In later generations, under the leadership of the war maniac named Adolf Hitler, the German Third Reich defeated France for a time, and Britain under the continuous bombing of the Luftwaffe, in addition to being able to show a hard mouth under the old stubborn leadership of the old Churchill, almost lost all the ability to fight back. If it weren't for Hitler's excessive eagerness to grab the strategic resources of the west, and not to rush into war with the Soviet Union, and then being dragged by the desperate Stalin, it is hard to imagine whether the gentlemen of the British Isles would have been able to hold out until the arrival of American troops.

At that time, the whole territory of France was occupied by the German army, and the remaining part of the French army retreated from Dunkirk to Britain in panic. Britain and France can be said to have the same hatred and hatred in the face of the aggressive "forced" Third Reich.

That was later, though. Today's Britain and France, one is the hegemon of the sea, the other is the boss of the European land, and the struggle between the two countries has almost become the most important national contradiction in the whole of Europe. Especially now, in the "War for the Spanish Throne", which the British called the "War of Queen Anne", the British fought France very miserably. In this war, the British Marlborough led the British army to first cut off the French army towards the Rhine, so that it had to retreat, and then, France and Bavaria allied to break the Rhine defense line, and tried to seize Austria, it was this Marlborough again, led the LinkedIn army to the Danube River for a long distance, captured Danuafert, met with the Austrian famous general Prince Eugen in Bavaria and destroyed Bavaria, and then annihilated the French and Bavarian forces in the Battle of Blenheim, forcing Bavaria to finally withdraw from the war. Later, the British defeated the French at Lamiy and captured the Flandlund area. The French were then repulsed by the Austrians in Italy. It can be said that in every important battle for France, the British were present, and. The British were also their main enemy. Although the French army later achieved a slight turnaround by defeating Prince Eugen at Toulon, it was at that time that Prussia joined in and conquered Saxony in one fell swoop. Then, taking advantage of the fact that France had to divide its forces to block Prussia, and the army was unstable. Marlborough led the LinkedIn Army and Prince Eugen to join the French army at a place called Odenarde and defeated them again, although after that, Louis XIV reorganized the French army and launched the Battle of Marcay . However, this did not change the outcome, and the French army was defeated again.

It can be said that at this moment, France hates Britain the most, and it is simply hated to the core. Hate it!

But. When Marder received Richard and Ramton, the two British envoys, he called the French and the Portuguese together...... Richard and Ramton are more composed, and then they have the qualities of diplomats. I can't be unmoved.

France has just been robbed of Gibraltar, Canada and a large area of land by the British, and the French navy that Louis XIV spent a lot of effort to build was also crippled by the British Royal Navy, and it is almost impossible to fight anymore. And if this meeting was just a trap deliberately laid by Mader. If this guy had already negotiated with the French before, and this time the main thing was to unite against the British, then neither Richard nor Ramton knew what to do. Because, the situation in Europe may not be clear to the Qing people, but can the French, who have just suffered a big loss, still not know? What kind of mind did the British have to hide from the Qing Empire on this side of the earth, and could they still hide from their neighbor France? That His Majesty Louis XIV never seemed to have a penchant for revenge! Although France cannot take revenge directly on Britain now, if it can provoke the most powerful country in the world to take action. Even if it can't hurt Great Britain itself, at least it can make Britain suffer a big loss.

However, despite knowing that Mader intended to do so, Richard and Ramton could not do anything. Because, they can't watch France negotiate with the Qing State and do nothing, let alone leave in anger, even if they take a few steps away, they have to worry about whether the French will take advantage of this opportunity to reach any agreement with the Qing State. You must know that although France was defeated, after all, it was also the hegemon of the European continent for many years, with deep roots, and losing a war was only weakened by some national strength, and the foundation of the whole country is still there. Moreover, they do not have any good feelings towards France, and even have a trace of hatred in their hearts. Because, in the final battle of Ma'erkelakai, although the French were defeated, the French army was almost crazy and defeated the Anglo-Austrian coalition army, suffered heavy losses, and lost the ability to fight again. Had it not been for that loss, Britain would not have waited two years before entering the Maldives.

