It was late at night, and Emperor Richard didn't feel sleepy at all, he turned around and came to the side hall, changed into a neat dress, raised his hand and picked up a long knife and walked out.

At this time, several lion and tiger beasts lying prone outside the hall all stood up vigilantly, and a low roar of warning came out of their throats, which quickly spread throughout the surrounding palaces.

The Praetorian Guard officers and palace attendants who were in charge of the lodging quickly got up when they heard the sound, and they didn't dare to turn back at all, so they hid far away, away from the surroundings of the imperial study.

I can't hide my strong curiosity, and there have been several times before when the chamberlains and Praetorian Guard officers peeped, and all of them were killed in the belly of the beast without exception...... The health status of the Holy Bow is the highest top-secret information in the Tang Empire, and any snooping is prohibited.

Carrying a heavy long knife in his hand, he walked to the backyard of the imperial study, surrounded by towering rockeries that obscured the outside world's view, and a ring of tall trees surrounded the square in the center.

This solid square is about 1,000 square meters, all of which are made of large stones more than a foot thick, and the core of more than 200 square meters is cast with copper texture

The shape of "Nine Dragons Playing in the Sea" is poured into a whole. Originally, it was 16 copper components, which were transported to the palace and then spliced together and then poured a second time, thus forming a beautiful and grand whole.

At this time, the lion and tiger pet beasts were already running around the square excitedly, and more than a dozen white-headed sea dives flew from the rockery in the distance, taking care of the surrounding venues impenetrable.

Emperor Richard had no distractions, his deep eyes looked at the clear night sky, and his long knife pointed forward, and he danced after a low shout.

At first, the dance was relatively slow, and you could see the long knife churning with the vigorous posture of Emperor Richard, slashing forward and backward like a shock, flying up and down.

The long knife weighing 36 catties was in his hand, dancing as easily as a lamp grass core, and the knife flashed faster and faster...... After a while, the shadows of the flying knives were heavy, and it was no longer clear that the figures swimming around could no longer be seen.

On this square of more than 1,000 square meters, only the flickering sword shadow rolled in, here for a moment, there for a moment, the knife light flickered and left a long afterimage.

In the end, only the screaming sound caused by the long knife breaking the wind was heard, almost covering a radius of hundreds of meters, and the human figure could no longer be seen clearly, and the frightened pet beasts avoided it far away, and all hid in the bushes.

After a long time, Emperor Richard slowly withdrew his knife, and at this time his body was already sweating profusely, sweating through his shirt, but his eyes became more and more sharp, and he seemed to be able to go straight to the bottom of his heart at a glance.

Slowly exhaled a breath of turbidity, after exercising, he felt comfortable at this time, and his physical state was at its peak, and there were no signs of aging.

When you return, you will take a dip in the hot tub that has been prepared, and you will feel even more sleepy. After changing into a light robe, Emperor Richard returned to the imperial study, but he felt even more energetic, and picked up a few books and read them.

Emperor Richard, who was busy with it, suddenly raised his head, and he heard the sound of small steps in the distance, which seemed extremely abrupt in the palace in the dead of night.

Late-night reports are either urgent military intelligence or international events, without exception. Emperor Richard's expression became grim, and he slowly put down the fold in his hand and waited patiently for the comer.

The footsteps gradually approached, and turning the door was Gao Yunyi, the deputy director of the royal secretariat in the palace, a 40-year-old capable minister who had served as a high-ranking Michigan official, vice minister of agriculture and other important positions.

"What's going on?"

"Your Majesty; Wechen has just received an urgent report from outside the palace that Benjamin Harrison, the current president of the United States of Milliamerica, was assassinated on the spot when he was shot five times in the back by a lone wolf gunman during a public event this morning. The assassination of Benjamin Harrison, whose grandfather was William Henry Harrison, the 9th President of the United States, caused an uproar in the already calm North American countries. At noon, the North American General Command discovered that the French army in Baltimore had made an unusual move, and made a large-scale attack on Washington, D.C., in southern Columbia, with unknown intentions. Without the Holy Decree, the North American Command did not dare to act rashly, and still maintained close monitoring of the ......"

"Bring it in."

