The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 891 Crimean Campaign
In May of the sixth year of Jingyan, the fifteen-year-old British Princess Mary led an embassy across thousands of miles and arrived at Tianxin City.

Here, the girl is about to meet her future husband, the supreme ruler of the Great Qi Empire, the thirteen-year-old Emperor Jingyan Liu Fan.

The princess was deeply impressed by everything she saw in the capital of Qi: the heavily guarded imperial palace, the tall and majestic buildings, and the wealthy and civilized citizens.

Before the delegation entered the Qianqing Palace, the British ambassador, who was familiar with the etiquette system, took the trouble to introduce to the princess and her entourage the details that needed to be paid attention to when meeting the Emperor of Qi.

"When you meet the Emperor of Qi later, Your Highness can bow slightly, look up and say to the Emperor, 'Long live His Majesty, long live the great Qi'..."

"Don't you have to kneel? I heard that when you meet the barbarian king, you must kneel on both knees."

Cromwell quickly lowered his voice and waved his hand at the princess, saying, "No need. Qi is not a barbaric country. The previous emperor abolished the kneeling ceremony."

The delegation was talking about it.

Princess Mary asked worriedly, "Will the Qi people make excessive demands today?"

Colombwell asked doubtfully, "Your Highness, what do you mean by excessive demands?"

A blush crossed the girl's face as she strode towards the palace gate.

The Qi guards standing in the square glanced at the dazzling foreign girl. After the delegation walked away, the guards began to whisper. It was obvious that everyone was curious about the future mistress of the palace.

The British ambassador, Colmwell, with his red nose and big ears, followed the princess closely, and from time to time he reached out to support the long skirt that was trailing on the ground.

Princess Mary suddenly turned around, stared at Colombier's raised rosacea, and said sharply:

"Do you drink alcohol frequently?"

"No, no..." Colombe stammered.

"Drinking is unavoidable on some occasions, but I swear in the name of God that I am faithfully fulfilling the authority granted to me by the king and have never neglected my duties."

Princess Mary said angrily, "My father entrusted you with the important task of negotiation, but you betrayed Britain's trade interests and caused losses to the kingdom. The parliamentarians hope you can do something, otherwise..."

Colombwell's face turned pale, and he quickly promised: "Your Highness, I will do my best to gain more benefits for the kingdom."

He originally thought that Princess Mary came to Qi to discuss her marriage, and at least would give importance to the marriage with the Emperor of Qi. He did not expect that the princess would scold him right away.

Colmwell knew very well that if the MPs impeached him because of unfavorable peace talks, he would have to leave Tianxin City early, pack up his belongings and return to his hometown in London, and spend the rest of his life in an old house that was drafty and deserted.

