As for the trade cooperation plan proposed by the Ming side, the Lucians did not raise any objections in principle and general direction.

Then the discussion began at the level of detail.

Specifically, which railway lines are selected, which types and levels of cities, how much scope of the free trade zone should be demarcated, the management and tax standards of the trade zone, the business scope and tax standards of the joint venture company, etc.

If Lucia does not object in the direction, it means that the intention of cooperation has been determined, and then you can find someone else to negotiate.

Lucia is the main goal and key objective of this cooperation plan.

In the world of Zhu Jingyuan's previous life, there were two completed Shenou land bridges and one planned.

The first was Lucia's own railway, so it was from the north bypassing the Mongolian plateau and taking the Xianbei wasteland to Vladivostok.

The second is the participation of the Shenzhou side, taking the Mongolian Plateau and the Western Regions, out of the Alashan Pass, through Anxi, Lucia to Taixi.

The third is the general planning, going through Jiangnan, Yunnan, Nanyang, Tianzhu, Persia, Dashi, and Ottoman to enter Taixi.

Needless to say, the first two are the biggest problem with the third one, which is that the terrain of the areas along the route is too complicated, and the relationship between the countries along the route is also somewhat unclear.

In general, only the Tianzhu area is slightly flat, and the rest of the area is basically plateaus, mountains, and hills.

Moreover, this line is very close to the southern ocean, and to a certain extent, it has to compete with ocean transportation.

Zhu Jingyuan remembered that until he was reborn, the third Shenou Land Bridge still seemed to be just an idea.

Compared to the first two land bridges, its biggest advantage is that it can completely bypass Lucia.

All three land bridges have the advantage of bypassing the sea lines of communication in the south, which are controlled by the United States and Tianzhu.

Now in the world, with the current level of industry, it is too difficult to build this land bridge.

Although the situation in the areas along this route has changed greatly, from the east of the Ottoman to the Ming rule, there is much less political trouble.

But at the same time, the southern ocean is basically the sphere of influence of the Ming Dynasty, and it is also very safe to go directly by sea.

Therefore, the Ming Dynasty is now engaged in inland railways, which is really for inland transportation, and the significance of building this kind of railway near Xiaoxiyang has been greatly reduced.

If this southern route is not considered, and a direct railway connecting Shenzhou and Taixi is to be built, it will have to pass through the territory of Lucia, and this is still the case.

Therefore, Da Ming has to negotiate with the Lucia people first, and then he can find someone else to join.

Even if others don't join, it's acceptable for Daming to do business with Lucia alone.

On the other side, Prince Wilhelm Friedrich Ludwig of Prussia and Princess Frédéric Louise Charlotte Wilhelminnie had already returned to Berlin a few days earlier.

Immediately after arriving home, they went to see their parents, King Friedrich Wilhelm III of Prussia and Queen Louise August Wilhelm Minnie Amari.

The parents and their two children hadn't seen each other for more than four years, and they were very excited to see each other again.

After the father and son, mother and daughter hugged each other, the two adult children were held by their parents and asked this and that.

Curious and excited, William III asked his son:

"In the past few years that you have been by Prince Dashi's side, what have you done? What have you learned? ”

Prince William was also quite excited and said very seriously:

"I learned a lot, and under the guidance of the gentlemen in the palace, I basically completed the middle school course of Daming.

"Under the guidance of the palace guard officers, I also basically mastered the military training, management, and command system of the Ming Dynasty.

"The most important thing is that I now finally really understand the thinking and habits of the Ming people.

"Although I would like to serve in the army, I should also be able to serve as our Prussian diplomat in Daming.

"In the future, when we deal with the Ming people, we will not misunderstand and misunderstand."

William III nodded his head as he listened, feeling that his son had indeed learned things, and they were all quite important things.

However, the king has something more important, so he immediately continued to ask:

"And then? What is your relationship with His Royal Highness Prince Daishi? Have you built friendships that you can trust? ”

Prince William immediately reacted to the purpose of being sent to Daming in the first place.

is to refer to the French prince Charles to have a good personal relationship with Zhu Jingyuan.

Thinking back to his manager in Daming in the past few years, Prince William hesitated for a moment.

But he soon nodded again, and said with some certainty:

"My relationship with His Royal Highness Prince Oshi is obviously different from that of Prince Charles and His Royal Highness Prince Oshire.

"Although the Shire are older, they are close to friends of the same age.

"And I have obviously become the younger brother of His Royal Highness Prince Oshi, and even a junior and student.

"Your Highness is a very reliable brother and mentor, who will often guide me in the knowledge and principles of literature, art, history, military, technology, ideology, etc.

"But what is more important is His Highness's special way of thinking.

"I can say with some certainty that our friendship has indeed been established over the years.

"His Royal Highness Prince Daishi trusts me, and I can trust His Royal Highness the Prince.

