As the saying goes, where mountains and rivers end, another village appears.
Louis XVI felt that since he couldn't deal with the "Silly Eagle," why not find Emperor Zhu Jinsong of the Great Ming to help?
After all, this pen pal of his never complained about having too much land, not to mention that Louisiana was a place with great development potential.
After thinking it over, Louis XVI said to Zhu Jinsong, "Do you want Louisiana? If you do, I am willing to give Louisiana to you, for not a single penny."
If Thomas Jefferson, the third generation leader of the "Silly Eagle" family, or Monroe and Livingston, who were sent to France by Jefferson, were present, they would likely be furious at Louis XVI's words.
What do you mean, our "Silly Eagle" is willing to pay for it, and you're not willing to sell, yet this Emperor Zhu of the Great Ming hasn't even spoken, and you're giving it away for free?
Is this looking down on our "Silly Eagle" or is it simply to annoy our "Silly Eagle"?
In fact, even Emperor Zhu Jinsong of the Great Ming was taken aback by Louis XVI's words.
Zhu Jinsong could somewhat understand if Louis XVI, feeling he couldn't handle the "Silly Eagle" and fearing for Louisiana, proactively sold Louisiana to the Great Ming.
However, this guy was giving it away for free right off the bat...
After thinking about it, Zhu Jinsong finally spoke, "My friend, although I also wish to obtain Louisiana—of course, there's no need to hide this from you; besides the fact that it can annoy the 'Silly Eagle,' the more important reason is the original inhabitants of Louisiana."
"As far as I know, the original inhabitants of Louisiana are called the Yin Diyans, and in the history of our Central Plains, there was a dynasty called the Yin Shang."
"Therefore, I suspect that the so-called Yin Diyans might very well be people from the Central Plains during the Yin Shang period who crossed the vast ocean and went to Yin Di'an. It's just that in the long process of historical evolution, they may have lost their original language and script."
"This is truly a sad piece of news."
Louis XVI thought to himself, What the hell are you sad about? Among the laborers sent to the Central Plains by the "Silly Eagle," there were a large number of Yin Diyans. You didn't acknowledge them as citizens of the Great Ming, nor did you treat them well. On the contrary, beneath every railway in the Great Ming lay the white bones of laborers, and among them were countless Yin Diyans. xxs壹贰
After inwardly grumbling, Louis XVI forced himself to put on a sad expression and said, "God as my witness, this is indeed sad news."
"However, I am still happy for the Yin Diyans of Louisiana, because their Emperor has not forgotten these people of the Central Plains who migrated overseas."
After saying a few perfunctory words, Louis XVI shifted the topic and said, "I must admit, your attitude towards the people of the Central Plains is something we all need to learn from, my friend."
"To express my goodwill towards the Central Plains people in Yin Di'an, for the sake of friendship between the Great Ming Empire and France, and also for the sake of friendship between you and me, I have decided to give Louisiana to you for free."
"Please do not refuse."
Zhu Jinsong shook his head and refused, "Regardless of whether those Yin Diyans are descendants of the Central Plains, I cannot accept land that already belongs to your France for free."
Seeing that Louis XVI was still insisting on giving it away, Zhu Jinsong raised his hand and said, "Listen to me, my friend—if you were giving me some inexpensive trinkets, I would certainly not refuse, as it would simply be a mutual exchange between friends."
"But Louisiana is different."
"Although I have never personally been to Louisiana, as I just said, the area of Louisiana is roughly a little larger than that of Fujian Province."
"This is a vast territory, and for any country, any emperor or king, it holds an irresistible temptation. Even I find it difficult to resist such a great temptation."
"However, I must refuse—if it were merely a gift between friends, I would not refuse. But you have another identity, which is the King of France."
"Giving such a large piece of land to the Great Ming must also place considerable pressure on the French court."
"I cannot, for my own selfish reasons, allow you to bear such great pressure. This goes against the principle of friends helping each other and considering each other's feelings."
