After all, Li Yongji couldn't stay closed all day, after all, he still had a bunch of things to deal with, but Pu Anchen came to block the door every day like kraft candy, and in the end, Li Yongji couldn't hide, so he could only meet Pu Anchen again.

After meeting, Li Yongji said straight to the point: "Don't think that if you are a special envoy, I will always give you face, your mission has been completed, why do you stay with me if you don't go back honestly?" Well, this is the last meeting, and I'll force you back, so if you have any requests, just say it.

Of course, if you are interceding for the affairs of those captives and want me to return them for free, then do not open your mouth, and I will not return those captives to you unless I ask for money to ransom them. ”

"But your ransom is too high." Pu Anchen said lightly, "An ordinary soldier costs 5,000 Chinese yuan, which is equivalent to more than 10,000 US dollars, is this difficult for a strong man, we can't take out so much money at all." Not to mention the government, even the families of ordinary soldiers can't take it. ”

"The soldier can't take it, so the officer can." Li Yongji smiled, "Your officers are said to be rich." ”

"But it can't be that outrageous." Pu Anchen shook his head, "Ten thousand dollars for an ordinary soldier is ridiculous enough, but once you get to the officer, the price is even more outrageous."

For example, if you ask for $30,000 for an ordinary second lieutenant, the price will increase by $10,000 for each level of military rank, and $80,000 for a colonel, and $20,000 for each level of promotion, and all the ransom money must be converted into the equivalent of gold to pay, and no other currencies will be accepted...... You're doing this, it's a robbery! No one can afford such a high ransom payment! ”

"Robbery, perhaps." Li Yongji smiled, "You have to understand, they are now our captives, and you don't count the fate of the captives, but we have the final say, and I can be as high as I say."

Of course. From another point of view, the ransom price we gave was also to respect the value of those captured officers and soldiers, if it was not worth it, how could we open it indiscriminately.

In any case, if you have money, you can redeem yourself, and if you don't have money, you will continue to work for us as captives until the value of their labor is enough to redeem them.

In short, this is a matter of principle and cannot be bargained. If you are not convinced, you can take us prisoner on the battlefield and pay us a high ransom...... Oh, forgot, now that we've stopped fighting, well, it's a shame you don't have a chance to take our men prisoners. ”

"Your Excellency, Commander." Pu Anchen took a deep breath, "Everyone is smart. Isn't the reason why you are willing to cease war with us because you hope that the United States will continue to hold on and not be completely overthrown by the rebels in the South, which will lead to a situation of division between the North and the South? Otherwise. Obviously, you have the upper hand, and you will not agree to a truce with us.

Perhaps in the eyes of outsiders, your conditions are very harsh, and we have suffered a great loss. But you and I actually understand that deep down, you want a truce. Only if you and I stop fighting, we will have the ability to resist the attacks of the Anglo-French and Allied forces, and if you don't stop fighting, we will have no chance of winning.

Since you also hope that we can continue to hold on, hold off the attack of the Confederate army and the Anglo-French army, and form a situation of division between the north and the south, then you should give us more strength.

We don't expect much material support from you for the time being, but at the very least, you should return the prisoners of our army, right?

The captives in your hands are all excellent soldiers, they have rich combat experience, and once they return to the motherland, they will certainly play a vital role in the Northeast and Southern Theaters to protect the United States of America.

On the contrary, if you insist on not letting them go, we will not have enough troops to resist the combined offensive of the rebels in the south and the Anglo-French forces.

I don't think you want to see us annihilated, do you? You know, you have made treaties with our United States, and once the United States no longer exists, do you think the new government will recognize those treaties? Even if the new government agreed, would the British and the French agree? ”

"That's a good point." Li Yongji clapped his hands, "But that's it."

Indeed, signing that contract with you seems harsh, but it is just a step down for both parties and a breather for you.

After all, you and I both understand that even if you don't sign a contract, with your current ability, you won't be able to control those western lands for the time being, at least in California and Oregon, you have completely lost control, and it will be difficult to get it back.

Therefore, although the treaty we signed before seems harsh on the surface, it is actually just to give up the corners that you cannot control in exchange for our armistice and win a strategic buffer, I am right? ”

"Yes, you're right." Pu Anchen nodded, "Since you all understand, doesn't it mean that you also want to stop fighting with us?" ”

"Well, yes, you're right." Li Yongji smiled, "I really want to stop the war with you and sign that agreement, but it's just to gag other people's mouths, after all, we are allies with the British, the French and the Allied States, and we stipulate that there can be no truce alone, and now we have a truce with you alone, we have violated the agreement, and we don't show others some tangible benefits, how can we convince people at home and abroad?"

