(The new book "Back to the Ming Dynasty to Open a Factory" continues wonderfully, asking for support, asking for recommendations, asking for collections, asking for rewards, asking for support, and all kinds of ......)

Will there be a conspiracy?

Anyone who faces pie in the sky will always have doubts, at least Edward has been suspicious for a long time, although he longs for the opportunity to be taken seriously, but in the face of sudden news, he still has too many doubts.

Why would a Celestial Empire person take the initiative to tell him those secrets, and why would a Celestial Empire person buy his own country?

Although there were too many doubts in his heart, Ed finally reported the news to the envoy of the French court, who was unwilling to risk his future, and the only option was to report it on his own initiative.

In fact, no one wants to bear these costs!

Edward wouldn't, and neither would anyone else.

Almost as soon as Edward reported the news to the envoys to the French court, and then the envoys were able to transmit it back to London, the news of the Celestial Empire's dispatch of the Western Fleet set off an unprecedented panic in the London court.

"I said we should release them, it's just a bunch of smugglers, why should we be so stubborn!"

Faced with the threat of war, William's instinctive reaction was to de-escalate the situation immediately, and he could not afford to provoke an empire.

"Your Majesty, even if we release them, it doesn't make any sense, miss this opportunity, they will still look for new opportunities, after all, it is impossible for the Celestial Empire to give up its support for James, war...... It's almost a necessity for them! ”

Unlike his previous advocacy of détente, he now became extremely tough in the face of the reality that Wan Zheng left England and went to France to find an alliance with France and send a fleet.

"Yes, they will keep looking for excuses, looking for excuses to support James directly, and it will be extremely beneficial for them to divide the UK."

Edward Russell added.

"Don't they still care about the balance of Europe? How is it possible for a divided Britain to balance the situation in Europe? ”

William was keenly aware of the problem, and according to the words of the Celestial Empire official, the civilian officials of the Celestial Empire were more concerned with balance, and they wanted Europe to maintain the status quo than the military aspired to merit. But how is it possible for a divided Britain to maintain the status quo?

In his opinion, this is really absurd, the Celestial Empire is so far away from Europe, why do they care so much about Europe? And what does Europe have to do with them?

It doesn't matter at all!

However, the people of the Celestial Empire did not think so, not only did they not feel that Europe had nothing to do with them, but they even talked about "balance" in a high-sounding manner, and even did not hesitate to tell outsiders their military secrets for the sake of so-called "balance".

"Your Majesty, now Britain is not only Britain, but also the Netherlands, so, in the eyes of some Celestial Empire officials, perhaps the balance has been broken, so in order to maintain the balance in Europe, they decided to send a fleet."

Balance!

Again, when the word balance was heard, William said with annoyance.

"It turns out that everything is my fault, but why are those damn Celestial Empire people so disgusted? How far are they from Europe? Even with clippers, it takes two months to sail, but what about them? I don't care about all this at all, they are even more disgusting than the Turks, the Turks, when did they meddle in our affairs, never, but the people of the Celestial Empire are different, those people are eager to turn the whole of Europe into their garden, balance, balance, the balance of Europe has anything to do with them? ”

Of course it doesn't matter, but the people of the Celestial Empire feel that it is related, and thinking of this, William even has an urge to vomit blood.

"They have rudely and brutally interfered in our internal affairs, and now they are going to interfere in the whole of Europe, damn it, Louis rejected them, he must have seen their ambitions......"

The king's words made Edward Russell sigh helplessly, everyone knows why Louis refused to ally with the Celestial Empire, because he hopes that the Celestial Empire and Britain will lose both, and when the time comes, he can attack Britain more easily, and that person is also not at ease.

Suddenly, Edward Russell's mind thought of a Chinese word "meat on a board", isn't the current Britain just a piece of meat on a board? Is it just a mermaid?

"So, what should we do now?"

Looking up at his general, William asked rhetorically.

"Can war be avoided if we release their people now?"

"Even if we release those sailors, it will not help to change the situation, and our show of weakness will only make them further rampant, they will think that we are weak and deceitful, and our concessions today are just laying the groundwork for the next war......"

In the face of the king's inquiries, North's attitude was clearly different from that of the past, when he advocated the release of the sailors and the easing of relations with the Celestial Empire.

"If I'm not mistaken, before that, you want to release them, and you want to negotiate with the Celestial Empire."

Faced with the king's rhetorical question, North pondered for a moment, then spoke.

"There is a saying in the Celestial Empire, called "There is no need to endure anymore", and our concessions to them have only been exchanged for their gains, and now, perhaps, there is only one thing that can stop their ambitions for Europe, and that is to defeat them on the battlefield! ”

With that, North set his sights on Edward, the commander-in-chief of the navy.

Facing the gaze cast by North and the king, Edward said directly.

"The Western Fleet is a very formidable fleet, and although we have never fought with them, the Dutch have clashed with them many times, and they are far ahead of us in shipbuilding technology and gunnery......"

Edward's answer made William's brows furrow slightly, and he asked directly.

"Will our navy be able to defeat them?"

In fact, William has always been distrustful of the navy founded by James, although he was invited by the British, but many Britons regard William as a usurper, which is also a reasonable thing. Similarly, William and his supporters were wary of the James II navy. In a way, this is indeed the case. This may reflect a certain respect for the seafaring skills of James II, the supreme admiral, who had fought in the Anglo-Dutch War. This also filled the navy with the worship of James II. This is also the reason why William and others are suspicious of the Navy.

Will they defect?

That's what William cares about most.