Louis XVI was even more touched by Zhu Jinsong's words—look at that scoundrel Thomas Jefferson, and then look at this Emperor of the Great Ming!
Officially, they were all among the "Five Benevolent Nations" of the "Broken Pot," and privately, France had helped the "Silly Eagle" break free from English colonial rule. With these two premises, even if Louisiana was extremely important to your "Silly Eagle," how could you shamelessly propose a price of one cent per acre?
Instead, the Emperor of the Great Ming, even as the leader of the world's number one power, did not belittle his pen pal who had approached him, and even thought of him at every turn! What is this? This is the bearing of a great nation!
The more Louis XVI thought about it, the more touched he became. After inwardly cursing the "Silly Eagle" to his heart's content, Louis XVI said to Zhu Jinsong, "Thank you for considering me, my friend. However, as the King of France, I believe I still have the right to decide the ownership of Louisiana, and you do not need to worry about me."
However, what Louis XVI did not expect was that even though he had repeatedly stated his intention to give it away for free, Zhu Jinsong still refused to accept his gift. "Yes, you certainly have that right, but I also have the right to refuse, because as I said earlier, I will absolutely not let you be in a difficult position at the French court."
Seeing that Louis XVI was about to say more, Zhu Jinsong preempted him by saying, "How about this: I will purchase the ownership of Louisiana from France at the price of one tael of silver per mu—do not refuse my offer. The price of one tael of silver per mu is not very high, and it does not put any pressure on the Great Ming's finances, and it will be easier for you to explain yourselves to the French court and people."
Louis XVI thought to himself, What the hell do I need to explain to the French court and people—compared to the favor from you, the Emperor of the Great Ming, or rather, the people of the Great Ming, a mere Louisiana is nothing! Now that you refuse to accept it for free, what can I, Louis, do to gain your favor?
However, Louis XVI found no way to respond to Zhu Jinsong's proposal.
After inwardly sulking for a while, Louis XVI finally nodded and agreed, "Alright, at the price you mentioned, one tael of silver per acre, I will have Pierre prepare the contract later."
Zhu Jinsong was immediately stunned—the price of one tael of silver per mu and the price of one tael of silver per acre were two completely different concepts!
In other words, if Louisiana was ultimately sold at the price of one tael of silver per acre, it would mean that the Great Ming bought more than six mu of land for one tael of silver, a difference of sixfold.
After thinking about it, Zhu Jinsong still reminded him, "Louis, I just said one tael of silver per mu, but you said one tael of silver per acre. Did you make a mistake?"
Louis XVI's heart was even more moved—Look, look, even at this point, the Emperor of the Great Ming still didn't want to take advantage of him, but instead thought of him!
The more touched Louis XVI felt, the more he felt that the "Silly Eagle" was not a good bird.
Louis XVI nodded seriously and said, "I know what I'm saying, yes, you heard correctly, it's one tael of silver per acre."
"Actually, I think you know, my friend, Louisiana is very far from France, but very close to the 'Silly Eagle.' If you are unwilling to accept Louisiana, I will really have to sell it to the 'Silly Eagle' at a price of a few cents per acre, which I am unwilling to do under any circumstances."
"Believe me, even if I sold Louisiana for one cent per acre, the leader and people of that country, composed of the descendants of ruffians, thieves, and bandits, would not care. Instead, they would think that I and France were afraid of them, and that's why we had to sell it at a low price."
"On the contrary, if I sell Louisiana to you and the Great Ming at the price of one tael of silver per acre, I and France can gain the friendship of you and the people of the Great Ming. It's a win-win situation, isn't it?"
"So, since it's going to be sold cheaply anyway, why not sell it to you at a cheap price?"
Zhu Jinsong looked at Louis XVI with surprise and thought to himself, Well, this guy has been scammed so much that he's actually learned to be smart—although this guy ultimately couldn't escape the fate of being put on a stretcher, he is now directly saying that he's selling Louisiana to the Great Ming at a low price to gain the friendship of me, the Emperor of the Great Ming, and the people of the Great Ming, which coincidentally leaves me with no excuse to refuse!
