On March 15, 1644, while Gaumo was recuperating in a manor outside the city, Julian, dressed in a formal suit, suddenly burst straight in with a happy face.

"High, there's good news." Julien said to Gaumore with a little excitement, "Baron Elam will go hunting in the outskirts of Bordeaux this afternoon, accompanied by Baron Lloris and Baron Toulouse's heir, Frank, and after their efforts, you will have five minutes to talk to the Baron in the afternoon." There is someone in Baron Elam's family who works as a clerk next to the treasurer, Lord Fouquet, and this is a great man, and our affairs may end up here, so you should be prepared. ”

"Is this man reliable? I mean, would he be willing to help? Gao Mo also sat up, and said with a solemn face: "If this man also wants to get involved in the cotton business, maybe we will lose more than we gain, because he will definitely thin our profits, which is very bad for us." Rather than that, I think it's better to pay our taxes honestly, at least we still have to make money for now. ”

"Gao, you're thinking too simply." Julian looked at Gaumore with a somewhat strange look and said, "Do you think this levy is an isolated incident?" No, that's not the whole story! According to what I have just inquired about, this tax incident is only the beginning, and the new prime minister is a ruthless character, who has already decided to revive the French economy. To this end, he has brought in 300 state-of-the-art water-powered textile machines from the Netherlands, and has recruited many bankrupt craftsmen to set up a large textile factory following your example. These textile machines were redesigned by the Dutch after years of research and improvement, and are far more efficient than before. Although it may still be inferior to yours. But the gap between this has been narrowed. The products of the textile factory will be mainly cotton. Then there will be a small amount of wool, the raw materials of cotton cloth are imported from the West Indies, Brazil, and the wool is partly settled domestically, and partly imported from the Ottoman Empire - who let the British already ban the export of wool, high, we are in big trouble. ”

Hearing Julian say this, Gao Mo also felt a little bad in his heart. The current domestic self-sufficiency rate of cotton on the East Coast is just over 50 percent, with the rest being imported by Brazil, French Santo Domingo and Florida. If the French also purchased cotton in large quantities from the plantation owners here, it would inevitably cause a sharp increase in the price of cotton, which would undoubtedly increase the cost to the people on the east coast. And, even more frighteningly, due to the relatively limited maritime power of the French, in order to transport these raw materials, they will inevitably hire a large number of transport ships in the international market, which will undoubtedly push up the rent of transport ships. For the East Coasters, who are still seriously short of the tonnage of merchant shipping, if the rent of the transport ship is high, it will also increase the cost of goods for the East Coasters. In a word. The French, who are crazy for money, are menacing, and the situation of the people on the east coast looks bad.

"Damn it!" Gaumo cursed. "He's really a special prime minister. Well, I'm ready to prepare, and then where are we going to meet this Lord Baron? And, are you sure he can help? As you said, this is the will of the Prime Minister, so it's not very likely that you will change your course, right? ”

"Go to my family's estate. We'll have to try, and if we can't, we'll find another way. Julian said succinctly, "Everything is up to me." That big guy may have a bit of an odd temper, try not to him off. ”

Gaumo nodded, changed into an East Coast suit, put on a top hat, and hurried into Julien's carriage with one of his military attachés, heading for the outskirts of Bordeaux.

Truth be told, spring is not a good season for hunting. Because the animals have been consumed after a winter, they are currently skinny and have no oil and water. But what does it matter, you must know that the prey of the men is not only those pheasants and hares running all over the ground, but also the flocks of warblers and swallows sitting around the hunting ground. The ladies of Bordeaux, dressed in baroque costumes, sat on the sidelines and talked in whispers, occasionally glancing at the gentlemen and gentlemen in hunting clothes in the hunting grounds.

And these children who are also from high-class families also hold their heads high, and the hormones in their bodies are secreted rapidly, and they can't wait to attract the attention of these ladies and ladies immediately. Baron Elam is undoubtedly the protagonist of the day, a young man from a noble family in the north, who is currently studying under some famous scholars in theology, history and poetry, and is also a little famous in the circle of aristocratic ladies in Paris. He agreed to go hunting in the suburbs of Bordeaux today only with the mentality of having fun, and he did not mind occasionally tasting the fragrance of the ladies and ladies of Bordeaux, a large southern city, as he mingled in the Parisian social circle all the year round.