But then again, land and other things, in the final analysis, it depends on the fist, to put it bluntly, even if your United States perishes, and the Allied States swallow you up and reunify again, they will not dare not recognize that agreement, at least not in the short term, otherwise, they will face our wrath and face the full-scale aggression of the Chinese Empire again.

President Davis of the Confederates is not a fool either, and they understand that your current core territory is east of the Mississippi River, and it is simply not worth the loss to fight us for something that is not yet your core territory.

Therefore, although I would like you to divide into two countries, if not, I will not force it, and a united, fully enshrined and free trade Union may be more in line with our wishes.

Therefore, if you want to be independent, you have to rely on your own strength, don't expect me to help you more, at least, if you want me to release the prisoners for free, there is absolutely no way. ”

"So, can't you really be more accommodating?" Pu Anchen said in a deep voice.

"It's not that you can't be accommodating." Li Yongji smiled, "Aren't you just going to give money?" ”

"I said it. There is not so much gold in the United States! Anchen shook his head, "Especially at this time, of course, we want to take out a loan, but will you lend it to us?" ”

"Actually, there is no gold, you can use the goods to convert." Li Yongji smiled, "For example, we have been short of wood recently, especially logs. If you can give us the equivalent of logs, it can also be considered as a ransom payment. ”

"Wood? Are you serious? Pu Anchen's eyes lit up.

"Of course it's true." Li Yongji nodded, then took a form and handed it to Pu Anchen, "Then, this is our timber purchase price, different years, different weights of timber, the price is also different, and it is clearly marked on it." And our purchase price is higher than the market price, which is definitely a preferential price. ”

Pu Anchen looked at the table, and indeed, the prices of all kinds of timber on it were clearly marked. Including the type of tree, the length of the year, the weight per unit volume, etc., will affect the price.

Although Anson had never been in the timber business before. But I also know a little about this industry, and I know that according to the purchase price in this table, it should indeed be slightly higher than the market price of lumber in the United States. It's still more reliable.

"Well, that's good." Seeing Pu Anchen's face, Li Yongji hurriedly said, "I believe you also saw it when I came, I didn't let go of these captives just so that they could cut down trees for me." Of course, I don't let them work in vain, they cut down trees with points, and they get more for their work.

Once they have cut down enough trees and accumulated enough points, they can redeem themselves.

In addition, points can also be exchanged for daily necessities, such as food, drink and other daily necessities, and even can be exchanged for Chinese nationality, become a Chinese citizen, and receive 500 acres of land in California or Oregon for free.

Once they become Chinese citizens, they can also apply to take their family members over, so that their family members can also become Chinese citizens and enjoy various benefits of Chinese citizens.

Chinese citizens have more welfare benefits, not only can they be allocated land for free, but also interest-free loans of varying amounts, education subsidies, medical services, and so on.

Especially medical services, once they become Chinese citizens, they can buy all kinds of special drugs at the purchase price of Chinese, which should be the most attractive to them, especially if they have just experienced a terrible flu.

As far as I know, most of these captives, especially the low-level officers and soldiers, are very interested in becoming Chinese citizens, and many of them are willing to exchange points for Chinese citizens, which is why they are so energetic, well, you should be aware of this, right? ”

"Yes, I did." Pu Anchen nodded, "When I came, I saw the scene of our people cutting wood, and I could see at a glance that it was our soldiers. However, I see that they seem to be quite happy, and there is not much supervision around, which is quite strange at first, but now that I think about it, it turns out that you gave them more hope. ”

"Hope? Yes, I love that word. Li Yongji nodded, "I won't say what your high-level people want, but for the low-level soldiers, what is their greatest hope?" Is it to sacrifice his life for the country? I'm afraid not!

I once did a survey, your low-level soldiers, even in the elite troops, those low-level officers and soldiers longed for in their hearts, but to be able to live in a peaceful environment, to have their own farm, to increase their income year by year, to have a beautiful wife, to have a few lovely children, and then the children can go to school, everyone can have medicine to treat when they are sick, and by the way, they can save a few years of money, and they can go out for a trip to see different scenery, etc......

Yes, their wish is very simple, they just want to live in peace, and these things cannot be given by weak countries, only strong countries can give them.

It is true that you America, in the past, were a great power, but after this civil strife, you will not be able to survive in peace, at least for a long time, and it is foreseeable that even if the war ends, you will have to go through a very difficult time.

Of course, the rich of you may not care about this, but for the people at the bottom, poverty is the greatest enemy, and I can give them more wealth, greater security, and more relative freedom!

Yes, although our empire is not like your United States, which has some separation of powers, but is still a monarchy, our emperor practices enlightened autocracy. We pay great attention to the problems of people's livelihood, so it is definitely much better for the people at the bottom to live on the land of the Chinese Empire than in your United States.

Not to mention anything else, let's just talk about the territory, the current Chinese Empire, in terms of the amount of land, is already the first in the world, the population is also the first in the world, not to mention the armed forces. So safety can be greatly guaranteed.

