Rupert's-Land, also known as Prince Rupert's Land, was part of the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), and the first Governor of the Hudson's Bay Company was Prince Rupert of the Rhine, nephew of Charles I. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 infoHudson's Bay Corporation is the landlord of non-state entities in the world, and its main jurisdiction revolves around Hudson Bay, the Great Gulf of Ice in the northeastern part of Maple Leaf Country. At one point, its land extended eastward to the Pacific Ocean.

The area that was once part of Rupert includes all of Manitoba, most of Saskatchewan, southern Alberta and Nunavut, northern Ontario and Quebec, parts of Minnesota and North Dakota, and smaller parts of Montana and South Dakota.

Rupert's territory has not yet expanded to the size of the next century, but it still has nearly four million square kilometers. Of course, it is undeniable that this land is a real barren land, mostly covered by ice, snow and tundra, and it is difficult to make any profit from this land with modern productivity.

But even so, although such a huge piece of land cannot bring any real benefit to the British government, the British will not be willing to sell it at will, especially to a country that is actually their own competitor.

Robinson immediately refused: "This is impossible, first of all, Rupert's territory is owned by the Hudson's Bay Company, and our British government has no ownership of it, and we can't decide." And even if Rupert's territory is under the jurisdiction of the government, it cannot be transferred to you. ”

Datang Foreign Minister Su Liangxing snapped the folder in his hand and said, "Okay, we don't have any savings to talk about here." ”

Then he was about to get up and leave, and Lin Youde also got up, and said to Robinson, "Mr. Baron, you need to know that Rupert's territory has little economic value. The weather is cold and snowy, and the climate is harsh, and I don't think the Hudson's Bay Company has made much money here for so many years. A buy-out of 2 million pounds is a very good price, and I am afraid that in another two hundred years, almost no one will develop anything on this land. And. Expansion on the North American continent is our established national policy, and now we are politely proposing to buy it with funds at the negotiating table, but if it is a few years later, we may choose to use other methods, please weigh it carefully. ”

Robinson's face turned blue, this was a direct threat, Rupert did not actually have a British colony in the territory, in fact it was just an area, and the Hudson's Bay Company negotiated with the local aborigines to buy beaver skins and bear skins. There is no fortress to defend either. If the Tang insisted on operating in this area, then the Hudson's Bay Company had nothing to do. And if the Tang sent safari teams nearby, or incited the locals to oppose the Hudson's Bay Company, the Hudson's Bay Company would not only make no money, but also lose a lot of money.

Although Upper Canada (Ontario) was very close to Rupert's territory, and Britain had more advantages, the execution and military capabilities of the Tang people made the British extremely worried, and Robinson was afraid that the Tang people might not send troops to capture Rupert's territory at that time. It's the British who are more important to go to Canada.

In the end, Robinson said that he did not have enough authority and that he could not decide on such a major matter. They must return to their home countries to report to the Cabinet and the Crown. But after such a threat, Robinson was already somewhat inclined to take 2 million pounds from the Tang people, and then throw this frozen potato to the Tang people.

For the remainder of his stay in Los Angeles, Robinson drew up an agreement with the Donalds. The Republic of Datang bought out the ownership of Rupert's territory for 2 million pounds in cash, and gave Hudson's Bay Company a 10-year monopoly on the fur trade in the region. Ten years later, Hudson's Bay Company's local fur business was still open, but it was possible that Datang Company would be involved. At the same time, Britain could buy various technical goods from Datang, including railways, locomotives, generators, electrical appliances, etc., at a price equivalent to that sold to Spain and France. At the same time, the two countries have also carried out mutual recognition of sovereign territories. Britain will recognize the sovereignty of Rupert's territory and the land of the western American continent as the Tang Republic, and the Tang Dynasty will recognize the British sovereignty over Upper and Lower Canada, and the two sides will not invade each other.

In fact, Robinson is already very inclined to this agreement, although this agreement cost Britain four million square kilometers, but it is also an agreement that can reassure the British. By buying Datang's technological goods, the British were able to avoid being left behind by their European competitors, and at the same time, the non-aggression between Datang and Britain also allowed the British to relax and further expand their attack on France and Spain. For example, the British had already planned to attack the colonies of Spain in Central America, but they were worried about the intervention of the Tang Navy stationed in the Panama Islands, so they have not moved, and if this agreement can be formally signed, it is obvious that the British will gain greater initiative on the battlefield.

