The Imperial Age with the Resurgence of Han Style

Chapter 143 French Requests

August 1726, 8, Versailles, France.

"We Qi State have no intention of crossing the Changlan Mountains (today's Rocky Mountains in America), let alone invading your American territory of Louisiana." Pan Guangfeng, Qi State's general representative in Europe, said seriously: "Over the years, we have come together to China has always upheld the friendly cooperative relations between the two countries, is committed to developing economic, trade and cultural exchanges between the two countries, and fully respects the legitimate rights and interests of your country's overseas territories."

"However, an expedition team of your Qi people penetrated deep into the Great Lakes region last September and was captured by our local militia." French Chief Minister Andre Egur de Fleury (i.e. Bishop Fleury) looked at Pan Guangfeng with an expressionless face, his voice was gentle but stern, "I believe that before we discovered this expedition, you Qi people must have sent many similar expeditions to Check out the corresponding folk geography of our Louisiana and other areas. You should know that the vast territory including the Mississippi and Missouri rivers is the sacred territory of our Kingdom of France and cannot be violated."

"Your Excellency Bishop Fleury, the expedition team sent by our American Territory should be for purely scientific investigation purposes. It is to systematically collect and organize the humanistic and geographical information of the entire America to supplement and improve world geography. Science. This move is definitely not aimed at your Louisiana Territory, and your doubts are completely unreasonable, and it is an unfounded speculation about our country, Qi."

"Oh, really?" Bishop Fleury smiled and shook his head, "Your Excellency, sometimes, a systematic and thorough geographical expedition is often the prelude to a military invasion. I hope your country will not have such an attempt. This will seriously harm the friendly cooperative relations between our two countries, and will also trigger unnecessary regional confrontation between our two countries. The entire territory of New France, including Louisiana, is the sacred royal property of His Majesty the King. It has been unanimously recognized by countries around the world.”

The French began to colonize America as early as the 17th century. In 1604, France established Acadia in North America. In 1605, the settlement was moved to Port Royal, which kicked off the colonization of America.

However, at that time, the French did not consider colonization. They only wanted wealth. Specifically, they wanted to find gold and silver like the Spanish. Gold and silver have been the supreme treasures dreamed of by European kings since the Middle Ages. .

However, no gold was found in Quebec at that time, only iron ore and quartz stone. After that, some French fishermen arrived in Quebec during the cod fishing season and returned home with a full load after the fishing season. This did not trigger French immigration to North America.

So what factors prompted France to open up the Quebec colony in North America and immigrate to North America on a large scale?

It's the fur trade!

North America is rich in fur animal resources, and the local fierce Indians are excellent hunters. When French fishermen come to North America, they can often exchange French wine or other worthless gadgets for various precious furs from the Indians. , and then shipped it back to France for sale, earning a lot of gold and silver.

The scale of this fur trade, which was profitable for both parties, became larger and larger. American furs became more and more popular in France, so much so that it was fashionable for Parisian ladies at that time to wear and wear North American furs.

Some merchants on the west coast of France spotted this potentially hugely profitable business and opened up routes dedicated to transporting fur goods.

The trade continues to expand. As a buyer, you can no longer just stay in the coastal areas and wait for fur hunters to come, but you must go deep into the North American continent. This necessitated the establishment of closer ties with indigenous sellers, and the colonization and settlement of North America became a necessary measure.

In the years that followed, the fur trade became even more prosperous, and Quebec, located on the lower reaches of the St. Lawrence River, became the center of this trade. Every spring, hundreds of small boats loaded with beaver skins gather in Quebec City and its nearby ports such as Montreal and Trois-Rivières, forming an annual fur trading event.

After that, France began to rapidly expand its colonial power in the Americas, moving deep inland along the St. Lawrence River. As its power expanded, France used these newly developed territories for trade. However, at that time, the French's focus was always on the European mainland and they did not invest much energy in the development of colonies. Therefore, the subsequent development of New France The extent of development was obviously inferior to that of the British North American territories.

Although the French did not attach much importance to the American territory, their ability to enclose territory was really impressive. In less than a hundred years, they "occupied" a very vast territory, starting from the Hudson Bay in the north. It extends from the Gulf of Mexico in the south to the Rocky Mountains in the west, including the St. Lawrence River and the Mississippi River Basin, and is divided into five regions: Canada, Acadia, Hudson Bay, Newfoundland, and Louisiana.

