Zeng Cheng and the other big shots, including Liu Heming, all looked extremely grim.
Back in the Great Qing era, the Central Plains' firearms technology couldn't compare to Europe's, let alone flintlock guns, they even lagged behind matchlock guns.
The primary reason was the Great Qing's consistent policy of keeping the populace ignorant, especially Mao Zi Ge's infamous quote, "Do not let the Mongols or Han learn," which had devastating and lasting effects.
The reason the Great Ming's firearms technology managed to overtake the already lagging European advancements was not only due to Emperor Zhu Jinsong's cheat-like abilities but more importantly because Zhu Jinsong had been actively promoting communal schools and county schools, guiding the scholars of the Great Ming to focus on knowledge in physics, chemistry, and other fields.
Simultaneously, Zhu Jinsong did not impose strict restrictions on firearms technology, allowing all scholars of the Great Ming to learn.
As the number of scholars grew, so did the number of scholars who understood firearms and artillery. Through a series of brainstorming sessions and the influx of various unconventional ideas, the Great Ming succeeded in surpassing Europe in many aspects.
However, this approach also had its inherent risks. For instance, with so many people understanding steelmaking, iron smelting, and the manufacturing of firearms and artillery, it became incredibly difficult to maintain technological secrecy.
As for the taxes that Liu Huaiwen valued, they were elegantly ignored by Zeng Cheng, Liu Heming, and the others. Forget about an additional two hundred million dragon yuan in taxes; even if it were two trillion dragon yuan, they absolutely could not allow these scoundrels to continue their reckless actions!
After careful deliberation, Liu Heming simply bowed and said, "Your Majesty, why not directly send people to summon all those scoundrels back to the Great Ming homeland? Or perhaps establish some new rules for them?"
Zeng Cheng also bowed and added, "Reporting to Your Majesty, I believe we can establish more rules for them, but there's no need to recall all of them."
At this point, Zeng Cheng shifted his gaze to Liu Huaiwen and said, "Minister Liu just mentioned that those scoundrels paid over one hundred million dragon yuan in taxes into the national treasury. Therefore, I suspect those merchants are likely involved in the wholesale business of firearms and ammunition in secret, otherwise, there's no way they could generate such substantial taxes."
"If we were to recall all of them to the Great Ming homeland, there might be a shortage of firearms and ammunition in Europe and other regions, potentially forcing those European barbarians to take desperate measures?"
Liu Huaiwen nodded and replied, "Elder Grand Secretary Zeng's guess is correct. Those scoundrels who illegally manufacture firearms and ammunition do not sell them directly to outsiders. Instead, they sell them through agents like the English East India Company, the Dutch East India Company, and the French."
"Furthermore, there are also some scoundrels secretly engaged in the business of Fushou Gao (a type of opium or drug), but they conduct their operations more covertly. Apart from the Embroidered Uniform Guard possibly having relevant intelligence, perhaps only the Tax Division knows their true dealings."
Zeng Cheng's face immediately darkened. Only the Tax Division knows their true dealings besides the Embroidered Uniform Guard? This means you've only been focused on the national treasury's revenue and haven't paid the slightest attention to what those scoundrels are up to!
Seeing Zeng Cheng's expression turn sour, Liu Huaiwen quickly added, "As far as I know, those scoundrels still have some bottom lines. At the very least, no one dares to smuggle Fushou Gao into our Great Ming."
Zeng Cheng let out a cold laugh, not even glancing at Liu Huaiwen, and directly bowed to Zhu Jinsong, saying, "Reporting to Your Majesty, I believe those scoundrels who privately manufacture firearms are somewhat acceptable. However, those who are privately dealing in Fushou Gao must be properly dealt with to prevent their boldness from growing."
Zhu Jinsong nodded and turned his gaze to Ke Zhiming, saying, "Did you hear that? Go and give those scoundrels a good talking-to later. If they are obedient, give them a chance to reform; if they are disobedient, deal with them directly."
Just as Ke Zhiming bowed in assent, a member of the Embroidered Uniform Guard hurriedly arrived outside the Wenhua Hall, signaling that new intelligence was to be delivered to Ke Zhiming. The moment Ke Zhiming received the intelligence, his face lit up with a smile. "Reporting to Your Majesty, the latest intelligence from the Embroidered Uniform Guard indicates that Austria's little mustache art student has reached an agreement with Russia's Alexander, and both parties have agreed to once again carve up Poland."
