Chapter 1493: Where Is It Weaker? (Please Subscribe)

He really is Wei Zaode's son! He's got the genes of a treacherous minister! And his name is good too — Wei Zhongcheng, Wei Zhongxian, only one character apart! Zhu Cilang nodded approvingly — you're the next great treacherous minister of the Ming!

"Zhongcheng," Zhu Cilang asked with a smile, "tell me again — where is it weaker?"

"Your Majesty, this subject believes the New Continent is the weaker place!" Wei Zhongcheng said. "The Pacific coast of the New Continent is a soft spot for the Europeans. To set out from France and sail around the southern New Continent to reach the Pacific coast of the northern New Continent is at least fifty thousand li. It is simply too far! From our territory to the Pacific coast of the northern part of the southern New Continent is only a little over twenty thousand li."

"Right, right!" Zhu Cilang walked to the other side of the map table, pointed at the New Continent coastline on it, and said to the senior ministers around him, "Take a look — is this area weak or not?"

"Weak, very weak!" Chief Grand Secretary Luo Dagong had also realized something was off — his earlier talk of destroying the roving bandits clearly did not match the imperial will!

Ah, being an official is hard! The Emperor's mind is far too difficult to guess. And the longer this Emperor reigns, the deeper his scheming becomes; he no longer likes to say things plainly, preferring to make his subordinates guess.

"Your Majesty, the Pacific coast of the northern New Continent is indeed weak," Zheng Sen said, looking at the sand table. "But even if we took the entire New Continent, that would not necessarily let us defeat France and Holland! The New Continent is mainly the territory of Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom of New England. France's territory is large, but there are hardly any people there at all, so losing it would be of no consequence."

Zhu Cilang thought to himself: If I could take the whole of the Americas... then what does it matter if I lose once? The Americas for India — that's a good trade! And India isn't even mine!

This Zheng Sen, how is it you don't know how to do business? Zheng Zhilong left you a fortune of a hundred million — you're not going to squander it, are you?

"Your Majesty," said Zheng Sen's brother, Minister of the Navy Zheng Jiangong, looking at the sand table, "the French and the Dutch cannot possibly send a large fleet to the west coast of the New Continent. Even if we act in the New Continent, a single task fleet from the Eastern Ocean Fleet would be sufficient. Besides, the United States of the New Continent itself also has a fleet."

Zhu Cilang thought: So they still want to act in Malacca?

Ah, right — that kid Zheng Jing is now Chief of Staff of the Southern Ocean Fleet!

Having "guessed" the Navy's thinking, Zhu Cilang turned his gaze to Minister of War Yan Yingyuan — Yan Yingyuan was Army; he ought to oppose the Navy!

Under the expectant gaze of Emperor Zhu, Yan Yingyuan's brain began spinning. He knew Zhu Cilang most likely did not want to send the Navy to fight France and Holland head-on, but rather wanted to gain advantage by trickery.

In that case...

"Your Majesty," Yan Yingyuan said, "this subject does have a plan that could turn France's attention back to Europe. That would make our operations in the Lesser Western Ocean and on the New Continent somewhat easier."

"Is that so?" Zhu Cilang nodded. "Tell me."

"Your Majesty," Yan Yingyuan said, "our officer mission stationed in the Ottoman Empire reports that the Ottoman Empire has been trying to attack Vienna. They have now ended their war with Poland and have signed a non-aggression treaty with Poland. They have freed their hands and can deal with the Holy Roman Empire. Once the Ottoman Empire seizes the fortress of Vienna, the situation in Central Europe will undergo a drastic change, and France will have no choice but to place its main energy in Europe."

"But France will also grow stronger because of it!" Zhu Cilang said. "At the very least, the Rhineland and northern Italy, and perhaps Switzerland as well, will be annexed into France. The remaining North German princes, Poland, Naples, Savoy, and even Spain will all follow France's lead. Even England, Sweden, and Russia could rally around the Sun King Louis. Western Europe, which has been fragmented since the collapse of the Western Roman Empire, will be completely united by Louis!"

"But a completely united Europe will not put its main energy into the Americas and the Lesser Western Ocean!" Yan Yingyuan said. "Louis will have to march east into the Balkans, to retake Constantinople, and even to retake the holy city of Jerusalem."

Zhu Cilang thought it over and felt that Yan Yingyuan's words did make sense!

If Louis XIV rallied Western Europe under the banner of Rome, then he would have to counterattack into Central Europe and the Balkans, and even counterattack into North Africa and the Middle East. Although Louis XIV would not completely abandon the interests of the Americas and the Indian Ocean, before he leveled the Ottoman Empire, the forces he could devote to the Americas and the Indian Ocean would be limited.

