Knowing the high salary offered by Li Yat-sen, Major General Ko Tangtan was stunned.

10,000 taels of silver is equivalent to tens of thousands of lifolles, right? On the French side, the top magnates around Louis XIV added up to the income of all kinds of people in a year, which is almost this amount, which includes the total income from the rent of the ancestral estate!

And the general of the Ming Dynasty actually wanted to give this amount and ask him to be an advisor. This salary is too high, should it make people think that the general wants to buy him, or that he has despicably betrayed the national interests of France in order to get this income?

This Major General Ke Tang Tan didn't want to refuse the kindness of the Great Ming General, but he couldn't agree to it, lest someone go to the Sun King to sue him, after all, he was a promising French aristocratic officer, but he didn't plan to serve the Ming Dynasty for the rest of his life. And he also disagrees with the Ming Dynasty's "examination official" and the hypocrite republic - not that he is afraid of exams, but that he is worried that his descendants will not be able to pass the examination of Leibniz and other scholars.

So he wanted to make the money of the Ming Dynasty and enjoy the feudal system of France. And he can't speak his heart out openly.

Seeing that Rear Admiral Codon didn't say a word, Li Yat-sen immediately guessed the mind of this French rear admiral - this guy loves both silver and France and the Sun King!

However, this did not bother him, because he had already prepared the steps for the French rear admiral, and he said with a smile: "Rear Admiral, we Chinese politicians all have such a consensus, a thousand troops are easy to get, and a general is hard to find." I think it's the same at sea, a battleship like the Royal Sun is rare, but a general who can command the navy to win is even rarer! And even if we get a battleship like the Royal Sun, it is impossible to form combat effectiveness immediately, and for a long time to come, we can only rely on fourth-class cruisers, armed Galen ships and old locks with hard sails to fight against the powerful Spanish Invincible Fleet and the officers and men of the Ming Navy who operate those ships are inexperienced, after all, here in East Asia, no one knows how to fight a high-intensity naval war?

And you, an experienced admiral who had repeatedly defeated the formidable Dutch navy in the recently concluded Franco-Dutch War, was exactly what we needed. It is no exaggeration to say that you alone are worth more than the Royal Sun itself. The Royal Sun would be of no value to us without your help.

I suppose the Sun King's real purpose in letting you lead the Royal Sun to China is to let you come as my advisor and help me command the Ming Navy, which is only available for fourth-class cruisers, armed Galen ships, and old lock ships? So you stay, it will help France and the Ming to realize their common interests! ”

When you say that, it sounds much smoother!

But whether it was smooth or not, Major Codontan said that it didn't matter, and he had to let little Baptiste evaluate it, so after listening to Luo Wenzao's translation, he turned his head to look at the envoy sent by the Sun King to China.

Baptiste Jr. is also calculating whether it is cost-effective to sell the Royal Sun?

The Sun King sent him as an envoy, not only because his father Colbert has a big face, but more importantly, the "old Ke family" will make money, and money is the key! Louis XIV was ambitious, spend-rich and lavish, and now he was going to build Versailles, raise a bunch of royal mistresses, and prepare for a war aimed at completely defeating the Netherlands, Spain, the Holy Roman Empire, and England.

I'm afraid that all brains in Europe can guess this idea of King Louis, right?

Thinking of this, little Baptiste said to Li Zhongshan: "His Majesty the Sun King does have the idea of asking Rear Admiral Cotentin to help Daming develop sea power, but he does not have the idea of transferring the Royal Sun to Daming, after all, this is a beautiful battleship, just like a work of art in a battleship. It's priceless! ”

A beautiful battleship? A work of art in a battleship? What the hell is this?

Li Zhongshan was confused, turned his head to look at Yu Qilin, and the eldest young master Yu smiled: "General, Envoy Ke is right, there are too many carvings on this French battleship, and many of the carvings seem to be gilded and shining!" ”

After listening to Xival's translation, Li Zhongshan was stunned and stunned.

Also gilded? Also sparkling. Doesn't this affect the "stealth performance" of the battleship?

And a battleship, why are you doing so much carving? Magic bulletproof? If you do too much of these fragments, will it affect the structure of science? Will it be easier to catch fire?

Thinking of this, Li Yat-sen said to Little Paptiste: "You can tear down all those exquisite statues and transport them back to France by another ship, so it's okay, right?" ”

"Of course you can, but the price of the battleship can't be lowered, and it has to be 500,000 taels of silver!"

