Chapter 140: The Second Negotiation France Surrenders

Although Zheng Zhilong's words were said with a smile, how heavy they were, not only Zheng Zhilong knew, but Duke Bofur even knew.

What Zheng Zhilong thinks is that you were fucking defeated, what we want is compensation, and I will settle accounts with you to give you face, since you are shameless, don't blame me for being polite.

Duke Beaufort originally wanted to be tougher, but he knew that if the talks broke down, the consequences would be really unimaginable, so he pulled the words back, "General, don't be so angry. It is with great sincerity that your Majesty has sent me to talk to you. ”

Zheng Zhilong also didn't want the negotiations to break down, "I want to see your actual sincerity." In this way, we will give you the total amount of compensation we need. Let's see how we get paid! ”

Seeing that Duke Beaufort was noncommittal, Zheng Zhilong picked up a piece of paper and continued: "The ammunition cost we paid in this war is 160 million, the loss on our ship is 5 million taels, and the loss caused by the delay is 5 million taels, which is 170 million taels. A small penalty for you is thirty million taels. Let's take a whole amount of 200 million taels of silver. You French have two shares, that is, forty million taels of silver. Again, we didn't do much of it, but if we did it, our gun chambers were worn, and the value of each barrel was very high. ”

"Huh! It's useless for you to calculate! Duke Beaufort said with a smile.

"Duke! What do you mean by that? Are you ready to admit it? Zheng Zhilong asked with a tense face.

"It is useless to confess, neither we in France nor in Spain nor in Italy we have so much silver to give you. I don't want to give it to you! Said the Duke of Beaufort.

"That's your problem! But if you don't admit it, then we will take the method of not admitting it! Zheng Zhilong said, "Maybe we will send troops to Paris to see if there is anything worth so much silver in your Louvre or what palace!" ”

"Paris is not something that anyone can go to if they want to!" Duke Beaufort was still tough.

"That's good! Let's not waste time! Zheng Zhilong can see that it is not good to be real.

The treacherous and cunning Duke Beaufort could not have said anything to death, so he got up and said, "General, I didn't expect that your ideas would be so far behind us. How about I go back and talk about it and give you an answer? ”

"That's good! Tell me the exact time! Otherwise, our large fleet is waiting here, and when you come back, the cost will change! Zheng Zhilong said.

Duke Beaufort smiled and said, "No matter what, I'll come back tomorrow to give you news!" ”

After sending the Duke of Beaufort away, Mu Yi came out and said to Zheng Zhilong, "I'm almost sure that their king has arrived in the port of Marseille!" ”

"Huh? How do you think so? Zheng Zhilong didn't understand.

"The Duke of Beaufort is already a high-ranking man in France! But he still has to go back and study it, in fact, to ask for advice, and I think only their king is in Marseille. In particular, it is not too much to say that this matter is related to the life and death of France, and it is very likely that their king will guide the negotiation nearby! Mu Yi analyzed.

"Hmmm! What you say makes sense, I've been fighting with him all the time, and I haven't thought about it! Zheng Zhilong said, "But I think it's likely that we have to give them a little bit of power!" ”

"We really can't rush too much! We'll see how they react tomorrow! Mu Yi said.

The Duke of Beaufort returned to the port of Marseille to report the negotiations to Louis XIV. Louis XIV thought for a while, and then said to himself, "Hmph! Two hundred million taels of silver. I think it's the Ming Dynasty that wants to go crazy with silver. We can't afford to take that much silver from our countries combined. ”

"I see that they also know that we cannot come up with so much silver," said the Duke of Beaufort. ”

"Forty million taels of silver, what do they want to exchange?" Louis XIV asked.

"Do they want to change the port of Marseille? They have too much appetite, right? Said the Duke of Beaufort.

