In recent years, China's business interests in Europe, especially in the Mediterranean, have increased rapidly, mainly because of its successful foothold in France, through which it has radiated to the northwestern European region, and more recently, it has become increasingly close to Austria.

Cooperation with France began in the time of Louis XVIII, when European companies were chartered by Louis XVIII to set up a European bank in France.

Although the company is based in the port of Marseille in the south of France, it has operations all over France. And there is also the right to issue bank bills, which is not so special in this era. Most banks have this power, and many are set up to issue banknotes.

The French banking system is modeled after that of the British, but even in the United Kingdom, there are as many as four or five hundred banks with the right to issue bank notes, all of which are private banks, and even the most special of them is the Bank of England, which is only protected by Parliament and does not allow the bank notes of other joint-stock banks to enter within 65 miles of London.

After Napoleon established the Banque de France, the currency management was stricter than that of the British, but the bank that issued currency was not the only one that issued money, but the provinces continued to establish French branches, but these branches were not the same as the Banque de France, just the same name. The Banque de France is controlled and dominated by the government, but it is a private bank, through which financiers who are shareholders can make a profit. Therefore, there is a conflict of interest between the head office in Paris and the local branches.

Under normal circumstances, francs issued by local banks have to be discounted through the head office in Paris in order to be used in Paris.

Historically, after 1835, France still approved the establishment of branches with the right of issuance in 9 provinces. Not to mention the European banks, which were established more than a decade ago.

Nominally, the area where the European bank issued bank notes was limited to the port of Marseille, but in fact, due to the strong credit of the European banks, the bank notes issued by him circulated throughout France, because of the large amount of South African gold, in fact, the European banks issued franc banknotes, which played the greatest role in stabilizing the credit of the franc in these years, and if it were not for the gold reserves of the European banks, the credit of the franc banknotes would have been bankrupt long ago.

It can issue currency in France, conduct general banking business, and add its own commercial business, so that European companies have more and more economic interests in France, and the interests of European companies actually represent China's commercial interests in Europe. This was not a monopoly like the British East India Company, but more of a business management company. The direct business of European companies is limited to those high value-added trades, such as tea trade, silk trade, and luxury goods trade. He sent Chinese silk, tea and handicrafts to Europe, and brought European high-end wines and luxury goods back to Asia for sale.

However, for those bulk textiles, wool, leather products, etc., it is not operated, but authorized to some private fleets to operate, charging a certain management fee. This is also the experience that the British East India Company explored in India, and these private traders were called retail merchants or port-foot merchants.

After the construction of the Black Sea Railway, there were still many Chinese retail merchants who came to Europe, and now there are not only some retail merchants, but also some coastal provinces, and local shipping companies have also been established, and these companies have a few dozens, and hundreds of merchant ships have engaged in war and trade, of which there are more than 300 merchant ships in Europe.

On the contrary, the European company's own merchant ships are less than 100, and the participation of these retail merchants has made China's commercial power, although it is not yet ranked in Europe, compared with the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and other maritime powers, and even after Denmark and Sweden, but in the Mediterranean, it has ranked fourth after Britain, France and Greece.

The naval strength of European companies is even much higher than that of Greece, only behind Britain and France, and the gap with France is limited. But behind the European companies there is also a China with a naval paper strength, nearly twice that of the British, which is what the French value most.

In order to win China over Britain, France was keen to deepen its political and military ties with China, not limited to economics. Economic cooperation is a win-win situation, and without the operations of European companies in France, the French economy, especially finance, can never remain stable in a constantly turbulent political atmosphere. But politically and militarily, the Chinese seem to be cautious about rashly entering the Mediterranean, and until now, they have only existed in the Mediterranean region south of Crete through European companies, and the island of Malta, which is strategically important in the Mediterranean, is controlled by the British, and it is difficult for European companies to break through the middle of the Mediterranean.

Historically, Britain and Russia have carried out a century-long big game in Central Asia, the reason why the big game happened in Central Asia is because the local forces are complicated, the current Central Asian forces are relatively simple, but the situation in the Mediterranean Sea is complicated, the control of Central Asia is nothing more than China, Russia and the Manchu Qing Empire, these three major forces are currently internally stable, and have formed a balance between each other, the local small tribes have been wiped out, there is no puppet force for the three major empires to use, and the big game has no foundation in Central Asia. But the contradictory basis of the Great Game has been shifted to the Mediterranean, which can be seen as a result of China's westward expansion.

