A group of esteemed elders chuckled at Zeng Cheng's words.
However, after the laughter subsided, Zeng Cheng continued, "It's the Sar Ge, though, that presents a troublesome affair."
Liu Heming, the head of the Five Military Commissions, asked, "Does Senior Minister Zeng worry that Sar Ge might take desperate measures?"
Zeng Cheng shook his head and replied, "Sar Ge doesn't have the audacity. Even after suffering losses from the Habsburg Alliance, they wouldn't dare to wage war against our Great Ming."
"What concerns me is the Small Pot Conference two years from now."
"If this turmoil in Europe cannot be resolved before the Small Pot Conference, then Sar Ge will undoubtedly propose taking military action against the Habsburg Alliance at the Small Pot, possibly even suggesting their complete expulsion from the Small Pot."
"After all, it concerns the reputation of the Small Pot. Regardless of our covert support for the Habsburg Alliance, our Great Ming, along with England, France, and the Silly Hawk, must openly support Sar Ge."
"This will inevitably make the situation rather complicated."
Zhu Jinsong let out a hearty laugh and said, "Minister Zeng, you worry too much. The situation is far less complex than you imagine."
Zeng Cheng paused, then asked, "Your Majesty's meaning?"
Zhu Jinsong smiled and said, "If Sar Ge is inexplicably beaten and suffers immense losses, then naturally, Sar Ge will not let it go. It would be normal for them to stir up trouble at the Small Pot Conference then."
"However, if Sar Ge knows they will be beaten, but after enduring this beating, they will feast to their heart's content, what do you think? Will they still cause trouble at the Small Pot Conference?"
Upon hearing this, Zeng Cheng and the other esteemed elders suddenly understood.
It was common knowledge that the five great benefactors of the Small Pot were bound by brotherhood. They only ever conspired to bury others together, and no one else had ever been able to dig a pit for the five great benefactors.
This situation was no different.
According to the original plan of Zhu Jinsong and Louis XVI, the situation in Europe would first enter a period of stability. By flattering the Habsburg heir, the Habsburg family would be weakened, and then, when they had no chance of recovery, they would be eliminated in one fell swoop.
The current situation was as if the Habsburg family had encountered an unexpected incident, not performing according to the script planned by the five great benefactors.
However, this minor mishap was not a major issue for the five great benefactors. At most, it meant skipping the stability period and heading directly to the finale. The final outcome would not change anyway.
For Great Ming, this change was actually the most beneficial. Although Sar Ge would have to part with some gains, in the early stages, Great Ming would benefit from both the Habsburg family and Sar Ge, feasting on both.
By the later stages, as Great Ming's population grew, it was not impossible to bury both the Habsburg Alliance and Sar Ge.
The Small Pot?
If Great Ming's population was sufficient, Great Ming could directly rename the entire Small Pot to Ming Pot or Zhu Enclosure. Even if there were conflicts among the feudal states, that would be the problem of the Court of Colonial Affairs.
As for the Small Pot, which no longer had a reason to exist, it would naturally be discarded like a used rag.
Having understood the key points, Zeng Cheng smiled and said, "Then I will seek out Sar Ge's envoy, Nikola, to discuss how to resolve the turmoil in Europe."
...
Just as Zhu Jinsong and Zeng Cheng were discussing how to completely bury the Habsburg family and even how to swallow the entire Small Pot, in the Eagle Fortress far away in Europe, the Habsburg family was also holding a secret meeting.
Franz II, the current leader of the Habsburg family, was the first to state, "The Habsburg Alliance is absolutely incapable of dealing with the five great benefactors of the Small Pot simultaneously. Not only does the Habsburg family lack this strength, but even if all the countries in Europe were to unite, they would still not be able to."
"Let's not talk about anything else. How many can contend with the Ming nation, whose naval bases are spread throughout Europe?"
"Portugal still owes a large sum of money to the Ming nation, and its national strength has been declining in recent years."
"Spain was tricked by those shameless French frogs on the continent of Yin Di'an, and it is now far from its former glory."