"There should be no problem! They are laborers, and we have more ships and more artillery, and I believe that with the joint efforts of the coalition forces, we will definitely be able to defeat the fleet of the Celestial Empire and make them realize that this is Europe! ”

While Edward was saying this, Louis was receiving the Minister of State of the Navy, Colber, and the Commander of the Navy, the Count of Tourville, in the royal palace of Versailles on the European continent.

"How's it going, my commander-in-chief, how is my fleet doing now?"

Louis XIV immediately asked happily when he looked at Tourville.

"Your Majesty, the morale of your fleet is high right now, and they have been conducting rigorous training in the past few days......"

Tourville replied truthfully.

"It's just that everyone is curious why it suddenly stopped."

"Because of the British."

Colber on the side, the king's favorite servant, said.

"The British have clashed with the Celestial Empire, and now, the Celestial Empire has sent their fleet, and their fleet is heading towards Europe, and it is certain that war between the British and the Celestial Empire is inevitable, so we hope to be able to ease relations with the British, perhaps, they will not think that we will support them, but at least convince them that we will not form an alliance with the Celestial Empire."

Colbert was Louis's most trusted and valued minister, and was always greatly appreciated by Louis XIV, first as treasurer, and then as secretary of state for the royal family and secretary of state for the navy for his merits, so to speak, he has been given the right of de facto prime minister. Because of this, his decisions often represent those of the king.

"Moreover, we have rejected the request of the Minister of the Celestial Empire to form an alliance, and at the same time recalled you."

As for Colber's explanation, Turtuvi's heart was full of doubts, as the commander of the navy, of course he wanted to have a strong ally, after all, the alliance between Britain and the Netherlands had made him feel unprecedented pressure, maybe his fleet was very strong, but the French fleet still needed to defend the Mediterranean, and it was divided into two fleets by land, which meant that he could only devote a part of his forces to fight the Anglo-Dutch coalition. In comparison, the Anglo-Dutch alliance was more powerful.

At this time, it is simply an extremely stupid thing to refuse help from other countries.

"However, we shouldn't form an alliance with the Celestial Empire, so that we can defeat the British more easily?"

Turtuvi asked rhetorically, puzzled.

"No, if that's the case, the victor is the Celestial Empire, God can testify, the Celestial Empire, maybe they are different from the Turks, but if they are allowed to gain a foothold in Europe, I dare to guarantee that they will be the next Turks."

Louis XIV looked at Turtuvi and said.

"I would rather see the British defeat the Celestial Empire than defeat the British, in that case, they will cut off the clutches of the Celestial Empire's expansion into Europe, and of course, win us the opportunity!"

Although the king did not explain anything, Turtuvi immediately understood.

"Your Majesty is wise, I think the British will definitely be greatly injured after defeating the fleet of the Celestial Empire, and at that time, it will be the best time for us to attack the British."

The king's choice was very simple, it was nothing more than hoping to take advantage of the fire after the disastrous victory of the British, and this made Turtuvi immediately accept the reality that there were no allies to help, if the Celestial Empire had a naval battle with the British, in the face of the disastrous victory of the Anglo-Dutch fleet, he would not need any alliance at all, and he could easily defeat them.

"In this war, France will be the last and only victor."

Louis XIV only smiled at Turtuvi's compliment, and there were more important questions about why he recalled the commander-in-chief of the navy.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty wishes to seek your opinion, and in the whole of Europe, there is no one who knows the seas better than you, and in your opinion, is it possible for the British to defeat the fleet of the Celestial Empire?"

Kolber looked at Turtuvi and asked rhetorically.

"You know, all our plans are based on one position, that is, the Anglo-Dutch alliance defeats the Celestial Empire! We believe that even if Britain were to win, they would have suffered a terrible loss. ”

"That's for sure!"

Turtuvi replied bluntly.

"In the past twenty years, I have had too many contacts with the navy of the Celestial Empire through various official and unofficial channels, and one thing is for sure, all along, in terms of shipbuilding technology, the Celestial Empire has always been ahead of us, and in terms of naval tactics, the same is true, in fact, their lead over us is comprehensive, navigation, shipbuilding, artillery, gunnery, training, etc., these all-round leads, creating a very powerful fleet."

Time has changed everything, perhaps at the beginning, the Ming learned navigation and shipbuilding and gunnery from Europe, but with the change of time, now the Ming has surpassed Europe in these aspects. This is also well known, after all, the ships and artillery built by the Ming Dynasty have always had a good reputation in Europe.

"If this is the case, then why do you still think that the British will be victorious? In addition to the number of ships and the number of artillery that we all know. ”

Kolber looked at him and asked rhetorically.

"Distance and environment!"

As Commander-in-Chief of the Navy, Turtuvi knew more about naval warfare than Louis and Colber, and he focused more on another part than they did in terms of the number of ships and artillery.

"In terms of distance, their fleet must go through a long voyage from Ganquan Harbor to reach Britain, such a voyage will consume the energy of the sailors, this is only one thing, as for the environment, compared to the Celestial Empire, the British know more about the seas near Britain, in unfamiliar seas, people who are familiar with the sea environment are more likely to win, this is also my concern."

Turtuvi was a direct articulation of his long-standing fears that he would lose a naval battle off the coast of Britain because he was not familiar with the sea.

"Don't worry now, at least we can be sure that the British, who are well prepared, will definitely be able to defeat the Celestial Empire fleet at sea, but even if they win, it will be a crushing victory, just like you said, the Celestial Empire's fleet is an extremely powerful fleet, and before they are defeated, the British will definitely pay for their victory!"

Looking at Turtuvi, Louis said with a smile.

"Now, my commander-in-chief, tell me what preparations we should make? What should our fleet do when the Celestial Empire is defeated? ”

()