"My Majesty, as your Secretary of State for War, I must remind you that our enemies are more powerful than we are... Their population and fiscal revenue are several times ours, and they have the same number of standing armies as ours.

Several times. If we want to engage in all-round competition with them in the three main battlefields of America, India and Central Asia, IMHO, we will lose the war!"

Palace of Versailles, Bull's Eye Room.

De Wit, Ivan Naryshkin, De Velasco and Maria Francesca have all left, leaving only Prince Condé, Hugo Leoner, Kirk Bell, and the newly summoned

Marshal Dourenne, the Duke of Luxembourg, the Marquis of Marina and Philip I, the Duke of Orléans - it must be said that the Sun King Louis XIV is really a gathering of stars! As far as the ability of these few soldiers in fighting, Zhu Cihong's men are really

None can compare.

But when it comes to national strength, France is not enough. The population currently ruled by Louis XIV is less than 20 million. And the Ming Dynasty now has a population of nearly 200 million! If you include Japan and North Korea,

, Annam, Dzhungarh, Siam, Kho Suk Te, Dai Kingdom, United States of Xinzhou, Kingdom of Luzon, Kingdom of Jiaqing and other large groups of vassal states, the population is probably 250 million.

...

A population gap of at least 10 times meant a huge gap in national and financial resources in the 17th century when there were more people and higher productivity.

Of course, the Ming Dynasty and France are not close neighbors, and the transportation capacity on sea and land in the 17th century was limited. Therefore, even if the Ming Dynasty had 1 million army troops, it was impossible for them to flood into the Kingdom of France like an overwhelming force, nor to launch unrestricted troops.

To the battlefield thousands of miles away from the mainland of Ming Dynasty.

So Louis XIV's side had no chance of winning... At this moment, Prince Condé laid out a map of the world and recommended to the Sun King a strategy that seemed to be able to defeat the Ming Empire.

He said: "My Majesty, if we want to win the future, we must choose between India, America, and Central Asia... I think we can only win on one of these battlefields!

"

"We can only win one battlefield?" Louis XIV frowned deeply, "Prince, if you were given a choice, which battlefield would you put French power into?"

"Of course it's America!" said Prince Condé, "because we can't completely conquer India! The Timurid Empire in India is not a vulnerable opponent.

Even if we could capture Goa, get the support of Goan Catholics, and raise tens of thousands of Indian legions, it would not ensure that we could defeat the Timurid Empire... Even if we could win in some places, it would not be possible to conquer.

All over India.

Therefore, the best result we can get in India is to plunder a large amount of wealth at most... It is not worth losing America for a large amount of wealth.

Because the wealth we can get from India is limited, but the wealth on the American continent is almost unlimited!

As for Central Asia... that is, after all, the Rakshasa Empire's backyard. Even if we won a great victory there, it was the Rakshasa Kingdom that reaped the benefits in the end.

Therefore, I suggest that France put all its main forces into the American battlefield, unite the Kingdom of New Spain and the Netherlands, launch attacks from land and sea at the same time, and strive to destroy the Chinese United States of New World in one fell swoop!

Then, we can turn the west coast of the North American continent, which is rich in gold and furs, into a French colony. Only by owning North America can we, the French Kingdom, have a brilliant future!"

Louis XIV frowned, obviously not very satisfied with the strategy proposed by Prince Condé. He glanced at the Secretary of State for the Navy Kirk Bell, "My Secretary of the Navy, can we colonize North America on a large scale like the Chinese?"

"Your Majesty," Kirkbell shook his head, "at least it seems unrealistic for now... After all, the French people are bathed in the glory of the Sun King, who would be willing to cross the ocean to live in the New World?"

Louis XIV nodded in agreement. This is indeed a problem! Under his wise leadership, the French people's life is too comfortable, and no one wants to go abroad!

"So... Lord of the Admiralty, you do not agree with His Highness the Prince's strategy?" Louis XIV asked.

"No," Kirkbell shook his head, "I agree with His Highness the Prince's strategy... Although it is difficult for us to immigrate to North America in large numbers, according to reliable information, in California, Boston, and Washington in the United States of New Zealand

, the United States, a large amount of gold that can be mined has been discovered! Obviously, there is a huge gold mining belt on the west coast of the North American continent currently occupied by the United States of New Zealand! And that area is also rich in furs. If we can combine North America with

If we take possession of the west coast of the mainland, we should be able to obtain considerable and sustained returns!"

Louis XIV had also heard about the discovery of gold on the west coast of North America, and now that he was reminded of it by Kirk Bell, he was indeed a little moved.

"So... what about India?" Louis XIV asked again, "Are we going to give it up to Zhu Cihong and Aurangzeb?"

"Of course not," Prince Kong Dai said, "My Majesty...if we don't invest a little power in India and Central Asia to support our allies there to challenge the Ming Empire and its allies, then the Ming Empire

It will also use its main power in the Americas. In this way, we will face an endless war of attrition in the Americas. So we must take action in India and Central Asia to mislead the Chinese and let them disperse their power.

So that we can ignore the American battlefield. We will take the opportunity to transfer a certain number of army and navy to the Kingdom of New Spain. From there, we will march along the east coast of the Pacific and capture California, Boston, Washington and the United States as quickly as possible.

’s main port!”

"So..." Louis XIV asked thoughtfully, "how many troops do we need to invest in North America?"

"Of course the more the better!" Prince Condé replied.

Louis XIV also swept away Marshal Dourenne, the Duke of Luxembourg, the Marquis of Marina, and Philip I, Duke of Orleans.

Not only does he want to listen to the suggestions of these four people, but he is also looking for a coach for the American battlefield.

Marshal Dureny said: "Your Majesty, according to intelligence, the United States of New Zealand can mobilize and arm an army of up to 100,000 people... I think we and the Kingdom of New Spain need at least 150,000 armies to win. At the same time, we

It is also necessary to obtain sea control on the west coast of North America."

"The key is sea control!" The unattractive Duke of Luxembourg, François-Henri de Montmorency-Boutville, is the "adopted brother" of Prince Condé (he is the adopted son of Prince Condé's mother) and also

A confidant of Prince Condé, he was certainly involved in the plan put forward by Prince Condé, so he immediately pointed out the key points of the North American war.

He said: "If we can gain control of the sea, then we only need 100,000 to 120,000 people to ensure victory. If we cannot win at sea, then no matter how large the army is, we will inevitably fail.

Therefore, I suggest that at the beginning of the North American War, sufficient naval power should be invested in the Pacific Theater."

Louis XIV frowned. The strength of the French navy was limited, and the New Spanish navy was not very powerful. And asking the Dutch to send a fleet to the east coast of the Pacific... I'm afraid it would be a bit difficult, because what these profiteers are most concerned about is the Indian Ocean and the

Commercial interests in the East Indies.

The Marquis of Marina replied: "Your Majesty, we should also arm the Indians on the Great Plains and let them march to the Rocky Mountains to attract the attention of the Chinese...and then attack China with a surprise attack.

Human fleets and ports. In this case, the investment in troops and fleets can be smaller."

Louis XIV nodded, and only the suggestion put forward by the Marquis of Marignard suited him best.

Louis XIV's younger brother, Philip I, Duke of Orleans, who was famous for his many male lovers, had no interest in going to America. He wanted to visit India or Persia, which were rich and had a long history.

So he said to Louis XIV: "Your Majesty, I think you need a Governor-General of India who can attract the attention of the Chinese... As your younger brother, the Duke of Orleans of the Kingdom of France, I think I am the most suitable to go to India to serve as governor."
Chapter completed!