Faced with Napoleon and Pierre's questioning, Louis XVI's expression grew increasingly strange. "And then? And then, because the Emperor of Great Ming was interested in Hamis's remarks, the monarchs or plenipotentiary ambassadors of all the major and minor countries just listened to Hamis spout ninety minutes of nonsense."
Napoleon and Qatar truly couldn't imagine how beautiful that scene would be—a monarch of some unknown small country spewing useless drivel, over a hundred monarchs of great and small nations wanting to leave but daring not to because the Emperor of Great Ming hadn't left, and Hamis daring to pontificate at a petty conference...
The scene was too beautiful to imagine.
After staring blankly for a long time, Pierre, who had already been promoted to the First Minister of the French Cabinet, tentatively asked, "Then... what about Hamis of Benghazi?"
Louis XVI snorted, "We'll send troops to kill him later."
As he spoke, Louis XVI cast his gaze back to Napoleon. "Remember, Hamis made such a huge mess in that little pot. He absolutely must not be allowed to die easily!"
Napoleon nodded and responded, "Please rest assured, Your Majesty the King. I will send someone to drown him in a dung pit, and then find seven Kunlun slaves to carry his coffin. He will certainly not die peacefully."
Only then did Louis XVI nod with satisfaction and say, "However, Hamis has made a great contribution to Europa—before I set off to return, there were already discussions among the common people of Great Ming about the rightness or wrongness of Great Ming's continuous foreign wars and the extensive use of Kunlun slaves in recent years."
Pierre looked at Louis XVI with a bewildered expression and asked, "Some people are discussing such a boring issue? Or rather, they dare to discuss such topics?"
Louis XVI nodded. "The commoners of Ming earn a lot, eat well, and have easy jobs. Many of them are educated, and with the Emperor of Great Ming's indulgence, they can naturally discuss things without restraint."
"However, as you said, I also find the issues they discuss to be very boring. If the Emperor of Great Ming did not go on foreign campaigns, where would they get so much land to cultivate? If they did not extensively use Kunlun slaves, those dangerous jobs would have to be done by them."
"Perhaps they would have a different story to tell then."
Pierre let out a cold laugh and summarized, "All of them are just full of idleness."
Napoleon nodded in agreement. "Indeed, they are full of idleness."
Louis XVI shook his head with a smile and sighed, "The commoners of Ming are always very well protected by their emperor and their warriors. However, the Emperor of Ming is also very angry about this. It is said that he intends to personally write an article to scold people, but I had to rush back to France before I had a chance to see the Emperor of Ming's article. I must say, this is indeed a great pity."
Speaking of which, Louis XVI then steered the conversation back to England. "By the way, the rose beef from England has caused great trouble due to their mad king. The Emperor of Great Ming will certainly not let them off easily, and this is also a good opportunity for us."
Pierre's eyes lit up. "Indeed, the English nobles captured by General Napoleon alone are likely worth millions, or even tens of millions of taels of silver. This is not only enough to pay for the military expenses this time, but can even subsidize the national treasury."
However, what Pierre did not expect was that Louis XVI actually shook his head and said, "No, military expenses are military expenses, and ransom is ransom. These are two different things. Regardless of whether the military expenses compensated by England can subsidize the national treasury, the ransom for these nobles must not be deposited into the national treasury."
Pierre was stunned and asked, "Not deposited into the national treasury?"
Louis XVI nodded and said solemnly, "That's right. The ransom from the English nobles will not be deposited into the national treasury. Of course, I will not use this money to renovate gardens or build palaces either."
Hearing Louis XVI say this, Napoleon and Pierre were even more bewildered.
As for the kings and monarchs of Europa, some, like Portugal, had developed a fear of Ming after being severely beaten by Great Ming, while others, like Louis's family, were hereditary fans of the Central Plains.
For example, the Louis XIV of that time not only funded the French East India Company to do business with Great Qing, but he also exchanged letters and portraits with the "Mazi Ge" of Great Qing, and even organized people to compile the first Chinese dictionary.
