The petty officials and noble lords of the Eagle Country were much like the Donglin scholars of the Tianqi and Chongzhen eras. They were all enthusiastic about shouting slogans, but when it came to their own interests, these officials and lords would change their tune in an instant.
Of course, if their own interests were not involved, they would not have the slightest objection even if Jefferson sold the Eagle Country pack and all. If selling the Eagle Country could bring them more benefits, they would even spread their wings to express their approval.
Just like now, Livingston and Monroe could not wait to raise their black-and-white invisible wings and shout praises for the Great Commander.
Especially since Jefferson did not directly betray the interests of the Eagle Country. Apart from naval bases, matters like textbooks had a long-term impact and were not apparent in the short term. Compared to the Eagle Country's standing in the Indian region, Jefferson had more significantly sold the interests of other countries in the Indian region, just as Louis XVI and George III had sold the interests of other European countries.
If we were to use Mahjong as an analogy, the Great Ming would be the banker taking a commission, the other four great benefactors would be the players, and the other hundred or so small countries would be the Mahjong tiles being played.
The four players would have wins and losses, and the Great Ming, as the banker, would never lose.
It was just that no one cared about the opinions and interests of the Mahjong tiles.
This was the transfer of costs between countries, or it could be said to be the wool coming from the dog's back.
However, what Jefferson never expected was that just as he had submitted the投名状 (declaration of allegiance) on behalf of the Eagle Country, Europe would immediately cause trouble.
This matter began with Louis XVI's complete surrender to the Great Ming.
As everyone knows, intensely shearing sheep can turn them into old men.
Although the transfer of costs between countries followed the pattern of wool coming from the dog's back, the number of dogs was limited. Just as sheep could be shorn into old men, so could dogs.
Furthermore, England and the Sand Empire's greed was not subtle. Let alone comparing them to the Central Plains guilds that had been banking for thousands of years, even France, which had recently learned from the Great Ming for a few years, was more subtle than their gluttony.
They didn't even give the dogs time to rest and recover.
Therefore, the various European countries that had been shorn bald by England and the Sand Empire were unwilling.
In the opinion of the various European countries, as long as they could unite, even if they could not defeat the Five Great Benefactors, they could at least deal with the Sand Empire or England individually.
Between the Sand Empire and England, England was isolated overseas and not very contiguous with the European continent. The maritime strength of the various European countries was indeed inferior to England's. Therefore, the various European countries first set their sights on the Sand Empire.
Led by the Habsburg family, who had just successfully joined the Little Broken Pot, the other European countries, except for France and England, followed suit. A multitude of small countries actually declared war on the Sand Empire without prior announcement!
It must be said that the Sand Empire, in Europe, could be considered a strong country. After all, they had followed the Great Ming for many years, their land area was not small, and their population was not small. If they had been fully prepared, the Sand Empire might not have feared the various small European countries.
The problem was that the Habsburg family and the various small European countries did not give the Sand Empire time to prepare, but instead launched a surprise attack.
The Sand Empire also did not expect that the Habsburg family would dare to attack them. After all, the Sand Empire was not weak and was one of the Five Great Benefactors of the Little Broken Pot. No matter how you looked at it, they were not someone that the Habsburg family, who had just joined the Little Broken Pot, could provoke.
This time, the Sand Empire was completely stunned.
However, since the Sand Empire was not a benevolent entity, even though they were caught off guard at first, once they reacted, the Sand Empire ultimately displayed the strength befitting one of the Five Great Benefactors. Large numbers of civilians were conscripted into the army, and troops and equipment originally deployed on the Ottoman border began to gather towards Europe.
The Sand Empire intended to turn around and teach Europe a lesson. Firstly, it was to show these small countries, who didn't know the immensity of heaven and earth, their place in the world. Secondly, it was to increase their say in the Little Broken Pot. Even if they couldn't compare with the Great Ming, they should at least be superior to England and France.
