On October 3, at 7:10 p.m., Emperor Zhu looked at a table of carefully prepared delicacies, and he had no appetite at all.

Putting down the chopsticks, he was stunned for a while, and he suddenly said in German to Princess Mathilde, who was sitting opposite him and playing with these two carved ivory chopsticks: "Your Royal Highness, are you not joking with me?" Our war with Russia has not yet fully begun, and you are ready to mediate? ”

Mathilde was stunned for a moment, raised his head and looked at Zhu Jishi with a smile: "Your Majesty the Emperor, you should think about how to end the war before it starts. Fighting a war that I don't know how to end is not a good choice. Isn't that what we, the Bonapartes, have suffered? I really don't want you to follow my uncle's example...... Russia, really a very difficult enemy to deal with! ”

Zhu Jishi's brows furrowed, Princess Mathilde just made a proposal that surprised Emperor Zhu - it was about the disposition of Siberian territory after the war, and the princess suggested the establishment of a Ming-Russian condominium in the part of Siberia occupied by the Ming Dynasty, which could be called "Grand Duchy of Eastern Siberia" or something else. The country will have a dual monarchy, governed by a Ming prince and a Russian grand duke by marriage. Moreover, Princess Mathilde also assured Zhu Jishi that the French Emperor Napoleon III and the princess herself would definitely try their best to mediate between Russia and the Ming Dynasty to promote a comprehensive reconciliation between Ming and Russia after the war.

"Princess, France and Russia are enemies, right?" Zhu Jishi stared at the princess, as if he wanted to see through her thoughts, "How could the French emperor mediate the Ming-Russophobic War?" ”

Mathilde smiled: "France does not share a border with Russia, and there are no territorial claims to Russia. Even Alaska (which is not part of Russia) is not inevitable. In fact. The Franco-Russian contradictions are not acute. There is plenty of room for reconciliation. Moreover, you also know that the royal families of Europe are related to each other. The war between France and Russia was nothing more than a family dispute. So France and Russia will soon be sitting down at the negotiating table......"

The Bonaparte family and the Romanov family are indeed somewhat related, and Mathilde's cousin, the gay crown prince of Württemberg, married the tsar's princess, the same Olga who had a little old love with Zhu Jishi. Nikolaevna. Originally, the relationship between the two families would have been closer, and Napoleon once wanted to marry Princess Catherine I, the sister of Alexander I, as empress. However, Alexander I had an affair with his sister, "one of the most perfect stunners in the world", and resolutely refused to marry his sister to the French emperor...... I wonder if the Franco-Russian conflict and Napoleon's expedition to Moscow had anything to do with this unsuccessful marriage proposal? If any. This female archduke of Tsarist Russia can be regarded as a disaster for the country and the city.

Mathilde said as she threw a wink at the Chinese emperor, and after a few months of living in the Old Summer Palace and the Chengde Summer Resort, she finally knew what it meant to be a real rich man. Her ex-husband, a Russian banker, was simply poor and stingy compared to the emperor. The alimony for divorce is only 160,000 francs (equivalent to 6,400 pounds, about 20,000 silver dollars), which is not enough to spend! If he could become the lover of His Majesty of China, how could he have 1 million francs of pocket money?

However, Emperor Zhu didn't have time to think about French colors at this time. He was struggling to recall in his head the contents of the history textbook about the Anglo-French-Turkish-Russian war of 1853 and 1854. It seems to be called the Crimean War. I don't know how long the road has been fought and how many people have died? In this time and space, with the variable of himself and Daming, how long will it last? France and Russia, will they really make peace soon? If that were the case, wouldn't China have to bear the pressure of the Russian Empire alone in the East?

Also, is there a fight in Europe now?

Thinking of this, Zhu Jishi sighed faintly, was stunned again, and muttered softly: "Now the Ming Dynasty and Russia have already fought, not only on land, but also on the sea......"

War on land is certain at this stage, but at sea it is a bit worrying.

It was more than two days from the Ryukyu Islands to Dinghai, and it was still in a tailwind situation, so the victory or defeat of the Ryukyu naval battle had not yet been reported by Emperor Zhu. Although he had the trump card of the steam ironclad ship in his hand, the intelligence station of Jinyiwei in Europe also sent information, telling Emperor Zhu that the Russian fleet was equipped with a large number of large-caliber bombardment guns, that is, smoothbore guns with a caliber of 8-10 inches, with a range of up to 4 to 5 miles, and could also use explosive shells. Although this kind of cannon can't hurt the ironclad ship, it is enough for the third-class battleships of the Ming army to drink a pot. In terms of casting large-caliber artillery, Lan Fangxing's skills still lagged behind those of the European and American powers.

Because casting large-caliber iron cannons requires a long period of technical accumulation, all kinds of data have to be repeatedly tested and explored, and these data are the secrets of various countries and are not easily disclosed. Moreover, Lan Fangxing's focus in the research and development of cannons is not large-caliber cast iron cannons, but small- and medium-caliber steel cannons, because Emperor Zhu knew that cast iron cannons can't be played for a few years, so it's not worth investing too much. However, after Napoleon III came to power, Lan Fangxing received help from France and obtained some technical materials for large-caliber cast iron cannons, and now he has just begun trial production. But in this war, I'm afraid it's not very useful.

In addition, the military line of the Ming Dynasty is the Continental Army and the Small Navy, and does not pursue maritime supremacy in the Western Pacific. Therefore, the scale of the navy is not large, and the start (real start) is relatively late, while the Russian navy is a century-old shop, and it is really a lot of variables to fight. In case the Russians find that those steam ironclads are not easy to deal with, and use the advantage of speed to avoid them far away, can they win the battle with the third-class and fourth-class battleships?

In case of defeat, I wonder if Britain and France have declared war on Russia? If their fleet in the South Seas does not come to support, the foreign trade of the Ming Dynasty and the security of the Grand Duchy of Lanfang will probably go into trouble. I alone now have to profit tens of millions of dollars from Lanfang's rubber and palm oil trade every year! If there is no support from import and export trade, the economy of the Ming Dynasty may not have too many problems, but the imperial court still has its own finances, and I am afraid that there will be a crisis......

At this time, the French princess finally felt Emperor Zhu's anxiety and uneasiness, and she also found such an emotion from Napoleon III when he was preparing the yellow robe. Napoleon III, who was still president of France at the time, was very worried that the French people would not support him as emperor and overthrow him with a new revolution. These men, who wield a huge empire and amazing wealth, also have a weak side.

Looking at the monarch who was worried about a full-scale war with the Russian Empire, Princess Mathilde took a deep breath, stood up and walked to Zhu Jishi's side, and said softly: "Your Majesty the Emperor...... Jason, this war has just begun, maybe it will take 10 years, you can't be so nervous all the time, I think there will be tomorrow tonight, the day after tomorrow, you don't care about military affairs anymore, relax well, and accompany me to visit your palaces and manors around Beijing, okay? ”

Zhu Jishi's mind turned, and the look of worry gradually disappeared from his face, yes, this war has just begun! Even if the game doesn't go well now, what can you do? Russia's enemies are not the Ming family, but also Britain, France, and Turkey, how much force can the tsar throw into the eastern battlefield? I wonder if there is a tenth of the road? How could you possibly lose?

And he is not a good general, so let the generals worry about the war. You should focus on the big picture and the strategic level. For example, the French princess in front of you......

The emperor also stood up and nodded at the princess very gentlemanly: "Okay, we will go to Xiangshan Jingyi Garden tomorrow, the autumn colors there are very beautiful." ”

Mathilde laughed, "Just the two of us? ”

"Of course, just the two of us." (To be continued......)