The Ming Dynasty did not revolutionize

Chapter 301 Correspondence between Zhu Jianxuan and Napoleon

Although Zhu Jianxuan had decided to formally intervene in the European war, he prepared the Ming Dynasty to replace Russia and Britain and serve as the main force to destroy Napoleon's France.

However, Zhu Jianxuan was not in a hurry to actually participate in the European war. He had originally planned to let Napoleon continue to cause trouble in Europe for a few years to consume more power from France and European countries.

Zhu Jianxuan never took Napoleon too seriously before.

The things Napoleon did in history and the style of doing things he demonstrated determined that his rule could not last long.

After the Napoleonic Wars, Europe was still torn apart.

Although the Napoleonic Wars spread revolutionary ideas, it took time for the ideas to be reflected in reality and take effect.

Without another strong ruler and another powerful army to enforce it, the time required for revolutionary ideas to be implemented into reality can be said to be quite long.

Historically, it was not until 1848 that a large-scale revolutionary movement appeared across Europe again.

Now Napoleon himself led the revolutionary French army, which was currently the invincible army on the front battlefields of continental Europe, and he wanted to directly implement the revolutionary ideas and achievements.

In Zhu Jianxuan's opinion, the harmfulness of Napoleon is now showing an exponentially increasing trend.

Originally, in another ten or twenty years, the Ming Dynasty would have completed the basic construction of the two industrial revolutions and released industrial energy.

When the Ming Dynasty deals with those small European countries again, it can drive its main fleet directly to their doorsteps and display all its airplanes and cannons, which will probably force the other party to directly submit and pay tribute.

At most, we could fight one or two symbolic local wars, just like Portugal did at the time.

If these small European countries realize that the gap between them and the Ming Dynasty is as big as the gap between them and the Native Americans in the past, they will naturally accept the reality.

So Zhu Jianxuan originally planned to start the first phase of the westward expedition after taking control of America, seizing the Central Asian grasslands and forcing the Shun Kingdom to truly surrender.

After more than ten years of preparation, the Ming Dynasty's standard railway has now been built to Hamiwei and Tannu Uriankhai.

Now we can continue to march westward and directly occupy the Central Asian steppes.

In the past thirty years or so, the top leaders of Shun State have officially taken root in India, and the Central Asian grasslands have become a burden to them.

The Ming Dynasty used its military advantage to demand that they cede grasslands and at the same time required them to turn their nominal tribute into real action.

There should be no need to launch a full-scale war, just defeat them a few times on the frontal battlefield.

After seizing the Central Asian steppes, the Ming could continue to build railways westward to the Ural River, and then begin the second phase of the westward expedition to force Russia to submit and pay tribute.

As long as Russia, the largest country, is dismembered and the second step is basically completed, the fragmented Europe will no longer be a concern.

The years spent on building the Central Asian Railway were just the right time to deal with Napoleon's affairs.

But now if Napoleon unified the whole of Europe and fully mobilized it using Eastern management methods, it would become a force that the Ming Dynasty would have to face up to.

After all, there are more than 200 million people on the European continent. If they are integrated, they will be able to confront the Ming Dynasty head-on.

It would probably take a full-scale war to destroy this country.

A war of that scale and form should be avoided if possible.

Therefore, Zhu Jianxuan had no choice but to change his strategy, focusing on Europe first and Asia later.

However, Zhu Jianxuan had already made this decision in his heart, but of course it was impossible for him to tell the French directly about this decision.

Zhu Jianxuan thought about it for a while and wrote a suggestive response himself.

First of all, it stated that the Ming Dynasty was not interested in the land of Spain and did not want to directly interfere in the affairs of Spain.

Therefore, it was suggested that Napoleon send out his own troops, first resolve the rebellion in Spain, and then incorporate Spain into France, or serve as the King of Spain himself.

The Ming Dynasty and France directly announced a ceasefire with each other, ending the war in which the two countries did not actually fight.

On this basis, the Ming Dynasty could cooperate with France to attack Russia from the east and west.

If Napoleon deems it necessary, he can bring in Russia's arch-enemy the Ottoman Empire, and the Ming Dynasty can also persuade the Shun Kingdom to participate.