For the sake of stability, Paul I also specially sent ambassadors to England and France, stating that these small European countries had been blinded by greed. This war against the Sand Empire was not only against the Sand Empire but also against the Five Great Benefactors of the Little Broken Pot. Therefore, to help these small European countries distinguish between the king and the pawn, the Sand Empire was willing to serve as the main force on the front lines, and at the same time hoped that England and France would send some troops to support the Sand Empire.
However, the envoys sent by Paul I did not achieve their goal. Before declaring war on the Sand Empire, the various small European countries, led by the Habsburg family, had already sent envoys to England and France, stating that as long as they could eliminate the Sand Empire, England and France would be the ones to call the shots in Europe from then on. They could even let England and France have the first bite of the Sand Empire's carcass, in exchange for England and France feigning ignorance after the Sand Empire was beaten, and also to provide protection to the Habsburg family and other countries in the Little Broken Pot in the future.
England and France agreed.
If these European countries intended to target France, England, or the Great Ming's naval bases in Europe, then England and France would definitely teach these small countries a lesson and make them clearly understand the hierarchy.
But when it came to the Sand Empire...
Firstly, England and France did not believe that these small European countries could defeat the Sand Empire. After all, the Sand Empire was not weak. Even if these small countries indeed had the strength to defeat the Sand Empire, England and France would not stand idly by, because the Five Great Benefactors of the Little Broken Pot were of one mind, and it was normal for them to trip each other up, but no one would stand by and watch the Mahjong tiles try to become players.
Secondly, England and France also hoped that these European countries would beat up the Sand Empire. After all, the Sand Empire was also a player at the table, and England and France also wanted to weaken the Sand Empire's strength, preferably to the point where it would never recover, and lose money every time it played cards.
For this reason, England and France even secretly supported the anti-Sand Empire alliance led by the Habsburg family, which made Paul I a bit bewildered. With the dregs of the Habsburgs, they could actually fight the Sand Empire, one of the Five Great Benefactors, to a draw?
When the news reached the Great Ming, Zhu Jinsong, the Emperor of the Great Ming, almost burst into laughter.
"Really, I never expected the Habsburg family to be so brave. They were beaten up by England and France one moment, and the next they dared to go fight the Sand Empire."
Zhu Jinsong, while signaling Ke Zhiming to distribute the intelligence to Zeng Cheng and other elder officials, said with a smile, "I really don't know if Liang Cuiping gave them the courage."
Zeng Cheng and the others paid no attention to who Liang Cuiping was mentioned by Zhu Jinsong, because Zeng Cheng and the others almost burst into laughter as well. A Europe that was constantly at war was more in line with the interests of the Great Ming.
However, after allowing the Ottoman Empire and the Habsburg family to join the Little Broken Pot, it was difficult for the Great Ming to instigate fights in Europe for the time being.
The reason why the Great Ming stopped its war against the Ottoman Empire and even allowed the Ottoman Empire and the Habsburg family to join the Little Broken Pot was mainly because the Great Ming's current population had not reached the requirements for full expansion. Even if they occupied the Ottoman Empire, there would not be enough population for migration.
Similarly, the Great Ming did not wish for the Habsburg family to be completely destroyed by England and France. After all, the Habsburg family ruled over tens of millions of people, and the piglet trade alone involved millions.
Now, the Habsburg family was so brave that they had rallied various countries on the European continent to go fight the Sand Empire!
Putting down the intelligence in his hand, Zeng Cheng smiled and looked at Shen Yongfu, the head of the Ministry of War, and said, "Northern Industries and Southern Armaments need to increase the production of old weaponry, as it is all the European countries except England and France fighting the Sand Empire, and the amount of weaponry consumed will not be small."
Shen Yongfu immediately agreed with a smile.
The more weapons sold, the more money the Ministry of Revenue received. The more money the Ministry of Revenue received, the more would be invested in weapons research and development.
Therefore, the collective fights in Europe basically meant that the Great Ming would have more money for weapons research and development, and the weaponry equipped by the Great Ming army would be further improved.
