Ming Zhengzhi, I am Zheng Kezang

The glory of the Sun King had dimmed over Europe as France had suffered a loss of national strength in the War of the Spanish Succession.However, the high-ranking princes and nobles all have the virtue of healing their scars and forgetting the pain. No, France reached the "Rashtat Peace Treaty" with Austria on the front foot, and the Palace of Versailles began to sing and sing every night.

However, the situation on August 1714, 8 in the Western calendar seems a bit strange. The nobles who participated in the evening ball did not make any noise in the ballroom, but gathered together in a close relationship and whispered, as if they were talking to that person. When will the funeral of the long-lived king be held?

The conch horn sounded three times, and the nobles present at the meeting fell silent, and the palace guard shouted in the same tone as before: "Your Majesty the King of France, His Majesty the Supreme Sun King, come here."

The nobles saluted the opened palace door one after another. An old man with difficulty walked slowly past and finally boarded the throne.

After he was seated, the minister who accompanied him stood at the bottom of the steps and announced: "Your Excellencies, distinguished ladies, this minister is ordered by the king to inform you of good news. Four hours ago, the Kingdom of France and the Empire of China officially signed the "Treaty of Versailles." "In the future, the two countries will send permanent ambassadors to each other, and the Chinese Empire also agrees that the French royal family's East India Company will fully represent the sales of the country's products in France, Germany, and Italy."

The minister's words described a scene of wealth and prosperity for everyone present, and the princes and nobles present couldn't help cheering. Louis XIV nodded in satisfaction, and then murmured in a low voice. Announced again: "Next, I invite His Excellency Weijun-Lu Viscount, Plenipotentiary Minister of the Chinese Empire, and His Excellency Viscount Louis-Dilbosch-Schlautern, the former Supervising Minister of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. By the way, His Excellency Viscount Schlauteng originally It's French."

A viscount is not a high-ranking nobleman, but a viscount in distant China is different, not to mention that a Frenchman can become a viscount of the Chinese Empire. What a legend it is, and what an honor it is for France. It has become an enduring topic in social salons in various countries.

Just as the sound in the ballroom was rising again, the guard who heard the order from the imperial minister blew the trombone again, and soon another hall door opened, and a man of yellow race who was dressed so strangely in the eyes of the French nobles stepped forward. They walked in with indescribably elegant steps, and what made them even more dumbfounded was the old fat white man who was wearing the same weird costume and followed that Viscount Lu.

"The founding son of Huaxia, the general counselor, the inspector prince Taifu, the assistant minister of the governor's foreign affairs office, and the plenipotentiary minister of envoy to Europa, Lu Weijun, met His Majesty the Lord of France."

"The founding son of Huaxia, Zhengyi doctor, the inspector prince Taibao, and Yi Shilao, the minister of the Bute Academy, kowtowed to His Majesty the Sun King."

After speaking it in Chinese, Yi Shiluo, a former French artillery sergeant, translated it again in French. Of course, if he wanted to save face, he would of course translate it into Viscount. In translation, I had to use the level of civil servants in France at that time to describe them as third-class civil servants. The deputy minister directly named the deputy minister of foreign affairs, not to mention the plenipotentiary and extraordinary ministers, and the ministers of the Bute House became the so-called elders of the senate.

"Your Excellency, Minister, here are all the nobles and nobles of our country." Similarly, Yi Shilao completely translated the introduction of the French minister to Lu Weijun. "They are all famous families that have been inherited for hundreds of years. I will introduce them to Your Excellency by the order of my king."

After hearing this, Lu Weijun scoffed at the French nobles present: "I have seen you, my lords."

The French who had heard the translation did not dare to be negligent, and performed a court etiquette one after another. So far, the two sides have met each other.

Louis XIV nodded immediately, the music started, and the court ball officially began.Due to the presence of envoys from the Chinese Empire, the French nobles changed from the hustle and bustle of the past, and danced in a courteous manner. However, Lu Weijun did not dare to look directly at the naked women in the hall, and could only watch his nose, nose, and heart dry stand there.

It’s just that Lu Weijun couldn’t stand it, but Yi Shilao watched it with gusto. He was just a low-ranking non-commissioned officer in the French army. How could he imagine that one day he could set foot in the highest palace of France, so he couldn’t help himself. Fortunately, he was dressed in Chinese clothes. In official uniforms, she couldn't participate in the dance at all, so she didn't show her timidity.

At this time, several French nobles came over: "Your Excellency, I heard that you once served as the Minister of Supervision of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in China. Could you tell us what the Chinese scientists are studying?"

Yi Shilao’s colleague at Gezhi Academy was just in name, so how could he know what Zheng Kezang was ordering to study? But at this moment, he couldn’t show his timidity, so he picked up a few hearsay contents and said: “Before I left, the chemical industry in China Scientists are determining the types of existing elements, and believe that elements are not the smallest unit in nature, and there may be smaller particles, but we are nothing more than observations. According to the speculation of His Majesty the Chinese Emperor who loves science, matter can be divided infinitely until it disappears. energy"

The few big nobles could understand at first, but later they had to show an expression of admiration. Seeing that these nobles who had never been in contact with him in the past were shocked, Yi Shilao then threw a blockbuster: " Of course, these are all speculations, but the Chinese Empire has completed many manned floating tests."

