Daming 1805

Chapter 137 Da Ming and the British Dog Can’t Establish Friendship

In Talleyrand's view, France's biggest problem was that before the war, it rejected Ming Dynasty and chose Britain.

Although the decision-making at the time had basically nothing to do with Talleyrand, through the news and materials at the time, Talleyrand knew very well what the whole process was like.

Talleyrand could understand that the emperor, princes, and officials of the Ming Dynasty had reason to hold grudges for this, and refused to reconcile with France.

But Talleyrand also understands that state exchanges are not a personal dispute.

If Emperor Ming really chose to do so, then at least he couldn't be regarded as a Ming emperor.

Judging from his past experience, the Emperor Ming was obviously not a person who was driven by his emotions.

As for Prince Dashi who presided over the negotiations, he is only 15 years old this year, and he may not even remember anything before the war started.

Even if he was angry after seeing the information, the diplomatic officials around him would dissuade him.

However, what Talleyrand saw now was that Daming's side, from the diplomats to the prince, all put the word "rejection" on their faces.

Talleyrand still couldn't find an entry point, so he could only directly offer the conditions that France could offer, to see if Ming would respond.

There are not many places directly ceded by France, but there are many places where France has given up contention.

Although most of them are rotten places, Daming was able to enter the east coast of Yinzhou and directly intervene in North Atlantic affairs.

This change in the situation should be very difficult for Daming to refuse.

If Ming really does not accept this condition, then he can only choose a 20-year peace treaty.

It is impossible to hand over the entire Yinzhou colony, and the only way for Ming to get there is through war.

The current Yinzhou French-speaking area is not the same period in history, and it is already impossible to give up.

Now there are more than 2000 million French-speaking Thai-Western immigrants, with a very developed industry, and it is already a de facto secondary native.

France's colonization method is different from that of Britain. It originally managed some colonies as their own.

Therefore, unless Ming can completely defeat France in the Yinzhou colony or at home, it is impossible for France to cede the entire Yinzhou colony.

None of the domestic threats of war worked.

Listening to Talleyrand's suggestion, Zhu Jingyuan frowned in his seat and said:
"The water surfaces of the Five Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River, as well as the islands in the lakes, all belong to Daming.

"The abandoned area includes all islands north of the current area, including Xinfa Island.

"Another 1000 million Daming gold bills will be compensated."

Talleyrand immediately breathed a sigh of relief, and Daming was indeed willing to talk.

The previous repeated rejections only required France to admit its mistakes and show its sincerity.

But Talleyrand's heart ached again.

For a country at the level of France, the compensation equivalent to tens of billions of RMB is actually not a particularly big problem.

But if the Five Great Lakes and the rivers connecting the Atlantic Ocean are all owned by Ming Dynasty, the unique transportation conditions of the Great Lakes in France will be gone.

Talleyrand's instinctive response demanded:

"The land around Lake Michigan has not been transferred to Da Ming, so of course the waters cannot belong to Da Ming.

"The waters of other lakes and related rivers must allow French ships to navigate, and Ming Dynasty shall not prohibit them for any reason."

Zhu Jingyuan changed the conditions again:
"Only civilian ships are allowed to pass. Daming Jinyiwei is responsible for public security in the lake. France shall not interfere for any reason."

Talleyrand took a deep breath:

"The disposal of relevant personnel must follow universal legal principles, and not be handled by Daming Jinyiwei arbitrarily.

"For cases involving France, there should be a French dispatch agency to monitor its rationality."

Zhu Jingyuan laughed dryly and said:

"You don't need on-site supervision. Jinyiwei will handle it in accordance with the laws of Ming Dynasty. The relevant processing process and results will be reported to France."

Talleyrand was silent for a few seconds, and finally nodded in resignation:

"Okay, but I need time to convince His Majesty the King before I can give a final answer."

Zhu Jingyuan nodded slightly, then picked up the teacup.

Talleyrand bowed and took his leave.

After Talleyrand left, Zhu Jingyuan looked at Shen Fu on the other side:

"Shen Shaoqing, will the British come today?"

Shen Fu looked at the weather:
"Probably not. The situation in the UK is more complicated than in France, and they need enough time for their own internal communication."

Zhu Jingyuan nodded slightly, said goodbye to his ninth uncle, and went back to read the craftsmen's report.

Now the design of several new ships has reached a critical point, but there are differences in the design direction again.

The British did communicate internally throughout the afternoon.

