Regarding the trade cooperation plan proposed by the Ming Dynasty, the Lucians did not raise any objections in principle or general direction.
Then the detailed level discussions began.
Specifically choose which railway lines, which types and levels of cities, how wide the free trade zone should be, the management and tax standards of the trade zone, the business scope and tax standards of joint ventures, etc.
If the Lucians do not object in the direction, it means that the intention to cooperate has been determined, and then they can find other people to talk to.
Lucia is the main target and key target of this collaborative planning.
In the world of Zhu Jingyuan's previous life, there were two completed Shenou Continental Bridges and one under planning.
The first one is Lucia's own railway, so it bypasses the Mongolian Plateau from the north and takes the Xianbei Wasteland to Vladivostok.
The second one is participated by the Chinese side. It goes through the Mongolian Plateau and the Western Regions, leaving Alashankou, passing through Anxi and Lucia to Western Taipei.
The third plan is the general plan, taking Jiangnan, Yunnan, Nanyang, Tianzhu, Persia, Dashi, and Ottoman to enter the West.
Needless to say about the first two, the biggest problem with the third is that the terrain along the way is too complex, and the relationship between the countries along the way is also somewhat unclear.
Generally speaking, only the Tianzhu area is slightly flatter, while other areas are basically plateaus, mountains, and hills.
Moreover, this line is very close to the southern ocean and has to compete with ocean transportation to a certain extent.
Zhu Jingyuan remembered that until his rebirth, the third Shenou Continental Bridge seemed to be just an idea.
Compared with the first two continental bridges, its biggest advantage is that it can completely bypass Lucia.
The advantage of all three continental bridges is that they can bypass the maritime communication lines controlled by the United States and Tianzhu in the south.
In today's world, with the current level of industry, it is too difficult to build this continental bridge.
Although the situation in the areas along this route has changed drastically, everything from the east of the Ottomans is already under the rule of the Ming Dynasty, and there are much less political troubles.
But at the same time, the southern ocean is basically within the Ming Dynasty's sphere of influence, and direct sea transportation is also very safe.
Therefore, Ming Dynasty's current inland railway is really for inland transportation. The significance of building such a railway near Xiaoxiyang has been greatly reduced.
If we do not consider this southern route and build a direct railway connecting China and Taixi, we must pass through the territory of Lucia, and this is still the case now.
Therefore, Ming had to reach an agreement with the Lucians first, and then he could find others to join.
Even if others do not join, it is still acceptable for Daming to do business with Lucia alone.
On the other side, Prince Wilhelm Friedrich Ludwig and Princess Friedrich Louise Charlotte Wilhelmine of Prussia had returned to Berlin a few days ago.
After the two arrived home, they immediately went to meet their parents, King Friedrich Wilhelm III of Prussia and Queen Louise August Wilhelmine Amali.
The parents and their two children had not seen each other for more than four years and were very excited to see each other again.
After the father and son and mother and daughter hugged each other, the two adult children were held by their parents and asked questions.
William III asked his son very curiously and excitedly:
"In the past few years that you have been with Prince Dashi, what exactly have you done? What have you learned?"
Prince William was also quite excited and said very seriously:
"I learned a lot. Under the guidance of the gentlemen of the palace, I basically completed the middle school curriculum of Ming Dynasty.
"Under the guidance of the royal guard officers, I basically mastered the military training, management, and command systems of the Ming Dynasty.
“The most important thing is that now I finally truly understand the thoughts and working habits of Ming people.
"Although I hope to serve in the army, I should also be able to serve as our Prussian diplomat in Ming Dynasty.
"When we deal with people from the Ming Dynasty again in the future, we will not have misunderstandings or misunderstandings."
William III couldn't help but nod as he listened, feeling that his son had indeed learned something, and it was also quite important.
However, the king had something more important to pay attention to, so he immediately continued to ask:
"Then what? What is your relationship with His Highness Prince Dashi? Have you established a trustworthy friendship?"
Prince William immediately realized the purpose of being sent to Ming Dynasty.
It was based on Prince Charles of France to establish a good personal relationship with Zhu Jingyuan.
Recalling his managership in Daming over the past few years, Prince William hesitated for a moment.
But he quickly nodded again and said with certainty:
“My relationship with His Highness Prince Dashi is obviously different from Prince Charles and His Highness Prince Dashi.
“Although Crown Prince Charles is older, they are close to friends of the same age.
“And I have obviously become His Royal Highness Prince Dashi’s younger brother, even a junior and student.
"His Royal Highness is a very reliable brother and mentor, who often guides me in knowledge and principles in various aspects such as literature and art, history, military, technology, and thought.
“But more importantly, His Highness’ unique and special way of thinking.
“I can say with certainty that over the past few years, the friendship between us has indeed been established.
