May 15, 1678, Saint-Germain, sunny. On the lawn in front of the Palace of Versailles, the water is dripping.

This is not just a metaphor, but a real scene, where King Louis XIV of France spent a lot of money and countless manpower to build a large harp that was half in the water and half in the air, and the accompanying system of water, which was maintained by a series of water lifting stations and artificial canals—at such a huge cost just so that he could listen to the music produced by the flowing water in his leisure time, Louis XIV's extravagance does not seem to be more than just rumors.

In addition, today's banquet is also very extravagant, and the cost is very small, after all, the hundreds of nobles and ten times the number of service personnel are not fake, and this is not counting the expenses of the Wang family's musketeers who are on guard on the periphery. Looking at the sumptuous and exquisite dishes at the banquet, Li Qing, the plenipotentiary envoy of the East Coast to Europe, could only sneer secretly, it is really Zhumen's wine and meat stink, and there are frozen bones on the road, at this moment, the Palace of Versailles is full of friends, but who cares that the provinces of southwestern France are still suffering from famine? What doesn't exist, what doesn't exist, the nobles don't care about it!

After comparing what they saw and heard along the way, they strengthened their faith in the east coast in their hearts, and firmly believed that the cause they were fighting for was just.

Cinnamon and pepper from Ceylon, ginger from India, nutmeg and cloves from the East Indies, and cane sugar, tobacco and other food or condiments can be seen everywhere at the banquet. Considering that the Kingdom of France was now at war, and that the import and export trade was more difficult than ever, Louis XIV would have had to pay much more for these things than before, which was something to be enjoyed at any time.

Thinking about the three meals a day of the former Ming Emperor, the daily consumption is not exaggerated, and when the country's economy is in difficulty, he will pretend to be frugal and cut back on food, compared with Louis XIV and the equally extravagant Spanish court, it is really a model of financial expenditure control within the appropriate range, and it is not a level at all.

Of course, there were many other treasures at the banquet, such as all kinds of precious stones from India, Ceylon and Persia, all kinds of wool shoulders, perfumes and cotton fabrics from Kashmir, fine carpets and tapestries from Persia and Turkey, porcelain and brocade from China, and of course many silk products imported from the east coast. Combined with the beautiful gadgets made by the skilled craftsmen of Paris, and the famous paintings and sculptures collected, in short, the total value of all the ornaments and luxury goods accumulated in the Palace of Versailles is likely to exceed 100 million livres, or nearly 27 million silver dollars on the east coast.

Such a huge fortune, what to do is not good! If it were to be used for war, the custody would push back a large number of German troops led by Charles V and gain a foothold on the east bank of the Rhine. It's just that it's impossible to think about it, and people like Louis XIV would rather be stalemate in battle than give up their own enjoyment.

Of course, if you also consider that there are no good receivers in France today—as can be seen from the fact that the magnificent Château de Villeville has not yet been sold—so much wealth may not be realized, so there is no need to sell it, and it is better to stay in the palace and spend money on it later.

At the banquet, Louis XIV highlighted Li Qing, who was full of hair, and Lin Dingzhi, the East Coast ambassador to France, who was with him. Compared with the last time he met Lin Dingzhi at the Palace of Versailles, this time the scale is larger, the ceremony is more grand, the status of the guests is higher, and the language is more solemn, showing the enthusiasm of the French court in the middle of the war for the East Coast Republic of China.

Li Qing and Lin Dingzhi are the well-deserved protagonists of the banquet this time - speaking of which, this is the first time, I didn't expect the arrogant French to have this day - in the face of waves of French nobles or married aristocratic women who rushed over, their facial muscles were a little stiff.

The aristocrats, in particular, constantly raised the topic towards business, either side-touching or outright about the viability of trade with the East Coast. Li and Lin understood these people, because except for a few first-class nobles, most of the French nobles were not particularly wealthy, and life in Paris was not easy, and they urgently needed to find some money from trade to maintain their decent life. Speaking of the poverty of the French aristocracy, this pot actually had to win the Hundred Years War and unify the entire French Capetian family, in that war, many French nobles went bankrupt and had to rely on the Capetian family, and this is the secret of the high degree of centralization of the French Kingdom today.

Li Qing and Lin Dingzhi made an appointment with some of them who did have strength or commercial traditions, and as for some of the others, they were just close to familiar people, sorry, they didn't have so much energy to talk to each other, and time didn't allow it, because their monarch, the Sun King Louis XIV, still had to talk to the envoys of the East Coast.

The time for the secret meeting was set after the banquet, and the venue was in Louis XIV's art collection, accompanied by Louis XIV, the Minister of State of the Kingdom of France, and Louis XIV's knights stood guard outside the door, to ensure that no idle people would approach and affect the conversation between the two sides, as it was likely to affect the future direction of the situation, and it had to be cautious.

As soon as the two sides were seated, Louis XIV dropped a bombshell, asking the people on the east coast if they were interested in buying the island of Santo Domingo, which was still under French control, which really frightened Li Qing.

The island of Santo Domingo, or Hispaniola, was originally divided between France and Spain, and was divided between the east and west. In the last war of inheritance, thanks to the help of the navy and army on the east coast, the Kingdom of Spain acquired the entire island and restored it to its peak state when the Santo Domingo Court of Attorney was first established. In exchange, of course, the French received ownership of the Free City of Strasbourg, which was nominally part of Spain (in fact autonomous), and several surrounding municipalities as compensation, and it was not much of a loss.

In this war, the French organized a flotilla from La Rochelle, carrying part of the army, and crossed the sea to the port of Guadeloupe. Neither the Spaniards nor the Dutch found out about this process, because it was unrealistic for their ships to squat at the gates of several French islands all day.

