"You're using my time to bargain with me." Napoleon said.

Metternich was silent, acquiescing.

"But it's still not good enough." Napoleon shook his head, "This benefit alone is not enough to win you such a decent peace. ”

"So what do you recommend, General?" Metternich asked. He was ready to bribe Napoleon, because they knew one thing from the Italian states, and that was that General Napoleon Bonaparte was a man of money.

"Monsieur Metternich, do you remember how Spain withdrew from the war?" Napoleon said with a smile.

Metternich was startled, then rejoiced.

Spain withdrew from the war on the condition of an alliance with France. As a result, it managed to evade the land reparation package. If you follow this way, then ...... Especially since Russia and France have just mixed up not so long ago, and if at this time, the French and Austria are allied, then the Russians ...... How could the French make such a request?

"Of course you can't get Spanish terms. If we had come exactly on Spanish terms, our Russian friends would have been displeased. Napoleon's next sentence shattered Metternich's illusions and proved that Napoleon was not dizzy.

"What do you mean, General?" Metternich felt that the meeting seemed to be a little more than he expected, and ran out of his intended battlefield. This made him a little flustered, because the emergence of this situation in a sense means that he has lost the initiative in the negotiations.

"A lasting peace between our two countries cannot be achieved by a single piece of paper agreement. You know, there's a lot of the time that agreements are unreliable. Between my country and your country, there are many such things, and in the end it is not ...... Well, don't be in a hurry to defend your country, after the signing of the agreement, both our country and your country have indeed done a lot of things that have crossed the agreement. You see, this kind of thing is very difficult to avoid in many cases, and when this kind of thing accumulates, it can completely damage the relationship between the two countries, causing the peace agreement to become a waste of paper. If we were to talk about peace again today, we should naturally avoid this outcome as much as possible beforehand. ”

When Napoleon had said this, he leaned back into the soft back of his chair and smiled as Metternich digested the meaning of his words.

If it had been Prime Minister Metternich many years later, or even Ambassador to France Metternich a few years later, they would have seen something implied in Napoleon's words, but Metternich was still too young and naïve at this time. He didn't really understand where the sharp knife was hidden in Napoleon's smile, and could only reply in a very general way, "As long as our two countries can uphold the ...... of love"

"No, Mr. Metternich, I'm afraid you don't quite understand what I mean." Napoleon sat up straight, propped his elbows on the table, and put his head on his fist and said, "Goodwill and promise guarantee nothing, at least not for long, because these things do not last long." So 'don't swear by the moon' (a line from Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet, the next line is 'It is fickle, and every month is full and bad; If you swear by it, maybe your love will be as impermanent as it'), what can be relied upon, what can really unite us, what makes our friendship grow more and more is only common interests. You see, the friendship between us has been growing ever since the peace between Spain and our country, and isn't it because of this peace that we both benefit? And in the agreements we made with Spain back then, I think there are some things that can be borrowed from each other. ”

"What do you mean?" Metternich asked.

"A mutual trade agreement between us and Spain." Napoleon said.

This mutual trade agreement provides for the formation of a trade community between France and Spain, according to which the two sides will give each other equal "most-favored-nation trade treatment", according to which the two sides shall exempt or reduce customs duties on the goods of the other side, except for some goods, and the customs duties imposed by the two sides on any goods shall not exceed half of the tariffs on the same goods of any country other than the contracting parties. In the conduct of business and other lawful activities, they have the same rights as their own nationals, and they give the same rights as their own ships to the merchant ships of the other side. In addition, there are content-specific by-laws, such as mutual respect for intellectual property rights.

In general, this agreement, both literally and in practical content, is very equal. It can be called a model of equality and mutual benefit. After the signing of this agreement, both Spanish and French merchants benefited more as a result.

