The Imperial Age with the Resurgence of Han Style

Chapter 234 "Wu Shu Alliance"

"Years ago, if the English wanted to invade the French colonies, what was the easiest and most strategic target to attack? That was the Bay of Fundy, which we renamed Qingchuan Bay. From Boston, the political center of New England, The sea distance to the former Port Royal was only 500 kilometers, and English warships could easily launch attacks on the Annapolis Valley with Royal as its core.”

"On the other hand, if the English navy wanted to attack Quebec directly, the English warships that also set out from Boston would have to sail more than two thousand kilometers at sea, go around a big bend, enter the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and finally go up the river to reach the moon. Quebec. Of course, if you choose to cross the Appalachian Mountains by land and attack Montreal, the distance is about 500 kilometers. However, it is not that convenient for the attackers, and at least it will be more difficult to provide logistical support. Much more.”

"The forward position made the Acadia region with Royal as its core attacked by England many times after it became a French colony. Since the core interests of French New France are in the St. Lawrence Valley or Quebec, even if Acadia is lost Peninsula (i.e. Nova Scotia Peninsula), but as long as the English can be blocked east of Isle Royale (i.e. Cape Breton Island), then the fur interests in the St. Lawrence River Basin will also have sufficient security."

"In addition, although the Acadia Peninsula is a paradise for small farmers, it does not produce many commodities that can be exported to Europe, and there is not even much food surplus. In other words, its economic value to the French is relatively low. . Under this circumstance, the Acadian Peninsula became a bargaining chip between Britain and France in North America, and was finally ceded to England after the War of Spanish Succession (1713) in order to eliminate the traces of France in the entire region. England gave this area a new name - Nova Scotia (which means "New Scotland" in Latin). France, which took a back seat, focused its operations in the Acadia region on Loya. On Seoul Island and adjacent Saint-Jean Island (ie Prince Edward Island).”

"So, the French operating these two islands are not mainly targeting us, right? In addition, after our Qi State took over the Acadia region, it actually acted as a shield for the French to resist the English and faced the English directly. "Threat?" Qi Zehuai said with a smile: "In this case, the French will definitely try their best to be friendly with us for a long time in the future, and even to some extent, they will spare no effort to support and help us so that we can Can have stronger strength to stand in front of them."

"The young prince is right." Xiong Bojun, the head of the Military Affairs Department of Prince Chen's Mansion, nodded and said: "On the east coast of North America, England is the strongest, followed by the French, and our Qi people are the weakest. This situation is like the Three Kingdoms at the end of the Han Dynasty, when Cao Wei was the only one Wu and Shu are large and weak, and cannot fight together without alliance. Therefore, both the New France territory and our Chenzhou vassal have a strong desire to unite and protect each other. However, I suggest not to sign a binding military alliance with the French for the time being. , we can only strengthen cooperation with the French in trade. The battle between Qi and Ying must have made the English deeply fearful and fearful of our Qi country, so they will not launch an attack on Chenzhou rashly. "

"In other words, if a war breaks out again between Britain and France in North America in the future, should we, Chenzhou, adopt the necessary neutrality?"

"Yes, we in Chenzhou need to remain neutral during the dispute between Britain and France, so that we can protect our interests to the greatest extent." Xiong Bojun nodded and said: "The best result is that we secretly help the French to prevent them from being defeated by England. The destruction of people can also consume the strength of the English, thus gaining rare time and space for the development and growth of Chenzhou. "

"Uncle, you want the British and French families to weaken each other so that I, Chenzhou, can take advantage of the situation to become stronger. I'm afraid it's a bit natural, right?" Qi Zehuai said with a wry smile: "The British and French have been running America for more than a hundred years. They are not easy people. How could this happen? Leave us alone and fight each other to the death?"

As the in-laws of King Chen, the Xiong family placed almost all their bets on King Chen. When the prince passed away due to serious illness, he encouraged King Chen to seek the throne. Carrying generations of savings, we came together to this remote place in North America.

In the thousands of years of Chinese history, how can any ministers share the world with the king?
Either the king is emptied out and reduced to a puppet, thereby achieving the so-called "compatibility between the king and his ministers", or the ministers are dismissed and become stepping stones for the king to achieve great things.

