"So, I may ask, if we insist on the independence of Santo Domingo, how much does the French government need us to pay for the land?" Toussaint Louvidur

"One hundred and fifty million francs." Victor replied, "Of course, we can provide you with a special loan at a low interest rate, and you can use the annual trade proceeds to pay off the debt. ”

"That's a lot of numbers." "That means you're going to continue to suck the blood of one or two generations of us blacks!" ”

"But then, you still have trade lines." "Santo Domingo is a French territory, and we can allow French citizens to live freely here, but we can't allow it to be independent without any reaction. Because that would encourage some of our internal enemies. Moreover, if this was still French territory, France would have a lot more trade goods, and the sugar and coffee of Santo Domingo would bring nearly 10 million francs to the republican government every year. We can't afford to lose in vain. ”

"This income of yours is the plundering of our blacks." Toussaint Louvidur said bitterly.

"You can say that during the kingdom period, but not now." "As in the rest of France, paying taxes is inherently a citizen's responsibility. It is impossible to say that you can enjoy the rights of citizenship without being held accountable. You have read the works of Montesquieu, and you should understand that rights and obligations are unified.

If you insist on independence without a deal, then you don't have to think about trade with France. Legally, your independence means that you have plundered the territories that belong to France, and the First Consul will not send troops to suppress you, and the slaughter of those blacks who follow your rebellion is already the greatest kindness he can show in such a situation. So, you have lost this trade line of France.

The Spaniards will certainly take this opportunity to expand the production of sugar and coffee in Cuba – IMHO, it's easy, these things, there is no technical threshold at all – and they obviously don't need to trade with you. As for the British, they, like the Spaniards, would love to kick you out of the supply chain. As a result, you will also lose your trade lines with them, and in fact, their trade with you is limited.

So, after the no-deal divorce, you and the blacks you are wholeheartedly defending will have to try all kinds of wheat in Santo Domingo. I reckon you won't find a handful of people in all of Santo Domingo who know how to grow wheat. And Santo Domingo's climate is not suitable for growing these food crops at all. Then there may be a famine...... Therefore, even from an economic point of view, even a 1.5 billion franc purchase price would be more economically cost-effective than a no-agreement divorce. Economically, of course, the best thing is to stay in France. ”

Governor Toussaint Louvidur was silent.

"In fact, Santo Domingo is not a suitable place for black people to be independent." Victor threw up a new topic, "Because the land here is really not suitable for growing anything other than sugar cane and coffee, which means that the establishment of a country here will be very dependent on trade." And all the trade routes in the world are in the hands of white people, which means that if you build a country here, you will either be extremely poor, or you will have to be attached to a white country. If, then, you must wish to create an independent nation that belongs to the Negroes, then why not change places? ”

"Somewhere else? What do you mean? Toussaint Louvidur was taken aback again, and to be honest, the envoy had brought too much surprise to the table tonight.

"It's also Louisiana, where the land is good for growing food. You can also pay for a piece of land in Louisiana to be used as land for your nation, at the price we mentioned earlier, which is 21 centimes per acre. Land prices over there are much cheaper. It will be a lot easier for you to buy it. ”

"I've heard that it's all plains over there. And we don't know each other over there. Toussaint Louverdur shook his head, apparently still worried that once they all had made their way to Louisiana and left their familiar surroundings, the French would turn their backs on them.

"Your Excellency the Governor," said Victor, "you may also remain in France for the time being, and carry out the plan that remains in France, well, I mean, to destroy the conspirators, and then confiscate their land, in order to ease the land contradictions here. On the other hand, during this time, you can gradually send people to Louisiana in phases and batches to buy land and settle there. In this way, it took a few years to gradually transfer people who were willing to go to Louisiana for independent statehood. In the process, you will also become familiar with the situation over there, and judge our sincerity. Finally, you will build your own nation in Louisiana, on the fertile soil of the Mississippi River, and we will ensure that the legitimate private property of those blacks who wish to remain in Santo Domingo will be inviolated.

