Comparing Pierre, who strove to foster a pen pal relationship between Louis XVI and the Great Ming Emperor from the inception of the Great Ming's founding, and Napoleon, who forged a reputation as an invincible war god in Europe at a young age, Franz II felt his subordinates were as foolish as marmots.
Yes, like marmots—always standing foolishly, greedily stuffing all sorts of food into their mouths, and utterly incapable of thinking problems through.
Franz II, with a touch of regret for their lack of progress, reprimanded his trusted ministers: "Foolish marmots, use your walnut-sized brains to ponder this—if we do not follow France in attacking Bangasi, how will the nations of Europe view us? And how will the Great Ming Empire of the Far East view us?"
"What if the Great Ming Empire doesn't care about us? What if the Great Ming Empire mistakes us for colluding with Bangasi?"
"If nothing else, should the Great Ming Empire propose sanctions against us at the Little Pot Conference, how should we respond?"
Upon hearing Franz II's words, the Habsburg family's nobles and officials fell silent.
Franz II then continued, "Remember, gentlemen, our enmity with France is one matter, and matters related to the Great Ming Empire are entirely another. The two must never be conflated."
However, when the news that the Habsburg family also intended to send troops against Hamis reached the Palace of Versailles, Louis XVI was utterly bewildered.
He could understand if the Habsburg alliance intended to get involved with Bangasi and use Bangasi to annoy France. But Louis XVI could not fathom any reason for the Habsburg family to send troops against Hamis.
Firstly, Hamis of Bangasi had not offended the Habsburg family. Secondly, there were no past grievances between Bangasi and Austria. Thirdly, the Habsburg alliance was already at odds with France.
So, was Franz II of the Habsburg family on the wrong medication? Or had he, like George III of England, gone mad?
The problem facing Louis XVI was this: regardless of whether Franz II was on the wrong medication or had gone mad, he had proposed to attack Bangasi together with France. Therefore, should France accept Franz II's proposal?
Meanwhile, the aspiring artist with a mustache in Austria was also plotting against Hamis.
It had to be admitted that the mustached man was a bit wild, but he was not foolish. Just as Franz II knew to curry favor with the Great Ming by using Hamis, the aspiring artist also wanted to win the Great Ming's favor with Hamis's head.
The aspiring artist, Adolf Hitler, directly told his subordinates: "We need to utilize Hamis, but we cannot get too close to Hamis. After we eliminate the damned Habsburg family, we will still need the Great Ming Empire's recognition. Otherwise, who else on this little planet will recognize Austria?"
As for Franz II's desire for peace and to enfeoff the aspiring artist as the Grand Duke of Luxembourg, the aspiring artist directly refused: "To negotiate peace, Franz II must first acknowledge Austria as a completely sovereign nation and be willing to renounce his title as Emperor of Austria."
Himmler, the aspiring artist's confidant responsible for the entire mustached guard, said directly: "Otherwise, shall I send men to secretly eliminate Hamis? If necessary, we can even secretly deal with Franz II?"
Himmler's suggestion startled the aspiring artist's close subordinates.
Secretly eliminate Hamis? Secretly deal with Franz II?
If the mustached guard had such capabilities, wouldn't that also mean they had the ability to secretly deal with everyone present?
Himmler did not know that he had already become a thorn in the side of other mustached confidants.
On the contrary, Himmler thought he was very clever: "I really cannot think of a simpler or cheaper way."
However, what Himmler did not expect was that the aspiring artist would directly reject his proposal: "You damned marmot, can you be any more foolish?"
Himmler was utterly bewildered by the scolding and asked, "Do you have a better method?"
The aspiring artist snorted coldly and said through gritted teeth, "We are rebelling with honor! We will overthrow the rule of the Habsburg family with honor!"
"If you assassinate Hamis and Franz II, what will the other European monarchs think? What will the other European nobles think?"
"They will think that if you can strike at Hamis and Franz II today, you might strike at them tomorrow!"