"I've learned a lesson!" After hearing this, Qi Zehuai couldn't help but admire what his uncle said, and said with a smile: "Unexpectedly, my uncle really did an in-depth study of the colonial forces of Britain and France in North America. So. , Chenzhou’s future development is promising.”

However, fortunately, in our country of Qi, Emperor Taizu made a good start and did not set a precedent of killing heroes. Instead, he made all the heroes who created the era prosperous and prosperous for generations. Although most of the descendants of the Dengzhou elders at that time have faded out of the center of political power, each of them has inherited an extremely astonishing wealth, and they all own valuable shares in large domestic trading companies and factories.

"Since we left the mainland and came to Chenzhou, our Xiong family has been tied to His Highness King Chen. How dare we spare no effort and do more homework?" Xiong Bojun sighed and said softly: "To put it more bluntly , If Chenzhou is prosperous, His Highness will be prosperous, and those of us who follow him can have some hope, right? "

In the colonies, the king's decrees were issued through two officials: the governor and the senior official. The Governor-General represents the royal family with the title of Deputy King and presides over colonial government and public affairs. He was usually a military nobleman with responsibility for commanding the armed forces and directing foreign relations with the English colonies or the native Indians. The governor represented the authority of the royal family both formally and practically, and was the supreme ruler of the entire colonial territory.

He just wants to make his family rich and prosperous for a hundred years and make the Xiong family a distinguished family.

I think back then, the Bi family branch that followed King Qing to South America to become a vassal. After the Qing Kingdom gradually developed and expanded, its family power almost occupied nearly half of the middle and high-level positions in the kingdom, and it even produced three cabinet prime ministers. They were extremely illustrious. Known as "Bi Banchao" by the world.

So if Bi's family can do it, we Xiong family can do it too.
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During the reign of Louis XIV, the territory of New France was placed under the direct jurisdiction of the crown, that is, provinces were established, thus strengthening the rule of the territory. At the beginning of the province of New France, colonial affairs were ostensibly overseen by the Lord of the Admiralty, but all colonial governments were under the orders of His Majesty the King.

Xiong Bojun looked at his sworn nephew, but his face was unimpressed and he just smiled slightly.

"Uh..." Xiong Bojun couldn't help but hesitate when he heard this.

Oops, there are really not many losers among the descendants of the Daqi royal family, and they are not masters who can be easily fooled!
Xiong Bojun pondered for a moment, and then said: "My dear prince, Britain and France have been fighting in North America for more than a hundred years, and they have a lot of grievances. Even if we, Chenzhou, stand on one side, we cannot change this situation, let alone ease the relationship between the two parties. Friendly coexistence. In addition, the lucrative fur trade in North America will also cause the two countries to be at odds with each other. For example, after the signing of the Treaty of Utrecht, the two countries temporarily resolved their colonial disputes that had existed for decades. , peace was maintained, but the competition between the British Hudson's Bay Company and the fur traders in the New France Territory did not end with the restoration of peace. It is reported that their commercial territories and trading posts were intertwined and intertwined with each other. The local Indians also competed to win over and subdue them, and they constantly carried out plots and sneak attacks on the other side, and even often intercepted the Indians' high-quality furs midway, causing the other side to suffer heavy losses. "

"Uncle, don't worry, if I, Chen Fan, become prosperous, I will share the world with the Xiong family."

Why?

"More than twenty years after the end of the War of the Spanish Succession, the colonial territories of New France can be said to have ushered in the best period of development in their history, with the fur trade, agriculture and fishery prospering together. From the royal family to the nobles in mainland France, Even ordinary civilians praised New France as a model among France's many overseas colonial territories. France's overseas commercial empire seemed to have been realized in just over twenty years, and all of this would inevitably inspire people to pursue the same goals in North America. England's challenge and decisive battle are inevitable. Don't forget that the just-ended Sino-British War caused England to lose almost all its eastern trade. So, under this situation, the English government will definitely pay more attention to the North American colonial territories. The French will definitely respond tit-for-tat to those who challenge their North American colonial expansion and trade expansion, and will spare no effort to contain or attack them as necessary."

The second most important official sent by the French royal family to the colonies was the senior official, usually a lower-level nobleman who served as the chief executive and controlled military appropriations and supplies. His responsibilities included finance, justice and social security. As the colony expanded, colonial affairs officers, warehouse keepers, bailiffs, local administrators, port and road maintenance officers also became subordinates of senior officials.