Thinking of this, Zhu Jinsong simply smiled and said, "Yes, you, and the people of France, will gain the friendship of the people of the Great Ming. As for me..."
Just as Louis XVI was becoming uneasy due to Zhu Jinsong's pause, Zhu Jinsong chuckled again and said, "We are friends, aren't we?"
Louis XVI then let out a long sigh and said, "Yes, we are friends, and we will continue to be friends forever. Nothing can affect our friendship."
After they both laughed heartily, Louis XVI continued, "By the way, Thomas Jefferson, the third generation leader of the 'Silly Eagle' family, will also be attending this 'Broken Pot' conference. I think it's time to give him a little something to show him who's boss."
Seeing that Louis XVI had once again brought up Thomas Jefferson, Zhu Jinsong nodded and said, "Yes, it's time to give him a little something to show him who's boss. Otherwise, I'm afraid he will affect the unity of the Five Benevolent Nations of the 'Broken Pot'."
Giving Thomas Jefferson a little something to show him who's boss was a necessary procedure—as for the "Silly Eagle's" first leader, Washington, and John Adams, they were not so bad. After all, Washington was an old hand and had experienced the period of resisting English colonial rule. He knew that he couldn't provoke the Great Ming, and John Adams was in a similar situation to Washington, and he was also a thoroughly deceived Eagle, obsessively admiring the rites of Zhou. During the time when these two were in power, the "Silly Eagle" could be closely united around the Great Ming.
But Thomas Jefferson was different. This guy had some ability, not to mention that he was wholeheartedly for the "Silly Eagle." He could even abolish the extravagant and decadent style that Adams had brought up, which showed that he was not someone to be trifled with.
Take this instance as an example.
If Louis XVI hadn't willingly stepped onto the stretcher and sold Louisiana to the Great Ming at a very low price, but instead sold Louisiana to the "Silly Eagle," then the "Silly Eagle" might have truly developed under the leadership of Thomas Jefferson. Even if it didn't threaten the Great Ming, it would still be a troublesome matter.
What's even more infuriating is that if Thomas Jefferson set a bad precedent, even if Louis XVI was a loyal fan of the Great Ming, what would the "Sand Goose" think? What would England think? Would they still be willing to obey honestly in the future?
Or, if these few countries felt that the Great Ming was not enough to suppress the situation, would they join forces to cause trouble for the Great Ming?
After all, Thomas Jefferson sent people to Louis XVI to purchase Louisiana without prior reporting to the Great Ming or obtaining approval from the "Five Benevolent Nations" conference of the "Broken Pot."
Of course, Zhu Jinsong did not worry about the "Sand Goose" and England siding with the "Silly Eagle," because the current Great Ming was the father of the entire "Broken Pot" and had sufficient strength to take on the entire "Broken Pot" alone.
However, if it truly came to taking on the entire "Broken Pot," it would be a state of universal armament, and the development of the Great Ming would definitely stagnate.
Compared to the benefits that could be gained from taking on the entire "Broken Pot," the negative impact would be greater, making it somewhat not worthwhile.
Therefore, a show of force was definitely necessary, and subsequent procedures like the "killing the prestige rod" must not be missed. At the very least, Thomas Jefferson needed to witness the strength of the Great Ming, so that he would not dare to jump around carelessly in the future.
However, just as Zhu Jinsong was contemplating how to arrange a show of force for Thomas Jefferson, the third generation leader of the "Silly Eagle," Louis XVI suggested, "How about we take him to a military parade first?"
"Since we want to show him who's boss, I think nothing can demonstrate the strength of the Great Ming better than a military parade."
"After the parade, we can also let him see the Great Ming's new military equipment, such as firearms and artillery."
"So that he'll have a rough idea."
Zhu Jinsong, however, chuckled and shook his head, saying, "No rush, no rush, I will arrange for him properly."