Reborn In 17th century India with Black Technology - Chapter 1169

Capítulo 1169: WW1: Creation of the European Union (2)

Mauritshuis Royal Palace, The Hague, Netherlands

Louis XIV stood without uttering a word, his expression calm and nonchalant, bearing the full weight of the scrutinising gazes of nobles and royalty from across the continent with apparent ease and grace. Yet beneath that carefully maintained mask, Louis XIV was far removed from the composure he allowed others to perceive.

Louis, being a king of one of the strongest kingdoms in Europe, has dealt with a lot of major events. Logically, nothing should shake him, but what the Bharatiya Empire did, by attacking the colonies in Africa in a surprise attack and giving no chance for them to retaliate, hurt the Kingdom of France a lot, and the dissatisfaction stemming from the public and the nobles put him under great pressure. The brainless liberals and communists who had recently taken root in the kingdom both wanted to wage war and take back what the Bharatiya Empire had forcefully occupied, but he knew that going against the Bharatiya Empire alone was a foolish thing to do. Victory in the Mediterranean did not muddle his head; it only made him more cautious when facing the eastern Behemoth.

Sadly, shrugging off and diverting the attention of the public about the matter was not an option either. The losses the kingdom suffered were not fake. The number of investors jumping off the building was not fake either. He could feel that all walks of life, be it the merchants, nobles, or politicians, were showing extreme eagerness for war, and he was unable to stop this. So, as the best alternative, he thought about bringing more people together into the war, and this time it was not simply forming a coalition, but forming a permanent bond.

It was for this reason that he had been pushed to the forefront by the British and the Dutch, who shared similar ideas, to advance the proposal of deepening the union between the European powers to a far greater level. Louis knew he was being used, but given the turmoil caused by the loss of several African colonies, losses that struck his kingdom particularly hard, as French financiers had heavy investments there, he had no choice but to grit his teeth and accept the fate. And the very fact that he was willing to serve as a tool to further others’ agendas was, by itself, enough to show how important what he was about to say was to him. And so, as he stood in silence, his mind was at work the entire time, carefully shaping his words, searching for the most convincing way to articulate them.

The older and much seasoned Kings and rulers patiently waited without changing their expression, even if Louis did not utter a word ever since he stood up. But the younger people, especially the crown princes of various countries, looked around, confused.

“Father, what is happening?” A young boy with broad shoulders and a muscular physique, with blond hair and blue eyes, whispered as covertly as possible into the ear of the elderly man beside him. The man, who looked about seventy to eighty percent similar to him, glanced at his son from the corner of his eye, shook his head slightly, and motioned for him to keep quiet and be patient.

The young boy was none other than Charles XI of Sverige, Götaland, and Venden, the Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Sweden.

Charles XI was a little dissatisfied, but since it was his father who warned him, he shut his mouth and looked forward, as his father said.

Over 5 minutes passed, and Louis finally spoke out.

“What his highness Alfonso said is indeed correct.” He stated, immediately acknowledging the question, “Haven’t we already formed a coalition against the eastern empire? What more should we do? This question, asked by his highness, is very insightful and important.”

Louis gestured towards Alfonso, giving him a nod as a greeting. Alfonso nodded back in reciprocity and leaned forward as he listened intently.

“To answer his highness Alphonso’s question, and probably many of your questions as well,” Louie looked throughout the room, “I say it is not enough. Forming a military coalition is not enough, far from enough.”

The expression of Louis XIV turned sombre. “I hope everyone here is smart and not delusional enough to think that the Bharatiya Empire is an easy opponent, given that we managed to keep them out of the Mediterranean sea, and continue to make inroads into the Greek mainland with very little losses.”

“What we fought in the Mediterranean Sea was merely the vanguard of the Bharatiya Empire. It was their weakest fleet, one tasked primarily with defending naval bases, not a full-blown, battle-ready armada. And I would remind all of you that even this limited fleet, when acting as a unit, managed to sink hundreds of warships from the coalition navy despite being heavily outnumbered.”

“Furthermore, although we have made some progress on the Greek mainland, such as in the Peloponnese Peninsula, we have been unable to advance at all in the republics of Anatolia and Syria. It is as though the inland has become a wall, a steel wall, utterly impenetrable to our advances, thanks to the Bharatiya forces being heavily concentrated in those regions.”

