Chapter 1399: Louis XV's Revenge

"Prime Minister, you say the Longyan people have been lying in ambush there for a long time for the sake of our city, but most of Egypt is desert. Even near our port cities, it is filled with yellow sand. How could they possibly stay inside for so long!"

"This is impossible!"

The weather in the desert changes multiple times a day; one moment it might be scorching hot, with the sun so intense that no one would want to stay in it for a moment longer.

But the next second, a great wind could rise, bringing clouds, rain, or even hail, causing the temperature to plummet rapidly until it feels like the dead of winter in the blink of an eye.

Furthermore, there is a lack of water and food; without staying in an oasis, very few people could survive in the desert for so long.

Let alone such an army, surviving in the desert for so long without being discovered.

"Could these Longyan people be chosen by heaven, or do they possess divine power?" a minister questioned.

The various ministers in the French court immediately exchanged their opinions heatedly.

But not a single person believed that Longyan could accomplish the feat of surviving in the desert for so long.

Louis XV looked at the chaotic court and shouted coldly, "Silence!"

Hearing this cold shout, the ministers immediately fell silent.

Louis XV scanned the ministers, then turned to look at Bruce and asked, "Prime Minister, the Longyan people are still human; they are not gods!"

"You must be held responsible for your claims."

Bruce chuckled, glanced at Louis XV's angry face, and said neither humbly nor arrogantly, "Your Majesty, have you forgotten what the first thing Longyan did when they introduced the Suez Canal?"

"Attacking the Austrian port."

"I remember that the Austrian port fell in less than four days, but the Longyan Fleet did not land from the sea; this city was captured by the Longyan army from the land."

"Then where did their troops come from?"

The ministers fell silent. When the military report first reached France, they all looked as if they had seen a ghost.

Especially since it was later confirmed that the Longyan army had landed in Nashadier's territory.

Upon receiving this news at the time, they exclaimed that the Longyan people marched like ghosts!

"The distance from the port in Nashadier's territory to that Austrian city must be at least seven days, yet the Longyan army took only four days. The Longyan people are neither gods nor ghosts!"

"So they must have used some new invention we don't know about, just like the Yinzhou ships back then, which allowed for rapid marching!"

After Bruce said these words, a haze seemed to shroud the entire court.

The ministers were silent, and Louis XV was silent as well.

They knew Longyan was the pioneer of the Industrial Revolution, but they did not expect their technological level to have progressed to this stage.

Equipment that allows for rapid marching!

The invention of such a thing could directly influence the direction of a war, or even its final outcome.

Bruce scanned the ministers and smiled faintly, "However, I am just speculating; perhaps Longyan has other means we are unaware of to achieve this."

"For example, it is possible that the initial landing point of their Longyan army was not in Nashadier's territory, but somewhere else."

Everyone seemed not to have heard these words and remained silent.

After all, Bruce's deduction was too terrifying. If Longyan truly mastered such technology, relying on their million-strong army in Europe, they would be enough to wipe them out.

Louis XV looked at Bruce with a complex expression and asked in a deep voice, "If Longyan truly has such equipment, do we still have a chance to win?"

Everyone looked at Prime Minister Bruce in unison.

Quietly waiting for Bruce to pronounce the result.

But no matter who it was, they understood what this result was, yet no one dared to poke through this layer of paper; everyone still held a glimmer of hope.

"No," Bruce poked through that layer of paper.

Hearing this result, everyone's face sank, and the glimmer of hope in their hearts was extinguished.

Louis XV, a great ruler of France, also fell into a long sigh. Although France had experienced the Industrial Revolution over these years, the once-powerful Empire was gradually declining.

They were currently competing with Britain for maritime hegemony, but they were always at a disadvantage. America was originally their hope.

But now America was completely blockaded by Britain and Longyan. Without maritime ports, Louis XV had no way of knowing the situation in America.

Louis XV fell into deep thought. They might not necessarily lose this war; Prussia's only allies were Longyan and Britain, and Britain could not provide military aid to Prussia.

France had a high chance of winning this war, but France was destined to lose too much.

Thinking of this, Louis XV had a splitting headache. He could not announce a withdrawal from the war now; if they withdrew, their losses would be even greater.

A dilemma indeed.

Just at this moment, Bruce's voice rang out.

"However, according to intelligence from my informants, Longyan also has factories in Australia, and Australia is led by Longyan's former Crown Prince, Xie Fang."

"The scientific research level there is not weak; perhaps we can go to Australia and take a look," Bruce said lightly.

Upon hearing this, Louis XV's eyes lit up. Australia.

That was an independent continent. Louis XV had heard of it, but had no intention of attacking that place.

Because the Longyan army was there.

But hearing Bruce say it was Xie Fang's territory, Louis XV felt relieved.

Xie Fang was the Crown Prince of Longyan, but in Louis XV's view, Xie Fang was someone exiled to Australia by Liu Zheng.

In this light, their strength could not compare to Longyan, and most importantly, the scientific research level there was not low.

If he didn't occupy such a good thing now, it would just benefit someone else.

"Issue my order: send troops to Australia!" Louis XV immediately gave the order.

It didn't take long before the French fleet quietly set sail, with Australia as its target.

……

At this time, Australia.

Xie Fang returned to his palace. He had been back from Longyan for a long time, and every time he recalled the scenes he saw in Longyan, his heart remained unsettled.

Under Liu Zheng's leadership, Longyan had interesting things coming out almost every day, while the achievements he had made in technology here were simply not worth mentioning compared to Longyan.

To say nothing of anything else, the basic Factory construction of Longyan alone had beaten him black and blue.

As for things like military equipment, what he saw while visiting Longyan left him completely numb; the level was far higher than his own, he didn't know by how much.

His own troops were still the veterans brought over from Longyan, and this time returning to Longyan, many of them didn't even want to come back.

Sigh, compared to Longyan, the current Australia is simply a backwater.

Xie Fang was deeply struck!

Xie Fang turned over bitterly, thinking to himself whether he should learn from Liu Zheng and also implement Private Ownership?

But then he thought better of it; Australia still had a pile of problems waiting for him to deal with.