Kangxi, your Qing Dynasty is dead

Chapter 409: Why not have a Sino-French joint venture? (Please subscribe, please vote)

Major General Cotentin was shocked when he learned about the high salary offered to him by Li Zhongshan.

1 taels of silver is equivalent to tens of thousands of livres, right?In France, the top dignitaries around Louis XIV, together with their various incomes for a year, are almost this amount. That includes the total income from the rent of ancestral real estate!

And the General of the Ming Dynasty actually wanted to hire him as a consultant for this amount of money. This salary is too high. It should not make people think that the General wants to bribe him, or that he despicably betrayed the national interests of France in order to get this income. Bar?

Major General Cotentin didn't want to reject the Ming General's kindness, but he couldn't agree to it outright, lest someone go to the Sun King to accuse him. After all, he was a French aristocratic officer with a promising future, but he had no intention of serving the Ming Dynasty all his life. .Moreover, he did not agree with the Ming Dynasty's "examination to become an official" and the republic of virtual kings - it was not that he was afraid of exams, but that he was worried that his descendants would not be able to pass the exams of academic masters like Leibniz.

Therefore, he wanted to make money from the Ming Dynasty and enjoy the French feudal system. Moreover, he could not express his inner thoughts publicly.

Seeing that Rear Admiral Cotentin remained silent, Li Zhongshan immediately guessed what the French Rear Admiral was thinking - this guy loved both money and France and the Sun King!
But this did not trouble him, because he had already prepared the steps for the French Navy Rear Admiral. He smiled and said: "Rear Admiral, we Chinese politicians all have this consensus. It is easy to get an army, but it is hard to find a general. . I think the same is true at sea. Battleships like the Royal Sun are rare, but generals who can command the navy to win are even rarer! And even if we get a battleship like the Royal Sun, it is impossible to immediately form combat effectiveness. For a long period of time in the future, we can only rely on fourth-level cruisers, armed Galen ships and old lock ships with hard sails to fight against the powerful Spanish Armada. Moreover, the Ming Navy officers and soldiers operating those ships lack experience. After all, in East Asia Here, no one knows how to fight a high-intensity maritime war?
And an experienced general like you, who repeatedly defeated the arrogant Dutch navy in the just-concluded Franco-Dutch War, is exactly what we need urgently.It is no exaggeration to say that you alone are worth more than the Royal Sun itself.The Royal Sun is of no value to us without your help.

I think the real purpose of the Sun King asking you to lead the Royal Sun to China is to let you be my advisor and help me command the Ming Navy, which only has fourth-class cruisers, armed Galen ships and old lock ships available, right?So if you stay, it will help France and Ming Dynasty realize their common interests! "

When you say it this way, it sounds much smoother!
However, it was up to Major General Cotentin to decide whether things went smoothly or not, leaving little Baptiste to evaluate. So after listening to Luo Wenzao's translation, he turned to look at the special envoy sent to China by the Sun King.

Little Baptiste is also thinking about whether it is worthwhile to sell the Royal Sun?
The Sun King sent him as a special envoy not only because of his father Colbert's reputation, but more importantly because the "Old Ke Family" knew how to make money, and money was the key!Louis XIV was extremely ambitious and spent money lavishly. Now he wanted to build the Palace of Versailles, keep a bunch of royal mistresses, and prepare for a war aimed at completely defeating the Netherlands, Spain, the Holy Roman Empire, and England in what is now France. Domestically, research and discussion on the Roman Empire had become popular under the promotion of Louis.

I'm afraid everyone with brains in Europe can guess this idea of ​​King Louis, right?

Thinking of this, little Baptiste said to Li Zhongshan: "His Majesty the Sun King does have the idea of ​​letting Major General Cotentin help Ming Dynasty develop its maritime power. However, he has no idea of ​​transferring the Royal Sun to Ming Dynasty. After all, this is A beautiful battleship is like a work of art among battleships. It is a priceless treasure!"

A beautiful battleship?Artwork in a battleship?What the hell is this?

Li Zhongshan was confused and turned to look at Yu Qilin. Young Master Yu said with a smile: "General, Special Envoy Cote is right. There are so many carvings on this French battleship, and many carvings seem to be plated with gold and sparkling. of!"

After listening to Silva's translation, Li Zhongshan was stunned again and again.

And gold-plated?Still shining. Won't this affect the "stealth performance" of the battleship?

And why did you do so many carvings on the First Battleship?Magic bulletproof?If there are too many of these bits and pieces, will it affect the mechanical structure?Will it catch fire more easily?
Thinking of this, Li Zhongshan said to little Baptiste: "We can dismantle those exquisite statues and transport them back to France on other ships. Is that okay?"

