Chapter 1469: The Real Opponent Has Arrived!

"My Sovereign, as your Secretary of State for War, I must remind you that our enemy is stronger than we are. Their population and fiscal revenues are several times ours, and the size of their standing army is several times ours as well. If we are to contend with them on all three major fronts — the Americas, India, and Central Asia — then, if I may speak frankly, we will lose the war!"

The Palace of Versailles, the Bull's Eye Salon.

De Witt, Ivan Naryshkin, De Belasco, and Maria Francisca had all already departed. Remaining were the Prince de Condé, Hugo Leonard, Colbert, and the newly summoned Marshal Turenne, the Duke of Luxembourg, the Marquis de Marignane, and Philippe I, Duke of Orléans — it had to be said, the Sun King Louis XIV truly had a constellation of brilliant commanders under his command! In terms of military skill, Zhu Cilang truly had no one under him who could compare with these few.

But when it came to national strength, France was not much to look at. The population Louis XIV ruled at present was, at the highest estimate, less than 20 million. The Ming homeland alone now had nearly 200 million people! And if one added the populations of Japan, Joseon, Annam, the Dzungars, Siam, the Khoshut, the Dai Kingdom, the New Continent United States, the Luzon Kingdom, the Jiaqing Kingdom, and a great host of other vassal states, it would likely reach 250 million.

A population gap of at least tenfold, in the populous and highly productive seventeenth century, meant an enormous gap in national strength and financial resources.

Of course, the Ming and France were not close neighbors, and in the seventeenth century both maritime and overland transport capacity was limited. So even if the Ming had a million-man army, it could not come pouring into the Kingdom of France like an avalanche, nor could it be deployed without restriction to battlefields ten thousand li from the Ming homeland.

So Louis XIV's side was not without a chance of victory. At this moment the Prince de Condé had laid out a world map and was recommending to the Sun King a strategy that appeared capable of defeating the Ming Empire.

He said: "My Sovereign, if we wish to win the future, we must choose among India, the Americas, and Central Asia. In my view, we can only win victory on one of these fronts!"

"We can only win victory on one front?" Louis XIV frowned deeply. "Prince, if the choice were yours, onto which front would you commit the strength of France?"

"The Americas, of course!" said the Prince de Condé. "Because we cannot possibly conquer India completely! The Timurid Empire in India is not an opponent that collapses at a single blow.

Even if we could seize Goa, gain the support of the Catholics of Goa, and raise an Indian legion of tens of thousands of men, that would still not guarantee we could defeat the Timurid Empire... Even if we won victories in certain places, we could not conquer all of India.

So the best result we could obtain in India would at most be the plunder of a great fortune. To lose the Americas for the sake of a great fortune is not worth it.

Because the wealth we can obtain from India is ultimately limited, whereas the wealth of the American continent is nearly limitless!

As for Central Asia, that is, after all, the backyard of the Russian Empire. Even if we won a great victory there, the one to reap the benefits in the end would still be Russia.

Therefore I recommend that France commit its main strength to the American theater, join forces with the Kingdom of New Spain and the Dutch, and launch simultaneous attacks from land and sea, striving to destroy the Chinese New Continent United States in one blow!

Then we can turn the gold- and fur-rich west coast of North America into a French colony. Only by possessing North America... can our Kingdom of France possess a brilliant future!"

Louis XIV frowned, clearly not entirely satisfied with the strategy the Prince de Condé had proposed. He glanced at Colbert, the Secretary of State for the Navy. "My Navy Secretary, can we colonize North America on a large scale, as the Chinese have done?"

"Your Majesty," Colbert shook his head, "at least for now it is unrealistic... After all, the people of France bask in the radiance of the Sun King — who would be willing to cross the ocean to live in the New World?"

Louis XIV nodded in agreement. This was indeed a problem! Under his own wise leadership, the lives of the French people were too comfortable; no one wanted to go abroad!