“His Royal Highness Prince Dashi trusts me, and I can also trust His Highness the Prince.
"Of course, this is mainly because His Royal Highness Prince Dashi is frank and willing to communicate directly with us without any disguise."
William III didn't sound particularly satisfied, but he didn't feel too sorry either:
"His Royal Highness Prince Dashi should be a typical young and mature person in Ming Dynasty.
"Charlie of France is five years older than Prince Dashi, and he can barely have a relationship similar to that of friends of the same age.
"You are a few years younger than Prince Dashi, so you can only be a younger brother and student.
"But this is not bad. His Royal Highness Prince Dashi is willing to establish a relatively personal relationship with you, so we can consider it a success..."
The father and son paused for a moment before they heard the conversation between the mother and son next to them.
The queen was asking her daughter a more personal topic:
“From the messages you sent before, it seems that you didn’t mention the emotional issues with His Highness Prince Dashi.
"So you really haven't been together in the past few years since you were with His Highness Prince Dashi?"
Princess Louise was a little shy and obviously regretful as she said:
"Indeed, His Highness treats my brother and I equally, treating us as younger siblings and students."
The queen was surprised when she heard this:
"Why? I have long heard that His Highness Prince Dashi is quite 'romantic', and he also likes young girls from foreign races very much..."
Louise rolled her eyes speechlessly:
"So that's just a rumor. The real Prince of Dashi is not like that at all."
The queen immediately asked with some gossip:
"So what is the real Prince of Food like? He has no interest in girls, but likes men very much? What is the relationship between Charles of France and him?"
Louise immediately rolled her eyes again:
"Then it's even more wrong. His Highness Prince Dashi is really not interested in men...
"Of course he is interested in women, and like the traditional Ming aristocrats, he will not be devoted to any one woman at all.
"His Royal Highness does not particularly like foreign girls. The formation of such rumors can only be said to be accidents and coincidences.
“When His Highness was in Dashi Country, there must have been more foreign girls around.
"In addition, both Osman and Persia gave him gifts, and of course they did not dare to give him Ming girls, so they gave him a group of foreign girls.
"In fact, since His Highness was sixteen years old, he has taken on average one Ming girl as a concubine every year.
“These Ming girls are the princes and concubines of his Ming Dynasty.
"Other foreign girls don't even have the status of Ming Dynasty, they are only low-level concubines or even maids of King Dashi.
"It's just that His Highness doesn't like slaves, so there are no Ottoman female slaves."
The queen finally understood and fully understood in her heart.
If a man with power and money is not restricted by social rules, his demand for women is almost unlimited.
There are religious restrictions in Thailand, and monogamy is nominally the norm.
However, aristocratic men also have a large number of mistresses outside, and they do not need to bear legal responsibility.
In the eyes of the Thai people, the concubines of the Ming Dynasty only gave their mistresses legal status.
The queen felt that most ordinary girls would be more willing to be the legal concubines of the Ming nobles than the unprotected mistresses of the Thai and Western nobles.
While thoughts were swirling in her mind, the queen asked another question:
"In this case, didn't you... take the initiative? Did you really have no chance in the past four years?"
Hearing this question, Princess Louise couldn't help but sigh:
"In the past...at the beginning, if His Highness was fifteen or sixteen years old, I might still have a chance.
"But I wasn't sensible at that time, and I didn't have the chance to meet His Highness...
“There should be no chance at all now.
“Although His Highness does have many women around him, he actually does not have a high desire to actively seek out women.
"Of course he's not aloof or abstinent, he just gives people the impression that he can be used...
"Coupled with his special status, there is no need to specifically look for women who can be used, there are already a lot of people around him.
“When he took the initiative to choose a woman, he seemed to completely consider the interests and uses.
“I even feel that if Charlotte of Hanover was not the Queen of America and the heir to the British throne, His Highness the Prince would probably not be very interested in her.
"His Highness takes two Ming girls as concubines every two years just to give birth to more heirs.
“The Ming Dynasty’s throne and throne succession rules are all assessment-based.
"He needs to have enough children to select a good enough heir..."
The queen was stunned again when she heard this, and then she understood again.
My daughter doesn't know enough, but the kind of men she mentioned are actually very common.
He pays more attention to his career, he is not too emotional, and his needs for women are very simple and crude.
After thinking of this, the queen suddenly realized a problem:
"Then if you become a monarch somewhere, will you have the opportunity to be with Prince Dashi?"
Louise subconsciously wanted to deny it, and instinctively wanted to say that His Royal Highness was not that kind of person.
But if you think about it calmly, you have to admit:
"Indeed... it's really possible... but only if I become his official concubine to King Dashi.
“You can no longer marry others according to the Thai rules.
"That is to ensure that his children and I can become the heirs of my identity..."
The queen looked at her husband when she heard this.