"Wechen obeys." The French garrison of Maryland and the neighboring state of Delaware, together with Washington, D.C., are now the United States shrinking again.

The French troops stationed in Baltimore could reach Washington, D.C., more than 60 kilometers south, to intervene militarily in the region.

If it had been at noon, the French army would have entered Washington to take control of the situation. Emperor Richard took the emergency report and read it, and reviewed the current situation in North America with lightning in his heart, and when he put down the documents in his hand, he roughly understood the French side's intentions in his heart.

If it's not good, the French side is the most suspicious mastermind behind the assassination of the president. Why?

Blocking the way for the French to restructure their international debt. Judging from the mantle of the former United States, this Benjamin Harrison is also a responsible politician who knows that the crux of the difficulty in the development of North American countries is that they are burdened with heavy international debt.

As long as the United States of America exists, the debt restructuring expected by international loan sharks, led by France, will be a matter of and look far away.

Since last March, when President Benjamin Harrison declared the United States bankrupt and unable to repay its international debts, international loan sharks have not been able to receive the lucrative annual income from loan principal and interest.

It has been more than a year since the funds transferred by U.S. Customs to the Royal Red Oak Bank have been frozen, and no one has been able to withdraw money from them.

The Tang Empire and the divided North American countries were not in a hurry, hoping that it would drag on as long as possible, but the international loan sharks led by the old French were in a hurry.

French President François has written several letters to the Imperial Government to negotiate with the Imperial Government on the issue of international debt restructuring, hoping that the Imperial Government will take the lead in organizing the divided North American countries to participate in this international debt restructuring negotiation.

But it was resolved by the imperial government's Tai Chi push, and it has been delayed. The British did not play a good role in this, and all kinds of obstacles and ridicule poured in, each time deeply stabbing the pride of the French heart.

For example, the Statue of Liberty, a gift from France to the United States for the 100th anniversary of independence, was finally built in New York after several years of twists and turns, and as a result, the United States was also divided.

It is said that the Franco-American friendship, which is as solid as a stone, has broken down under the frequent military interventions of France, and now it is not as broken, and not many Americans will recognize it anyway.

Britain and France have loved and killed each other for hundreds of years, and the grievances between each other cannot be exhausted for three days and three nights.

The hateful British always use these heart-piercing things to stimulate the French, ridicule the French, and belittle and bury them in all kinds of tricks, how can the arrogant French endure it?

It's not ...... It's a brazen shot! It stands to reason that the constitutional system inherited from the former United States is very complete, and after the assassination of President Benjamin Harrison, Vice President Davenport will take over the presidency, and then the Speaker of the House of Representatives...... But this will take time, and what the new United States lacks is precisely time, and in the face of vital interests, the French Expeditionary Force has already interfered in a big way, regardless of face, causing further complications of the problem.

Thinking about these things in a blink of an eye, Emperor Richard said in a deep voice;

"Immediately send the Imperial Cabinet and the War Department an appropriate response to the assassination of President Benjamin Harrison."

"Wechen obeys!"

"Immediately contact the British side and London, based on the traditional close relationship between Tang and Britain, jointly maintain the demand for stability and peace in North America, and take unified pressure actions to stop the irrational military action of the French in North America."

"Wechen obeys!"

"Order the General Command of North America and the headquarters of the Northern Army to carry out appropriate troop movements. The Royal Navy sent a strike fleet to put pressure on the French. ”

"Wechen obeys."

"Well, that's it for now."

"Wei Chen retired, and immediately planned to pass on the decree."

"Hmm." Emperor Richard snorted, watched Gao Yunyi, the deputy director of the Imperial Secretariat, take the order, and gently tapped his fingers on the imperial eucalyptus in thought.

He didn't like it very much that the French were looking for trouble at this moment, which made waves again in North America, which had just calmed down.

But nine times out of ten, the United States was divided again, and the Tang Empire was newly incorporated into the territory of three states and one feudal state, while seriously hurting the interests of France.

The so-called people do not die, and debts do not rot. Even if the former United States is divided into six, the six countries that inherited the territory of the former United States have international obligations to repay their debts.

This is like inheriting an inheritance, inheriting wealth and inheriting debts, and it is impossible to say that wealth is happy to inherit, and no one wants to take over debts, probably the same reason.