"It's useless for us to guess here, and tomorrow we'll ask them directly what we can do to their satisfaction. This matter is clear, we can't beat people, we are talking about reparations for defeat. We have to face this reality, and if we are not convinced, we will go back and work hard. But here, we don't have the slightest means to restrain others. If they had done nothing and destroyed all our coastal ports, we would have lost even more. Now it's smartest to try to minimize the damage! "Louis XIV saw the situation very clearly!

Louis XIV arrived at the port of Marseille but his mind was very sober, he knew that he could not defeat the Ming Dynasty by himself, and he had to agree to whatever conditions people wanted. At the same time, they also knew that if they gave too much, the queen mother and the cardinal would declare that they were not yet fit to run the country on the grounds that they had betrayed France, and that they would regain power after they had solved the problems in front of them. Louis XIV was not surprised by this, the struggle for power has always been vile and shameless, and neither of the two sides of the struggle will blame the other for the shameless use of the other, which is even more incompetent. But Louis XIV was thinking about how to take advantage of the disadvantage.

"Tomorrow when you see the people of the Ming Dynasty, try to say kind words, no matter what specific conditions they propose, don't refuse, just say that you want to come back to study. At the same time, I told them that no matter how this matter ends in front of us, our King of France is willing to form a friendly country with the Ming Dynasty! ”

The Duke of Beaufort listened to Louis XIV's words and was a little confused, "Your Majesty, do we agree to all conditions?" ”

"Do we have the capital to not agree?" Louis XIV asked rhetorically.

"We have already carried out a military mobilization, and if not, for the honor of France, we cannot submit to these ugly oriental monkeys!" When Duke Beaufort spoke, he was already gritting his teeth.

"We can't beat people! Besides, if we have to fight with someone, I will lose power when I return to Paris. They will also consider a solution that will cost France the least. But then I'm a scapegoat! Louis XIV made it very clear.

"However, we accept the request of the Ming Dynasty, and the responsibility of returning to Paris is still borne by His Majesty?" The Duke of Beaufort still didn't understand.

"Huh! So, instead of talking to the Ming Dynasty with a bitter face, it is better to talk to others with a smile! Do you understand? ”

"Your Majesty, I still don't understand?"

"Duke, we need to get their full support after talking to the Ming Dynasty, understand?" Louis XIV handed his cards to the Duke of Beaufort.

"Oops! Your Majesty, Great King, you are so wise, if a country like the Ming Dynasty supports you, no one will dare to touch you again! "Duke Beaufort finally understood. This is where the difference between the king's consideration and the people below him. No matter how much the country pays, the country is still mine. If the country has not suffered a loss, and its rights are gone, then its own loss will be too great, and that is absolutely not allowed.

The Duke of Beaufort firmly stood with Louis XIV, and the two carefully analyzed the situation of the Ming Dynasty, and even made the worst plan to completely cede the port of Marseille to the Ming Dynasty. However, their requirement was to ensure that the Ming Dynasty fully supported them.

At dawn the next day, the Duke of Beaufort sent people to the docks to signal the Ming Dynasty's fleet, asking them to send ships over.

Mu Yi and Zheng Zhilong were having breakfast when they heard that the port of Marseille had sent a signal asking for a ship to be sent over, and they both laughed.

Mu Yi swallowed the porridge in his mouth and said, "It seems that our friends are more anxious than us!" ”

"It is estimated that the King of France is also very uncomfortable in the port of Marseille!" Zheng Zhilong said.

It was Zheng Zhilong and Duke Beaufort who negotiated.

After a brief politeness, Duke Beaufort took a sip of tea, "We discussed your opinions. As you know, we in France have turned out all our wealth, and we don't have so much silver. We'd like to hear your specific thoughts? ”

Since the Duke of Beaufort spoke bluntly, Zheng Zhilong also said bluntly, "In this way, we want to rent a piece of land near the port of Marseille and the port of Le Havre as a place for us to conduct commercial activities with your country. ”

"How big do you need space?"

Duke Bofour's rhetorical question made Zheng Zhilong's heart happy, and Duke Bofour's did not resolutely object, which showed that they were mentally prepared.