"Of course you can, but the price of the battleship cannot be lowered. It still has to be 50 taels of silver!"

In fact, those carvings are very expensive. Without them, the cost of this battleship can be reduced by at least one third.
"Okay!" Li Zhongshan listened to Baptiste's quotation relayed by Silva and agreed immediately. Then he said to Baptiste, "Special envoy, I know that 50 taels of silver can be purchased for a strip of steel. A first-class battleship of more than 2000 tons with all the decorations is very expensive, but I am still willing to pay the money because I sincerely want to make friends with the Sun King, and I also know that France, which has just finished the Franco-Dutch War, is facing Despite some financial difficulties, I am also willing to help the Sun King and France within my ability.

However, these 50 taels are not a big sum of money, and it is not difficult to truly improve France's finances. The only feasible way to continue to improve France's finances is to strengthen the trade links between our two countries. Only large-scale, sustainable, and Only through profitable trade for both parties can the Sun King have the financial resources to rebuild the Roman Empire! "

Little Baptiste frowned: "But such trade is difficult to carry out. After all, the Dutch and English now control the Indian Ocean, as well as the Strait of Malacca and the Strait of Sunda. Without a strong escort fleet, our merchant ships will It is impossible to travel normally between Europe and Ming Dynasty."

In fact, the current French navy is quite powerful. In the Franco-Dutch War, the French navy did not fall behind against the powerful Dutch navy. In the historical Grand Alliance War, the French navy even suppressed the British navy and the Dutch navy for a time. !
However, the French navy's superiority cannot reach the Indian Ocean, let alone the South China Sea.Even if a first-class battleship like the Royal Sun can lead several fourth-class ships to the Ming Dynasty, the year-round maritime trade cannot be escorted by a first-class battleship!
This is a time of peace, so the Royal Sun will come to Daming.If France really goes to war with Britain and the Netherlands, this battleship will have to fight in the Atlantic Ocean, the English Channel and the Mediterranean Sea.

"Mr. Special Envoy, we have studied this issue a long time ago." Li Zhongshan said thoughtfully, "If our two countries want to break through the monopoly of the Netherlands and England and conduct intercontinental trade across the ocean, the only way is to bypass the Indian Ocean. Okay. The earth is round!"

"Bypassing the Indian Ocean?" The speaker this time was Rear Admiral Cotentin, who was about to become the general adviser of the Ming Dynasty Navy. "General, what do you mean? Pass through the Pacific Ocean, pass through the Strait of Magellan at the southernmost tip of the New World, and then enter the Atlantic Ocean? This channel can't be It’s easy to walk, and the lands we pass along the way are all Spanish and Portuguese colonies!”

"No," Li Zhongshan shook his head, "Actually, I have a better route." He paused and ordered: "Someone, go bring a globe!"

When discussing global trade routes, of course a globe is indispensable!
A globe was quickly brought in and placed in the meeting hall.Li Zhongshan stood up and walked to the edge of the globe. Others immediately gathered around him.

Li Zhongshan stretched out his right hand and drew a dotted line with his fingers along the line between "Baoshan Port - southern Kyushu Island - southeastern Ezo Island - west coast of North America - Mississippi River".Then he asked with a smile: "Mr. Special Envoy, Rear Admiral, what do you think of this route? I have made a rough calculation. Compared with the current route that takes the Indian Ocean around the Cape of Good Hope and then takes the Atlantic Ocean all the way north to reach Europe, the The distance is about the same, maybe a little shorter, but the section from the west coast of the New World to the Mississippi River must be taken overland, and the cost will be higher. But the benefits of this route are also obvious. Not only can the Netherlands and England be completely eliminated, , interference from Spain and Portugal, and can also promote the development of our two countries' colonies in the New World! The territory there is so vast, there must be many unknown resources, and perhaps with development, many hidden resources can be discovered underground. Gold, silver. What do you think?"

The route planned by Li Zhongshan included nearly 5000 miles of land route. It roughly started from a place called San Francisco in later generations, crossed the Rocky Mountains, arrived along the Missouri River, and then took the water route to the French colony of Louisiana.

This land route is not difficult to walk, but the cost of land transportation cannot be compared with water transportation.It can only be used to transport high-value items, such as silk, high-end porcelain, Japanese lacquerware, spices, and tea.Low-value sugar and cheap porcelain probably cannot be transported.

However, once this trade route is opened, the west coast of North America to the Mississippi River and then to Louisiana will develop. In a few decades, there may be millions of people there!

In addition, there are undeveloped world-class gold mines on the west coast of North America, and the northern part of the west coast is rich in mink!

Once the gold mines and mink furs on the west coast of North America are discovered, the Ming Dynasty's North American colonies themselves will become a huge market - whoever has gold and silver will have a market!
But little Baptiste immediately raised an objection: "The colonies of our two countries in the New World? But I don't remember that the Ming Dynasty has legal colonies in the New World!"

