Wilhelm II glared at the King of France, as if he had become furious.

It seemed that it took a long time for him to control his emotions and whispered, "You are a naked thief." ”

The nobles in the conference room were stunned when they heard this. At this time, the Netherlands is one of the strongest countries in Europe, and its national strength has been thriving in recent years, which cannot be underestimated. The fact that the Dutch supreme consul was so angry seemed to be a serious diplomatic incident.

However, everyone admired Louis XIV's methods to steal such a precious military technology on the battlefield of Portugal.

However, the young Louis XIV was not in any way nervous by the "anger" of Wilhelm II. He glanced at Wilhelm II and smiled.

"Relax! His Royal Highness The Prince of Orange. ”

Cromwell, on the other hand, was calmer, the leader of the bourgeois revolution in England who was not easily angry, thought for a moment and said: "On behalf of England, I lodge the strongest protest against France, which is a very despicable diplomatic incident!" If this matter is not properly resolved, it will even affect Britain's willingness to join the alliance. ”

Louis XIV looked at Cromwell and put away his smile.

The young king's personality was obviously very direct, and he said sarcastically: "I'm sorry, England and the Netherlands are in power, I didn't realize that you own the property rights to these advanced weapons, you developed these weapons, and your ownership of these military technologies is sacrosanct. ”

When Wilhelm II and Cromwell heard this, their faces changed.

When the Catholic nobles in the conference room heard this, they burst into laughter. It is indeed amusing that the Dutch and the British regarded weapons stolen from the East as their own treasures and did not allow others to obtain them. Of course, it was more important for the other nobles to use laughter to show the isolation of Britain and the Netherlands.

In the midst of the laughter, Wilhelm II snorted coldly and closed his eyes.

Cromwell frowned at Louis XIV and began to reassess the current situation. Louis XIV, who would later become known as the Sun King, was very strong at the negotiating table, much to Cromwell's surprise. After all, before coming to France, he thought that Louis XIV was just an ambitious and ignorant teenager. Now, however, Louis XIV was able to easily mobilize the emotions of the European kings around him, and easily isolated the English and Dutch, who were trying to ask for a high price.

Cromwell touched the teacup on the table and asked, "Speaking of which, there is no difference between England and Holland in this alliance." ”

Cromwell was intimidating Louis XIV and threatening him to withdraw from the alliance with the Netherlands.

Louis XIV laughed, his face showing the confidence that a young man should not have, and Lang Lang said: "No, this alliance is very much in need of England and the Netherlands. ”

Wilhelm II said-for-tat: "Ridiculous! What you say is not at all in the interests of the Netherlands and Great Britain, completely! ”

Louis XIV smiled again and said, "As far as I know, the Netherlands and England are copying Li Zhi's steam engine. If the steam engine is built, you can wrap the battleship with heavy steel armor and achieve the same defense power as Li Zhi's ironclad ship. “

"Riveted steel armor is not complicated, but the steam engine is. Craftsmen who can imitate steam engines are first-class blacksmiths, and must be able to process steel equipment to the precision of a human hair. For craftsmen of this level, you two small countries have limited talent. ”

Hearing Louis XIV say that the Netherlands and England were small countries, William XIV snorted, but was speechless. There is no doubt that England and the Netherlands are indeed small countries with very limited human resources compared to France.

Louis XIV waved his hand and said, "But the two consuls, if you are willing to cooperate with the whole of Europe, you have an innumerable number of super-notch craftsmen." ”

Louis XIV said: "In Prague, in Hamburg, in Florence, in Stockholm, we have countless skilled craftsmen, not comparable to the small English and the Netherlands. As long as we unite and share technology, we can organize research teams that surpass Li Zhi. ”

"Ten craftsmen can't come up with the intricate structure of a steam engine, so we use a hundred, or even a thousand, of master craftsmen to figure it out. It only took a few years for Li Zhi to invent the steam engine, and it only took a few years for us to gather the power of the whole of Europe. ”

Hearing the words of the young king, Cromwell fell silent. After thinking for a moment, he sat down slowly.

Wilhelm II was still a little dissatisfied, and said with a sneer: "If all the countries of Europe have ironclad ships and steam engines, then what good is it for the Netherlands..."

"Calm down! Prince of Orange! You need to be calm! Louis XIV sharply interrupted the Dutch consul and asked, "Now that Li Zhi is the emperor of China, his only enemies are the Netherlands and England." In fact, those of us who have not been hostile to him can choose to surrender, but you British and Dutch have no way to retreat. ”

"Now we're not talking about the future, we're talking about defending against Li Zhi. Losing to Li Zhi, everything is over. Only by defeating Li Zhi will the technology in your hands be meaningful. And the only way to defeat Li Zhi is for the whole of Europe to work together. ”

Hearing Louis XIV's incendiary words, all the nobles in the room were moved. In the face of a great enemy, leaders who call on everyone to abandon their views are often particularly cohesive. After a moment's thought, the nobles almost all agreed with the King of France, and looked at the English and Dutchmen sitting at the bottom of the room.

The King of France wasted no time in adding: "Gather all the forces of Europe, and use all the spies we can hire, and we will soon be able to master the manufacture of the steam engine." When the time comes, we will also be able to build ironclad ships and steam tanks, which can run rampant throughout the world, and all of Li Zhi's colonies will be ours. ”

Wilhelm II closed his eyes and was reluctant to speak.

Cromwell was a more realistic man, and after a moment of reflection he said: "Although disappointed, I must stress that Britain is disappointed, because the present proposal is extremely unfavorable to Britain. But Britain agreed in principle to this proposal. ”

Louis XIV nodded and looked at William II.

Wilhelm II felt that the monarchs of all Europe were watching him, and some fine sweat gradually broke out on his forehead. No matter how powerful the Netherlands were, they could not offend so many European kings, and soon he gave up his insistence.

Sighing, Wilhelm II said helplessly: "I hope that other countries will not hide their strength and really send the best master craftsmen to participate in the study of the steam engine." ”

Felipe IV said: "No one will hide strength, and now we are fighting for the right to live!" ”

The words of the King of Spain resonated with all the nobles present, who all nodded their heads and expressed their positions.

Louis XIV glanced around the room with satisfaction, and finally looked at Pope Alexander VII.

Alexander VII felt a little at Louis XIV's incitement, he did not expect this alliance to be established so quickly by the young king.

Of course, everything is only a preliminary intention now, and the specific details have to be operated slowly. But in the seventeenth century, when the aristocracy ruled, now that the kings all nodded, the details were basically not a problem. What's more, Li Zhi's threat is very urgent, and I believe that no one in power will disobey at such a juncture.

Alexander VII nodded and said: "The demons of the East are the devils who emerge from hell, they are our common enemies, and the Holy See will soon launch a crusade jihad, calling on all European civilians to unite to defend Europe." Rest assured, kings, that all European civilians will fully support you. ”