"Therefore, they will strive to eliminate us to ensure their own safety!"
The pig-like fat Himmler trembled all over, his rolls of fat undulating.
Meanwhile, another confidant of the aspiring artist, Goebbels, said quietly: "Adolf, should we secretly contact those French frogs? As far as I know, they seem to be planning to attack Hamis?"
The aspiring artist shook his head and said, "Our Austria has suffered greatly at the hands of those French frogs. If we actively cooperate with the French frogs, what difference will we have from the Habsburg family? As for them planning to attack Hamis... we can send someone to inform Hamis later. After all, the entire of Europe knows about it."
After thinking for a moment, the aspiring artist changed the subject: "By the way, what about those Yici Leyue merchants and landlords?"
Himmler said: "I must admit, those Yici Leyue merchants and landlords are indeed tough nuts to crack. They would rather die than hand over their property."
Himmler's expression gradually turned ferocious: "Those damned Judases! Greedy devils! They would rather burn all their grain and pour out all their milk than hand it over! Even in the concentration camps, they still refuse!"
The mustached man paid little attention to Himmler's anger, as he was very familiar with the temperaments of those Yici Leyue merchants and landlords. Especially since he had developed an illness from constantly carding cotton for the landlords, the aspiring artist hated those Yici Leyue merchants and landlords even more.
Therefore, whether the Yici Leyue merchants and landlords were willing to hand over their money and grain, they were all destined to die.
Tapping the table with his fist, the mustached man said indifferently: "Let them be. If they are willing to hand over money and grain voluntarily, they will suffer less. If they are not willing, they will suffer more. The things are still there, and nothing will change."
...
Hamis was extremely adept at courting disaster.
When Bangasi was a French colony, Hamis actively provoked England, often spreading remarks such as "England is the source of turmoil in Europe."
After France led Bangasi to join the Little Pot, Hamis high-profilely declared the Great Ming Empire as an old friend of Bangasi, showing little regard for France in his words. Subsequently, he publicly announced his secession from French colonial rule.
In response, the Great Ming Emperor said nothing, and French King Louis XVI, due to the Great Ming Emperor's lack of a statement, also chose to remain silent.
As for England, due to the ongoing war with France, they also did not say much, while the Russian Bear and the傻贼鹰 watched from the sidelines.
However, what no one expected was that, perhaps feeling that the sky had cleared and the rain had stopped, Hamis felt emboldened again—in short, he confidently berated the Five Benevolent Ones at the Little Pot Provisional Conference.
At that time, the Great Ming Emperor still said nothing, French King Louis XVI's expression was very grim, and the ambassadors of England, Russia, and the 傻贼鹰 to the Little Pot exuded an aura of killing intent.
For Louis XVI and the ambassadors of England, the 傻贼鹰, and Russia to the Little Pot, if they couldn't afford to offend the Great Ming Empire, could they not deal with Bangasi?
Therefore, after the Little Pot Provisional Conference concluded, Louis XVI was the first to declare: "Hamis is arrogant and disrespectful, and France must teach him a lesson."
Emperor Zhu stated: Bangasi is your vassal, France, so you are permitted to discipline it. However, the Great Ming wishes to withdraw its merchants doing business in Bangasi first.
The British Ambassador to the Little Pot and the Russian and 傻贼鹰 Ambassadors to the Little Pot stated: Since Bangasi is to be disciplined, a fierce battle must be fought. If France is insufficient, we can send troops to assist.
Louis XVI certainly would not agree. After all, it was merely to discipline Bangasi. If France could not even achieve this, how could it maintain its position among the Five Benevolent Ones of the Little Pot in the future?
Therefore, upon returning to France, Louis XVI ordered troops to attack Bangasi, and various European nations dispatched some auxiliary forces.
Such matters were akin to giving gifts—the leader might not remember who gave them gifts, but they would definitely remember who did not.