As Ke Zhiming finished speaking, Zeng Cheng, Liu Heming, and the other big shots were stunned.
Not long ago, His Majesty had mentioned that the little mustache art student might jointly carve up Poland with Russia, and now, before the meeting had even concluded, the little mustache was ready to make a move?
However, Zhu Jinsong smiled and asked, "Since the little mustache art student is going to carve up Poland with Alexander, has the Habsburg family also encountered problems?"
Ke Zhiming chuckled and replied with admiration, "Your Majesty is wise; indeed, nothing can escape Your Majesty's notice. The little mustache art student has secretly purchased a large quantity of firearms, artillery, and ammunition. He also borrowed some soldiers from France through De Gaulle's connections and successfully pushed back the Habsburg family."
"As of now, the little mustache art student has largely unified Austria, and the Habsburg family's sphere of influence has shrunk repeatedly. Franz II has announced that he will no longer serve as Emperor of Austria."
Zhu Jinsong let out an "en" and then began tapping his fingers on the table, one by one.
Zhu Jinsong was not surprised that the little mustache art student could push back the Habsburg family, as the little mustache art student had studied at the Great Ming's military academy. Although his strategic abilities were slightly lacking, his tactical prowess was enough to overshadow the Habsburg family.
However, Zhu Jinsong found it hard to believe that the little mustache art student could so easily replace the Habsburg family, and that the Habsburg family would so readily announce their abandonment of Austria.
This was not because Zhu Jinsong looked down on the little mustache art student, but rather because the little mustache art student had only been promoting the theory of distribution according to needs in Austria for about a year. The influence he could cultivate was somewhat lacking compared to a family that had been deeply entrenched in Europe for hundreds of years.
With this thought in mind, Zhu Jinsong instructed Ke Zhiming, "Send people to increase the intensity of infiltration into the Habsburg family. I strongly suspect that the Habsburgs would not give up so easily."
After Ke Zhiming bowed in assent, Zhu Jinsong turned his gaze back to Liu Heming and asked, "How many military bases does our Great Ming currently have in Europe?"
Liu Heming bowed and replied, "Reporting to Your Majesty, our Great Ming has a total of nine large military bases in Europe: the Gibraltar Base, the Corsica Base, the Sicily Base, the Bulgaria Base, the Dublin Base, the Amsterdam Base, the Stockholm Base, the Copenhagen Base, and the Latvia Base."
"According to overseas garrison regulations, each base maintains a troop strength of ten thousand men. The army accounts for five thousand personnel, the navy for three thousand, the airship force for three hundred, and the remainder are logistical personnel."
"If necessary, the Copenhagen Base and the Latvia Base can be deployed at any time to intervene in the war between the little mustache art student and the Habsburg family, or to intervene in the war between Russia, the little mustache art student, and Poland. Additionally, some troops can be drawn from other military bases in the Western Kunlun Mountains to provide support."
After Liu Heming finished speaking, the other big shots from the Five Military Commissions also became excited, each expressing their desire to personally go to the European front lines to take command.
Faced with the enthusiastic Five Military Commissions big shots, not only the Grand Secretaries like Zeng Cheng but even Liu Huaiwen did not dare to speak up about the treasury being empty. The primary reason was the recent matter of the one hundred million dragon yuan surplus leading to the two hundred million deficit.
However, to everyone's surprise, the usually war-mongering Emperor Zhu, who always thought of personally leading expeditions, did not agree to the demands of the Five Military Commissions big shots. Instead, he calmly stated, "Our Great Ming's garrisons in Europe are not for the purpose of participating in European affairs, but rather to ensure the safety of the Great Ming's citizens overseas."
After spouting a bunch of unbelievable nonsense, Zhu Jinsong continued, "Select a few officers from the military bases in Europe to form two military observation groups, which will be sent to the little mustache art student in Austria and the Habsburg family, respectively. Regarding this matter, I feel that it is not as simple as it appears, and it is possible that the Habsburg family is also playing a larger game."
After Zhu Jinsong's words, Zeng Cheng, Liu Heming, and the other big shots were somewhat bewildered.
Zeng Cheng and Liu Heming and the others believed that the Habsburg family might have a fallback plan, but the notion that the Habsburg family was playing a grand game, and that even the Great Ming needed to send military observers, seemed somewhat absurd.
