After sitting down, Liu Yu looked at Du Prax, he had heard of this figure, and in a sense, he could be regarded as the person who decided to speak English instead of French in India.

Ambition, ability, strategy, nothing to say.

It's just a pity that he's French.

France's navy was not enough to support his ambitions and intrigues in India.

Even if you win in India at the time, you will lose in the future.

The British navy could easily cut off the French colonies from the mainland.

This is also one of the reasons why Liu Yu chose the French as an ally.

If France's navy cannot defeat Britain, India will never be French, and no matter how much history has changed, as long as the fact that the navy is inferior to Britain exists, there is no need to worry.

And if only the French navy was stronger than the British...... There is no need to worry. Europe must have been in a mess first, and if the French could cross the English Channel, an anti-French alliance would have been formed, and of course there would be no time to focus on Asia.

With this kind of thought, Liu Yu and Duplex were very relaxed when they communicated.

Both speak Latin and do not need to be translated.

Duplex politely sent Liu Yu a list of the goods he brought this time, as well as the unit price of the goods.

The list has already been translated.

In addition to the list, there was a flintlock pistol of a new type.

"General Liu, this batch of muskets was originally intended to be sold to India. But your offer was higher, and for the sake of more long-term benefits, the French East India Company decided to ship the guns here. ”

"This is the latest model of the Arsenal in the Saint-Etini region, which was just finalized the year before last. But most of them are not for the 28 model, but for the 17 model. However, they all meet your requirements, and they are all cassette bayonets. ”

Du Plex explained, Liu Yu looked at the flintlock pistol, and was generally very satisfied.

The flintlock pistol was not popularized in Europe for a few years, and the 1717 model was the earliest standard equipment of the French Army, and it was not too late for Dashun to be equipped now.

Although there were flintlock muskets in France before, they were either used by the navy or issued by the army to grenadiers.

Let the grenadiers throw grenades with flintlock pistols on their backs, after all, arquebuses are inconvenient.

It has only been more than ten years since Europe fully replaced flintlock pistols, and this batch of muskets fully meets Liu Yu's needs.

I took a look at the price list, and it was quite appropriate. A flintlock pistol with a bayonet is only 14 taels of silver, and the estimated cost price is only seven or eight taels.

It's just that the models are messy, there are 1717 infantry models, 1695 naval models, 1716 naval models...... It is estimated that they were all ready to be packaged and sold to the princes of the disintegrated Mughal Empire to fight the civil war.

Fortunately, the caliber of guns in France is quite uniform, theoretically 0.69 inches, of course, this is only theoretical, counting tolerances and clearances, a difference of a few millimeters is normal.

There were 6,000 flintlock pistols and bayonets, as well as a number of cannons, gun carriages, gun carriages, etc., and the total price was about 130,000 taels of silver.

The price is not expensive, the French advantage of the cannon is not very large, but the gun carriage is better, and some precision screw rods and other designs are still lacking in Dashun for the time being.

The French made the cannon very luxurious in this era, and the back of the eight-pounder cannon must be poured into the shape of a chicken's head, the 12-pounder cannon must be poured into a monkey's head, and the 24-pounder cannon must be poured into the shape of a lion's head.

These are all secondary, and the new army is organized and trained for the emperor and courtiers to see, so that they can be convinced that this thing really saves money, spends less money, and fights big battles.

What Liu Yu really wanted to cooperate with the French was not these ships of munitions.

After putting away the list, Liu Yu smiled and said, "Mr. Duplex, I have accepted this list." After the count, I will pay the silver as agreed, or I can help you exchange it for gold. ”

"What follows, I hope, is a private conversation. The subject is me and the East India Company, or you personally. ”

Duplex nodded, signaling that he could accept such a private conversation.

"I know that the East India Company has a fairly wide network in France, and indeed in Europe as a whole. I hope to foster a cooperation. ”

"I pay for it, I pay for it, and the East India Company is responsible for recruiting technicians for me, and you can get the same rebate as their half-year's salary for each technician."

