Meeting Joseph again, Li Xiao didn't like this short and fat guy. He was a solid profit animal and would soon be crowned the King of Spain.

"Mr. Joseph, it's nice to meet you." Although he didn't like it, Li Xiao still had to maintain diplomatic etiquette. That's what diplomacy is about, wearing the most hypocritical smile, using the nicest words, and saying the most shameless words

requirements.

"Your Majesty, Generalissimo, Joseph is also very happy to see you. We haven't seen you for a few years, and you have successfully conquered India. Congratulations!" Joseph saluted Li Xiao humbly.

"Yes! I conquered India, and then there will be no India. India will be split into fifty-seven states, and the people of each state will find their own happiness under the leadership of the king of the state. There is no need to wait.

In a huge federation, bound by the huge federation.

This is a very good model and a very happy model." Li Xiao looked at Joseph with a winner's smile on his face.

Joseph sweated! This situation of a small principality will indeed make notification easier, and the people will not have to bear such a burden because the state institutions are small. Unfortunately, there are never things in this world that have only advantages and no disadvantages.

A small principality has a small burden and does not have a large number of officials to exploit it. Even the king of the state can concurrently serve as the president of the court, the commander-in-chief of the army, the head of the government, and a series of other responsibilities. And because the state belongs to him, he will work wholeheartedly. After all, this is

It's your own property.

But once a powerful force invades, the power of small states is not worth mentioning. Big countries can easily destroy those small states with just a flick of their fingers.

Therefore, it is impossible for small countries to have equal diplomacy. When facing interests, they will also be asked for and received by big countries. As a Westerner, he understands the principles of this world better. The strong are respected, and the strong will obtain all resources.

The weak are like fish on a chopping board, being cut up arbitrarily.

There is no such thing as justice, justice, or morality between countries. There are only interests, naked interests, between them. As long as it is in their own interests, it is easy to say anything. If it is not in their own interests, say nothing.

.

"Yes, Your Excellency Generalissimo, France is willing to recognize the Ming Dynasty's victory here. But I don't know why the Ming Dynasty's army appeared in Suezburg. For this canal, we in France have spent a lot of manpower and material resources. What are the actions of the Ming Dynasty army?

It will have a bad impact on the relationship between France and Ming Dynasty."

"I remember we had a conversation about the Suez Canal? And that conversation talked about mutual interests."

"As a result of that conversation, we also divided our interests. However, the Suez Canal is now being dug independently under French supervision. Daming did not make any investment in this canal during this period, so... you want

Benefits? It’s hard for me to convince people at home and my brother.” Joseph’s face turned pale, is Li Xiao going to go down the mountain to pick peaches?

"I know? There is no output without input. Do I understand this? So I want to redefine this agreement." Li Xiao took a puff of his cigar and prepared to propose his new plan.

"Redetermine?" Joseph knew that Li Xiao was really going to grab it openly, and it was very ugly. Is it over? He wants to swallow up the Suez Canal project now? France really can't do anything to him.

After all, European countries are now organizing an anti-French alliance. Napoleon is facing a life-and-death moment, and France has no power left to protect his interests in the Middle East.

"Yes! Redefine this agreement. Our Ming Dynasty is a reasonable country. We will definitely not enjoy the output without input. Now there is about 20% of the canal's project volume left? " Ming Dynasty is ready for everything.

Take the next step."

"All?" Joseph gasped, what is this going to do? Do you mean to use the army? To force the surrounding Arabs. If that is the case, even if the canal is built, there will never be peace. He knows all too well what those things are.

The Arabs? They may not be able to build them, but they are certainly good at destroying them.

"Yes!" Li Xiao nodded.

"Can we conquer Arab labor on such a large scale? This will cause problems."

"I know? So I'm going to use Indian labor. With the Ming Dynasty's transport capacity? We can send out 50,000 people at first, and increase it to 100,000 people after one month. The weather in Suezburg is not bad now, so just let the Indians live in tents.

."

Anyway, there are a lot of Indians, so you can just grab a lot of them. As long as they are responsible for food, they don’t care whether they sleep on the streets. In fact, many Indians don’t have houses at all, so they sleep on the streets in India.

