Chapter 139: Return to the Port of Marseille The first round of negotiations

The reason why Zheng Zhilong forced the captain who delivered the letter to drink here was to give the French on the shore a dismount. He knew that the French negotiators on the shore must be anxious to wait for news from the captain.

This captain is also a person who has gone through the wind and rain, and since he can't leave, he really drank with Zheng Zhilong. Although he was not used to drinking the spirits of Yaogang, he was unwilling to show weakness and insisted on drinking with Zheng Zhilong. During the banquet, Zheng Zhilong asked him, "Captain, without the ship, what can you do in the future?" ”

The captain, whose face was flushed with alcohol, shook his head and said, "There is no boat, and when I go ashore, I will only drink and find women!" Don't know what you can do? Our ships were not officially French sailors, they were temporarily recruited to fight. If the ship is lost, His Majesty will give some compensation to the shipowners. But those black-hearted shipowners won't care about me! This time France lost too many ships, and there were not so many ships to arrange captains and sailors! ”

"If I have the chance, how about I give you a job?" Zheng Zhilong didn't drink less, but his mind was very clear.

"You give me a job?" The captain didn't understand, "You're going to use me as your captain?" ”

"No," Zheng Zhilong shook his head, "and let you be our captain, you can't be either!" ”

"Yes! When I see you all boats, my head is dizzy. There wasn't even a sail, and it was booming. Such a boat is not interesting! "This captain has been on a sailboat for a long time, and he is very unaccustomed to the environment of the kiln gang.

"What about work on the shore?" Zheng Zhilong asked.

"The shore is French, how can there be a job for you?" The captain was not yet drunk.

"I'll be there tomorrow after talking to your envoy. Tell me, would you like to? By the way, we'll give you twice the captain's salary! Zheng Zhilong threw out a price that the captain couldn't refuse.

"What? Twice the salary? The captain snapped to his senses. Although as a captain, in addition to a fixed salary, there are many rewards based on the profitability of the merchant ship. In France, the income is good, but they also spend a lot of money, and a captain can hardly save any money. If he could work on the shore, he would be able to earn twice the salary, which is simply undreamable.

Speaking of which, Zheng Zhilong felt that it was enough, "Okay, you can think about this matter first." I'll come back to you when I find time! ”

In the next wine, the captain drank it unsteadily, and he kept thinking about whether what Zheng Zhilong said was true or false. This kind of wine is quickly drunk too much.

The captain was taken ashore on a speedboat.

As soon as the captain was gone, there was no news, and Louis XIV was in a hurry, and kept asking the Duke of Beaufort to send someone to the docks to inquire about the news.

At this time, the Duke of Beaufort had the heart to kill the captain. Until the drunken captain was taken to their lodgings in a carriage, the enraged Duke of Beaufort had the captain awakened with cold water. But a few buckets of water were poured down, and the drenched captain still couldn't wake up.

Louis XIV was angry and had no choice, and it would be relieved to kill him now, but how is the matter, who is going to ask? I had to say to the Duke of Beaufort: "Forget it, let's talk about it tomorrow, and you can go sleep for a while!" ”

Where did the Duke of Beaufort dare to sleep, he lay down in his clothes in the room where the captain was lying, and wanted to wait for him to wake up as soon as possible to inquire about the situation. Outside the port of Marseille, the warships of the Ming Dynasty are eyeing each other, how can he have the heart to sleep!

In the second half of the night, the captain, who was lying on the ground soaking wet, had passed a little drunk, and he was also awakened by freezing. He sneezed a few times, straightened up and tried to stand up, but he couldn't stand up, and now he has a high fever due to the cold.

When the Duke of Beaufort saw that the captain was awake, he had him put on a chair and asked, "You stupid thing, what the hell is the matter?" Don't you know that Your Majesty and we are waiting for your news? ”

"No way, they won't let me go? I have to drink! The captain said weakly.

"Tell me, what are they doing with you?"

"They, they have to negotiate early tomorrow morning, and they will send a ship to pick you up and take you to their ship to negotiate!"

"Didn't you say that you want them to come ashore to negotiate?"