Bai Nan did not participate in this negotiation, and when Chang Bin drank with him afterwards, he complained a little: "Our new foreign minister is obviously not tough enough." If you want me to say, give Britain two million pounds, just wait for us to expand and fight it down. And also sell technology products to the UK at a flat price, which is enough. ”

Bai Nan held his wine glass and chuckled: "Selling technical products to European countries is an established strategy." And the purchasing power of the British will definitely be considerable, even if they are not willing to open up the market for our daily consumer goods, just selling electric lights, cars, rails and locomotives is enough for us to make a lot of money, because the so-called parity we give to European countries is also several times the profit. ”

He took a sip of the wine and said: "As for the 2 million pounds to buy land, in fact, I personally think it is not a loss. In the next century, the Americans will intend to buy Rupert's territory for $10 million, and the British have not yet sold it to them. In the end, the British government allowed Hudson's Bay to transfer the land to the Canadian government, and only received 300,000 pounds in compensation. In terms of price, although we do give a bit high, if we consider that we will slowly develop in the future, and then take a series of measures and military action to seize these areas, it may cost more than 2 million pounds. At the same time, we have also saved ourselves a lot of time, and we can now use the vast land in the north in some way, and we will expand our influence to the west shore of Lake Superior, and the deterrent influence of Britain and the United States will increase a lot. ”

Chang Bin said: "I can't deny what you said, but spending money to buy land still makes people feel a little lost." ”

Bai Nan smiled and said: "Minister Su, don't they think that it will cost tens of millions to fight a war, we have calculated the cost of the expedition to the Qing Kingdom, and it has exceeded 110 million Tang Yuan, if you want to go on an expedition to the vicinity of the North Pole, it will not cost less." For politicians, things that can be solved for money and without sacrificing human lives are definitely a priority. ”

Chang Bin said again: "In this case, why don't you buy the Louisiana territory together, how much did the Americans spend at that time, but it was only 15 million US dollars, and we also spent 10 million Tang Yuan, almost bought it." ”

Bai Nan shook his head and said, "Carlos III will not sell Louisiana to us, we have already snatched California from him and blocked their progress north. We were negotiating with them to pass through the railroad line of their New Mexico colony, and Spain was very wary of us. And the Spaniards didn't have much say in this matter, and the most influential here were the French, so the Americans ended up paying Louisiana to the French. In addition, we don't have to spend as much money as Rupert's territory, after the Pacific Railroad is built, this land will naturally be ours, can you believe it? ”

Chang Bin chewed peanuts and said with a smile: "I know that you heads and brains must not have any good intentions to build this railway, and in the end, you must have laid down the land along the railway and to the north, and the Spaniards will not have time to cry." ”

"Carlos III was now focused on how to deal with the British, and in the colonies the Spaniards were becoming less and less attentive. From now until the next century, riots and uprisings arose in the Spanish colonies until the Spaniards completely lost America. And his successor is not as capable as he is, and some will voila and see. What we need to see in Datang is that the railway is built, and we can quickly send any troops and resources to the area we want to deliver, and at that time, the Spaniards will lose the last bit of control over this land, and they will naturally become ours. ”

Chang Bin smiled and said: "When I watched an American western movie, it said that whoever mastered the railroad would master the country, and now it is also applicable to us." It's just that our population is a little smaller, and after a few years, we also have millions of people, colonizing inland places, haha, I really don't know how big our country was at that time. ”

Bai Nan smiled silently, in fact, the land that the Tang Dynasty desires is not only in North America. On the Australian continent in the South Pacific, the Tang people don't have the energy to reach into it now, but the British have obviously discovered this area, and Captain Cook, who had been briefly detained by the Tang Dynasty, is an important discoverer. In 1786 the British officially colonized the area as prisoners, and it was clear that the Tang needed to colonize the area before the British. No British colonial ship would be allowed to reach Australia and New Zealand. (To be continued.) )