The new naval weapons brought out by Ming Dynasty were actually the British who were most affected.

The United Kingdom is the only island country among the major countries in Thailand and the West. It is an absolute maritime country, and its navy is their foundation and lifeline.

The competition between Britain and Ming Dynasty is mainly focused on the sea.

Although the Ming navy had the upper hand in the past, the gap between the British navy and Ming has been narrowing ever since the industrial revolution was completed.

Before the Ming Dynasty built dreadnoughts and hard hooded armor-piercing projectiles, the gap in naval technology between the two sides had already narrowed to the level of technical details.

The British also now realize the feasibility of using the same full-caliber main gun for long-range strikes.

In fact, only the British fully understand the new naval gun tactics that Ming Dynasty brought out today, so the British representatives became the most nervous people.

After lunch that day, in the courtyard where the British representatives lived, the Prince of Wales, Peter, Monroe, Nelson, Collingwood, and Wellesley, the six most important representatives of the British mission, were in a small living room Gathered.

The host of the internal meeting was still Prime Minister Pete, but the protagonist was Admiral Nelson.

Everyone expects Nelson to first analyze the threat of Ming's naval guns, and then everyone redesigns the negotiation strategy based on this threat.

As a result, Nelson started to make demands when he came up, grasping all the conditions to make his own demands:
"I hope that His Royal Highness, the Prime Minister, Your Excellencies, and gentlemen will support my plan for a full-caliber main gun battleship.

"According to this plan, the design can be started as soon as possible, and the construction and actual testing can be started as soon as possible...

"The best carrier of the combat method that Ming showed today is the kind of battleship I planned with full large-caliber main guns.

"Since Daming demonstrated this method of combat, it is obvious that he already has the same understanding, and it is only a matter of time before building similar warships.

"I can now tell you with certainty that after this new type of warship becomes effective, all previous capital ships will be eliminated quickly.

"Ten kilometers versus five kilometers, this twice the theoretical combat distance can directly subvert the existing naval combat methods.

"Don't worry about hits. Everyone has seen today's test. After straddle shooting, almost ten shells can hit one.

"If a warship is equipped with ten main guns of the same caliber, theoretically a full salvo can score one hit.

"The lethality of large-caliber naval guns against normal warships is very impressive.

"As long as you hit seven to nine consecutive hits, or if you're lucky, three to five hits, a capital ship can lose most of its combat effectiveness.

"So this tactic is completely feasible. On this type of battlefield, the existing battleships are all scrap metal!
"In the past, the Ministry of the Navy rejected my proposal because Ming Dynasty did not design and build similar warships.

"Now we can see that Daming's thinking coincides with ours.

"We must do it as quickly as possible—as fast as we can!"

Nelson has said similar things too many times before, but with limited success.

The reason is that Daming didn't do that.

The situation today is completely different.

Today Prime Minister Pitt nodded without hesitation and said:

"I understand what Lord Nelson means, and the Cabinet and the Admiralty will support your proposal.

"But now there is a problem. Although our warships can fight at ten kilometers, we cannot penetrate the armor of Ming's warships.

"That's what we're really worried about, because obviously Da Ming has developed some kind of new technology, and they can't make it public.

"Does Your Excellency Nelson have any reasonable analysis and conjectures in this regard? Where should we start?"

Nelson was prepared for this:
"According to my observation at the time, the flight time of Daming's new shells at the same distance is slightly shorter than ours.

"It means that their shells are flying faster, or that the velocity decay over time has less of an effect.

"This in turn proves that their shells should be heavier, certainly harder, and we can explore in those directions.

"Develop a stronger barrel, which can withstand more energy released by the propellant, and provide a higher boring speed for the shell.

"Develop heavier and stronger shells, increase the energy carried by the shell at the same speed, while maintaining flight speed and increasing penetration.

"Of course we can work hard from both directions at the same time. Daming's metallurgical casting capabilities are stronger than ours, so it's normal to make better cannons and shells.

"If our factory can't solve the technical problem, we can also directly use a larger caliber to directly increase the overall power of the naval gun.

"I will write a detailed report and give it to the prime minister and ministers for reference."

Nelson's perception is very keen, and his judgment logic is of course no problem, but the conclusion he draws is off the mark.

The naval guns and shells tested by Daming today, the amount of charge, the weight of the shells, and the boring speed are not significantly different from the current conventional shells.

The flight time of Ming's shells is shortened, not because more propellant is used, nor is it because the weight can maintain the speed.