The flagrant military intervention of the French Expeditionary Force was to forcibly change the name of the United States of America by force and to abolish it.

You can call it whatever you want from now on, but you can't call it that anymore. This situation is a bit like the restructuring of a debt-ridden company, where the old company stays in place with debts, and only two or three big cats and kittens exist as entities that deal with creditors, anyway, it's a rip-off!

Newly spun off companies can win a better tomorrow by traveling light. The idea is good, but it depends on whether the creditors, led by France, agree or not?

The Tang Empire was originally a transcendent state, but after being incorporated into the three states and one domain, from the perspective of international practice, it also assumed part of the former's international debt repayment responsibility, which can not be denied.

Emperor Richard's original intention was to pull the British elders to deal with it, so that it would be much easier and have a much greater say.

After all, the British Empire is the overlord of the Seven Seas, with worldwide authority, and its international influence and discourse power far exceed that of the Tang Dynasty, which is not a joke.

The British Royal Navy has the ability to blockade the North Atlantic, and the French, even if they have great ability, can only stare dryly and bow to reality in the face of reality.

Although the movement of the Tang Empire's army can exert strong pressure on the French expeditionary force, this is only one aspect, not a complete solution to the problem.

Datang is not afraid of the French, how can the French be afraid of Datang? To really solve the problem, we still have to sit down and talk.

The thoughts in his heart fluctuated, and Emperor Richard simply stood up, came to the side hall with his hands on his back, staring at the large hand-drawn world map hesitantly, and occasionally flashed a greedy look.

Geographically, the new United States includes Maryland and neighboring Delaware, plus Washington, D.C., covering a small area, with a total area of only 37,000 square kilometers, making it the smallest country after the division.

More than 200 kilometers south of Washington, D.C., is Richmond, the capital of the Carolina Republic, and it is also the bloodiest and fiercest area in the civil war between the North and the South in the United States.

If this place can be included in the scope of the empire, then the Tang Empire will expand from a point to a piece on the east coast, and the geographical advantages will be greatly enhanced, and the benefits are self-evident.

Before that, Emperor Richard really didn't think much about the region, which made up less than 10% of the population of Chinese descent and was a region with relatively weak imperial influence.

The area is small in size, but it has a large population, with a total population of about 1.4 million, and it is an area where British-Americans have absolute influence.

The British are also very close to this place, and the actions of the French expeditionary force will inevitably irritate the sensitive nerves of the British, and they need to be well planned.

Taking out a superb Cuban cigar and lighting it, Emperor Richard took two deep breaths, and then exhaled a thick smoke that diffused the strong smell of tobacco.

He pondered in his mind what impact the assassination of President Benjamin Harrison would have on the situation in a divided North America.

In the center of the whirlpool, the countries of North America, the southern countries, the northern countries, the Tang, France, Britain and other world powers are inevitably involved, making this place once again the focus of the world's attention.

The French did not say hello this time, and their behavior of flipping the table in anger was quite reckless, and they had to make strong countermeasures to spread wild on their own territory.

It also happens to give a pretext for a full-scale military invasion, which is conducive to the formation of a situation of long-term military confrontation. France's demand is to restart international debt restructuring negotiations as soon as possible and not to withdraw until the goal is achieved.

How can such a major negotiation involving the interests of many countries be easily reached? It seems that there will be another battle between the dragons and the tigers.

Emperor Richard took a deep puff on his cigar and weighed it carefully, strengthening his conviction to further encroach on the area.

It's a pity to let go of such a good opportunity in front of me. These 37,000 square kilometers are the essence of the East Coast, and once you start, it completely isolates the Carolina Republic from the New York Republic geographically, and highlights the strategic value of the region.

Anyway, a sheep is a drive, and a flock of sheep is also a drive, and there is no reason to let go. After taking Washington, you can change the name of this place to be

The "Eastern Capital", the construction of palaces, and the relocation of some government functions are more conducive to strengthening exchanges with European countries.

With the vision of the founding fathers of the United States, Washington, D.C., is best suited to exist as an administrative center, with mature facilities that can be put into use without too many changes.

From this point of view, the French have done a good thing!