Zhu Jinsong also felt troubled.
Killing a somewhat deranged George III would be easy. The Embroidered Uniform Guard had plenty of ways to do it flawlessly, ensuring no one would link George III's death to murder, let alone to the Great Ming.
The problem was time.
As George III began to act erratically, Louis XVI would certainly not remain indifferent. This wasn't just a matter between George III and Louis XVI; it involved the centuries-old animosity between England and France. England, having lost almost all its territories on the European continent and thus relegated to the British Isles, would not be content. France, moreover, would not abandon the benefits it had already gained.
What was even more maddening was that as England and France, two of the "Five Benevolent Ones" of the "Little Broken Pot," began to clash, the other smaller nations in Europe, whether allied with England, France, or the Habsburg family, would also be drawn into the conflict. No one could stand aside.
If one also considered the impact of the conflict between the Habsburg family and the Russian Tsar...
Even Zhu Jinsong, the穿越者 emperor, couldn't help but sigh, covering his forehead: "Damn it, everything is a mess now."
"England and France will soon clash. And due to the Habsburg family, France might align with the Tsar, while England might align with the USA. The entire of Europe, plus the Americas, will be in chaos."
"And the Ottomans might also align with the Habsburg family."
Zeng Cheng, Liu Heming, and other key figures were stunned by the scene Zhu Jinsong described.
If these various countries declared war on the Great Ming, Zeng Cheng, Liu Heming, and the other figures wouldn't be overly worried. However, if these countries clashed amongst themselves, their domestic environments would become unstable, affecting the Great Ming's commodity exports and its imports of raw materials and labor.
After the figures exchanged glances for a while, Zeng Cheng suddenly looked up and said, "Your Majesty, fighting wars is not something that can be prepared for in a few days. From preparation to the outbreak of war, it can take anywhere from three to five years, or at least ten to fifteen days at the quickest. A war that can involve all of Europe and the Americas, wouldn't the preparation time be even longer?"
Zhu Jinsong nodded and asked, "And then?"
Zeng Cheng replied, "The problem is that neither George III nor Louis XVI were prepared beforehand, were they? Since neither England nor France were prepared, wouldn't such a war, fought at a moment's notice, be like child's play?"
Zhu Jinsong chuckled, waved his hand, and said, "You cannot compare the situation in Europe to our Great Ming."
Seeing Zeng Cheng somewhat bewildered, Zhu Jinsong simply explained: "Except for the time when we first raised our troops to fight the Jian Yi, our Great Ming's armies have always fought battles with preparation. Every time we fight, we make thorough preparations before acting."
"But the situation in Europe is different."
"For example, England's mainland territory is only the British Isles, roughly equivalent to our Guangxi province. France's mainland territory is about the same as our Sichuan province."
"You tell me, when countries the size of two provinces engage in war, what kind of preparations do they need to make? And how long would it take them to prepare?"
Speaking of this, Zhu Jinsong suddenly became enthusiastic and instructed Zeng Cheng, "Secretary Zeng, remember to personally summon Pierre and tell him that France can afford to take some losses in the early stages."
Zeng Cheng was taken aback and asked, "Let France take some losses?"
Zhu Jinsong hummed and said, "Precisely."
"France has been following our Great Ming these past few years and has siphoned quite a lot of wealth from Europe. Their image in Europe is not exactly good."
"If France were to confront England directly from the outset, although France could defeat England, many small European nations would find France too domineering. This would lead more small European nations to align with England for self-preservation."
"In the early stages, let France appear strong, but show restraint when the actual fighting starts, preferably pretend to be weak and take some losses, and even let England occupy one or two territories. This would shift the blame entirely onto England through concrete actions."
Zeng Cheng became even more bewildered.
As the Grand Secretary of the Great Ming Empire, Zeng Cheng was very familiar with the tactics Zhu Jinsong mentioned.
But Zeng Cheng couldn't quite understand why the Great Ming would help France against England.
Under normal circumstances, as the leader of the "Five Benevolent Ones" of the "Little Broken Pot," the Great Ming should be focused on how to quell the dispute between England and France. Even if it couldn't quell it, it should find ways to contain the chaos in Europe between England and France, rather than tilting the scales as it was doing now.
After thinking for a long time without finding a solution, Zeng Cheng hesitantly asked, "Your Majesty's intention is?"
Zhu Jinsong said dismissively, "To kill the chicken to scare the monkeys. Since England dares to provoke the rules I have set, then I must let England know that the rules I have set are the rules of this little broken ball!"
...
After receiving the letter from Pierre, Louis XVI was somewhat bewildered.
If Louis XVI would be angry that Madame Déficit became a mistress to George III, then he was certainly very angry. Otherwise, Louis XVI would not have smashed more than ten cups. These porcelain cups, produced by the Da Ming Treasury Workshop and specifically supplied to European royalty, were not as rare as those exclusively supplied to the Great Ming imperial family, but it often took two to three years from placing an order to actually receiving them. These more than ten cups were Louis XVI's beloved possessions. The fact that he smashed more than ten cups was enough to prove Louis XVI's anger.
But if it were to say that Louis XVI would lose his mind because Madame Déficit became George III's mistress, and even decide to go to war with England because of it, that would be pure nonsense.
After all, Louis XVI himself had a large number of mistresses, and the royal families and nobility in Europe were very chaotic. Basically, no one cared about these things.
The reason Louis XVI appeared to have lost his mind was fundamentally because of England. George III had not forgotten the centuries-old animosity between England and France, and Louis XVI had not forgotten it either.