“So it is just a matter of time before the Bharatiya Empire makes a comeback in the Mediterranean.” He paused, then spoke again, uttering each word slowly to emphasise the gravity of the situation. “And I think… the Bharatiya Empire’s attack… on the European colonies in Africa… is already the beginning of their retaliation… and the first step… toward their comeback.”

His eyes turned a little wary, and his expression showed caution, turning everyone’s expression sombre, as he continued. “I boldly predict that the Bharatiya empires next move is to either attack us right in Europe, now that they have gotten leverage in Northwest Africa through the Strait of Gibraltar, or destroy our overseas assets one by one, and finally come after us alone when we are isolated from the rest of the world.”

The expressions on the listeners’ faces immediately changed. Even Frederick William, the king of the Kingdom of Prussia, and Peter Alexandrovitch Romanov, Emperor of the Tsarist Russian Empire, who did not clearly turn away from the Bharatiya Empire, showed a look of seriousness and hesitation.

Seeing that he had gotten the reaction he was looking for, Louis XIV pushed further. “And please, my dear friends, do not think that I am exaggerating. This is actually the way the emperor of the Eastern Empire, Vijay Devaraya, wages the war. He likes to take away the enemy’s weapons one by one, leaving the enemy isolated without any weapons, supplies, logistics, people, and nothing to rely on, and finally devour the enemy whole. This is what he did to the Mughal Empire, exactly what he did in Southeast Asia, exactly what he did in several instances in the Middle East, and,” he picked up a document and asked his right hand man to share it among the Kings of various countries, “I’m sure a lot of us remember how the Ottoman Empire collapsed, don’t we?”

As soon as this question was asked, the facial expressions of several kings within the conference room turned ugly.

Louie noticed this, but he acted as if nothing happened and continued. “The Venetians choked and restricted the Ottoman navy. The Holy Roman Empire, as well as the Russian Empire, launched strikes from the north. Rebellions broke out throughout the Balkan region. From the south and southeast, the Middle Eastern forces controlled by the Bharatiya Empire launched an all-out attack. To hit the nail on the coffin, the Bharatiya Empire took direct actions to cut off the entire resource channel of Africa from the Ottoman Empire by capturing Egypt and isolating a large empire like the Ottoman Empire to the single region of Anatolia and Syria.”

“After so much, did the schemes of the Bharatiya Empire end? No! The tactics of the Bharatiya Empire did not end there. Taking control over slave networks in Central Africa and Egypt, the cost of a slave doubled or tripled in a span of a few months, plunging the Ottoman Empire into a financial crisis without its elites even realising. While they were at it, they even funded minority uprisings throughout Anatolia and Syria. With troubles externally in all four directions and internally in every strata of society, it is no wonder that the Ottoman Empire, the once great hegemon, could not last long.”

Hearing all this, a lot of the Kings showed a complicated expression, because when the Ottoman Empire fell, although they were wary of the Bharatiya Empire, they were still a little happy in their hearts. After all, the feud between the land of the cross and the land of the crescent moon was not for one or two years; it was a feud of bloodshed that persisted for centuries.

Peter, looking around at the other kings and their thoughtful expressions, narrowed his eyes.

Louie pointed at Charles as well as Williams and continued. “It is because we were able to see this scheme of the Bharatiya Empire beforehand that we resolutely supported the Ottoman Empire in its battle against the Bharatiya Empire, even in the face of the pressure of the domestic opinion and the international opinion.”

Charles and Williams immediately showed a look of someone who had suffered a loss for the greater good, and nodded with a humble, being misunderstood by the world, expression.

“I know many kings in this room sided with the Bharatiya Empire during its war against the Ottoman Empire.” Louis could feel that he had struck several sensitive nerves, but this was something he had already anticipated. “But I also know that all of you were deceived, and therefore cannot be held accountable. After all, you only chose to support the Bharatiya Empire because people of the light within the Ottoman Empire were being slaughtered by the Ottomans.”

A fleeting, calculating glint passed through his eyes before vanishing. “However, I am certain that if you had known those massacres occurred only because the Bharatiya Empire was inciting events from behind the scenes, you would never have sided with that evil Eastern Empire.”

The last sentence was like a bomb that was dropped in a calm lake. It rattled everyone’s minds, and within light and flint, a glint of enlightenment appeared in the eyes of several kings, and all their faces reddened.

To Be Continued…