"They don't do it!"

"You useless thing!" The Duke of Beaufort knew that he would not have the advantage of the landlord when he went to negotiate on someone's ship, so his momentum weakened first. It seems that the opponent is not simple.

"What else are they talking about?" Duke Beaufort asked again.

At this time, the captain was already a little confused, and kept coughing, "Ahem! They, they also said, are going to give me a job! On the shore! Ahem! ”

"What? Giving you a job on the shore? "Duke Beaufort was a little confused, but he didn't understand what was going on, but he felt bad. I wanted to ask the captain again, but the captain had already fallen asleep.

One of the servants touched the captain's head and said, "He's so hot that he's choking!" ”

"Give him a change of clean clothes, he can't die now!" The Duke of Beaufort commanded.

The captain was carried out, and the Duke of Beaufort could not sleep. He had been thinking about the conversation he had with the captain. Suddenly, Duke Beaufort's heart immediately sank, and he said, "Could it be that the Ming Dynasty wants to cut our land?" The Ming Dynasty expanded everywhere and cut land everywhere? ”

Thinking of this, the Duke of Beaufort understood that tomorrow, no, today's negotiations would be very difficult. His Majesty would never agree to cede the land, but if the Ming Dynasty insisted on it, there was no way. If they really flatten the coastal areas, the losses will be even greater. In that case, France would become a weak country without hands and feet.

Finally, when Louis XIV woke up, and before he could finish freshening up, the Duke of Beaufort rushed into his room, "Your Majesty forgive me!" But it's urgent. The Ming Dynasty will soon send a ship to pick me up at the dock and go to their ship to negotiate. ”

"Didn't you say okay, invite them to come ashore and talk?"

"That idiot said they didn't agree!"

"You should think of it!" Louis XIV said lightly.

"However, the drunkard said yesterday that the Ming Dynasty had promised him a job. It's on the shore! ”

"So what?"

"Your Majesty, we cannot take it lightly. I think they're going to go ashore and cut our land! ”

"Oh? Absolutely not! Louis XIV also felt that something was serious.

"That's it!" "What if they have to do this, and we can't beat them?" said the Duke of Beaufort. ”

"Isn't our army starting to build?" Louis XIV asked.

"It's already assembled! However, against the sea, now we have nothing to do! "Even on land, they easily defeated the Moon, Persia, and the Ottoman Empire!" We don't stand a good chance of winning! ”

"What then? Surrender to them? Louis XIV was in a hurry.

After thinking for a while, Louis XIV said, "You go and talk about it in a moment, and don't promise them anything." I'll have to come back about everything! ”

"Yes! Your Majesty! ”

Although the Duke of Beaufort had not slept much all night, he knew that today's event was too important, so he washed up and went to the dock to wait for the Ming Dynasty to send a boat to pick him up.

One of the attendants who followed the duke said to him cautiously: "Master, the captain who delivered the letter is probably not going to die, he has a high fever and a terrible cough!" ”

"Useless stuff!" The Duke of Beaufort knew that he had been too ruthless last night, and that he must have had pneumonia.

A speedboat "Tutu" arrived on time at the dock, and the ship's general asked, "What about the captain yesterday?" ”

The duke's retinue said: "Yesterday I drank too much, and today I have a high fever and am sick!" Then he turned and said, "This is the Duke of Beaufort of our Kingdom of France, and our envoy to negotiate with His Majesty the King!" ”

"Without yesterday's captain, how can we be sure that he is the special envoy for negotiations?" ”

"It's useless to lie about it, maybe tomorrow the captain will be in good health. Naturally, the matter is clear. Duke Beaufort deliberately said, "Otherwise, we will wait for that man to be healed and then we will negotiate?" ”

Thinking to himself, we don't have time to drag you down, waved his hand and said, "Get on board!" ”

The Duke of Beaufort came to the speedboat with four men. The speedboat sped up towards the anchorage of the Tarzan.

The Duke of Beaufort and several of his retinue were simply stunned by the flying speedboat. In this way, the ship does not have a slurry or a sail, and flies like it on the sea, which they have never seen and heard of.

