When the word friendship appears between countries, it is often a deception. Whether the interests between the Ming Empire and France have common ground is the key. The last time the imperial fleet arrived in Marseille, the prime minister Mazaran was politely restrained, which was no problem. No one could let a group of guys armed to the teeth run around their own territory.

Pierre did not respond to Zhang Guangde's accusations, but directly changed the topic: "Your country armed Spain has actually hurt the interests of France and the friendship between Ming and France."

Zhang Guangde frowned. This guy looked very difficult. Fortunately, he didn't plan to talk about friendship with him. Zhang Guangde followed his topic and gave a very domineering answer: "The Ming Dynasty did not intend to be enemies with any European country, nor did he reject the friendship of any European country."

"For example, the maritime battles in the East Indies and the concessions under your feet? And the gold coins paid by Spain for arms exchange for your country's weapons and equipment?" Pierre grabbed the topic with great sensitivity, and the sarcasm in his tone was undisguised.

"What a joke. The Netherlands regard the kindness of the Ming Dynasty as weakness. A few broken ships dared to go to the Ming Dynasty's waters to show off their power and occupy the officials of our treasure island. Our domestic cabinet warned many times that the Netherlands ignored it, which led to war between the two countries. As a loser, the Netherlands did not complain. Are you planning to declare war on the Ming Dynasty on behalf of France? I see that you are very clear about the relationship between Portugal and the Ming Dynasty. As for Spain, there is no hatred between the two countries, why can't we sell arms?" Zhang Guangde was excited, and even mentioned that when he declared war, he was eager to try.

Pierre didn't understand why this guy was so excited. He seemed very happy to see France and the Ming Dynasty war. Could it be...? Once this man entered the state of brain repair, his IQ would decline. The smarter the person was, the easier it was to think randomly. If he was a better opponent, Pierre would not be like this. But he didn't know much about the Ming Empire and Zhang Guangde. He knew that he was rushing to the advanced arms produced by the Ming Dynasty, and his business was very average.

The reason why arms are not easy to sell is because they are expensive. In Europe, the technology of flintlock hammers cannot be solved. It is also produced manually. The output is low, so the cost is high. The excitation rate is very low. According to the information feedback from the battlefield, the Spaniards no longer used a messock gun in Luxembourg, but a more lightweight and easy-to-operate flintlock gun. It is just a musket. The field guns used by the Spaniards are powerful, have a high firing rate, and are light and easy to transport.

Louis XIV does not want to be a loser. If the task cannot be completed, it is hard to say what Pierre's future will be after returning. Now, when he sees Zhang Guangde's attitude, he naturally thinks in his heart. Could it be that the Spanish took the lead? He has sent people here to bribe some ambassador (foreign minister) of the Ming Empire, and advocated that Spain and the Ming Dynasty jointly fight against France?

This is not impossible. The Spanish were once powerful. They had colonies in Asia and had more contact with the Ming Dynasty. If things really happened as they thought, the fleet of the Ming Empire drove over. I dare not say anything else. If it was impossible to block the coastline of France, it would be fine to block your port? There is also the equipment of the Ming Dynasty, which is not large. When the battle with the Ming Dynasty and it is continuously transported, one Spain can destroy France. I feel chilling when I think about this.

"Your Excellency, the French Empire did not mean to be an enemy of the Ming Dynasty. The purpose of my descendant on behalf of the Emperor was to establish a bridge of friendship between the two countries." Pierre changed the topic again and began to talk about feelings.

Zhang Guangde didn't buy it at all, crossed his legs, and lit a cigarette for himself: "Reiterate that the Ming Empire never took the initiative to infringe on the territory and interests of other countries. I can appear here because the Portuguese did not do anything cleanly, and the smart people ran away, and only he was left. Well, everyone is not fools, if you have anything to say, don't go around in circles."

Pierre liked this guy a little straightforward enough, nodded and said, "Since that's the case, then you're welcome. The French Empire hopes to purchase arms produced by the Ming Empire." Zhang Guangde smiled and stretched out his hand to the side. Ni Zhigao handed over a price list, which was already ready, and was waiting to be slaughtered for a year.

Representatives of both countries tore off their veil of warmth and talked about interests without any concealment. After reading the price list, Pierre's face looked a little ugly, and the price was simply robbed. A musket costs 200 silver coins, and a cannon does not carry ammunition, so he dares to ask for 3,000 silver coins. If there are only 10,000 smoothbore guns, it is 2 million silver coins. One hundred cannons, which are 200,000 silver coins.

"Although your country's arms quality is excellent, the price is really unacceptable." Pierre is not a sucker. If he accepts this price, he will definitely chop Louis XIV and feed the dogs when he goes back. Zhang Guangde knows that the price is absolutely inflated, but when he is doing business, he asks for a lot of prices and pays off the money.

