In the conference room of the Louvre Museum in Paris, works by great artists such as Cashdet and Rembrandt are displayed on both sides of the spacious room. However, these beautiful artists did not attract the attention of the participants in the room.
Sitting in the conference room were the rulers of all Europe.
Except for a few princes who were ill and unable to attend the meeting, all other European kings and grand dukes came to the Louvre.
Even Queen Christina, the successor of the great King of Sweden, was sitting at the conference room table - although Sweden is a Protestant country, and although the old King Gustaf II was a Protestant, her daughter still
is a Catholic - this also proves the influence of the Holy See in Europe.
At this meeting jointly convened by Pope Alexander VII and King Louis XIV of France, there were still some differences between Catholic countries and Protestant countries. Most Catholic countries sat next to the Pope and the King of France, at the top. A few
The princes or kings of Protestant countries sat at the bottom of the conference table and formed their own group. The princes and some dukes who participated voluntarily sat on the periphery of the table.
Of course, now is not the time to discuss the distinction between Catholicism and Protestantism.
The nobles sitting at the bottom were headed by William II, the ruling prince of Orange in the Netherlands. This ambitious German nobleman looked around at the kings sitting at the top, frowned and said: "Li Zhi is very ambitious. Portugal has made great achievements by betraying Europe.
If this continues, more countries will learn from Portugal soon, and Europe will be divided by Li Zhi. So I support the French alliance proposal."
Europeans are a people who are good at compromise and cooperation, but the decades-long religious wars have caused deep resentment among European rulers. The Netherlands, which chose Protestantism, will not be able to eliminate its anger towards the Spanish and the Holy See for a while.
.William II described this meeting as being convened by the King of France and deliberately ignored the Pope.
The young French King Louis XIV was ambitious and wanted to gain all the power he could get. At this time, William II described Louis XIV as the convener of European kings in front of the French country bumpkin counts. This was very important to the French King.
The royal power was very beneficial, and Louis XIV smiled happily.
William II continued: "However, everyone knows that the Netherlands has learned a lot of new technologies and weapons in the wars in the East over the years. What I never want to hear is, 'The Netherlands wants to give these things to other European countries for free.'
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After hearing William II's words, the other kings' faces sank and they did not speak.
The grand dukes sitting at the bottom and the dukes sitting further out couldn't help but whisper.
Europeans all know that the Netherlands is the most advanced in science. The Dutch have minie rifles and cannons. Over the years, the Netherlands has been trying to arm sailing ships with iron armor to defend against Li Zhi's rifled cannons, and even began to imitate Li Zhi's steam engines. Of course,
The imitation of the steam engine was not successful, but it is said that it has a certain direction. The only problem that troubled the Dutch craftsmen was the accuracy issue.
Now the Netherlands has invested many spies in China to spy on scientific and technological intelligence, and has obtained Li Zhi's old-fashioned textile machine technology - a technology that was eliminated by Li Zhi more than ten years ago.
It was found in the warehouse. The spy recorded the structure of the machinery with pen and paper and gave it to sailors to secretly take it to the Netherlands. With these textile machinery that were eliminated by Li Zhi, the textile industry in the Netherlands has developed rapidly in recent years and has become the cotton spinning center of Europe.
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The Netherlands has been fighting against Li Zhi and lost many colonies to Li Zhi. But at the same time, the Netherlands also obtained a lot of technology and became very powerful. Now even if its old enemy Spain attacks the Netherlands with all its strength, it may not be a match for the Dutch.
The Dutch are unwilling to give up these technologies in vain.
King Felipe IV of Spain snorted coldly and said: "Very good, Li Zhi's number one enemy, the Netherlands, is unwilling to show his technology. The Dutch are ready to fight against Li Zhi alone."
Upon hearing this, William II's face darkened.
Antonelli, the ruler of the Republic of Venice, coughed and said: "With all due respect, Dear William II, if Europe is divided and conquered by Li Zhi, then I am afraid that the most unlucky people will be the Dutch. The Dutch are burning, killing and plundering in the Far East.
Plunder and treat the Han people as slaves. If Europe is controlled by Li Zhi, I am afraid the Dutch will not have any good fruits to eat."
Antonelli looked at everyone and said lightly: "I heard that Li Zhi has always exterminated the clans of those who were hostile to him."
William II looked at Antonelli with disdain, and sneered as he looked down upon the ruler of this small country whose sunset was over the horizon.
William II's sneer was opposed by all the Catholic nobles, and many grand dukes and dukes roared angrily. The culture of Europeans is very different from that of the Chinese. When these nobles get together, it is a bit like a barbarian bonfire party. Although they also work hard
Maintain the etiquette of civilized people and try their best to be polite, but at the critical moment they will reveal their barbaric nature, and everyone wants to show off their strength and power.
The venue suddenly became very noisy, and Pope Alexander VII frowned.
Cromwell, the ruler of England, coughed and stood up.
He was an English Puritan who felt solidarity with the Dutch Protestants. Feeling that William II was under siege by the Catholic nobles, he felt that he needed to stand up and say a word.
"Everyone! Everyone! Listen to me! Our technology can be used!"
All eyes were on Cromwell.
"Guys! But this comes at a price. Every Formosa rifle was purchased with the blood of Dutch sailors and British soldiers. Other Europeans cannot take these things away in vain."
The King of Spain said sadly: "Cromwell, are you going to use rifles and cannons to take South America away from Spain? Or are you going to take Paris, France?"
The conference room suddenly burst into laughter from the dukes and earls. The Catholic nobles had long been dissatisfied with Cromwell, and when they heard the noble King of Spain mocking Cromwell, they all spoke out in support.
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Cromwell snorted coldly and said: "Bid! Your Highness Felipe, we need a price!"
Felipe IV said loudly: "There is no price! We stand up to help the Netherlands and England that Li Zhi misses day and night. There is no price."
Cromwell looked at William II, a little speechless. The Catholic kings insisted that England and the Netherlands, which had chosen Protestantism, were the biggest beneficiaries of the European Alliance, and needed these two Protestant countries to teach all technologies for free. This negotiation was at the beginning
It seems a bit difficult.
Cromwell sat down slowly.
The venue fell into a brief silence.
The young earls and dukes outside the conference room became a little irritable. They couldn't help but look around and examine the faces of the big shots at the conference table. Now that Li Zhi's Southern Route Army has occupied the Indian Ocean, the profits of the navigation industry supported by the small nobles have plummeted. Huben
The army has begun to attack the east coast of North America, and European merchant ships on the coast of Africa are often robbed by ships sent by Li Laosi. These small nobles are as afraid of the terrifying Li Zhi as the kings.
If Europe does not unite to deal with Li Zhi, it will only be a matter of time before Europe is conquered.
But Pope Alexander VII said nothing.
Seeing that the atmosphere was somewhat deadlocked, the young French King Louis XIV stood up, looked around the venue, and said loudly: "I don't know if it seems despicable to say such a thing at this time."
Cromwell frowned and looked at Louis XIV, wondering what he meant.
Louis XIV smiled self-deprecatingly: "Frankly speaking, I don't think it is necessary for the Netherlands and England to keep the secret of new weapons. French spies had already obtained new weapons on the Portuguese battlefield, and these weapons were in Marseille, France a few years ago."
Mass production."
Louis XIV coughed and said calmly: "The European Union is related to the survival of all European nobles, and perhaps more importantly, the survival of European civilians. If the Netherlands and England are unwilling to teach technology, France can teach you technology on your behalf."
Cromwell stood up angrily. William II's eyes widened when he heard these words, and his eyes were blood red with anger in an instant.
