As the powerful figures like Zeng Cheng and Liu Huaiwen expressed strong resistance to this idea, Zhu Jinsong did not take it personally. After all, harming Europe was a long-term endeavor, and there were various ways to acquire oil from the Sand Empire besides this particular method.
Moreover, Zhu Jinsong felt this approach was questionable. As a certain esteemed figure once said, the highest form of deception is not to make people unaware, but to make them genuinely grateful for being deceived.
Zhu Jinsong found this approach challenging and wanted to try it.
After careful consideration, Zhu Jinsong tapped his fingers on the table and slowly asked, "Hasn't our Great Ming purchased a considerable amount of oil from the Ottoman Empire in recent years?"
Liu Huaiwen bowed and replied, "Your Majesty, our Great Ming has been purchasing oil from the Ottoman Empire for many years, spending around thirty to fifty million, and in two to three years, it is estimated to reach hundreds of millions."
Zhu Jinsong hummed and asked, "Then what do you think the Ottoman Empire does with all the money they earn?"
This question left the gathered dignitaries somewhat bewildered.
As everyone knew, when Official Liu the Miser spoke of a certain revenue of the national treasury, he would always say "a little more." For instance, a tax revenue of "one hundred million Dragon Yuan plus a little more" sounded like not much, but it could actually be "one hundred million plus two hundred million Dragon Yuan."
Apart from the official reports submitted to Emperor Zhu, one would never know how much "a little more" actually was.
Similarly, Official Liu the Miser often exaggerated expenses. For example, when he said "around thirty to fifty million," it actually meant at most thirty million, and no one knew whether the unit behind this thirty million was silver or Dragon Yuan.
If it were thirty million Dragon Yuan, it would convert to roughly three million taels of silver.
Three million taels of silver was an astronomical sum for an ordinary family, but it barely made a ripple in Great Ming's foreign arms trade.
Even thirty million taels of silver was not considered significant in the arms trade.
More importantly, the oil the Ottoman Empire sold to Great Ming was essentially sold at a low price, while the military equipment Great Ming sold to the Ottoman Empire was never sold at a low price.
In other words, most of the money the Ottoman Empire earned from selling oil in recent years had been converted into Great Ming's military equipment, and it was even equipment that had been phased out by the Five Military Commissions and was already a generation or more behind.
And now, Emperor Zhu had the audacity to ask what the Ottoman Empire did with the money it earned?
As Zeng Cheng, Liu Huaiwen, and the other dignitaries privately grumbled, Emperor Zhu Jinsong continued, "As the saying goes, money is a bastard; you earn it again after you spend it. And as the saying goes, military strength is the guarantee of wealth. I believe that since the Ottoman Empire has earned money, it should buy more firearms and artillery, and not allow the Sand Empire to continue to be so arrogant and overbearing."
After Emperor Zhu finished speaking, Zeng Cheng was stunned for a moment, then revealed a knowing smile.
He understood.
Since the Ottoman Empire had earned money by selling oil and had used that money to buy firearms and artillery, it was time for the Ottoman Empire to stand up and at least confront the Sand Empire head-on.
This was because Great Ming needed the Ottoman Empire to fight the Sand Empire.
After all, the farmers of the Sand Empire were no better than the gentlemen of the Donglin Party. The farmer lords only cared about their own enjoyment and pleasure, disregarding the lives of ordinary people and not paying taxes to the Sand Empire's treasury, hence the Sand Empire's economy had always been mediocre.
A weak economy meant that the Sand Empire's military strength was also greatly limited. Although the Sand Empire signed treaties like Nerchinsk and Kyakhta with Great Qing and occupied territories like Vladivostok and Lake Baikal, it was not due to the Sand Empire's powerful military strength, but rather due to the extreme weakness of Great Qing, and because the "wise and sage rulers" of Great Qing were as careless as a son selling his father's land.
This also explained why the Sand Empire had always been at odds with the Ottoman Empire.
This was because the Ottoman Empire had always been known as the "Sick Man of Western Asia," a fellow sufferer in misfortune with the Qing Empire, and in some aspects, even inferior to the Qing Empire.
For example, at its peak, the Qing Empire's territory covered more than thirteen million square kilometers, while the Ottoman Empire's peak territory was only over five million square kilometers.