Compared with the Great Game in Central Asia, the Great Game in the Mediterranean is more complex. Because the two sides of the struggle for hegemony are still two world powers, one replaces Russia's China, and the other is still the industrial empire Britain. But there are more thugs in the Mediterranean, and it is not the backward tribal countries of Central Asia, but the European powers such as France, Austria, and Spain, as well as weak forces such as Greece, Portugal, and Italy, as well as Muslim forces such as the Ottoman Empire and the Ali Dynasty of Egypt.

The situation is too complicated, too far away from China, it is considered the edge of the tentacles of the two empires of China and Britain, there is friction, but no one dares to detonate, once detonated, this complex situation is very easy to get out of control, and it will suddenly turn into a world war, and it is difficult to take back the knife that is easily drawn.

The last war was a rehearsal, China would have a hard time gaining a foothold in the Mediterranean, and Britain would lose India.

So both sides are willing to maintain the status quo and are not willing to easily upset the balance.

Greece is a variable, France is an even greater variable, Greece has a special connection with China because of the ambitions of the Chinese prince; France, on the other hand, wants to be a gamer and a chess player in the game of world powers because he is not willing to be mediocre, but wants to be a player who plays chess with a chess piece in hand.

France, a big variable, and Greece, a small variable, want to unite with Greece, and the outcome is even more unpredictable.

In the thirty-seventh year of the Great Zhou Dynasty (1836), five years after entering the Greek government, Zhou Chenggong had completely gained a firm foothold.

In recent years, he has made frequent moves, economically, through the development of the wool textile industry, shipbuilding and shipping industry, the construction of railways, through his own influence, he has successfully promoted wool production in the Kazakh steppe, South Africa and Australia, these wool is transported to Greece, processed and exported to Europe, his source of raw materials is more convenient than that of Britain, so it has attracted a large number of British wool textile industry capital to invest in Greece; Through these measures, he has developed the area around Athens into the economic center of the whole of Greece, and sheared the wool of the local powers of Greece through commerce and finance.

Administratively, through the imperial examination system, a large number of outstanding talents were selected, and a relatively efficient central government was created.

Militarily, the old army has been reorganized, military schools have been established, weapons have been purchased, and new recruits have been recruited, and a Greek regular army of 20,000 men has been created, which has formed an overwhelming advantage over the local army.

He also built a navy of eighteen battleships, which, together with hundreds of armed Greek merchant ships, formed an absolute maritime superiority over the Ottoman Empire. also use this navy to exert greater influence on the Greek coast; Although he had no control over the localities, the important ports and customs of Greece were already under the absolute control of the Greek government.

In terms of education, the number of schools handled is limited, but they are all very targeted. There was a normal school, three engineering schools, a university of Athens, and a Greek government school. The number of schools is small, but they all pay a lot of money to hire excellent people, and the quality of education is very high. Through this elite education, the largest number of top talents have been cultivated at the lowest cost, providing talent support for his political, economic and military construction.

But Zhou Chenggong did not touch the interests of the local powerful faction. Instead, they kept stuffing officials who seemed to be the children of local forces. Zhou Chenggong did not regard these imperial examination officials, who had intricate local backgrounds, as old forces, but as his own civil officials.

He believed that these people would have more and more conflicts with the local powerful faction under the system of being officials in different places, and finally play a major role in his action against the local faction.

However, unless it is absolutely necessary, Zhou Chenggong will definitely not directly clash with local forces, and it is important to eliminate local forces, but not through his hands. He had discovered that the French were obsessed with marrying him, and that they must have valued his background.

Linked to France's actions in recent years, especially those of the Orleans dynasty, it is not difficult for Zhou Chenggong to guess what France wants to do. In the midst of the Great Game, Zhou Chenggong's judgment was not comprehensive, and he believed that the aim of the French was, at best, to drive the British out of the Mediterranean by uniting with China.

It was also in his interest, and Greece would be one of the biggest beneficiaries of expelling Britain from the Mediterranean. When the time comes, the French will regain hegemony in the Mediterranean, Greece will gain control of the Aegean Sea, and China will expand its interests in Europe, which is a win-win cooperation.

Based on this consideration, Zhou Chenggong got involved in this great power game without hesitation, and at the end of the seventeenth year of the Great Wednesday, he decided to divorce his wife Connie and propose to the French princess Louise Marie at the same time.

The calm Mediterranean, what kind of turbulent waves will be set off because of this marriage!