"Teacher, I'm back."

"Oh, Your Excellency the Grand Duke, has the time for sending troops been determined for this Rome summit?"

"It's decided. The alliance has decided to send troops after the Christmas holiday of 1646. The specific time is January 3, 1647."

"We are in such a hurry, come here." Richelieu took out a roll of European maps and a roll of Indian maps: "Tell me the alliance's march plan and troop allocation in detail."

"Okay, teacher." Louis XIII sat down, first pointed to the map of Europe and said: "As you know, in terms of the army defending India this time, in addition to the fifteen divisions in North America, the remaining seventy of the alliance

All five divisions will be dispatched, with a total strength of 1.125 million. Among them, the Castilians account for about 225,000, the Germans in the former Shinra Empire account for 400,000, and the various countries in the former Kingdom of France account for 180,000

, the remaining 90,000 are from Denmark, Sweden and other Nordic countries, 60,000 from Britain, 60,000 from Poland and Lithuania, and the remaining 110,000 are all black slaves from Africa."

"Huh? Didn't you tell me before that Osvalles secretly wanted to turn one-fifth of the army into black slaves?"

"That's what the hard-working Spanish Prime Minister thought, but the reality is that black slaves are strong as long as they have enough food and drink, but training is much slower than our European white soldiers. So, there are

About 120,000 black slaves who had not completed basic military training were enrolled in the reserve force."

"Reserves?"

"Yes, reserve." At this point, Louis XIII also gritted his teeth: "You know, the so-called Grand Duchy of Paris is actually the former Capetian dynasty's French Island. The population in the territory is only three million, and

The number of strong young men between the ages of 18 and 30 is only 400,000. According to Philip's request, I have handed over two divisions, a total of 30,000 people. And he said at the Rome Summit this time, except

In addition to the more than one million troops that are about to leave for India, the entire Europe must prepare more than one million reserves. And our Grand Duchy of Paris has been assigned the task of forming two reserve divisions. Taken together, this is four divisions

Okay, a total of 60,000 people.

After these 60,000 young men were taken away, a lot of land in the Grand Duchy of Paris lacked people to cultivate, and many shops lacked clerks or apprentices. The economy of the entire country inevitably fell into decline. But this crazy guy also said that these reserves

It’s just the first batch, and there will be a second batch. And the age will be relaxed to forty years old. God, if another 60,000 people are transferred from the Grand Duchy, I think my role as a duke will almost be over.”

"This war will be unprecedentedly cruel." After making a cross on his chest, Richelieu said: "The first batch of troops for the Army is 1.12 million. What about the Navy?"

"As for the navy, except for the three in America, all ten of Spain's battleships participated in the war. Philip reported thirty heavy cruisers, and more than one hundred light cruisers and destroyers. As for the transport ships, this time the alliance has a total of

Five thousand transport ships of different sizes were mobilized. It is said that if these five thousand transport ships are shipped at the same time, the transport tonnage at one time will exceed five million tons."

"Where is the navy's reserve force? I mean the new ships in several shipyards in Spain."

"Sorry, teacher, I really don't know about this." Louis XIII touched his face in embarrassment: "You know, since the establishment of the European Union, in terms of army, Spain has basically treated all countries in the alliance equally. But

The Navy... they won’t let us participate. And at this summit, he didn’t say anything about the subsequent construction of warships.”

"Hey, in this decisive battle, both sides sent more than a million troops to fight far away from the mainland. This has extremely high logistics requirements. Therefore, on the surface, it looks like a large-scale land showdown, but in fact, the decision

The key to the success or failure of the war lies at sea. It seems that we need to take some risks and activate the swallows sent by Gloria."

"That is your business, teacher, because I will leave Paris soon and go to Alexandria."

"What? You want to go on an expedition too?"

"Yes, after all, Philip will go into battle in person this time. Almost all of us, the Dukes and Princes, will go into battle."

"This time the Allied forces are gathering in Egypt?"

"Yes, they will be concentrated in Egypt first, then pass through the Suez Canal in batches, and finally arrive in India. Philip's request is that all these more than one million troops should be deployed in India by June 1, 1647 at the latest."

"June 1st? So early? The Chinese emperor told me that the troops would not be sent until September. After all, it is too hot in India in June."

"There is no other way, teacher. After all, Europe still has a small population. So, although everyone knows that the Indians are not good at fighting, they are still humans after all. Therefore, Philip also asked the current Governor of India, His Excellency Valenstein, to train two

Ten Indian divisions. According to what I learned privately from communicating with Wallenstein’s old subordinates among the Germans, Wallenstein’s evaluation of these Indians is that their ability to learn and accept is much better than that of blacks, but in combat

The degree of bravery is much different."

"Humph, such soldiers can only fight against the wind. If they were allowed to fight against the wind, they would most likely collapse at the first touch. The Ming Dynasty was miserably deceived by these guys in India, and Philip still didn't accept the lesson.

Sooner or later, he will have to pay the price for using these Indians." After saying this mockingly, Richelieu added: "Philippe actually used Indians, so there is no reason not to pull Osman along, right?"

"Yes, teacher." Louis XIII gloated and laughed: "According to the situation reported at the Rome Summit, the Ottomans have also started a nationwide mobilization in order to preserve their Pakistan. It is said that the Ottomans will fight for

In this decisive battle, thirty-five divisions and 525,000 troops were invested in the army."

"Given the population of the Ottomans, and considering that they still have to leave enough troops to suppress and monitor the Persians, this investment can be regarded as a national effort."

