The artist with the small mustache was momentarily undecided, his gaze shifting back and forth between Erwin and Manstein.
Choosing Erwin's plan meant proceeding step by step according to the original plan, ending the war before the Tsarist Russian army could fully mobilize.
Choosing Manstein's plan, however, required ending the war before winter arrived.
Frankly, the artist with the small mustache leaned more towards Manstein's plan. While Erwin's was extremely cautious, its drawbacks were also apparent; it offered very limited benefits, at best, aligning Austria with France and Ming.
In contrast, Manstein's plan, though radical enough to gamble Austria's fate, promised immense gains and best suited the artist with the small mustache's aspirations. After all, even the strongest allies were still others. Who wouldn't want to become one of the "Five Virtuous Ones" of the Little Shattered Pot (a metaphorical reference to a powerful entity)?
After some thought, the artist with the small mustache looked at Manstein and asked, "And after we cut off the supply lines of the Tsarist Russian army?"
Upon hearing the artist with the small mustache's statement, Erwin and Manstein understood his choice. He wanted to take a gamble.
Erwin frowned and said, "I mean no offense, esteemed Herr General, but you must know that our Austrian army is far outnumbered by the Tsarist Russian army."
Manstein retorted sharply to Erwin, "The number of troops doesn't decide everything. When the Ming Emperor overthrew the Great Qing, his army was also far outnumbered by the Great Qing."
"Besides, you must have seen the Ming Emperor's war records at the Ming Military Academy."
"As long as the Ming Emperor could cut off the Great Qing army's logistical supply, the Great Qing army would collapse, either by abandoning their weapons and fleeing or by surrendering to the Ming Emperor."
"What we need to do now is exactly what the Ming Emperor did to cut off the Great Qing army's logistical supply – cut off those Tsarist Russians' logistical supply."
"Of course, this requires your cooperation. I need you to attract as many Tsarist Russian troops as possible, to gather them together. The more troops they gather, the greater their reliance on logistical supply will be, and the more severely they will collapse after their supply lines are cut."
Erwin's expression immediately darkened. For Erwin, attracting as many Tsarist Russian troops as possible was not the problem; the problem was how to withstand their attacks and how to hold out until Manstein could cut off the Tsarist Russian army's supply lines. More critically, although Manstein confidently guaranteed that he could cut off the Tsarist Russian army's supply lines, war was not won by guarantees alone. One should always guard against the unforeseen. What if Manstein failed to cut off the Tsarist Russian army's supply lines?
However, before Erwin could voice his objections, the artist with the small mustache spoke, "Then we will proceed with Manstein's plan. We'll defeat them before they can seek help from the Ming Emperor. This is an opportunity granted to us by God, an opportunity to become one of the 'Five Virtuous Ones' of the Little Shattered Pot!"
In fact, even if the Tsarist Russians sought help from the Great Ming now, the Ming court would have no time to attend to their requests. With the Ming Emperor having absconded, who would bother with a bunch of barbarians?!
...
In Kunning Palace, Zeng Cheng, Liu Hemming, and other senior officials maintained a slight stoop, not daring to breathe too heavily. With the Emperor's silent departure, the vast Great Ming Empire could only be overseen by the Crown Prince. However, Emperor Zhu had not established a Crown Prince, so the Empress and the eldest prince were left to govern.
This seemed to present no problem, right? If the eldest prince could step forward to govern, then there would be no issue. The problem was that the eldest prince had absconded with Emperor Ming himself, and he hadn't informed the Empress before leaving. When Empress Li discovered that the Emperor and the eldest prince had absconded together...
In desperation, Zeng Cheng, Liu Hemming, and the other senior officials could only come to Kunning Palace and obediently listen to Empress Li's scolding: "Such a great Emperor, such a great eldest prince, and you let them both abscond!"
Zeng Cheng and Liu Hemming and the other senior officials all lowered their heads, neither willing to speak first. It wasn't that Empress Li held immense power; after all, Emperor Zhu himself was too lazy to deal with state affairs, and Empress Li, following her husband's example, naturally had little interest in them.
