Chapter 269: Emperor, Empress, and Ministers (First update, please subscribe)
Chapter 271 France is also an expert in fanning the flames
I have posted it repeatedly... I have edited the content, I am very sorry
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What does 1866 mean to Nanhua?
It means change and rebirth.
Of course, no one outside knows what this year means, not even those who are involved in it.
This year, Nanhua sounded the clarion call for external expansion and began to become a player on the chessboard of South America.
Since the day he entered Chile, Nanhua has actually stepped onto this stage. Although his identity is a bit special, it is not a big deal. After all, this world speaks with strength, and companies and countries with strong strength have no regional levels.
Also at the end of this year, Zhu Xianhai married Princess Charlotte Clark Bonaparte, the heir to the Spanish throne and the daughter of Princesses Canino and Musignano.
This grand wedding not only attracted the attention of South American countries, but also caused a sensation in Europe. The French Emperor Louis Bonaparte, the famous Emperor Napoleon III, not only sent a special envoy, but also provided a generous dowry for his niece.
In the eyes of the French emperor, this was the best opportunity for France to gain influence in South America.
"This is not only the union of two families and two countries, but also the union of the old and new continents!"
The French emperor's message of congratulations was not only joyful, but also full of ambition. Who was the most vigilant about this?
Of course it’s the UK!
After all, as early as the beginning of the independence of the Spanish colonies in the La Plata River region, Britain and France at that time tried hard to replace Spain to control the entire La Plata River region in order to obtain raw material supplies and commodity sales markets, but in the end most of them adopted the policy of relying on Britain. The only one who chose to rely on France was the Paraguayan Marshal Lopez Jr., who regarded himself as the "Little Napoleon of South America". Under the siege of Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay, he was on the verge of failure.
Who is behind all this?
Britain, of course.
Britain will never allow others to interfere with South America! After all, he has been working hard to manage this area for many years.
The French intervention now is absolutely intolerable to Britain.
But it doesn't matter. Unless it is necessary, Britain will never take the initiative to roll up its sleeves and personally participate. Moreover, Britain, which is good at making plans in advance, will definitely make long-term plans. Now that Chile has fallen and Argentina and Brazil are stuck in the quagmire of the Paraguayan War, Britain cannot make long-term plans at all. They can only watch France "get involved" in South America.
Since there is such a good opportunity, the French will definitely not miss it. In fact, for Emperor Napoleon III, he also eager to demonstrate the so-called great power momentum by intervening in South America.
In other words, Emperor Napoleon 34 wanted to show off his power to his people all over the world to tell them that the empire was so powerful. He just wanted to deceive people in this way. If a war really broke out, he would probably be the first to surrender.
"His Majesty!"
Lesseps Bonaparte, the French Empire's ambassador to South China, stood in front of Zhu Xianhai with a humble and respectful attitude. As a member of the Bonaparte family, he was sent to South China as an ambassador entirely because of his status. However, as an ambassador, he did not neglect his duties. After all, for him, this is also an extremely rare opportunity. The opportunity given to Sun in the French political world is extremely precious to any member of the Bonaparte family.
"You should know that the wheat and beef produced in Nanhua are extremely important to France. Without Nanhua's wheat and beef, France will most likely fall into starvation. Therefore, for His Majesty the Emperor, nothing is more important than this!"
Wheat is the traditional export product of the Rio de la Plata region. Especially in the past few years, when crop failures have been common across Europe, wheat from the Americas has become an indispensable food source for European countries.
Even during the Civil War, one of the most important reasons why the British did not directly intervene in the civil war or provide armed support to the Southern regime was that Britain, which was suffering from poor harvests at the time, urgently needed wheat from the United States.
In the end, cotton did not determine Britain's choice, but North American wheat made the British stand on Washington's side. After all, even Britain could not watch millions of people fall into famine, which led to social unrest.
The same is true for France, but they are obviously not as lucky as Britain. Britain can buy wheat from North America through Canada and the United States, but France's overseas territories cannot provide enough food to the mainland.
In the main wheat-producing areas, France's influence is almost zero. For example, in the Rio de la Plata region, France has no influence at all.
It was so difficult to cultivate Paraguay, but now it is caught up in a group of many countries and is on the verge of extinction in Europe.
It was at this time that Nanhua came to the door.
Nanhua is not only able to export large quantities of wheat, but can even export large quantities of beef.
Fresh frozen beef is definitely Nanhua’s unique specialty product. After all, at present, Nanhua is the only company in the world that has refrigerated ships to transport frozen meat.
