France, Versailles Palace, the French royal family fled here after being defeated in the previous war with Spain. At this time, the Queen Mother Anna of Austria and the French King Louis XIV were sitting on the throne, listening to the Imperial Prime Minister Mazarin's report about the Ming army.
"I learned from the information from the Ottoman Empire that it turned out that the Ming army was like this. They were so unstoppable that they successively destroyed Dongwu, Mughal and Persian countries!" Mazarin said with a very serious expression, "I It’s also strange, with just over 100,000 troops, how on earth did they manage to capture so much territory in just a few years!”
"How did you do it?" Anna from Austria asked curiously after hearing this, "I don't know whether Dongwu is strong or not, but I have heard of the reputations of the Mughal Empire and the Persian Empire. They The territory seems to be very large, how can it be so unconquered?"
Mazarin listened and replied seriously: "Indeed, generally speaking, just the occupation of places and the loss of troops can delay this army for many years. However, their approach to attacking other countries, But they killed the local nobles and distributed the nobles' land and property to the untouchables, thereby gaining the support of the untouchables, so they fought very smoothly!"
"What?" Anna from Austria was shocked when she heard this, "Then the Ming army conquered so many countries, what do they want?"
In her opinion, to conquer those countries, the first thing is to plunder the wealth of these countries. How can it take advantage of the local untouchables? This approach is completely different from European countries colonizing other places!
"I don't know!" Mazarin frowned and guessed after hearing this, "But I guess that the people of the Ming Dynasty did this in order to quickly stabilize the place they just occupied and get manpower supplements. Maybe they will wait until they occupy the area they want to occupy in the future. After the place stabilizes, the wealth will be taken back from those untouchables, right?"
At this point, after he paused, he had to say with emotion: "This move is really powerful! I heard that with the help of those untouchables, the Ming army not only avoided being unfamiliar with other countries, but also had manpower and materials All have been replenished. Not to mention anything else, as far as Persia, which knows the most, when the Ming army fought, the untouchables under the Persian emperor fled to places controlled by the Ming army, and there were many in the Ming army. The Persians became very brave and often rushed to the front."
After he finished speaking, he remembered something and added: "By the way, there were more than 10,000 Persians in the battle of Baghdad."
After hearing this, Anna from Austria said very worriedly: "I heard that China is digging the Suez Canal. Once it can be opened to navigation, the Ming Dynasty naval fleet can directly enter the Mediterranean. If they come to attack France, they will use this One move, can we block it?"
Louis XIV on the side had been listening. After hearing this, he couldn't help but interjected: "It's okay, our territory on the Mediterranean side has been occupied by Spain. Spain is the one with the headache, it's best to let them Dog eat dog!”
Hearing this, Anna and Mazarin from Austria couldn't help but turn their heads to look at him. They didn't expect that the little king would express such an opinion.
After coming back to her senses, Anna from Austria reprimanded: "What do you know? We are at war with Spain. That is our family matter. However, the Ming army is different. They are outsiders and devils, do you understand?"
She is really qualified to say this, because she is the biological sister of King Felipe IV of Spain, so she is not a family member!
After hearing this, Louis XIV turned away and did not answer.
When Mazarin saw it, he quickly smoothed things over and said, "Hasn't there been an armistice with Spain now? The land occupied by Spain may be able to be returned. I will send someone to contact Grand Conde in the near future. As long as we reach an agreement with him, we will not There will be problems."
Anna from Austria came to her senses after hearing this, and quickly explained: "What I mean is that those people from the Ming Dynasty look different from us, and they don't believe in God. They are completely foreigners."
"Yes!" Mazarin echoed, "And the Ming army's method is to kill all the local nobles and distribute the land and wealth of the nobles to the untouchables. Once the Ming army comes, we will There is no way out. However, even if the war with Spain is defeated, at most we can give them some land and recognize their overlord status, and the Queen Mother and Her Highness will be fine!"
At this point, both he and Anna from Austria couldn't help but fall silent.
It can be seen from this that the people of the Ming Dynasty are scourges in European countries. Their approach would seriously threaten them, European rulers. This shakes their fundamental interests and is absolutely unacceptable to them.
After a moment of silence, Anna from Austria asked Mazarin worriedly: "You are the Prime Minister of the Empire. You have to think of a way. What should we do if the Ming army really has to fight?"
