On December 2, 1650, Jikun and Gurecu arrived at the Castle of Saint-Germain, about 5 miles (about 20 kilometers) northwest of Paris, under the escort of Frederic Schaumberg. It is said to be a castle, but it is actually a quite magnificent palace. It was first built in 1122 AD. The existing castle was built in 1539. After it was completed, it became the palace of the French royal family. Louis XIV was born here in 1638.
Near the Castle of Saint-Germain, there is also a small town called Saint-Germain-Lyon, which is built on the Seine River and has very convenient water and land transportation. However, the city is not prosperous and has a small population. There are many villas for dignitaries in the city. Ji Kun’s Ming Dynasty envoys stayed in a luxurious villa belonging to Cardinal Mazarin. Ottoman Foreign Minister Gul Ju lives in another mansion that belongs to unknown people.
Ji Kun and his party had just finished settling in when they saw the Swede Coit walking quickly, "Ambassador, French Cardinal and Prime Minister Mazarin, and Ottoman Empire Foreign Minister Gülü are here."
"Okay," Ji Kun smiled, straightened the official uniform he had just changed into, then picked up a brand new black gauze hat and put it on his head, and said to Coit, "lead the way, I will go and greet them."
What will be held tomorrow morning is the ceremony, which is the red tape for people to visit - the Ming Empire's mission to Europe is a huge event in this era! It is also an opportunity for the European countries interviewed to expand their influence, and of course they must take advantage of it.
The real diplomatic consultations are conducted quietly under the table. The upcoming meeting should be the beginning of diplomatic negotiations between the two parties, oh, and the three parties.
Because the Ottoman Empire is a traditional ally of France, they often communicate with each other during the seasons and send permanent envoys to each other. Therefore, Prime Minister Mazarin should have repeatedly discussed with the envoys of the Ottoman Empire how to deal with Ming Dynasty, a big country far away. Closer to the circle of "France-Turkish friendship".
The meeting was held in a living room filled with various gorgeous decorations and luxurious furniture. Mazarin, Fouquet, Gulcu, Jikun and Koit, as well as several others, acted as translators or The French, Turkish, and Ming Dynasty officials responsible for on-site records were sitting in this very spacious room.
Several French waiters in embroidered dresses (arranged by Mazarin) were serving fermented grape juice, a French specialty (it’s really not wine, so you can drink more in Gülü). When the drink is empty, go and replenish it for them immediately.
There were also many greasy desserts served by the French maid who worked in the villa. They all exuded a strong smell of butter, which made Ji Kun feel nauseated.
He was originally on a mission with a cook, and there were authentic Yangzhou dishes to eat along the way. However, the cook was left in Vienna by Li Shaoyou. Li Shaoyou lobbied to find some German girls as apprentices for the cook. Once he learned the skills, he would be sent to France. He didn't know how long it would take to learn the skills. So Ji Kun can only eat French meals every day these days...
"Ambassador Ji, I heard that you and the Ottoman Empire signed an agreement to exchange gifts?"
After the pleasantries were over, Cardinal Mazarin got down to the topic - now was not the time to discuss alliances against whom, but it was time to discuss trade, no, the exchange of gifts.
Trade is not easy to do... There is no concept of free trade these days, it is all monopoly trade. Nowadays, the trade between the East and the West is basically divided between the Netherlands, England, Spain and Portugal.
If the Ming Dynasty, France, and Ottoman want to join in and share money, they must have the support of a large navy, but this navy is not just available. Moreover, the navy is not only about building ships, but also giving naval officers the opportunity to travel across oceans and gain experience.
This navy sails first and fights later!
Navigation these days is not only as simple as sailing out, but also requires familiarity with various sea conditions and routes, drawing nautical charts, establishing overseas bases, etc. However, a lot of things cannot be accomplished overnight.
If you can't pass the navigation test, there will be no battle to fight.
Therefore, when the Ming Dynasty, France, and Ottoman did not have large navies, they could only operate on a small scale in the name of exchanging gifts.
After all, the Ming Dynasty, France, and the Ottomans were also deterrents, and the Netherlands, England, Spain, and Portugal were not so overbearing as to prevent friendly exchanges between them.
You must know that the United Provincial Republic of the Netherlands, which ranks first among the four maritime powers, has just disbanded its army. This is also a strange thing. In order to limit the power of the Prince of Orange family, they actually took advantage of the death of William II. The opportunity was eliminated by the powerful Dutch Army...
Since the army is gone, of course they dare not confront France, so France's "gift ships" can still go to Asia.
Of course, the French can't go too far, otherwise the Dutch won't dare to fall out, as well as Spain, Portugal and England!
In addition, since the Fronde movement has been going on for more than two years, France has also been severely weakened. The size of its navy has been repeatedly reduced, and it is now a weak maritime country.
Therefore, Mazarin’s idea is to start a small business in the Mediterranean first. Things were transported from the Port of Marseille to Suez, and then transported by Ottoman ships to the Port of Aden, while the merchant ships of the Ming Dynasty went to the Port of Aden to pick up the goods.
And the business can't be too big, just running five thousand-stone ships a year is about the same.
"What good things do you have in France that you can sell to the East?"
After discussing the general principles of "gift trade", Ji Kun asked about "French specialties" - he had discovered that France and the Holy Roman Empire had good things.
For example, the wine is good, the armor is well made, not to mention the foreign guns and cannons, and there are also good horses. Whether they are riding or pulling carts, they all look strong!
In addition, French glass is very good, much better than Guangdong glass. Last time when Emperor Zhu built a Western-style building, he approached Zheng Zhilong about the glass.
Lao Zheng had no choice but to ask the glass merchants in Guangdong to find a way. Finally, he got some blurry and uneven glass for the job.
There are also very good Western clocks in France. Although the Ming Dynasty can now produce Western clocks, they are much worse than those in France and Shinra.
Mazarin smiled and said: "Mr. Ambassador, I am just a bishop, not a businessman... I think business matters should be left to businessmen."
The "exchange of gifts" and so on were all external, but now behind closed doors, of course, the truth is told.
Ji Kun nodded, feeling the same. He is a "legal expert" and is not very good at business.
Fouquet, who was next to Mazarin, took over the topic and said to Ji Kun: "I have an idea to establish an Aden Conference Committee in the name of convening a three-country diplomatic conference.
It is not one committee, but one from France, one from Ottoman, and one from Ming Dynasty. The three committees are all located in the Port of Aden... In fact, they are three chartered trading companies, and they discuss transaction issues. "
Fouquet's proposal was actually to turn the Port of Aden into a trading port shared by France, the Ming Dynasty, and the Ottomans, and also an outpost for France's colonization of the Indian Ocean region.
Ji Kun did not answer immediately, but turned to look at Gulju. Aden originally belonged to the Arabs, but was later occupied by the Portuguese. Later, the Arabs brought over the Ottoman Empire and took over all the territory including the Port of Aden.
So Gulju had to give his nod to this matter.
"No problem," Gülcu said. "With the Ottoman Empire's troops stationed at the port of Aden, neither Portugal, Spain nor the Netherlands dare to take advantage of Aden!"
The military strength of the Ottoman Empire is still the first in the world... Let alone Portugal, even if the Dutch Army is not disbanded, they dare not say that they can defeat the Ottoman Empire.