After the war, the Ming Dynasty and France used the Sea of ​​Azov, the Don River, Moscow and the White Sea as their border, which was almost the same as the Eurasian state boundary that Western Europeans were accustomed to at that time.

The Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Black Sea, the Caspian Sea, and the Caucasus Mountains, this modern border between Asia and Europe was first proposed by the Russians in the early eighteenth century.

But other European countries did not recognize it at all at that time.

It was not until the 19th century, as Russia's influence continued to grow, that it was gradually accepted by Europeans.

If the Don River is used as the state boundary, it is hard to say whether Russia is considered a European country. It has long been the case that Russians have not been considered Europeans.

Zhu Jianxuan's proposals were to guide Napoleon to the place where he would suffer the greatest losses.

However, this kind of guidance is not deception.

If Napoleon really responded immediately and expressed his willingness to accept this cooperation plan, Zhu Jianxuan could really cooperate with him.

Just like with the British, unless Napoleon paid tribute to Ming Dynasty, or at least in name only, Ming Dynasty would not sign a formal agreement with him.

However, the border is negotiable and can be placed at the Ural line at most.

Napoleon's main forces were diverted to suppress the Spanish uprising and he had to immediately embark on an expedition to the vast Russia, so he had no strength or energy to carry out grassroots reforms.

Then the Ming Dynasty could really go on a western expedition first and then consider dealing with Napoleon later.

We can use the emperor's name to ask Shun State to cooperate in the war. If Shun State refuses to cooperate, we will send troops to seize the Western Regions.

At the same time, we can go down along the Lena River, Tungus River, Yenisei River, Irtysh River, and Ob River to first occupy Russia's Siberia region.

After Zhu Jianxuan considered it carefully, he asked the people from the Western Factory to send the message he had drafted.

Then he called the Ministry of Public Security and summoned the Grand Secretaries and the Privy Councilors to a meeting to discuss the next war plan.
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The Western Factory's European Department forwarded the news to Antwerp again, and asked Wang Tingzhen to read it before handing it over to Talleyrand.

Talleyrand stayed in the backyard of the European Provincial Administration for one night and received an invitation from Wang Tingzhen the next day. Talleyrand thought that Wang Tingzhen also wanted to confirm more information with him.

When they met again and greeted each other, Wang Tingzhen did not sit as he did in the past, but stood in the middle of the living room, holding a small wooden box in both hands.

Talleyrand saluted Wang Tingzhen with some doubt, and Wang Tingzhen handed the box to him very solemnly with both hands:

"I presented your commander-in-chief's proposal to His Majesty yesterday, and he gave his approval today. Please carefully keep the reply and take it back to your commander-in-chief."

Officials of the Ming Dynasty would not translate imperiator into "emperor", but rather into "commander-in-chief", which is more in line with the original meaning.

The key point is that the Ming Dynasty court now does not recognize the existence of other emperors.

Talleyrand could tell that the box had a very high status without Wang Tingzhen's explanation. After listening to her, he understood why the other party was so serious.

Because that was the response from the Ming Emperor.

The Emperor of the Ming Dynasty was already the monarch with the highest status, and the current Emperor of the Ming Dynasty was an absolute superpower.

He personally reunified the Chinese mainland, directly participated in the conquest of Australia, America, Africa, and also seized several "colonies" in Europe.

The land he conquered, the land and population he controlled, and the power he controlled reached the highest peak in human history.

No one deserves the title of world conqueror more than him.

The monarchs of European countries, even those with titles similar to imperiator, did not dare to put themselves on the same level as him.

After Talleyrand knew this, he became nervous and excited, and was also stunned:

"This is... the reply from His Majesty the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty—

"How is this possible! This place is tens of thousands of miles away from Shuntian Prefecture in the Ming Dynasty. The fastest ship will take more than a month to get there.

"How did our message get to Shuntianfu and back?"

Talleyrand was very gifted in diplomacy and naturally knew the huge advantages of the speed of information transmission. The monarch in the rear could communicate directly with the diplomats in the front.

Diplomats are aware of changes in the situation in the rear and other places and are able to avoid local false information and environment in diplomatic occasions.