"The Netherlands... there's not much to say about the Netherlands. They only recently re-established their nation with the support of the Ming nation and France. They have the courage to go against Sar Ge with us, but they absolutely do not have the courage to provoke the Ming nation and France."
"Therefore, our target this time can only be to bite off a piece from Sar Ge."
"Furthermore, we should send students to the Ming nation to learn their technologies, so that our Habsburg family can become strong again."
"As for anything else, it is beyond what we can hope for at present."
After Franz II finished speaking, Zweig, the Chief Minister of Internal Affairs of Austria, immediately bowed and said, "Your most esteemed Majesty the Emperor, how many students do we plan to send this time? If there are too many, I fear our finances will not be able to bear it."
Franz II asked, "Didn't that Mahmud of the Ottoman Empire borrow a large sum of money from the Ming nation?"
"As far as I know, France, England, the Silly Hawk, and Sar Ge have each borrowed a large sum of money from the Ming nation, with rather long repayment periods."
"If they can borrow, then our Habsburg family can naturally borrow as well."
"After all, the Emperor of the Ming nation certainly does not wish to see a strong Sar Ge, and he also needs our Habsburg family to stir up trouble in Europe."
"As long as Europe remains in chaos but the Ming nation can reap benefits, our Habsburg family will be the safest!"
Zweig and the other esteemed elders were immediately shocked. Was this the usual brainless Austrian Emperor Franz?
Had he suddenly come to his senses, or had he received guidance from a wise master?
As Zweig and the others were bewildered, Franz II continued with a smile, "The money borrowed from the Ming nation, regardless of the amount, will be half used to purchase military equipment, and the other half will be entirely used for the expenses of sending students to the Ming nation."
At Franz II's words, Zweig became hesitant.
Whether the Ming nation would lend money to the Habsburg family was uncertain. After all, the Ottoman Empire had abundant oil, and the Ming nation happened to need oil. Therefore, when the Ming nation lent money to the Ottoman Empire, there was no worry about their inability to repay.
But what did the Habsburg family have?
From a geographical perspective, Austria, controlled by the Habsburg family, was located in the heart of Europe, with no access to the sea. In terms of resources, Austria's mineral deposits were not particularly abundant, nor did it have large oil reserves.
Even if we take a step back, assuming the Ming nation, as Franz II said, would lend money to the Habsburg family because they needed Europe to be in turmoil, then after borrowing the money, shouldn't the Habsburg family use it to develop Austria? Half of the funds were used for sending students to the Ming nation, which was difficult to see returns from!
Seeing the bewildered expressions on Zweig and the other esteemed elders, Franz II simply smiled and said, "This money will not only be used for sending students to the Ming nation but also to reassure the Ming nation. After all, we are borrowing a significant sum. If all of it were brought back to Austria, would the Ming nation be willing?"
Zweig said, "Your most esteemed Majesty the Emperor, I must remind you—no matter how much money we borrow from the Ming nation, half of it is used to purchase military equipment, and this money itself remains in the Ming nation."
Franz II retorted, "What about the military equipment? Did you also receive the military equipment? If someone borrowed such a large sum of money from Austria and used it to purchase military equipment, would you let all the military equipment be taken away?"
Zweig was rendered speechless by the question and could only nod in agreement with Franz II's proposal.
Franz II continued, "As for the other smaller European countries, they should be given the benefits they deserve for following us to confront Sar Ge this time. Remember, Austria does not need Sar Ge's land, nor Sar Ge's minerals. We only want gold and silver or grain."
Zweig did not object to Franz II's request at all. After all, the entire Europe was experiencing a trend of grain shortage. With gold and silver and grain in hand, Austria, or rather the Habsburg family, would have more confidence than other smaller European countries. If it came to a point where mutual attrition was necessary, the Habsburg family, with money and grain, could hold on longer than other countries!
After pondering, Zweig asked again, "Then what about France and England? Or, are we truly going to tolerate the things the Small Pot has done to us?"