Because the "head shape" of Ming's shells is sharper, which reduces the drag during flight, so it flies faster.

Under normal circumstances, if the shell itself is sharper, the tip of the shell is more likely to be smashed by the armor, so Nelson didn't think about it.

In fact, the "body" of Daming's new shell is not sharp, and the head is even more blunt and flat.

But Zhu Jingyuan wore a hollow pointed hat on top of its head...

The level of craftsmanship in the UK is not as good as that of Ming Dynasty. If you still can't think of a tricky solution and just work hard on craftsmanship, the process will definitely be very painful.

Pete and other British officials, of course, did not know these things, and they all felt that what Nelson said was very reasonable.

Pete nodded lightly, indicating that he had remembered Nelson's words, and then continued to ask:
"Based on the current state of naval equipment, what suggestions does Your Excellency Nelson have for our negotiations with Ming?"

Nelson said very decisively:
"Pursue peace, pursue permanent peace as much as possible, and give our navy more time to develop.

"Before we join forces with the French, Spanish, and Portuguese fleets to defeat Ming's fleet in the Atlantic Ocean.

"We should maintain a friendly and even cooperative relationship with Daming as much as possible, just like before the war."

Pete frowned and thought about the feasibility of this suggestion, and the Prince of Wales couldn't help but speak:

"Your Excellency Nelson, we certainly understand that in order to avoid being isolated by other countries on the Europa continent, we, the UK, should also strive for a permanent peace commitment.

"But you should have read the minutes of the meeting. The price that Ming asked for permanent peace was the entire South Tianzhu, so do you mean that we should hand over South Tianzhu directly?"

Nelson didn't know how to answer, and Pete next to him quickly explained:
"Your Highness, the situation is different.

"At that time, we were preparing to establish a colonial alliance with France, Spain, and Portugal, and we were prepared to accept a 20-year peace treaty at the same time.

"The Prince of Dashi at that time was obviously hostile to us, and he was deliberately responding to the difficult questions I sent to him.

"That should not be his true meaning, and Daming's ideal goal should not be like that..."

The Prince of Wales heaved a sigh of relief, and Nelson nodded slightly.

Pete originally thought that this topic should be over.

As a result, Monroe next to him nodded and opened another head:

"Da Ming's ideal goal has been clearly revealed in previous negotiations. They want us Thais and Westerners to return to the continent of Europe."

The Prince of Wales was taken aback again, and said loudly in great surprise:

"Drive all our Taixi people back to Europa... How could they have such an idea? How can we talk about permanent peace?"

Pete glared at Monroe, feeling that this guy was talking nonsense, and at the same time quickly explained to the Prince of Wales again:

"So this is just an ideal goal. Mr. Monroe was born in the American colonies, so he is the most sensitive about this matter.

"Actually, this is an impossible goal, and it is not necessary to achieve it.

"Like the French and the Prussians, and the Lucians, and even us Brits, we all want to unify Europa.

"But that's a goal that can never be achieved.

"They themselves know this very well, so they must have a more real goal.

"Just like we have long been committed to maintaining a balance of power among the countries on the Europa continent and preventing other countries from unifying Europa."

The Prince of Wales immediately asked:
"Then what is Daming's real goal?"

Pete quickly sorted out the words and answered:

"Daming's goal should be to control the central waters of Yinzhou, and at the same time control the North Atlantic coastline in the southeastern area of ​​Yinzhou.

"Then expand the Ming colony limited to the west coast of Yinzhou to the east coast.

"So, Daming's real goal should be from Florida to Mihe, plus the ownership of the disputed area in the middle of Yinzhou.

"Dashi actually knows the difficulty of attacking our mainland, which is quite different from Spain and France.

"So the conditions we have to pay are definitely lower than those of the French and Spaniards.

"I think it is worthwhile to give up these areas in exchange for the permanent peace treaty of Ming Dynasty.

"After signing the permanent peace treaty, as long as we stop intentionally provoking Ming, Ming should not take the initiative to launch a war against us."

When Pete spoke, the other representatives nodded one after another, thinking that Pete's analysis made sense.

But Monroe was visibly agitated.

Monroe is the representative of the American colony in Yinzhou, so of course he is very sensitive to this topic.

Monroe endured until Pete finished speaking, and immediately stood up and sternly objected:
"Your Excellency Prime Minister, completely abandoning the right to develop the central part of Yinzhou, ceding the Florida area, and giving up the southern coastline of Yinzhou will seriously damage the interests of the American colonies.

