Prince Chongzhen

Chapter 508 Why not go to England and ask first?
"Bourgeois, you may have misunderstood one thing. The main reason why I agreed to meet you three is because of the Netherlands. As for you, France."

Zhu Cilang glanced at the French envoy expressionlessly, and then turned his attention to the petition in his hand.

"I'm not really interested."

As soon as he finished speaking, a feeling of humiliation immediately surged into Bourgeois' heart, but when this proud French count was about to retort, the domestic situation appeared in his mind, and then a feeling of powerlessness completely took over.

He had been in Ming Dynasty for several months, but the negotiations for military aid had not been concluded.

Originally this was nothing, after all, Portugal and Catalonia had already become independent, and it was only a matter of time before Spain was dismembered.

Even though the conflicts within France are on the verge of breaking out, it is still better than in Spain.

Under such circumstances, his goal was to eliminate the Ming Dynasty's interference in the situation, and he did not really care about obtaining military aid.

But the development of the situation ultimately exceeded everyone's expectations.

The Dutch regent died suddenly, and his son was completely unable to suppress the local forces that only cared about economic interests. Then six of the seven provinces of the Netherlands decided to negotiate peace with Spain, and France was caught in a pincer attack.

Normally speaking, Catalonia is not far from Madrid, and Conde can easily lead his troops to capture the Spanish capital. But the bad thing is that Philip IV has already formed a new army of more than 20,000 people with the help of the Ming Dynasty. Who would dare to make such a decision?

Faced with such a situation, Prince Condé had to withdraw his troops from Catalonia as quickly as possible, and eventually collided with the Spanish coalition forces in Lens.

In this battle, the French army had more than 7,000 infantry and 9,000 cavalry, while the Spanish-Holy Roman coalition was composed of 9,000 Spanish infantry and 9,000 Holy Roman cavalry.

In terms of military strength alone, there is not much difference between the two sides, so it is inevitable that they are in a stalemate.

However, whether it was because the hatred for the French was too deep or because he was eager to make achievements, when the Grand Condé chose to withdraw his troops because of the surrender of Lens, the Spanish commander Beck insisted on pursuing him despite the obstruction of Archduke Leopold, giving the Grand Condé the opportunity to reverse the situation.

In this battle, the French army first took advantage of its rest to defeat Beck's pursuing troops, and then the Great Condé decisively counterattacked and finally annihilated the entire Western Gods coalition outside the city of Lens.

At this point, the threat from the north completely disappeared, and France was able to launch a full-scale attack on Spain.

As long as Conde can defeat the new Spanish army, little Madrid will be in his pocket.

By then, France will not only become the new European overlord with the dividends of war, but its national system will also inevitably develop in the direction of the Ming Dynasty as Mazarin wished.

But how could the French nobles just sit there and wait for death?

As soon as the news of Lens' victory reached Paris, the common people immediately rose up in rebellion under the instigation of the nobles. Afterwards, the emperor, the queen mother, and the prime minister fled from Paris, and war broke out in France. The arrogant Bourgeois appeared alone in the warm room of the Qianqing Palace.

"Your Majesty, forgive me for being blunt. Although the Ming Dynasty has a vast territory and superior strength, my France is not insignificant either," Bourgeois said, while constantly observing Zhu Cilang's reaction. Seeing that the Ming Emperor was not angry at his words, he said in a flattering tone, "Not only does our country occupy a large territory in the north of New Spain, we have also built many strongholds around the Strait of Malacca. If your Majesty can..."

"I know."

Bourgeva had wanted to describe France's overseas colonies in detail in the hope of arousing the interest of the Ming Emperor, but he didn't know what went wrong. Before he finished speaking, the emperor's face suddenly darkened, and then a slightly dissatisfied voice came, and he suddenly felt uneasy.

"The New France you mentioned belongs to America. Our eunuch Sanbao arrived here more than 200 years ago. It also has exchanges with countries such as Dogadia and Lehua." Zhu Cilang then turned his attention back to the question book. After turning two pages, he continued, "As for the Malacca area you mentioned, it was originally a vassal of the Ming Dynasty. Are you planning to exchange the Ming Dynasty for money?"

"But Luzon is also a vassal of the Ming Dynasty!"

Bourgeva did not have any doubt about Zhu Cilang's words. After all, it was not a secret that the Ming Dynasty had already had a huge fleet cruising the oceans hundreds of years ago. Anyone with some knowledge knew something about it.

But then again, America and the surrounding areas of Malacca have close ties with the Ming Dynasty, so doesn’t Luzon have any?
If Spain can get assistance from the Ming Dynasty with the help of this place, why can't France?
With this in mind, Burjeva plucked up the courage to look at Zhu Cilang with great doubt.

However, as a count of France, he could only be confused for a while. When he connected all the things together, he immediately understood.

If there had not been the support of the Ming Dynasty, perhaps Prince Condé would have taken advantage of Catalonia's pursuit of independence to march directly into Madrid. By then, the war that had lasted for decades would have ended with the victory of the Protestant League, and European countries would have been able to free up their hands to develop overseas.

Such a situation is undoubtedly extremely unfavorable for the Ming Dynasty, which is temporarily unable to invest all its strength overseas, so it is reasonable for it to seek assistance from Spain.

Would it be beneficial for the Ming Dynasty just because Spain won?
Thinking of this, Bourgeois no longer cared about the rules. After paying a very grand salute to Zhu Cilang, he shouted at the top of his voice: "Your Majesty, please understand! There is a rebellion in France and we urgently need external support. If the Ming Dynasty is unwilling to provide help, then Spain will definitely win the final victory. By then, there is a great possibility that an empire as powerful as the Ming Dynasty will appear in Europe. Don't you worry about the damage to the interests of the Ming Dynasty?"

I have to say that what Bourgeva said was really heartbreaking.

After all, no matter how many ties there are between countries, at the deepest level it is just interests.

But he was still thinking too simply. How could he guess Zhu Cilang's understanding of international relations?

"Forget it, I won't play tricks with you anymore," Zhu Cilang said, and then he put the book back on the table. After weighing it in his mind, he finally decided to tell him everything he had planned: "Although France has been defeated, the Holy Roman Empire may not be able to defeat Sweden. Besides, Spain has lost the Netherlands and Portugal in the past few decades, and now it will lose Catalonia. Even if France is destroyed, it will have to take back these places before it can fight against the Ming Dynasty. What do I have to worry about?"

After hearing the words, Bourgewa wanted to make a few more remarks, but just as he was about to open his mouth, he saw the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty raise his hand slightly, and then the voice with a tone of disapproval came into his ears.

"Besides, isn't there England overseas? You Europeans have been fighting for so many years, but they only occasionally join the war. In my opinion, even if they are in the midst of a civil war, they should be able to spend a lot of money. Why don't you go and take a look at them first?"

(End of this chapter)