It wasn't an apple that hit Newton.

In full view of the citizens of Paris, Britain and France officially became husband and wife.

France, along with Denmark, withdrew from the "anti-British alliance" and instead imposed sanctions on the Netherlands. Although no actual troops were deployed, the Netherlands was still forced to scramble 20 warships to defend against France, giving Britain a much-needed reprieve and reversing the balance of power on the front lines.

By this time, the two-year naval war had depleted the national strength of both countries, leaving them severely weakened. Britain began to attempt peace talks with the Netherlands, but the Netherlands refused.

Britain and the Netherlands were mired in a quagmire of war.

France was happy to see this happen.

In fact, the Netherlands was one of the obstacles to Louis XIV's establishment of hegemony in Europe. France had long plotted to annex the Netherlands and use the Dutch territory that now belongs to Belgium as France's "natural border" in order to consolidate France's hegemonic position on the continent, but it just didn't have the opportunity.

However, for Louis XIV at the moment, the Netherlands was secondary.

He wanted to seize this opportunity to launch a war against Spain, which was necessary for him to dominate Europe.

As early as 1660, King Louis XIV of France married Maria Theresa, daughter of King Felipe IV of Spain. After King Felipe IV died in 1665, King Louis XIV of France, as his son-in-law, claimed the right to a share of the Spanish Netherlands (now Belgium)—although the Treaty of the Pyrenees in 1659 explicitly prohibited Louis XIV from inheriting any of Felipe IV's estate as his son-in-law.

Now that Britain and France have formally formed an alliance, and the Netherlands is too deeply involved in the war to spare any further action, this is the perfect opportunity for war.

[August 1667]

Taking advantage of the favorable situation on the European continent, the Franco-Spanish War officially began.

Spain's national strength had been weakened by the Thirty Years' War and the Dutch Revolt, while France, under the rule of Cardinal Richelieu, Mazarin, and the "Sun King" Louis XIV, was flourishing. Louis XIV, seeking to establish France's "natural borders," had long coveted the Spanish Netherlands, which was held by the Habsburg dynasty.

Spain quickly found itself at a disadvantage.

[August 1668]

Princess Veronica Stuart, the third princess of the United Kingdom, secretly gave birth to a son.

He was a handsome little boy who was born with a thick head of short, fiery red hair, hence the name Fars Stuart.

Li Cheng strongly disagreed with this, and briefly protested that according to custom, the child should take his surname, and if that was not possible, he should at least have the right to name the child, otherwise he felt too uninvolved.

Although his protest was completely and utterly ignored by the princess, as compensation, she said that if there was a second child, he could choose the name himself.

—So that night, Li Cheng got his wish and, for the first time while sober, had some quite engaging interactions with the princess in her castle, and some small things happened in response to the idea of ​​having a second child.

[August 1668]

The French army, brimming with martial spirit, advanced through the Netherlands, capturing Flanders and Luxembourg. The fighting then spread along a line from Dunkirk, Brabant, Lille, to Hainault, where they clashed with the Spanish army. They then dispatched 20 troops to invade France-Comté and extend their reach into Lorraine.

The French army occupied most of the Netherlands in less than three months and conquered France-Comté in less than three weeks.

This war won him 12 territories, including Lille, opening the door to the Netherlands.

From a military perspective, France undoubtedly gained a certain strategic advantage from the Franco-Spanish War, but from a political perspective, the situation was not so optimistic.

The pro-French Rhine alliance dissolved, and the Holy Roman Empire princes also chose to abandon France as an ally.

This has also raised concerns in many countries, especially the Netherlands.

[August 1668]

The Netherlands chose to side with Spain, and Britain, unwilling to see France grow stronger on the continent, was also worried about the expansion of French power.

After a brief negotiation, Britain and the Netherlands quickly ceased hostilities and signed a treaty stipulating that Britain would receive part of the Dutch colonies, but must pay the Netherlands £20 in compensation.

Meanwhile, England and the Netherlands allied with the Swedish Empire, forming the Tripartite Alliance of 1668 against France. Spain also signed the Treaty of Lisbon with Portugal, ending the Portuguese Restoration Wars and allowing Spain to concentrate more forces to attack mainland France from Catalonia.