The problem was that Zeng Cheng and Liu Hemming and the other senior officials were afraid. Theoretically, all men in the world were under Emperor Zhu's authority, and all women were under Empress Li's. If she were displeased, she could easily say something to Zeng Cheng and Liu Hemming's wives...
In any case, Zeng Cheng and Liu Hemming were very unwilling to kneel on washboards. This was a historical issue left over from the Liangmeng Mountain period. At that time, Emperor Zhu had just begun his rebellion, and those who dared to rebel with him were naturally bold and fierce, mostly single men. There were very few like Liu Huaiwen who had families. It wasn't until Emperor Zhu, acting on his attraction, married Empress Li that Liu Hemming, Zhu Erdan, and other fierce men, under Empress Li's arrangements, married their wives. Later, as Emperor Zhu's territory expanded, and Zeng Cheng and others gradually gathered around Emperor Zhu, Empress Li remained at Liangmeng Mountain, taking care of the families of Zeng Cheng and Liu Hemming, even organizing their wives to establish weaving workshops, teach them handicrafts, and specifically allocate time to teach them to read and write. For Zeng Cheng, who was older, it was understandable. But for younger individuals like Liu Hemming, Zhu Erdan, and Geng Rui, Empress Li truly embodied the four characters "like a mother to elder brothers."
Therefore, enduring the scolding was nothing shameful.
When Empress Li tired of scolding, Liu Hemming bowed and said, "Your Highness, I have already sent people to notify the garrisons in various regions, instructing them to pay attention to His Majesty's whereabouts. If they find him, they will report immediately."
Zeng Cheng also bowed and said, "I have also instructed the local governments to pay attention to His Majesty's whereabouts."
However, to Zeng Cheng and Liu Hemming's surprise, Empress Li merely let out a cold laugh upon hearing this. "There's no need to ask the local authorities to pay attention to the Emperor's whereabouts, at least not within Great Ming. Directly relay the order to Great Ming's overseas military bases to pay attention to His Majesty's whereabouts. Also, immediately dispatch two fleets to Europe; the Emperor might need them sooner or later."
Zeng Cheng was startled and couldn't help but bow and ask, "Does Your Highness mean His Majesty is not on a private tour within Great Ming, but has gone to Europe?"
Empress Li hummed in response and then couldn't help but grumble, "A few days ago, the Emperor often sighed, saying things like 'a good opportunity was wasted,' and that it's very painful not to eat meat when it's in your mouth."
Hearing this, Zeng Cheng and Liu Hemming understood what was happening. According to Emperor Zhu's original intentions, Great Ming should have pushed through the "Little Shattered Pot" (Europe) while Tsarist Russia was occupied with England and the others. However, Great Ming also needed a stable source of labor. If they were to conquer all of the "Little Shattered Pot," where would Great Ming recruit labor from? Therefore, the plan to conquer the "Little Shattered Pot" was put on hold.
Empress Li continued to grumble, "It was understandable back at Liangmeng Mountain, but as the territory grew larger and all sorts of matters required his attention, he had fewer opportunities to personally lead troops. Now that your Cabinet and the Grand Military Command are handling things, and he has fewer concerns, he naturally can't sit still."
"Besides, don't you know the Emperor's temperament? He gets excited when there's an opportunity for war, and slacks off when there isn't. In the past few years, which year has he not gone out? And how many times has he been gone for three to five months? This time should be the same, except he's gone farther, all the way to this damn Europe..."
"Damn man? Or damn Emperor?" Zeng Cheng mused, then bowed and said, "Regardless, please Your Highness preside over court affairs?"
However, to Zeng Cheng and Liu Hemming's surprise, Empress Li shook her head, rejecting Zeng Cheng's proposal. "Haven't you realized yet? The Emperor isn't just running out for war."
Zeng Cheng was startled and asked, "What does Your Highness mean?"
Empress Li said, "The Emperor intends to delegate power. The Emperor once said that a nation's rise or fall should not be gambled on the wisdom of its emperor, but should rely more on a sound system."
Zeng Cheng was immediately flustered, feeling as if ten thousand alpacas had trampled his mind. The Emperor intended to delegate power? The nation's rise or fall should rely on a system?