It was just that before, because of the existence of the Great Ming, France, like England, was confined within the framework of the "Little Broken Pot." No matter how much Louis XVI wanted to kill George III and England, he could only dig pits for England in subtle ways, but he did not dare to directly go to war with England.
However, George III, the mad king of England, suddenly went mad and inexplicably decided to go to war with France, so Louis XVI had no scruples.
Even if the Great Ming were to pursue responsibility later, Louis XVI could push all the blame onto George III and England. It was the mad king George III who provoked first, and France was forced to respond.
But Louis XVI never expected that before France and England could go to war, the Emperor of the Great Ming already knew about the impending war between France and England and had sent him "tactical guidance"?
Did the Great Ming Emperor not intend to pursue the matter of France and England going to war?
After pondering for a moment, Louis XVI looked at Pierre, who had rushed back, and asked, "What else did Prime Minister Zeng tell you? Also, did Prime Minister Zeng provide any special explanation for this so-called tactical guidance?"
Pierre looked bewildered and replied, "Prime Minister Zeng just instructed me to bring this tactical guidance back to you, and did not provide any special explanation."
Suddenly, Pierre exclaimed, "Before I left, Prime Minister Zeng said meaningfully: 'It is easy to start a war, but difficult to solve the problem.'"
Louis XVI's eyes lit up, and he quickly pressed, "And then?"
Pierre scratched his head and said, "I also asked Prime Minister Zeng this question at the time, but Prime Minister Zeng did not answer me. He just smiled and said that I would understand later."
Louis XVI pressed again, "And now? Do you understand?"
After asking, Louis XVI realized that his question was completely redundant. If Pierre had already understood, he would have said so directly, why would he be here scratching his head and pondering?
Thinking of this, Louis XVI could only shake his head helplessly, and then his gaze turned to the so-called "tactical guidance."
"Allow England to provoke first, and only respond in writing. If England does not take any actual action, France need not take any drastic action."
"If England sends troops to attack France, France should voluntarily retreat thirty miles and only condemn England in the newspapers."
"If France voluntarily retreats, England will inevitably attack again, actively occupying more French territory. At this time, France can counterattack."
"After England is driven back to the British Isles, France should not pursue them but rather hold its original defensive line, while simultaneously showing weakness to lure England into attacking France again."
"If England's actions are not too extreme, then criticize England and George III in the newspapers to provoke England..."
After reading this so-called "tactical guidance" over and over again, Louis XVI looked at Pierre again and asked, "Are you sure this 'tactical guidance' was sent back by the Emperor of the Great Ming?"
Pierre honestly replied, "Yes, when Prime Minister Zeng handed me this 'tactical guidance,' he said so."
After receiving Pierre's confirmation, Louis XVI became even more bewildered.
Louis XVI could understand tactical matters, and he could also understand some strategic matters.
However, Louis XVI could not understand why France had to show weakness to England.
In terms of national treasury finances, the treasury finances of France in the past were indeed inferior to those of England. However, since France began to associate with the Great Ming, its treasury surplus had risen sharply. The French treasury was even wealthier than the English treasury.
In terms of military strength, the French army not only learned from the Great Ming in terms of organization and training, but had also completely re-equipped with standard equipment imported from the Great Ming. Compared to England, which mainly relied on self-produced equipment supplemented by imported equipment from the Great Ming, France's military strength was clearly superior.
Not to mention that France now had Napoleon, who graduated with honors from the Great Ming Military Academy, was skilled in both offense and defense, and was known as the military god of Europe.
Louis XVI even felt confident that he could directly defeat England.
So, why still show weakness to France?
Seeing Louis XVI's changing expressions, Pierre cautiously asked, "Your esteemed Louis XVI, what does this tactical guidance say? Should we follow this so-called tactical guidance?"
Louis XVI was first stunned, then he coldly snorted and retorted, "Why not follow it? The Emperor of the Great Ming has proven his military vision through countless battles."
Speaking of this, Louis XVI directly looked at Napoleon, who had recently been promoted to Commander-in-Chief of the French Army, and asked, "What do you think?"
Napoleon saluted Louis XVI first, then replied without hesitation, "I guarantee to strictly carry out the orders!"
Louis XVI then smiled and nodded, handed the "tactical guidance" to Napoleon, and said with a smile, "Take a look first."
Napoleon, who had been eager to see it, immediately took the so-called "tactical guidance" from Louis XVI.
However, after a few glances, Napoleon smiled and said, "Your esteemed Louis XVI, I think I know why the Emperor of the Great Ming made such tactical guidance, and we in France should indeed strictly follow the tactics and strategies formulated by His Majesty the Emperor of the Great Ming."
Louis XVI looked bewildered and asked, "Tactics and strategy? You understand?"
Napoleon nodded and said, "Yes, I understand."
"I must admit that your decision to become pen pals with the Emperor of the Great Ming and lead France to join the 'Little Broken Pot' was very wise. This tactical guidance given by the Emperor of the Great Ming should actually be called strategic guidance."
"If France can strictly follow this strategic guidance, not only will we be able to bite off a piece of England this time, but we can also take revenge on the Habsburg family."
"Of course, more importantly, after this war, France's image will be positive, and all the blame will be entirely on England."
"Therefore, we must implement what we understand of this tactical strategic guidance, and we must also understand what we don't understand while executing it!"
Hearing Napoleon say this, Louis XVI's spirits immediately lifted: "Then, let's get to work!"