New Shun 1730

"Wonderful!"

Liu Yu, who was standing among the ministers, breathed a sigh of relief and couldn't help but praise the emperor from the bottom of his heart.

Li Gan knew some Latin, not only could he understand it, but he could also speak some of it, but in the court, as the emperor, he could never speak a foreign language.

Liu Yu also expressed to the emperor more than once that there is only one Dashun in the world who engages in free trade. Because Dashun does not understand what free trade is, but its overwhelming advantages in handicraft industry and self-sufficient small-scale peasant economy are natural free trade.

As for European countries, even Austria, which did not even have a western sea port, had established an Ostend trading company, established in Belgium, to sell tea in Guangdong and Fujian. Of course, this company, used as a bargaining chip for the "State Edict" to recognize the daughter's inheritance rights, had just been dissolved in front of the British and Dutch.

Whenever there is a trading company, it has monopoly power. As long as there is monopoly power, it has nothing to do with free trade.

The emperor certainly knew that France would not be able to accept a free trade agreement that would completely crush France's fragile handicraft industry. Liu Yu has said this many times.

But he did not want the missionaries to translate this sentence, which might cause an uproar in the court and believe that the emperor had made a wrong decision.

So I chose this polite yet cunning rhetorical question, which was actually a rejection.

If you can accept my conditions, I can accept your conditions; if you can't accept my conditions, then don't go any further.

After Count Morpa was slightly surprised, his first reaction was that Duke Mann seemed to be dying; his second reaction was to understand the true meaning hidden in these words.

After he understood it, he also gained wisdom out of desperation.

"Dear His Majesty the Great Emperor of China, these specific terms need to be negotiated. In the court, I only represent the King of France to pay tribute and express my friendship to you and the vast empire you rule."

This sentence can be regarded as giving up, and neither of them is embarrassed, so as not to make each other a condition that neither of them can agree to in the court.

When the emperor saw that the Frenchman was so knowledgeable, he also lost his temper.

The gifts were announced in the court, and the British Duke and Liu Yu were named to come forward to receive the French mission and be responsible for the negotiations with the French mission.

After going to court, the British Duke asked Liu Yu: "What did the French mean by that sentence? Why did your Majesty interrupt?"

Liu Yu briefly translated, and the British Duke sneered: "He thinks that we are deceiving the superiors and concealing the truth from the inferiors, but he will go straight to heaven to hear it. If His Majesty hadn't been quick to act, it would not have been a good look in the court today."

"That's right!" Liu Yu also cursed several times in his heart. This Frenchman has a trick in his head and always plays in the East with the same tricks he used in Europe. Isn't this nonsense?

It’s not that this thing can’t be sold or exchanged. The question is, what can you use to exchange it?

What 74-gun battleship was placed in the court just now? How many battleships does the minister have that are not flintlock guns? The design of a battleship requires hundreds of years of technological accumulation?

Who doesn't know how to build a ship? Most courtiers think it's simple, it doesn't matter if they don't know it, there are craftsmen who can.

On the contrary, it is porcelain and silk. Ministers are much more sensitive to these things and can intuitively realize their huge value.

When the time comes to come up with this condition, the ministers will definitely regard him as a lunatic. Diplomacy is no longer easy, and diplomacy with lunatics and those with ulterior motives is even more impossible.

The British man was a little unhappy, and he showed it directly on his face. After scolding him for a while, he said, "Why don't you give these French people a break first?"

Liu Yu shook his head.

"There's no need to air it out. If our court has been in seclusion, we still have the capital to air it out. He asked us to turn it on and off. But now, the court has said that the thunder should be loud and the raindrops light, and the French may also feel that they are not interested. , but it’s just that the thunder is loud and the rain is small, which is a bad thing.”

The British prince smacked Liu Yu's finger and said yes.

"In that case, let's take the time to talk. I'll sit there and listen, but I'm afraid I may not understand. Whatever you're talking about, just tell me after you finish talking. There are some things in the court that cannot be said openly. "Whether it's in the East or Southeast, there are only a few people who know about it."

"The Netherlands is far away overseas. Although its navy is strong, it is adjacent to the land. If the French country can occupy the land of the Netherlands, its navy will be defeated."

"Nowadays, the Dutch are the strongest in Nanyang. If their territory is occupied, they can easily capture the city of Bach."

The emperor and several trusted and confidant ministers had discussed Dashun's strategic plan for the future. This was also the root of the British public's support for diplomacy with France this time.

Now that it has been decided, we need to talk quickly. After the court meeting, the second day is the banquet, and the third day the talks officially begin.

Count Morpa, who was disappointed at the court meeting, also understood the current situation and understood that the negotiation must first discuss the big things, and then the details can be discussed.

The possibility of obtaining porcelain and silk technology was gone, so there was no need to talk about this issue anymore. After confirming that the level of the negotiating parties was sufficient, Count Morpa directly talked about the Sino-French alliance.