In fact, those carvings were very expensive, and without them, the cost of this battleship could have been reduced by at least a third

"Okay!" Li Zhongshan listened to the offer of Little Baptiste relayed by Xival, and agreed in one bite, and then he said to Little Baptiste, "Special envoy, I know that 500,000 taels of silver to buy a first-class battleship of more than 2,000 tons with all the decorations removed is very expensive, but I am still willing to pay this money because I sincerely want to make friends with the Sun King, and I also know that France, which has just finished the Franco-Dutch War, has encountered some financial difficulties, and I am willing to help the Sun King and France within the scope of my ability."

However, this 500,000 taels is not a lot of money, and it is not difficult to really improve France's finances, and the only feasible way to make France's finances continue to improve is to strengthen the trade links between our two countries, and only a large, sustainable, and profitable trade for both sides can give the Sun King the financial resources to rebuild the Roman Empire! ”

Little Baptiste frowned: "But this kind of trade is difficult to carry out, after all, the Dutch and the English now control the Indian Ocean, and also control the Strait of Malacca and the Sunda Strait, without a strong escort formation, our merchant ships will not be able to travel normally between Europe and the Ming Dynasty." ”

In fact, the current French Navy is still quite powerful, in the Franco-Dutch War, the French Navy did not fall behind the powerful Dutch Navy, and in the historical Grand Alliance War, the French Navy even suppressed the British Navy and the Dutch Navy for a time!

However, the superiority of the French Navy did not reach the Indian Ocean, let alone the South Sea. Even if a first-class battleship like the Royal Sun can lead a few fourth-class ships to Daming, the perennial maritime trade can't point to the first-class battleship to escort it!

It's peacetime, that's why the Royal Sun will come to Daming. If France did fight with Britain and Holland, the battleship would have to fight in the Atlantic, the English Channel and the Mediterranean.

"Mr. Special Envoy, we have studied this issue for a long time." Li Yat-sen pondered and said, "If our two countries want to break through the monopoly of the Netherlands and England and engage in intercontinental trade across the ocean, the only way is to bypass the Indian Ocean. The good thing is that the earth is round! ”

"Bypassing the Indian Ocean?" This time it was Rear Admiral Codontan, who was about to become the chief adviser of the Ming Navy, who was about to become the chief adviser of the Ming Navy, "General, what do you mean. Through the Pacific Ocean, through the Strait of Magellan, the southernmost point of the New World, and into the Atlantic? It's not an easy way to walk, and the land you pass through is Spanish and Portuguese colonies! ”

"No," Li Zhongshan shook his head, "I actually have a better route." He paused, and then commanded left and right: "Come on, go and move a globe!" ”

When discussing the issue of global trade routes, of course, a globe is indispensable!

A globe was quickly moved in and placed in the middle of the chamber. Li Zhongshan stood up and walked to the side of the globe, and the others immediately gathered around.

Li Yat-sen stretched out his right hand and drew a dotted line along the lines of "Baoshan Port - South of Kyushu Island - Southeast of Ezo Island - West Coast of North America - Mississippi River".

Then he asked with a smile: "Mr. Special Envoy, Rear Admiral, what do you think of this route?" I have already roughly calculated that this route is about the same distance as the current route of taking the Indian Ocean around the Cape of Good Hope and then taking the Atlantic Ocean all the way north to Europe, and it may be a little shorter, but the section from the west coast of the New World to the Mississippi River must be taken by land, and the cost will be relatively high. But the benefits of this route are also obvious, not only to completely eliminate the interference of the Netherlands, England, Spain and Portugal, but also to promote the development of our two countries' colonies in the New World! The territory there is so vast, there must be many unknown resources, maybe development, you can find a lot of gold and silver buried in the ground. What do you guys think? ”

Li Yat-sen's planned route had nearly 5,000 miles of overland, roughly starting from the place called San Francisco in later times, crossing the Rocky Mountains, arriving along the Missouri River, and then taking the water route to the Louisiana colony in France.

This land route is not very difficult, but the cost of land transportation cannot be compared with water transportation after all. It can only be used to transport high-value items such as silk, high-end porcelain, Japanese lacquerware, spices, tea, etc. Sugar and cheap porcelain with lower value probably can't be shipped.

But once this trade route is opened, the route from the west coast of North America to the banks of the Mississippi River to Louisiana will develop, and in a few decades, there may be millions of people there!

In addition, there are untapped world-class gold mines on the west coast of North America, and the northern part of the west coast is rich in mink!

Once the gold mines and mink on the west coast of North America were discovered, the North American colonies of the Ming Dynasty would become a huge market in itself—whoever had gold and silver would have a market!

