Daming 1805

Chapter 350 Where is the capital of French Canada?

The day after Christmas in the Western calendar, discussions of post-war matters began.

These matters are not public discussions in the zoom hall, but private consultations one by one.

French prince Charles and French foreign minister Talleyrand followed Lin Zexu and Niu Jian into Zhu Jingyuan's bedroom and study.

Zhu Jingyuan was wearing casual clothes and sitting on a large couch.

There is a small table in the middle of the couch, on which there are melons and fruits, snacks, and tea.

Zhu Jingyuan directly asked Charles to sit opposite him, on the other side of the small table on the couch.

Let Lin Zexu, Niu Jian, and Talleyrand sit on the armchairs in front of the cool couch.

The five people discussed the issues of post-war France and French Canada as if they were chatting.

After the greetings, Zhu Jingyuan spoke first, asking a question that seemed a little off:
"The capital of the French Canadian colony, where are you going to put it in the future?"

Talleyrand frowned directly when he heard this. This seemingly simple question is actually a difficult one to deal with.

The original capital of French Canada was Quebec.

After Quebec was given to Ming, it was moved to Buffalo, and now Buffalo was assigned to Napoleon.

At the same time, what is now French Canada, received the northeastern part of British America.

Here are several important coastal or riverside cities.

First New York, then Philadelphia, Baltimore, Boston.

It seems that there are several places suitable as the capital.

But the three cities of New York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore are all under the eyes of the Great Ming Dongyi Kingdom.

Only Boston pulled away a little.

Boston was also roughly located in the geographical middle of what would become French Canada.

It seems that Boston can be directly elected as the capital.

But the choice of the capital is related to the relationship with Daming.

France's choice of Boston as the capital of Canada is equivalent to a gesture of vigilance against Ming Dynasty.

In Talleyrand's mind, various possibilities were considered in an instant.

But Xia Er, who was sitting opposite Zhu Jingyuan, had already stated his choice without hesitation:

"Of course it is New York, New York is a rare natural harbor in Northern Yinzhou, and it is also the largest city in Canada.

"The key point is that the core area of ​​the Great Ming Dongyi Kingdom is on Long Island next to New York, which is convenient for us to communicate directly."

Talleyrand's expression suddenly became very tangled.

If there is no Ming Dongyi Kingdom, then the ideal capital of French Canada is New York.

Boston, although roughly the geographic center, is really only an approximate midpoint in distance.

The geographic upper center of French Canada is actually New York.

The northern remnants of the Appalachian Mountains turn in the area behind New York, forming an arc that juts out to the sea.

There are relatively large plains in the northeast and southwest of this arc.

Behind New York is the shortest distance between mountains and ocean.

It is like the seat of Shanhaiguan, the native land of Ming Dynasty.

The most important thing is that it itself is the largest city in the area and the best port in the area.

The question is where is the Ming Dynasty's Dongyi Kingdom.

Talleyrand struggled for a moment, quickly found a reason, and proposed to Prince Charles:

"Your Highness, although New York is the largest city in the eastern part of Yinzhou, the local population is mainly of British descent.

"Not many people here speak French, and we have this as a colonial capital, which can be very difficult to manage.

"My suggestion is that the capital of French Canada should be chosen close to the original French-speaking area.

"For example, in Boston, the northernmost place in the original English-speaking area.

"It is even possible to build a new port city as the capital at the southernmost tip of the French-speaking area.

"However, the situation in Canada is more complicated.

"How to determine the final location of the capital should be determined after understanding the local situation."

Talleyrand's intention was to shelve this matter so that Prince Charles would not make a promise to Daming on the spot.

Charles himself didn't think about the deep logic, but he also felt that what Talleyrand said seemed to make sense.

Prince Shire did not continue to directly make a decision, but after listening to it, he asked Zhu Jingyuan for advice:
"Friend, what do you think is a better arrangement? Do you have any suggestions for me?"

Zhu Jingyuan took a sip of tea in his spare time, watching the two complete these interactions in front of him.

Facing Shire's consultation now, Zhu Jingyuan said indifferently:
"I'm just curious, I want to know how you plan to choose this capital.

"Actually, how you choose has no effect on Daming.

"The key is to look at the future development plan of France and the development plan of the Yinzhou colony.

"If French Canada pursues independent development and avoids the influence of Ming Dynasty, then choose Boston as its capital.

"Boston has deviated from the route to New York and Quebec, and there are fewer opportunities to contact Da Ming.

"If France is going to cooperate with Daming in the development of the Yinzhou colony, then the capital will be in New York.

"Manhattan Island is separated from Long Island by a river, and after the bridge is built on the river, they can go directly to each other.