Another example is the King of Prussia, Frederick II. Like the King of France, this fellow was also full of curiosity and longing for the Central Plains establishments. The Chinese House at Sanssouci Palace was built in the style of a Chinese pavilion, surrounded by statues of various Oriental figures. The entire house was gilded, and the roof was topped with a statue of the Monkey King made according to Chinese legends.
Even Catherine Palace in Russia had buildings that imitated Chinese architecture.
These were still fans of the Central Plains among the circle of kings and monarchs.
In the cultural circles of Europe at that time, a group of scholars led by Voltaire were undoubtedly fans of the Central Plains. Voltaire's adaptation of "The Orphan of Zhao" caused a sensation throughout France. This old gentleman often used the Central Plains establishments to satirize France: "If there ever was a country where the lives, honor, and property of the people were protected by law, it was the Chinese Empire."
Another example is the works of the most famous artists of the time, Watteau and Boucher. Watteau and Boucher were representatives of Rococo art. Watteau was deeply influenced by Taoist philosophy in his culture, which gave his paintings some of the artistic conception of landscape paintings. By the time of Boucher, black-haired women appeared on the Rococo art stage for the first time. Boucher also designed a series of Chinese-themed tapestries, which were interestingly given by Louis XV to Qianlong as gifts.
It was not until after 1770 that Rococo art, rooted in royalty and nobility, declined. Europeans began to turn their attention to ancient Rome and ancient Greece. The China craze subsided and was eventually submerged by Romanticism.
Undoubtedly, if it were not for the fact that the "wise and virtuous rulers" of Great Qing were so incredibly capable and powerful, turning a living King into a Bronze with nothing but their literacy, the craze for Central Plains establishments in Europa would likely have continued.
And with Zhu Jinsong eliminating the Great Qing, which was known for "paying for distant offenses," the craze for Central Plains establishments in Europa, which had lost its market, once again surged. A large number of European kings and monarchs began a new round of crazy pursuit of Ming.
Clothing? It had to be made of silk imported from Great Ming.
Porcelain? It had to be imported from Great Ming; French imitations were absolutely unacceptable.
Tea? It had to be tea from Great Ming—black tea, green tea, Tieguanyin, white tea, Pu'er, any kind of tea, as long as it was from Great Ming. Sri Lankan black tea and Assam black tea were absolutely not presentable.
Books? It didn't matter if they could understand Chinese characters or not; the court had to have books in pure Chinese, otherwise, it was a symbol of being uncultured, even if they were rarely read and never understood.
Palaces? They had to be built in imitation of Great Ming style. Castles were for kings of poor and small countries. Those with some strength would build a Central Plains-style palace.
Among these enthusiastic European kings and monarchs who followed Ming, the Louis Bourbon family, with their hereditary admiration for Ming, showed the most obvious signs. Louis XVI would even occasionally order the demolition of palaces in the Palace of Versailles and rebuild them according to Ming standards.
Gardens in the Ming style were also enthusiastically sought after by European nobles. If a family didn't have a garden in the Ming style, forget about hosting any gatherings; they would probably be too embarrassed to greet anyone when going out!
Now, Louis XVI was saying he wouldn't build gardens or palaces?
Pierre even wanted to lean over and touch Louis XVI's forehead to see if he was suffering from "evil qi rising and causing dizziness," as described in traditional Chinese medicine.
However, Louis XVI ignored the strange glances from Pierre and Napoleon and continued on his own: "The recent conflict with the rose beef of England has severely exposed the inadequacies of our French army. If it is so difficult to fight the English rose beef, and if there is a full-scale conflict on the 'little pot' in the future, will our French army have to rely on the protection of the Great Ming army?"
This was not entirely unacceptable. After all, the French army had always been somewhat unreliable. Surrendering and raising one's armpits when unable to defeat the enemy had almost become a traditional skill of the French army. Several historical battles had proven that the French army could only unleash its full fighting potential when led by women, cripples, or dwarfs.
But what was the saying?
Even a salted fish had dreams—Louis XVI's dream was to make the French army a little stronger. Even if they couldn't gain much in a full-scale conflict on the "little pot," they should at least guarantee France's interests and not always raise their arms to show their armpits.