Although the Qing Empire had numerous ethnic groups under its rule, it managed to rule them by enslaving them through its Eight Banners system, massacres, and cultural assimilation, with all the power of the country held by the barbarian chiefs. In contrast, the various ethnic groups under the Ottoman Empire and its relatively flattened governance made the entire Ottoman Empire resemble a giant "mosaic."
Compared to the gradually developing European nations at this time, the Sand Empire, with its poor judgment, naturally chose the softer targets. It picked Great Qing in the East and the Ottoman Empire in the West.
However, Great Qing was truly rotten, while the Ottoman Empire, though also rotten, could still fight back against the Sand Empire and even engage in back-and-forth battles with several European nations.
For instance, in the last conflict with the Ottoman Empire, although the Ottoman Empire was forced to cede large tracts of land, judging by the casualty data and war costs, the Sand Empire did not gain much advantage.
Moreover, after being tricked by the Habsburg alliance, Moscow was almost burned down, and the Habsburg family, being unfeeling, withdrew immediately after striking the Sand Empire. Paul I and Alexander I and his son were undoubtedly filled with anger and urgently needed a victory to divert the growing serf rebellions within the Sand Empire.
Therefore, Emperor Zhu did not need to specifically incite the Sand Empire to fight the Ottoman Empire. He only needed someone to incite the Ottoman Empire, because the Ottoman Empire had also harbored resentment over the years from being bullied by Great Ming and the Sand Empire!
More crucially, the Ottoman Empire had already experienced turmoil. First, Mustafa IV led the traditionalist nobles of the Ottoman Empire in a rebellion, killing the then-Sultan and Caliph Selim III. Then, Mahmud II, with the support of Alaydar Mustafa Pasha, killed Mustafa IV.
This turmoil had a profound impact on the Ottoman Empire.
First, the reformist nobles in the Ottoman capital, Istanbul, were purged by Mustafa IV during his rebellion. After Mustafa IV ascended the throne, the traditionalist nobles were then severely suppressed by Mahmud II and Alaydar Mustafa Pasha.
The critical point was that both the conservative and reformist Ottoman nobles suffered greatly during this turmoil, causing the entire Ottoman noble ruling system to become shaky and the authority of the Ottoman court to be questioned.
Under these circumstances, Mahmud II could only continue to push for reforms, which would inevitably lead to resistance from the traditional forces in the Ottoman provinces.
In other words, the current Sultan and Caliph of the Ottoman Empire, Mahmud II, urgently needed a great victory abroad to enhance his own prestige and that of the Ottoman court, thereby continuing the reforms that Selim III had failed to complete.
With this in mind, Zeng Cheng smiled and said, "Reporting to Your Majesty, I will send someone to summon the Ottoman envoy when I return."
Zhu Jinsong smiled and waved his hand, saying, "Minister Zeng need not summon the Ottoman envoy. If you summon the Ottoman envoy, who will summon the Sand Empire's envoy? If both envoys are summoned, and later the Ottoman Empire and the Sand Empire fight, will Minister Zeng not be suspected of instigating it?"
Zeng Cheng pondered whether he summoned the envoys of the Ottoman Empire and the Sand Empire, wouldn't he still incite them to fight? In any case, someone had to take the blame. Coincidentally, he was no longer young, and in a few more years, he would be retiring. Taking this blame would be quite fitting, wouldn't it?
While Zeng Cheng was lost in thought, Zhu Jinsong's gaze fell upon Ke Zhiming. "In the future, have someone make a trip to the Sand Empire and the Ottoman Empire, and let the Habsburg family and England take the blame."
Seeing Ke Zhiming unhesitatingly bow and accept the task, Zeng Cheng was somewhat stunned. "Your Majesty, I am not doubting the abilities of Commander Ke and the Embroidered Uniform Guard, but the matter of letting the Habsburg family and England take the blame is likely unreliable."
Zhu Jinsong chuckled and asked, "How is it unreliable?"
Zeng Cheng bowed and replied, "Reporting to Your Majesty: The Habsburg family had previously formed an allied army to attack the Sand Empire, nearly destroying Moscow. Now, they have all retreated to Europe. As for England, they had previously fought with France. While it cannot be said they were severely weakened, at least they were significantly injured and are now licking their wounds. These two are the least likely to incite the Sand Empire to fight the Ottoman Empire."