……

"First of all, please let me, on behalf of my Majesty the Kangxi Emperor of the Qing Empire, welcome the arrival of all the envoys!"

Worry is worry, the place where you should come is always coming.

While Richard and Ramton were pondering what to do, the two envoys that Mader spoke of representing France and Portugal respectively, Vieira and Rogers, finally arrived. After waiting for the two, Ma De didn't seem to see the hostility full of fire and "medicine" between Vieira, Richard, and Ramton, and leisurely first expressed the "welcome" of the Qing Empire to the three representatives.

"Thank you very much Your Excellency the Governor for your welcome, and I think we'd better start negotiating!"

As a representative of France, the Marquis de Vieira obviously wanted to give the British a little bit of a look, and as soon as Mader's welcome speech was finished, he seemed a little impatient to say.

"Good. Just as the Marquis wished! Everybody, please come with me. Mader glanced at the others, Richard and Ramton, although they had no expressions, but they did not hide the wariness in their eyes, while Rogers, the envoy of Portugal, only smiled lightly and did not express any opinion. Therefore, he readily agreed to Vieira's request and brought the four envoys to the prepared negotiation room...... A room with an oversized round table.

………………

"Where do we start first?"

It was clearly a negotiation between the two countries, but it was turned into a four-nation meeting by Mader, and although Portugal seemed to be negligible, a tense atmosphere permeated the entire negotiating table from the beginning. And Made's question was the fuse that ignited this scene.

"In my opinion. Let's start with the topics that everyone is most concerned about. I don't know what you think, Your Excellency? Richard preempted Vieira and took Made's words.

"Mr. Sir is a very good proposal. Your Excellency the Governor, how about we start with the trade between you and us? Vieira looked at Richard with disdain and hurriedly said to Mader.

"I wonder what France can trade with the Qing State? Moreover, as far as our country knows, it seems that it is difficult for your country's merchant ships to reach the ports of the Qing Kingdom, Mr. Marquis.

Doesn't it seem too insincere? ......" Ramton was very unimpressed with Pieira's eagerness, and in his opinion, a diplomat could not even hold his breath, especially in front of a hostile country, so impatiently revealing his hole cards, just to show that this person is impetuous and shallow. However, since Vieira had already made his own proposal, he had no choice but to speak, after all, he could not afford to watch the French steal their share of trade.

"Haha, Mr. Ramton. It seems that you don't know much about the situation yet. The facts are in. Before Mister Rogers and I set out, we had signed an agreement that we would trade together with the Qing Empire. Trade proceeds will also be distributed in accordance with the agreement. That is, soon, the combined caravans of France and Portugal will reach the East. I don't think you'll doubt our sincerity in this trade anymore! Vieira smiled at Ramton.

"Is France and Portugal allied?" Richard frowned, and asked the Portuguese envoy Rogers with an unkind face.

"No, no, Sir Richard, we in Portugal are not allied with France. We just want to cooperate on the matter of trade in the Far East. So much for! Rogers had been smiling ever since he came in, making one wonder if his expression had frozen. However, Portugal is no longer what it used to be. Therefore, in the face of Britain's new generation of land and sea hegemon, Rogers immediately expressed the "virtue" of humility.

"It seems that France wants to use the power of Portugal to open up the sea trade route to the Far East, and maybe there are Dutch people in it! Damn it! Richard was not glad of Rogers' humility, for Portugal, though a small country, had played far less of a role in Europe than it had once been, but the former maritime hegemon had experienced several ups and downs. It was even reconquered by Spain, but in recent years, after Joo V ascended the throne as King of Portugal, he has succeeded in reviving the Portuguese economy with diamonds and gold from Brazil. Moreover, although Portugal's maritime power was far inferior to that of Britain, it was not something that the British Royal Navy could easily take after uniting the remnants of France's maritime power. Moreover, it had been heard that the Netherlands had recently become very close to the Portuguese, and that Britain would not have to pay more attention to this force if the "sea coachmen" had joined in.

