"You are a devil! A devil!" the leader of the kidnappers gasped, struggling violently, shouting at Louis XVI, "Our families are innocent, they know nothing!"
Seeing that the kidnappers were in a panic, Louis XVI shrugged his shoulders, spread his hands, and said, "Who cares? They might know something, or they might not. What difference does it make to me? Will the Ming people care about this?"
Speaking of which, Louis XVI's face also turned ferocious: "Listen, whether your families know anything has nothing to do with me, but the fact that Ming merchants were kidnapped by you is a big deal to me – if you hadn't kidnapped Ming merchants, do you think I would have had time to meet with you kidnappers?"
"Furthermore, you release the Ming merchants, and I release your families. This is a fair transaction. Now, you are the ones who have to make the choice, not me, understand?"
As it turned out, Europe had no soil suitable for cultivating fearless warriors. Louis XVI only needed to threaten these "kidnappers" with their families, and these "kidnappers" panicked. The abducted Ming merchants and their families were soon released.
What was even more disastrous was that those "kidnappers" who fell into Louis XVI's hands quickly betrayed their masterminds.
"Franz II ordered us to do it."
"He said that as long as Ming merchants could be kidnapped, the Ming people would definitely demand them from your France, and if your France couldn't produce them, the relationship between the Ming and your France would be strained, and the Ming people would certainly not support you as before."
After being repeatedly defeated by Napoleon, Franz II had recently begun to study the relationship between France and the Ming Dynasty.
Then, Franz II came to a conclusion: France was able to act so imperiously in Europe precisely because of the support from the Ming Dynasty. If the relationship between France and the Ming Dynasty was strained, or if the Ming Dynasty no longer supported France so much, then France would not be able to hold its ground.
The easiest way to create a rift between France and the Ming Dynasty was to directly kidnap Ming merchants in France.
Franz II had also considered directly kidnapping the Ming ambassador to France, but the Ming ambassador to France resided in the Ming embassy near the Palace of Versailles. Besides being protected by French troops, there was also a Ming army stationed nearby.
Trying to kidnap the Ming ambassador to France under such tight security was as difficult as climbing to heaven.
It was precisely because of this that Franz II had to settle for the next best option and seek an opportunity to kidnap Ming merchants.
In Franz II's mind, since they could travel across the ocean from the Ming Dynasty to France to do business, these merchants must have been figures of some importance in the Ming Dynasty.
If a Ming merchant of standing suddenly disappeared in Paris, France, and was never seen again, would the Ming side not investigate?
If such a situation occurred, and France could not provide an explanation to the Ming Dynasty, then the relationship between the Ming Dynasty and France would surely be strained, and the Ming Dynasty would not be able to provide the same level of support to France as before.
Unfortunately, Franz II miscalculated Louis XVI's seriousness regarding the disappearance of the Ming merchants, and also miscalculated Louis XVI's ruthlessness.
Upon discovering the inexplicable disappearance of the Ming merchant and his relatives, Louis XVI immediately dispatched all the personnel he could mobilize. Through careful investigation, and by following the clues left behind by the "kidnappers," he successfully counter-kidnapped the families of these "kidnappers."
Of course, it was also thanks to the assistance of the Ming embassy in France that Louis XVI was able to find the clues left by the "kidnappers" so quickly.
In fact, the Ming embassies and consulates in other overseas countries were all staffed with personnel from the Embroidered Uniform Guard, specifically those elite spies who were highly skilled in gathering information and intelligence.
In the eyes of these Embroidered Uniform Guard spies, the ability of those European kidnappers to conceal their tracks was perhaps inferior to the level of children playing hide-and-seek in the Ming Dynasty.
The rest, as they say, followed naturally.
The Ming embassy in France directly issued a warning to all Ming merchants and citizens in Europe, urging everyone to protect their safety and to seek assistance from the local embassy if there were any uncertainties.