Wang Tingzhen did not respond immediately, but reminded with a serious face:

"Hold out your hands!"

Talleyrand then realized that according to the tradition of the Ming Dynasty, he should accept the order now and not make a fuss. Talleyrand quickly shut up, bowed slightly, stretched out his hands, and carefully took the box.

Wang Tingzhen then continued to speak:
"The Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, the current emperor, can use the power of thunder to send messages, so he can travel tens of thousands of miles a day.

"This is just a letter conveying His Majesty's will, written by the clerk who received the summons.

"It's not a direct decree from His Majesty, so I can't just hand it over to you so easily."

Wang Tingzhen roughly knew the principles of the telegraph, but he deliberately did not explain the principles clearly and explained them in a mysterious way.

Talleyrand listened to these explanations with astonishment and confusion.

What is the Thunderous Message? Are the gods of the Ming Dynasty real?

Talleyrand had heard of the research on electricity, and he vaguely knew that thunder was also electricity.

However, early research on electricity cannot be directly linked to communication across tens of thousands of miles.

Talleyrand instinctively thought about mysticism.

Talleyrand held the box carefully in his hands, said goodbye to Wang Tingzhen with a nervous but excited mood, and returned to Berlin to report to Napoleon.

On the way, Talleyrand slowly relaxed and carefully observed the box.

When he found that the letter was sealed with wax, he did not open it rashly. Anyway, after meeting Napoleon, if he had any instructions, he would tell him the contents.

After returning to Berlin, Talleyrand immediately went to see Napoleon, presented him with the Ming Emperor's reply, and explained what he had seen and heard during his trip.

Napoleon himself attached equal importance to the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, and had even greater respect for Zhu Jianxuan, a peer of his.

While showing respect, Napoleon also had a hint of stubbornness in his heart.

Napoleon believed that if he had been born a prince of the Ming Dynasty, he would have been able to conquer the same amount of land.

However, Napoleon really felt inferior to Zhu Jianxuan's inventions.

If he did not have those new equipment and weapons, even if he had control over the materials and manpower of the Ming Dynasty and even if he could conquer the same amount of land, the losses would certainly be enormous.

It certainly won't be as easy as the current Ming Dynasty, which has conquered half of the world with almost no pressure.

Especially after hearing Talleyrand's introduction that the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty had the ability to send messages via thunder, and that news could cross the entire Shenou continent within one day, he couldn't help but be amazed.

Napoleon was a talented general, and like Talleyrand, a diplomat, he knew the great benefits of the speed of information transmission.

If he mastered the same ability, he could command wars across the entire continent from one place without having to lead his troops around personally.

The key is not to worry that the generals below will not understand your will and make mistakes in the execution process.

If enemies or rebellions appear anywhere, we can respond immediately.

Napoleon could not imagine the internal technical logic of Thunder Messenger, but as he had certain scientific attainments, he thought it was probably some kind of special technology.

I didn't think directly in the direction of mysticism.

However, Napoleon treated the box he had sent with great solemnity and caution, and also took the box with both hands.

Although Talleyrand said that the things in the box were not written by the Ming Emperor himself, but were written by Ming clerks, the content was the will of Emperor Tiangong.

Napoleon cut open the wax seal on the table and took out a folded letter with Chinese characters.

Napoleon, who was already proficient in Chinese characters, held the book in both hands and read it carefully. When he read the end, he was surprised but also couldn't help frowning.

The reason for the surprise was first of all that the Ming Emperor was willing to cooperate with France and himself.

Moreover, this world conqueror did not have much hostility towards him in his words, and even seemed to have a special sense of closeness to him.

Napoleon felt that this was probably the "mutual admiration" that naturally emerged between two true great commanders, between the great conquerors of the two continents of Europe and God.

Then the Ming Emperor once again emphasized his lack of interest in the European continent.

It was probably because the Ming conquered land in order to accommodate their huge population, and Europe was not suitable for settling the population.

The reason Napoleon frowned was that he felt threatened.

Although Napoleon, a European, began to master the political skills of China, his natural way of thinking and stance were still significantly different from those of the Ming people.