Julian and the others parked the carriage in the manor in a low-key manner, and then a group of several people stood cautiously somewhere, waiting for news. After about twenty minutes, a middle-aged man who looked like a butler walked over, and he glanced at Gao Mo with a reserved and haughty gaze, and Second Lieutenant Zheng Yong, a military attache in an army uniform behind him, and then said: "Tartars, it is your honor to have five minutes to talk with Your Excellency the Honorable Baron, please pay attention to your etiquette. Now, then, please follow me. ”

The two men followed the butler with serious faces, and after walking for about five or six minutes, they finally met the Baron at the stable. Baron Elam was really young, tall, well-proportioned, with a very soft face, with a full head of blonde hair and an extremely neatly trimmed beard, he looked quite attractive. It is said that this young nobleman had fought with the Prince of Condé against the Spanish Flemish Legion last year, when he was a cavalry officer and had personally participated in the assault on the Spanish cavalry troops, so he was also young and promising, and was not a useless child.

"Tatars, or people from the East Coast, I know what you are coming for." Baron Elam, dressed in a red hunting suit, said casually while packing his bags with the help of his attendants: "But this matter is really difficult to do. The Prime Minister's will was strong, and he had already made up his mind to develop the textile industry in his country, so that all the foreign merchants would be driven away, and the noble France would not need the presence of vampires. Please forgive me for being direct, maybe my words make you very uncomfortable, but this is the truth, and no one can change it. Not only you, but the English, the Dutch, the Italians, and the damned Jews are all going to be expelled, and this is the reality, the reality that is unique to France. ”

"Perhaps you have many reasons for your own......" Baron Elamand stretched out his hand to stop Gammour, who was about to speak, then turned over and sat on his horse, and said to Gammour, "but the will of France cannot be disobeyed, and you will have the honor of witnessing the rise of a great nation." Is that young man behind you an officer? Very beautiful clothes! May your bravery be as commendable as your clothes! ”

"There is no doubt about the bravery of the soldiers of the East Coast Republic of China, and we have proved it on many occasions." Zheng Yong, who was still a junior high school student before the crossing, was not provoked, and immediately responded to the other party's provocation in French: "If anyone dares to endanger the interests of the East Coast Republic of China, we will respond most resolutely with the saber in our hands." ”

Gao Mo sighed in his heart, this stunned green! In the end, he is young and vigorous, and he can't stand the slightest irritation from others, and saying such hard words on such an occasion is the rhythm to mess things up. Those people in the military department are really hateful, they have to stuff a so-called military attache around themselves, but you should pick a more stable person, and pick such a tender guy to come over. It's really hairless, it's not good to do things, and I'm really going to be killed by him!

Baron Elam was stunned for a moment, then sneered, and said, "Interesting people from the East Coast, I hope we will have a chance to meet in the future." Okay, I'm still busy, please go back. After speaking, without waiting for Gao Mo and the others to reply, he clamped the horse's belly between his legs and galloped forward surrounded by the attendants.

Looking at the back of Baron Elam's long walk, Gao Mo was also a little depressed. The other party wasn't even interested in talking to him more, obviously this matter was no longer a joke, but today it was really embarrassing, and he ate such a nail that was neither soft nor hard when he came to the door. I am in my forties, and I am unpleasant to be sent away like a bedbug by such a kid in my early twenties.

After returning to the starting place, Julian immediately stepped forward and quietly asked the outcome of the matter, although he no longer had any hope, but there was no luck in his heart. However, Gomo's reply shattered his last illusion, and several people returned to the East Coast people's merchant house in despair.

"It's already clear." Gao Mo rubbed his face and said: "The new prime minister wants to make money, maybe he wants it himself, maybe the country is short of money, in short, he is eyeing our business." I even suspect that this is mainly the work of the financial director of Fauct, because France has depleted its treasury because of the war, and the 30 million livres (about 150 million yuan) collected every year are basically spent on the country's huge bureaucracy and continuous foreign wars. We have already made hundreds of thousands of livres a year by selling our cotton cloth in just 6 of the 32 provinces, and some people may be thinking that they would have done better. Hmph, they think things too simply. Don't worry, Julian, I'll have urgent consultations with my colleagues in the country to come up with a response as soon as possible. As for the time being, let's wait and see what happens. (To be continued......)