"Including shipbuilders, cannon makers, gunsmiths, fine blacksmiths, and so on. I can ensure a higher salary than in Europe. ”

"If I can meet my requirements and put into production at a fixed time, the French East India Company will receive a dividend of 5% of the future profits, and the other two percent will be privately granted to you, the directors of the East India Company, and other members. In addition, some of the mechanical instruments needed in the future will also be entrusted to the French East India Company to purchase. ”

"I hope you can understand that a large country with hundreds of thousands of troops cannot be sustained by the purchase of arms all the time. And once the new-style army shows its superiority on the battlefield, the purchase of hundreds of thousands of troops will be a huge business. This would make up for the poor financial situation of the East India Company. ”

"There is an imminent war between us and the Tatars in the north-west, and I am anxious to prove the value of a new army. For my personal future, it means knighthood; For my personal wealth, it means orders from the arsenal. ”

"So, I hope you will seriously consider it and find such talents as soon as possible."

It sounded like an open and honest conversation, and it hit Duplex's soft spot.

The East India Company, first and foremost, was a company.

If it's a company, you have to find a way to make a profit.

Including Duprax's adventurous policies in India, they are actually for one purpose: to make a profit.

Like the Cossacks who expanded eastward in the north, there was no great belief in the Motherland for the sake of the Tsar, all that was done was the profit of furs.

Liu Yu's proposal made Duplex very tempted.

China is big, and there are really a lot of troops.

Now China's army is an army at the level of a thirty-year war, about fifty years behind. The flintlock pistol and bayonet have been tested by the War of the Spanish Succession, and the arquebus has been completely eliminated in Europe, as evidenced by practice.

As Liu Yu argued, if the Chinese emperor was really ready to make a military change, the number of rifles, artillery, and warships purchased each year was staggering.

A 5% profit dividend is high enough, not to mention that the remaining 2% rebate will be privately awarded to a few of the company's top leaders.

Indeed, it is impossible for a big country to rely on foreign procurement of armaments, and it must have its own arms factories.

Moreover, even if it is purchased, it is not necessary to choose the French one, the British rifle is not expensive, and the Austrian artillery is better.

Duplex believes that the choice of France was more due to political considerations. At least in Southeast Asia, the contradictions between China and France are not big for the time being.

Liu Yu is actually partly because of laziness.

A shipyard needs all kinds of carpenters, some can steam smoke the ship's ribs, some can lay decks, and some can weave rope canvas, these people Liu Yu is too lazy to find one by one.

The connections of the East India Company could recruit a complete system of craftsmen, at least shipbuilding could not be built by a few shipwrights, and the same was true for cannon casting. In addition, there is a complete set of equipment for purchase, all kinds of tools.

After all, the East India Company started from scratch, and little by little from building a house to building a shipyard in a place where words were not understood, these East India Companies knew much better than him, what kind of talents were needed.

Packing and leasing to the East India Company made it easier and faster for them to find someone than to find it themselves.

Again, although the French navy is not good, its design ideas are really leading the trend.

Whether it was the excellent Frigate cruiser or the officially practical 74-gun battleship, the French design was excellent, but it was not ...... Naval battles cannot be won.

It's often the British who drag it back and see, hey, this French design is very good, but from now on it belongs to the Royal Navy.

The British had to think about the safety of the English Channel, and the idea was always to pile up battleships.

But it is impossible for Liu Yu to learn from the British.

The situation in East Asia is very special, and what is needed is mainly cruisers.

The main opponent is the Netherlands, and it is necessary to be able to hijack ships, track, attack merchant ships, blockade harbors, and raids, so battleships are not applicable, when to expel the Netherlands and monopolize the trade of Japan, and then consider battleships.

Naturally, the cruiser had to be learned from the French, and even the British cruiser design was learned from the captured French warship, and Liu Yu couldn't think of any reason not to learn.

There is nothing that cannot be sold, and if you give enough money, others will do things. He has no connections in Europe, and it is possible to invite a mathematician like Euler to meet his friends, which is not the same thing as a shipbuilder.