It is also because Zhu Jianxuan does not have a particularly clear understanding of his own influence and does not understand his position in the minds of rulers of countries around the world.

When Napoleon saw Zhu Jianxuan's suggestion to him to divide Russia, he did not realize that Zhu Jianxuan was trying to lure him into wasting his strength.

Instead, they began to be wary of Zhu Jianxuan, the world conqueror's intentions for the Old World, because Zhu Jianxuan had set the predetermined national border line from the Don River to Moscow.

Moscow is less than 1,200 kilometers away from Warsaw, which is more than 100 kilometers closer than Warsaw is to Paris.

If the Ming Dynasty's borders expanded to Moscow, and if the eastern part of the empire was the Ming Dynasty, it would be more depressing than if the eastern part of the empire was Russia.

Unless the border is set in the Urals and an independent Russia is retained there as a buffer zone between Ming Dynasty and Europe.

But Napoleon felt that he had no way of taking control of so much land so quickly.

The Russians may not surrender so easily.

Cleaning up the local land aristocracy and establishing new local administrative agencies is far more complicated than a direct war.

According to Napoleon's own battle plan, France's next target should be Austria, and the further target should be the Balkans.

The Napoleon of this world understood the political logic of the East, personally participated in local governance, and was much more cautious than in history.

But the most crucial issue was that Napoleon no longer sought to defeat the enemy's main force through a major battle and force the enemy to negotiate peace with him.

Napoleon felt that it was meaningless and that he could not truly destroy his enemies, so he chose to advance step by step.

This strategy is very effective against small countries. By killing a group of core nobles of a small country, the heritage of this small country will be gone, and it will be left to plan its own future.

This is how the Ming Dynasty destroyed all the regimes in Egypt and North Africa.

However, Napoleon felt that he had no idea where to start with Russia, a huge country like Russia, so he didn't want to go too deep into Russia.

Only by keeping the vast Russia in the middle of the Shen European continent and isolating the territory of its own empire from the territory of the Ming Dynasty can peace between France and the Ming Dynasty be ensured.

So after careful consideration, Napoleon also wrote a letter personally to respond to the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty.

Like Zhu Jianxuan, Napoleon would not write down his true thoughts and decisions directly, but would use a more tactful way to persuade the Ming Emperor not to be so radical.

Napoleon first expressed that he was very honored to be able to exchange letters with His Majesty the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty.

If the Ming Dynasty has no interest in interfering in Spanish domestic affairs, France can arrange troops to assist the Spanish king or crown prince in restoring order in Spain.

After restoring order, he signed an armistice agreement with the Ming Dynasty and ceded all American colonies to the Ming Dynasty.

France was also willing to cooperate with the Ming Dynasty to attack Russia from the east and west.

But Russia's territory is too vast. Even the Russian land west of the Urals is basically equivalent to that of other European countries.

France's population and military size were relatively limited, and could not be compared with the Ming Empire at all.

French officials and troops were temporarily unable to deal with the land west of the Don River-Moscow.

Based on such realistic considerations, Napoleon finally suggested to Zhu Jianxuan:
First, slightly postpone the time of dismembering Russia, giving Ming and France three to five years to reorganize the currently huge occupied areas and raise more military supplies and troops.

After the operation began, France was responsible for seizing Polish territory before the partition of Russia, Prussia and Austria in 1772, while Ming was responsible for seizing Russian land east of the Ural Mountains.

The area east of Poland's 1772 border and west of the Ural Mountains would continue to be retained as an independent Russia, serving as a buffer zone between Ming and France.

If France cooperates with the Ming Dynasty, there will be no need to win over the Ottoman Empire. Instead, after France conquers Austria, it can consider cooperating again to divide up the Ottoman Empire's land.

France was responsible for seizing the Balkan region including Greece, and the Ming Dynasty was responsible for seizing the Mesopotamian region and the area south of the Anatolian Plateau.

The remaining Anatolian Plateau region could continue to be retained as an independent Ottoman state, and like Russia, serve as a buffer zone between the Ming Dynasty and France.

Finally, Napoleon expressed his sincere hope that France and the Ming Dynasty could resume normal official and private trade after signing the armistice agreement.

(End of this chapter)