The French war with Spain did not affect the prosperity of Bordeaux. As France's leading commercial port, Bordeaux continues to see an increase in the number of trading vessels entering and leaving the port every day, and the tax collectors are weak in collecting customs duties.

It's just that the East Coast people are missing from this prosperity. Since the beginning of the year, when the navy's convoy sent 50,000 pieces of cotton cloth, a quantity of food, and munitions, no ships from the east coast have docked. Xu Xin still remembers the tragic appearance of the escort detachment that had just experienced a major war. After unloading the cargo and hastily repairing it, the entire fleet quietly left the port of Bordeaux in the middle of the night, stealthily acting as a thief.

In this regard, as the person in charge of the Bordeaux trading station, Xu Xin expressed his helplessness. The 50,000 pieces of cotton cloth shipped at the beginning of the year had already been sold out, and Julian, on behalf of the Pasquier family, had come to the trading station to meet Xu Xin several times, but there were no ships from the mainland, and they could only watch the huge cotton market be occupied by textiles from the Netherlands. Even the old Ludwig guy invested in the expansion of a textile factory, employed dozens of full-time workers, bought a batch of high-priced textile machines from the Netherlands, and ran a decent cotton business. During the period of absence of people on the East Coast, he even made some money from the cracks in Dutch goods.

It's September now, and there's still no news from the locals. Xu Xin heard some news about the mainland from the ships of other countries that called at the port, and the most talked about by the sailors of various countries, and the most exciting news for Xu Xin and others was the news that the naval fleet had attacked and burned down the British trading post in Gambia.

Julian was also optimistic after hearing the news. The war may end within a year. Because the situation in the UK is becoming more and more tense. Reasonable British merchants clearly could not tolerate a long period of war on the East Coast. They will definitely find a way to end this increasingly meaningless war. As for the conflict of interests with the East Coasters, then the only way to reconcile them is to find a way, no way, who told you not to bring the East Coasters to their knees through war? Since it is impossible to make people submit, then the only way to do this is to recognize the existence of others, and to divide the scope of their interests through the coordination of interests, which is the way that these shrewd businessmen will choose.

Today is another sunny day, and Bordeaux in late summer and early autumn is enchanting. Xu Xin, under the escort of Shinzaemon and Kojiro, was about to go out to hunt in the countryside with Julian and others, but he didn't expect an uninvited guest to suddenly come to the door. And this person's status makes it impossible for Xu Xin not to pay attention to it. He had to send his personal servant to Julian's Mansion to announce his imminent absence from the hunt and to apologize sincerely.

"Mr. Abraham, I have been taken by surprise by your visit...... Xu Xin was still dressed in a red hunting suit, and was just about to go out when he met the British diplomatic envoy in Bordeaux, Abraham, who had not even had time to change his clothes.

"Please forgive me for taking the liberty of visiting, Mr. Xu." Abraham took off his top hat and greeted Xu Xin slightly, "I'm deeply disturbed to disturb your hunting feast, maybe I should come at another time." ”

"Don't worry too much, Mr. Abraham." Xu Xin stretched out his right hand. Inviting Abraham to sit down, he smiled and said, "Maybe I should have invited you to join us on the hunt." I've heard that when you were younger, you led expeditions to Guinea and fought against the indigenous blacks, so I think you must be very skilled. ”

"Hehe, hunting is a great event for you young people. I am so old that I seldom ride a horse nowadays, and can only sit quietly in the garden reading like a dying old man, and I really don't have the energy to do some intense sports. Abraham said with a smile.

After the two of them exchanged polite nonsense, Xu Xin took the initiative to provoke the topic: "Mr. Abraham, I don't know what happened to you today?" Is it about foreign affairs between our two countries? ”

"So to speak." Abraham pondered for a moment before he said, "I wonder what you think of the Barons' House (the House of Lords of England, which is also known as the Baronial House because its members are all nobles) and the House of Commons (whose members are mostly knights or representatives of the burgher class) and their members?" ”

"I'm sorry, but I know very little about them, and I'm afraid I can't answer your questions, Mr. Abraham." Xu Xin replied after careful consideration, "But based on the country's position, I have a natural dislike for them, because the colonial or trading companies they have invested in are at war with my country. I wish they would be bankrupt tomorrow, hahaha, please forgive me for my rudeness and rudeness, I really owe them a little favor. They are all a bunch of vampires who only recognize money in their eyes, dirtier and more shameless than the Jews. ”