[August 1668]

Even Britain, which had engaged in a de facto marriage alliance, signed numerous secret agreements, and secretly provided substantial funding, chose to participate in the war against France.

France was shocked and overwhelmed, finding it difficult to contend with the Triple Alliance on its own. Ultimately, it was forced to sign the Treaty of Aachen, which, in addition to satisfying most of the Triple Alliance's main demands, granted France nine strategically valuable cities in the Spanish Netherlands.

After the treaty was signed, Louis XIV was furious at Edward VII's treachery and vowed revenge.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Veronica once again stepped forward as the third princess, presenting a great deal of "favorable evidence" that proved the death of the late King Charles II was suspicious. She then launched a rebellion in the northern part of the English peninsula, near Lincoln, and prepared to gradually move south from the north.

Although only a very small number of nobles were willing to believe this rather absurd claim, most nobles were either hesitant or opposed to it, choosing to wait and see.

However, due to the huge debts incurred from years of war, Edward VII, who chose to exploit the emerging bourgeoisie, faced strong resistance from the capitalist class, most of whom chose to support Veronica.

Thus, under the coordination of Li Cheng and other merchant organizations such as the London Merchants' Guild and the Textile Guild, the bourgeoisie and Veronica signed a secret treaty, promising to provide Veronica with a large amount of material and financial assistance on the condition that they would support the bourgeoisie's policies after coming to power, be tolerant of the Puritans, and allow freedom of religion.

Meanwhile, Louis XIV, furious at Edward VII's treachery, not only secretly provided a large amount of supplies, but His Highness Philippe, as her husband, also led a portion of the French army to directly participate in the battle.

The apparent balance of power between the two sides is not significantly different.

Since it was a war on home soil, Edward VII's overwhelmingly superior navy could hardly play a role, and he could only rely on the army. Apart from France, other countries were unwilling to interfere too much in Britain's internal struggles.

[August 1668]

In the initial period,

With superior numbers and extensive combat experience, the King's army held the upper hand, driving Veronica's princess army into a series of defeats.

However, since it was a land battle, after several months of training, the Veronique soldiers gradually showed their equipment advantage—their new firearms were far superior in combat effectiveness to the old, poorly maintained firearms of Edward VII's soldiers.

In addition, during the war, His Highness Philip, who had never been favored before, demonstrated amazing talent in commanding the war and quickly absorbed experience and grew.

People then realized that it was Louis XIV's vigilance that had previously caused this military genius to be overlooked, forced to spend his days idly in the royal palace, while this "accidental" opportunity allowed him, as a prince, to fully display his talents.

In contrast, as time went on, the royal army representing Edward VII became increasingly outmatched.

The long years of war had completely emptied the British treasury, and the colonies gained in the Second Anglo-Dutch War could not be converted into profits immediately; in fact, reparations had to be paid to the Netherlands. On the contrary, with the popularization of flying shuttle looms and Louise spinning machines in recent years, the bourgeoisie had become increasingly wealthy, enough to support the war expenditures of Princess Veronica's army.

Wars are fought over gold coins.

Unable to achieve victory immediately and dragged into a war of attrition, the King's army faces only a slow death.

The scales of war... have tipped.

Chapter 380 Just tell me if you're going or not.

Mid-May 1668

Lincoln, United Kingdom.

Although he did not need to directly command operations on the front lines as a general, Li Cheng still devoted a great deal of effort to assisting with the transportation and supply of materials in the rear.

This was just a small-scale war involving only a little over 10,000 people on both sides. It's hard to imagine how difficult it would be to ensure logistics in ancient wars involving hundreds of thousands of people—the difficulty is more than ten times greater than the difference between tens of thousands and hundreds of thousands.

Fortunately, although many characters were unfortunately feminized, the historical direction remained correct. Just as Newton was still considered a genius, Philip continued to demonstrate his exceptional military talent. Even though he had never experienced war before, he was able to hold his own against generals with prior experience in just a few months.

Since that cross-dresser Philip is so good at fighting.

There's another saying: leave professional matters to professionals.