"It is convenient for us to communicate directly on colonial affairs.

"If France wants to cooperate with Ming Dynasty, then the French-speaking population in the New York area is not a problem.

"The northwestern part of French Canada was merged into the Ming area, and we will not throw all the local population to Napoleon.

"I can hand over some of these populations to you and migrate to settle in the land that the British have transferred to you.

"The British should, and have been, moving population south from these areas in the later stages of the war.

"The population of the New York area is probably less than a third of what it was before the war.

"New York is also the area with the most complete infrastructure around it. It is not a problem to make the French-speaking population more than half."

Charles nodded again and again:

"Yes, people can be migrated here, and Ming does not want a large number of French-speaking people to stay inland.

"France should really cooperate with Da Ming, and the decision to refuse to cooperate with Da Ming is completely wrong.

"So the capital of the French Canadian colony should be New York!"

Talleyrand subconsciously shouted:
"Your Highness Shire! We shouldn't make such a hasty decision without seriously understanding the situation in Canada!"

Talleyrand's tone and intentions were short of directly saying: Don't rush to make a decision, let's go back and discuss in private.

Charles vaguely understood Talleyrand's intentions, but still waved directly and said:

"No, I have actually learned about it these days, and there is nothing to hesitate about this matter.

"I will be the king of France in the future, and I have to make decisions at critical moments to avoid unnecessary wrangling.

"So please stop talking about it, Your Excellency Talleyrand. Cooperation with Daming is the future direction of France."

After making a decision, Charles turned to Zhu Jingyuan:

"My dear friend, the capital of French Canada has been determined, so how should we cooperate in colonial affairs?"

Zhu Jingyuan thought for a while, and first said some simple ideas:

"To cooperate, the first thing is to connect the transportation network and plan several suitable high-standard arterial roads.

"Cities like New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Boston are connected to the Ming colonies in the north and inland.

"I plan to have Daming pay for these projects, and French Canada to send workers. It can be regarded as a work-for-relief plan.

"Through the process of building roads, the French-speaking population in the receiving area of ​​the Ming Dynasty was transported.

"Accept the farmlands and cities left by the original British and help restore production in French Canada.

"The center of these railroads and highways on the eastern seaboard is of course New York, which is bound to promote the development of the New York area."

Charles nodded slightly as he listened:

"My friend's plan should be good, but the connection of the road network to New York will affect the navigable value of the St. Lawrence River?"

Zhu Jingyuan replied:

"Yes, the inland goods are sent to New York by the network of roads, and the shipping of the St. Lawrence is bound to be somewhat affected.

"But it's not without benefits. When Quebec freezes in winter, the products of the inland colonies can still be transported outward through the road network.

"And the transportation volume of roads and railways cannot be compared with that of water transportation.

"Bulk supplies still have to go out to sea through the St. Lawrence River."

Charles pondered the logic, and wondered if Daming would be at a disadvantage if he cooperated like this.

Talleyrand, who was next to Charles, interrupted at this moment:

"May I ask His Royal Highness, how will the road ownership and toll rights invested by Daming be distributed?"

Before Zhu Jingyuan opened his mouth this time, Lin Zexu directly asked:
"Da Ming is willing to invest in the construction of roads and waterways, you can't allow Daming to operate these industries, right?
"Isn't that equivalent to Da Ming giving you free money? We Da Ming don't owe you anything?"

Talleyrand was speechless.

Prince Shire here took it for granted:

"Yes, what this gentleman said makes sense, so the road management rights invested and built by Daming should belong to Daming."

Talleyrand could not help exclaiming:
"His Royal Highness Charles!"

Talleyrand no longer wants to veto, but wants to remind Charles not to agree so happily.

But Charles said:

"If France still has enough money, even if it can borrow enough money, it is of course better to build the road itself.

"But the problem is that France has reached its limit at present, and it is impossible to spend money to integrate French Canada.

"If Daming doesn't help, there may be another turmoil in this colony.

"It should be broken now, and it will inevitably be disrupted in the future."

Talleyrand was completely silent after hearing this.

Not only entangled and helpless, but also a little more surprised.

Talleyrand knew exactly what kind of person his own monarch, Louis XVI, was.

Basically, he doesn't have much decision-making ability. It is the continuous 30 years of monarch work that has allowed him to accumulate a small amount of corresponding ability.

The Crown Prince Charles in front of him seems to have a few responsibilities now, and it may not be weaker than studying Louis XVI for half his life.

But what is more critical is thinking and character. The crown prince seems to be more suitable to be a monarch than his father.

(End of this chapter)