Portugal, in particular, has abundant diamond and gold reserves, and if France and the Netherlands were united, it would be difficult for Britain's treasury to withstand a large-scale depletion. Especially at this time, the British 'government' has set its goal in the Indian Ocean, on the jewel of South Asia, and if there is another conflict with France and Portugal at this time, then they do not know how many years they will delay this goal...... Perhaps, by the time they can pull their hands from Europe, the Chinese ships have already sailed through Africa and reached the Atlantic!

"It's a pleasure to have friends from afar! It is of course a good thing to be able to further deepen exchanges with the two friendly countries and broaden the sales channels of our products. I don't think our Majesty Kangxi will object to the request of France and Portugal! Ma De watched the representatives of the three countries fight back and forth with each other, and said cool words with a smile, and his expression was as much as he owed to beat.

"Thank you very much for the generosity of Your Majesty the Emperor! Your Excellency the Governor, I wonder if we should consult on the scope of trade between you and us. Vieira didn't show much joy when he heard Mader's words. In fact, it was to be expected that the Chinese agreed to their trade request with Portugal. You know, France and China have always been relatively "friendly", and the Chinese will naturally not embarrass them. Moreover, the accession of France and Portugal can also make Chinese goods have two more sales channels, which in turn will further stimulate China's exports and increase commodity prices. Again. There are also Bai Jin and Zhang Cheng in France, these guys have all had dealings with Kangxi, and this friendship is there, with the temper of the Chinese, even if they don't pay attention to it, they can't be ignored too much.

"Absolutely. In fact, our country would also like to buy or lease something from France and Portugal. Your Excellency, I don't think your country will embarrass us, will you? Mader laughed.

"Lending? Oh. Your Excellency the Governor, as far as I know, your Qing Empire is vast, but it has everything. What else is there to lend from our country? Of course, if we can, we'll help! Vieira was smiling, but Mader's sudden move caught him off guard.

"Hehe, with the friendship that my country has always had with the Kingdom of France, I think. Lend one or two ports. And an army, it shouldn't be that difficult, right? Mader said with a smile.

"Ports? Army? Vieira's eyes became sharp, and at the same time. Leaving it aside, Richard, Ramton, and Rogers also cast sharp eyes on Mad's face, and Richard and Ramton in particular felt the worst.

"That's right. An army that has experienced war is very precious, and this army has a certain temperament that ordinary armies do not have. And our country has always lacked a fleet capable of ocean exploration, so the lease of one or two ports is also mainly to be able to train our navy! ”

Ma De didn't seem to have the intention of concealing it, and directly made his words clear.

"Your Excellency, as far as I know...... There seems to be no shortage of armies in your country that have experienced iron and fire. You have just finished a few wars, and it hasn't been long since then.

Therefore, there must still be many brave generals and warriors in your army. As for the leased port...... This matter is too big for me to give you an answer right now! Vieira said.

"I can understand the Marquis's distress. You haven't heard me yet, though! Ma De smiled and said, "Lord Marquis, it is not very difficult to lease an army. For, even if it were not through your French 'government', without going through His Majesty Louis XIV, I could have sent people to Europe to recruit in the name of mercenaries. In doing so, I'm afraid we will spend much less. It's just that this seems a little wrong, and it is not quite in line with our Chinese "sexuality" behavior. As for the port, hehe, I think you are also mistaken. We don't mean to lease your country's home port. We really just want to lease one of your ports in Madagascar. In fact, the main purpose of doing this is to train the ocean-going navigation ability of our navy, and by the way, it also means to provide a foothold for our country's merchants who conduct ocean-going trade! ”

"Madagascar?"

Vieira's eyes flashed, and he looked at Richard and Ramton with a little malice. The two British envoys, who had not been given a chance to speak, were obviously in a hurry. However, for some reason, Richard still steadied himself, pulled Ramton, and just watched, but did not speak.

