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Chapter 1294 Counting on Fingers
In order to trick Spain and Britain into sending out their main naval forces, Richelieu actually wanted to use the main Dutch navy as bait!

Sadly, the Republic had no choice but to agree, because the old guy was right. As long as the Spanish and British navies could be destroyed together, the Dutch maritime power would become the number one in the Atlantic after the war.

But there is another hidden meaning that is not stated explicitly, that is, by then the French Navy will become the second strongest in the North Atlantic. Richelieu has invested a lot in the navy in recent years, but the French Navy basically does not need to invest any strength in this naval battle that is destined to be difficult, and most of the ships have not yet been built.

"Then we can go and formally discuss the new strategy with the gentlemen. They should be getting impatient, or they should be arguing with each other!"

Richelieu was very satisfied with Andris' attitude, or the attitude of the Dutch Republic. That's right, we should be aware of the overall situation and protect the big brother France so that the little brother Netherlands can have a future. We must not put the cart before the horse for the sake of some immediate interests.

"Mr. Prime Minister, there is one more small detail that needs your explanation. If the main force of the coalition forces attacks the Western Regions from land, they must at least pass through Persia and Kazakhstan. As far as I know, these two countries have not yet agreed to let the coalition forces pass through their borders. If they want to fight all the way through, how many troops will be needed?"

Compared to Richelieu's complacency, Andris was very worried. This time joining the coalition was the result of a compromise between the Republicans and the Royalists in the country after bargaining. Although the Republicans relied on their strong economic strength to temporarily suppress the Royalists, they could not let the Republic suffer too much loss.

The war hasn't even started yet, and the main force of the navy has been used as bait. If the Republic needs to deploy a large number of land forces, even if he and the parliamentarians agree, the royalists and some republicans will not allow it.

After all, the Republic doesn't have many regular troops, just enough to guard the house. If they were all defeated at once, all these years of work would be in vain, and no matter how much wealth there is, it will not be able to protect it.

"Oh, don't worry about this. According to my plan, the Republic only needs to send about 5000 troops to make all countries feel fair. After all, the Republic's navy is the main force, and there is a consensus on this."

Richelieu had anticipated Anders' concerns, and immediately gave a range of the number of troops the Netherlands would send and made his attitude clear. At least France recognized this number and would also get other participating countries to agree.

"In that case... won't our military force be too weak?" As a politician who came from a businessman background, Anders may not know much about deploying troops, but he is very good at calculating.

Among all the participating countries, the Holy Roman Empire, Sweden, Spain, and the Ottoman Empire had the largest number of troops, which were basically around 15. After the reforms of Prime Minister Richelieu, the number of French troops gradually increased, from the initial 2 to 10.

The Netherlands had a standing army of 5, the Polish Confederation had more than 6, Britain claimed to have 6, Russia claimed to have 10, and Denmark only boasted about its strength, but its army was only more than 2.

A rough calculation is quite scary, a million troops! But this thing cannot be roughly calculated, because there is too much water, and it must be squeezed out to see the true military strength of each country.

First, let's squeeze the Holy Roman Empire. More than half of its 15 troops were mercenaries and private armies of princes. The real standing army was less than 5, and its equipment and combat effectiveness were also average.

Sweden did have a total force of about 15 at the beginning of the religious wars, but like the Holy Roman Empire, 3% of them were mercenaries recruited from Germany. The standing army was only , but it was well-equipped and had strong combat effectiveness.

Then there is Spain's total strength of 15, which is more exaggerated because it includes Italy and the Netherlands. The real standing army is the Flanders Army, which has a total of about 6 troops and is better equipped and combat-capable.

The 10 in Russia is also a fictitious number. The only army that can be called an army is the 5 Strelts Corps, which has average equipment and average combat effectiveness. The rest are not even mercenaries, but just a group of serfs with weapons, with no combat effectiveness at all.

However, Russia also has a mercenary army that is worth paying attention to, the Cossack cavalry, which is about 4 in number. Their combat effectiveness is above average, but their destructive power is also above average. They are like locusts, robbing wherever they go, so they must be used with caution. The remaining Netherlands and Britain have similar total military strength, but they are also the least impressive. Because these two countries are mainly based on the navy, the army only guards fortresses and cities, and does not do anything else.

France and the Polish-Lithuanian Confederation are more substantial, with standing armies of about 10 and 6 respectively, both of good quality. The Ottoman Empire's 15 are also substantial, but it is not clear how many of them are willing to contribute to join the coalition.

After all, there are too many differences in religion, culture, and living habits, and there are also feuds. If the balance is not good, there is a possibility that they will fight each other before they even see the enemy.

By this calculation, the main forces that the participating European countries can bring out are only between 35 and 40. But no one can send out all their troops, so they have to leave some elite troops to watch over the enemy. If they grit their teeth and fight to the death, the main forces that can be used for the Eastern Expedition, excluding the Ottomans, are at most 20.

If they were willing to spend a huge amount of money, recruiting another 20 mercenaries as cannon fodder would be the limit, which is all the European countries can come up with.

20 main forces and 20 mercenaries, if placed in Europe, would be able to sweep and crush anyone they wanted. There was no need to fight, just report the numbers and surrender to anyone they faced.

These troops are obviously not enough for the expedition to the Ming Empire. Tens of thousands of people will have to be spent on guarding the supply routes along the way. Add to that the casualties and illnesses, and only about 20 troops will be able to successfully reach the Western Regions.

How many troops did the Ming Empire have? According to the official version, the army had 42 guards with 24 troops, and the navy had 8 marine guards with 5 troops, totaling less than 30. Adding the 20 troops being recruited, it was only 50.

The territory that these armies needed to defend was larger than that of Europe. In addition to the mainland, there were also many overseas territories. At least 50 of the 25 troops were used for defense in various places, and the mobile force was actually only more than 20. Therefore, if the European coalition forces attacked the Western Regions from land, the number of Ming troops they encountered should be similar.

But Andris didn't calculate it that way. How many people were there in the Ming Empire? There are different opinions, ranging from 1000 million to 2000 million. As a compromise, even if it was 200 million, compared with Spain with a population of million, France with a population of million, and the Netherlands with a population of million, it is definitely the world's largest.

With such a large population, advanced weapons and equipment, and a leader who is keen on expansion, it is impossible for them to be as weak as the Inca Empire, and we cannot expect them to conquer the New World as easily as Spain did.

And when this behemoth is in danger, the number of troops that can be mobilized is at least one million.

Even if they could take advantage of the time difference and catch the Ming Empire off guard before the entire nation was mobilized, and they were only facing parts of the Western Regions, the 20-plus troops were evenly matched and had no numerical advantage at all.

"Please rest assured on this point. Once the Ottoman Empire participates in the Crusade, it will have no way out and must go all out. Russia is in the same situation as the Ottoman Empire.

The French and British envoys have reached a tacit understanding with Sweden and the Polish-Lithuanian Federation that if negotiations with the Tsar are not going well, they can use the land along the Baltic Sea coast as bargaining chips.

Conservative estimates suggest that the Ottomans and Russians could contribute at least 20 troops to the coalition, and there would be an eastward route that did not require crossing the Persian Empire.

Richelieu had obviously already made calculations on the issue of military strength, but some details had not yet been finalized and should not be made public too early. However, in order to win over the Dutch Republic and stand with France, he had to play some cards.

(End of this chapter)