Following this, Louis XVI, who had almost been outmaneuvered, directly ordered Napoleon at the front lines to lead the French army to intensify its offensive against the Habsburg family, striving to send the Habsburg family to meet their maker as soon as possible.
Then, Zhu Jinsong, upon receiving the news, instructed the Ministry of Rites to publish an article in the "Great Ming Newspaper" condemning the actions of the Habsburg family and stating that the Ming Dynasty would soon intervene to strike them.
This declaration by the Ming Dynasty was the final nail in the coffin for the rule of the Habsburg family.
Prior to this, although the Ming Dynasty had been supporting France and England in their fight against the Habsburg family and had consistently defined the Habsburg family as the evil side, the Ming Dynasty had not indicated that it would personally intervene against them. This led many smaller nations within "Little Pot China" to remain in a state of observation.
For these smaller European nations, while they might not have dared to offend England and France, they also did not dare to offend the Habsburg family. If they were to openly declare their support for France and England, and the Habsburg family ultimately emerged victorious, what would these smaller nations do?
Let's not even talk about whether "Little Pot China" was small or not.
Almost everyone understood that before the Ming Dynasty made a statement, France and England's outward displays of strength were merely superficial. If the Habsburg family suddenly rose to power and crushed France and England, the Ming Dynasty might very well form an alliance with the Habsburg family.
If the Habsburg family proved even more capable, able to directly confront the Ming Dynasty, even if it was just a draw, some of "Little Pot China" would inevitably fall under Habsburg influence.
No one was foolish.
Therefore, besides a few staunch supporters of France and England, and the staunch supporters of the Habsburg family who openly declared their allegiance, most of the smaller nations remained on the fence, observing the situation.
However, after the Ming Dynasty publicly declared its intention to personally intervene against the Habsburg family, the situation changed.
As long as the Ming Dynasty had not made a statement, there was still room for variables. But after the Ming Dynasty made its statement, there was no room for maneuver. These smaller nations, having already witnessed the strength of the Ming army, naturally gained the courage to commit.
Suddenly, various member states of "Little Pot China" began to publicly declare their support for France and England in their war against the Habsburg family, and strongly condemned the Habsburgs' attempt to kidnap Ming merchants.
Many smaller nations expressed that "Little Pot China" under the leadership of the Ming Dynasty was righteous, responsible, and a vital force for maintaining world peace and stability. Especially the "Five Benevolent Ones" led by the Ming Dynasty, they were the core of this force. The Habsburg family's attempt to kidnap Ming merchants was an act of "no martial virtue," and everyone should unite against them. The Habsburg family should not only be expelled from the "world club" but even from humanity.
Faced with such a bizarre spectacle, even Zhu Jinsong, the emperor and a穿越者 (time traveler), could only express his admiration and, at the same time, feel a pang of sympathy for the Habsburg family.
You were well on your way to being beaten; if you didn't want to be beaten, you should have stood at attention and confessed earlier. Then you could have come to "Little Pot China" and paid homage. Wouldn't the "Five Benevolent Ones" led by the Ming Dynasty have given you a way out?
Now, you've blocked all your escape routes. Not only do you have no chance of joining "Little Pot China," but the "world" itself does not intend to accept you.
Zhu Jinsong's shameless statement left figures like Zeng Cheng and other high-ranking officials of the Ming court bewildered.
The reason the Habsburg family hasn't joined "Little Pot China" until now seems to be because you, Your Majesty, were unwilling to accept them, right?
And, just accept being beaten? And stand at attention and confess? What kind of theory is this?
Moreover, regarding the matter of harming Ming merchants, the Habsburg family tried to kidnap one but failed. But you, Your Majesty, have probably had eight hundred to a thousand, if not a thousand, of them kidnapped and killed over the years!
