Chapter 1158: Bullying Goes Too Far

"This is bullying!"

France.

Seeing the military report.

Louis XV, his eyes clouded, slammed the table and stood up, his gaze filled with rage.

Just a moment ago, their naval fleet had actually been completely annihilated by the British navy at Alexandria in Egypt!

Not only that, the British monarch even demanded that their France pay ten million silver dollars in war reparations!

Louis XV was so angry he felt like his head was going to smoke!

The Seven Years' War was lost, and they retreated. The North American War was lost, and they retreated.

Now, the hateful British have even snatched away the Egyptian coast they had just occupied;

Not content with having initiated the war and wiped out their naval fleet, they actually demanded war reparations from them!

"It's truly like someone squatting on my neck to defecate, and then asking me for paper!"

No matter how muddled Louis XV was, he could not endure this humiliation.

Preposterous!

"Your Majesty..."

"This Britain is truly..."

"Your Majesty, we must give them a taste of their own medicine!"

A group of ministers followed suit, filled with righteous indignation.

What Empire on which the sun never sets!

When France was rampaging across all of Europe, this Britain was still a bunch of barbarians, a group of underlings! France was the true hegemon of the entire Mediterranean Sea, the inheritor of Catholicism!

Now, these grandsons are riding on their heads to defecate time and time again!

It is unbearable!

Louis XV's face was livid.

France had already been in a state of national mobilization recently, with the Suez Canal as the target! Good heavens, this Britain was completely walking straight into the muzzle of a gun!

"Attack them! Attack them to death! Let these hateful Anglo-Saxons know the fury of us Gauls!"

Louis XV was truly enraged; the previous wars had already filled his heart with fire, and even when the ministers wanted to take action while Britain was suffering setbacks in Australia, he had stopped them;

After all, years of continuous warfare had greatly exhausted France's national strength, and they needed to recuperate to deal with the threat from the Slavic people in the East...

I want to shake hands and make peace with you, but you are climbing all over me!

Then why waste words? Attack!

"Your Majesty, we cannot attack!"

"Indeed, Your Majesty, the British have now recovered their vitality, and with their recent naval victory, their morale is soaring. Starting a full-scale war at this time is disadvantageous to us!"

"Your Majesty, Tsarist Russia is eyeing us covetously in the north, and Prussia is also on the rise. At a time like this, we cannot afford chaos!"

Of course, where there is support, there is naturally opposition.

Louis XV's anger still frightened quite a few people.

France was already somewhat past its prime...

Britain was indeed a bit too powerful; although they suffered at the hands of Longyan in Australia, they remained the most powerful hegemon in Europe at present!

The previous words were just spoken by Louis XV in the heat of the moment. He was not a fool and naturally knew the current situation, but he absolutely could not swallow this insult. No matter what, he had to teach these British fellows a lesson.

He narrowed his eyes slightly: "Since you say we cannot attack, then we must think of a Method? Reparations? If we pay, our French Empire will truly become the laughingstock of the world!"

"Your Majesty, paying reparations is absolutely out of the question. Although they won the battle, that is as far as they go. Our garrison in Libya is still very powerful. If it really comes to a fight, I believe they will also find it very troublesome. If they want money, we don't give it; if they want to fight, we will oblige. As long as we hold this as our bottom line, they should not dare to go too far."

The French assessment was correct; Britain actually only wanted to bully them a little. To start a full-scale war with this continental power, they would also have to pay a heavy price.

After all, France's colonial garrison in Africa

was not playing games.

"Your Majesty, consider the big picture!"

"Your Majesty, we should prioritize dealing with the challenge from Longyan together..."

"Your Majesty..."

Louis XV nodded with a cold face.

Endure!

Keep enduring!

His current goal was still Suez!

With Longyan forcefully arriving in the Mediterranean Sea, a great battle was inevitable.

He had no need to truly go to war with Britain.

The two sides soon signed an armistice agreement:

France recognized Egypt as a British colony, and Alexandria and the nearby waters as British territorial waters;

Britain guaranteed that its garrison in Egypt would not expand westward (Libya: a French colony).

The armistice was signed, and Britain obtained what it wanted, but for France, this was undoubtedly a humiliation that forfeited sovereignty and brought disgrace to the country.

France was not a nation that would swallow its pride; if they could not deal with Britain openly, they would certainly trip them up in secret.

They were very clear that even though Britain had nominally recognized that Suez belonged to Longyan...

How could Britain, as the European hegemon, be willing to accept that in its heart?

This time...

When the Chief Minister of Longyan comes to Europe, they will certainly want to stir up some trouble...

This will be interesting...

This is getting really interesting now.

The Suez Canal is the vital traffic artery connecting the Mediterranean Sea and the Indian Ocean; in a sense, it is the throat of Europe!

With Gibraltar already controlled by the British, once this Suez Canal also falls into British hands, the entire continent of Europe will become fish on the British chopping block, ready to be slaughtered at will...

As the power contending with the British for hegemony, France naturally cannot accept this; although they cannot take direct action, they can find an Agent to go and make trouble for the British.

This person is Nashadier!

On the Conqueror.

On the deck, Liu Zheng carefully took his sleeping younger brother from the hands of Feng Sanniang, held him in his arms, and gently rocked him.

That's right...

