C294 Anger of Napoleon III

What is a hero? There really isn't an absolute standard. Some people are right when they say that a hero must have a lofty morality and a kind heart. They are also right when they say that.

Genghis Khan was the hero of the Mongolian. The entire grasslands praised him as a Martial Immortal, but what about in the eyes of the people of the Southern Song Dynasty? What about in the eyes of the Western Xia people? In the eyes of the Europeans?

There were also Wei Qing and Huo Que, who had ventured to Mobei during the time of Emperor Wu of Han Dynasty. They were of course great heroes to the Chinese nation, but what about the Huns? I don't think these people will ever fall in love with them until they are forced to flee to the west.

The so-called heroes were relative. A hero that was revered by a country and its people might even be an enemy that the other races hated, an executioner, and a homicidal maniac.

For example, Xiao Letian was a well-deserved hero in the eyes of the Ryukyu Kingdom and countless of Han Chinese who had their eyes opened wide. However, to the Qing Dynasty, the depraved scholars were much more complicated.

The world had studied China for thousands of years. They knew how large its population and territory was, and how much wealth the nation had accumulated over the long years.

More importantly, their history was far too old. There was too much experience in the history books, whether they failed or succeeded, that was all the intangible wealth that the Chinese possessed.

"This terrifying race cannot be given a chance. As long as a heroic figure can call out his arms and mobilize this tangible and intangible wealth, then this Chinese dragon will break free from the shackles of the foreign race and soar into the sky …"

"That's right, we Europeans should really thank the female Taoist, that is, the Manchu people, for their rule over the Han people. They are truly our good helpers, and it is because of their 200 years of rule that countless chains have been nailed to the dragon's body, especially their suppression of the hearts of the people. They have already cut off the soil where they can give birth to heroes …"

"This is a good opportunity that hasn't been seen in thousands of years. We Europeans must seize every minute and every second and run forward. We must pull apart the technology between us and the Chinese. We must think of every way to drain the wealth of our people. Every time we become stronger, the Chinese dragon will weaken a bit …"

"This is the root cause of my refusal to cooperate with the Chinese. We can't let them share our technology for free, and we can't let them be familiar with the military theories we've developed over hundreds of years of war. All these things that can make the Chinese strong must be strictly guarded against, and the Chinese absolutely must not get their hands on them … "

Prince Karl shouted loudly. His noisy beard jumped along with him as well. He had to admit that his theory was indeed very marketable in Europe and was in the interests of the European powers.

But after the latest intelligence report from Frankfurt arrived, everything became ridiculous. When the prince had finished listening to the report, his eyes widened even wider than a copper bell.

"What?" Xiao Letian lost his composure? Why was it different from what the intelligence report indicated? During the battle of the Ryukyu, during the few conflicts in the Kingdom of Qing, his performance was never this weak.

Lao Maoqi shook his head: "Others, I do not know. I am still very familiar with this Paul, in the Pudan War previously, he led the intelligence officer and sent a total of 120 pieces of important information. Not a single one was missing anything, I believe his character is good …"

Now, even William I sighed and said, "Looks like the Chinese have indeed been castrated by the Manchuria's slave-like rule, such a woman-hearted politician can actually be called a hero?"

Bismark also let out a long sigh of regret: That's right, the three hundred soldiers were able to attack Besanthus to rescue the Prime Minister, even the eight hundred French cavalry were unable to do anything to them, and the French's casualty rate was much higher than them. If such a victory was worth crying over, then the European military experts would probably all die …

"The facts have proven that your concerns are meaningless, Your Highness. Xiao Letian can only be considered a good politician and barely qualified military expert, such a talent will help the Chinese people become wealthier and stronger, what about hegemony? "The chances of that happening are extremely slim …"

At the end of the lunch discussion, there were three votes in favour of a deeper collaboration with the Chinese. Only Prince Karl remained against the vote.

"Don't tell me that Xiao Letian is not doing this on purpose? What if it was all a show? Isn't it true that the Chinese have a story about how to lie low and try to be brave? " Karl was still not willing to give up his viewpoint.

"Enough, Your Highness. Please don't be so stubborn." Xiao Letian is not an idiot, even if they were just acting, they would not be so fake. Only more than 140 people have died, and they have already cried themselves to the point of collapse.

"Listen to how those businessmen described the rebellion in China. The rebels even forced hundreds of thousands of people to attack the fortress with their bare hands. In a battle, they even caused 100,000 casualties. Politicians who walk out of this environment shouldn't be acting so childishly, right?"

Bismark was a little angry, but his tone gradually became unfriendly. He felt that Karl was not a qualified successor to the Empire, but had bore it in mind just for the conflict in the Hamburg recruit camp.