Others like Argentina and the United States certainly have extremely rich beef resources, but they don't have refrigerated ships to transport them.
Therefore, Nanhua now monopolizes the export of fresh frozen meat to Europe with its unique technology. Thanks to this, Europeans tasted cheap fresh beef from the New World for the first time.
At present, France is not only one of the most important markets for South China beef and mutton, but even for French urban residents, they have reached the point where they cannot live without American beef and mutton - mainly because it is cheap.
After all, before this, beef from the New World could only be sold locally, or exported to Europe as salty beef that was so salty that it was deadly. Citizens would not buy that kind of salted beef that was as hard as wood unless they had no other choice.
But now Nanhua has changed all that with its refrigerated ships. Some observers even declared that "if we lose the beef and mutton from America, Paris will break out in riots tomorrow."
Under these circumstances, ensuring the normal weekly export of beef became the top priority for Lesseps Bonaparte, the French ambassador to South China.
The reason why he mentioned this matter now is actually related to France’s overall diplomatic layout - France is eager to get involved in South America!
France hopes to strengthen its relations with South China and then intervene in American affairs. As an empire, France certainly cannot sit idly by and watch the British control everything here.
"Of course, Lesseps, you can tell Paris that we will do our best to ensure food exports to France. This year we plan to reclaim 2 million hectares of land. Although these lands are arable land, each of the company's farms has a beef cattle breeding plant. It is expected that within two years, our beef production will more than double."
Agriculture is the foundation of industrial development. While promoting industrial development, Zhu Xianhai did not forget to develop agriculture. At least half of the immigrants were assigned to various reclamation areas, where they reclaimed land and planted crops such as wheat, corn, cotton, and soybeans. The export of agricultural products was another important pillar of Nanhua's economy.
Moreover, at present, the export of agricultural and livestock products to Europe has even exceeded the export value of industrial products in South China. After all, in history, Argentina became a developed country by exporting beef.
Today's South China is just copying Argentina's past success, but the biggest difference with Argentina is that South China develops its industry by exporting agricultural products in exchange for funds.
"Your Majesty, you don't know how much the French love beef!"
said Lesseps Bonaparte in a rather exaggerated tone.
"Every shipload of beef will be sold out soon after it arrives in France. In the next few years, France's demand for beef will increase several times. It is certain that if your farms do not cross the Colorado River, which is your North River, and expand northward to the Pampas, Your Majesty, in ten years, that grassland will not only become Argentina's pasture, but Paris will also have to buy beef from Argentina!"
Staring at Zhu Xianhai, Lesseps Bonaparte said solemnly.
"Putting aside the countries we represent, as your cousin, I hope your Majesty can pay attention to one thing - now is the best time for you to expand to the north. After all, that grassland is also the grassland of the Mapuche people. As their king, you need to ensure that the land will always belong to you, not Argentina!"
Looking at Zhu Xianhai with a smile, Lesseps Bonaparte emphasized again.
"This is also what His Majesty the Emperor meant."
In other words, France supports the expansion of South China! The imperialist powers are so straightforward that they either invade others themselves or support their agents to invade others in order to achieve their goals.
Many small countries are often willing to become the spokespersons of the imperialist powers. After all, while being used by those powers, they can also get extremely rich rewards, just like the Paraguayan War, after winning, Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay can all take a bite of Paraguay.
Now, the French are also adding fuel to the fire.
However, Zhu Xianhai was also helpless about the support from France!
It turns out that the man who took the three emperors was a man with high expectations but poor skills!
The British have been operating in South America for half a century and have been planning for many years. As soon as this emperor came to power, he began to seek to intervene in South America, repeatedly adding fuel to the fire from Paraguay to South China. But he just added fuel to the fire and did not stop. Just like in the Paraguayan War, his support for Paraguay was - zero!
What else can an emperor who is only responsible for adding fuel to the fire but is unwilling to take responsibility give to Nanhua except verbal support?
Since you want to "get involved" in South America, you have to pay a price!
After thinking about it, Zhu Xianhai said.
"My dear cousin, in my opinion, the entire Pampas belongs to the Mapuche people. Of course, we must declare our sovereignty, but as you know, without the influx of immigrants, how can we control the grassland? Therefore, we need to build a railway across the North River and into the heart of the grassland. Only in this way can we truly control the grassland."
Smiling at Lesseps Bonaparte, Zhu Xianhai said,
"Building a railway requires a lot of money. If we can get support from the French financial community, I think we should be able to complete this work in a short period of time."
I have set up a book club: 335260551. Everyone is welcome to join and discuss and deduce the plot together.
(End of this chapter)
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