Louis XVI continued, "Half of the ransom paid by the English nobles this time will be used to continue purchasing military equipment from Great Ming, and the other half will be used to train new troops. Comrade Xiao Dai will be in charge, and the training will be entirely in accordance with the model of the Great Ming Empire's army."
Napoleon immediately nodded, even looking forward to the beautiful scene of France having a Ming-style army. It wouldn't necessarily be able to defeat all of Europa, but at least it could turn those English rose beef into exploding meatballs!
However, what neither Louis XVI nor Napoleon expected was that Pierre expressed his objection: "I must remind you, Your Majesty the King and General Napoleon, that to train an army in the style of the Great Ming Empire, we must first have sufficiently reliable soldiers. For example, those with clean backgrounds and no criminal records. You should know that this is difficult in France."
Louis XVI nodded and said, "This should not be a problem. I have already allowed Comrade Xiao Dai to recruit soldiers from various universities in France and then train them. Please note, Pierre, Comrade Xiao Dai is only recruiting a small number of soldiers to train as officers, and then these troops will be used to recruit and train more troops. I believe this method is entirely feasible."
Pierre, however, shook his head and objected, "Yes, it is indeed entirely feasible when recruiting a small number of soldiers. However, once the officers are trained and large-scale recruitment and training begin, this method will no longer be feasible."
"For example, we cannot guarantee logistics—not just in terms of weapons and equipment, but also in terms of food supplies."
"Don't forget that the amount of grain France produces each year is not very large, and buying grain from those small countries is not enough to support excessive consumption."
"Unless you plan to equip them with large quantities of baguettes, which can be eaten and also used as weapons."
"And the consequence of doing so is that these soldiers will not be able to withstand high-intensity training."
Hearing Pierre say this, Louis XVI became somewhat agitated.
If one were to be honest, when Zhu Jinsong, the Emperor of Great Ming, rose up to fight Great Qing, his strength was far less than that of present-day France.
And if the Emperor of Great Ming could train an army that dominated the world, why couldn't France?
After thinking for a moment, Louis XVI gritted his teeth and stomped his foot, resolutely saying, "If there's not enough grain, we'll rob. If the ransom paid by the English nobles is not enough, we'll find a way to strike the Habsburg family again. If that's not enough, we'll rob the damn Kunlun slaves of their grain."
Pierre's expression became even more unpleasant. "Your Majesty the King, Hamis the idiot was spouting nonsense in that petty pot, and even discussions arose among the common people of Great Ming because of it. If France imitates Ming, how should we face the discussions among the common people of France?"
After thinking for a moment, Pierre couldn't help but remind him, "You should know that the Emperor of Great Ming can disregard the nobles of Great Ming, but our French nobles control most of the industries in France, they..."
Louis XVI waved his hand irritably. "I don't care if they die? Yes, I admit, I am indeed inferior to the Emperor of Great Ming, but I can learn from the Emperor of Great Ming. Don't forget, Pierre, the Emperor of Great Ming is also preparing to resolve the discussions among the common people of Great Ming."
Only then did Pierre nod and say, "Alright, I will have someone pay attention to the Emperor of Great Ming's movements—I hope his solution is a bit gentler."
In fact, regarding the sudden emergence of those nonsensical discussions among the common people of Great Ming, Zhu Jinsong, the Emperor of Great Ming, paid no attention to them at all.
Great Ming was indeed sucking the blood of other countries. Great Ming was indeed extensively using Kunlun slaves. Great Ming was indeed constantly provoking wars in other countries. Great Ming was indeed constantly campaigning abroad. These were all things that Zhu Jinsong, the Emperor of Great Ming, had instructed the cabinet of Great Ming and the Five Armies Commanderies of Great Ming to do. So what?
Since he dared to do it, Zhu Jinsong dared to admit it.
As the Emperor of Great Ming, did Zhu Jinsong need to care about the interests of other countries? Did he need to care about the lives of people in other countries?
Go to hell with that!