The reason why the National Council commissioner sent to Le Havre was so indifferent is because he was a member of the Jacobin Club and a fanatical activist.

The predecessor of the Jacobin Club was the "Brittanian Club" composed of some representatives from the third-level meeting to discuss issues outside the meeting. When the Constitutional Assembly was still in Versailles, the club was set up in the local Amori Cafe. After moving to Paris, the site was also replaced by the Monastery of St. James on the St. Honore, and since then it was renamed "The Friends of the Constitutional Society of the Jacobin Conference in Paris".

So, the "Jacobians" who once made European talks scared came out of nowhere.

Seeing that things were going to go bad, Degine decided to use his big move, so he hurriedly said, "Your Excellency... Oh, no, citizen, please wait a moment."

The commissioner curled his lips: "What else do you want to say?"

Degine took out an envelope from the inner pocket of his shirt and signaled to everyone present: "This is the letter of state written by the consul of the Republic to the Foreign Minister of the First Republic. As the only staff member of the French Consulate in China, since I brought the Chinese mission to Europe, I have the responsibility to send the letter to Paris and submit it to the Foreign Minister."

credentials?

The commissioner blinked, raised his proud chin and said contemptuously: "The person responsible for diplomacy is Mr. Lebron. He has no time to see you. Guards, take this man down and lock him up, and ask for serious interrogation."

Two months ago, Pierre Lebron, a well-known journalist who had participated in the formulation of the "Draft Constitution of 1791", took over as Foreign Minister of the Interim Executive Council. The former Minister of St. Croix had voted with his feet to seek political refuge in London because of his sympathy for Louis XVI.

Hearing this, the two soldiers stepped forward, pulled Degine's arm and wanted to take him away. Degine stepped forward and stared at the commissioner and asked, "Sir, can I regard your reply as France's refusal to establish diplomatic relations with Republican China? Are you aware of the consequences of doing so?"

The commissioner sneered: "Are you threatening me?"

"It's not a threat. You may not know that just before I returned to China this time, a task force of Republican China defeated tens of thousands of troops and sea fleets of the Dutch East India Company in West Java and occupied Batavia."

As soon as these words were spoken, the commissioner and the officials present showed incredible expressions, thinking that you are not joking, are you?

Although the Dutch army is at the level of a weak chicken in Europe, it is impossible to catch up with the strength at sea.

Although after the end of the "Fourth Anglo-Dutch War", the Dutch Navy was beaten by the British and the shipbuilding industry was still in a slump, but there were many merchant ships. They could use cannons as frigates, and the total tonnage was close to three million tons!

Especially in Asia, the Dutch have been operating for more than two hundred years, from Japan to the north to the Java Islands, with strongholds everywhere. And France, that is, there is a consulate in Guangzhou, and there are several half-dead colonies in South India.

"Wait. Mr. Degine, why did the Chinese declare war on the Dutch?" Mayor Rial said. He didn't care about the life and death of the Dutch. He was deliberately delaying time, and his purpose was to wheat.

"Because fifty years ago, the Dutch created a large-scale massacre of the Chinese in Batavia. Now that Batavia has been occupied by the Chinese, they have the final say in Southeast Asia in the future."

"But what does this have to do with France?" Coast Guard captain Breville spoke up. He was half curious and half delayed. He was behind the boss of the largest grain wholesaler in the city.

Degenie said in a heavy tone: "The British will sooner or later be the mortal enemy of France. The British East India Company has been eyeing our colonies in India. Given the current situation in Europe, I am very sure that local governance will soon be attacked by the British, and with our military strength in India, it will be difficult to defeat them. France has lost America and must not lose India again!"

Bryville pretended to be enlightened and asked, "So what you mean is that Republican China will be our ally against the British?"

"Yes!"

"Why are they hostile to the British?"

"Because the British East India Company smuggled opium on a large scale to Guangzhou!"

"Opium? What does this have to do with opium?" Not only Breville, but other officials present also showed confusion.

To be honest, before becoming a good friend who can talk to Liu Zheng, Dejine's understanding of opium was the same as that of all Europeans in this year and month, thinking that it was a "universal medicine" that could almost cure all diseases.

It is said that the use of opium in Europe can be traced back to ancient Greece, and Hippocrates once recorded in his works. In the 16th century, a Swiss alchemist named Paracelsus invented opium, which was said to be able to resurrect the dead.

The early tincture of opium was actually 25% of the opium and a lot of waste garbage, such as mummies, cattle stomach stones, stag bones, and musk.

By the seventeenth century, British doctor Thomas Sidnihan improved the recipe for opium tincture, removing the messy and adding key substances - alcohol. The improved opium tincture was advertised as being able to cure the "Black Death", so it quickly became popular in Europe.

In an era when "bloodletting therapy" was rampant, the medical level in Europe was limited to suppressing the disease rather than curing the disease. So basically, no matter what disease you get, doctors will prescribe a dose of opium to the patient.

When time came to the mid-18th century, the British occupied Bangladesh, the main production of opium, and the sufficient supply of goods lowered the price. Taking advantage of the "first industrial revolution", opium became cheaper and cheaper, becoming a necessary "health care medicine" for every family from nobles to ordinary people, just like aspirin in another time and space.