"Dear Duke and Earl. If the navy is not used, it will be a waste of money. France retains its existing fleet because it has to do so due to the surrounding diplomatic situation. The French navy's idea is not to compete for sea control, but to maintain Quite a deterrent, using privateers to attack the enemy’s war potential and disrupt the enemy’s trade.”

"But your country's trade policy is completely open and closed. In this case, you still need to maintain a navy that is strong enough to even build battleships. Do you have any idea of ​​going to war with the Netherlands?"

Liu Yu could only translate such a straightforward question into Chinese first. After telling the Duke of England, he asked what the Duke of England meant.

The Duke of England may have never seen such a straightforward question. After thinking for a while, he said: "A country is so big that forgetting war will lead to danger. It is said that being prepared is better than being worried. It is better to prepare for a rainy day."

"Any military expedition must be in line with the righteousness. In the past, the Netherlands, together with Britain, attacked Macau, plundered Zhoushan, and occupied Penghu during the Ming Dynasty. Later, our Emperor Gaozong was tolerant and allowed them to trade, but their intentions must be guarded against. If the Netherlands offends the majesty of the Celestial Empire again in the future, it will be punished."

Liu Yu was not easy to express his opinion on this matter. After the Duke of England expressed his opinion, the translation made Liu Yu's brain hurt.

After translating these words as literally as possible, Count Maurpa was also confused.

What does it mean?

Should we fight or not?

It seems to mean that Dashun's national defense policy is that if others don't fight him, he won't fight others? It means that if the Netherlands does not take the initiative to declare war on Dashun, Dashun will not declare war on the Netherlands?

If so, this alliance seems to be meaningless.

He doesn't quite understand this kind of Eastern implicit expression, but Liu Yu knows very well that there is a Chinese saying, "If you want to accuse someone, you can always find a pretext."

The meaning of the Duke of England has been made very clear. This navy, for Westerners, was created for the Netherlands and Britain.

Although France also engages in colonialism, its level is a bit worse, and it is not capable of harassing the Chinese coast in the late Ming Dynasty.

Britain is different from the Netherlands, and it has a history.

Since the Duke of England has expressed his position, the rest of the words depend on Liu Yu himself. Of course, he has to make his words clearer so that the French can understand the real strategic intentions of Dashun.

"Count Maurepa, China is China, the Ming Dynasty is China, and the Shun Dynasty is naturally China. Just like the British royal family still has the right to claim the French crown. Everything in the Ming Empire was inherited by the Shun Dynasty. Including... hatred and all political legacies."

"The Dutch once plundered the people of the Celestial Empire in Zhoushan and other places to work as slaves in Batavia. Such behavior is intolerable. And this crime has no statute of limitations for the empire."

"Southeast Asia was the sphere of influence of the Ming Empire during its heyday, and this should be inherited by us."

Liu Yu's words were even more straightforward. Count Maurepa understood them all at once, but he was a little confused about the implicit expression of the Eastern Empire and the strange moral standards of this ancient empire.

It seems that it is shameful to start a war, and you must be beaten before you can start a war, so that it seems fair and just?

He didn't quite understand this, but Liu Yu's words still revealed a lot of information.

Regardless of whether the Netherlands and Britain declared war on Dashun, Dashun had enough legitimate reasons to declare war on Britain and the Netherlands. This excuse for war was to prolong the Ming Empire, which had already perished.

Liu Yu considered France's weird and somewhat broken-pot sea power thinking, and quickly added another sentence.

"Free trade is the national policy of the Celestial Empire, which cannot be changed. Therefore, in the Nanyang region, the Celestial Empire opposes all forms of piracy and privateering."

"Therefore, even if it declares war on Britain and the Netherlands, the Celestial Empire will not choose privateering and piracy, which is against the dignity of the Celestial Empire and a great destruction of free trade."

"For this reason, Dashun needs a fleet with battleships, not just cruisers. Cruisers are the best privateers or trade strike fleets, but they are not very good naval decisive battleships."

"If a war breaks out in the future, the Celestial Empire may have to face all the warships of the Dutch East India Company. It is impossible to rely on these cruisers alone. The ships are insufficient. "

"You should know what Batavia means to the Netherlands and what the East India Company means to the Netherlands. This is the economic lifeline of the Netherlands, so once the war breaks out, the Dutch will do everything possible to retake Batavia. Although it is difficult to transport troops from Amsterdam to Southeast Asia, a battleship may take a year to arrive, and the number will not be too large, but it is impossible to complete this task by relying solely on cruisers. "

France has built a fleet of scaffolding ships, but in fact it is timid in its heart. It knows that it really cannot beat the British and Dutch at sea, and it has made too many enemies on land and must maintain a strong army.

This makes France always think that I can't control the sea, but I can disgust you, engage in privateering, and make you pay the price.

For this reason, Liu Yu made his attitude very clear to the French delegation: Dashun's naval policy and trade policy cannot rely only on cruisers, and it must build sufficiently powerful battleships. Dashun will not use the French strategy.