Howard felt particularly aggrieved.
Even if Ke Zhiming hadn't come to extort him, Howard had originally intended to purchase a batch of Ming army-equipped flintlock guns and cannons to take back to the Great British Empire and hand over to the Royal Armament Office at the Tower of London for reverse engineering.
However, the moment Ke Zhiming proactively came to extort him, the nature of the matter completely changed.
When had the Great British Empire ever suffered such humiliation?
Of course, Howard was also clear in his heart that he had no other choice but to accept the extortion by the Ming people.
Because no one could guarantee that those despicable French frogs wouldn't purchase Ming firearms.
Even if those despicable French frogs approached him proactively, wanting to unite with the Great British Empire to attack the Ming, Howard wouldn't dare to believe the nonsensical words of those French frogs.
This was something no one could afford to gamble on.
Therefore, Howard could only grit his teeth, suppress the urge to kill, force out a smile even uglier than a cry, and said, "Lord Ke, can we discuss the price of flintlock guns and cannons now?"
When he spoke the word "price," Howard's heart bled.
Howard knew very well that since a high official like Ke Zhiming from the Ming dynasty had personally come to extort him, the price of these flintlock guns and cannons would definitely not be cheap.
He wondered how many cannons his silver could buy.
As expected, when Howard inquired about the price, Ke Zhiming smiled and said, "Flintlock guns are thirty taels of silver each, bullets are one tael for a hundred rounds, cannons are ten thousand taels of silver each, and cannonballs are five taels of silver per round."
Upon hearing the price, Howard immediately exploded like a cat with its tail stepped on: "This is impossible, my dear friend, this price is impossible, it's too unreasonable."
Having been in the Thirteen Factories of Guangdong for so many years, Howard was no novice when it came to arms prices.
Under normal circumstances, a flintlock gun would cost around ten taels of silver, at most fifteen taels.
As for cannons, even the most advanced cannons in Europe at the moment would cost no more than three thousand taels of silver to produce. If mass-produced, this price could be even lower, and a cannonball would not exceed three taels of silver.
Now, Ke Zhiming was demanding thirty taels for a flintlock gun and ten thousand taels for a cannon, even doubling the price of cannonballs.
Even as an extortion, this price was too outrageous.
However, Ke Zhiming smiled and said, "Mr. Howard, today you have witnessed the power of our Ming dynasty's flintlock guns and cannons. Believe me, the flintlock guns and cannons produced by our Ming dynasty are absolutely worth this price."
Howard replied, "Yes, I have witnessed the power of your Ming flintlock guns and cannons. The flintlock guns have a higher range and greater accuracy, and the cannons are the same. Even if the cannonballs fired don't explode, the craters they create are about a square meter."
"However, this is not a reason for you to sell them so expensively—not even for profit. A profit exceeding 300% is something even God would find unbearable."
Ke Zhiming smiled dismissively and said, "Whether God can bear it seems to have nothing to do with me?"
"As I said before, you can refuse, but I don't know if those Frenchmen will accept this price."
Upon hearing Ke Zhiming's words, Howard was silenced again.
It wasn't because Ke Zhiming was disrespectful to God in his speech. After all, only the common people in Europe who hoped to ascend to heaven after death were truly devout. High-ranking church officials or true nobles were not so devout.
What truly silenced Howard was the mention of France again by Ke Zhiming.
Yes, the Great British Empire couldn't accept this offer, but who knew if those despicable French frogs would accept it? What if they did?
If those despicable French frogs couldn't accept this offer, while the Great British Empire did, then with just a hundred cannons equipped by the national army and twenty thousand flintlock guns equipped by the Ming army, along with sufficient ammunition and cannonballs, the Great British Empire could wash away all the shame it had suffered since the Hundred Years' War.
The reverse was also true. If the Great British Empire couldn't accept this offer, but those despicable French frogs did, would France still merely besiege the Great British Empire on the British Isles as it was now?
Even thinking about it with one's heels, one knew this was absolutely impossible.
After a long silence, Howard finally slumped onto his chair, adjusted his cravat, and said, "Alright, you win."
"Now we should discuss the quantities of cannons and flintlock guns."
"Of course, and the delivery time."
...
Compared to Howard, Pierre received much better treatment.
The key was that Pierre's situation was entirely different from Howard's.
The Hundred Years' War between England and France was ultimately won by France. The victory of the war allowed France to complete its national unification and gradually expand on the European continent. England, on the other hand, lost almost all of its French territories.
As the saying goes, the barefoot are not afraid of those who wear shoes. England was now a pauper without even shoes, while France was a noble gentleman wearing leather shoes. Therefore, without the people sent by Zhu Jinsong saying much, a single statement that England wanted to purchase a batch of flintlock guns and cannons would compel France to place the same or even larger orders.
