The conference room was as lively as a vegetable market, with constant quarrels.
“Henry, if you want to keep Raphael’s Lorenzo Medici, then the Artemis from the Hellenistic era and Titian’s Trinity, and Caravaggio’s Stations of the Cross It must be ours”
Max said firmly.
Before he finished speaking, all the French people on the other side shook their heads.
"Impossible, your appetite is too big. This is simply robbery. The statue of Artemis must stay in France."
"There is also Caravaggio's "Way of the Cross". We can make some concessions on other antique works of art..."
The American representatives and the French representatives were quarreling across the conference table. They were all red-faced and about to start a fight.
Xiao Ran and Yi Lian were sitting at the top, talking in low voices and watching the excitement.
In the blink of an eye, twenty minutes have passed.
After some verbal quarrels, and with Xiao Ran's mediation, representatives of the U.S. and French governments, as well as Henry and Max, finally accepted the treasure disposal plan he formulated.
But this is only a verbal agreement. Representatives of the U.S. and French governments still have to report to their respective presidents and ministries of culture, and it is finalized only after approval.
In this process, Xiao Ran did not lose anything.
For him, most of the antique artworks and gold and silver treasures from Napoleon's treasures can be traded.
Except for the quarter that you plan to collect for yourself, who are you selling the rest of the things to?
By trading the remaining antique artworks and gold and silver treasures, as long as you can achieve your own goals.
As for whose hands the valuable antique piece of art fell into, it doesn't matter at all.
Especially those antiques and gold and silver treasures with strong religious overtones, he didn't want to keep any of them.
After reaching an agreement with the other two parties, Xiao Ran suddenly took out a folder and handed it to the French presidential envoy.
""Mr. Special Envoy, this is the list of Chinese antiques and art lost in France that I want to exchange from you. You can take a look at it so that you can be prepared."
"In addition to some of the antique artworks and gold and silver treasures from Napoleon's treasure, the items I offered for exchange also included some other antique artworks and historical documents that I had discovered before."
"For example, the manuscript of Robespierre's diary and the draft of the Jacobin Constitution. In addition, I have also made some requests, which are all written in this folder. I hope that the French side can meet them."
The expressions of the French presidential envoy and others changed, and they took the folder and opened it to check.
In a moment, the special envoy's face turned completely dark and became quite ugly.
But he held it back and did not get angry on the spot. Instead, he handed the folder to Henry and the others.
Henry and the others immediately opened it and looked at it, but their reactions were violent.
"Sean, you are simply taking advantage of the situation. It's gone too far, and your appetite is too big. We might as well give the entire Guimet Museum and Fontainebleau Palace to you!"
Before Henry could finish his words, Xiao Ran smiled and shook his head.
"Henry, you have actually known my goal for a long time. You know that I am just exchanging the Chinese antiques in the folder. Your reaction does not need to be so big."
"The chips in my hand were enough before. Now with the large number of antique artworks and gold and silver treasures from Napoleon's treasure, the scale of the transaction will naturally expand a lot."
"I naturally want to exchange more Chinese antiques and artworks. If you can't meet my transaction conditions, you can refuse. I won't trade some things, such as the "Jacobin Constitution Manuscripts."
Before he finished speaking, Joshua immediately jumped out to assist.
"Sean, I am very interested in precious historical documents such as Robespierre's manuscript diary and the "Jacobin Constitution Manuscript". You can trade these treasures to me."
Seeing this scene, several French guys were a little anxious, and they all gritted their teeth.
Henry and the others stiffened their necks and were about to retort, but were stopped by the presidential envoy who raised his hand.
The next moment, the guy nodded and said:
"Sean, we understand your transaction requirements. We need to go back and report the situation before we can make a decision."
"We will organize manpower to evaluate the list of Chinese antiques and art you have drawn up to see if it is acceptable."
Xiao Ran smiled and nodded.
"Of course, no problem, Mr. Special Envoy, I look forward to your good news."
After a few more discussions, the representatives of the American and French governments, as well as Joshua and Antoine, just left the conference room.
At Xiao Ran's request, the cultural counselor of the U.S. Embassy in France stayed, preparing to witness the second meeting that was about to begin.
After a while, representatives from all parties, including the Italian Ambassador to France and the Spanish Ambassador to France, entered the conference room one after another.
After sitting down at the designated seat, the Italian Ambassador to France immediately said impatiently:
"Sean, I am here on behalf of the Italian government. I hope you can face up to the public claims issued by our Italian government."
"Return the antique artworks and gold and silver treasures that Napoleon looted from Italy. Those treasures are material and spiritual wealth belonging to Italy."
Before the words finished, representatives from several other parties also spoke one after another, expressing the same demands.
Before they could finish speaking, Xiao Ran raised his hands and pressed them down gently, signaling silence.
Seeing his action, representatives from all parties could only shut up temporarily.
When the scene became quiet, Xiao Ran said:
"Ladies and gentlemen, the reason why I invite you to this conference room to meet with you is not to hear you reiterate those useless public statements."
"You also know that I will not pay attention to all claims and statements. The Napoleon treasure belongs entirely to me. No one can question this. It cannot be changed by a few statements."
Upon hearing this, representatives from all parties suddenly became anxious, their eyes widened, and they were ready to refute.
Xiao Ran didn't give them this chance. He pressed his hand down again, and then continued:
"I invite you here to tell you that I am going to take out some of the antique artworks and gold and silver treasures from Napoleon's treasure for public auction and sale."
"You can send representatives to participate in the bidding, or trade Chinese antiques with me. This is the only way for you to get some of the antiques in Napoleon's treasure."
"The antique artworks and gold and silver treasures I trade come from different sources. There are priceless top-notch treasures and relatively ordinary gold and silver treasures. There is always something you like..."
Before he finished speaking, the Italian ambassador to France stood up suddenly.
"Napoleon looted us once more than two hundred years ago. Today, more than two hundred years later, are we still being looted by you? It's not fair."
"We will never spend money to buy back what originally belongs to us, Mr. Shawn, aren't you afraid of us suing? Let the court seize the Napoleon treasure."
Xiao Ran looked at this guy with disdain and said with a sneer:
"Mr. Albertini, this is France, not Italy. The Napoleon treasure was found in Paris, and it was found deep underground in my apartment building."
"I would like to ask, what law do you use to sue me? It seems that no law applies in France, and it seems to be the same in Italy. You can't move Italian law to France, can you?"
Albertini was suddenly speechless and froze in place with a red face.
After a while, the guy gritted his teeth and said:
"You are right. Italian laws cannot be transferred to France. What if we file a lawsuit in the EU? France is also an EU member state."
Xiao Ran shook his head disdainfully.
“Do you think Italy has greater influence in the EU courts, or does the United States have greater influence in the EU, even though the United States is not a member of the EU?”
"If necessary, I can use the U.S. Embassy to transport all Napoleon's treasures to Los Angeles. Regarding this, the Cultural Counselor of the U.S. Embassy can give you the answer."
As he spoke, he raised his hand and gestured towards the cultural attaché of the US Embassy.
The guy understood instantly, stood up immediately and said:
"Yes, our embassy in France will do its best to ensure the interests of American companies. This is our responsibility."
Seeing this scene, Albertini and the other representatives of all parties were completely dumbfounded.