"We want to have five kilometres of coastline along the coast for our own marina and then extend it five kilometres inland. Of course, we don't want a place that you're already very busy using. Zheng Zhilong said, "Here in Marseille, we will choose a place on the west side of the current (old port) harbor. We'll need to send someone to see the port of Duke Beaufort, and it won't occupy the dock you're using. We will rent these two pieces of land for a hundred years. We will give you ten million taels of silver for each place. That is, 100,000 taels of silver a year. Of course, we also have one more demand, that within the concession we apply our own laws, and that we have the right to send troops and police to maintain law and order. You are to provide us with easy access to and from France within our concessions. shall not interfere with our normal business activities. Residents of the concession must abide by our laws. We citizens of the Ming Dynasty have no right to try our crimes in France, and they need to be handed over to our courts for trial. We will carry out semi-closed management in the concession. ”

Zheng Zhilong said, Duke Bofur did not say yes or no, and his entourage carefully remembered everything Zheng Zhilong said. This made Zheng Zhilong a little uncomfortable.

"And!" Zheng Zhilong looked at them very seriously, and simply said, "You must compensate us five million taels of silver at one time." The others may pay us 300,000 taels of silver a year. Until it's paid! ”

After Zheng Zhilong finished saying this, the Duke of Beaufort was still noncommittal, but said: "General, I still say the same thing, when His Majesty the King of France sent me, he repeatedly expressed his desire to be the best friendly country with the Ming Dynasty. No matter how we resolve this matter, this determination of our Majesty will not change. We have caused you harm, and we want to make amends, and we think this is the right thing to do. But within our means. It would be dishonest if your demands are beyond our ability to bear, and we can't do what we promise. Now I'm going to go back and take your request back and study it at once. I'll get back to you as soon as I can! ”

Originally, Zheng Zhilong wanted to give Duke Bofort a time limit for replying, but now it's hard to say.

When sending Duke Beaufort off the ship, Zheng Zhilong asked, "Is our friend feeling better?" ”

"Oh, thank you for your concern, after taking your medicine, his high fever has subsided, and he doesn't cough so much. When I saw him this morning, I was able to sit up and eat something! The Duke of Beaufort replied, but he was scolding in his heart that it was strange that you, a coolie captain, should be remembered by so many people.

"That's good, we will never forget the people who helped us!" Zheng Zhilong said.

The Duke of Beaufort brought back a message to Louis XIV, which was both unexpected and somewhat unexpected.

Surprisingly, the people of the Ming Dynasty did not have such a big appetite and did not want the entire port of Marseille, and it was not surprising that they still had to cede some places. Although it is a concession, it is a hundred years, and cutting off is the same meaning. It's just that it looks better on the face. To Louis XIV's discomfort, the Ming Dynasty also wanted a piece of land in the port of Le Havre on the other side of the English Channel. On the other side is the United Kingdom, which makes France's face really unsightly.

But Louis XIV thought that there was no way, so let the British watch it. Isn't it that the British and the Ming Dynasty also have a great enmity, the ships of the Ming Dynasty are coming in and out in front of their eyes, if the British look at it, their face will be gone, if they do something to the ships of the Ming Dynasty, they will be the same as us in France.

Louis XIV knew that he couldn't refuse someone's request, so he had better find a way to bargain with the Ming Dynasty before agreeing to someone! After discussing with Duke Bofort, he asked Duke Beaufort to come to Taishan in the afternoon and continue to negotiate with Zheng Zhilong. But this time, Duke Beaufort came to bargain with Zheng Zhilong.

Since France had already agreed to the demands of the Ming Dynasty in principle, Zheng Zhilong was no longer domineering, and the bargaining was very intense. Negotiations were temporarily interrupted several times. Zheng Zhilong discussed it with Mu Yi and made some concessions.