"Your candor is commendable." Abraham's words surprised Xu Xin slightly, and he continued: "These people are a group of mercenary businessmen, and they will not let go of any opportunity to make money. But when the country encounters a disaster or crisis, they will rightly shrink back and then instruct others to step forward and deal with the mess. They are so shameless and greedy, many sinful things are caused by them, may God forgive them. ”

Xu Xin was a little stunned, he didn't expect Abraham, an old English man, to come to the door and say such a thing to him. Is his brain broken? Or are they frightened to hear that our naval fleet has attacked their trading post, and now they are rushing to pull relations? Xu Xin smiled secretly, he is not the protagonist of Xiaobai's obscene writing, could it be that the IQ of the Englishman in front of him will drop to 5 immediately with the anger of Wang Ba? This is obviously impossible.

Then, his intentions are worth scrutinizing, and let's see how he continues to speak.

"Yes, they have despicably waged an unjust war against our country, resulting in a large number of innocent casualties and the halt of normal commerce. It is a tragedy that we have to fight, and the losses on both sides are incalculable, and I hope that this senseless war will end soon. Xu Xin followed Abraham's words.

"Yes, this erroneous war has been going on for a long time, and it's time for someone to correct it."

"We people on the East Coast love peace, but we alone cannot end this war."

"Maybe I can find a way to unblock the upper echelons of relations and bring this war to an end that is overwhelmed by both sides."

After hearing these words pop out of Abraham's mouth, Xu Xin even suspected that he had misheard. Is it true that the British will not be able to hold out and be in a hurry to end the war more than we ourselves? It's incredible.

"Conditions? I mean, what do you need? Xu Xin asked with a little rapid breathing, "As the saying goes, there is no free lunch in the world, and I don't think Mr. Abraham came to the door to help us for no reason." Let's be straight, what do you need? I think I'll think about it. ”

"I need 4,000 of the latest flintlock muskets, 50 high-quality army field guns from the East Coast, and 10,000 sabers, and perhaps some armor and hand-thrown bomb......s," Abraham said softly, "I know that you brought a batch of fine East Coast weapons to Bordeaux more than half a year ago, and the French government acquired a third of them for the war against the Spaniards, and most of the rest is still stored in your warehouses." I know you want to hoard these things for a good price, how about you transfer them to us? ”

"You want to deal with the Scots?" Xu Xin suddenly woke up and said, "Your king wants to crusade against the Scottish Presbyterians?" War is about to begin? ”

"East Coasters, I have to admit that you have a keen sense of smell." Abraham smiled and said, "Yes, that's right. The recalcitrant Scots have always refused to accept the orders of Archbishop Lauder, and in order to preserve the authority of the Bishop and the King, we have no choice but to resort to force and raise an army against these stubborn heretics. ”

"I understand your eagerness to assert the King's authority." Xu Xin said while scolding the bullshit authority of the King of England in his heart, "But a realistic question is, do you have money? Do I mean you have the money to buy these weapons? As you said, I'm a businessman, and I hoard weapons just to sell them for a good price. Can you, or the power you represent, afford it? To tell you the truth, Mr. Abraham, I have in my warehouse 1,500 flintlock rifles, 30 guns of various types, 3,000 sabers, and two hundred suits of armour, the total value of which exceeds six thousand pounds at market value. It's a huge fortune, and I'm not sure you'll be able to afford it. ”

"You don't have to worry about the payment, young man." Abraham continued slowly, "We can pay some of the cash, and the rest can be offset by goods or property. Of course, we have settled the conflict between your country and the East India Company, should you sell us these weapons at a reasonable price? Otherwise, we could have bought from the Dutch. ”

"The goods may be offset against a part of the amount, but not more than half. Also, we do not accept real estate as a bad valuation to offset the payment. Of course, if you can really persuade those merchants to conclude a peace treaty with our country, I think I can sell you these high-quality weapons at a good price within my own authority, subject to the obligation of secrecy. Xu Xin said categorically after thinking about it.

"Well, I think I can get back to working on this thing now." Abraham stood up satisfied, and said to Xu Xin.

"It's good. Finally, Mr. Abraham, I would like to take the liberty of asking you a question. Xu Xin also stood up, looked at Abraham's old face, and said.

"Of course, as long as I can answer." Abraham put on his top hat and looked at Xu Xin with a smile.

"You're the king?"

"I'm the king!" (To be continued......)