At Zweig's words, Franz II let out a hearty laugh, his expression ferocious, and said, "Of course, we cannot tolerate it!"
"However, we cannot afford to provoke the Ming nation at present."
"Our targeting of Sar Ge benefits the Ming nation, so the Ming nation will not target us. If we were to target France or England, the Ming nation would likely intervene to suppress us."
"Therefore, we must endure this for now. After dealing with Sar Ge, after the students sent to the Ming nation have completed their studies and returned, and after our Austria has become strong again, only then can we target France or England."
After roughly discussing the next steps with Zweig and the others, Franz II returned to his palace and sent for the special envoy who had been sent to the Ming nation, Adolf von Schitt.
Franz II spoke first, "The matters that needed to be discussed with Zweig and the others have been discussed. What are your plans for the next steps?"
Adolf bowed slightly and said, "Your most esteemed Majesty the Emperor, I believe that our next focus, besides sending students to the Ming nation, should be more on Sar Ge. However, we cannot continue to fight Sar Ge slowly as we did before."
Franz II asked, "Explain."
Adolf bowed and said, "It's like this—when I was in the Ming nation, I learned two phrases: one is 'speed is of the essence in warfare,' and the other is 'strike directly at the Yellow Dragon.' "
"If my judgment is correct, Sar Ge will definitely launch a fierce counterattack in the coming period, and they might even demand that England, France, and even the Ming nation jointly dispatch troops to deal with our Austria."
"However, whether it's England, France, or the Ming nation, for their own interests, they will not immediately send troops to help Sar Ge. And this is precisely the opportunity for our Habsburg family."
"What we need to do is to have the other smaller European countries tie down Sar Ge's army, while our elite Austrian troops rapidly advance towards Sar Ge's capital, leaving Sar Ge no time to react."
"If successful, Sar Ge's army will lose effective command, and it will be equivalent to us successfully eliminating Sar Ge."
"At this point, we will have enough confidence to propose at the Small Pot Conference that Austria take over Sar Ge and occupy a seat among the five great benefactors of the Small Pot."
Franz II shook his head and said, "Your earlier proposal is good, but the later proposal is simply unrealistic. Because Sar Ge is one of the five great benefactors of the Small Pot, and the Small Pot was created by the Emperor of the Ming nation—if Sar Ge is eliminated by us, wouldn't that be equivalent to offending the Small Pot? Offending the Small Pot is basically equivalent to offending the Ming nation."
"Therefore, I believe we should now quickly attack Sar Ge's capital and reap the greatest benefits in the shortest possible time, rather than thinking of replacing Sar Ge's seat in the Small Pot."
However, to Franz II's surprise, Adolf also shook his head and refuted his statement, saying, "Under normal circumstances, we cannot eliminate Sar Ge, because doing so would be almost equivalent to directly offending the Ming nation."
"But..." Adolf's tone shifted, and he said, "What if we establish a marital relationship with the Ming nation? Based on the knowledge I gained in the Ming nation, I discovered that countries in their history also had instances of marital alliances. Why can't our Habsburg family form a marital alliance with the Ming nation?"
"Furthermore, I also learned a phrase in the Ming nation: 'forge alliances with distant states and attack neighboring states.' From a geographical perspective, Sar Ge is close to the Ming nation, while our Austria is far from the Ming nation."
"From this perspective, the Ming nation is more likely to support our Austria than Sar Ge."
"Do not forget, when Sar Ge joined the Small Pot, they lost Eastern Siberia. Later, they even lost Central Siberia. Sar Ge people cannot help but resent the Ming nation in their hearts, and the Emperor of the Ming nation cannot help but guard against Sar Ge."
"And this is our opportunity!"
Franz II nodded and said, "Then you can go ahead and do it with confidence. By the way, you need to carefully select and plan for those students being sent to the Ming nation."
Adolf bowed and said, "Your command is my honor, my most esteemed Majesty the Emperor—in fact, they should find ways to study in the capital of the Ming nation, and to go to the capital of the Ming nation, one must first go to Hebei Province of the Ming nation..."