The French then set sail on a night with good weather and landed first on the western half of the island, where a large number of former white French colonists lived, and then easily captured several major towns, including Cap-de-France. The next thing is simple, the Spanish Army's sparse combat effectiveness is not seen by the French at all, and they almost collapsed at the touch of a button, and they lost the original Spanish Santo Domingo after three strokes and five divisions, and it was not even half a month before and after, which was also speechless.

However, it is easy to occupy, and it is more difficult to defend next. The Spanish windward fleet that reacted did not care about the French colonial islands such as Guadeloupe, Martinique, and St. Lucia, and five or six ships in better condition were based on Tortuga Island - it is worth mentioning that this originally famous "pirate island" has now returned to the pirates since it was swept by the East Coast army last time, and this time it is controlled by the captain of the East Coast Pirate Leader, the captain of the "Tiger Shark", Sumo - a strict blockade of Santo Domingo, Make sure that the French troops on the island will not be adequately supplied.

Later, at the repeated requests of the Spaniards, the Dutch West India Company would also send armed merchant ships without mission to the vicinity of Santo Domingo Island from time to time to intercept possible French ships and carry out blockade tactics against hundreds of French army soldiers on the island.

The Spaniards did not fail to attempt to mobilize an army to land on the island. It's a pity that their weak colonial army wiped out the French and didn't even cause too many casualties on the other side, and they were also drunk. The sailors of the Dutch West India Company, who were watching at that time, were dumbfounded, and then sighed that it was no wonder that Port Bello in New Spain was sacked by 100 English pirates in the middle of last year.

However, the Spanish blockade tactics still played a certain role in the end, although the French ships risked their lives to receive supplies on the island several times, but after being sunk by the windward fleet of two ships, they no longer dared to give up the follow-up supply of more than 500 French troops on the island of Santo Domingo, and let them hold on to themselves.

This time, King Louis XIV actually sold Santo Domingo to Li Qing, and it seems that he also understands in his heart that in the case of the navy cannot gain an advantage, Santo Domingo will not be able to keep it in the end. The French now clearly intend to sell the island while it is still in their possession, even if it is the first price, lest they lose all their money in the future.

Li Qing inevitably complained a little about the French in her heart, thinking that these guys really had a tradition of selling land, and in later times, Napoleon sold the entire Louisiana colony at the price of cabbage, expanding the territory of the United States by one-third at once, which was simply the most loss-making transaction in history. Now more than 100 years before Napoleon, but the first thing that came to the mind of the French when they didn't have money was to sell their land, although the island of Santo Domingo probably wouldn't sell it for a few dollars.

"I'm sorry, Your Majesty, but out of respect for the Kingdom of Spain, we do not intend to buy Hispaniola, which is contrary to our principles." Li Qing rightfully rejected the whimsical idea of the French.

"You've always been so careful to maintain relationships with all parties, but a lot of times some people are inevitably offended, aren't they? I know your national strategy, I know you want to rise, but do you think you can rise just by being a good person? Spaniards do not deserve sympathy! Louis XIV was obviously a little angry that the people on the east coast did not cooperate with his sale of the islands, but he did not have much to do, so he looked at Li Qing and said, "Is it okay to resume your country's trade routes to St. Lucia, Martinique, Guadeloupe, and St. Christopher's Island?" ”

"As long as we have to give our textiles, hardware products, soda ash, arms, dyes, pharmaceuticals and tropical specialties a 'fair' tax rate, then everything will not be a problem." Li Qing replied. In the beginning, the French still gave a reasonable tariff rate to goods from the East Coast (the average of Britain, Spain, Portugal and the Netherlands), but later as the tariff rates of other countries rose, the goods from the East Coast also rose, and finally greatly affected the sales, which was very troublesome. Then, when the Spanish pressured the east coast to cut off trade with the French colony islands, the local trade department was discontinued, effectively halting this small (but crucial) trade with the French.

"You're always staring at these petty profits. You can come to trade at the port of Le Havre, which is one of the several trading ports under the direct jurisdiction of the Treasurer, close to Paris, and has no tax collectors and customs supervisors, which can give you a lower tariff rate. Louis XIV felt a little ridiculous when he said this, he spent at least two hours in his room studying maps, and every moment of his mind was thinking about taking a certain piece of land or a certain city under his rule, and money was for him only a tool, a powerful tool for satisfying his pleasure and the desire to expand his territory.

Some time ago, the Minister of State, Louir, even told him that he was very sure that as long as the Kingdom of France promised to reduce the import and export duties of the United Provinces, and to ensure that they were in a relatively safe position, then the country would probably sell off its current allies, Spain, Austria, Brandenburg-Prussia, and other countries, that is, let the Kingdom of France get a large amount of German land and a part of the coveted territory of the South Netherlands.

Louis XIV laughed for a long time when he heard the news, thinking that his enemies were such fools that he had gained a lot of land this time because of a small profit. Then, after a few years, when you have finished recuperating and recuperating, then it is easy to start another war and continue to expand your territory in three directions.

Originally, he thought that there would be any difference between the people on the east coast, but after a few contacts, he found that they were just "fools" who only recognized money in their eyes, which is very easy to do. Based on this realization, he decided to throw a bigger decoy to see if there was a way to pull this strategically located and small country to the chariot of France, so he only heard him ask: "Is there any interest in forming an alliance with the great royal family of the Golden Lily?" I know you guys want Peru and even New Spain, no problem! This world is ruled by the strong, and the Kingdom of Spain is not qualified to be your ally, but France does! ”