Let's go straight to the point, Mr. Governor-General, if there is a war between France and you, both the United States and England will be on your side, hoping to use the blood of your people to weaken us, mind you, not just France, but weaken us, whether it is a strong France, or a rich black republic, fundamentally to their detriment. That's why we try to avoid situations as much as possible.

And in Louisiana, if we were to wage war against you, you would be closer to Britain and the United States. Don't say that the plains can't fight, do the Irish know? They are all plains, dozens of nautical miles from the British mainland, and the British can even mobilize more than 100,000 troops to suppress them, but have they been suppressed? And Louisiana, how far is it from mainland France? If you even ...... Of course, the Irish are all white. ”

As soon as this obvious racist remark came out, Toussaint Louwi Dulcon was furious, and he stood up and said, "What's wrong with white people?" We have fought with whites, and we are no worse than whites! ”

"In that case, what else should Your Excellency the Governor hesitate about?" Victor smiled, "This is almost the most beneficial for you. When a good deal comes to the door, it's best not to hesitate too much. ”

Obviously, Victor had caused so many surprises to Dusan Louvidur tonight that it was difficult for him to even judge how credible the words of the envoy sent to him by the First Consul were, and which ones were credible and which were not. He felt that he needed time to digest the news that the envoy had brought before making a decision.

So he said to Victor, "Mr. Treville, these suggestions you have brought are indeed somewhat unexpected to me. I think these suggestions, no matter which one they are, involve very complex things. I don't think I can get back to you and Your Excellency the First Consul right away. I think I'll need a while to think about your suggestion. ”

Victor also stood up, and as he extended his hand to Toussaint Louvidur, he said, "It's a big deal, for everyone. Before deciding on such a thing, no matter how cautious and how much you think about it, it is all right. I will await the decision of His Excellency the Governor. ”

The two men shook hands and ended the meeting.

The next day, Viktor got up, had breakfast, and found that the adjutant who had received him yesterday was already waiting there. He told Victor that the Governor was still in a meeting and that he was now accompanying him.

"Ah, I forgot to ask your name yesterday." Victor Road.

"Matt," said the black adjutant, "Oka Matt." ”

"Well, Mr. Matt, can I walk around Santo Domingo?" Victor asked.

"Of course, said the Governor, you are our most honored guest." Matt replied, "You are free to move except for certain military exclusion zones. ”

Speaking of this, Matt hesitated again, and then said in a hesitant, embarrassed tone, "However, if you are going to Minato, then you have to wait until I call a team of soldiers...... It's not very safe over there, and the people there aren't very friendly to white people. ”

Victor was well aware of this, and in fact, yesterday as he passed by the port in a carriage, he noticed the eyes of the black people around him, even the black soldiers who had come to greet and escort him, full of malice.

This was not the first time Victor had seen such a gaze, having lived in a carriage with his brother and father ten years earlier, when the hurricane of the Revolution had just blown on French soil, and had seen the same look in the eyes of the poor people in Saint-Antoine. At that time, his father's hatred of these "poor ghosts" and "scum at the bottom of society" was completely dismissive.

However, when the fire of the revolution was burned, those proud nobles and superiors were easily torn to pieces. In the song of "It's going to be okay, it's going to be okay......", Victor's father and mother were hung on the street lamp pole, and only the two brothers escaped by luck......

"Santo Domingo was already on the eve of a similar storm." Victor thought to himself. In fact, in its original history, when the French army was finally defeated in Haiti, Haiti gained independence. The new Haitian government immediately organized a massacre of white Haitians, killing at least 2,000 white Haitians. Victor, who was born in the aristocracy, was actually quite sympathetic to those wealthy white slave owners psychologically, but he came from an aristocratic background and went to the side of the revolution, and he had to show more determination and ruthlessness than others in order to really climb up.

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