After leaving Kunning Palace, Zeng Cheng couldn't help but frown and say to Liu Hemming, "What do you think of what Her Highness the Empress said about delegating power and systems?"
Liu Hemming also frowned deeply and said sternly, "How else can we interpret it? His Majesty is the reincarnation of the Ziwei Star Lord; his thoughts are always whimsical. How can we ordinary mortals guess them?"
As he spoke, Liu Hemming suddenly gloated, "Didn't you hear what Her Highness the Empress just said? Sound systems – systems are the responsibility of your Cabinet. We in the Grand Military Command are all ruffians who can't even recognize three characters. Asking us is useless!"
Zeng Cheng was immediately angered, looking at Liu Hemming with disbelief. "Grand Duke Liu, how can you be so shameless?"
Liu Hemming showed no shame, instead looking rather smug. "I am this shameless, but do you, Grand Secretary Zeng, dare to be? Besides, the rules of our Grand Military Command were established by His Majesty himself, so there's nothing that needs to be changed."
...
On the flagship "Tianzi," Emperor Zhu was smilingly sipping tea, while the eldest prince Zhu Jianying was leaning over the desk, occasionally gesturing on the map.
Emperor Zhu asked, "You've been gesturing for so long, what have you figured out?"
Zhu Jianying said, "I haven't figured anything out, but I simply can't understand how such a small place as Europe can be so fragmented by barbarians. Doesn't anyone think of unifying all of Europe?"
Emperor Zhu chuckled and said, "You can go read European history books yourself later. You can't expect me, your father, to tell you everything."
Zhu Jianying nodded and then said, "After we conquer New South Wales, I want to enfeoff New South Wales to Second Brother."
Emperor Zhu hummed and said, "Continue."
Zhu Jianying said, "Although New South Wales is isolated overseas, it can serve as a strategic outpost with Old Port and Lanfang, directly controlling the sea routes from Europe to Great Ming. However, precisely because of New South Wales's unique geographical location, it is inconvenient to establish prefectures and counties. It would be simpler to enfeoff it directly."
Emperor Zhu asked, "What about your other brothers?"
Zhu Jianying said, "I'll enfeoff them in Europe later. Europe is big enough, and direct imperial control would be too costly. Enfeoffment is simpler."
Emperor Zhu smiled and nodded, then suddenly asked, "My son, do you think being an emperor is good or bad? Would you rather be a de facto emperor with absolute power, able to kill or grant life as you please? Or would you rather be a nominal, ceremonial emperor?"
Upon hearing Emperor Zhu's question, Zhu Jianying's expression gradually became serious. Zhu Jianying understood that his father was testing him. However, before Zhu Jianying could figure out how to answer, Emperor Zhu added, "Just tell me your truest thoughts. It doesn't matter if you're right or wrong, as it's just the two of us here."
Emperor Zhu's words made Zhu Jianying hesitate. Having followed Emperor Zhu since childhood, reviewing memorials with him, and even governing in his stead when Emperor Zhu was not in the capital, Zhu Jianying was practically half an emperor. Yet, precisely because of this half-emperor status, Zhu Jianying clearly understood how tiring it was to be an emperor. While it wasn't quite waking up before the roosters, sleeping later than dogs, eating worse than pigs, and working harder than oxen, being emperor was far from easy. He had to deal with endless memorials, attend countless court sessions, meet innumerable ministers, and worry incessantly.
After some thought, Zhu Jianying honestly replied, "Son would rather be a nominal, ceremonial emperor, but with the condition that real power does not slip away."
Emperor Zhu said "Oh," and asked, "What do you mean by 'real power does not slip away'?"
Zhu Jianying carefully chose his words and replied, "For example, during the time of Emperor Tianqi and Emperor Chongzhen, power had already slipped away. The court was unable to manage the regions, and had no way to deal with the tax resistance of local gentry. Edicts could barely leave the Forbidden City. In my opinion, this is a sign of power slipping away."
Emperor Zhu smiled and nodded, saying, "If you are a nominal emperor, you should not care about power slipping away. If things are done well, it's because the emperor has good judgment in people; if they are done poorly, it's because the cabinet is incompetent. Isn't that good?"
However, Zhu Jianying shook his head. "Son believes that is incorrect."