Daming 1805

News from all aspects of the West was continuously transmitted back to the Ming Dynasty through the channels of the League of Nations, the diplomatic channels of the Honglu Temple of the Ming Dynasty, and the news channels of the West Factory.

Zhu Jingyuan is basically able to understand the current situation in the western continent at any time.

After the morning court meeting on February 25, AD, Zhu Jingyuan kept several important officials behind.

In the small conference room next to the emperor's office, Lu Liang, the governor of the West Factory, first reported the latest news:

“The summary of information from Italy and Prussia shows that Italy was eventually won over by the Prussians.

“Now Prussia, Lucia, and Italy have officially decided to sign an agreement for France, Britain, and Austria.

“Meanwhile, with Lucia’s clear alliance with Prussia, the Austrians, feeling threatened, wanted to win over the Ottomans.

“Britain, France and Austria, as a group, once again signed another mutual defense agreement with the Ottomans.

“But Britain and France are not very interested in this matter.

“Because the Ottomans were Lucia’s main target, and Lucia was far away from France and England.

"There will be no direct conflict with each other in the short term."

After hearing this, Zhu Jingyuan sighed softly:
“The Italians are ambitious after all, probably because they have been too successful in recent years.

“Now I want to get the land along the Great Qin Sea, and then I want to rebuild Rome.

“In this way, the situation among the Thai and Western countries is probably three versus three.

"Then it still depends on whether Osman can feel his situation and threats and make a decision as soon as possible.

“But until Lucia takes care of Norway and Sweden, they won’t be a direct threat.

"By the way, how is the progress of the Lucians in Norway? Are there any big new changes in the past two days?"

Lu Liang immediately replied:
“As of last news this morning, the Lucians have occupied half of Norway and Sweden.

“At present, the speed of the Lucians’ front advance has not been substantially hindered.

"It is expected that all of them will be captured in another two months at most."

Zhu Jingyuan casually gave a summary:

“In other words, the Ottomans still have up to two months of safety.

“But now, if the Lucians are anxious, they may soon start war propaganda against the Ottomans.

“Because Osman is also a member of the alliance, Lucia also has to go through the same process to attack Osman.

“You have to make your stance clear at least a month in advance.

"So Honglu Temple will pay a little attention to it and report any situation at any time."

Shen Fu, the eldest uncle in charge of culture and diplomacy, immediately came out and bowed and agreed:

"I remember it."

When Zhu Jingyuan saw Shen Fu, he continued to ask another question:

"Mr. Shen thinks that if we, the Ming Dynasty, come forward to mediate the conflicts between Prussia and Austria through the League of Nations platform.

"The Ming Dynasty supported the unification of the German region and suggested that Prussia and Austria merge to form a United Empire.

“Then, the existing monarchs of Prussia and Austria simultaneously served as emperors of the new united empire, implementing the traditional Roman co-emperor model.

"The existing German regions of Austria will be handed over to the rule of Prussia's Hohenzollern to realize the wishes of the German people.

"Prussia ceded a piece of the land it had acquired from Poland to Austria in exchange and compensation.

"What are the chances that Prussia and Austria will accept such terms of reconciliation?"

Shen Fu thought about it and said:

"I believe that if it were half a month ago, the probability of Prussia and Austria accepting mediation would have been [-] to [-] percent.

"At that time, Prussia and Austria's attitude towards unification had just been expressed, and final preparations for war had not yet been completed.

“However, it would have been very difficult for the Austrians to cede the Austrian region.

“So the success rate cannot be very high.

"As of now, there should be only [-] to [-] percent left, or even lower.

"Prussia has sold new national bonds on a large scale in the country in the name of the war of unification, and has also made large-scale loans to domestic private capital.

“At the same time, large-scale orders for military supplies have been placed, and armies across the country are ready to go.

“Austria has also completed the decentralization of power within its borders and has achieved a high degree of local autonomy reform, which is irreversible.

"The war has reached a point where the arrow has to be fired.

"Unless Ming Dynasty directly threatens to force the two countries to cease all existing hostilities, the war will no longer be able to stop."