Hadn't the Habsburg family, not long ago, needed to send troops to participate in that troublesome affair in Benghazi?
To put it bluntly, whether the Habsburg family had a fallback plan or what game they were playing now was actually not important to the Great Ming; there was no need to dispatch military observers.
However, Zhu Jinsong continued to instruct, "In addition, select a group of officers to go to France and help De Gaulle train the new French army. The requirement is not for them to achieve combat effectiveness equal to the Great Ming army, but they should at least be stronger than they are now."
Zeng Cheng couldn't help but cautiously ask, "Does Your Majesty mean that the Habsburg family is likely plotting against France?"
Zhu Jinsong shook his head and said, "The Habsburgs probably don't have the courage to plot against France right now. Even if they were to plot, it would likely be against the Ottomans, Austria, and Poland."
"What I am worried about is whether, after the incident with Khamis in Benghazi acting foolishly, the Habsburg family will follow suit and act foolishly. Although they dare not offend the Great Ming, or even France and England, they are fully capable of throwing Europe into chaos."
"If all of Europe falls into chaos..."
Not only Zhu Jinsong was displeased, but Zeng Cheng and Liu Heming and the other big shots also felt very troubled.
Once all of Europe descended into chaos, it essentially meant that the entire "small broken ball" would follow suit.
Although the Great Ming had numerous military bases overseas and had made countless preparations, who knew when the Habsburg family would stir up trouble? And how chaotic would the trouble they caused be?
If there were military observers to conduct observations, they could at least obtain some information in advance, allowing for preparations to be made, so as not to be passively responding once Europe became chaotic.
It was similar to how Khamis had suddenly emerged and acted foolishly earlier. Such uncontrollable unforeseen factors were always very annoying.
However, after Zeng Cheng and Liu Heming and the other big shots bowed in assent, Zhu Jinsong slowly tapped the table and said, "Have you all noticed that the air has been getting worse in recent years?"
Zeng Cheng was instantly taken aback, unable to understand what Emperor Zhu was thinking. Just moments ago, he was discussing the Habsburg family, and now he was talking about the deteriorating air quality in the Great Ming?
However, no matter how confused he was, Zeng Cheng could only respectfully bow and reply, "Your Majesty is discerning. Indeed, the air in our Great Ming has worsened considerably in recent years. Although those European barbarians have been saying that the air in our Great Ming is fragrant and sweet, I genuinely cannot discern any fragrance or sweetness. On the contrary, every winter, the air is filled with the pungent smell of coal smoke."
Minister of Works Song Yucheng immediately stepped forward and said, "Elder Grand Secretary Zeng may not know, but our Great Ming has built many workshops in recent years, consuming a large amount of coal. Additionally, our Ministry of Works has been piloting the construction of a power plant on the outskirts of the capital, which has further increased coal consumption."
Zhu Jinsong waved his hand and said, "The large amount of coal consumption is one matter, but the destruction of forests and grasslands is another matter entirely."
Although Zhu Jinsong had been emphasizing since his enthronement that one should not destroy without remediation, the Great Ming was currently at a crucial juncture of its industrial revolution. Workshops were constantly being built across the country, and the demand for coal and land was increasing day by day. The destruction of forests was, therefore, unavoidable.
In addition to the destruction of forests by workshops, the demand for grasslands was also gradually increasing. More and more cattle, sheep, and horses were unknowingly damaging the ecological environment of the grasslands, and desertification was gradually appearing.
Zhu Jinsong tapped his fingers slowly on the table and said, "I have said before that our generation should not ruin things so that future generations have nothing to use. On the contrary, our generation should strive to protect the environment so that future generations can have sufficient resources to utilize."
Song Yucheng was stunned for a moment, then his face showed a look of difficulty. "Your Majesty, although we understand this principle, the demand for various workshops in our Great Ming is growing, and naturally, the land and coal resources required are also increasing. This matter... it is difficult to achieve both."
Liu Huaiwen was also very conflicted. More workshops meant increased revenue for the national treasury, and thus increased budget for public welfare. If there were fewer workshops, the national treasury's revenue would naturally decrease, and budgets for various aspects would have to be reduced.
Therefore, increasing workshops would damage the ecosystem, while protecting the ecosystem would reduce the national treasury's income.