The speedboat approached the Tarzan, looking up at the mountain-like ship, and the Duke of Beaufort tried to lift the breath, but he couldn't lift it. As an admiral, the Duke of Beaufort understood that such a warship, stopping here, would not be able to be bombarded by the French navy. Not to mention naval battles with others.

On deck, the Duke of Beaufort saw the rows of cannons on the ship, and said to himself, "The bombardment of the port of Marseille is definitely not an empty phrase to bluff people!" ”

Of course, it was Zheng Zhilong who negotiated with Duke Beaufort.

Duke Beaufort came to the deck, and Zheng Zhilong greeted him.

The general who went to pick up Duke Beaufort said: "This is our deputy commander, General Zheng Zhilong!" He also introduced to Zheng Zhilong: "This is the Duke of Beaufort, the negotiating envoy of His Majesty the King of France!" ”

"Welcome Duke Beaufort!" Zheng Zhilong arched his hand and said.

"It's an honor to meet you! I've heard for a long time that there is a rainbow general in the East! "It seems that the Duke of Beaufort has done his homework.

Duke Bofort's sentence really works, no matter what, someone here can still know General Caihong in the East, Zheng Zhilong is still very comfortable to listen to, but he was also stunned, and immediately understood that the person who came was not an idle person, "Oops! Thanks to the Duke of Beaufort! You've worked hard, please sit inside! ”

Zheng Zhilong let Duke Beaufort into the cabin of the Taishan.

The two sides sat down, Zheng Zhilong found that something was wrong, and asked, "What about the captain who came yesterday?" ”

"Yesterday he drank too much and started to have a high fever and a severe cough at night. I can't make it today! Said the Duke of Beaufort.

Zheng Zhilong knew that a captain who was roaming the sea would not be like that because of the little wine he drank, something must have happened, Zheng Zhilong couldn't ask again, "Alas! I've always felt that we shouldn't forget the people who helped connect us. In this way, I will send someone to bring him some of our medicine in a while, which may be of some benefit to his illness! ”

"Oops! I thank the general for him! "The Duke of Beaufort will still do it. He had also heard for a long time that the Ming Dynasty had several miracle medicines to cure diseases. Generally, the disease can't be cured, just use it.

After being polite for a while, the soldiers on board brought very good green tea. The aroma wafting through the cabin shocked everyone.

The Duke of Beaufort said, "Oops! This is the green tea of the Ming Dynasty, right? ”

"Yes! It's nice green tea. It's a pity that I drank the best Longjing I originally brought, otherwise that kind of tea would be better! Zheng Zhilong said.

Duke Beaufort smelled the tea, drank some tea gently, and said, "Good tea is really in the Ming Dynasty!" It's a pity that the tea that our merchant ships brought home is rarely such a good tea! ”

"Yes! I've heard that your merchant ships usually only make a round trip once every two years, and you can only bring back fermented tea, or semi-fermented tea. Zheng Zhilong said, "However, in the future, we have our own ports in the Black Sea and the Mediterranean, and you can also buy new tea from there." After our merchant ships, we can also travel through the Cape of Good Hope several times a year. Not only fresh tea, but also many other opportunities for everyone! But, it seems, you don't seem to welcome us in France, do you? ”

"No, no, it's definitely a misunderstanding!" The Duke of Beaufort said, "It is definitely not the intention of our Majesty the King to send warships out to fight you this time. ”

"Huh! Your king does not agree, and hundreds of warships go out against us, is this a thing of the past? ”

Duke Beaufort had already prepared for such a question, "General, allow me to brief you on the situation. ”

"Please!"

"That's right, many of our French merchant ships have been sunk by you. We are very dissatisfied with this. A lot of people have been clamoring for revenge. Our Majesty has always felt that the Ming Dynasty in the East is a big country with a long history, and it will not sink our merchant ships for no reason. Because merchant shipping is very beneficial to both of us. So I've been trying to control the rhetoric. Today, however, we must say something that should not be said. Since the succession of Her Majesty Louis XIV, the power has been in the hands of Queen Anna and the Cardinal Archbishop. It was they who made the decision to send troops. But they were also deceived by the Spaniards. Now our Majesty has just taken over the real power, and our Majesty is very eager to establish friendly relations with the Ming Dynasty in the East! ”

"Whatever one may say, we are all victims. We don't have much to say about your internal affairs. Now that your Majesty the King is in power, he will have to compensate for our losses! "Zheng Zhilong doesn't want to talk too much nonsense with Duke Beaufort.

