"Wonderful!"

Liu Yu, who was standing in the pile of ministers, breathed a sigh of relief, and couldn't help but praise the emperor in his heart.

Li Gan knows some Latin, not only can he understand it, but he can also speak some of it, but in the court, as the Son of Heaven, he must not speak a foreign language.

Liu Yu also said to the emperor more than once that there is only one Dashun who engages in free trade in the whole world. Because Dashun doesn't know what free trade is, but the crushing advantages of its handicraft industry and the self-sufficient small-scale peasant economy are natural free trade.

As for the European countries, even Austria, which does not even have a western outlet to the sea, has formed the Oostend Trading Company, which was established in Belgium and came to Guangdong and Fujian to sell tea. Of course, this company, as a bargaining chip in the "State Edict" to recognize the daughter's right to inherit, has just been dissolved in front of Ying Dutch.

But where there is a trading company, there is a monopoly. As long as there is a monopoly, it has nothing to do with free trade.

The emperor knew, of course, that France could not accept a free trade agreement that would completely crush France's fragile handicraft industry, as Liu Yu had said many times.

But he did not want the missionaries to translate this sentence, which might cause an uproar in the court and believe that the emperor had made the wrong decision.

So I chose this polite but cunning rhetorical question, which is actually a refusal.

If you can accept my terms, I can accept yours; If you can't accept my terms, then don't go any further.

After being slightly surprised, the first reaction of the Earl of Morpa was that the Duke of Mann seemed to be dying; The second reaction was to understand the true meaning of these words.

After understanding, he was also in a hurry.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty the Emperor of China, these specific terms need to be negotiated. At court, I am simply paying homage and friendship to you and the vast empire you rule on behalf of the King of France. ”

This sentence can be regarded as a confession, and they are not embarrassed by each other, so as not to say a condition to each other in the court, which is impossible for each other to agree to.

When the emperor saw that the French were so acquainted, he also walked away.

The gift of reward was announced in the court, and the British Duke and Liu Yu were named to receive the French mission and be responsible for the negotiation of the French mission.

After the next dynasty, the British asked Liu Yu: "What does the French mean by that?" Why did Your Majesty interrupt? ”

Liu Yu translated slightly, and the British Duke sneered: "This is thinking that if we are deceived and deceitful, he will go straight to the sky." If it weren't for His Majesty's eagerness, he wouldn't look good in the court today. ”

"That's what I'm talking about!" Liu Yu also scolded a few words in his heart, this Frenchman has a hole in his head, and he always plays in the East with the same set in Europe, isn't this nonsense?

It's not that this thing can't be sold, it's not that it can't be exchanged, the question is what can you take out to exchange?

Just now placed in the court, if you exchange any 74-gun battleship, how many battleships are not flintlock pistols among the ministers of the DPRK and China, and the design of battleships requires hundreds of years of technological accumulation?

Shipbuilding, who wouldn't? Most of the courtiers feel that it is simple, and it doesn't matter if they don't know it, there are craftsmen.

On the other hand, porcelain and silk were much more sensitive to these things, and they could intuitively recognize the great value of them.

When the time comes to come up with this condition, the ministers will definitely be regarded as crazy. Diplomacy is not easy, and diplomacy with madmen and ill-intentioned people is even more impossible.

The British public was a little unhappy in his heart, and directly showed it on his face, and after scolding twice, he said: "Why don't you dry these French first?" ”

Liu Yu shook his head.

"There's no need to hang it. If I stay in retreat, I still have the capital to dry. He asked us to switch it on. But now, the court said that the thunder was loud and the rain was small, and the French were only afraid and felt that they were not happy, but it was only thunder and rain. Hanging like this is a bad thing. ”

The British Duke smacked Liu Yu's meaning and snorted.

"In that case, let's talk about it as soon as possible. I sat there and listened, afraid that I might not understand. Whatever you talk about, just talk to me when you're done. There are some things in the court that can't be said in the open. Whether it is the East or the South Seas, there are only a few people who know about this matter today. ”

"The Netherlands is far away. Although its navy is strong, it is adjacent to the land. If the French could occupy the land of the Netherlands, their navy would have no choice but to lose. ”

"Now the Dutch of Nanyang are the strongest, and if their land is occupied, they will have the city at their fingertips."

The emperor and several ministers who relied on him and trusted him talked about the strategic plan of Dashun in the future, which was also the root of the British ministers' support for French diplomacy this time.

Now that it has been decided, we must hurry up and talk, and the second day after the court meeting is over, there will be a banquet, and on the third day, the talks will officially begin.

Count Morpa, who had a gray nose at the court meeting, also understood the current situation, and also understood that the negotiations should first talk about major matters, and then they could talk about those details.

The possibility of acquiring porcelain and silk technology was gone, and there was no need to revolve around the question, and the Count of Morpa, having determined that the ranks of the two sides were sufficient, spoke bluntly about the Sino-French alliance.