"All walks of life in the American colonies will definitely oppose it strongly, so please think carefully, Your Excellency the Prime Minister."

Of course Pete also understood this, so he instinctively comforted Monroe:

"Mr. Monroe, don't worry, we can't be 'spirited', we should focus on reality.

"There is no colony in the middle of Yinzhou, so it can't actually be regarded as our land.

"Florida is hot, humid and rainy all year round, and the dense jungles and swamps are full of crocodiles.

"It's not suitable for us Thais to live there, so the immigration is the least.

"You should know these things better than me."

Monroe knew Pete was telling the truth.

But Monroe instinctively believes that the American region is equivalent to Scotland and is already a political entity.

In other words, the immigrant archipelago in the United States has begun to form a preliminary national consciousness.

Abandoning the central plain of Yinzhou is giving up the future development prospects of the United States.

To cede Florida was to abandon the long southern coastline.

This is intolerable to Americans.

When Monroe was stunned and melancholy, the Prince of Wales closed his eyes and said:

"As I recall, Florida didn't have much industry and population, and the annual tax revenue was very limited.

"It seems to be the most desolate place in the entire Yinzhou colony.

"If we change our thinking and stop obsessing about protecting the southeast coastline of Yinzhou, the Florida area will not be of much value.

"It can even be regarded as the most worthless place in Yinzhou.

"It is indeed worthwhile to hand over Florida in exchange for a permanent peace promise. It is far better than directly ceding South Tianzhu..."

The Prince of Wales' analysis was also very reasonable, and the other representatives also nodded subconsciously.

If you don't care about Ming's occupation of the coastline in the southeast of Yinzhou, then Florida is indeed of little value to Britain.

Even in later generations, Florida is still a relatively poor state in the United States, and its per capita income has been lower than the average level of the United States for a long time.

Florida's economy revolves entirely around vacations and retirement, with almost no industry.

In the current era, what people value is industry.

Chimneys all over the floor is the best place!

Listening to these people's words and watching the reactions of these people, Monroe's body slowly froze.

Monroe has never been more aware of a real problem.

The American region where I am located is just a colony of the United Kingdom.

Although it is the best-developed colony, although it is a colony dominated by Thais and Westerners.

But it is a colony after all, not a part of the United Kingdom like Scotland at all.

The United States usually raises taxes and wealth for the United Kingdom. If it is defeated in a war, it can be used as war compensation, or even commodities if necessary.

At this moment, the sentence that Zhu Jingyuan mentioned very casually at the beginning reappeared in Monroe's mind.

"Have Mr. Monroe considered establishing an American empire belonging to the Americans, or becoming a prince-level vassal state of Ming Dynasty..."

The American Empire of the Americans—

This sentence seems to have a special magic.

Ever since the partner spat out from Zhu Jingyuan's mouth and entered Monroe's ear, it quickly took root in Monroe's heart.

Monroe was thinking unconsciously from time to time, and another sentence was slowly brewed in his mind.

Yin Zhou... No, the Americas should be the Americas of the Americans——

Both Europeans and Ming people should get out of there——

But that's simply impossible—

According to the logic of Emperor Zhu Cihong, the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, America is just a dog of the United Kingdom.

Although it is more powerful, it is not as profitable as Tianzhu, so it can be discarded if necessary.

It is not unacceptable to cede a piece of land from the United States.

The value of this piece of land itself comes from the British need to control the coastline in the middle of Yinzhou.

Not because they should belong to American immigrants.

Monroe swallowed, stood up and looked at the other British representatives:
"Everyone, are you really going to hand over Florida?
"Although there are few people living in Florida, they are all Thai-Western immigrants!
"Although Florida is low in development, it's not in danger at the same time.

"Do you still remember the original judgment that Daming will take over South Tianzhu through war 20 years later.

"Tianzhu is certainly valuable, but can we, the UK, hold it?
"Have you ever thought about what would happen if Da Ming appeases other European countries and fights with us alone.

"Have you ever thought about the situation where Daming is concentrating on seizing the Tianzhu region.

"How do we deal with these situations in the UK?"

The scene fell into a brief silence.

Pete said rather reluctantly:
"If Spain changes its mind and accepts Ming's conditions, then Ming will get Texas and Cuba.

“Florida is just next door to Texas and across the sea from the island of Cuba, so security cannot be guaranteed either.

"Whether it is Florida or South Tianzhu, we can only hope that Daming will keep his promise."