But according to Joseph, this situation of equality and mutual benefit is actually only temporary. Soon, this equal and mutually beneficial trade agreement will turn into an unequal treaty. Because the "Zeus Plan" has made great progress, and another "Hephaestus Plan" is steadily advancing, now it is only necessary to have stable coal and iron mines, and the success of these two plans will not be a problem, and then there will be an explosive increase in the production capacity of France.

At that time, this agreement of equality and mutual benefit will become an unequal treaty similar to the later Sino-American Treaty of Amity, Commerce and Navigation, which is nominally equal, but in fact it is equivalent to completely colonizing the other side. Therefore, when signing this treaty with Spain, the French also deliberately extended the time limit of the treaty to a very long time, as long as 25 years. It also provides for an automatic extension of the treaty after the expiration of the treaty in the absence of objections.

This kind of agreement is, in fact, a huge trap. What is even more frightening is that once such an agreement is implemented, it will be very difficult to abolish it in the future. Not to mention how strong the French army will be after the Industrial Revolution, even in Spain, this will be opposed by a large comprador class formed by Spaniards who have made a fortune selling French goods. Even, in some cases, it is not impossible for the entire Spanish government to change from an economic vassal to a political vassal - once you have fallen into this trap, it will be difficult to climb out again.

A few days earlier, when Napoleon and Joseph had met at Verdun, Joseph had predicted that it would not be long before both the Austrians and the Prussians would sue for peace with France. So he also emphasized to Napoleon that other issues can be discussed, but the issue of trade agreements must be implemented.

This trap, built on the technological revolution that will emerge in the future, is too hidden. Not to mention that Metternich is not mature enough now, even if you change to a more cunning guy, such as an old fox like Talleyrand, it is impossible to really understand the Tao in this.

So Metternich didn't understand what was going on, but this was not the time for him to hesitate. Because Napoleon spoke again

"On this matter, well, I have here information about the trade agreement between France and Spain. This information is public, and I believe that you can easily find it if you want to find it, but it takes time, and the most precious thing now is time. You can take this information back and discuss it with His Excellency Archduke Karl. But, be fast, you know, the most valuable thing in your negotiation terms is time, and every extra second of time consumed means that your chips have shrunk somewhat, and I have the right to demand more compensation. If I do not wait for your reply by twelve o'clock tomorrow noon, I will have to start military operations. ”

Metternich got up and took his leave, because he was so distracted by the trade agreement that he almost forgot to take the information about the Franco-Spanish trade agreement that Napoleon had given him.

Metternich hurried all the way back, and by the time he saw Archduke Karl, it was already dark. Ignoring fatigue and hunger, Metternich relayed his contact with Napoleon directly to Archduke Karl.

Archduke Karl listened, thought for a while, and then asked, "Does General Bonaparte make any other requests?" ”

"No, he just said that time is very precious now, and after he has said this, he asks me to come back and consult with you immediately." Metternich replied.

Archduke Karl nodded and said, "It can be seen that General Bonaparte attaches great importance to this trade agreement." Mr. Metternich, what else do you know about this trade agreement between the Spaniards and the French? ”

Metternich shook his head and said, "I don't know much about this agreement. However, it seems that the Spaniards did not complain too much about this agreement. From this point of view, there should not be too many problems with this agreement. Also, Your Excellency, I thought a little on the way back. You know, the Bonaparte family was the upstart of France and the famous tycoons. Their family operates a wide range of businesses, from munitions to shipbuilding, shipping, and minerals. Many people say that their family is already the richest man in France. I wonder if they want to pass this agreement......"

"It's also a possibility." Archduke Karl nodded and said, "I have heard some rumors about General Napoleon Bonaparte in Italy, and many people have come to his greed. It is said that he obtained tens of millions of francs from the Pope alone, most of which he swallowed up...... Perhaps, what you said is a reason. ”

"Your Excellency, the Bonaparte family will definitely have a very important position in France in the future, and they will even become the real rulers of France. If we have a lot of wealth in our country, then maybe our country can really be a lot safer. "In addition, I think we can put some more conditions like this......

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