Moreover, as long as the Ottoman Empire could obtain the support of the Great Ming, it would not fall so easily — at worst, we could export some "Junior Grand Secretaries" from Central Asia to the Ottoman Empire to serve as cannon fodder.

"Then what can we do right now?" Zhu Cilang asked again. "Supporting the Ottoman Empire in attacking Austria would cost quite a bit of money, wouldn't it?"

Zhu Cilang was very stingy. If you asked him to take out ten or twenty million to support the Ottoman Empire in attacking Austria — that was impossible; he could not spend that money! The Ottoman Empire was fighting Austria on behalf of the True God, so the money ought to come from the True God!

Yan Yingyuan smiled and said, "Your Majesty, we need not spend any money. We can let Aurangzeb spend the money! He is now surrounded and plundered by the French, the Dutch, and the roving bandits. Although the army he brought from the Western Regions is quite strong in combat, the country of India is very large, and there are still many rebellious Brahmin princes at home, as well as some Muslim princes opposed to the Timurid state. Recently Liu Wenxiu seems to have also sent troops from Ü-Tsang into Nepal, making him feel somewhat attacked on all sides. If he wants to get out of this predicament, he will have to pay for the Ottomans to take Vienna!"

What did the Holy Roman Empire ever do to deserve this? A dispute between the Great Ming and France and Holland over colonies in the Indian Ocean and the Americas had somehow developed into instigating India to fund the Ottoman Empire's capture of Vienna... Zhu Cilang thought to himself: I wonder how long an Ottoman Empire that has taken Vienna can hold out?

In the future, there won't be some Hitler Pasha or the like leading the Ottoman Empire in battle against the French, will there?

"This plan is acceptable!" Zhu Cilang finally nodded. "We will speak to Princess Nisha. Let her write a letter to Aurangzeb." He thought for a moment. "Then what about the fleet? Where should the main force be sent?"

"Of course it should be sent to the New Continent!" Yan Yingyuan thought for a moment and said, "We can make a feint to the west while striking in the east — send part of the fleet to Malacca with great fanfare, and form the Lesser Western Ocean Fleet.

At the same time, we can transfer the main force of the Southern Ocean Fleet to the Eastern Ocean Fleet, and then order the Eastern Ocean Fleet to move to Golden Gate Bay in California."

Zhu Cilang turned his head to look at Navy Commissioner Chen Shangchuan and Minister of the Navy Zheng Jiangong.

The two of them naturally understood what Zhu Cilang meant!

Chen Shangchuan said, "This subject also approves of Minister Yan's plan of making a feint to the west while striking in the east."

Zheng Jiangong also said, "This subject suggests having the Eastern Ocean Fleet drop off some nomadic military households on the New Continent along the way."

"Then let it be so. The Grand Marshal's Office, together with the Ministry of War and the Ministry of the Navy, will draft the plan!"

Zhu Cilang ended today's military conference, left the Hall of Imperial Supremacy, and headed straight for the Red Fort in Laoshan Palace. The Red Fort was Princess Nisha's residence in Laoshan Palace, and also a place Emperor Zhu rather liked to spend the night. Especially recently, since Wu Ake had become pregnant, and the pregnancy was not very stable, she could not be touched, so Emperor Zhu had been visiting the Red Fort more frequently.

When he arrived at the Red Fort today, there was a guest visiting. The guest was Crown Princess Ding Yuying. She had recently returned to Yingtian Prefecture together with the Lucky Crown Prince — the Lucky Crown Prince had done well in his assignments in Heilongjiang and Andong, settling all twenty-four of the soft-rice kings properly and enfeoffing them as twenty-four hereditary Commandery Princes who governed the people and commanded troops. In addition, he had brought Tuhai's daughter back to Yingtian, preparing to let her take the entrance examination for the second cohort of Jinling Women's University.

The entrance examination for the second cohort of Jinling Women's University should have been finished by the end of last year, but because many major events occurred last year, some of which involved the Great Ming's "marriage alliance policy," it had been delayed so that more women from tributary states could take the women's university examination.

Now that Ding Yuying had returned to Yingtian, Zhu Cilang naturally had her, together with Princess Nisha, Xu Erlin, the Rent-Collecting King, and others, jointly preside over this admissions process.

And Ding Yuying had come precisely to exchange views with Princess Nisha about the admissions matter.

Recommending a great Song-time-travel work: Saint Scarecrow's "Northern Song."

Kou Ji's soul travels to the Northern Song and becomes the grandnephew of the famed minister Kou Zhun through the ages. As a standard third-generation official, he should have been riding horses and carrying falcons, living the most arrogant life of a profligate young master.

However, when he entered the capital with a letter from his cheap father inviting him to enjoy life in Bianjing, he discovered...

His grandfather Kou Zhun seemed about to be finished!

(End of Chapter)