Of course, Zeng Cheng and other high-ranking officials also knew that Zhu Jinsong, the Ming Emperor, was always protective of his own. Although he showed no mercy when dealing with corrupt officials, wicked gentry, and treacherous merchants, and could remain unmoved even in the face of cases involving tens of thousands of people, there was one thing: the corrupt officials, wicked gentry, and treacherous merchants of the Ming Dynasty could only be killed by him, and it was never permissible for foreigners to do so.
For example, if Ming merchants committed any offense overseas, their fate upon returning to the Ming Dynasty would only be death. However, the Ming Dynasty never mentioned these merchants being tried in overseas countries. Every single one of them was brought back to the Ming mainland for processing.
And Zhu Jinsong clearly did not truly care about the fate of the Habsburg family.
It must be said, bullying the Habsburg family like this was indeed quite excessive, but when the Ming Dynasty became the bully, Zhu Jinsong suddenly felt that everything was fine.
After thinking for a moment, Zhu Jinsong instructed Zhu Erdan, Liu Heming, and others, "Although this merchant has been rescued, since Pierre has agreed to let the Ming Dynasty send some people to France, this opportunity should not be wasted."
"Later, you, the Five Military Commissions, should select a few officers, and the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Eastern Depot should also send a few personnel to form a military observation group to go to France and see how warfare is conducted in Europe."
Zhu Erdan sneered and said, "I don't think it's necessary. According to Pierre, Napoleon has the title of God of War in France, and as far as I know, Napoleon's achievements are nothing compared to those in our Ming Military Academy."
Liu Heming echoed, "Your Highness Prince of Qin is absolutely correct. I have also met Napoleon. His performance in tactics is passable, but his strategic performance is far from it. Although it cannot be said to be short-sighted, it can only be described as lacking foresight."
With Zhu Erdan and Liu Heming saying this, Zhu Jinsong was also a bit dumbfounded.
In the eyes of these two, Napoleon was like this?
The key was, was the Napoleon they were commenting on the same person as the Napoleon I had heard about?
The Napoleon I had heard about was incredibly impressive, and it seemed that there were very few people in all of Europe who were more impressive or better at fighting than him. How could they be evaluated as insignificant and lacking foresight by these two?
Of course, Zhu Jinsong had never paid much attention to military students like Napoleon. Instead, leaders of the Five Military Commissions like Zhu Erdan and Liu Heming paid more attention.
Moreover, Zhu Jinsong did not truly care whether Napoleon was as legendary as rumored.
For Zhu Jinsong, it was more important to send people to Europe to understand the extent of military development in Europe than to focus on whether Napoleon was Napoleon or not.
Tapping the table with his fingers, Zhu Jinsong said, "I don't care if he's Napoleon or Napo-lun, nor do I care if he's a God of War or a completely visionless weakling."
"To put it bluntly, I am asking your Five Military Commissions to send people to Europe to figure out the current tactical and military development level there."
"In other words, before your Five Military Commissions resolve the Ottoman issue, you must be prepared to participate in the entire European war."
Hearing Zhu Jinsong say this, Zhu Erdan and Liu Heming's faces first lit up with joy, and then they felt a bit of a headache.
Zhu Erdan directly asked, "Brother Emperor, we haven't even dealt with the Ottomans yet, and we haven't finished recruiting laborers from India. Where do we have the time to pay attention to Europe now?"
Zhu Jinsong shook his head and said, "Whether we have the time is one thing, and whether we need to be prepared is another."
Speaking of which, Zhu Jinsong couldn't help but sigh, "The storm is coming."
At this, not only Zhu Erdan, Liu Heming, and the leaders of the Five Military Commissions were bewildered, but even Zeng Cheng, Liu Huaiwen, and other civil officials were also bewildered.
The phrase "the storm is coming" is usually followed by three words: "the building is full of wind."
However, from the current situation, where was the wind?
Europe was indeed in chaos. Russia and the Ottomans were engaged in a fierce war, and even the "Silly Hawk" in the distant Indies could not remain unaffected.
But wasn't all of this instigated by the Ming Dynasty?