In the end, the agreement was that the lease of the two concessions was for 99 years, but according to Zheng Zhilong's repeated requests, it was added, and after the expiration, the Ming Dynasty had the right to request that the contract be renewed. The price can be negotiated by both parties according to the situation at the time. Before a new lease is concluded, the Ahara agreement will be executed.

There are also two concessions, and the rent is calculated at fifteen million taels of silver for ninety-nine years each.

For the remaining 10 million taels of indemnity, France paid 1 million taels to the Ming Dynasty at one time, and the rest was paid according to 250,000 taels of silver per year until it was paid. However, it is stipulated that the payment must be made by the first month of each year, and in case of default, 10% of the amount payable shall be paid for each day of default.

It was already eight o'clock in the evening when the terms were negotiated, and the Duke of Beaufort was about to return to shore, saying that he would soon come and sign the agreement.

Mu Yi immediately sent a telegram to his home to report the situation.

At this time, it was already more than three o'clock in the night of the kiln, and Zhang Zhimu was sleeping on Xiao Hongyu's side.

Every time Xiao Hongyu wants to do something big, she will force Zhang Zhimu to think of some good songs. Those who composed their music, none of them could make such a beautiful song that Zhang Zhimu sang to them.

Zhang Zhimu kept telling Xiao Hongyu, "You must rely on your composers, if they never write songs, they will never be able to write well!" ”

Xiao Hongyu also said helplessly: "Come on! I understand the reason, but the songs they write, they just can't get their hands on it, what should I do? ”

Zhang Zhimu suggested: "You can arrange for him to go to various places to collect style." There are a lot of folk songs all over the country, and if you adapt them, they are very good songs. Zhang Zhimu suddenly remembered "Jasmine", "There is a song adapted from Jiangsu folk songs, called "Jasmine". ”

After Zhang Zhimu sang the song "Jasmine" to Xiao Hongyu, he said happily, "This song is so beautiful, it will definitely be circulated!" I'm really going to let them go all over the place. This "Jasmine" is really a folk tune, but it is a terrible tune when it is changed like this. This tune is changed to any music, and it sounds good! ”

Xiao Hongyu is about to engage in the National Folk Song TV Contest, just to come up with a few excellent songs to use at the closing of the conference.

So I made a lot of good dishes that Zhang Zhimu liked, and forced Zhang Zhimu to think of songs.

The longer you don't sing, the harder you want to sing. finally sang "Desire", "Last Night's Stars" and "Read You" to her, and Xiao Hongyu was satisfied.

Because of such a few beautiful new songs, the quality of her party can be guaranteed. Now young and old are willing to sing. The restaurants and shops in Yaogang are full of tape recorders and gramophones. People are also humming songs as they walk down the road.

Xiao Hongyu, who was beside Zhang Zhimu, asked: "You say, is heaven like this?" ”

"I haven't been to heaven before, but I think the kiln will get better and better!" Zhang Zhimu said.

"But no, you see that there are still a few TVs, I heard Yang Chang and them say that if the microwave network is built now. Televisions in cities across the country can be simulcast with each other! ”

"Hmmm! Soon they will have cable TV, and then the TV signal will be better, and they will no longer shiver a few times at every turn. There will be more units. It's just that your program source has to keep up. Otherwise, it would be boring to broadcast a hundred stations, that is, these programs repeatedly. You have to train personnel for local TV stations, and you have to let all localities give full play to their enthusiasm, shoot TV dramas, and hold evening parties, so that the programs will be rich! ”

"Good! But let's get a show first! Saying that, as soon as Xiao Hongyu turned over, she lay on Zhang Zhimu.

Xiao Hongyu is much more open than Huang Yukun and Yang Yulin in this aspect.

After a fierce battle, Zhang Zhimu slept soundly, but the hateful phone rang, and it was still the ringtone of the red phone.

Zhang Zhimu was accustomed to looking at the time on a big clock first, it was already more than three o'clock, and he knew that something urgent must have happened.

Picking up the phone, it was Ouyang He's voice that came.