However, although the colonial territory of New France was huge in area, its strength was simply not comparable to that of the British North American territories. As of now, the total population of New France is less than 6, while the combined population of the thirteen British colonies on the adjacent side is nearly 50, which is eight times more than the French.

In fact, even the Qi territory, which began to colonize the west coast of North America decades later, has a population nearly four times larger than that of New France, reaching more than 23 (excluding native Indians).

Therefore, the New France Territory, which was caught in the middle, had a strong sense of crisis and was worried that it would be squeezed and cannibalized by Qi and Britain from the east to the west in North America, and would subsequently lose the huge colonial interests in the region.

Fortunately, New France has a relatively large geopolitical advantage and can still barely maintain it. Britain's thirteen colonies were not monolithic, and there were constant quarrels among them. In addition, the British had few Indian allies other than a few Iroquois, while the French had close ties with the Indians, especially the Abeniki, Malesheets, and Mi'kmaq. The Ojibwa, Ottawa, Patawami, Miami and Illinois also sided with the French. It can be said that almost all Indians were allies of the French, even including the Iroquois from the Montreal area. The Mohawks split off from the alliance. Looking at it this way, the disadvantage of the French does not seem to be as disparate as the numbers.

The population of the Qi North American Territory is also growing rapidly. Almost every year, thousands of immigrants from the east arrive on the west coast of the Americas. Together with their newly born population, they are filling the vast land in the west at an extremely fast rate. But fortunately, the towering Rocky Mountains, like a natural barrier, blocked the Qi people's power from continuing to expand eastward.

Who would have thought that the people of Qi would try to break through the high Rocky Mountains and sent an expedition team to spy on the fertile Mississippi Plains. Do they want to get involved in Louisiana?

Last year, when the war broke out between Qi and Britain, France was happy to see its outcome. Because no matter who wins or loses between the two countries in the end, France will be the biggest beneficiary and enjoy the benefits of the fishermen.

If Britain loses the war, its own strength will be greatly weakened, and it will lose its checks and balances on the European continent (stirring up shit). It will even completely become a marginal second power like the Netherlands, and will no longer be able to pose a threat to France.

If Qi is defeated, its influence on the European continent can be expelled or weakened, forcing them to retreat back to the Indian Ocean and stop coming to Europe to cause trouble.

In the past few decades, whether it was the Franco-Dutch War or the War of Spanish Succession, Qi State's assistance to the Netherlands has never stopped. It not only imported a large amount of ordnance supplies, but also helped the Dutch build one solid fortress after another in the border areas. The defensive fortress caused the French army that once invaded the Netherlands to suffer a lot. They also provided maritime protection for Dutch merchant ships in the Indian Ocean, allowing the Dutch to project more maritime power into the North Sea and the Mediterranean.

Even now, the relationship between Qi and the Netherlands is still close. The exchanges between the two sides in many aspects such as politics, economy, science and technology and culture are increasingly deepened, and they have become a quasi-ally. This has always worried France.

In addition, more than 20 years ago, France tried to colonize the island of Madagascar, but was forced out by the Qi people on the grounds that the island was their protectorate, resulting in the loss of a lot of people and materials, and a great disgrace. gained the face of Louis XIV. At the same time, they were also eyeing Bourbon Island (today's French Reunion), always thinking of taking it for their own use.

As a big country that aspires to dominate Europe, France not only keeps an eye on its neighbors and England across the strait, but also pays attention to the many trends of Qi, a rapidly rising maritime power.

Over the years, Qi has consistently supported the Ottoman Empire against the HRE, Poland, and Russia; they have also allocated part of their energy to support Prussia and restrict Austria and Poland; recently, they have begun to win over Sweden, threatening England while implicitly targeting Russia.

Nowadays, they are still flirting with the Spaniards and seem to be forming a military alliance to attack England together. But the French had some doubts about this. Will the Qi people pull the Spaniards over, and after dealing with England, will they restrict France?

Although, since Louis XV succeeded to the throne, France has pursued a peace policy and has basically not been involved in wars in neighboring countries. Instead, it has begun to recuperate and slowly restore its over-consumed national power. During the decades when Louis XIV was in power, although the territory of the Kingdom of France expanded a lot and its reputation was at its peak in Europe, making many people love and hate it, these things came at a huge price.

The population continues to decline, industrial and agricultural production languishes, overseas trade drops to a historical low, and the people are struggling on the edge of life and death. Neighboring countries are all increasing their arms expansion and jointly targeting France. The external environment situation has deteriorated sharply. This is the price. France has started from above. The price paid.