Li Cheng then contentedly stayed in the rear, not giving orders or causing trouble for the soldiers on the front lines. Instead, he comfortably stayed in Lincoln as an arms supplier, responsible for the production and repair of firearms and ammunition, as well as the transportation of supplies.

"...So, that's your reason for having a barbecue here?"

A little maid, dressed in a green belted long dress and all in green from head to toe, complained speechlessly.

It's noon now.

On the lush green grass, several maids were busy lighting the charcoal fire, some were busy using wooden skewers to skewer meat and vegetables and apply seasonings, and others were turning the skewers over to grill.

Susie, Agnes, and Annie, who had been invited to visit, enthusiastically grilled skewers themselves, not caring that their hands and faces were covered in oil and smoke. The others, however, sat at a nearby table, waiting for the barbecue to be served—including, of course, the lazy Li Cheng.

"I'm just having a simple barbecue at home. I didn't kidnap any women or throw any weird parties. Do you have any objections?"

Li Cheng tapped the table and said matter-of-factly, "So, what does Princess Veronica want with you?"

"His Highness requests your presence," Holly said succinctly.

"That's it?"

Li Cheng raised an eyebrow, thinking that this was far too simple, and why bother sending this maid on such a errand.

Holly shook her head and silently glanced at the rest of the people at the table.

Besides Li Cheng, Newton, Lavoisier, and Louise were also seated at the table, all watching Li Cheng and Holly's conversation with either casualness or curiosity. By the way, after so much thought and various indirect inquiries, Li Cheng finally understood how Newton and Louise had reconciled.

Actually, it's quite simple.

Just like a child, once they have a favorite and cherished toy, they want to possess it all by themselves and not allow anyone else to touch it.

If someone touches, takes, or plays with a toy without permission, or even steals, dirties, or breaks it, it will ignite a complete and irreparable conflict.

Li Cheng was like that toy that Newton loved and cherished.

She believed that Louise had secretly taken away, played with, and defiled her favorite toy without her permission, which was why she couldn't let go of Louise—although the toy itself was also at fault, Louise was an even more unforgivable figure.

But after Lavoisier's mediation...

Newton's doubts were largely resolved.

First, Newton was certain that Li Cheng, the toy, still belonged to him and no one else could take it away, which immediately put his mind at ease. Second, after Louise's humiliating inspection, she confirmed that the toy had not been soiled, but had only been taken away and played with, so there was still room for redemption.

With a two-pronged approach, and given that Louise had no intention of dating Newton and was even quite obedient, the two secretly made some agreements in the square in front of the Paris Cathedral that day, in Li Cheng's absence.

In short, the agreement was that Newton would lend Li Cheng to Louise to play with, but Louise would have to listen to him from then on.

Although Li Cheng, the toy, still has to be lent out to play with in this way, having her permission makes a difference compared to not having permission.

...Ahem, I've gone off on a tangent.

In short, after Li Cheng understood what the little maid meant, he got up and left the dining table. He and Holly walked forward until they reached a small grove where no one else could hear any noise. The two of them finally stopped.

"Can we start talking about this now?"

Li Cheng looked up and checked to make sure that Lao Liu wasn't squatting in the tree.

"Ah."

Holly responded, then said in a rather serious tone, "Actually... Your Highness is pregnant again."

"What?"

Li Cheng was completely shocked, and almost twisted his ankle.

Although he visits Princess Leeds every now and then, and although he hasn't researched her menstrual cycle and how to use contraception, and although Princess Leeds has a very fertile figure, isn't his fertility rate a bit too high?

"Keep your voice down."

Holly was quite annoyed by his attitude and said, "Do you think His Highness wants this? The front lines are at a critical time, and look at what you've done, you scoundrel! Can't you control yourself? You have to come and bother His Highness every now and then under the pretext of delivering supplies?"

"Hey, how is this harassment? It's consensual...wait a minute."

Li Cheng suddenly had a bad feeling: "So, you came here because...?"

"That's why we called you to the front lines to help," Holly said with a matter-of-fact expression. "You wouldn't want His Highness to fight with such a big belly, would you?

"..."