Chapter 1245: Time? Or a Conspiracy?

"Your Majesty, that is precisely why we must send troops as soon as possible and seize the Spanish Netherlands before the three kingdoms finish their war preparations!" said Prince Condé. "If England, Holland, and Sweden still intervene after we occupy the Spanish Netherlands, then I advise striking first and attacking Holland by land.

Because Holland is the core of the three-kingdom intervention. Once Holland is beaten into submission, England and Sweden will certainly not continue to interfere."

"Simply defeating Holland will be enough?" Louis XIV was still somewhat uneasy. "England and Sweden are both military powers, after all!"

Prince Condé said, "But we only need to defeat Holland quickly!

At present, young Cromwell's attention is on domestic affairs in England, and he will not easily be drawn into a continental war. If he sees the Dutch swiftly defeated by us and suing for peace, he will certainly not send troops to the European continent again.

As for Sweden, it is too far from us. Moreover, its king is still a youth, and it is simply impossible for them to fight a long and bitter war against us. Once Holland and England stop interfering, they cannot send troops alone either. Even if they force themselves to send troops, we can defeat them!"

"Then can we defeat Holland quickly?" Louis XIV asked again. "Although Holland's army is not large, they have built a great number of fortresses along the riverways in the region bordering the Spanish Netherlands."

"Your Majesty..." Prince Condé glanced to the left and right and did not continue.

Louis XIV waved his hand, sending his attendants far back, and only then looked at Prince Condé.

Prince Condé said, "Your Majesty, in fact we need not attack Holland directly from the Spanish Netherlands... We can borrow a route through the lands of the Holy Roman Empire, bypass the Dutch fortress network, pass through the territories of the Bishop of Münster and the Archbishop of Cologne, and catch the Dutch completely off guard!"

Louis XIV drew a breath, and an expression of pleasant surprise finally appeared on his face, though he immediately frowned again. "Will those two archbishops agree to grant passage?"

"They certainly will!" Prince Condé was very certain. "As long as we are willing to spend money, they will surely agree to grant passage." His tone deepened slightly. "If they do not agree, it is merely a matter of fighting two more battles. These two bishoprics do not have much strength."

Louis XIV asked again, "If we choose the detour, how much time will it take to defeat Holland?"

"Your Majesty," Prince Condé said, "that depends on what kind of victory you wish to obtain. If you merely want Holland to recognize our annexation of the entire Spanish Netherlands and conclude an equal and mutually beneficial alliance treaty with us... then a few weeks, at most a few months, will be enough to make the Dutch Republic abandon forever any thought of resisting France!

And you, Your Majesty, will become the hegemon of all Europe!"

Hegemon of Europe!

But Louis XIV frowned. "Prince, you say that France should, after defeating Holland, graciously bestow upon Holland an equal and mutually beneficial treaty?"

"No, this is not a bestowal!" Prince Condé could not help but frown slightly as he explained, "This is what the common interests of both France and Holland require!"

"Common interests? Where?" Louis XIV was somewhat dismissive.

"In many respects!" Prince Condé said. "First of all, neither we nor Holland has the capacity to become a power strong on both land and sea!"

"We do not have such capacity?" Louis XIV was somewhat indignant. How could great France lack the capacity to be hegemon of both land and sea?

Prince Condé said, "Your Majesty, although France's national strength is very great, compared with the Celestial Empire of the East, there is still an enormous gap!

The Celestial Empire's population is ten times ours, its land several tens of times ours, and its fiscal revenue also ten times ours... Therefore the Celestial Empire's army surpasses ours several times over, and at the same time it can build a navy capable of defeating a Dutch expeditionary fleet in the Strait of Malacca.

And it is simply impossible for France to build at the same time an army that can dominate the European continent and a navy that can dominate the Atlantic and Indian Oceans and even reach into the Pacific!"

Prince Condé had, after all, spent so many years in China, so he understood very well the difference between France and the Celestial Empire.

France was a great European power, while the Celestial Empire was an intercontinental state, possessing strength that could even contend with all of Europe.

Therefore France could not pursue both continental hegemony in Europe and naval confrontation with the Celestial Empire.

Prince Condé said to Louis XIV, "Your Majesty, for France, what lies within our power is to seize hegemony over the European continent while expanding our territory as much as possible. We must strive to make the Spanish Netherlands and the scattered Italian states all part of France.

As for the sea, we should focus on the Mediterranean and build a medium-sized navy capable of dominating the western Mediterranean. At the same time, we should establish a firm, mutually beneficial, and long-term alliance with Holland. France's army will defend Holland's land borders, and Holland's navy will defend France's interests in the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans!"

Clearly, after spending many years in China, this Prince Condé's caliber had risen considerably. He had truly proposed a path by which France could achieve hegemony — with France's limited strength, being hegemon of both land and sea was impossible!

If France's opponent at sea were England, perhaps it could still sell the pots and pans and make a desperate fight of it, but to engage in a naval arms race with the Celestial Empire — there was simply no possibility of victory.

So the only way was to pull in a maritime power that France could control as an ally. France would handle the land, and that country would handle the sea, forming a team to contend for hegemony.

And the only maritime power France could control was Holland!

Louis XIV pondered for a while, and finally nodded, seemingly agreeing with Prince Condé's proposal.

He paused, then said, "Once Charles II and his Royalist army have all left the Spanish Netherlands, we will attack! Let those fellows go to America alive... I expect we will still have to wait one or two months.

In the meantime, I will send Foreign Minister Hugues de Lionne to Münster and Cologne to try to persuade the two archbishops to support the cause of the Kingdom of France!"

He smiled. "I think those two princely bishops will be very pleased to see Holland's Protestants suffer misfortune!"

Just as the great powers of Western Europe were busy preparing for a large-scale war, the several important diplomatic personnel whom Zhu Cilang had stationed in Western Europe — Ambassador to France Li Shaoyou, Ambassador to England Ren Zhen, Ambassador to Holland Wei Qingmu, Ambassador to Spain Huang Shan, and the two leaders of Chinese merchants in Europe, Huang Jiang and Jiabusi — all met in a villa not far from the construction site of the Palace of Versailles, belonging to Huang Jiang, chief manager of the Divine Europe Bank.

This meeting of theirs was no simple matter; it could, to a certain extent, influence the Ming Empire's European foreign policy!

Because in these years, communication and travel between Europe and the Ming homeland was measured in years, so these personnel stationed abroad had very broad authority.

And in order to unify their positions, they had to meet from time to time, exchange views, and discuss the current situation.

Although these men were all well-informed, especially Huang Jiang and Jiabusi, who had many friends in the French court, no matter how resourceful they were, they could not ferret out Prince Condé's plan to attack the Spanish Netherlands and Holland, nor the follow-up arrangements.

However, these men had still learned the news that Charles II would soon become the King of America!

This was truly a tremendous matter!

At present, North America was mainly a standoff between New Spain and the United Provinces of the New Continent, while France and England had also staked out considerable territory. Of these, the French possessions were developing slowly, while the English possessions were developing faster... faintly showing signs of becoming a third force to rival the United Provinces of the New Continent and the Kingdom of New Spain — not in terms of land area, but in terms of core population!

At present, New Spain's core population was nearly 600,000, still the leader of the Americas! The United Provinces of the New Continent had a core population of nearly 350,000; although smaller than New Spain's, it was growing very fast. England's colonies in North America had 250,000 people and were also growing relatively quickly. If yet another king went over there, it would likely set off a wave of immigration.

If this King of America and the Kingdom of New Spain were to form an alliance, the United Provinces of the New Continent would be in serious trouble!