War superimposes natural disasters, or natural disasters occur one after another that can last for several years. For European countries that have not yet entered industrialization, it is simply devastating. Why did Louis XIV stop the war and spit out most of the territory he had eaten? Because at that time, the French were really unable to conquer.

A nationwide famine caused by poor agricultural harvests and sluggish foreign trade resulted in a shortage of national supplies. Although the French army did seize a large amount of gold and silver from the occupied areas, these items were either minted into currency and used in the war, or used to purchase various war supplies from neutral countries, and were rarely used domestically.

It can be said that during the Louis XIV period, one European war after another had almost emptied the French treasury and drained the wealth of every French person. If France hadn't relied on its huge population, hundreds of thousands of brave and capable French troops, and the intrigues of its opponents, it might have been like Spain, where it would have been paralyzed and admitted to the intensive care unit, thus becoming destitute.

Even though the war has passed for more than ten years, France has not yet recovered. The Mississippi Bubble that broke out in 1719-1720 pushed the French economy into an endless abyss. The failure of financial reform also caused France to return to the traditional "physiocrats", thereby blocking the development of the financial industry and losing an effective means of national financing.

It stands to reason that France occupies the most elite land in Europe, with a vast area of ​​arable land and extremely superior agricultural conditions, so it should not be worried about food shortages.

However, according to economic survey data provided by the Embassy of Qi in France, Pan Guangfeng found that in Paris alone, the price of wheat has increased threefold in the past ten years, as have the prices of other cereals, grains, oils, meat, eggs and poultry. The exponential increase has plunged countless French people into hunger.

In addition, the prices of daily necessities in the French market remain high. The prices of clothing, daily necessities, agricultural tools, leather goods, hardware and other commodities have also doubled. Business has shrunk and the economy has been depressed. In fact, this is not difficult to understand. French industry was already relatively weak. After the Mississippi bubble burst, it was harvested again by the financial sickle, and there was no decent production left. This supply has been greatly reduced, but the demand has not been reduced enough, so it is natural for prices to skyrocket.

Perhaps this is also the case between the end of the war and the present. France and Qi have signed a series of trade agreements, gradually liberalizing the import quotas for most daily necessities and food, allowing cheap Qi industrial products to flow into France and reducing their high prices. the root cause of prices.

In troubled times, people's lives are already difficult, so why let them spend a lot of precious cash to buy daily necessities? As for the domestic craftsmen and many small workshops that have gone bankrupt because of this, there is nothing that can be done. There are groups who have been sacrificed in any era. At this difficult moment, there are always people who are destined to be sacrificed, not to mention that they may not necessarily have no business. After all, Qi's industrial products cannot cover the entire territory of France, so just make do with it. If it doesn't work, just go to work in the factory. The king also ordered to import some production equipment from Qi and build some new factories. The need for workers is still not small.

The Kingdom of France is now basically a frail and sick giant, relying on the great power of the former Sun King to frighten the European countries.

France's current foreign policy is to reduce unnecessary wars in order to slowly restore the domestic economy. However, due to the lack of investment from Dutch and British capital, the Italians also significantly reduced their investment in France due to the influence of the Holy Roman Empire, which overall resulted in a very slow recovery.

As a last resort, the French turned to the Qi people, asking Qi's industrial and commercial capital to enter France in large quantities, invest in their various industries, and help them restore their economy.

It sounds good. Now France is hungry for capital, and the people of Qi are not short of money and have extremely abundant capital. It seems like a perfect match.

But the question is, what is the business environment like in France?

Is there a sound business system?

Are there complete legal protections?

Is there a coherent economic policy?

In the past, the French had a history of confiscating foreign property, and as France is so poor, there is no guarantee that it will be evil at any time. After defrauding our Qi people's investment, they will then close the door and beat the dogs, swallowing the money. No skin or bones left.

Therefore, in the past decade or so, although businessmen from Qi have come to invest in France, not as many as they expected, and most of the investments are in light asset industries such as trade, transportation, and grain processing. It is clear that they are prepared to take action at any time if the situation goes bad. Just carry the bucket and run away.

To be honest, the current France, because of its aggressive war behavior, has now become almost a "lone warrior" in Europe. It is feared, besieged, and suppressed by almost all surrounding countries. The external environment is extremely dangerous.

Therefore, France urgently needs a strong external ally. Whether it is a political ally or a purely economic ally, it is very important to them. Qi is undoubtedly a very good choice.