After hearing this, Zhu Jingyuan said with satisfaction:
"That's good, then let Honglu Temple contact Lucia, Prussia, Austria, France, and the United Kingdom and say that Ming Dynasty will come forward to mediate Prussian-Austrian relations.

"Then Mr. Shen personally went to the League of Nations headquarters and came up with a compromise condition in the presence of all members of the League of Nations.

“That’s what I just said, the merger of Prussia and Austria to form a United Empire, with the two emperors co-governing.

“The Ministry of Rites came forward and publicized it in major media to explain Ming’s attitude.

“We must make it clear to the people at home and abroad that in any form of national war, it is the common people who suffer.

“The fundamental attitude of Ming Dynasty and the League of Nations has always been to avoid war as much as possible.

“For this reason, the Ming Emperor and the Ming court both suggested that Prussia and Austria resolve the current disputes between the two countries through peaceful negotiations.

“If neither country accepts it, then make their responses and decisions public.

"It means that Ming Dynasty and the alliance have tried their best."

Shen Fu promised seriously with a smile on his face:

"The people of the world must be grateful for your Majesty's kindness. I will make arrangements immediately after I return. Does your Majesty have any other instructions?"

Zhu Jingyuan thought about it and said:
“As I said before, remember to make good use of video, audio, and photography equipment, and let the Ministry of Rites Archives keep good records.

"Don't worry about this cost issue, these will be materials worth collecting in the future.

“In the future, television will enter thousands of households, and different people will be able to directly witness past history through video and audio materials.

“History in the past was recorded only with pens and knives, and was easily affected by the emotions of those who recorded it.

"The video and audio recordings are both real. As long as the whole process is released, there is no doubt about it."

Shen Fu responded quite seriously this time:

"I will keep this in mind and make sure to use images and sounds to record the information."

After the meeting, Shen Fu immediately returned to his office and summoned relevant personnel to arrange work.

Prepare what Zhu Jingyuan asked for as quickly as possible and start executing it.

In the early morning of the next day in the West, diplomats from Prussia, Austria and other countries received news from the Ming Dynasty Honglu Temple and the League of Nations.

These people did not dare to delay and immediately informed the prime minister of their country, who then informed the monarch.King William III of Prussia summoned his principal ministers for consultation:
"What does Daming mean? Why do you want to mediate at this time?
“Can’t the old gentlemen of Ming Dynasty see that it’s impossible for us to stop?

“Moreover, Daming did not give any direct warning.

"It didn't say that if we don't accept mediation, then they will directly send troops to intervene..."

Prime Minister Stein first explained his thoughts:
"I think there are two possibilities. One is that the Ming Dynasty really did not want a large-scale war to break out in the West.

“The second is to establish an image of pursuing peace, striving to maintain world order, and wanting a good reputation.

"If the relevant news is publicized on a large scale in Ming Dynasty and Europe, it means it may be the second type.

"Of course, it may be from both directions. The Ming Emperor may really not want a war, but at the same time he can gain a good reputation."

Chief of the General Staff Gneisenau continued:
"There is also a possibility that he is preparing an excuse to actively participate in the war in advance...

"The Ming Dynasty is also mobilizing for war. Although it may be relatively low in proportion, the scale far exceeds all European countries.

"The Ming Dynasty now has 1000 million armed forces, which may increase to 2000 million after mobilization is completed.

“At the same time, the equipment and training level are not lower than ours.

“Today, none of us, Lucia, and Italy combined can be the opponent of Ming Dynasty.

"Of course the people of Ming Dynasty also understand this.

“So this level of power is also the basis for the opponent to be confident.

"That's why they won't interfere too actively in our operations, and they don't care much about our military operations in the West."

William III felt a little more relaxed after hearing Stein's analysis.

After hearing Gneisenau's analysis, I became a little panicked again:
"Then...what is the possibility of Ming Dynasty joining the war?
"Under what circumstances might Ming join the war?"