This chapter is not over, please click on the next page to continue reading! So when Liu Zheng told Degine that opium is a poison that can be addictive and difficult to get rid of, Degine completely disbelief.

Fortunately, our Dr. Liu was a veterinarian, so he asked the Cai family to help find a dog for experiments. A month later, when the already addicted dog became anxious and even showed great aggressiveness when he could not eat food containing opium, Dejine believed it a little.

A few months ago, he went to Bacheng for help and saw a similar scene again, but the test subject was replaced by a monkey, which shocked him.

After Deng Fei beat the chin city, in order to advise the local Chinese not to smoke opium, he specially asked the blacksmith in Chinatown to build two large iron cages and place them in the square outside the Governor's Mansion. He bought a few more monkeys and fed opium on time every day.

After a month like this, the monkeys became seriously addicted to opium. As long as the breeder did not give it opium, he would wail and slam his head and hit an iron cage with his head, and he would be bleeding. Sometimes he would even go crazy and bit himself, leaving himself covered in scars.

But as long as they take out opium, they will kneel on the ground when they smell it, their monkey's mouth sticks out from the iron railings, and they flatter their kisses on the feeder's shoes.

Seeing this scene, Dejine was shocked so much that he could not help but think of the advice of his good friend, and secretly swore that he would never touch the tincture of opium again.

Of course, it is not easy for him to completely quit after drinking for many years and being addicted. Fortunately, he had no chance to get involved in opium during these days on Thor, so despite his discomfort, he had already quit.

Degine doesn't have so much time to explain how opium is poisonous. He can only use the British to smuggle rather than to dump opium into Guangzhou through official and formal channels.

Since the Renaissance in the 15th century, European countries have implemented mercantilism. One of its main characteristics is the implementation of tariff protection and exports more and imports less. The reason why France was able to become the most powerful country on the European continent during the Louis XIV period was precisely because of the policy of Colbert, the representative of late mercantilism.

So Degine's words sounded completely fine to Captain Breville. Tax evasion is wrong. The British deserved to be hostile to the Chinese.

He stood up and came to the National Council's commissioner and whispered: "Citizen, I don't think we should reject the kindness of the Chinese. As he said just now, whether local governance can resist the attacks of the British will be very important. If we lose our stronghold in India, the tea trade will be dominated by the British."

The commissioner did not speak out sarcasticly this time, but frowned.

He could not care about Degine, a consul who came out of nowhere, nor did he care about Mayor Rialle's eagerness, but he had to pay attention to the attitude of the local tyrant who held military power; without the latter's support, he could not move forward in Le Havre.

But the problem is that he can't just agree so easily, otherwise he would have become a clown in the performance just now!

Thinking of this, the commissioner decided to leave it to the ruling of the big men in Paris, so as not to be unkind from inside and outside.

If the National Guild agrees to the Chinese landing, he is happy to follow it; if he does not agree, he can only do a private business with the Chinese. As for landing, don't even think about it.

"You're lucky, Mr. 'Consul', I don't plan to send you to jail."

The commissioner still spoke in a condescending tone, just like giving Degine a great grace. Perhaps it was because he was a humble family, or because he was bullied by a nobleman when he was a child, but instinctively he hated Degine, even if the other party was just a devastating nobleman.

When Degenie heard this, he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. From being cursed by the people on the shore to being warmly welcomed, to meeting the commissioner, he was inexplicably almost imprisoned, and his mood was like riding a roller coaster.

"So......"

Just as he was about to speak, the commissioner interrupted without saying a word and said, "I want to report to Paris. Go back and tell the Chinese people, wait on the boat and don't use tricks. The cannons on the port are not vegetarians."

"No problem. But how long will it take to wait?"

"It's hard to say. Maybe three days, maybe one week, maybe one month. In short, it's not up to me to decide."

After the commissioner said that, he turned around and was about to leave. Degine hurriedly said, "Citizen, there is one more thing. The fleet needs fresh water and fresh fruits and vegetables, look..."

"Captain Blyville, you are responsible for this!"

Before he finished speaking, the commissioner's figure had disappeared behind the door.

Two hours later, Degine returned to the Thor in a speedboat. Before he returned, he had already negotiated with Mayor Rial and Captain Breville. The port would send a boat to transport fresh water and fresh vegetables and fruits every morning. If you don't have any money, you can exchange wheat for it.

After seeing Zhao Xin and Deng Fei, he carefully explained the trip. The two of them were so amused and laughed. The special envoy was too careless.

"No?" Since Degine met Zhao Xin, when the latter chatted with him, some rare words often appeared, making him who only speaks Cantonese dialect and was confused.

Deng Fei looked at Zhao Xin helplessly and explained: "This is Northern dialect, which means...this...this...this is irrelevant to speaking and doing things."

Degine nodded, then shook his head again, sighing: "Oh! I didn't expect that the republican officials would be like this, and they didn't care about the life and death of the people in the city."

Zhao Xinqing hummed and said sarcastically: "It's not Rousseau's thing. There are only abstract people and never caring about specific people."