"Of course, this is mainly because of the honesty of His Royal Highness Prince Daishi himself, and his willingness to communicate directly with us without disguise."

William III was not particularly satisfied with this, but he was not too sorry:

"His Royal Highness Prince Dashi, on the side of Daming, it should be a typical young man.

"France's Charles is five years older than Prince Dashi, and he can barely have a relationship similar to that of a friend of the same age.

"You are already a few years younger than Prince Daishi, and you can really only be a younger brother and a student.

"But that's not bad, His Royal Highness Prince Dashi is willing to establish a relatively personal relationship with you, and we can be considered successful......"

The father and son paused slightly, and then they heard the topic of the mother and son next to them.

The queen was asking her daughter a more personal topic:

"I see that the message you sent before doesn't seem to mention the relationship with His Royal Highness Prince Daishi.

"So you really haven't been together with His Royal Highness Prince Dashi for the past few years?"

Princess Louise was a little shy, and obviously said with some regret:

"It's true, His Highness treats me and my brother equally, and treats us all as younger siblings and students."

When the queen heard this, she was surprised:

"Why? I've heard for a long time that His Royal Highness Prince Dashi is quite 'romantic', and he is very fond of young girls of foreign races......"

Louise rolled her eyes a little speechlessly:

"So that's just a rumor, the real Great Food Prince His Royal Highness is not like that at all."

The queen immediately asked some gossipy:

"What does the real Prince of Food look like? Is it because you don't have any interest in girls, but you like men very much? What is the relationship between the Charles of France and him? ”

Louise immediately rolled her eyes again:

"That's even more outrageous, His Royal Highness Prince Dashi is really not interested in men......

Of course, he is interested in women, and like the traditional Ming aristocracy, he will not be devoted to a certain woman at all.

"His Royal Highness doesn't particularly like foreign girls, and the formation of that kind of rumor can only be said to be an accident and coincidence.

"In the past, when His Highness was in the Great Food Country, there must have been more foreign girls around.

In addition, both Osman and Persia gave him gifts, and of course they didn't dare to give Ming girls, so they sent a group of foreign girls.

"In fact, since His Royal Highness was sixteen years old, he has taken an average of one Ming girl as a concubine every year.

"These Ming girls are his Ming princes and concubines.

"The other foreign girls don't even have the identity of the Great Ming, only the low-level concubines and even maids of the King of Great Food.

"It's just that His Highness doesn't like slaves, so there are no Ottoman slave girls."

The queen finally understood, and her heart understood perfectly.

Powerful and rich men, if there are no restrictions from social rules, the demand for women is almost unlimited.

There are religious restrictions on Tessie's side, and they are all nominally monogamous.

But aristocratic men have the same number of mistresses outside, and they don't need to bear legal responsibility.

In the eyes of the Taixi people, the concubine on the side of the Ming Dynasty only gave the mistress a legal identity.

The queen felt that for the vast majority of ordinary girls, they should be more willing to be the legal concubines of the Ming nobles than the unprotected mistresses around the Taixi nobles.

While her thoughts were spinning, the queen asked another question:

"If that's the case, then you don't have ...... Be proactive? You really haven't had a chance in the past four years? ”

Hearing this, Princess Louise couldn't help but sigh:

"Before...... In the beginning, if His Highness was fifteen or sixteen years old, I might still have a chance.

"But I wasn't sensible at that time, and I didn't have a chance to meet His Highness......

"I don't think there's a chance at all.

"Although His Highness does have a lot of women around him, in fact, he doesn't have a high desire to take the initiative to find women.

"Of course, he's not pure and ascetic or anything, he just gives people a feeling...... As long as it works......

"Coupled with his special status, there is no need to look for a woman who can be used, someone has already stuffed a bunch of people around him.

When he took the initiative to choose women, he also seemed to have full consideration of interests and uses.

"I even have a feeling that if it weren't for Charlotte of Hanover and heir to the throne of the United States, His Royal Highness would probably not be of much interest to her.

"His Royal Highness accepts two Ming girls as concubines every two years, just to give birth to more heirs.

"The Ming Dynasty's throne and succession rules are all assessment-based.

"He needs to have enough children to be able to screen out a good enough heir......"

The queen was stunned again when she heard this, and then understood again.

Her daughter doesn't know enough, in fact, the kind of man she said is actually very common.

attaches more importance to his career, does not have too much affection, and his needs for women are very simple and rude.

Thinking of this, the queen suddenly realized a problem:

"Then if you become the monarch of a certain place, will you have a chance to be with Prince Daishi?"

Louise subconsciously wanted to deny it, and instinctively wanted to say that His Royal Highness was not that kind of person.

But after a little calm consideration, I have to admit:

"Indeed...... Is it really possible...... But only if I want to be his official concubine of the Great Eclipse King.

"You can't marry someone else according to the Tessie rules in the future.

"That is, to ensure that I and his children can become my heirs......"