"Hmm!" This guy shrugged, as if he was thinking what you want? In fact, the information in Zhang Guangde's hands showed that after Louis XIV took power, the country's economy was on the verge of collapse. In the following years, tax reforms were carried out. The situation of the treasury improved, but Louis XIV became more powerful and the country's economy was not considered good. Despite this, Zhang Guangde did not intend to deal with the arms in his hands at a cheap price. After all, three major customers were still to be slaughtered.

In this era, the industrial level of Europe was relatively difficult. In contrast, the Ming Dynasty, which had cheated, had already begun the industrialization process of coastal provinces. The wealth plundered overseas was poured into the industrial field, which was incomparable to European countries. The British industrial revolution had not officially begun, so France was nothing. France, which was still mainly agricultural civilization, challenged the Ming Dynasty, which had already begun industrialization. To put it brutal, agricultural countries could not compare with industrial countries. This point is clear when looking at the War of Resistance. Japan, a small country in the four islands, actually had the ambition to swallow China.

"The unit price of muskets is 30 silver dollars, and the cannons is 300 yuan per ball." Pierre gritted his teeth and opened a low price. In fact, he knew in his heart that this price was enough for Zhang Guangde to beat him out with a broom. But since it was a business, hehe.

"If you remember correctly, more than 40 years ago, the Portuguese sold a batch of British-cast guns to the Ming Empire for nearly 4,000 taels of silver. I personally think that at that time, the price was relatively reasonable. I would like to remind you that even now, this price is still reasonable for naval guns. Even if the field guns produced by the Ming Dynasty are not valuable, it is not up to the study whether the price you offer is a bit insulting. My intuition tells me that you have no sincerity. Since that is the case, don't continue to talk about it." After that, Zhang Guangde stood up, turned around and walked in.

Pierre was stunned. Unexpectedly, this guy was so fucked. He overturned the table when he said that. Just when Pierre didn't know how to continue, Kanon appeared with his maid and brought some snacks. Seeing this scene, Kanon was a little surprised, covering his mouth and looking at Zhang Guangde and Pierre.

"Dear, what's wrong?" Zhang Guangde didn't get angry with Kathon, but said amused and crying: "Didn't France claim to be a cultural center on the European continent? From my perspective, French gentlemen have not learned how to get along with others. They habitually want to take away something from others."

This is a bit insinuated. Pierre, who is in Portuguese and has a prominent language, still understood it. Is this annotation to the French Empire's foreign expansion policy over the years? After the end of the Thirty Years' War, Europe was not calm. The Netherlands and England were fighting, and the Ottoman Empire was still plotting against Vienna. France has not been idle. Isn't this a fight with Spain?

To put it bluntly, Louis XIV's excuse for going to war is a bit nonsense. But this excuse really doesn't require too much theoretical basis. Just have one so carelessly. Didn't Europe always play like this? Pierre doesn't care about Zhang Guangde's sarcasm at all. What he cares about is whether the deal will be terminated.

Ni Zhigao was very competent and made a gesture to Pierre: "Your Excellency, please come back."

After the first contact was overwhelmed, Pierre had to maintain his demeanor, stood up and nodded, "I will come again. I hope that next time, both sides will have a good attitude."

Pierre, who was walking on the street, was unfast, and he was wondering whether there was anything wrong with him as he walked. There was no doubt that this was the end of a failure. The foreign minister of the Ming Empire seemed to have no patience. Just when he felt helpless, a carriage came towards him and slowly stopped. Five followers immediately stepped forward and stood in front of Pierre, looking at the carriage parked beside him vigilantly. The door opened, revealing a noble lady's face, and smiled at Pierre: "Your Excellency, it seems that you need help." Pierre recognized the woman and nodded slightly, "Marquis de Marquis, I didn't expect to meet you here."

The carriage continued forward, and Pierre looked calmly at the noble lady opposite her. This woman was a widow who inherited the legacy of the Marquis of Rambouille. In the Paris social circle, this was a famous woman. She had many noble lovers and had a huge influence in the upper class of Paris. In the suburbs of Paris, she had a manor and often held some upper class salons.

"Great lady, how could you be here?" Pierre is a person who likes to take the initiative and does not intend to wait passively.

"The lover of the Foreign Minister of the Ming Empire, Mr. Zhang Guangde, had some business dealings with me. I heard that she was about to give birth, so I came to see her. Actually, I am even more curious. Dear Lord Pierre, why did you appear here? Don't say that Portugal joined the diplomatic activities against Spain, this is not Lisbon." (To be continued.)
Chapter completed!