"It's not just that, teacher. According to Philip, the Ottoman navy will also participate in the war. They will send out two battleships and five heavy cruisers."

"Hiss~ Since when did the Ottomans have battleships?"

"They have indeed done a good job in concealing intelligence in this regard. Even Philip, I guess he only found out recently. I think the Ottomans did not build their fleet in the Black Sea shipyard, but in the Persian Gulf."

"It's possible. Well, in total, the EU and Ottoman armies, plus the Indians, total 1.95 million people. The navy has nine battleships and 35 heavy cruisers. Louis,

As the Grand Duke, you can't just go to India directly, right? How many troops can you command?"

"There are only three divisions under my command. These three divisions are organized into the Fifteenth Army. I am the lieutenant general. In addition to the two divisions of the Grand Duchy, there is also a division mainly composed of Bretons.

I govern."

"Three divisions are organized into one corps? Wouldn't that mean 65 corps?"

"This is not necessarily true. In general, the 130 divisions and 1.95 million people who went to India to fight this time were divided into five clusters. The first cluster was the fifteen Ottomans.

Division, they first stationed themselves in Pakistan. Then they waited for the main force of the Chinese to enter India and then moved north to attack the northwestern provinces of mainland China.

The second group is the twenty Ottoman divisions. Its combat mission is to enter the Ganges Delta to defend against enemies that may come from the Arakan Mountains in Myanmar. The commander is Boris, a Russian who became famous in the battle of Alexandria many years ago. This is

This guy is good at defense but not at performance. So after discussing with Osman's Grand Vizier, Philip assigned him the task of defense.

The third group has fifty divisions, all of which are European troops. The commander is Durenni, and they are mainly distributed in the Ganges River Basin. Generally speaking, large-scale Chinese landings can only be made on the east side of the Indian peninsula through the Bay of Bengal.

After landing, in order to maintain the logistics of the large-scale corps, it was necessary to rely on the Ganges River. Therefore, the main task of the Durenni Cluster was to resist along the Ganges River Basin, retreat slowly, stretch the Chinese supply line, and then wait for opportunities to counterattack.

The Fourth Group has twenty-five divisions, all of which are European troops. The commander is Henry (the Great Condai), and they are mainly distributed in the Eastern Ghats Mountains of the Deccan Plateau. Philip believes that due to logistical pressure, the Chinese cannot even attack in India.

There won't be many troops landing on the southeast side of the peninsula. Therefore, twenty-five divisions on Henry's side are enough. Ah, teacher, the 15th Army led by me is assigned to this cluster.

The fifth group is composed of twenty Indian divisions, and its commander is Wallenstein. It is stationed on the front line of Delhi. Well, this group, in the words of some mean nobles after the meeting, is a corpse waiting to be decomposed. Which of the first four groups is fighting?

If the damage is serious, the cluster will be dismantled to replenish it."

"Very good." Louis XIII kept saying it here, and Richelieu kept writing it down there. When Louis XIII finished speaking, Richelieu's writing stopped almost at the same time.

"Louis, with this detailed information, Ming Dynasty has a better chance of victory in this decisive battle. It's a pity that your troops are not in Durenni's main army. Otherwise, if the main armies of both sides were in fierce battle,

At that moment, you suddenly led your team to get out of the way of defense..."

"Teacher, that's impossible. I can only do this for the emperor of China. After all, China is too far away, and Spain is too close. In order for the remaining Grand Duchy of Paris to survive and retain its revival

The hope of France. I will never make my position public on the distant Indian battlefield. And to be honest, after the two Ottoman battleships participated in the battle, I lack confidence that the Chinese can win in the naval battle. You also mentioned just now,

In this massive battle, naval battle is the key."

"Yes, but no matter what, as long as this information can be transmitted to Ming Dynasty in time, Ming Dynasty's probability of victory will increase. And as long as Ming Dynasty wins this decisive battle, France's resurrection is inevitable!"

"How to deliver this information to the Emperor of China is up to you, teacher. Next." Louis XIII stretched out: "I'm going to spend time with my family. After all, it's 1646 now.

It’s November, and I’ll be leaving in half a month at most.”

After Louis XIII left, Richelieu gently shook a bell with a very secret location.

Soon, a wall was pulled open inexplicably, and a man with an extremely ordinary face and no features walked calmly in front of Richelieu.

"Did you hear what I just said? Do everything you can to send this information back to Ming Dynasty as soon as possible."

"yes."

"In addition, activate the swallows sent by Gloria and ask them to find out as much as possible from the Spanish navy's senior officers what new ships are under construction in the other side's navy."

"yes."

"How long will it take to send the message back now? Is it safe for our personnel to go back and forth?"

"Your Excellency Viscount (Richelieu's title in the Ming Dynasty), now, relying on the silk porcelain tea smuggling route from the Ming Dynasty to the Ottomans to Europe, it is generally more convenient for our intelligence personnel to return to the Ming Dynasty. If everything goes well, it can take up to three months.

, we can reach China's Xinjiang. However, once the war starts, this line will not be easy to walk. Moreover, our colleagues in Spain have received news that as the war approaches, Spain's intelligence agencies have also strengthened

The intensity of counterintelligence.”

"Hey, it's not that easy for you to gain merit and gain status in the Ming Dynasty. I need to restore the country. In short, no matter what, we must ensure that this information is flawless, complete, and fast.

Send it back to Ming Dynasty!"
Chapter completed!