Joseph didn't care whether the Indians lived in tents or on the river. What he cared about was that Li Xiao took over the remaining 20% ​​of the project, so what price would he ask for it. If he took it all or half of it, France would suffer huge losses.

Big.

"Your Excellency, Generalissimo, we can hand over the remaining 20% ​​of the project to you. But you..., the condition you want is...!" After hesitation, Joseph said it.

"Don't worry, I won't put forward too harsh conditions. First Ming merchant ships and warships can have free passage." Li Xiao took a puff of his cigar and exhaled a stream of blue smoke.

"This is no problem." Joseph agreed wholeheartedly. This was part of the previous agreement, and it was also the easiest part to accept. Not only did the Ming Dynasty ships have this convenience, but the French ships also had this convenience. This clause is equivalent to mutual benefit for both parties.

.

"The second item is that our Ming Dynasty needs to have the right to station troops in Fort Suez and within ten kilometers along the canal to protect the security of the Suez Canal."

"That's no problem!" Things like the right to garrison troops are national sovereignty, but the Suez Canal is not on French soil. In other words, Joseph doesn't care much about selling other people's sovereignty.

On the contrary, Joseph very much hoped that the Ming Dynasty would send troops to protect the Suez Canal. After all, France was dealing with the anti-French alliance and had no spare power to send troops to protect the Grand Canal.

The Ming Dynasty's military force was so powerful that those forces who looked at the canal with envy must have to think carefully before taking action.

"Third, regarding the income from the canal." Li Xiao said, pausing deliberately.

Joseph became nervous. This was the most critical point. Now, he wanted to see if Daming looked too ugly.

"I don't think Daming has done much work. Therefore, it can only hold 30% of the shares. Do you think it is feasible?" Li Xiao said slowly.

"Thirty percent!" Joseph almost jumped up.

After completing 20% ​​of the work, you actually need 30% of the income. This is too...reasonable.

Now the Ming Dynasty wants 30% of the profit, which is not too much. Even if Li Xiao wants 50%, Joseph has to pinch his nose and admit it. After all, people are now powerful, even if they rob you openly, it doesn't matter. There are too many robbers in France.

Yes, it’s nothing unusual to be robbed for a while.

Li Xiao's conditions are not too harsh, but too... loose.

"I completely agree, Your Majesty the Generalissimo. If you are willing, we can sign the agreement now without notifying the country. I will take it back and let His Majesty the French Emperor, my brother Bonaparte, sign and seal it." Joseph was ecstatic, thinking.

Immediately finalize the steps.

After all, Ming Dynasty is also a sovereign country, and it still needs a bit of shame. It is a bit too embarrassing to write things like this in black and white on paper, and then try to act shamelessly like a hooligan.

"I know that your brother is dealing with the anti-French alliance. Our Ming Dynasty is willing to provide some help, such as weapons. We seized a large number of Indian-made rifles this time, some of which are quite good. If France needs it, we can expand our deal

.You can exchange them for black Africans and Egyptians.

We also have some captured cannons, and I went to see them in good condition. If you are willing to sell more Suez Canal interests, the artillery and shells can also be traded. Oh, by the way, there are a lot of mortars. Buy mortars

, I can send you 50,000 rounds of artillery shells." Li Xiao smiled and threw out his trump card.

Joseph gritted his teeth!

Napoleon is in a difficult situation at home now. France does not have large-scale industrial production. It is not even as good as the United Kingdom. Therefore, the French army with some Ming weapons has spare power to deal with the Prussians, Austrians, and Russians. But only

When facing the British, it seemed that he was somewhat overwhelmed.

Fortunately, Britain consumed a lot of national power because of its war in India. Among the Queen's colonies, India, the most industrialized, did not substantially help the British mainland. Otherwise, France would have been defeated in this war long ago.

Come.

Now that this batch of weapons and ammunition is shipped back to France, it will definitely greatly enhance the French army's combat capabilities. The most tempting thing is to send 50,000 rounds of artillery shells. No matter how you look at this deal, it is a good deal, but... But Joseph knew,

From now on, the Suez Canal will be a hen that lays golden eggs.