However, little Baptiste immediately objected: "The colonies of our two countries in the New World? But I don't remember that the Ming had it in the New World. O lawful colony! ”

After listening to Luo Wenzao's translation, Li Yat-sen smiled and said to Little Baptiste: "Mr. envoy, it may not be accurate to call those lands colonies. In other words, our understanding of colonization is different from yours. In our concept, colonization cannot be equated with oppression, slavery, and exploitation. Our colonization is to pass on the glory of civilization, and at the same time to remove some of the native surplus population, to help them and the natives of the distant wilderness to build a civilized, free, and equal paradise. This is the unshirkable responsibility that we, as an advanced civilization, have to mankind that is still in ignorance and darkness! Colonies are a responsibility for us! It's the responsibility of talent. So we will have colonies on the west coast of the New World, because we have a responsibility to the indigenous people there who have been oppressed by Spain! ”

It's so noble that it doesn't sound like it's true!

However, after Luo Wenzao completed the translation, he said to the French with great solemnity: "What the general said is that the colonization of the Ryukyus by the Ming Dynasty is a kind of passing of the torch of civilization, not military conquest, although they are fully capable of conquest." Da Ming has done a lot of similar things!

Anyone who knows the past history of Southeast Asia should know something similar, which is why the Dutch panicked about the Ming Dynasty establishing a base on Bintan Island! ”

Major General Cotentin also helped the Great Ming General to speak: "The Republic of Acre City-State is like this. There is no conquest there, only liberation! ”

When little Paptiste heard them say this, he also felt that France should also behave a little more noble, so he also said to Li Zhongshan: "What our Kingdom of France is doing in the Americas is also not to plunder, but to help the Indians there!" ”

The Sun King, of course, is noble!

And this word. Li Yat-sen also believes that didn't France selflessly help their beautiful father?

"Since we all have the same noble and selfless goals for the New World, why can't we unite and work together for the cause of liberation and freedom in the New World?"

It's so impressive!

If Washington knew that there was such a conversation, it would be grateful.

Little Baptiste could already hear that something was wrong!

What does this General Li mean? Do you want to carve up the New World with France?

Seeing that the French envoy was deep in thought, Li Yat-sen was ready to sell his big plan again - this was a winning plan for the Eleven Nations Alliance!

The Great Alliance of Eleven Nations!

Sounds scary!

And the Ming side is at most gathered on France, Rakshasa . It seems uncertain whether the Ottomans will be able to join the gang or not. So it's not enough to grasp, if you can add a "Ami", it will be foolproof.

Daming, France, Rakshasa and Ami, the four countries beat them eleven, and the certainty is very great!

In addition, the emergence of an Aramco Colonial Alliance or the Aramco Confederation could also prevent a future situation on the North American continent in which the Han Chinese would face off against the Anglo-Saxons.

After all, the territory of the Ansa people is closer to Europe than the west coast of North America to Daming, and the territory of the Ansa people is also more suitable for the development of agriculture, and in the era of relying on the sky for food, it will definitely carry more people.

If it could be possible to develop a French-speaking America by developing a trade intercontinental trade route through the western part of North America. In the future, there will be an excellent situation on the North American continent in which the "Ming Li Jian," the "French Liberal Strong," and the "British Liberal Strong," and even the "Sui Liber Strong," the "Western Liber Strong," the "Indian (Indian) Liber Strong," and the "Japanese Liberian" will compete for supremacy.

As long as no "Lijian" can unify North America, then sooner or later the Pacific Ocean will become the inland sea of the Ming Dynasty, and a unified Milican will never appear again.

"Mr. Special Envoy," said Li Zhongshan, "I never thought of establishing a republic without a monarch in the New World. It is impossible and unnecessary. But I think the New World is so far away from the Old World that it will be difficult for the monarchs of the Old World to really govern the territories of the New World. The New World was born a de facto republic!

If the Old World dynasty wanted to establish rule in the New World, the best thing to do was to send one or more members of the royal family there to serve as monarchs, and at the same time divide the lands below to the nobility or the republican city-states, including the indigenous tribes, thus forming a large feudal system.

I think our two countries can build a similar system in the New World and form a country like the United Kingdom of the New World. This country does not have to be a sovereign state, it can be jointly guardianed by the Ming Emperor and the King of France, and the monarch of the United Kingdom can be one, or two, or even an electoral, or it can be jointly held by members of the royal families of the two countries.

Of course, this system does not have to pursue permanent unity, nor is it indivisible, it should be a confederation-like existence, and all states can enter and exit freely. The purpose of its existence is to allow our two countries to establish close ties through the New World, and at the same time to make the people of the New World, who were oppressed by Spain, have a strong desire for the liberation of the Sun King and the Ming Dynasty! ”

(End of chapter)