This was similar to China.
When China didn't have nuclear weapons, it also shouted slogans like "Let's move to Russia to live" and "Unsigned paper is like shit in the toilet." When China finally had nuclear bombs, the headline of the People's Daily on the day of the test was "Explosion Successful," and the subheading was "Solemnly suggest convening a meeting of heads of state from all countries to discuss a complete ban and thorough destruction of nuclear bombs."
Similarly, when China was poor, it fought this war and that war. One rabbit fought seventeen gang leaders and even threatened Russia with nuclear weapons. But once China became rich, would it still fight?
This was the difference between being barefoot and wearing shoes.
However, the only problem facing Pierre now was that France had no money.
Of course, it couldn't be said that the entire of France had no money, because it was the French treasury that had no money.
At this time in France, Louis XVI, the nominal king of the Bourbon dynasty, did not truly hold power. Real power was held by Queen Marie Antoinette. Unfortunately, Louis XVI's wife, Marie Antoinette, did not possess the sense of responsibility and mission that a queen should have.
On the contrary, Marie Antoinette, who did not understand politics, was only enthusiastic about balls, fashion, entertainment, disguises, hosting balls, decorating villas, and landscaping gardens. This plunged the entire of France into a severe crisis, with court ministers vying for power, social contradictions intensifying, the national treasury empty, and national debt soaring.
Marie Antoinette was therefore known as "Madame Déficit."
Thus, even if Pierre wanted to purchase a large number of flintlock guns and cannons immediately, the French treasury could not come up with that much money.
But who was Zeng Cheng, sent by Zhu Jinsong? Before defecting to Zhu Jinsong, Zeng Cheng had served as a prefect in the court of the Great Qing.
In terms of the proper way to govern a country, Prefect Zeng might not have been particularly brilliant, but in terms of all sorts of crooked and unorthodox methods, one Prefect Zeng could outweigh ten Zhu Jinsongs.
Therefore, after listening to Pierre's concerns, Prefect Zeng slapped his thigh and said, "I thought it was for what reason, but it's all about money?"
Hearing Prefect Zeng say this, Pierre was stunned.
No, was the matter of money a trivial matter? After all, while money isn't everything, in this world, without money, nothing is possible.
If the French treasury had enough money, would Pierre have to worry here?
After all, the French treasury had national debt amounting to a staggering 2 billion francs!
However, Prefect Zeng smiled indifferently and said, "A mere bit of yellow and white objects, this matter is easy to handle."
While Pierre was completely bewildered, Prefect Zeng inexplicably asked, "I heard that your France is also quite turbulent internally, and the people seem to be quite dissatisfied?"
Pierre nodded and replied, still bewildered, "What's so strange about that? If you, Lord Zeng, had to spend half or even more of your total income on bread, I suppose you, Lord Zeng, would also be dissatisfied."
Zeng Cheng chuckled and then continued to ask, "I heard that Mr. Pierre is a relative of your French king?"
Pierre nodded and replied with a hum, "According to your Ming people's saying, I should be a cousin to His Majesty King Louis XVI of France. However, I have no formal title nor any fiefdom to inherit."
Upon hearing Pierre say this, Prefect Zeng had an idea.
What "no formal title nor any fiefdom to inherit"? He was just an illegitimate child.
Prefect Zeng chuckled and said, "Our ancient sages of the Central Plains once said: A great man is not defined by his origin."
"This means that one's height of achievement is not determined by their background, but by their postnatal efforts."
"Although Mr. Pierre does not have a formal title or fiefdom yet, I believe that as long as Mr. Pierre can contribute to France and the French king, then a fiefdom and a title will be within easy reach for Mr. Pierre."
Pierre remained bewildered and even suspected that Zeng Cheng's mind was malfunctioning.
As long as he contributed to France and the French king, he would receive a fiefdom and a title? How great must that contribution be?
If he could resolve France's 2 billion franc national debt, then Pierre was confident he could obtain a formal title and fiefdom.
However, the crux of the problem was that it was a national debt of 2 billion francs, not 20 francs, nor 200,000 francs.
If Pierre could lead an army to conquer a large territory for France, then obtaining a title and fiefdom would not be impossible. The problem was, if Pierre had that capability, why would he need to go to sea to do business?
"A great man is not defined by his origin" might be acceptable in Chinese societies, but in Europe, it was the biggest joke in the world.
However, as Pierre continued to be bewildered, Prefect Zeng smiled and said, "It is actually quite simple to contribute to France and the French king."
Pierre asked, bewildered, "What contribution? And how is it simple?"
Prefect Zeng chuckled and said, "If you can fill the deficit of the French treasury and bring stability to the French people, will this merit be enough for Mr. Pierre to receive a title and a fiefdom?"