Monroe was silent.

But after a short pause, Pete reassured and said:

"Da Ming may not be able to agree to such a condition. I will try to persuade His Royal Highness Prince Dashi to exchange some of the land in South Tianzhu..."

Monroe seemed to wake up instantly:
"Yes, we can work hard on this aspect, but I hope that I will be responsible for this task.

"It's not because I don't trust the Prime Minister's ability, but because I know the American colonies better.

"I hope to use my identity to increase my persuasiveness..."

Pete felt that what Monroe said made sense, so he nodded and accepted it.

So Monroe and Pete confirmed some details, and went to visit the palace where Zhu Jingyuan lived.

It was already evening at this time, Shen Fu didn't want to see any more guests at first.

But when Shen Fu heard Monroe's name, he realized that Zhu Jingyuan had talked with Monroe alone.

So Shen Fu specifically went to inform Zhu Jingyuan.

Zhu Jingyuan was a little surprised that the British sent Monroe over to negotiate, and at the same time, he was also curious about whether the effort he had made back then was of any use.

So Zhu Jingyuan came out to meet him.

Monroe's mood is quite complicated, so too much politeness directly explains the intention of coming:

"His Royal Highness, besides handing over South Tianzhu, is there any room for negotiation on the terms of the permanent peace treaty between Ming and Britain?"

Zhu Jingyuan considered the current situation for a while.

Ming's attitude towards Britain and France was different.

Although Britain was the organizer of the anti-Ming alliance, Britain was forced into a corner by Ming at the beginning in order to resist Ming's oppression.

France made its own decision to reject Daming's solicitation.

When the French came to sue for peace, it was necessary to deliberately humiliate them, so that they could learn the lesson.

In addition, the French mainland is already under the threat of the Ming Fleet, while the British mainland is still relatively safe.

Therefore, when facing the British, Zhu Jingyuan did not deliberately make things difficult for him, and directly proposed a plan that had been discussed internally:

"Florida and westward to the land along the Honey River.

"All the land around Hudson Bay.

"The waters of the Mi River belong to Daming.

"Give up all other undeveloped land and disputed land in Yinzhou.

"1000 million Daming gold notes."

Zhu Jingyuan's decisiveness made Monroe feel heavy and complicated.

This condition is not much different from Pete's conjecture.

Da Mingdo asked for the wasteland around Hudson Bay, which is less valuable than Florida, and the British should agree without hesitation.

As for the compensation of 1000 million gold notes, it is not unacceptable.

All in all, this so-called permanent peace treaty should be able to be negotiated.

But Monroe doesn't want to accept this condition:

"Dare to ask Your Highness, can you use part of Tianzhu's land to replace Florida and other compensation?"

Zhu Jingyuan waved his hand without hesitation and said:
"Impossible, the Tianzhu region is the basis for ensuring the peace between Ming and Britain, so the status quo must be maintained, and it is impossible to participate in the transaction.

"Da Ming wants to get Florida just to completely control the waters of Zhongyinzhou, and it has little to do with the value of this piece of land itself.

"If you Britain can accept this condition, then we will sign a permanent peace treaty, otherwise choose 20 years."

Monroe's heart was heavy. Sure enough, as he had expected, Daming did not accept deals related to Tianzhu, only the central waters of Yinzhou.

Monroe looked at Zhu Jingyuan's appearance, and then at the surrounding environment. Except for Shen Fu, there was no one in the living room.

After thinking in silence for more than ten seconds, when Zhu Jingyuan and Shen Fu were both a little annoyed, Monroe uttered a sentence again:

"His Royal Highness Prince Dashi, you asked me if I was interested in building an American Empire for the Americans...

"If I answer now that I am interested, can Da Ming give support, and whether he still wants the Florida area."

Both Zhu Jingyuan and Shen Fu were taken aback for a moment, they didn't expect that Zhu Jingyuan's blow at the beginning would really pay off.

Zhu Jingyuan was a little happy in his heart, but on the surface he was still very serious, and responded completely as a matter of course:

"If Mr. Monroe really has ambitions, he should support the cession of Florida, which is beneficial to you.

"You can use this opportunity and excuse to inspire and mobilize the Americans to fight against the British colonists, and Ming Dynasty can give support.

"If Mr. Monroe just wants to maintain the status quo, then I'm sorry, Daming can't form a friendship with the British dog."

　The group was killed, and a new one was created...

　　
　
(End of this chapter)