After listening to Luo Wenzao's translation, Li Zhongshan smiled and said to little Baptiste: "Mr. Special Envoy, it may not be accurate to call those lands colonies. In other words, our Ming Dynasty's understanding of colonization is different from yours. . In our concept, colonization cannot be equated with oppression, slavery, and exploitation. Our colonization is to pass on the brilliance of civilization, and at the same time, it also removes some of the local surplus population and helps them to join the indigenous people in distant wild lands. Establish a civilized, free, and equal paradise. This is an unshirkable responsibility that we, as an advanced civilization, have for humans who are still in ignorance and darkness! Colonies are a responsibility for us! It is a natural responsibility. So We will have colonies on the west coast of the New World because we have a responsibility to the indigenous people there who are suffering from Spanish oppression!”

It's so noble that it doesn't even sound true!
But after Luo Wenzao completed the translation, he said to the French very solemnly: "What the general said is true. The Ming Dynasty's colonization of Ryukyu is a passing of the torch of civilization, not military conquest, although they are fully capable of carrying out it." Conquer. Ming Dynasty also did many similar things!

Anyone who knows the past history of Southeast Asia should know some similar things. This is why the Dutch were panicked about the Ming Dynasty establishing a base on Bintan Island! "

Major General Cotentin also spoke for General Ming Dynasty: "This is what the Akka City-State Republic is like. There is no conquest there, only liberation!"

After hearing what they said, little Baptiste also felt that France should behave more noblely, so he also said to Li Zhongshan: "What our French Kingdom does in America is not to plunder, but to help there." Indians!"

The Sun King is of course noble!
And Li Zhongshan also believed this. Didn’t France selflessly help their beautiful father?

"Since we all have the same noble and selfless goals for the New World, why can't we unite and work together for the cause of liberation and freedom in the New World?"

It's so moving!

If Washington knew there was such a dialogue, it would be grateful.

Little Baptiste had already heard that something was wrong!
What does General Li mean?Do you want to carve up the New World with France?
Seeing that the French envoy was deep in thought, Li Zhongshan was ready to promote his big plan again - this was a sure-win plan for the Eleven-Nation Grand Alliance!
The Eleven-Nation Grand Alliance!
It still sounds scary!
As for the Ming Dynasty, France and Rakshasa could be gathered at most. It seems uncertain whether the Ottoman Empire can join the group.So I'm not sure enough. If I can add "Ami", I'm sure.

The Ming Dynasty, France, Rakshasa, and Ami, if the four countries beat them eleven, we are very sure!

In addition, the emergence of an Arab-American colonial alliance or an Arab-American confederation can also avoid the future situation of Han Chinese versus Anglo-Saxons on the North American continent.

After all, the territory of the Angsa people is closer to Europe than the west coast of North America to the Ming Dynasty, and the territory of the Angsa people is also more suitable for the development of farming. In an era of relying on the sky for food, it can definitely support a larger population.

If a Francophone America could be developed by developing intercontinental trade lines across western North America.Then there will be "Ming Li Jian", "F Li Jian", "Ying Li Jian", and even "Sui Li Jian", "Xili Jian", "Indian Li Jian" and "Japan Li Jian" on the North American continent in the future. "It's a great situation for the Seven Kingdoms to compete for supremacy.

As long as there is no "League" that can unify North America, the Pacific Ocean will sooner or later become the inland sea of ​​the Ming Dynasty, and a unified America will never appear again.

"Mr. Special Envoy," Li Zhongshan said, "I have never thought of establishing a republic without a monarch in the New World. This is impossible and unnecessary. But I think the New World is too far away from the old world. It is difficult for the monarch to actually govern the territory of the New World. The New World was born a de facto republic!
If the dynasties of the Old World want to establish rule in the New World, the best way is to send one or several royal members there to serve as monarchs, and at the same time enfeoff the land below to nobles or city-states with a republican system, including indigenous tribes, thus forming a huge feudal system.

I think our two countries can build a similar system in the New World and establish a country like the United Kingdom of the New World. This country does not have to be a sovereign country. It can be jointly served by the Ming Emperor and the King of France as guardians. The monarch of the United Kingdom can be One, or two, can even implement the elector system, or can be jointly held by members of the two royal families.

Of course, this system does not need to pursue permanent unity, nor is it indivisible. It should be a confederation-like existence, and all states can enter and exit freely.The purpose of its existence is to allow our two countries to establish close ties through the New World, and at the same time to make the people of the New World who are oppressed by Spain have a strong desire for the liberation of the Sun King and the Ming Dynasty! "

(End of this chapter)