Zhu Jinsong smiled and shook his head, saying, "Precisely because these two are the least likely, they are the most suspicious. Minister Zeng, do you remember that the Habsburg family's 'Red-Ink Lady' has become the lover of George III?"
After Zeng Cheng nodded, Zhu Jinsong continued, "The Habsburg family's allied forces almost destroyed Moscow, so they must find a way to avoid retaliation from the Sand Empire, right? George III, as Franz II's nominal son-in-law, must also help his nominal father-in-law, which is also correct, isn't it?"
"As long as they can incite the Sand Empire to fight the Ottoman Empire, the Habsburg family can gain a moment of respite, and England can also take this opportunity to sell some of the firearms and artillery they have developed themselves. As long as someone acts as a go-between, it is also reasonable for the Ottoman Empire to buy firearms and artillery from England, isn't it? After all, England's East India Company is still in India, which is close to the Ottoman Empire."
"More importantly, it doesn't matter if others believe it, as long as the Sand Empire and the Ottoman Empire believe it. After all, the Sand Empire can't find a softer target than the Ottoman Empire, and the Ottoman Empire absolutely doesn't have the spare energy to attack Europe now."
"Don't forget, the Ottoman Empire has clashed with Europe many times in history, but the outcome of these clashes was almost always the Ottoman Empire being beaten."
"Now, the Ottoman Empire, having experienced the turmoil of Mustafa IV's rebellion and Mahmud II's ascension, absolutely cannot afford to expend energy attacking Europe. Relatively speaking, the Sand Empire has become a relatively soft target."
"Therefore, even if the Ottoman Empire and the Sand Empire knew it was not the Habsburg family and England making trouble behind the scenes, they would force themselves to believe it."
Zeng Cheng felt an indescribable feeling. It seemed to make sense, yet something felt slightly off.
Before Zeng Cheng could figure out what was wrong, Emperor Zhu chuckled again and said, "Do you believe that even England and the Habsburg family might tacitly agree that they did it?"
Zeng Cheng felt his intelligence was being insulted.
It was understandable that the Ottoman Empire and the Sand Empire would grudgingly admit it, as both the Ottoman Empire and the Sand Empire needed a relatively soft target to prod. However, for England and the Habsburg family to also tacitly agree was truly preposterous.
Zeng Cheng even suspected that the Sand Empire, the Ottoman Empire, England, and the Habsburg family could all guess that Great Ming was behind the scheme, as such a grand strategy involving four countries at once was not something ordinary people could undertake!
After thinking for a long time without any conclusion, Zeng Cheng bowed and said, "Reporting to Your Majesty, I am foolish and cannot fathom why the Habsburg family and England would also admit to secretly instigating this, this..."
Zhu Jinsong chuckled and said, "This crime, right?"
Zeng Cheng remained silent.
Zhu Jinsong, however, said, "It's no wonder Minister Zeng thinks this way, as such a thing cannot be considered a good deed, and secretly instigating two countries to fight is indeed not very glorious. However... what do England and the Habsburg family need most right now?"
Zhu Jinsong tapped his fingers on the table one by one. "What England and the Habsburg family need most right now is not anything else, but reputation. If it were inciting other countries to fight each other, England and the Habsburg family would certainly not dare to admit it. But it's different when it comes to the Sand Empire and the Ottoman Empire."
"Because, the European countries have never considered the Ottoman Empire and the Sand Empire as part of their own."
"In the eyes of the European countries, the Sand Empire is a Far Eastern country like our Great Ming, and they believe the Sand Empire will be closer to us, the same applies to the Ottoman Empire."
"Therefore, if England and the Habsburg family can incite the Ottoman Empire and the Sand Empire to fight, the European countries will instead regard England and the Habsburg family as heroes."
"With this reputation, England will gain a chance to breathe, and the Habsburg family will also gain a chance to breathe, and the European countries will be willing to give them a chance to breathe."
Zeng Cheng and the other dignitaries were somewhat stunned.
Did the barbarians of Europe play this game so well?
Or rather, could one calculate people in such a way?
Zhu Jinsong then continued, "Of course, the more important reason why England and the Habsburg family are likely to tacitly agree is actually interest."
Zeng Cheng was startled and asked, "Interest?"