The French around Yi Shilao suddenly became excited: "What, the Chinese have already reached the sky, this, this is impossible, this is the scope of God's glory, this is blasphemy"

Yi Shiluo interrupted bluntly: "Your Excellency, please forgive me. Before the advent of Christ, there was already a very developed ancient civilization in China. The history of this civilization is far longer than that of the Roman Empire and ancient Greece. Therefore, the so-called It is best not to mention blasphemy in front of the Chinese, otherwise, they will give you contempt, just like Parisians look at provincials."

"I'm sorry, Your Excellency, the Viscount, the Marquis of Saidong was too excited, so there was an inappropriate wording." The nobleman beside him hastily eased. "Can you tell everyone present how China's manned launch test was carried out."

"Yes, yes, yes." The nobles on the side also rushed to ask. "How did this happen?"

"This is an important military secret." Yi Shilao put on airs at this moment. "Everyone can imagine that if two armies are at war, and both sides set up formations, one doesn't know how the opponent is arranged, but the other can find the opponent's arrangement in the air, then which side will win the final victory? "

The nobles around Yi Shilao gasped. The facts were as they said. Now, the interest of the French nobles became even higher, but they didn’t know that this was just Yi Shilao’s nonsense. It is more often an encounter, and rarely a large-scale battle agreed by the two sides. Therefore, the effectiveness of the reconnaissance balloon, which requires a lot of preparation in advance, is far less mysterious than what Yi Shilao said.However, for European countries that like to engage in head-to-head large-scale battles at this stage, the role of reconnaissance balloons is quite important, and it is no wonder that someone will make a fuss.

"Of course, the empire is far in the east and has nothing to do with the war in Europe, so it is not impossible to transfer this technology, but how to transfer it needs to be discussed with the Minister of Plenipotentiary." Yi Shilao pointed to the wooden man beside him. Lu Weijun made a helpless expression. "I can only say this, I hope you can understand."

As soon as Yi Shilao finished speaking, someone reported everything to Louis XIV, and the Sun King suddenly changed his face: "Damn it, no matter what, we can't let this news spread to other countries."

Of course, Louis XIV knew that his order would not be carried out, because those nobles who like to show off will definitely spread this rumor as a major topic, so it is conceivable that it will not be long before the courts of Vienna and London will know that the Chinese have an important Critical military technology can be transferred.

How can we obtain this technology before other countries and prevent the Chinese from spreading this technology to other European countries?Louis XIV couldn't help frowning, and even felt a little dissatisfied with the big-mouthed Yi Shilao.

The imperial minister next to him guessed what the Sun King was thinking, bowed and said, "Your Majesty, His Excellency Viscount Schlautern is also French."

Louis XIV suddenly realized, nodded and said: "After the ball, go and ask, if I grant him the title of Earl and fief of France, can Viscount Schlautern provide this technology to France?"

Speaking of which, the price offered by the Sun King is really not low. Of course, Yi Shilao is willing to exchange the technology of hot air balloons for French counts and fiefs. However, he has only seen balloons go up into the sky, and he only knows how to go up into the sky. Six orifices, so facing such a temptation, he had no choice but to respond in pain: "I can't decide this matter."

Looking at the stern-faced French minister, Yi Shilao explained: "It seems that you don't know the authority of the supervisory minister of the Academy of Sciences. Speaking of which, I am only a person who serves the scientists. The Academy of Sciences will come to me if they need anything. I also understand the application and all the research process, but this does not mean that I am a scientist myself."

The former imperial minister accepted Yi Shilao's statement, but he did not give up and asked instead: "Can you ask Your Excellency, Minister Plenipotentiary, to transfer this technology? France is willing to pay the necessary compensation for this."

"Remuneration? France has fought fiercely for years, and I'm afraid it has become extremely embarrassing. The so-called reward, shouldn't it be the same as giving the French knighthood?" Lu Weijun, who received the report, said with a strange expression. "Master Yi, how do you think France compares to China?"

Yi Shilao shook his head and said, "I used to think my hometown was good, but this time when I came back, it looked like a big cesspit, far inferior to Huaxia."

Lu Weijun asked again: "Then do you think that I will care about French titles and territories?"

Yi Shilao thought for a while and replied: "It is indeed better to obtain a decent title in the hands of the imperial court."

"That's it." Lu Weijun sneered. "I don't care about the so-called remuneration from the other country." Having said that, Zheng Kezang ordered the balloon story to spread to Europe, otherwise, how could Yi Shilao know about it. "Let's go and tell the French minister that as long as the King of France agrees to facilitate Spain's transfer of Luzon to this dynasty and arranges some French Academy of Sciences scholars to go to this dynasty for exchanges, I can agree to transfer these military weapons for free."