As for wealth, as long as they become Chinese citizens, they can own 500 acres of land in California for free, they can also apply for low-interest loans to invest in their own farms, and even they can join mercenaries and enjoy the high treatment of mercenaries.

In short, the Chinese Empire is a country full of opportunities and vitality, in this land. It doesn't matter if you're a citizen who wants to live a peaceful life, or an adventurer who wants to do something big, you can find your own position.

Also, I told them. The policy of racial equality was practiced in the empire, and people of different races could enjoy the same treatment as long as they had citizenship of the Chinese Empire. Other words. Even white people can be officials in China as long as they are Chinese citizens. If you do a good job, you can't rule out that you can become prime minister one day in the future. ”

"You told the captives all this?" Pu Anchen smiled, "You told me this, and you also told those poor children, didn't you?" ”

"Yes, of course." Li Yongji said, "But I didn't say it personally, I didn't have that much effort, it was the propaganda staff below who told them and read out their rights and obligations to them." ”

"That's a good thing to say, I'm tempted to say it." Anchen shook his head, "But alas, I know what you said is a deceptive trick." If nothing else, you Chinese are mainly yellow races, whites can only be regarded as ethnic minorities, culture is different, a white person is difficult to integrate into your society, let alone be a prime minister, that is simply impossible.

You say that, it's as ridiculous as having a black man president in my country, and I don't think anyone will believe your nonsense except idiots. If you want me to see it, they are working hard just to go home one day earlier, and the so-called desire to become Chinese citizens is just to please you as prisoners. Your so-called hope for them is nothing more than a small trick to ask them not to make trouble, and to work hard for you by the way. ”

"I don't have much to say about your narrow-mindedness, after all, the position is different." Li Yongji smiled, "Of course, what you said is also right, China is a country dominated by the yellow race, especially the Han nationality, and foreign races are indeed ethnic minorities, and it is indeed difficult to integrate."

But don't forget, we are also a nation of authority and obedience, as long as the law prohibits racial discrimination, otherwise it is considered illegal and jailed, then over time, this kind of equal treatment will be greatly improved, especially white people are not unacceptable in the eyes of us Asian Americans.

In addition, I have told them that if they find it difficult to integrate for a while, I can allow them to build their own communities.

In other words, I can draw a large area of land and form a municipality or even a municipality, in which all of them will live in it voluntarily, and the administration and everything will be decentralized, so to speak, except for the lack of military and diplomatic powers, and the need to pay taxes on time, all other aspects can be managed by themselves.

It was only after listening to the plan of this autonomous region that they were so interested, and they themselves had already begun to plan their own autonomous town.

That is to say, even if I am willing to release people now, they may not be willing to go back, you know, stay here to eat, drink and be safe, and in the future they can become landlords and live a decent life, but once they go back? Didn't you continue to fight with guns as cannon fodder, and accidentally killed you?

Many of them have said that they have had enough of Lincoln and have done enough for the United States, and that they want to decide their own destiny in the future. ”

"Well, I'm not going to argue with you about that." Pu Anchen shook his head, "In short, you can also exchange wood for prisoners, right?" ”

"Yes." Li Yongji smiled, "Of course, exchanging wood for wood is only one aspect, there is another premise, that is, they voluntarily go back to the United States." ”

"I'm not worried about that." "Well, in that case, I'll go back and send enough timber according to this price list, and you, you must let those lads go home smoothly." ”

"Of course, that's for sure." Li Yongji smiled and said, "As long as they are willing to go back and pay enough ransom at the same time, then I will naturally release them." ”

"Then it's decided!" Pu Anchen nodded, and then paused slightly, "By the way, can you exchange your weapons for wood?" ”

"You're too greedy." Li Yongji smiled, "But I like your honesty!" ”

Speaking of this, Li Yongji thought for a while: "Well, let's do it, since we have already ceased war, there is no big problem in selling your weapons."

However, it is impossible for us to use weapons, but a batch of obsolete weapons of our National Defense Force, such as the Hua-1 rifle and the Hua-1 artillery, and even the Hua-2 series of weapons, I think it should be able to sell to you, as long as the price is right, there is nothing wrong, and at most it may be a little slower. ”

"That's fine." Pu Anchen's eyes lit up, "I've heard of the weapons of the Hua 1 and Hua 2 series, if the price is not too outrageous, then how many we want!" ”

"In this case, then I'll go back and open a price list for you, you go back with the price list, see how much you can purchase, and then I will send a report to the country, so that the country will immediately open it to prepare for delivery, and then we will pay the money with one hand and deliver the goods with the other, what do you think?"

"Great." Pu Anchen nodded, "If we can get this batch of arms as soon as possible, then we will have a greater chance of victory." (To be continued......)