Moscow, the capital of Lucia, has now been turned into a huge military camp.

All the young men in the city have been drafted into soldiers.

Plus the original garrison, as well as the newly recruited soldiers gathered around, as well as the troops of the Germans and other ethnic groups.

More than 800,000 soldiers have gathered in and around Moscow.

Military control and curfews have been imposed throughout the city, and there is a posture of resistance to the death.

Among the millions of people in the entire city, the vast majority of those who are a little more well-informed, are worried and thinking about one thing-

How will the Ming attack Moscow?

Conquering with conventional weapons and means will still take out the legendary "sun divine power" again and perform the so-called divine punishment.

Can that kind of power of the Ming Dynasty be used at any time?

Or is that kind of power limited, or is it extremely costly, and may have been used up in the early offensive?

Emperor Nicholas of Lucia and the monarchs of Germany and Italy were also speculating and worrying about this issue.

After the war began in full swing, the monarchs of the three kingdoms already understood that they could not launch a counteroffensive quickly.

Therefore, there is no need to continue to gather in Constantinople, the old capital of Rome.

But they didn't all return to their capitals.

Instead, they went to Berlin together.

In Berlin, the military affairs of the homeland were remotely controlled by telephone and telegraph.

Vittorio in Italy and Nicola in Lucia both felt that their capital was too close to the border.

After the Ming Dynasty occupied the Volga-Ural region, the front's straight-line distance from Moscow was already more than 700 kilometers.

In between, there is an endless Eastern European plain, and there is no natural line of defense to stop the Ming ground forces.

According to the speed at which the Ming people occupy the demilitarized zone, it may only take a few days to rush there.

There is no depth on the Spaghetti Peninsula, and the northern coastline of Mozhou, a few hundred kilometers away, is completely in the hands of the Ming Dynasty.

The Italians were rightly worried that the Ming might launch a cross-sea landing battle from the north of Mozhou.

The situation in the next half month was a little unexpected for the two of them.

The Ming Dynasty did not seem to have any intention of preparing for a landing battle, and the speed of the attack in eastern Lucia was not very fast.

But only half a month later, the main ground force of the Ming Dynasty finally rushed to the outside of Moscow.

Nikolai soon determined that he had not returned to Moscow and was the right choice.

Although he knew that if the emperor did not go back to preside over the defensive battle, the soldiers' will to fight would definitely be greatly reduced, but Nikolai still did not dare to go back.

A soldier's will to fight is weakened, and compared with the safety of his own life, he can of course choose to give up.

Even, Nikolai actually had a thought in his heart -

Use Moscow City, which has the strongest defense, to test whether the Ming Dynasty still has divine punishment weapons, and whether they will use divine punishment weapons.

Therefore, during this half a month, Nikolai constantly urged the defenders of Moscow.

They are required to organize as many armed forces as possible and build the best possible fortifications at all costs.

Let's see how Ming is going to attack this huge city of Taixi.

In the palace where Nikolai lived, Lucia's ministers and staff held a daily imperial meeting to discuss the battle situation.

But most of the time, everyone was expressionless and had little strength to speak.

Because there is no real hope in sight right now.

In the past half a month, the top management of Lucia, led by Nikolai, has constantly received and actively confirmed news from the front.

In addition to the most terrifying divine punishment, they also have some understanding of the various situations of the conventional weapons and equipment that Da Ming is now using.

A fighter capable of flying to supersonic speeds and fighting at altitudes above 10,000 meters.

A bomber capable of carrying various guided bombs weighing more than two tons.

A new type of tank gun that can easily penetrate your own armored combat vehicle.

and the number of armies that far outnumber their own.

They all now fully understood that the three so-called Roman Empires, Lucia, Germany, and Italy, had no chance of victory.

Even if the Ming Dynasty did not have the so-called divine punishment, he could rely on the absolutely leading conventional weapons to completely defeat the three Roman kingdoms step by step.

It's just a little more expensive, it costs more resources and money, and it consumes more soldiers.

It also takes a bit more time and can take several years to complete.