Especially this year, Louis XV's teacher, Bishop Fleury, came to power after replacing the Duke of Bourbon. With decades of political experience, he has a very clear mind. He understood that with France's size and population, and after restoring its economic strength, no one in the European countries would be able to trust them.

Unless there is another powerful country in Europe, such as Spain, France may be needed to check and balance them, and France's external environment will improve.

In this case, I can't play here in Europe for the time being, so why not go and play with people from Qi. They have a large population, a developed economy, and extremely vast overseas colonies. The entire Indian Ocean Rim region is their sphere of influence. Their country produces almost all kinds of materials, and there is no shortage of anything. They can play with themselves behind closed doors.

If Qi cooperates deeply with France, can the French economy also be integrated into the Indian Ocean Rim and Red Sea-Mediterranean trade systems they lead? It can also develop and gradually restore its national strength.

The current attitude of the people of Qi is still very friendly - although the two countries were in a state of hostility due to the War of Spanish Succession more than 20 years ago, they have almost never attacked the French mainland, nor have they attacked French merchant ships. It just gave Spain a beating, but it is still Qi's second largest trading partner in continental Europe, and its economic and trade ties are also relatively close.

In the ongoing Qi-British war, the French are secretly helping Qi, providing material supplies for the Qi expedition fleet, providing a place for rest and treatment for Qi's injured and sick crew members, and providing them with news about the English.

Bishop Fleury met with Pan Guangfeng, Qi's general representative in Europe today, and raised an issue about their expedition going deep into Louisiana. He was not trying to put pressure on Qi, nor was he trying to freeze the hard-won friendly cooperative relations between the two sides. .

Because they, the French, want something from Qi.

"I heard that your country is planning to help the Ottomans build a railway?" Bishop Fleury picked up a cup of tea, took a few sips, and then asked seemingly casually.

"Yes." Pan Guangfeng nodded and said: "Our Qi State will build a railway from Istanbul to Plovdiv for the Ottoman Empire. The original plan was to start construction in July last year, but a sudden war destroyed the railway. Construction can only be postponed indefinitely.”

"We in France also want to build a railway. I wonder if your Qi country is willing to undertake this project."

"Oh?" Pan Guangfeng heard this, with a smile on his face, "If your country intends to build a railway, we in Qi State will wholeheartedly provide corresponding technical support and financial support."

In the eyes of the people of Qi, there is no doubt that France is valuable. Qi also seems to attach great importance to its geographical value in Europe as an important support point for their European strategy.

More than twenty days ago, news of the Battle of Alboran had spread throughout Europe. Everyone believed that the outcome of this war was already clear, and England's defeat was only a matter of time. If Qi's navy continues its efforts and looks for opportunities to severely damage the English navy once or twice, then the other side will probably be unable to fight anymore and will be forced to seek an armistice and peace talks with Qi.

Through this war, it will be a high probability that England will be weakened, and then the entire European situation is likely to usher in a new reshuffle.

In order to get better cards on the card table, and to better check and balance Europe, Qi Guo did not mind putting some effort into the big guy France. If this can achieve in-depth economic cooperation with France and achieve a certain sense of bundling of interests, it will undoubtedly further strengthen Qi's influence in Europe.

"We in Qi have no obligation to help the French build a complete industrial chain system, let alone promote the great development of French industry." On the way back to the embassy in the car, Pan Guangfeng said with a hint of sarcasm, "In the future, including France, The whole of Europe, including China, will only become a dumping market for our country's industrial products. Well, a level slightly higher than the large markets of India, Persia, and the Americas."

"This market is not very stable." Lu Sicheng, the minister to France, said with a smile: "In this European continent, every ten or twenty years, a war breaks out, which is comparable to our Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. The market is the most in demand. The commodities have always been weapons, gunpowder, as well as war supplies such as food and clothing. News just came from the Baltic Sea. Sweden suddenly declared war on Russia half a month ago and soon invaded Karelia. Forcing St. Petersburg.”

"Humph, the Swedes have been preparing for more than a year, but have never made a move. It was not until a month ago that our Qi country and the Persian army defeated the Russian army in the Caucasus that they dared to jump out and launch this long-simmering revenge war against Russia. Pan Guangfeng said: "I will leave for Berlin in a few days to visit the Kingdom of Prussia. If the Baltic Sea is in chaos, the situation in the German region will inevitably undergo major changes. Europe may be in trouble again."

(End of this chapter)