Deng Fei frowned and asked, "What should we do? Just wait?"

Zhao Xin said indifferently: "Wait. Anyway, that family will not die now. If there is no news in a week, I will find a way and I can't come in vain."

After a simple meal, Dejine went back to the cabin to rest. Zhao Xin and Deng Fei discussed it for a while, and then sent someone to notify the main crew of the other two sailboats to come to the Thor for a meeting.

This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content later! The content of the meeting is very simple, so that everyone can rest assured and wait patiently. In addition, it is a rainy day to beat the child, and it is also idle, so the time to learn French every day has increased from one hour to two hours.

I have to explain the matter of learning French.

It is said that Beihai Town came to France under the name of a missionary visit, and no matter how it was, it would take a few Jesuit missionaries who knew Chinese to be translators from Macau.

The problem is that even though the missionaries in Macau returned to Europe, they all claimed to be sinologists. In fact, there was no one who could speak the Northern Mandarin. They were all served in the Qing Palace Building Office and would never leave the capital in their entire lives. However, what Beihai Town has been popular in recent years is Mandarin based on the Northern Mandarin.

So the language is very twisted. Zhao Xin and Deng Feiming knew that they needed to translate, but they just couldn't find it. Moreover, the mission on this trip was special, so it would be very troublesome to find a missionary who knew Cantonese.

Before deciding to come to France, Zhao Xin checked a lot of information about the French Revolution. He learned that although the republicans rejected priests very much, many people in the priest group also agreed with the republic.

Neither of them knows each other well, and they have to be careful when speaking. If the missionary guesses and reports, the situation he has been trying hard to save will be in vain.

Not to mention how the fleet passed the time outside the port of Le Havre, the National Guild Commissioner actually wrote a letter and sent someone to Paris early the next morning. Because the two places were only ten hours apart, the messenger arrived that evening.

The next morning, the messenger came to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He was told that Minister Lebron was in a meeting and he didn't know when he had time. The messenger didn't dare to leave. He wanted to take the answer from Paris. So he waited and waited. At four o'clock in the afternoon, Lebron, who had been in a meeting for a day, finally showed up.

"Mr. Minister, I come from Le Havre, and I have a very important letter to you."

Lebron looked very tired, he stretched out his hand absent-mindedly and said, "Get it."

The messenger said: "Tell you, there is a Chinese mission with Le Havre."

Lebron seemed to have been stabbed by a needle, his eyes instantly glared and asked in disbelief: "Members? Do you think the Members?! Which country is from?"

"Yes, sir. From China, there are three boats, one of which is particularly large."

"China? My God! When did they arrive?"

"The day before yesterday, yes, it was the day before yesterday."

"Long live the Republic!" Lebron shouted excitedly, his voice so loud that everyone around him was startled. "Come in with me and tell me the situation in detail."

Don’t blame this person for taking stimulants. Since the September Massacre, France’s diplomacy has been paralyzed and will be enemies on all sides!

Britain, Spain, Portugal, Hungary, Ireland, Anglo-Cosican Kingdom, Sardinia Kingdom, Tsarist Russian Empire, Ottoman Empire, Tuscany, Milan Principality, Pope... All monarchies and grand priests in Europe have changed from neutral wait-and-see to condemnation.

Originally, Europe had a historical tradition of checks and balances between royal power and aristocratic power. It is not a problem to engage in revolution and limit the power of the king.

As a result, the French were so angry that they encouraged the lower-class civilians to massacre aristocrats and priests, killing them indiscriminately. As a result, panic and hatred began to spread throughout Europe, and many aristocrats with sympathy changed from sympathy to opposition.

Although the Republican government had just won the "Valmi Victory" in the north, the battle of tens of thousands of people was less than 500 casualties on both sides, and the Prussian army retreated completely in an orderly manner.

Lebron had a day-long meeting today, and was secretly discussing peace with representatives sent by Prussia, intending to use diplomatic means to split the Prussian coalition forces.

However, Lebron was not optimistic about the prospects of the negotiations. The representatives of Prussia made a statement as soon as they came up that the republican government must immediately release the Louis XVI and ensure the safety of the Kings. In addition, it is necessary to punish the culprits of the "September Holocaust", especially Mara; to provide financial compensation to the persecuted nobles and missionary families.

The two sides have been talking about these issues for several days and cannot reach an agreement. It is impossible to release the Louis XVI family, let alone punish Mala. That person is a "friend of the people" and is deeply loved by the people at the bottom.

So at this juncture, it is very important for Lebron, who has just taken office! Even from a distant and unfamiliar China, it is a major diplomatic breakthrough for the Republicans.

After listening to the messenger's story and reading the letter from the special envoy, Lebron was already distorted. When the secretary came back from sending the messenger, he saw him wandering around the house and even humming the "Marseille".

"I notify the representatives of Prussia that the negotiations will be suspended for a few days. I will help me meet with the heads of the Executive Council tomorrow morning. I will convene an emergency meeting."

"Okay, Your Excellency Minister. But what is your reason for convening the meeting?"
Chapter completed!