After Shen Yongfu agreed, Liu Huaiwen also said with a smile, "It's not just about weaponry. Europe has been fighting for several years, and their grain harvests must also be a problem."
"If Europe itself doesn't have enough food to eat, I'm afraid there will be a famine there. At that time, it will be easier for England and France to buy and sell piglets than before."
Having said that, Liu Huaiwen suddenly changed the subject and said, "Of course, there is another possibility, which is that the European countries lacking food have emptied the last copper coin in their treasuries. Will these European countries take a desperate gamble?"
Upon hearing Liu Huaiwen's words, Shen Yongfu immediately frowned.
According to the experience of peasant uprisings throughout the dynasties of the Central Plains guilds, famine caused by a lack of food was definitely the most important factor, as rebellions caused by not being able to eat were far more numerous than rebellions caused by the oppression of the court or officials.
If the situation was as Liu Huaiwen described, then Europe would eventually fall into great chaos. Many countries might disappear completely, or many new countries might be born.
Of course, it did not matter to the Great Ming which European country disappeared or which new country was born. The fear was that someone would direct the anger of the European civilians towards the Great Ming.
Although the Great Ming was not very worried about this, it was better to earn money steadily by trading piglets than to fight with these small European countries.
After some thought, Shen Yongfu simply said, "Why don't our Great Ming intervene and mediate?"
However, to the surprise of the elder officials, Zhu Jinsong chuckled and waved his hand, saying, "No, no."
"Those European countries have always been people who bully the weak and fear the strong."
"If our Great Ming were not strong enough, the Habsburg family and others would definitely attack our Great Ming."
"But our Great Ming has six naval bases in Europe. Although the scale of each naval base is not very large, it is enough to make the Habsburg alliance breathless, let alone the existence of England and France."
"Therefore, the Habsburg alliance this time is purely targeting the Sand Empire, wanting to bite off a piece of flesh from the Sand Empire. They will not bring the fire of war to our Great Ming."
"Of course, if the Habsburgs dare to attack France, then we have to guard against it, and we might have to intervene in the European turmoil in advance."
Having said that, Zhu Jinsong then turned his gaze to Liu Heming, the head of the Five Army Commanderies, and said, "Send a message to the naval bases in Europe later, asking them to pay more attention and maintain a state of outward relaxation and inward tension."
After Liu Heming agreed, Zhu Jinsong then said to Shen Yongfu, "The old weaponry of Northern Industries and Southern Armaments indeed needs to increase production, and this production should be tilted towards the Habsburg alliance, not sold entirely to the Sand Empire."
After Shen Yongfu also agreed, Zhu Jinsong then looked at Zeng Cheng and asked, "In Minister Zeng's opinion, how many benefits can our Great Ming gain this time?"
Zeng Cheng cupped his hands towards Zhu Jinsong, stroked his beard, and smiled, "Replying to Your Majesty, I believe that in addition to selling some old weaponry, the greatest benefit for our Great Ming this time lies in labor. As for other matters, it depends on the Ministry of Rites."
Meng Fanzhi, the head of the Ministry of Rites, was suddenly bewildered.
If Europe was in a full-scale war, the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of War should be the biggest beneficiaries. The Ministry of Works could at least get more laborers, but what did this have to do with the Ministry of Rites?
Seeing that Meng Fanzhi had not yet reacted, Zeng Cheng smiled and said, "Our Great Ming was originally the most stable country on this planet. Although we dare not say it is a year of abundant harvest and favorable weather, we can say it is a prosperous and peaceful country."
"Now that Europe is almost at war, the lives of European civilians are certainly not easy, but the lives of those European nobles may not be much better."
"Under such circumstances, as long as your Ministry of Rites handles it properly, you can attract a large number of European nobles to bring their wealth to our Great Ming."
"When the fighting in Europe is over, these nobles will have almost spent all their money in our Great Ming."
"When they return to Europe, the image of our Great Ming will become even more grand and impressive."
Using a new term he learned from Zhu Jinsong, Zeng Cheng then smiled and said, "Let the barbarians envy us!"