The next morning, Zhu Jingyuan met with Chu Yuqiang and his party in the living room of Ciqing Palace.
Ciqing Palace is where Zhu Jingyuan currently lives. Meeting his subordinates here means that they are all one of his own.
You can meet in a relatively private place instead of going to places like Wenhua Hall and Wuying Hall in front.
After saluting and saying hello, Zhu Jingyuan asked them to sit down around him and chatted to explain the situation.
Chu Yuqiang sat next to Zhu Jingyuan and first gave a general report on the situation of Dashi Clothing Store.
In fact, Zhu Jingyuan has actually seen reports on the sales, profits, and market share of commercial banks.
However, reports and on-site instructions are still different. There are many things that are difficult to write clearly in words.
There are also some things that are inconvenient to put on paper and need to be said in person:
After the basic situation report was finished, Chu Yuqiang began to explain the problem:
"Your Highness, the new Ming-style formal attire you designed, this new clothing style, has swept the entire Thai and Western society.
“The upper affluent and middle class buy our authentic clothes directly, while ordinary people wear replicas from local tailors.
"The original traditional Thai and Western men's clothing is now almost equated with 'old-fashioned' and is a symbol of being disliked.
“But there is still a problem. The current trend of this trend is still mainly limited to men’s circles.
"Your original designs were originally designed as women's clothing, but we never found a sale among Thai and Western women.
“Only women involved in public affairs and women in management positions in companies have purchased new Ming-style formal wear.
“It may be due to the initiative of male staff, or it may be because this kind of clothing is more suitable for activities than traditional Thai and Western women’s clothing.
“But most ordinary Thai and Western women take it for granted that these are men’s clothing.
“They don’t wear this kind of clothing during banquets and outings.
“On the contrary, in the land of big food, some ordinary women are already trying this new style of clothing in their daily lives.
“Actually, in Thai and Western society, women’s clothing is the most expensive and most profitable.
“Now this market is basically out of our reach…
“The craftsmen are considering trying to design Thai and Western women’s clothing, and I’m just back to ask you what you think.”
After hearing this, Zhu Jingyuan nodded lightly:
"I already know the situation, and I just recently prepared another kind of women's clothing."
Zhu Jingyuan said and asked the servant to notify Irene and ask her to come over in her Lolita clothes.
Erin was originally wearing this outfit today and came out immediately after hearing the announcement.
Chu Yuqiang only glanced at it, then nodded immediately and said:
"This design is very good. This style is different from the existing Thai and Western women's clothing, but it will definitely be recognized as women's clothing.
"Compared with the existing Thai and Western women's clothing, it has been simplified, but it is still complex and sophisticated enough to carry high enough profits.
"The key is that this style of clothing can be designed in many different ways, and new styles can be continuously released."
Zhu Jingyuan also nodded again and said:
“Yes, we can keep coming out with new styles, but we have to stick to our style.
“Simplicity… at least relatively simple.
“The hem of the skirt can be puffed up, but you cannot use rigid panniers or force the hem to open.
“The design and decoration can be complex and gorgeous, but they must not affect walking, sitting, or lying down.
"The skirt should be slightly shortened, at least above the ankle, preferably between half the calf and the knee."
Chu Yuqiang immediately nodded seriously and said:
“I understand that this is still the way we used to design men’s clothing, and our designers already understand it very well.
“But this time it’s a completely new direction. If you have time, you’d better produce a few samples.
"As designers learn and compare, your personal design is also the focus of publicity."
Zhu Jingyuan thought for a while and said:
“I will try my best to make some drawings and explain the design ideas clearly, but I don’t have a lot of time.
“After letting the designers see my basic design and my design ideas, they can make new designs according to these standards.
“I will regularly review the designers’ design plans, select the ones that best fit the design ideas, or provide suggestions for improvements.
"These new styles that can be continuously produced are the main sales force of our firm's women's clothing."
Chu Yuqiang certainly hopes that Zhu Jingyuan will personally design the design for a long time.
But I also understand that as Zhu Jingyuan, he cannot spend a lot of time on clothing design.
Being able to design a small number of samples and give an explanation of his design ideas is already considered as attaching great importance to this industry.
Chu Yuqiang and several senior executives of the commercial bank also had no objections.
…………
A few days later, it was November 9th, the third year of Ankang in the Ming Dynasty, December 24th, 1808, the day before Christmas in the West.
Hosted and coordinated by Prince Dashi of the Ming Dynasty, the peace talks between Britain, France, the United States, Napoleon and Adams were officially held in the Wuying Hall of the Forbidden City in Xintianfu.
