to prepare for peace talks..."
…………
Beiyinzhou, on the shore of Lake Ontario, Buffalo, the temporary capital of the Kingdom of Canada.
In the castle, which served as the headquarters of the kingdom's army and the residence of the imperial court, Napoleon was wrapped in fur and drinking soju.
Adams sat opposite Napoleon, talking to himself as if talking to himself:
"The latest news received is that there has been a heavy snowfall in Quebec, and coupled with the cold wave, the St. Lawrence River has frozen."
Napoleon took a sip of wine, grinning fiercely and gasping for air, the cold air trembling in the surrounding control:
"Hiss... we have destroyed all the roads on land, and now the rivers have frozen in advance.
“The inland transportation was completely blocked, and supplies from the British and French forces could not be sent in, so they could not attack.
"This year's battle can be considered over, and we can relax a little for a few months."
But Adams couldn't be happy and said in a rather melancholy tone:
"When will this life end? The coastline has been completely abandoned, and east of the Appalachian Mountains is gradually giving up.
"What is your plan? How should we go from here? Can we still win?"
Napoleon tried his best not to appear decadent and replied with a smile:
“It depends on what kind of victory you want.
“If you don’t care about the size and nature of the victory, maybe there will be one soon.
"Maybe even this winter."
Adams was obviously taken aback:
"What do you mean? We can't fight the war in winter, how can we still win?"
Napoleon continued to smile and said:
"Because this winter is very difficult, France and the United Kingdom have reached their limit. If they continue to fight, they may not lose their crown."
Adams reacted immediately:
“They were originally worried about not being able to control the domestic situation, so they negotiated a truce with Ming Dynasty.
“It turned out that it stopped for less than a year, and they immediately continued fighting with us in Yinzhou.
“The French and British may have reached their limit of endurance.
“If the royal families of Britain and France don’t want to cause civil strife, they should have peace talks with us?
"The consequences we were expecting may come this winter."
As Adams talked about these situations, his spirit became particularly high.
As a result, Adams soon discovered that Napoleon was obviously not very happy:
"What's wrong? Isn't this the consequence you expected?"
Napoleon took another sip of wine and painted a rather exciting picture in a tone without any fluctuations:
“I expect them to hold on for another two or three years until the citizens of Paris become angry and overthrow their king.
"Then we took the opportunity to counterattack, receive the remaining French main forces, and occupy the entire original United States and Canada.
"He was even invited to return to Paris and become the king of France."
Adams was struck by the possibility when Napoleon said:
"Is this... is this really possible?"
Napoleon said calmly:
"If there was no Ming Dynasty, it is certainly possible. Even if the French call us for peace talks, we can refuse.
"But Ming... will not allow that to happen...
"In fact, even if Britain and France are willing to negotiate peace, Ming Dynasty may not allow us to exist.
Adams was not brainless, and he quickly understood what Napoleon meant:
"Will Ming deal with us like Bolivar and San Martin in Nanyinzhou?
“Because in the eyes of the Ming royal family, Bosun and we are just rebels?
"Allowing us to be independent is tantamount to encouraging rebellion in disguise?"
Napoleon did not answer such an obvious question. He took a sip of wine and said loudly:
“Without Ming Dynasty, I would have had a chance to become the king of France.
"Then I can use the power of France to try to unify the entire European continent.
"Build a new era of Roman Empire and become a true Roman Emperor.
"But if Ming is here to watch, I have no place at all."
After three years of rebellion, Napoleon thought a lot about the logic of rebellion.
As a result, the more I thought about it, the more desperate I became.
It is impossible for the Ming Dynasty to succeed in rebelling. Even if they rebel against other royal families, there is a high probability that the Ming Dynasty will help suppress it.
Ming Dynasty encouraged himself to rebel, but did not allow himself to succeed.
He has been tricked by Prince Dashi.
The best outcome now is probably to become the king of a small kingdom, and the worst outcome is to become a commoner in Dongyi Kingdom.
After considering several possibilities, Adams suddenly asked Napoleon:
"Is it possible that we take the initiative to contact Ming Dynasty and express our willingness to become a vassal state of Ming Dynasty?
"Then use the power of Ming Dynasty to counterattack and conquer the land occupied by British and French troops..."
Napoleon nodded immediately, then shook his head immediately:
"We can try to become a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty. This is a relatively feasible solution to ensure our security.
“But it is impossible to use the power of the Ming Dynasty to deal with Britain and France.
“If I were the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, I would find ways to weaken Britain and France, but I would not collapse the royal families of the two countries.
“Now Britain and France have almost reached their limit, and it’s time for them to take a breather.
"The Ming royal family is also a traditional monarch, and they are the guardians of the existing order."
Adams was silent for a few seconds:
"Do you really want to contact the Ming Dynasty and ask to become a vassal state?
“We have been fighting hard for these three years, just for this result?
“It would be better to directly request to become a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty when we became independent.
"Why have you been fighting this war for three years?"
Napoleon glanced sideways at Adams:
“While declaring independence, we directly requested to become a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty, which is equivalent to direct war between the Ming Dynasty and Britain and France.
"The Ming Dynasty and Britain and France have just signed an armistice agreement for the world war. It is impossible for them to tear up the contract for our sake.
“Only we ourselves can block the British and French attacks and make them unsustainable.
“When Britain and France are willing to let us become independent, then Ming Dynasty will be able to accept us peacefully.
"These three years of fighting can be said to be for the qualification to become a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty."
Adams fell completely silent upon hearing this.
(End of chapter)