Who could have imagined...

That this time when he wanted to come to Europe, his mother insisted on following?

Not only that, but this carefree mother even brought along his younger brother, who is only two months old...

Liu Zheng naturally tried to dissuade her in every way, but Feng Sanniang wouldn't listen.

These parents of his simply treat this younger brother of his like a treasure, pinning infinite hopes on him.

Feng Sanniang insisted on bringing him out to "see the world..."

Liu Zheng was left between laughter and tears because of this.

See the world?

The little brother is only two months old!

If something were to happen to him on the ship...

But seeing Feng Sanniang's stubbornness, he had no Method. He could only equip a strong team of physicians and a team of wet nurses.

In his heart, he actually understood his parents' good intentions...

Given the current strength of Liangzhou, it would actually be no problem for Liu Zheng to be an emperor in Longyan. But clearly, he has absolutely no interest in any imperial throne...

Liu Dahao and Feng Sanniang must certainly have some opinions on the matter.

Very well...

Since you won't be the emperor, then when the time comes, we'll let your younger brother do it!

We will start cultivating him from now on!

It's just that...

Liu Zheng gave a bitter laugh.

Even if you are cultivating him, this isn't how you do it... he's only two months old, dear!

Seeing his own younger brother, Liu Zheng's mood was actually hard to calm as well. In fact, his thoughts were much the same as those of Liu Dahao and Feng Sanniang... regarding his own age, he still hopes that the empire he is building now can have

someone who can perfectly inherit it.

In that case, Liu Cong is a very good choice.

His own younger brother...

If he were truly kept by his side and groomed, he certainly wouldn't turn out poorly.

"Giggle, giggle..."

"Giggle, giggle..."

Little LiuMeng is growing more and more beautiful; especially when Liu Zheng holds him, he dances with joy.

The sounds of "brother" he makes with his mouth make Liu Zheng smile knowingly.

It is a kind of comfort that cannot be described in words; in that instant, the world seems to go quiet, and the chaos of the outside world seems to have nothing to do with him.

Peaceful and serene.

Holding LiuMeng, Liu Zheng could not help but fall into deep thought:

What exactly is he working so hard to build Longyan for?

After looking down at the sleeping little life, he understood: he does it so that all the people of Longyan can enjoy this simple happiness!

To let the old have a peaceful end, the able have employment, the young have a proper upbringing, and the widowed, orphaned, lonely, and disabled all have support...

"Let me hold him, let me hold him!"

Xie Chan said from the side with an anxious look; for a girl of her age, a baby is undoubtedly the most tempting thing.

Just as Xie Chan was about to hold LiuMeng, the little guy started wailing.

This crying left both Liu Zheng and Xie Chan at a complete loss.

"Mother, why is he crying?"

"Look at how clumsy you are," Feng Sanniang said, taking the child from Liu Zheng's hands.

"Meng'er, be good, don't cry, Mother will feed you."

Although she is a Consort, Feng Sanniang comes from the pugilistic world and doesn't have that many rules herself; plus, there were no outsiders on the deck, so she unreservedly opened her outer garment to prepare to breastfeed.

Ah, this...

Although Feng Sanniang didn't mind, Liu Zheng certainly couldn't linger here, so after informing his parents, he took Xie Chan back to his own room.

"Oh, I haven't held the baby yet; later you must tell the Countess to let me have a good hold!" Xie Chan pleaded coquettishly.

"Hey, it's just holding a baby, that's simple enough; there is a baby over two hundred months old right in front of you, come on, hold him all you want."

Liu Zheng opened his arms with a chuckle, but was pushed away by Xie Chan with a "look of disgust."

"Shameless."

Xie Chan turned around, looking shy.

However, she could feel the ease Liu Zheng was experiencing at this moment.

This fellow, who was always so serious in the past, was truly rarely flirting with her...

Was it because of the vast sea?

Or was it because they had left behind that world of intrigue and deception?

Xie Chan suddenly felt a pang of heartache for Liu Zheng.

"Then do you like it?"

Liu Zheng hugged Xie Chan directly from behind, and feeling the warmth of Liu Zheng's chest, Xie Chan's body went soft.

Thinking that it was still daytime, her face turned even redder...

"How about we have one too?" Liu Zheng whispered into Xie Chan's ear.

"Mm, but only after we are married."

Xie Chan's voice was as soft as a mosquito's hum, her whole body remaining limp.

But one must follow one's husband wherever he goes, isn't that just how it is... Her husband was so powerful, and bearing his children was only natural.

But Xie Tianyao had just passed away, and even though the Longyan Dynasty was now experiencing a "collapse of rites and music" due to the constitutional monarchy, Xie Chan was, after all, the daughter of the former emperor Xie Tianyao, so basic ritual protocols still had to be observed.

He had just brought the new and Old Aristocrats and the Scholar-Official Group together, and he needed to give them enough sense of security; if he were to cast aside the old system and marry Xie Chan at this moment, the trust he had just established would inevitably develop cracks.

"I am the Chief Minister of Longyan, and you are the Princess of Longyan; for the two of us

to have a child is certainly no small matter."

"Ah?"

Xie Chan did not quite understand what Liu Zheng meant.

"I mean, having a child is not simple; shouldn't we practice in advance to see which position has the highest success rate?"

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