The day after receiving the order from Madrid, Ambassador Juan again visited the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs to visit Foreign Minister Talleyrand.

By this time, Talleyrand had in fact become clear about Juan's intentions. The men of the Ministry of Truth had already put the information in the hands of Talleyrand yesterday. Talleyrand, after reading the reliable documents that were said to have been produced by Nei Ying on the Spanish side, gave Lucien a thumbs up in his heart, and then immediately went to meet Napoleon, and consulted with him, and prepared for the response.

In the luxurious reception room of the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Juan met with Foreign Minister Talleyrand again.

"Your Excellency, I have been instructed to make a proposal to your country." Ambassador Juan said.

"My friend, I'm listening." Talleyrand said with his hands outstretched.

"We hope to buy a batch of weapons from your country." Juan said.

"That's not a problem." Talleyrand smiled and said, "We are allies, and our arsenal is perfectly open to our allies." ”

"But Your Excellency, you also know that it is difficult for us to get that much money at one time." Ambassador Juan said.

"It's not a problem, we can lend you money." Foreign Minister Talleyrand smiled and said, "We are always willing to help our allies in any way we can." I know quite a few bankers, and I think that with the status and credibility of Spain, I can get a loan from them on relatively good terms. ”

In fact, Spain's economy was not much better than it was in pre-revolutionary France. After all, it's all Bourbons. Before the French Revolution, King Louis XVI had also borrowed money from bankers to maintain his finances. It's just that His Majesty the King played a little too big, and as a result, he couldn't pay the money, so he had to borrow new debts to pay off old debts. Well, if it's in the afterlife, this is also a good way, for example, the lighthouse country has always played like this in later generations.

However, there is one thing that is very different from that of later generations, that is, the loan interest rate of this era is generally relatively high. In later generations, when the lighthouse country played this hand, the annual interest rate of borrowing was generally only 23 percent, and even considering the influence of the most powerful forces in the universe, this set of tricks could still be maintained for a long time.

But in this day and age, bankers or something can basically be equated with usury. The interest rate on borrowing is not a matter of 23 percent, and if it is not done well, 23 percent is a matter of conscience. With such an interest rate, and considering the most powerful force in the universe, then, this hand will not be able to play for long at all. The result, of course, is a default. As a result of defaulting on debt, it will naturally be very difficult to borrow in the future, and the conditions will be more stringent.

Spain had not yet reached the point of Louis XVI, but its credit in the debt market was mediocre. This also means that Spain will have to offer a higher interest rate to attract people who are willing to lend them money. Therefore, the so-called "loans with relatively favorable conditions" are purely fooling people.

As for the help of the French government, well, the Napoleonic Code is very clear that France implements the rules of free market and free trade. The French government has no power to intervene in these matters.

Of course, this is only theoretical. In fact, the expanding French banking alliance has gradually acquired a bit of a central bank flavor, and given the position of the Bonaparte family in this alliance, they can make this alliance compatible with French policy. Of course, there are also claims that it is not the French banking union that cooperates with the French government, but the French government has been cooperating with the French banking union.

In short, it's good to listen to Talleyrand's words, as for borrowing money, whether it is to find a French or an Englishman, basically the interest will not be low.

"Your Majesty does not intend to borrow too much debt, because it is also a heavy burden for the people." "Our King is a benevolent king, and he is not willing to burden the people too much. ”

"It's not that they don't want to increase the burden on the people, but they fear that the people of Spain will follow the example of the French to make a great revolution." Talleyrand thought this in his heart, but his mouth said: "Your Majesty's love for the people is truly admirable. I believe that the people of your country will be able to overcome the slightest difficulties before us under the wise leadership of your king. ”

It sounds great, but it actually means, "I can't help you, you can take care of it yourself." Whether you live or die is up to you. ”

"Your Excellency Foreign Minister, we have a suggestion." Ambassador Juan said.

"I'm listening, and it's always incumbent upon us to have the opportunity to help our allies." Talleyrand said.

"Pit allies, you've always been very active." Ambassador Juan said in his heart, but the smile on his face became more and more sincere.