King William III of Prussia shook his head directly:
“A few decades ago, I would have had the chance to find a place for Louise to be queen, but it’s really impossible now.
"Prussia has finally integrated most of the German regions, and now it is impossible to separate any part.
"Unless we defeat and dismember Austria and give Louise a non-German kingdom within Austria."
The queen subconsciously asked King William III:
"Then do we still want to launch a war against Austria?"
William III looked at his son Prince William:
"So... based on your experience in the past few years, can the Ming Dynasty support us? Or, should we say, can they not oppose us launching a war against Austria?"
Several people were originally discussing whether Princess Louise had the chance to become Zhu Jingyuan's mistress, but when the topic got here, things suddenly turned serious.
Prince William thought for a while and said:
"According to my understanding, His Royal Highness Prince Dashi himself should not support the civil war of the League of Nations...
"Especially when there are other countries outside the alliance.
“The only choice we have is to risk the world’s disapproval and directly annex Austria before other countries can react, and this is basically impossible to achieve.
“So if I were to make a decision, instead of continuing with the unrealistic plan to annex Austria, I would rather annex Denmark.
"I am very confident that even if Prussia completely annexes Denmark, Ming Dynasty will not object."
William III frowned and thought about it:
“It is indeed very likely that Ming will not object.
“In Ming’s eyes, Denmark and the little land on the Baltic Sea are really too small.
"The key is that it is the farthest place from Ming Dynasty, and there are basically no interests involved.
“It could even damage our relationship with Lucia.
"Lucia would probably object if we fully annexed Denmark.
“After we control Denmark, the Lucians will have to pass under our noses if they want to enter and exit the Baltic Sea.
“Or they could choose to attack Sweden at the same time and occupy the land across the strait.
“The most important thing is that after the Lucians conquered Sweden, they had the opportunity to directly enter the North Sea and the Atlantic Ocean.
“According to our understanding, the Lucians have always had the intention to conquer Sweden, but they have always been unable to do so.
“After the World War, the Lucians reconciled with the Ming Dynasty, and the idea of conquering Sweden will definitely become stronger.
“It’s just that military technology is constantly innovating now, and the Lucians are not ready yet.
"Of course, we in Prussia are not ready for war. Even if the target is Denmark, we cannot act rashly...
"If we really want to start strategic actions against Denmark, we'd better consult and communicate with Lucia in advance."
When Prince William heard this, he couldn't help expressing his views again:
“His Royal Highness Prince Dashi said that technological innovation can delay war.
“Because technological innovation will make war initiators think that they are not ready for war.
"The actual situation is that technological innovation will cause too many 'variables' in war, that is, uncontrollable factors.
“Factors that cannot be determined by a country’s military strength and command capabilities are detrimental to the stronger party.
"However, these variables are caused by technological innovation. If it can be determined that the scale and speed of our own technological innovation are faster, then these variables should be beneficial to our own side.
“I don’t think Denmark will grasp new technology faster than we do.
“Although we and Denmark are neighboring countries, we have direct technical exchanges with the Ming Dynasty, and Denmark, a small country, is the farthest place from the Ming Dynasty.
“His Highness also said that with the continuous upgrading of technology, military equipment systems will become more and more complex, and the gap between countries of different sizes will become wider and wider.
"With the gradual formation of mechanized forces, it is gradually becoming impossible for a small country to defeat a large country."
After hearing these words, William III felt an impulse in his heart. He wanted to stop waiting for technology updates and take action directly:
"So... His Highness Prince Dashi, did you encourage us to take action against Denmark?"
Prince William immediately shook his head:
"Of course not. His Royal Highness Prince Dashi has taught too many truths. These are all heard in daily chats.
“Personally, because I am a Prussian prince, I will instinctively consider the situation around our homeland.
“Then we instinctively apply these analyzes and judgments to our own situation.
“Furthermore, the views I mentioned are certainly beneficial to us and certainly support our actions.
“However, we are also supported to continue to wait, because the more technological innovations, the better for us.
“Maybe we can win now, but the price of victory will be lower in the future and the war will be faster.
"His Royal Highness Prince Dashi also said that in the future, the time that countries the size of Prussia and France in the West will be able to resist in a fully mechanized war may be counted in days.
“In countries like the Netherlands and Denmark, it may be calculated in hours.
"Because of our armored fighting vehicles and aircraft, we can occupy all their cities in a few hours."
William III fell silent upon hearing these words.
What do you mean by countries like Prussia and France, where the resistance time is measured in days?
Although William III was familiar with the latest military technological innovations, he found it difficult to believe such extremely exaggerated predictions.
Before World War II, no one could have imagined that the French surrendered in only forty days, and Denmark only considered surrendering for four hours.
It can be said that France simply has no will to fight, while Denmark's size gap is so large that they have no chance to resist.
(End of chapter)