Zhu Jingyuan sat in the main seat, and the other released representatives had no objections. They were the ones who originally asked Zhu Jingyuan to mediate.
French representatives, Crown Prince Charles and Foreign Minister Talleyrand, and British representatives, royal family member Amelia and Foreign Minister Grenville, sat on the left of Zhu Jingyuan respectively.
Representatives of the United States, King Charlotte, Regent Frederick, Prime Minister Monroe, Speaker Jefferson, Napoleon and Adams' plenipotentiary representative Adams himself sat on Zhu Jingyuan's right.
The participants did not have much opinion on the seating. Anyway, it was not a public meeting that affected status, but a peace talk for a specific country.
But everyone was very surprised by the proceedings of the meeting.
After everyone sat down, Ming officials directly took out several drafted contracts and placed them in front of representatives from all parties.
In the stunned and confused eyes of the representatives, Zhu Jingyuan, who was sitting at the table as the mediator, said with a smile:
“There is actually nothing to talk about in this peace negotiation, and no one has much choice.
“The general terms of the peace talks were already known to all of you during the interview process.
"Now Ming Dynasty is just doing official business, refining and finalizing them and putting them in front of you.
"Everyone can carefully read the content on the spot. It can be said that Daming handled the matter as fairly and justly as possible.
“Actually, we all know that the peace negotiation itself is not the focus, the focus is what happens after the peace negotiation.
“The situation in the UK, France, and your own countries is not optimistic, and the United States and Canada are in dire straits.
"So everyone signed the contract as soon as possible, and after your Christmas, we started discussing post-war matters.
"I will say this now, and everyone can read the terms carefully."
Representatives from all directions were shocked to discover that what Zhu Jingyuan said was indeed reality.
In this peace negotiation, both sides could no longer continue fighting and had to cease the war.
When they accepted Zhu Jingyuan's mediation, they had already handed over their respective bottom lines to Zhu Jingyuan.
It is indeed normal for Zhu Jingyuan to integrate the opinions of both parties and make a contract directly.
Daming, a powerful middleman, directly allows both parties to sign contracts quickly, which can also save time in wrangling.
So the representatives from each country quickly calmed down and carefully checked the contents of the contract.
The terms of the armistice are very simple, basically only a few sentences.
In most cases, the less content in treaties and contracts, the less restrictive they are to both parties and, in fact, the fairer they are.
First, all parties recognized that the lands and ethnic groups controlled by Napoleon and Adams were officially independent from Britain and France.
Secondly, Britain and France must not attack it again in the future, Napoleon and Adams control the country or organization, and they must not invade the lands and ethnic groups of Britain and France again.
Then, peace between the two sides was guaranteed and supervised by Ming Dynasty.
Finally, the Ming Dynasty ensures the security of the lands and ethnic groups controlled by Napoleon and Adams. It is up to both parties to decide how the Ming Dynasty protects their security.
There are only a few clauses in the contract itself, which confirm the current facts.
This is followed by a description of the territorial boundaries of each party after the armistice.
This is basically the division method proposed by France and acceptable to the United Kingdom, the United States, and Canada.
However, it is not bounded by the battle line directly, but by the mountains, rivers and lakes near the battle line.
The few enclaves occupied by both sides in their respective control areas were also directly handed over to the other side.
French colonial boundaries: south of the St. Lawrence River, east of Buffalo and Lake Ontario, and north of the Potomac River.
The Potomac River is the river that passes through Washington, D.C., and is the boundary river between Maryland and Virginia.
Including the later northeastern United States, plus the area south of the St. Lawrence River in Canada.
Including half of Pennsylvania, most of New York, Maryland, New Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine in the United States, as well as New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Quebec in Canada. Area south of the St. Lawrence River.
The borders of the British Kingdom of America are to the east of the Appalachian Mountains, to the south of the Potomac River, to the north of the Ming Xintianfu Florida Palace, and to the east of the Honey River Palace.
That is, the southeastern United States in later generations, complete North Carolina and South Carolina, most of Virginia, most of Georgia, and half of Alabama.
The boundaries of the territory held by Napoleon and Adams were west of the Appalachian Mountains, south of the Great Lakes, and east of the connection between the southernmost tip of Lake Michigan and the mouth of the Mobile River.
Mainly half of Pennsylvania, a small half of New York, most of West Virginia, most of Ohio, most of Indiana, most of Kentucky, and most of Tennessee in the later United States.
The reason why many places are not historically complete states is because many of the historical state boundaries have been accommodated by each other.
For example, Indiana did not originally have a border with Lake Michigan, but the state of Michigan gave it a piece of land near the lake.