"In addition, I would also like to remind Your Highness that the Empire's foreign policy can only be decided by me. If you feel that you can conduct diplomacy by relying on bandits, then I can choose to resign!"

Iron Blood Prime Minister was mercilessly exposing his true abilities, his words were directed straight at the farce of Karl stealing the silver, and with a single sentence, Karl's face turned completely red.

"Oh, I'm not feeling too well. I'll be taking my leave first!" Karl blushed and turned to leave.

The historical records stated that the relationship between him and Bismark had never been good. Bismark had always looked down on the impetuous crown prince, while Prince Karl looked down on the domineering ability of Bismark to monopolize the imperial government.

There should have been a wonderful political struggle between the two monarchs in history, but no one wanted it, and Frederick III died after only a hundred days on the throne because of a cancer of the throat.

Fortunately, his son, who was the last emperor of the Germany, was avenged by the William II and Bismark was expelled in the end.

Three approval votes and one abstention, Xiao Letian finally got through a problem that he had not expected. The Prussian national machine started to take action, preparing all kinds of records for possible retaliatory actions by the French.

Xiao Letian's protection system had already been raised to the same level as the King's, so all the stations, bridges and other complicated areas in the train were all sealed up.

Under Bismark's orders, the Berlin Ministry of Foreign Affairs began to send top-secret messages to the foreign ambassadors, requesting them to contact the various governments immediately. They hoped to remain calm in the face of the incoming storm and not be on the same boat as the French.

Even William I wrote a sincere letter to Queen Victoria in hopes that his cousin would calm down the British politicians and not go crazy with the French.

When the Besanthus's tragic case and the humiliating defeat at the border spread to the Versailles, Napoleon III was completely enraged. This emperor who started out by suppressing the National Assembly, this sovereign who maintained his rule by relying on war, in his entire life, had never been so furious before.

The glass windows of the Mirror Palace were smashed into pieces by the random objects on the floor, causing the glass fragments to roll all over the place.

"Shameful! This is the shame of France! The Empire has raised so many armies, but even such a small amount of bandits could not be taken care of! The dignity of France is completely trampled on …"

"Your Majesty the Emperor, this attack was indeed unexpected … No one would have thought that the Chinese would be so daring as to invade our French territory … Furthermore, due to the Fa Rui border nearby the Besanthus, the quality of the army here is not the highest of the empire's … "

Before Attendant could finish his sentence, an ink bottle brushed past his head and flew out. With a "pa" sound, it shattered on the floor, causing blood and ink to flow out from his forehead.

"I don't want to hear any explanations. All excuses are null and void... Whatever your reasons, remember that those are Chinese, Chinese who have degenerated into ignorant savages... "Six years ago, we captured their capital and burned down their imperial palace. They didn't even dare to protest, so how could they dare invade our French territory now?"

"Summon the Chinese ambassador and send him a stern protest. I want to declare war on China …"

Attendant, whose head was covered in ink and blood, did not dare to clean up his wounds at all. He stood straight as usual and hurriedly explained when he heard the Emperor's obviously muddled words.

"Your Majesty the Emperor, please calm your anger … We can't summon the Chinese ambassador... "

"Idiot, pig, are you going to anger me to death? As the emperor of the France, can't I summon an envoy from a barbaric nation? "

Attendant mustered the courage to answer loudly, "Your Majesty … It's not what you think. The Qing Empire never sent envoys to Europe, right? In Paris, there are no Chinese ambassadors. Furthermore, although Xiao Letian is Chinese, his official position is as the Prime Minister of the Ryukyu Kingdom. These are soldiers that are under the law and belong to the Ryukyu Kingdom … "

Napoleon III's face flushed red like pig liver. "Idiot, why didn't you say earlier! "This group of cunning Chinese, don't think that I don't have any way to deal with you guys. Send my order to gather all of the French fleets in the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean to attack this damned Ryukyu together …"

Attendant did not dare to be negligent, he turned and ran out. Listening to the Emperor's crazy shouting behind him, he almost cried.

"Your Majesty, you can't do this. Your life is in chaos …" "Our navy in Asia is weak to begin with. If we gather all of us into the Ryukyu, once there is a mishap, our French colonies wouldn't have any fleet to protect them …"

"Britain, the United States, the Russia, and even weak countries like the Netherlands and Prussia will take advantage of the chaos to attack and rob our colonies... "No, no, no. I would rather die than issue such a random command. I have to do my best to hide this command. The longer I wait, the better …"

Behind him, the irritable Emperor of France was clamoring like a mad dog, "War, we must war! I want to destroy Ryukyu Kingdom, I want to bomb China again, this time I want to burn down the Forbidden City … "