In April in France, the temperature gradually rises, the flowers bloom, the grass is green, the sun is shining, the climate is pleasant, it is the most comfortable time of the year, the Duke of Richelieu, the prime minister of King Louis XIII of France, feels very comfortable at this time, because the steam machine has been jointly developed by Britain, France and the Netherlands.

This means that France will be able to produce advanced muskets and artillery from now on, and in less than two years, the French army and navy will all be equipped with new weapons, and by then, Spain, Portugal, and the Holy Roman Empire will all have to lie down, and the damn Ming Empire will not want to have a good life!

The defeat at the Strait of Dover was simply the biggest stain on his life, because before that, his life could have been nothing short of spectacular.

As a politician, he overthrew the king, expelled the queen mother, the queen was suppressed by him, the prince was exiled by him, the duke was executed by him, he was no longer a powerful minister but a tyrant, the first tyrant who had no one before and no one after him in French history.

As a diplomat, he tore the Holy Roman Empire apart without a single soldier, and Philip IV, King of the Earth, was just one step away from being trampled under his feet.

However, the damned Ming Empire suddenly stepped in and helped Spain reorganize the Invincible Armada, and also helped them build fortresses, build forts, seize Calais and Dover, blockade the Strait of Dover, and even Portugal, which had been ruled by Spain for decades, participated.

However, instead of helping the anti-Habsburg coalition against Spain, they sent troops to help Spain garrison Calais!

Damn, after decades of hard planning, it looks like the Habsburg dynasty is about to be overthrown, but this kind of accident happened, and Richelieu hated that in his heart.

Well, now that advanced muskets and artillery are about to be installed in the whole army, the balance of war is once again tilted in favor of the anti-Habsburg coalition, and victory is already in sight!

Just as Richelieu was thinking about victory, a cronie suddenly hurriedly walked in, knelt on the ground, held an envelope high above his head, and said with a little trepidation: "Your Royal Highness, Spain Visitor." “

Richelieu was a man with very keen senses, and he could tell from the look on his cronie that this was definitely not good news.

What could it be, is Spain preparing to run the Strait of Dover to blockade again?

It's impossible, France has already sent heavy troops to guard Calais, and the British have a lot of troops in Dover, and if they want to play the trick of raiding again, it is simply looking for death!

Richelieu's willpower is also quite strong, and the cronie's expression did not affect him, he just took the envelope indifferently, and then gently waved his hand to let the cronie retreat, and his face was calm and breezy from beginning to end.

However, when he saw the contents of the report, his face couldn't help but change.

What was written in the report was not any news, but it was directly translated into French and sent over the "Treaty of the Mingjing Alliance" signed by the Habsburg League of the Ming Dynasty.

The Ming Empire even wanted to build a telegraph network directly to the European continent, and also built a Eurasian railway, and even planned to sell steam machine tools to allies in the European continent!

Doesn't this cost human life!

Since the Ming Empire dug the Eurasian Canal, the anti-Habsburg alliance of maritime traffic has been at an absolute disadvantage, if they are allowed to build telegraphs and railways to the European continent, then what kind of bastardization is there for the anti-Habsburg alliance.

No, the Ming Empire must be stopped, otherwise France's dream of dominating the world will come to naught!

He thought for a moment, and immediately said loudly: "Someone." “

A cronie came in and knelt respectfully for his dispatch.

At this time, Richelieu could not pretend to be deep, he directly handed the report forward, and then hurriedly said: "Immediately order someone to translate this "Mingjing Alliance Treaty" into English, Dutch, Swedish, Danish and Russian, and immediately send a fast ship to these five allies, and inform them that they should send an envoy to Paris to discuss countermeasures. “

Anyway, France is located in the western part of the European continent, far away from Sweden, Denmark and Russia, and if he is really in a hurry, he should send the delegations of various countries to the Netherlands in the middle of northern Europe to consult, why should they all come to Paris?

He naturally did this for a reason, because he had already thought of a way to contain the Ming Empire, but this method was a bit insidious, he couldn't negotiate with the five allies, he had to come step by step, the distance between the five and France was just right, and it would be inconvenient if he ran to the Netherlands.

In fact, he didn't need to send the translated "Mingjing Alliance Treaty" over, the Netherlands and Britain also had it, because the Ming Dynasty and the Four Nations Alliance were not secretly carried out this time, and after the alliance treaty was signed, the Ming Empire even celebrated it in a big way, and it was strange that the Netherlands and Britain didn't know.

In fact, Zhu Cijiong can't be blamed for negligence, things like pulling the telegraph network and building the Eurasian railway are impossible to carry out secretly, so he simply put everything on the table and did it with great fanfare.

I'm just going to pull the telegraph network, I'm going to build the Eurasian railway, what are you going to do?

The Netherlands and Britain really can't do anything with the Ming Empire, their current maritime strength combined can't compare to the Ming Navy, and going to the Far East to fight with the Ming Empire is purely seeking death!

Just as the Dutch and the British were in a hurry, French messengers arrived, who not only brought a translated Treaty of the Mingjing Alliance, but also an invitation from the Duke of Richelieu: asking them to send an envoy to Paris to discuss countermeasures.

That's right, how can you forget this old fox, he easily crippled the Holy Roman Empire, and he must have a way to deal with the Ming Empire.

So, the two countries immediately accepted the invitation and sent an envoy to Paris.

The heads of the missions of the two countries this time are still the Earl of Trafford and Speke, why the old school of these two people, it is very simple, because they are not only high-powered, but also quite gifted in languages, they all understand French, and it is naturally the most suitable to send them.

The British and Dutch delegates would arrive first, which Richelieu had expected, and when the Earl of Trafford and Speke arrived in Paris, he invited them to a small conference room for a secret discussion.

At the beginning, Richelieu did not mention the Ming Empire, but asked eagerly: "How many new flintlock pistols can you produce in a month now, and when will you be able to complete the refitting of the army?" “

Does this product want them to change into a new type of flintlock pistol and go to fight with the Ming Empire? The Earl of Trafford and Speke looked at each other suspiciously, but they didn't speak, because they didn't want to be wronged!

Seeing their expressions, Richelieu immediately said with relief: "Don't worry, it's not for you to fight with the Ming Empire, Spieke, you say it first." “

When Speke heard this, he had to bite the bullet and say: "We can now produce more than 10,000 flintlock pistols a month, and we can complete the refitting within a year." “

Richelieu nodded, and then looked at Trafford, which meant that it was you.

Seeing this, Trafford had no choice but to say: "We can now produce about 20,000 flintlock pistols a month, and it will take at least a year and a half to complete the reloading." “

When Richelieu heard this, he immediately said categorically: "Not enough, far from enough, you must at least double the production of flintlock pistols." “

Doubling production? There's something wrong, what should I do if I do too much, do I want to sell it?

This thing can't be sold indiscriminately, if it sells well, if it doesn't sell well, people are likely to beat you with the gun you made!