Gneisenau said directly:
“The possibility of Ming Dynasty participating in the war is not high, and there is no change from our initial analysis.

“The purpose of mobilizing for war is first to defend, and then to realize their ideal of subduing the enemy without fighting.

“In the case of Ming Dynasty directly participating in the war, I think it is still Lucia declaring war on Ming Dynasty.

"Before we and Lucia take the initiative to attack the Ming Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty will not take the initiative to participate in our war.

“Especially after this mediation, it will definitely not happen, otherwise Daming will say it directly.

“If we don’t accept it, then they will send troops and so on.

“At the same time, whether it is our intelligence system or the actual response of Britain, France and Ming Dynasty.

“It all shows that the actions of Britain and France were not supported by Ming Dynasty.

"The threat to Austria's independence from the two countries is their own independent decision and has nothing to do with Ming Dynasty."

William III was relieved again:

“Then continue to prepare as planned.

“In addition, arrange for someone to go to the League of Nations headquarters to cooperate with Daming’s mediation process.

"But to make our position clear, we must win over all German regions, especially Austria,

“Austria…it is impossible for the current Austro-Hungarian Empire to accept such conditions.

"So let the negotiations break down as soon as possible and start the war as scheduled."

Things developed just as Zhu Jingyuan, Shen Fu and William III expected, and mediation was of course impossible to succeed.

The Prussians thought they could gain everything through war, so they could not accept the territorial exchange.

The Austrians have relied on France and Britain and believe that they will not lose the war, so they cannot give up Austria's homeland.

The negotiations, as William III said, naturally broke down quickly.

Relevant news also spread rapidly throughout the time.

Almost all cultural people, people who often read newspapers, and people who listen to the radio know that Ming Dynasty came forward to mediate, but the mediation failed.

Prussia and Austria rejected the Ming Dynasty's conditions for the merger of the two countries.

Britain and France issued a counter-war threat, threatening to declare war on France if Prussia declared war on Austria.

Lucia and Italy also gave the same threat. If Britain and France entered the war, Italy and Lucia would also join the war at the same time.

Everyone already knows that a large-scale civil war between Spain and Spain is approaching.

The prices of daily necessities in various countries have experienced a small increase in the past month or so.

However, they were all suppressed by the royal families and courts of various countries.

On the eve of the upcoming war, the government that still has power will not allow private supplies to skyrocket.

Even in order to stabilize the situation in Prussia and Lucia, the imperial court took the initiative to suppress the prices of various daily necessities.

This is to use all the power for foreign wars.

The same is true for neighboring Austria and France.

And Lucia was pushing forward with all her strength on the front in Scandinavia.

It was not until midnight on March [-]th, AD, that Prussia officially sent a message declaring war on Austria.

Transmitted via telegraph to Ming Dynasty, League of Nations, Austria and related countries.

It was transmitted by radio to urban radio stations large and small.

Everyone knew that the war had officially begun.

At the forefront of the confrontation between Prussia and Austria, the Prussian air force and army artillery launched attacks in the early morning.

The bombardment continued for six hours against the Austrian positions.

When it was dark, the ground forces, with armored combat vehicles as the main force, officially launched the attack.

Austria's local troops are more prepared than Denmark, and they are local defenders directly organized by local forces.

However, after all, the organizational structure of this army has undergone large-scale adjustments in the past two months.

It is still a little chaotic and not as well trained as the Prussian army.

Although their performance on the battlefield was not like that of the Danes, they were instantly defeated by a sudden attack.

But he was beaten by the Prussians and was basically unable to fight back.

Moreover, Prussia's new tactic of coordinated air-ground encirclement is still in effect here in Austria.

Even if the surrounded stronghold is not defeated immediately, after losing its retreat and supplies, surrender is only a matter of time.

Prussia declared war on Austria, and public opinion pressure at the diplomatic level came to France and the British.

According to the commitments made before the war, the two countries would directly declare war on Prussia.

At the same time, the Austrian ambassadors to the two countries also came directly to the courts and monarchs of the two countries to ask for an audience, demanding that the two countries fulfill their promises.