It was like the Governor-General of Liangjiang, Ga Li, of the Great Qing back then. Dishes like "poached pearls in clear broth" and "braised red shrimp on gold plates" were considered fine cuisine. What if you sent something like roast duck or sliced pork knuckle, as they did in Fuchun County?
Although the small nations of Europe did not understand the "gift-giving memory" principle, the leaders of these nations were not entirely foolish. Therefore, they rushed to send troops and provisions, aiming to quickly eliminate Hamis.
It was precisely because the European nations had openly declared their intention to eliminate Hamis that... Hamis panicked!
"Why? Why is this happening?" Hamis paced back and forth, his face filled with anger at their lack of support. "Because of the instigation of the Little Pot's Five Benevolent Ones, regions under Ottoman rule like Egypt have openly declared secession from the Ottomans, yet the Ottoman ruler, Mahmud, wants to send troops to attack us?"
"And the Habsburg family! They are simply ungrateful. If it weren't for the Ming people corrupting that aspiring artist, the Habsburg family wouldn't be in such a predicament, caught between forces. Now, Franz, that idiot of the Habsburg family, not only doesn't blame the Ming but wants to send troops to help France attack me?"
"And England—yes, I really shouldn't have said England is the source of turmoil in Europe, because England and France combined are! Like this war, on the surface it's a war between England and France, but in reality, the entire of Europe is paying for them!"
Seeing Hamis fall into a state of rage, fury, and impotent roaring, the nobles and ministers of Bangasi remained impassive, and no one paid attention to Hamis.
In fact, the nobles and ministers of Bangasi were also quite displeased with Hamis. This was because Hamis himself was a European. He later came to Bangasi with the French colonial fleet and became the son-in-law of the previous King of Bangasi.
In other words, in the eyes of the Bangasi people, Hamis was a white son-in-law, not one of them, the black Bangasi people.
However, this son-in-law did possess some ability—first, by pleasing the previous king, he became a son-in-law, and then, after gaining some power, he launched a coup d'état, successfully eliminating the previous King of Bangasi.
In the eyes of the Bangasi people, Hamis's usurpation and independence were not due to his own might, but rather to French support.
What disheartened the Bangasi people was that after usurping power and declaring independence, Hamis had eliminated his father-in-law, killed his wife, and then organized a female guard—while called a guard, it was not wrong to call them a "comfort troop," as those who understood would know.
Precisely because of this, the nobles and ministers of Bangasi remained so calm upon hearing the news that France was about to attack Bangasi.
Seeing that all the nobles and officials of Bangasi seemed indifferent, Hamis's anger intensified, and his gaze towards them was filled with murderous intent: "Do you all think I'm doomed? But don't forget, before I die, I have the ability to make you all die first!"
Ali, the Chief Minister of Bangasi, sneered inwardly, but outwardly said respectfully: "Respected Hamis, I have no intention of offending you, but I must remind you that our Bangasi army only consists of fifty thousand men, while France can mobilize over two hundred thousand troops, and the armies of the European nations add up to over one hundred thousand—with a force of fifty thousand against a coalition of over three hundred thousand, I believe this should be impossible?"
Upon hearing Ali's words, the murderous intent that Hamis had just mustered dissipated completely, and the anger on his face froze.
When he had spewed insults at the Little Pot Provisional Conference, Hamis had seen that the Great Ming Emperor seemed very friendly towards him—even when he publicly declared his secession from French colonial rule, the Great Ming Emperor had smiled and paid no mind, which was not at all the attitude of an ally.
Including his subsequent ninety-minute tirade, the Great Ming Emperor seemed to have no reaction.
And these were Hamis's greatest source of confidence.
But now... the Great Ming Emperor was allowing France to attack Bangasi?
This was not the script they had agreed upon!
ps: Today, I sacrifice "Your Majesty, Please Forgive My Sins" to the heavens. Guan Gou is an old author on Qidian who has been writing for many years. Back when I was making stir-fried chicken, it was Guan Gou's fire that cooked it.