"Dear Duke and Earl. If the navy is not used, it is a waste of money. France's retention of its existing fleet was a last resort due to the diplomatic situation in the surrounding area. The idea of the French navy was not to fight for sea supremacy, but to maintain considerable deterrence, to strike at the enemy's war potential and disrupt the enemy's trade through privateers. ”

"But your country's trade policy is to be completely open-ended, and in this case, to maintain a navy that is strong enough to build battleships. Does your country have any thoughts of going to war against the Netherlands? ”

With such a straightforward question, Liu Yu could only translate it into Chinese first, and after telling the British duke, he asked the British duke what he meant.

The British prince may have never seen such a straightforward question, and after thinking for a while, he said: "The country is so big, forgetting the war will be dangerous." The so-called be prepared and prepared. ”

"Whoever sends out an army must be in the right way. In the past, the Netherlands teamed up with Britain to attack Macao, plunder Zhoushan, and occupy Penghu. Later, Emperor Gaozong was tolerant and allowed him to trade, but his heart must not be guarded against. If the Dutch Kingdom offends the majesty of the Celestial Empire again in the future, it will be punished. ”

Liu Yu is not good at expressing his position on this matter, and after the British public statement, the translation made Liu Yu's brain ache again.

After it was easy to translate these words as literally as possible, the Count of Morpa, who listened to them, was also confused.

What does it mean?

Is this to fight or not to fight?

It seems to say that Dashun's national defense policy is that if others don't fight him, he won't fight others? It means that if the Netherlands does not take the initiative to declare war on Dashun, Dashun will not declare war on the Netherlands?

If that were the case, the ally would seem meaningless.

He doesn't quite understand this kind of Oriental implicit expression, but Liu Yu knows very well in his heart that there is still a word in China, which is called the crime of wanting to add to it.

The meaning of the Duke of England has been made clear, this navy, for the Westerners, was created for the Dutch and the British.

Although France also engaged in colonialism, its level was a little worse, and it was not yet capable of harassing China's coastal areas at the end of the Ming Dynasty.

The UK is different from the Netherlands in that it has a criminal record.

Now that the British Duke has already expressed his position, the rest of the words are up to Liu Yu himself, of course, to make the words clearer, so that the French can understand the real strategic intentions of Dashun.

"Count Morpa, China is China, Da Ming is China, and Da Shun is naturally China. Just as the British royal family still has a claim to the French crown on its head. Everything in the Ming Empire, Dashun was all inherited. Include...... Hatred and all political legacies. ”

"The Dutch once plundered the people of the Celestial Empire in Zhoushan and other places to go to Batavia to work as slave laborers, and such behavior was intolerable. And for this crime, for the Empire, there is no prosecution period. ”

"Southeast Asia was its sphere of influence at the peak of the Ming Empire, and this should be inherited by us."

Liu Yu's words were even more straightforward, and Count Morpa understood it at once, but he muttered a little in his heart about the implicit expression of the Eastern Empire and the strange moral standards of this ancient empire.

It seems that it is a shame to take the initiative to go to war, and you must be beaten before you can go to war, so that it can appear to be just and bright?

He didn't understand this very well, but Liu Yu's words still revealed a lot of information.

Regardless of whether the Netherlands and Britain declared war on Dashun or not, Dashun had sufficient legitimate reasons to declare war on Britain and the Netherlands, and this pretext for war was Yanshun's defunct Ming Empire.

Liu Yu took into account France's weird, somewhat like a broken jar and broken sea power thinking, and hurriedly added.

"Free trade is the national policy of the Celestial Empire, and it cannot be changed. So, in the South Seas, the Celestial Empire opposes all forms of piracy and privateering. ”

"Therefore, even if war is declared on Britain and the Netherlands, the Celestial Empire will not choose privateering and piracy, which is against the dignity of the Celestial Empire and a great destruction of free trade."

"For this, Dashun needed a fleet with battleships, not just cruisers. Cruisers are the best privateers, or trade strike fleets, but not very good naval battleships. ”

"In the event of a war in the future, the Celestial Empire may have to face all the warships of the Dutch East India Company, and these cruisers alone are not enough."

"You should be clear about what Batavia meant to the Netherlands, and what the East India Company meant to the Netherlands. This is the economic lifeblood of the Netherlands, so in the event of a war, the Dutch will do everything possible to retake Batavia. Although it is difficult to transport troops from Amsterdam to Southeast Asia, and it can take up to a year for a capital ship to arrive, and there are not many of them, it is impossible to accomplish this task close to a cruiser. ”

France built a rack of fleets, but in fact, it was cowardly in its heart, knowing that it really could not defeat the Anglo-Dutch alliance at this time at sea, and it had too many enemies on land and had to maintain a strong army.

This makes France always think, I can't control the sea, but I can disgust you, engage in privateering, and make you pay.

For this reason, Liu Yu made it clear to the French mission: Dashun's naval policy and trade policy cannot only rely on cruisers, but must build battleships that are powerful enough. France's set of strategies, Dashun will not use.