Coming out of the Royal Palace in Rio de Janeiro, Witte and Bernard did not separate, but returned to the French embassy together.

In the parlor, Bernard took off his coat and said to Witte cordially: "Pedro II is a man of fame, and the British deliberately conceal the defects of the monarch-class ironclad are likely to arouse his disgust, so it seems that the deal between the British and Brazil for warships is about to fail!" ”

"Your Excellency, aren't you afraid that the British Minister Edmund will bridge the gap and make the deal successful?"

Sitting on a mahogany seat, Witt asked.

"It is undeniable that Edmund is different from the average British diplomat, he does not have the arrogance of the average British diplomat, and his kindness and shrewdness are his effective means of dealing with foreign affairs, but, Mr. Witt, please do not forget that it is the big-bellied gentlemen who sit in London who really decide the direction of British diplomacy, and they will not talk to Edmund so well."

"The lords of the British Empire are accustomed to supporting the affairs of other countries, and in countries such as the Qing Kingdom, Egypt and Turkey, the British used brutal force to force other countries to submit and accept the conditions put forward by the British, and the British, who have always been accustomed to smooth sailing, will not take the initiative to put down their shelves and do business with Brazilians on an equal footing, I expect that the current Minister Edmund may be worried about this matter!"

Witte echoed the schadenfreude.

The contradiction between Britain and the United States has a long history, in the recent Civil War, the South was supported by the British, using the support of artillery guns and warships and other weapons purchased from the British, before daring to provoke the banner of independence to fight against the federal government, after the British armed the Southern Army in the early stage of the war to gain a dominant position on the battlefield, to the federal army caused a lot of blows, and later, the federal military uniform with the full support of the industrial and commercial capitalists in the north and the French financial industry, it took four years, Won the war at the cost of 750,000 casualties.

The southern part of the United States was the main supplier of raw materials to British merchants, and the loss of the southern market of the United States was a big blow to British industry and commerce, because of the Civil War, the situation between Britain and the United States since the 1812 American-Canadian War eased tensions again, and as a result, the relationship between France and the United States, which had always had a long tradition of cooperation, became closer, and there was cooperation between the two ministers in Brazilian affairs.

The Monroe Declaration of 1823 was the first attempt by the United States to try to dye the American continent, when the South American continent was under the control of the Spanish colonists, and Britain, France, Austria and other European countries supported the Monroe Declaration in a high-profile manner for the purpose of dismembering the Spanish American colonies, giving Americans the opportunity to enter the American market.

After the Monroe Declaration, the independent countries supported by Britain threw peach and pears in return, and transferred the commercial interests left by the Spaniards after their withdrawal to British businessmen, and at this time, the American capitalists who came with huge interests had a closed door in front of the South American countries, and South American countries such as Argentina, Chile, and Peru have set up obstacles to restrict the entry of American businessmen, and only Venezuela and Panama, which received a small amount of help in the South American War of Independence, and several southern South American countries accepted American capital investment. The self-confidence that Americans had built up after the Monroe Declaration had been dealt a serious blow in South American business competition.

The slogan that America is the Americas of the Americans is in line with the basic interests of the Americans, and in order to open up markets for industry and commerce in the United States, the Americans have never given up their actions to expand their influence in South America.

Similar to the request of the French Government to the Embassy in Brazil, the telegram sent by the Government of the United States to Minister Witte in Brazil pointed out: Brazil is the largest country in South America with great resources and huge potential for population and development, and the United States of America should establish a long-term and stable economic partnership with Brazil, and the Embassy in Brazil should not do nothing about the expansion of colonial economic power by the British Empire in Brazil, but should take advantage of the favorable opportunity after the Paraguayan War when Brazil was in urgent need of foreign financial support to provide support for the establishment of good cooperation between the businessmen of Brazil and the United States of America.

Britain and France have vast colonies, although the South American market is important, but it is not the core dumping market of the two countries, and the United States is different from them, the United States is a late-developing country, and its national strength and international influence are not even comparable to Italy, which is also a late-developing country, and the German Empire, which was established later, the United States has lost the favorable period of the colonial era, and the most effective way for the American industrial and commercial capitalists, who lack a colonial market, to develop and grow, is to sell goods to South American countries and find buyers for the industrial products in the United States.

So compared to Bernard, Witte is more focused on trading with Brazil.

In the United States, the industrial and commercial groups in the United States were initially strengthened during the Civil War, and there were less than 10 banking companies that were qualified and able to participate in Brazilian loans, among which Citibank, Morgan Bank, and Western Commercial Bank were eligible to participate in Brazilian loans, and the three banks raised 5 million US dollars (about 1 million pounds) in the first phase to undertake the construction of railways in Brazil and obtain the right to mine iron ore.

In order to reach a deal, the three banks spent a lot of thought on Werther, the minister in Brazil, so seeing that there was a high probability of cooperation between the French and Brazil, Werther couldn't help but ask Bernard directly about the proportion of American businessmen in the transaction contract.

In all fairness, the French royal family has always been good to the Americans, and in the American Revolutionary War and the Civil War, France provided support behind the scenes. And this time for the Brazilian loan, the French took the initiative to pull in the Americans, and they will not leave benefits to the other side.

Witte's question was reasonable, and Bernard instructed the embassy staff to take out a commercial contract of more than 20 pages, handed it to Werther, and said: "The cost of the loan for the warship is provided by the Bank of France, and of the 1 million pounds commercial loan, 200,000 pounds can be given to the United States. ”

After ten minutes, Witte was a little dissatisfied and said: "The three American banking companies have prepared $10 million for the transaction, and your country only leaves a quota of 200,000 pounds, which is completely insufficient to meet the requirements of our entrepreneurs. ”

Witte was dissatisfied from the bottom of his heart, and it was not easy to say too much, because the current United States is not a bald eagle that fanned the flames everywhere in later generations, and the Americans who lacked strength and influence were only countries of the same status as Brazil in the eyes of Brazilians, and did not receive the same attention as Britain and France, so Witte, as the minister to Brazil, could only strive for the interests of American businessmen.

"No, Werther, you didn't understand what I meant." Perceiving the dissatisfaction in the other party's words, Bernard explained: "Brazil has a population of 10 million, and the proven resources such as iron, copper, and coal occupy the primary reserves in South America, and the domestic commercial market in Brazil is very large, so we should not only focus on the benefit of a million pounds of loans, but also focus on long-term transactions in the future." ”

"What do you mean?"

"Hehe, Mr. Witt still doesn't understand? Now that your country has abundant funds, you can continue to negotiate new loan deals with Brazilians on the basis of the French loans, and France will support you in your dealings with Brazil. ”

After understanding the implicit meaning of Bernard's words, Witt's eyes lit up and asked tentatively: "Is the purchase and sale of warships included in the transaction between the United States and Brazil?" ”

"After France signed a deal with Brazil to buy ships, if the United States can persuade Brazil to buy your country's warships again, France has no problem."

After the Civil War, the U.S. government quickly reduced its armaments, and more than half of the warships built during the war were sold to other countries.

Arms deals between countries are generally carried out at the same time as commercial deals, and by selling decommissioned ironclad ships, the Americans will get more commercial benefits in the transaction, and the French attitude of no objection is the greatest support for the sale of warships by the United States.

After discussing the deal with Bernard for a while, Witte and Bernard returned to the U.S. Embassy to coordinate and prepare for the deal.