"Then... Navy Secretary, you do not approve of His Highness the Prince's strategy?" Louis XIV pressed.

"No," Colbert shook his head. "I approve of His Highness the Prince's strategy. Although it will be difficult for us to send large numbers of immigrants to North America, according to reliable reports, large quantities of minable gold have been discovered in the New Continent United States' California, Bozhou, Huazhou, and Meizhou! It is clear that a vast gold belt exists along the west coast of North America currently occupied by the New Continent United States! And that region is also rich in furs. If we can take possession of the west coast of North America, we should be able to obtain considerable and sustained returns!"

Louis XIV had also heard the news of gold discoveries on the west coast of North America, and now, with Colbert's reminder, he was indeed somewhat tempted.

"Then... what of India?" Louis XIV asked again. "Are we to leave it to Zhu Cilang and Aurangzeb?"

"Of course not," said the Prince de Condé. "My Sovereign... if we do not commit some strength in India and Central Asia to support our allies there in challenging the Ming Empire and its allies, then the Ming Empire will likewise commit its main strength to the Americas. In that case, we would face an endless war of attrition in the Americas. So we must act in India and Central Asia to mislead the Chinese, make them disperse their forces, and ideally cause them to neglect the American theater. Meanwhile, we will take the opportunity to transfer a certain number of army and naval forces to the Kingdom of New Spain, and from there advance along the eastern coast of the Pacific, seizing the major ports of California, Bozhou, Huazhou, and Meizhou with the greatest possible speed!"

"Then..." Louis XIV asked thoughtfully, "how many troops do we need to commit to North America?"

"The more the better, of course!" the Prince de Condé replied.

Louis XIV then swept his gaze over Marshal Turenne, the Duke of Luxembourg, the Marquis de Marignane, and Philippe I, Duke of Orléans.

He not only wanted to hear these four men's counsel, but was also sizing up a Regional Commander for the American theater.

Marshal Turenne said: "Your Majesty, according to intelligence, the New Continent United States can mobilize and arm at most 100,000 land troops. I believe we and the Kingdom of New Spain will need at least 150,000 land troops to achieve victory, and at the same time we must secure command of the sea off the west coast of North America."

"The key is command of the sea!" The unprepossessing Duke of Luxembourg, François Henri de Montmorency-Bouteville, was the Prince de Condé's "sworn elder brother" (he was the adopted son of the Prince de Condé's mother) and also the Prince de Condé's trusted lieutenant. He had, of course, taken part in formulating the Prince de Condé's plan, so he immediately pointed out the key point of the North American campaign.

He said: "If we can secure command of the sea, then we need only 100,000 to 120,000 men to ensure victory. If we cannot win at sea, then no matter how many land troops we have, defeat will be hard to avoid.

So I recommend committing sufficient naval strength to the Pacific theater from the very outset of the North American war."

Louis XIV frowned slightly. The strength of the French navy was limited, and the navy of New Spain was not particularly strong either. As for getting the Dutch to send a fleet to the eastern Pacific... that would likely be difficult, because those profiteers cared most about their commercial interests in the Indian Ocean and the East Indies.

The Marquis de Marignane replied: "Your Majesty, we should also arm the Indians of the Great Plains and send them marching toward the Rocky Mountains to draw the attention of the Chinese. Then we can use surprise attacks against the Chinese fleet and ports. In that way, the troops and ships we need to commit can be somewhat fewer."

Louis XIV nodded. The Marquis de Marignane's suggestion was the one that best suited his wishes.

Louis XIV's own younger brother, Philippe I, Duke of Orléans, famous for his many male lovers, had little interest in going to the Americas. He would rather take a turn through wealthy and ancient India or Persia.

So he said to Louis XIV: "Your Majesty, I believe you need a Governor-General of India who can command sufficient attention from the Chinese. As your brother, the Duke of Orléans of the Kingdom of France, I consider myself the most suitable person to go to India and serve as Governor-General there!"

(End of Chapter)