Colombwell's forehead was covered with cold sweat, and he was about to explain something to the princess, but he heard Mary say loudly:
"Take me to see the thirteen-year-old emperor first."

~~~~~~~~
The princess of the Hanoverian dynasty was full of curiosity about the young emperor of Qi sitting on the dragon throne, especially when she learned that the emperor had just turned thirteen this year and was younger than her younger brother.

After the long and solemn court ceremony, Princess Mary held the silk gown hanging on the back with her hands, walked to a position five meters away from the emperor, and said in the typical London lady's tone:

"Your Majesty, the Emperor of Great Qi, please allow me to extend my greetings to you and the empire you rule on behalf of my father. Long live Your Majesty, and long live the Great Qi."

Missionaries from France, Jean-Pierre du Roy and Jean-François Bouvet, were present and translated the British princess' words for the little emperor with some slight modifications.

Liu Fan sat on the high dragon throne in a posture that was unbearable for ordinary people. He listened patiently to the translation by his two trusted ministers and nodded slightly.

Liu Fan's face turned slightly red and he did not respond immediately. He should try his best to maintain the dignity of an emperor.

He was full of anticipation for the British girl standing in front of him.

Emperor Jing Yan had no memory of the Swedish Queen Mother's voice, appearance, or smile. At that time, Liu Fan had not yet come into the world, but there were many rumors about the Swedish woman in the Da Qi Palace.

Those rumors described the Swedish woman as a beauty that combined the beauty of Yang Guifei, Xi Shi, Diao Chan, and Wang Zhaojun, and that she was a rare beauty in history...
Although, several missionaries from Europe have hinted that "Mary" is a very common name in Britain, just like "Cuihua" and "Gousheng" in Da Qi.

However, Liu Fan is still full of expectations for Princess Mary.

"Thank you for your concern, Princess. Everything is fine with me and Da Qi."

Liu Fan's burning gaze swept across the delegation, without stopping on Princess Mary.

Seeing this, Kang Guangxu quickly gave a look.

The little emperor withdrew his thoughts and coughed lightly:
"How is King George? I heard he's caught a cold. How's the weather in London? Is it still raining?"

Princess Mary replied calmly, "My father is feeling better now. The weather in London has been sunny lately, not as rainy as in winter..."

Liu Fan thought for a moment: "Should we take a boat or an airship? Is the journey safe? Will we encounter any French obstacles along the way?"

"Your Majesty, the delegation first arrived in Jakarta by ship, then landed in Guangxi by boat, and then took an airship from Nanning directly to Tianxin City. The journey was smooth. Your country's airships travel at a rapid pace and are safe and reliable."

The missionary kept translating the greetings and questions between the two into English and Chinese. The long and boring conversation made people drowsy.

Mary finally couldn't bear it anymore, so she put away her smile and got to the point.

"Your Majesty, our delegation has come to discuss the issue of our two countries sending troops to Crimea. Regarding the number of troops and supplies, the Kingdom of Great Britain has its own views..."

Kang Guangxu and other ministers of state changed their expressions slightly and whispered something to each other. Kang Guangxu said loudly:

"According to the agreement reached between our two countries, the Qi army has assembled and is awaiting the arrival of your troop transports. You will be responsible for all the food, coal, and fresh water needed for the expedition." Nian Gengyao added, "As for the gunpowder and beard care for the wounded, you will also need to pay for these in advance."

Colombwell quickly introduced Kang Guangxu to the princess, but Mary just gave him a cold glance, obviously not caring about this aggressive old man.

Zhang Tingyu explained to the delegation that in that era, it was by no means an easy task to deploy an army of 30,000 people to a battlefield 8,000 kilometers away.

Moreover, the Qi army had limited transport capacity and was not strong in naval warfare.

Therefore, the task of escorting the "righteous army" and combat supplies to the Crimean Peninsula should naturally fall on the British.

"I'm afraid this is inappropriate and clearly not in line with justice and fairness."

Princess Mary said in a bad tone.

The delegation began to talk again.

The conditions offered by the Qi people were too harsh and completely exceeded London's expectations.

The princess and Colombwell looked at each other, and the ambassador shrugged helplessly with an innocent expression, indicating that he had no prior knowledge of it.

Kang Guangxu, Zhang Tingyu and others looked at the British princess curiously.

Everyone was waiting, waiting for her next performance.

"Your country and the Kingdom of Britain," Princess Mary finally spoke in front of everyone.

“Since we have formed an equal and mutually beneficial alliance, we should share honor and disgrace and shoulder responsibilities. There is no mercenary relationship between the two countries, and the “Justice Army” is not a mercenary army, nor is it an armed force that is profit-driven like the Hessian mercenaries.” (1)

Emperor Liu Fan, who had been keeping his head down and silent, began to carefully examine the foreign girl standing in front of him.

He slowly raised his head, and the first thing that caught his eye was the shocking freckles on the girl's face. However, that was a sign of good health for European women, so there was no need to worry about it.

Then we saw the princess's thick and curly golden hair. Her hairstyle was almost the same as that of the Swedish queen mother in the Taimiao next to the Qianqing Palace, which made people feel very familiar.

A pair of deep blue eyes, in the dim light of the morning in the Qianqing Palace, are as bright and dazzling as sapphires in the Aegean Sea, captivating and dazzling.

However, Princess Mary was furious.

In London, it is extremely impolite for a man to look at a woman like this.

However, according to the court etiquette of the Great Qi Dynasty, she had to endure the emperor's rudeness and face it with her head held high and a smile.

"Princess, you must understand that your country is now asking Da Qi for help..."

Just as Zhang Tingyu was about to open his mouth to refute, Liu Fan actually waved his hand to interrupt him, interrupting the regent's counterattack.

"Mr. Zhang, please let the princess continue."

Zhang Tingyu was speechless and could only nod, "Yes."

Princess Mary's face was as red as the morning glow, her dimples were dancing, and she was very emotional:
"My father told us more than once in London that Qi was a great nation, and its monarchs were all outstanding men. Your people are a noble race. They shed blood and sacrificed their lives to prevent their descendants from becoming slaves, and fought hard to achieve the prosperity and freedom we have today... Now Europe is in danger, the British Kingdom can hardly stand alone, and world freedom and justice are crumbling. For the sake of justice and order, shouldn't your country make some sacrifice? Do you really have to degenerate into the likes of Rakshasas?"

The ministers were silent.

Liu Fan slammed the table and stood up, clapping his hands in admiration, "If I had a daughter, I'd have her like Maria! When the late emperor was on the throne, he said that justice should be in Britain, and that was true! It's just that a few ministers have been rude, and the Anglo-Qatar agreement needs to be revamped!"

On October 1722, 10 (the sixth year of Jingyan), Tianxin City and London jointly issued an ultimatum to the Kingdom of France.

The French army was required to withdraw from the Crimean Peninsula within one month and to guarantee that it would no longer threaten the European continent. They were also required to pay three million francs in compensation to Britain and Qi for their military expenses and to unconditionally transfer all of France's trade interests outside the European continent to the two countries.

The Sun King decisively rejected the ultimatum and sailed his fleet into the Dardanelles.

In late October, the Kingdom of France announced the severance of diplomatic relations with Qi and Britain.

On November 1722, 11, the army was sent to Moldavia and Wallachia, two Danube principalities, to threaten the Moscow region.

On November 1722, 11, Zhang Guogang, commander-in-chief of the Qi expeditionary force stationed in Crimea, asked the French army to stop provocations to avoid unnecessary conflicts.

Louis XIV said to the Qi journalists who came to negotiate: "Don't threaten me with war, but I can rely on Berlin and Vienna."

The French used this to warn Britain and Qi that it might cause another world war.

However, neither the Holy Roman Empire nor Hungary intended to aid France.

France was forced to mobilize 60 troops to fight the Allied Powers, which had an army of about 100 million.

On November 11, the Crimean Army suddenly bombarded the French Navy.

On the 22nd, Louis XIV declared war on Britain, Qi, the Netherlands, Ukraine and other countries in Paris, and the European War broke out.

Note:
1. Hessian mercenaries (also translated as Hessian soldiers or Hessian mercenaries) were a German mercenary group employed by the British Empire in the 18th century. During the American Revolutionary War, approximately 30 of them served in the Thirteen Colonies of North America, nearly half of whom came from the Hesse region of Germany, with the remainder coming from similar smaller states. In the context of British service, they were all classified as "Hessians," while the North American colonists referred to them as "Mercenaries."

(End of this chapter)