In the current situation, if Da Ming really didn't have divine punishment, they could still hold on a little and mobilize all their forces to continue fighting.

It is hoped that the Ming Dynasty will comprehensively consider the cost of complete conquest and come up with basic conditions to negotiate peace with his side.

The most extreme was the surrender of Louis XVII, in the last major city he still controlled.

But Da Ming has that kind of weapon comparable to divine punishment, so his waiting and persistence are meaningless, and may even be more dangerous.

In case Daming wants to inflict divine punishment on the city where he is located, but he doesn't know and avoid it in advance, it may lead to his own death.

While the crowd looked at each other with sad faces, a telegraph operator hurried in.

Then he looked at the people at the scene and sent a telegram directly to Nikolai himself.

Nikolai immediately took it and looked at it, and then his eyes widened.

Then Nikolai hesitated for a few seconds, looked at these courtiers in front of him who were absolutely loyal to him, and finally decided to make the telegram public here:

"The only remaining part of the Ming immigrants in Moscow suddenly asked to leave the ......"

The vast majority of Ming immigrants and tourists have left one after another in the past few years, and now these are extremely speculative businessmen.

The vast majority of Lucians don't have a good impression of them.

It's just that Emperor Lucia didn't give an order, and the situation in the city didn't reach the point where he gave up everything from the outside world, and no one really dealt with them.

They were even given a high degree of freedom to leave on their own.

Nikolai knew that threatening the Ming Emperor with these people would not have any practical benefits, but might provoke the Ming Emperor.

But Nikolai also arranged for intelligence officers to keep an eye on them at all times.

When the Ming army came outside Moscow, they suddenly wanted to leave, who didn't want to leave during the war.

The nobles of Nikolai and Lucia could not hold back.

Wittgenstein subconsciously said:

"So they got news from the Ming side that the Ming might be about to launch a general attack on Moscow-"

Someone in the crowd added:

"Daming will launch an attack sooner or later, the key is how Daming will attack, and whether it will activate the divine punishment again......"

Nikolai was silent after hearing this.

At the same time, in the office of King Wilhelm of Germany, Wilhelm, Chancellor Stein, and Chief of Staff Gneisenau were also discussing the current situation.

There was still no danger to the Germans, and Germany was by far the safest of the three Roman kingdoms.

But William and other high-level officials have already felt the extreme danger.

As the Ming army continued to advance, the pressure on William was also increasing these days.

Stein and Gneisenau were no less easy.

Meeting again today, Gneisenau decided to let go and express his final opinion:

"Your Majesty, according to the news coming back from the front these days, when our troops fought against the Ming troops, it was as if the natives of Mozhou were resisting our attack.

"The key is that the Ming Dynasty can comprehensively suppress the entire Europa in terms of population, number of troops, financial situation, equipment level, etc.

"Even if we achieve a partial victory, the outcome of the whole war has already been decided.

"We have no chance of victory at all, and the war is completely meaningless.

"What we can do now is to negotiate peace with Da Ming at any cost."

William asked rhetorically:

"Even if Da Ming really doesn't have more divine punishment weapons, will he negotiate peace at all costs?"

Hearing this, Gneisenau subconsciously looked around, and then said bitterly:

"For the sake of your personal safety, Your Majesty, and the safety of the entire Hohenzollern family, you should sue for peace with Da Ming at all costs.

"You don't ask for any conditions at all, you surrender directly and unconditionally to the Ming Dynasty, and the Ming Emperor has no reason to execute you.

"However, if we don't sue for peace, or even stop the attack after the Ming annexed Lucia, your life may be in danger.

"If we can't win a war, the situation in the country will quickly collapse.

"Unrest could break out at any time in the country, Hohenzollern's rule could be overthrown, you can think of Charles I of England!"

William basically understood this situation in his heart, but he couldn't accept such a reality.

In the past three years, I can be said to be in high spirits.

Annexation of Denmark, annexation of Austria, complete the complete unification of Germany, and conquest of all of France and Spain.

On the entire continent, there are now only three countries left: Germany, Lucia, and Italy.

He has now rebuilt the splendor of the Holy Roman Empire and even classical Rome.

