William II stared at the French King, seemingly extremely angry.
It seemed that it took him a long time to control his emotions and whispered: "You are naked stealing."
The nobles in the conference room were stunned when they heard this. At this time, the Netherlands was one of the strongest countries in Europe, and its national power had been growing in recent years. It should not be underestimated. It seemed that the top ruling of the Netherlands was so angry. This seemed to be a serious matter.
diplomatic events.
However, everyone admired Louis XIV's method for being able to steal such precious military technology on the Portuguese battlefield.
However, the young Louis XIV was not nervous at all because of William II's "anger". He glanced at William II and smiled.
"Relax! His Royal Highness the Prince of Orange."
Cromwell was relatively calm. This English bourgeois revolutionary leader would not get angry easily. He thought for a while and said: "On behalf of Britain, I lodge the strongest protest to France. This is a very despicable diplomatic incident! If this
If this matter cannot be properly resolved, it may even affect the UK's willingness to join the alliance."
Louis XIV looked at Cromwell and put away his smile.
The character of the young king is obviously very direct. He said sarcastically: "I'm sorry, England and the Netherlands are in power. I didn't realize that you have the property rights of these advanced weapons. You developed these weapons. Your ownership of these military technologies is sacred and inviolable."
of."
When William II and Cromwell heard this, their expressions changed.
When the Catholic nobles in the conference room heard this, they burst into laughter. The Dutch and British regarded the weapons stolen from the East as their own treasures and did not allow others to obtain them. This matter was indeed a bit funny. Of course, it was funny.
, and more importantly, other nobles should use laughter to show the isolation of Britain and the Netherlands.
Amidst the roar of laughter, William II snorted and closed his eyes.
Cromwell frowned and looked at Louis XIV, and began to re-evaluate the current situation. Louis XIV, who would later be called the Sun King, was very strong at the negotiating table, which surprised Cromwell. After all, before coming to France, he thought
Louis XIV was just an ambitious and ignorant young man. However, now Louis XIV could easily arouse the emotions of the European kings around him, and easily isolate the British and Dutch countries who were trying to get a high price.
Cromwell touched the tea cup on the table and asked: "So, whether there is England or the Netherlands makes no difference to this alliance."
Cromwell was intimidating Louis XIV, threatening him to take the Netherlands out of the alliance.
Louis XIV laughed loudly, with a confidence that a young man should not have on his face, and said loudly: "No, this alliance very much needs Britain and the Netherlands."
William II said tit for tat: "Absurd! What you said is completely inconsistent with the interests of the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, completely!"
Louis XIV smiled again and said: "As far as I know, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom are imitating Li Zhi's steam engine. If the steam engine is built, you can use heavy steel armor to wrap the warships to achieve the same defense as Li Zhi's ironclad ship.
""Riveted steel armor is not complicated, but the steam engine is very complicated. Craftsmen who can imitate steam engines are top-notch blacksmiths, and they must be able to process steel equipment to the precision of hair. For craftsmen of this level,
You two small countries have limited talent."
When Louis XIV said that the Netherlands and England were small countries, William XIV snorted, but was speechless. There is no doubt that compared to France, England and the Netherlands are indeed small countries with very limited human resources.
Louis XIV waved his hand and said: "However, if you two governors are willing to cooperate with the whole of Europe, you will have countless superb craftsmen."
Louis XIV said: "In Prague, in Hamburg, in Florence, and in Stockholm, we have countless skilled craftsmen, which are not comparable to the small Britain and the Netherlands. As long as we unite to share technology, we can organize more than Li
Zhizhi’s research team.”
"Ten craftsmen couldn't figure out the exquisite structure of the steam engine, so we used a hundred craftsmen or even a thousand master craftsmen to figure it out. It only took Li Zhi a few years to invent the steam engine. We gathered the power of the entire Europe and we were able to invent the steam engine."
It only takes a few years."
After hearing the young king's words, Cromwell fell silent. After thinking for a while, he slowly sat down.
William II was still a little dissatisfied, and said with a sneer: "If all European countries have ironclad ships and steam engines, what good will it do to the Netherlands..."
"Calm down! Prince of Orange! You need to calm down!" Louis XIV sternly interrupted the words of the Dutch ruler and asked: "Now that Li Zhi is the emperor of China, his only enemies are the Netherlands and Britain. In fact,
, those of us who have never been hostile to him can choose to surrender, but you Britain and the Netherlands have no way to retreat."
"Now we are not talking about the future, now we are talking about resisting Li Zhi. If you lose to Li Zhi, everything is over. Only by defeating Li Zhi will the technology in your hand be meaningful. And if you want to defeat Li Zhi,
The only way to do this is for the whole of Europe to work together."
Hearing Louis XIV's inflammatory words, all the nobles in the conference room were moved. When the enemy is facing a powerful enemy, leaders who call on everyone to abandon their sectarian opinions are often particularly cohesive. After the nobles thought for a while, they basically
They all agreed with the French King's words and looked at the British and Dutch sitting at the bottom of the conference room.
The King of France lost no time in adding: "Gathering the power of all Europe and using all the spies we can hire, we will soon be able to master the manufacture of steam engines. By then we will also be able to build ironclads and steam tanks, which can run across the entire world.
All Li Zhi’s colonies belong to us.”
William II closed his eyes and was unwilling to speak.
Cromwell is a more realistic person. After thinking for a while, he said: "Although I am very disappointed, I must emphasize that Britain is very disappointed because the current proposal is extremely unfavorable to Britain. But Britain agrees with this proposal in principle."
Louis XIV nodded and looked at William II.
William II felt that the monarchs across Europe were looking at him, and some sweat gradually broke out on his forehead. No matter how powerful the Netherlands was, it could not offend so many European monarchs, and he soon gave up his insistence.
Sighing, William II said helplessly: "I hope other countries will not hide their strength and really send their best master craftsmen to participate in the research of steam engines."
Felipe IV said: "No one will hide their strength. Now we are fighting for the right to survive!"
The words of the King of Spain resonated with all the nobles present, and these kings all nodded to express their positions.
Louis XIV glanced around the venue with satisfaction, and finally looked at Pope Alexander VII.
Alexander VII was somewhat impressed by the instigative power of Louis XIV. He did not expect that this alliance would be established so quickly by the young king.
Of course, everything now is just a preliminary intention, and the specific details have to be worked out slowly. But in this seventeenth century ruled by the aristocracy, since the kings have nodded, the details are basically not a problem. What's more, Li Zhi's threat is
It is extremely urgent, and I believe that no one in power would defy the odds at such a critical moment.
Alexander VII nodded and said: "The devil in the East is the devil emerging from hell and is our common enemy. The Holy See will soon launch a crusade and call on all European civilians to unite to defend Europe.
.The kings here can rest assured that all European civilians will fully support you."