After hearing this, Mazarin frowned and said: "I heard from the news from the Ottoman Empire that on their current border, those untouchables have secretly ran away to places controlled by the Ming army. Because after they ran over, they could cross Better days! This situation must never happen."
At this point, his train of thought became clear, and he immediately said: "We must publicize that the people of the Ming Dynasty are demons, demons from hell. They eat people without spitting out bones, kill people for profit, rape women, and do all kinds of evil. In short, how bad are they? That’s how you put it. In this way, those untouchables will not dare to hope that the Ming army will come. At least our place will be stable. "
"You are lying!" After hearing this, Louis XIV, who was a little unable to accept this method at a young age, spat out.
"..." Mazarin was stunned when he heard this, and turned to look at the king speechlessly, feeling that his image was a bit damaged in front of the little king.
But when he came to his senses, he quickly explained: "Your Highness, this is politics, there is no good or bad, and this is done for the good of France and for the good of Your Highness!"
After hearing this, Anna of Austria immediately reprimanded her son: "What do you know at such a young age? Is it possible that you really want to be caught and killed by the Ming army?"
Louis XIV stopped talking after hearing this. Of course he didn't want to die!
When Anna from Austria saw it, she turned back, looked at Mazarin and said, "Then what?"
After Mazarin heard this, he quickly replied: "Over at the Vatican, I can be sure that they are also very resistant to the arrival of the Ming army. Therefore, I think we can send someone to contact the Vatican. Moreover, the royal families and nobles of other European countries, You are also afraid of the Ming army, so you can contact me. I don’t believe it. If all the European countries unite, how can the Ming army win?”
"Their muskets are great!" Louis XIV seemed to be a little rebellious. Although he knew that what his mother and godfather said was actually for his own good, he still couldn't help but interject.
Mazarin listened, but nodded and said: "Indeed, I heard from the Ottomans that the range of the Ming army's firearms is longer than the range of the rifled guns in our hands. Especially the artillery, because the range is estimated It went wrong, so that the Ottoman army lost all its artillery at the beginning of the war. Otherwise, the Ottoman Empire might not have lost the battle of Baghdad!"
"What should we do?" Anna from Austria immediately became worried when she heard this.
In the past, when France played Spain, the winning rate was actually relatively high. However, after Spain suddenly used guns with a longer range, the French army was defeated, and she had to abandon Paris and come to the Palace of Versailles.
Later, France also purchased a large number of new artillery from Portugal, which was able to block the Spanish attack.
From this, she learned that whether a firearm is powerful or not is really crucial to a war.
Mazarin also frowned when he heard what he said: "This firearm is indeed a problem. But Osman said that the range seems to be much longer, but it is not to the point where it cannot resist."
"We can buy more, the Portuguese must have them!" At this time, Louis XIV suddenly interjected.
When Anna from Austria heard this, her eyes suddenly lit up and she said: "Yes, the Portuguese must have new guns and artillery, right? We can start first and equip them first. Not only will we not be afraid of the Ming army, but we will also start a war with Spain." , you can also have a chance of winning!"
After hearing this, Mazarin still frowned and shook his head and said: "This time, there will probably be a war with the Ming army. The Ming army is not a fool, and they may not give it to Portugal again..."
As soon as he said this, he suddenly saw someone rushing in from outside the palace and reported to them: "The latest news came from Lisbon, Portugal!"
With that said, he handed over a document.
When Mazarin heard this, he immediately went to take it and felt like he was reading it.
On the Portuguese side, there have always been spies arranged there.
This is not only done by France, but also by other European countries.
In fact, Portugal is very important today. Not to mention other things, if we have a good relationship with Portugal and can buy new guns in large quantities, but if our opponents cannot get them, the outcome of the war may be different.
Even though European countries are now equipped with many new guns and guns, their own countries are also working day and night to imitate the new guns. But no one can ignore Portugal. There must be spies there to understand the situation in Lisbon in order to feel at ease.
"ah……"
When Mazarin saw the document, he was so shocked that he lost his voice in front of the emperor.
When Anna from Austria heard this, she was immediately surprised and asked quickly: "What's wrong? What major things happened in Lisbon?"
Even Louis XIV was a little curious and looked at his godfather with open eyes. Because according to his impression, the godfather is a very stable person. How could he lose his composure after reading the news?