In the short term, it is definitely better to buy than to build. In the long run, it's better to buy than to build.

If you want the court to change its mind, you have to make a splash. Reasoning is far less useful than a bloody war, and I hope that through this battle, the court can fully understand that the gap is now widening. This requires a significant investment in the short term.

In order to express his sincerity, Liu Yu said: "I can pay you 1,000 taels of gold in advance, and I hope that your company can set up a special committee to be responsible for this matter." For your company, there is no investment in gold and silver, which is a long-term profit point. ”

"I've made it very clear about the political considerations. France is not the only country to choose from. ”

Du Prax nodded, and had to admit that what Liu Yu said was the truth.

China is not short of money, at least in their opinion, this silver-swallowing monster that only eats and does not vomit has more silver than any European country.

Dutch, English, French, Spanish, Portuguese...... All of them are trying to open up the Chinese market with something to save them from their shocking trade balance.

Du Plex tried to ask, "General Liu, don't you have the rest of the commodities that are in demand in your country?" ”

Liu Yu didn't want to say that the heavens and the earth were rich and omnipotent, and he didn't want to say that the small-scale peasant economic market under the landlord's tenant land system was narrow and the consumption power was extremely poor, so he said: "I thought about it, maybe the most likely commodity is American ginseng?" In your colonies in the Americas, you can grow American ginseng on a large scale. ”

"Uh......"

After all, last year's trade volume was here, a total of 40,000 taels of goods were shipped to China, but 400,000 taels of goods were shipped from China.

A stroke that can go down in history.

"Mr. Duplex, I hope you will give careful consideration to the matter of the arsenal and the shipyard. The contradictions between your country and Britain in India will one day erupt. ”

"Do you think the French navy can defeat the British navy?"

There is no need to answer this question, if the French Navy can defeat the British Navy, the island will be in the morning. Now the King of England still has the claim of a French king on his head.

"So, if there is a conflict between Britain and France in India, and the British navy blocks the shipping route from the mainland to India, you need an ally who can provide you with arms, guns, and even lease a fleet closer to you."

After painting this big pie, Liu Yu flickered again: "Aurangzeb is dead, and the once powerful Mughal Empire is falling apart. This is where heroes come into play, and a person with big ambitions should think ahead about the future. Instead of waiting until something happens and regretting it. ”

This played into Duprax's hands, and he pondered for a moment, knowing that he could not call the shots, and that he was not yet the governor of the East India Company.

"General Liu, I will try to lobby the company's top management. They will also be very satisfied with this trade, and I will make things as clear as possible. ”

"In addition, since your country wants to buy warships, and the company is also lobbying, there should be a good chance that the purchase will be successful. Two warships, all you ask for, single deck, 26 9-pounder guns...... As for the price ......"

"If the East India Company is responsible for sinking before it arrives at port, it will cost 80,000 taels each."

"If the East India Company is not responsible for sinking before arriving at port, it will cost 67,000 taels each."

Liu Yuzhi didn't care about the high "insurance premium", inquired about the displacement and size, and after converting it into a familiar metric unit, he found that the ship was only 500 tons.

However, it is still much larger than the two training ships we have today.

There are so many East India Company, there must be a profit of 10,000 taels in it, and if you pinch your nose, you can admit it, and the ghost knows how the French court reacted to its flattering actions, and you can't count on official cooperation.

"In this way, this time I can pay a deposit of 20,000 taels in advance, and when the battleship arrives, I can pay in full after acceptance. There was an accident on the way, and the damage was borne by the East India Company. ”

After reaching an agreement on this matter, Liu Yu instructed again: "Mr. Duplex, I must remind you again. I didn't choose to trade with France because I could only trade with France. I hope that you will be able to convey my message accurately to the directors of the East India Company. In any case, please piggyback on the first craftsmen when the warships arrive next year. ”

Du Plex repeatedly assured that Liu Yu had ended this private conversation and accompanied him out to prepare to unload the ship and count the munitions.