When the queen heard this, she looked at her husband.

King Wilhelm III of Prussia shook his head directly:

"If it had been a few decades ago, I would have had the opportunity to find a place for Louise to be queen, but now it's really impossible.

"Prussia had managed to integrate most of Germany, and it was now impossible to divide any of them.

"Unless we defeat and dismember Austria, and give Louise a non-German kingdom within Austria."

The queen subconsciously asked King William III:

"Then are we going to wage war against Austria?"

William III looked at his son, Prince William:

"So...... Judging from your experience in the past few years, will the Ming side be able to support us, and should it be said that it will not be able to oppose us launching a war against Austria? ”

Several people were originally discussing whether Princess Louise had a chance to become Zhu Jingyuan's mistress, but when the topic deviated from this, it instantly became serious.

Prince William thought for a moment and said:

"According to my understanding, His Royal Highness Prince Daishi himself should not support the civil war of the League of Nations......

"In particular, in the case of other countries outside the alliance.

"The only option we have is to swallow Austria in one fell swoop before the rest of the world reacts, which is basically impossible.

"So if I had to make a decision, it would be better to annex Denmark than to continue with the unrealistic plan to annex Austria.

"I am very sure that even if Prussia completely annexes Denmark, the Ming will not object."

Wilhelm III frowned and considered:

"It's likely that Da Ming will not object.

"In the eyes of the Ming Dynasty, the little land in Denmark and the Baltic Sea is too small.

"The point is that it is the farthest place from Daming, and there is basically no interest involved.

"It could even ruin our relationship with Lucia.

"If we annex Denmark completely, Lucia will most likely object.

"After we took control of Denmark, the Lucians had to pass under our noses if they wanted to enter and leave the Baltic Sea.

"Or they can choose to move on Sweden at the same time and occupy the land across the strait.

"Crucially, the Lucian conquest of Sweden gave them direct access to the North Sea and the Atlantic.

"As far as we know, the Lucians have always had the intention of conquering Sweden, but they have always had the power to do so.

"After the end of the world war, the Lucians reconciled with the Ming and the idea of conquering Sweden would certainly have intensified.

"It's just that military technology is constantly being innovated, and the Lucians are not ready.

"Of course, we in Prussia are not ready for war, and even if the target is Denmark, we cannot act rashly......

"If we really want to start a strategic operation against Denmark, we had better consult and communicate with Lucia in advance."

When Prince William heard this, he couldn't help but express his opinion again:

"His Royal Highness Prince Daishoku has said that technological innovation can postpone war.

"Because technological innovation can make the war-go-makers think they're not ready for war.

"The reality is that technological innovation will cause too many 'variables' in the war, that is, uncontrollable factors.

"Factors that cannot be determined by the military strength and command capability of a country are detrimental to the powerful side.

"However, these variables are caused by technological innovation, and if you can determine that your technological innovation is faster and faster, then these variables should benefit you.

"I don't think Denmark will be able to master new technologies faster than we do.

"Although we are neighbors with Denmark, we have direct technical exchanges with Daming, and Denmark, a small country, is the farthest away from Daming.

His Royal Highness also said that with the continuous upgrading of the technical level, the military equipment system will become more and more complex, and the gap between countries of different sizes will also become larger and larger.

"With the gradual formation of mechanized forces, the victory of a small country over a large country is gradually becoming an impossible event."

When William III heard these words, he felt an impulse in his heart to stop waiting for the technology to update and go straight to it:

"So...... His Royal Highness Prince Dashi, did you encourage us to do anything about Denmark? ”

Prince William immediately shook his head:

"Of course not, His Royal Highness Prince Dashi has said too many truths, and these are all heard in daily chat.

"Personally, because I am a prince of Prussia, I instinctively consider the situation around our homeland.

"Then instinctively apply these analyses and judgments to our own situation.

"And, of course, the points I said are beneficial to us, and of course they support our hands.

"However, it also supports us to keep waiting, because the more technological innovations there are, the better it will be for us.

"Maybe we can win now, but the cost of victory in the future will be smaller, and the speed of the war will be faster.

"His Royal Highness the Prince of Great Food has also said that in the future, countries of the size of Prussia and France in Taixi's homeland may be able to resist in a completely mechanized war, and the time may be calculated in days.

"In countries like the Netherlands and Denmark, it's probably going to be hours.

"Because of our armored fighting vehicles and aircraft, we can take all of their cities in a few hours."

When William III heard these words, he fell silent.

What is a country like Prussia and France, where the time of resistance is measured in days?

William III, although well aware of the latest innovations in military technology, could hardly believe such exaggerated predictions.

Before World War II, no one could have imagined that it would take the French to surrender in only forty days, and Denmark to surrender after only four hours of consideration.

France can also be said to simply lack the will to fight, while Denmark is so large in size that they have no chance to resist.

(End of chapter)