"We intend to sell some of our territory in North America to receive the corresponding funds." Ambassador Juan said.

"Ahh Talleyrand looked surprised and asked, "Where do you plan to sell your land?" ”

"We intend to sell Florida. Don't know if your country is interested? Juan replied.

Florida was still Spanish territory at this time, but the Americans had already infiltrated it very much. If the land is bought by the Americans, the Americans will have a very good support point in the Caribbean. This did not bode well for the French, who were planning to develop Louisiana well, and were clearly anxious to push north. So, yesterday, when Talleyrand and Napoleon were discussing, they both decided that it was better not to let this position fall into the hands of the Americans.

But both Talleyrand and Napoleon decided that the sale of Florida was more about forcing the French to come up with more money. Because once they lost Florida, the Americans would be directly approaching the Caribbean, and the threat to Spain's interests would be even greater.

In addition, the Spaniards' announcement that they want to sell Florida also means that they want to further provoke conflicts between France and the United States. Although Florida was Spanish territory, the Spaniards had only acquired it for twenty years, and before that, it was British territory. So the whites there are predominantly Saxion Anglos. Immediately after Britain withdrew from the region, they hooked up with the United States, another Saxon Anglo state to the north. Although the land is now legally Spanish, the Spaniards have no control over it at all. If there are no other spoilers, it is almost a matter of time before this land falls into the hands of the Americans.

If this part of the land fell into the hands of the French, it would have been much more difficult for the Americans to penetrate with the strength of France now, so that the rest of Spain, especially Cuba, would be much safer.

"Florida? This is a very rich place, and your government should be able to reap a lot of benefits from it. Isn't it a pity to sell it like this? "And because of the composition of the inhabitants of this land." To be honest, we weren't very interested in it. ”

The U.S. Navy is not yet enough to cut off France and Louisiana. Therefore, when Joseph discussed with Napoleon the Spaniards' intention to sell Florida, he said that even if Florida fell into the hands of the Americans, the temporary threat would still be relatively limited. And taking over this place, on the contrary, there is a lot of trouble. Therefore, Talelang's statement at this time is not a bluff to reduce prices.

"If your country is not interested, then we will have to sell this land to the Americans." Ambassador Juan said.

"This is your country's internal affair, and we have no intention of interfering." "But considering that we and your country are allies, we are willing to help you in this matter." I think that if there is only one buyer for any sale, it is very difficult for the seller to sell at a good price. We can work with your country and actively participate in the purchase of Florida to help your country raise the price. Of course, we will offend the United States by doing so, and for that, we also need some compensation. ”

This request came as a surprise to Ambassador Juan, but he asked: "What compensation do you need?" ”

"We also hope to buy some of your country's land in North America." "We want to get a couple of ports in the Pacific," Talleyrand said. to expand our business routes. You know, since the setback in India, our trade with the Far East has been interrupted, and we hope to restore it in this direction. Therefore, we would like to be able to purchase the Panama region from your country. In addition, in order to facilitate whaling in the Pacific, we hope to purchase San Francisco and San Jose from you. ”

Needless to say, Panama is strategically important – even if there is no canal yet. As for San Francisco, it has a name that is generally familiar to Chinese: "San Francisco". And the name is because, near it, there is a large gold mine that is buried very shallowly. This great gold mine even sparked the famous gold rush. In many westerns that Joseph saw in his last life, related content was involved. Joseph felt that if he could take advantage of the Mexican Revolution and take these places into his pocket, he would make money anyway.

And it was not difficult for him to convince Napoleon and Lucien to support him. Because before that, in the name of the French Academy of Sciences, he sent several expeditions to North America to investigate the geology, flora and fauna there. Then he told Napoleon: "Our men have found gold veins in the area near San Francisco. ”

This is not a lie, because when Joseph sent these expeditions, he sent them with these positions in mind.

"Mr. Jones, the leader of the expedition, found golden sand in the river near San Francisco. But he was careful not to expose the secret. Therefore, this secret has not been disclosed for the time being. Nowadays, these places are wild places, and at this time, we can get these places down, and it won't cost a few dollars, but we will definitely make money. Joseph said to his two younger brothers.