Qianlong: Qing Dynasty?What about my Daqing?

Chapter 358 The Union of Europe

England.

port of Portsmouth.

A strange-looking ship that looked like a huge turtle lying on the sea returned to Portsmouth Harbor with thick smoke.

on the port.

The senior nobles of the British Empire, the dukes and marquises, as well as King George III and his Prime Minister William Pitt, all stood by the port, watching the ironclad ship returning to the port.

With the turtle the boat stopped.

A man about 40 years old with two stars on his shoulders walked down the ladder protruding from the deck.

When he came in front of George III, he took off his hat and saluted respectfully.

This is Vice Admiral Nelson, who was captured by the Ming Navy on the Indian Ocean battlefield, and was later redeemed by the British and Indian Governor's Office for nearly 20 pounds.

And the ship he just stepped off.

It is the first ironclad ship with practical significance produced by the British Empire after several years of research and development!
Was named the "Warrior" battleship.

This is a battleship that brings together all the advanced technology of Britain.

Steam engine, armor, 10-inch rifled gun in copper.

In order to regain hegemony on the ocean, Britain has tightened its belt over the years and made every effort to promote the development of ironclad ships.

And the final product.

This is the "Warrior" ironclad ship.

"Your Majesty, this is an epoch-making warship! We only need 10 such iron-clad ships, and we are enough to block the Chinese navy in the waters east of the Cape of Good Hope!"

Is it really possible?
Hearing Nelson's words, George III was somewhat skeptical.

But he still said with a smile on his face: "But such a battleship is indeed too expensive."

"But he is invincible!" Nelson said: "The armor of the Warrior is thick enough to withstand the bombardment of the main guns of any Chinese warship that signals, and the five 5-inch rifled guns it installs are enough to penetrate the armor of any Chinese warship." !"

"The Chinese are not good at naval warfare. Their marine tactics are simply old-fashioned. As long as they have similar weapons, our navy can definitely suppress them!"

Nelson said.

"So, what we need now is to establish military ports at some key nodes on the ocean to meet the needs of naval warfare in the new era. We want to control the Caribbean Sea, and at the same time, we need to station enough warships at the Cape of Good Hope to prevent Chinese attacks. Naval power enters the Atlantic."

King George III sighed upon hearing this.

Warships of the British Empire used to cruise around the world.

but now.

However, it can only consider relying on important nodes for defense.

On the way back to Windsor Castle.

Nelson and William Burt Jr. returned in the same carriage as George III.

William Burt Jr. was analyzing the world of power to George III.

"Your Majesty, the world today is completely different from ten years ago. Ten years ago, the center of power was concentrated in Europe, Britain, France, Spain, the Netherlands, Austria, and Russia. At that time, the United States had not yet appeared, and China closed itself. In that era, The British Empire only needs to maintain a balance in Europe, support one faction, suppress the other, and prevent the European continent from being ruled by any powerful country. With its naval superiority, the British Empire can seize the hegemony of the world. Because as long as there are more than two powerful countries in the European continent , they must maintain a sufficiently strong army. Therefore, they cannot invest enough financial resources in the navy, so that they cannot threaten the hegemony of the British Empire."

"But the situation is different now. The current world structure is not a juxtaposition of powers, but a superpower, how strong! What's worse, this superpower is not in Europe! Because if they are in Europe, those who feel threatened European countries will definitely unite. But this superpower is far away in East Asia, and for most European countries that have no global interests but only regional interests, they don’t want to offend this superpower thousands of miles away.”

Needless to say, this superpower, whether it is George III or Nelson, knows that it refers to the Ming Empire.

"The emergence of this superpower disrupts the logic of balance diplomacy, because in Asia, no country is qualified to balance China, and similarly, in Europe, no country is worthy of balancing with China—unless Europe unite."

"But union is impossible, is it not?" said George III.

"Yes, only Britain, France, Spain, whose interests have been harmed, and the Netherlands may unite."

"What about Russia?"

asked George III.

"them."

Little William Pitt frowned.

"We can try to talk to Russia, but don't get our hopes up."

George III nodded.

France, Britain, Spain and other countries joined forces to deal with the Ming Empire.

Even if they are defeated, at most they will retreat to Europe - they will not believe that the Ming Empire has the ability to cross the Eurasian continent to attack the mainland of these Western European countries.

But Russia is different.

Once Russia chooses to fight against Ming Dynasty.

Their native land will definitely be threatened.

The Ming Empire also controlled the nomadic tribes in the east.

They can graze along the Eurasian steppe belt all the way to Moscow.

therefore.

Russia may not dare to bet,.

"Actually we'd better not bring the Russians in."

Nelson said.

George III was taken aback.

"They're good buffer countries, aren't they?" Nelson spread his hands.

"Who wants to be a neighbor with the Ming Empire now?"

"In other words, the diplomatic efforts we need to make are to unite as much as possible other European countries that have conflicts of interest with the Ming Empire, perhaps including the United States to maintain a basic balance with the Ming Empire?"

George III said with a headache.

Nelson and William Pete Jr. looked at each other.

Now the British Empire can no longer find any country that can balance the Ming Empire.

It is necessary to unite the power of half of Europe.
But even so.

Union of these countries.

It looks like it's just a report to the group to keep warm.

"Reporting to the group to keep warm"

Paris.

Napoleon, dictator of the French Republic, placed the letter from the King of England on his desk.

His fingers tapped the table lightly.

Then he raised his head and said: "In principle, France agrees to unite with the United Kingdom, but... the United Kingdom must support France's conquest of Italy, or support me to be crowned king of Italy. In addition, on the Spanish side, I want to marry the Spanish princess Maria Isabel, and The United Kingdom must support Isabel as first in line to the Spanish throne!"

said Napoleon.

France, Italy, Spain.

If you win these three sites, you may be able to go a step further.

Like revive the Roman Empire or something
(End of this chapter)