"Oops! When I came out, our Majesty repeatedly told me that I would like to sincerely apologize to you. "The Duke of Beaufort will not easily agree to compensation.

"You cooperated with the Spaniards to attack our fleet for no reason, is it just an apology?" Zheng Zhilong knew that he couldn't be too polite.

"So, would you like to tell me what you think?" The Duke of Beaufort was slowly retreating.

"Two thoughts. One is to compensate us for our losses, and the other is to punish you for your mistakes! ”

"General, we suffered the most losses, hundreds of our warships went out, and few returned. Whether it is a man or a ship, our losses are incalculable! The Duke of Beaufort began to quibble.

"This loss is caused by your eating mistake, and you are naturally responsible. You are responsible for your own losses, and you are also responsible for the losses caused to us. Zheng Zhilong divided the responsibilities very clearly.

"What are the losses caused to you? Besides, it's not our family's responsibility! Duke Beaufort continued to argue.

"Alright! I'll calculate what we've lost? Zheng Zhilong also made full preparations, "First, we used large and small shells, a total of more than 20,000 rounds; Also, although our ships were not sunk, some of your shells fell on the deck, causing damage to our deck and crew; Third, because of the battle with you, the trip of our entire fleet was delayed, and the daily losses were very large! ”

Duke Bofort heard Zheng Zhilong list these things, his head was big, and he knew that this was a big thing. If this is the case, the amount of silver that people want is as much as they want.

"Oops! General, this account can't be counted like this, right? ”

"Then you can tell me an algorithm, right?" Zheng Zhilong said, "Do you think that article shouldn't be counted, say a reason!" ”

"This, this!" The Duke of Beaufort really wasn't ready to say anything.

"I think I'd better settle the accounts first!" Zheng Zhilong's preparation in this regard is much more detailed than that of Duke Bofour.

"Our large 304-mm shells are 10,000 taels of silver each. The others were four thousand six thousand taels of silver each. And that's not even counting barrel wear! Here is the list, which adds up to 160 million taels of silver for the shells. The damage inflicted on our ships and men is also five million taels of silver, and this is the list. There are also losses caused by delaying our trip, which is also five million taels. Also, I can't punish you for something? Of course, the Spaniards will bear most of this loss, seventy percent! But you and Italy will bear two and one percent. "Zhang Zhimu calculated very clearly for Duke Bofort one by one.

"No, no, general, you don't have to do that! It doesn't make sense! Duke Bofort interrupted Zheng Zhilong's words.

Zheng Zhi Longxin said, "Don't dare to let me forget it!" But there was no politeness in his words, "Duke Beaufort! What do you think should be counted? Just talk about reparations for defeat? ”

"No, no, we in France are not at war with your Ming Dynasty. Not to mention defeat! Duke Bofort waved his hand, unwilling to accept Zheng Zhilong's statement.

"That's good! Come back and tell me how you're going to compensate us for our losses. "The Duke of Beaufort, whom Zheng Zhilong wanted, admitted that he should pay compensation.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty is very sincere in being a friendly country with your Ming Dynasty, and Your Majesty has repeatedly asked me to sincerely apologize to you!" Where is the Duke of Beaufort a fuel-efficient lamp, resolutely not spitting.

"We don't have time for you to go on with this nonsense!" Zheng Zhilong showed his hole card, "If you can't use your actions to show repentance for your mistakes." We'll punish you with cannons! ”

"Our great France will no longer give in under threat!" Although Duke Beaufort was weak-hearted, he was still very tough on his face.

"We will never threaten anyone for no reason, but whoever hurts us must pay the price!" Zheng Zhilong smiled and said, "Your silver that we shelled will be settled by you!" ”