But since the Ming Dynasty entered the war, the situation has taken a turn for the worse.

It was less than a month now, and all the staff and ministers already felt that they were going to fail.

It's time to figure out how to survive.

Wilhelm III, once King of Prussia, and now Wilhelm I, King of Germany.

A man sat in his position and was silent for a long time, but in the end he could not make a decision.

William I waved that the two could go back to rest first.

Then he arranged for his personal servant to call his second son, Prince Wilhelm Friedrich Ludwig.

King Wilhelm I withdrew all his servants, called his son to him, and asked:

"Based on the experience you learned in Daming, how should we deal with the current situation in Germany?"

Prince Wilhelm Ludwig, who once studied in Daming and worked directly beside Zhu Jingyuan, is twenty-seven years old this year and has a full certificate.

After hearing his father's culture, he was silent for a few seconds, and finally explained his opinion very bluntly:

"Father...... The child thought that Germany was clearly unable to protect itself at present.

"We have to find a way to get in touch with Da Ming and try any way to reconcile.

"If necessary, I can go to Daming and ask the Emperor Daming on your behalf...... Forgiveness ......"

King William I swallowed, then was silent for a second, and did not directly answer whether he agreed with his son's suggestion, but asked a more in-depth question:

"What do you think...... If we go to Daming to surrender now, what kind of conditions can we get? ”

Prince Wilhelm Ludwig had apparently thought about these questions, and at this time he basically didn't think much about it, and just threw back a rhetorical question:

"Now look at what you mean by you, Father, about us.

"Is it our Hohenzollern, or the Kingdom of Germany and all the German people......"

This is obviously to ask King William what this daddy cares about the most.

Depending on what you care about, the strategy you choose is obviously different, and the final result should be different.

King Wilhelm I did not hesitate to ask directly.

Prince Wilhelm Ludwig also interpreted them one by one:

"If we only think from the perspective of our Hohenzollern family, we should try to cooperate with the battle plan of the Great Ming.

"Continue to use all your forces to fight the Ming army to the last moment as much as possible......"

As soon as the prince spoke, he was directly interrupted by the king's father:

"What do you say? For the sake of the family, do you have to fight to the end instead of surrendering as soon as possible? ”

Prince Wilhelm Ludwig did not dare to mock his father, but only sighed and explained:

"You should remember that His Majesty the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty said during the peace talks at the Cape of Good Hope that he did not want to rule over 400 million Taixi people.

"And then there is that when the Ming Emperor traded the South Tianzhu region with the British, he received a piece of uninhabited wasteland after a large-scale plague.

Emperor Daming also said that the colonization of the Ming Dynasty is the colonization of the primitive concept, and the Ming Dynasty wants land for the Ming people to live in.

"So, in the case that the Ming Dynasty has now completed its full mobilization and has begun to pay a high investment in the armed conquest of Taixi.

"You also have to take tens of millions of Germans to surrender to the Ming Dynasty together, and the Ming Dynasty will obviously not accept it.

That's why Daming doesn't respond to any official diplomatic contacts right now.

"Only by cooperating with Daming and doing what is most in the interests of Daming can we finally get the best possible ending.

"We may not be able to keep a piece of land in New Germany in Mozhou, and continue to be the king of Germany.

"Of course, the premise is that we have communicated with the Ming Emperor and let the Ming understand that we know what we are doing.

"Otherwise, the Ming can only treat us as unrepentant madmen, and finally eliminate them completely.

"It's just that this is obviously a complete betrayal of the German people......"

King Wilhelm I was visibly stunned for a second, and agreed with this statement of betrayal of the German people.

However, King William I did not express a direct opinion on his son's statement, but only urged him to explain other analyses:

"Then what should we do if we look at the Kingdom of Germany and all Germans?"

Prince Wilhelm Ludwig gathered his thoughts and said as seriously as possible:

"From the point of view of the Kingdom of Germany and its people, we should openly demonstrate to the public our attitude of complete repentance.

"Publicly declared its independence from the alliance of the Three Kingdoms of Rome and declared war on Lucia and Italy.