Losing even 1% of the shares now will be a huge loss in the future. But in the face of temptation, Joseph cannot ignore it. This is simply a torture for Joseph.

Li Xiao didn't speak, and neither did anyone else. Everyone didn't speak, just watching Joseph calculating with a sullen face.

"Mr. Joseph, there are many buyers of this batch of weapons. The Arabs like it very much, and the Persians also like it very much. The Russians are also very interested, and even the British have come to us through middlemen. Considering that we have had a good relationship before,

Cooperate with us and we will be the first to provide it to France."

After remaining silent for a long time, Li Xiao suddenly broke the silence.

"this……!"

Joseph knew that Li Xiao was blackmailing him. But he had no idea. In war-torn times, whoever has weapons is the boss. Ming Dynasty won the Indian campaign and must have captured a lot of weapons.

In this world, excluding the weapons of the Ming Dynasty, Indian weapons are still available, at least they are much better than those bullets made by European countries. Hesitating that the manufacturing technology is not up to standard, and blindly trying to improve the power of the weapons, weapons made in Russia often even appear

The phenomenon of barrel explosion. The number of Russian soldiers killed and wounded by their own weapons was no less than those who fell by French weapons.

As a result, the Russian army extremely distrusted its own weapons and ammunition. There were even incidents where soldiers fought for captured Ming Dynasty weapons and had a fight.

"I don't know the specific number of these weapons...!" Joseph decided to ask how many weapons there were first.

"We can provide France with 100,000 rifles and 50 million rounds of bullets. In addition, the total number of large-caliber mortars and cannons is about 3,000. According to what our commander said, 50,000 rounds of artillery shells can be provided free of charge." Sun Xing

He was very cooperative and came up with a list, and even thoughtfully translated it into French for Joseph.

After all, this guy may be able to speak Ming Dynasty, but he may not know Ming Ming writing.

"One hundred thousand rifles!" This number is still very tempting. Due to Europe's logistical supply capabilities and backward weapons production, they did not consume a large number of artillery shells during battles like the Ming Dynasty.

Although today's European combat style has changed, it is no longer the linear formation of lining up to shoot each other. However, most of them are exchanging fire with rifles. Light weapons are now the king and hegemony in Europe.

As for artillery, only Britain has received some Indian-made artillery. But the number is not very large. Three thousand artillery pieces sent to the front line will definitely greatly enhance the French army's combat power.

"Ten percent of the profit share, in exchange for these weapons, can't be any more." When he said this, Joseph's body ached terribly. This is a profit that can be left to his descendants!

"Fifteen percent, we can provide transportation. I think the French army on the front line should want to get this batch of weapons and ammunition as soon as possible." Li Xiao took a sip of his cigar and said lightly.

"Fifteen percent...!" Joseph breathed a sigh of relief, so the Ming people had 45% of the equity.

"We can transport the weapons to Port Said, and you French people will complete the rest of the journey yourself. Mr. Joseph, if you French people want to transport this equipment, you will need to take a long detour. In terms of time, you cannot afford to delay.

As you also know, the anti-French alliance will launch an attack on France at any time. Once France is defeated..., Joseph, you will have nothing. Ming Dynasty has the ability and strength to take over the entire Suez Canal.

Today's Ming Dynasty, even if all European countries unite to form a huge expeditionary force, I am afraid they will not be able to match the Ming Dynasty.

When I was still a teenager, the Jurchens bullied our Ming Dynasty. As a result, only more than 10,000 Jurchens, who were once extremely powerful, were left to survive in Liaodong.

Later, the Jungar Mongols attacked the northwest of the Ming Dynasty, and we fought fiercely for six years. In the end, the Jungar Ming Dynasty disappeared from this world. Now, Jungar is just a word. Their nation no longer exists!

Britain's largest overseas colony, India! You see, today's India is crawling at my feet. Joseph, we are friends, you must understand that I am helping France."
Chapter completed!