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On August 17, 1869, the French Minister to Brazil, Bernard, sent a telegram to the French government: "Brazil's borrowing is a good opportunity for the French Empire to penetrate into South America and open up a vast world for domestic industry and commerce. Make this deal a great attempt to expand the influence of the French Empire. ”

When the first batch of bankers who were unwilling to reduce the interest rate on loans disagreed with the French Minister Bernard, the Banque de France and the Crédit Lyonnais bank located in France took a fancy to the huge interests behind the Brazilian warship deal, and then led by two large banking companies, more than a dozen arms, industrial and commercial companies interested in expanding overseas markets jointly formed the Brazilian Commercial Transaction Consortium, Using the political resources controlled by the various corporations to make a proposal to the French Emperor Napoleon III, with the support of the interest consortium, what was originally just an ordinary warship deal was given a strong political color, and soon attracted the attention of Emperor Napoleon III.

On 20 August, Napoleon III personally instructed that in order to counter Britain's alliance with Prussia against France in German regional affairs, the Banque de France and the Commerz-Mercanza de Lyon were allowed to form a trading group against Brazil, in which the French government would provide backing for the country's business groups. In order to achieve the purpose of expanding the domestic industrial and commercial market and curbing the development of British power.

Within two days, more than a dozen arms, bank, and industrial and commercial companies in France were quickly mobilized to assess the scale of the commercial transaction and raise funds for loans, while authorizing French Minister Bernard to handle the warship transaction and loans, and to pay attention to the latest news from the Brazilian side.

On 22 August, in order to increase the chances of a deal, Bernard met with Pedro II with U.S. Minister Witte.

At the Royal Palace in Rio de Janeiro, Bernard handed over the revised commercial contract and said: "In order to maintain the friendship between the French Empire and the Brazilian Empire, His Majesty Napoleon III personally inquired about the transaction of warships, reduced the interest rate on loans and the price of warships, and some French companies that wanted to trade with the Brazilian Empire were also willing to participate in the economic reconstruction of the Brazilian Empire. ”

"The Brazilian Empire is an open and civilized country, and all merchants who are willing to do business here are welcome."

After reading the content of the deal handed over, Pedro II was a little impressed by the Frenchman's improved contract.

From Brazil's point of view, the contract proposed by the French is not only much more reasonable than last time, but also more helpful to Brazil.

In the contract, the French offered to sell Brazil a battle ironclad ship with a displacement of 7,000 tons, and the warship was directly drawn from the French Navy for a price of 400,000 pounds, and after the contract was signed, the warship could be transferred to the Brazilian Navy within two months.

In terms of loans, in addition to the 400,000 pounds for the purchase of warships, the Banque de France and Crédit Lyonnais are willing to provide a low-interest loan of 1 million pounds to help Brazil develop its domestic industry and replace its army weapons and equipment.

Compared with the cost of 400,000 pounds of warship transactions, a loan of 1 million pounds is the majority of the French people's attention, and 1 million pounds will be paid in the form of French goods, in other words, the French want a warship transaction to conclude a business transaction of millions of pounds, and the appetite is indeed not small.

Staring at the trade and the various commodities of the same group, Pedro II knew that Brazil's sluggish economic situation would be effectively improved if he obtained a business loan of one million pounds, but his heart was a little shaken when he recalled the huge foreign debt owed to Britain.

"Thank you Your Majesty Napoleon III for your friendship with the Brazilian Empire, and I would like to ask you to convey my gratitude to His Majesty Napoleon III, I have seen the sincerity of your country in this transaction, but this transaction is of great significance to the Brazilian Empire, and I need to consult with the ministers before I can reply to you."

Pedro II did not have the last word for the British, and he wanted to use the competition between France and the United States to force the other side to lower the asking price of the warship deal and the additional conditions of the reduced traffic, but his wishful thinking may have failed this time.

The U.S. minister, who stood by without speaking, was accustomed to Pedro II's lack of attention, and when the other party again used the delaying method to try to halt the deal, Witt, who was silent, finally spoke.

"Your Majesty, I heard that the British intend to help the Brazilian Imperial Navy build a monarch-class ironclad, I wonder if the news is true?"

"Brazil does have the intention of customizing monarch-class ironclads to the UK, but there is no deal between the two countries due to some differences." The news of Brazil's purchase of warships first came from the British, and Pedro II did not see any benefit in concealing it, so he directly admitted it.

When Pedro II finished speaking, he saw that Witte had such a look on his face, and asked, "Does Your Excellency think there is anything wrong with the deal with the British?" ”

"Whether it is appropriate or not needs to be judged by His Majesty himself, but I remember that in the Civil War, two of the three ironclad ships purchased by the Southern Army from Britain broke down in the naval battle, resulting in the defeat of the naval battle, and in May last year, the first monarch-class ironclad ship that was launched broke down in the sea trial, and the warship suffered extensive damage, and now the first monarch-class ironclad ship is still lying in the British dockyard for improvement and refurbishment, and is not included in the naval combat sequence."

After introducing the basic information of the British warship, Witte was surprised and said: "I take the liberty to ask Your Majesty, didn't the British introduce the basic information of the warship when they traded with your country?" ”

It is impossible for Witte to deceive himself on a formal occasion, and since he has spoken about the shortcomings of British warships, these reports are easily corroborate.

After listening to this, Pedro II felt a sense of humiliation in his heart that he was being treated as a fool by others, it doesn't matter if the warship is expensive, it's a big deal that everyone discusses to find a compromise, but you can't fool yourself with a warship full of loopholes.

The warships purchased by Brazil are not used for decoration, but are also used to engage in a strategic naval duel with the Chinese and Paraguayans, and if the Brazilian naval officers and sailors are allowed to drive immature warships to fight the opposing navy, will it not become a serious irresponsibility to the Brazilian Empire?

Pedro II suppressed the anger in his heart, looked at the two people sitting on the side, and said expressionlessly: "That's the end of today's meeting, I still have some things to deal with, the two ministers will go back first, and I will give you a clear answer tonight." ”

Pedro II gave a clear time for his reply, and Werther and Bernard looked at each other, and with confidence, bowed and exited the palace.