"Take the initiative to return Denmark, France, Switzerland, and Austria that we have occupied, as well as Austria without Germans.

"An open invitation to the Ming to arrange people to completely transform our country and culture.

"Everything must be absolutely public, and these news must be announced to the public of the Taixi countries and the Ming Dynasty through any channel that can be controlled."

King William I was a little confused when he heard this:

"Didn't Da Ming completely disapprove of our contact?

"Didn't Da Ming want to get the land of Tessie, but not the people of Tessie?

"After we do this, won't Da Ming be annoyed and angry?"

Prince Wilhelm Ludwig sighed and said:

"Da Ming may be disappointed, regretful, and maybe a little angry, but Da Ming is very likely to accept this fact.

"According to my understanding of the Ming people, including the Ming Emperor and the important ministers of Jiuqing and the nobles, the vast majority of the Ming people have a common characteristic.

"They especially like to be teachers, and they instinctively regard teaching bad people to change their ways as the most important achievement in their lives.

"At the same time, relative to the British...... Or in the case of most Tessians, they have a relatively high level of civilization and morality overall.

"This makes it difficult for them to do a lot of bottomless things, such as torturing to death enemies who have surrendered sincerely.

"Based on these two universal characteristics, if you are a character who completely reforms the evil and returns to the right, and at the same time surrenders unconditionally to the Ming Dynasty.

"Then the Ming Emperor and the ministers of Jiuqing can't find a reason to convince all the Ming people to impose the most extreme punishment on us.

"It is very likely that we will be able to retain a relatively intact German state and become a vassal state that is highly guarded by the Ming court."

King William I was a little confused after hearing this, but he recalled his experience of dealing with the Ming people, and recalled the Ming classics and popular works he had read.

Then I felt that my son's analysis should be basically correct.

Put down the butcher's knife, change the evil and return to the right, admit the punishment and take the initiative to invite Daming to discipline.

In terms of the universal morality of the Ming people, people like themselves should be given a chance.

Even if it's a follow-up...... It will definitely be monitored by the direct garrison of the Ming Dynasty, and the entire country must be comprehensively transformed in accordance with the laws and culture of the Ming Dynasty.

However, there is a high probability that the country itself can be preserved relatively intact.

King William I even thought of another thing:

"If we become a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty and accept the comprehensive and thorough transformation of the Ming Dynasty, the existing capital in the country will definitely be completely cleaned up.

"The vast majority of the nobility should also be difficult to preserve, and it is likely that only we, the Hohenzollern royal family, will have a chance to continue to exist......

"This is actually a feasible plan for our Hohenzollerns to smoothly implement the situation that is now out of control......"

Prince Ludwig couldn't help but remind:

"In this case, even if we still exist as a royal family, we will definitely become outright puppets.

"We will definitely lose all our dominion over the country.

"The only way to gain real power is to choose the first option, which is to betray the German people......

"Then try to exchange it for an actual fiefdom in Mozhou."

William I sighed softly:

"It's impossible to have the best of both worlds, but...... It's not yet time to run out of waters.

"Let's see how Daming attacks Moscow, and wait for the battle of Moscow to make a decision."

Prince William Ludwig couldn't help frowning when he heard this, knowing that his father wanted to see if Da Ming would use the divine punishment weapon again.

But in the prince's view, the same decision of different events before and after a major event must have different results and treatment.

Da Ming repented before using the divine punishment weapon again, which was a spontaneous reform with a relatively little initiative.

In the end, the treatment will definitely be slightly better.

After Da Ming used the divine punishment weapon again, he said that he wanted to repent completely-

That would certainly be seen as being frightened, and having to show that you want to repent on the surface.

The final treatment will definitely be worse as well.

Prince Wilhelm Ludwig hesitated for only a few seconds, and felt that he could no longer have any worries when it came to deciding the future of his family and his community.

So he directly made this meaning clear to his father.

When King Wilhelm I heard this, he quickly understood what his son meant, and felt that this difference must exist.

But there are still a few lucks in my heart:

"What if...... I mean, what if, Da Ming really doesn't have a divine punishment weapon......"