"That's right. As compensation, we can appropriately expand the scope of some of our exports to France, and in addition to the traditional commodities of silk, porcelain, and tea, we can also sell or lease other things to France. For example: weapons! Battleship! Or even ......

Army! Ma De was still grinning, as if he was talking about something that had nothing to do with him.

"What a temptation! Is this governor of the Qing Kingdom a devil? The Portuguese envoy Rogers shook his head, wondering what he should do. What kind of man Louis XIV was is no secret to all of Europe. That's a complete war maniac plus "lust"* love maniac! This time he was beaten so badly, in addition to various losses, he also had to lose a large number of colonies, to say that this old guy didn't want revenge, the ghost didn't believe it. And the Chinese suddenly put forward such a condition, did they want to rekindle the war between France and Britain?

"Damn fellow! Weapons, fleets...... Hum! Does this guy think that the French can still afford these things? Ramton has been dripped by Richard, so he has never 'interjected', but his heart is about to be blown up. Ma De doesn't know how to hide it, this is simply a provocation of "naked" and "naked"!

"If the French were asked to use the Chinese lease of ports or troops to buy weapons and warships, perhaps Louis XIV would have agreed. As for Madagascar...... The Chinese really seem to want to extend their tentacles to the western part of the Indian Ocean, what can they do? If the French agree to their terms, then we will most likely have to engage the Chinese fleet now.

This is not in the interest of the Kingdom! …… But why did this Mader say these things? And in front of us, does he want to provoke? Richard was on full throttle, hoping to come up with a quick way to deal with Mader's sudden tricks.

"Most of our colonies are on the west coast of Africa, even if we lose Madagascar, which is already under the threat of the British fleet, it should be nothing, and if the Chinese navy is put there, then the British will most likely have to go to war with the Chinese in order to protect their interests in the Indian Ocean and to maintain their position as masters of the maritime trade routes between the East and the West!" This will certainly provide an opportunity for France to rise again. ...... Vieira was also thinking about what would happen if he agreed to Mader's terms.

"Silly, huh? It's all Lao Tzu who wants to harm you! I'm a good person! How could that happen?

Besides, running so far to fight, the opponent is still you European powers who have been at war all year round, am I an idiot? Ma De still looked at the foreigners in front of him with a smile, knowing that these guys would be wrong about him, but he didn't have the slightest sincerity to clarify these people's misunderstandings about him. In fact, the main purpose of his very challenging words was to send a Chinese army to Europe, and at the same time, to let a European army come to China to spread its influence! As for the reason why he did this, he also explained it very clearly to Kangxi.

There were many bright spots in the War of the Spanish Succession. In this war, the bayonet was invented, the flintlock smoothbore gun replaced the arquebus, the musket completely replaced the spear, and the infantry horizontal tactic using the musket replaced the musket-spear square tactic. Explosive shells and shotguns began to be used in artillery, which greatly enhanced their lethality, and four-wheeled carriages with bullet suspension were used to improve the efficiency of the troops' logistical supply. That is to say, after more than ten years of war, the overall military strength of Europe has been greatly improved, this improvement, so that Kangxi is also quite surprised, you know, although there was an all-firearms army as early as a few years ago, but more than ninety percent of the equipment of the Chinese army is broadsword and spear...... What to do? It is necessary to know that only by knowing oneself and knowing one's opponent can one not be defeated in a hundred battles. Therefore, it should be a good idea to get a closer look at the strength and tactics of the Western army, and at the same time, send an elite Chinese army to the West to play prestige and give the Westerners a little deterrent. And there is another reason why Ma De thinks that Kangxi will agree to his proposal, that is, not long ago, the eldest brother Yinchu suffered a big loss on the North American battlefield, and thousands of Indian soldiers under his command were defeated by others when they raided hundreds of British colonial troops who entered the territory, and suffered heavy casualties! After this incident came back, Kangxi was quite dissatisfied! After all, China has already had a firefight with European countries, and it seems that there is some overlap between everyone's forces now. What is especially important is that the Chinese have a much better understanding of Europe than before.