Both Virginia and West Virginia have small portions of land on the opposite side of the Appalachian Mountains.
The boundaries drawn by Ming Dynasty are no longer accommodating, but follow the mountains and rivers as much as possible.
There was also part of the land in the west, north, and south that was transferred to the Ming Dynasty, and it was not given according to state boundaries.
Before the Yinzhou War, the colonial area of Britain and France was about one million square kilometers.
Britain and France wanted to invite Yin Zhou from the Ming Dynasty to help defend the front, and Napoleon wanted the Ming Dynasty not to interfere in the war between the two sides.
Both parties transferred a total of about 500,000 square kilometers of land to the Ming Dynasty.
Including later parts of Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, Mississippi, Tennessee and Kentucky.
The war that had lasted for nearly three years was now over.
The British and French colonies each had about 500,000 square kilometers left.
Napoleon and Adams became independent with about half a million square kilometers of land.
All parties participating in the meeting were basically satisfied with this boundary demarcation.
I feel that Ming Dynasty did draw the rules based on fairness.
All are acceptable and you can sign the contract directly.
Peace will also come to Yinzhou.
Tonight is Christmas Eve for Tessie.
This should have been a moment of celebration.
But the mood of representatives from all parties is not getting better.
Neither side achieved its original goals.
Britain and France did not completely wipe out the rebels, and Napoleon and Adams did not lead the British and French colonies to independence.
Even the Ming Dynasty did not get the entire land west of the Appalachian Mountains, leaving Napoleon and Adams behind.
However, the Ming Dynasty basically did not participate in the war, and was allocated more than 500,000 square kilometers of land.
This is roughly the size of mainland France, and it's all very good land.
It also has complete monopoly on three large freshwater lakes: Huron, Superior, and Michigan.
Moreover, the countries of Napoleon and Adams will become the vassal states of the Ming Dynasty.
So Zhu Jingyuan was quite satisfied with the result.
Only Daming, represented by Zhu Jingyuan, was relatively satisfied with this result.
Zhu Jingyuan sat at the head of the table and flipped through documents for more than an hour.
Representatives from all four parties below have successively expressed their acceptance of this condition.
Under the guidance of Ming officials, they signed the formal agreement one after another.
After the contract was signed, Niu Jian took out several other documents and asked the clerk on site to hand them to Adams.
Zhu Jingyuan said to Adams:
"Adams, after you return, you and Napoleon will sign these two documents and send them to the capital of the Ming Dynasty.
"Honglu Temple will check your documents and then issue you a formal canonization decree."
Adams knew that this was his and Napoleon's fate.
He immediately stood up, bowed respectfully to Zhu Jingyuan, and then sat back to read two documents.
Those were two applications to become a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty.
This document itself is actually public. If I just print it out and hand it in, Ming will not pay attention to it.
For Adams, the most critical content in the application was the description of the scope of his Napoleonic vassal state.
If it is a normal domain application, these contents should be filled in by the domain itself.
Now the scope of Adams and Napoleon's vassal state is the scope of territory divided by Zhu Jingyuan.
The specific method of division is to split the land currently shared by the two people into two parts in the north and south direction.
Napoleon owned most of Indiana, most of Ohio, half of Pennsylvania, and a little bit of New York state.
Napoleon was directly called Count Napoleon, and the country he belonged to was also directly called Count Napoleon.
Adams owned most of West Virginia, most of Kentucky, most of Tennessee, a little of Alabama, and a little of Virginia.
Adams was also directly called Earl Adams, and the country was naturally called the County of Adams.
The land area is relatively evenly distributed, basically half per person, and obtaining names and titles is simple and crude.
But the problem is that Adams' hometown, which was originally in the northeastern part of British America, has now gone directly to the southwest.
Adams subconsciously thought that this was to deliberately allow his vassal state to have a large-scale border with British America, and to have Napoleon's vassal state have a large-scale border with French Canada.
However, the borders between the two sides are not too intertwined, and they even deliberately accommodate natural geographical boundaries.
However, Adams soon understood that Ming Dynasty only left Napoleon the land that still belonged to Napoleon.
My original land was gone long ago, so I moved to the southwest as a whole.
After thinking about this, Adams couldn't help but sigh that Ming Dynasty was really fair in doing things this time.
From then on, I was finally able to truly feel at ease.
Although it is a vassal state, it is essentially a foreign vassal and has a very high degree of independence.
Pay tribute, that is, pay taxes, at a fixed time and in a specified proportion.
Allow Ming Dynasty manufacturers to invest within the territory and allow Ming Dynasty troops to garrison within the territory.
The Ming court would basically not interfere with other normal administrative management.
(End of chapter)