Because the people of Qi politely refused to sign a mutual aid and defense alliance contract with military significance with the New France colony, they just wanted to reach a comprehensive trade agreement with the French. Therefore, after some negotiations between the two parties, the "Chenzhou- When the New France Trade Treaty was signed, the Governor-General of New France, the Marquis de Beaunois, did not show up. Instead, the senior official of New France, Charles de Menou Dornay, came to preside over the treaty.

According to the treaty, in trade between the two places, the import and export tax rate on all goods shall not be higher than 5%. Both sides will provide maximum protection and convenience to merchants entering the territory of the region. Although the French felt a little regretful that the Qi people were unwilling to sign an alliance treaty, they were quite satisfied with being able to sign a bilateral trade agreement, and even believed that they had taken a huge advantage.

You know, after more than a hundred years of development, New France not only has stable agricultural production, but also has emerging handicraft sectors such as wood processing and shipbuilding. Decades ago, when Talon became a high-ranking official in New France, in order to change the previous single fur trade model and implement a plan to diversify the economy, in addition to continuing to maintain agricultural development, he also adopted incentives to strongly support the establishment of small-scale shipbuilding. industry, wood processing industry and its auxiliary industries.

In addition, as the colonial population grew, he also promoted the brewing industry, foundry industry, leather clothing processing industry related to daily life, and actively carried out fish and timber trade with the French West Indian colonial territories.

The handicraft industry in New France was influenced by the earliest cod trade and was concentrated in the cod processing factory in St. Louis, which specialized in salting or processing dried fish and shipped it to the European continent.

The shipbuilding industry, mainly located in Quebec, has so far begun to take shape and can build merchant ships and fishing vessels under three hundred tons. The third handicraft sector is the foundry industry, which mainly produces various agricultural tools and daily necessities, such as pans, to meet the needs of increased immigration and agricultural development. The fourth handicraft sector is the wood processing workshop, which was originally a large sawmill that produced rough boards and sold them to France and other European countries. In addition, there are some ceramic workshops, brewing workshops, etc.

Generally speaking, a distinctive feature of New France's handicraft industry is that it adapts to life or production needs. Compared with the handicraft industry of the British colonies in the south, it appears to be very backward.

However, compared to Acadia and Newfoundland, which Qi occupied, it was not only "complete in categories", but also "technically advanced", which was enough to overwhelm Qi's poor territory.

After Acadia was ceded to England, the New France colonial territory lost trade opportunities with it, allowing New England products to occupy the entire market here.

Now, the people of Qi have come and brought back the above-mentioned lost market.

Of course, Acadia and Newfoundland together do not have a large market. The demand of thousands of people can only contribute tens of thousands of livres, and at most it will not exceed one hundred thousand livres.

But it doesn't matter, what the French want is a close attitude from the Qi people.

Of course, there is also a mentality that makes the English feel frustrated. Everything the English had ever owned was to be destroyed.

The people of Qi gave up the nearby supply channels of New England and went all the way to find the French. This shows that deep down, they are also wary of the strong power of New England and do not want to hand over their economic lifeline to the English.

In this case, the people of Qi cannot be treated badly.

In order to show the enthusiasm and friendship of the New France colony, senior officials of Dornay sold one hundred tons of wheat, twenty tons of oats, and more than ten tons of corn, barley and other grains to the people of Qi at a preferential price that was 10% lower than the European market. To replenish their extremely empty material supply warehouse.

I heard that they will have 500 to 700 immigrants arriving in Acadia in the next six months, and their need for food is very urgent.

Because it is impossible for newly arrived immigrants to produce much within two or three years at least. In the early stages of reclamation, they needed to clear forest land, remove tree roots, level the land, build houses, and construct necessary water conservancy projects, which was a lot of work.

In addition to food, the Qi people also ordered a large number of farm tools, pottery, and other daily necessities from the Quebec colonial government.

The Qi people are also interested in the fishing boats built at the Quebec Shipyard and have placed an order for five boats. They hope to obtain these fishing boats for cod fishing before the arrival of the Newfoundland fishing season next year.

The two sides also agreed that, in view of the fact that the St. Lawrence River is frozen for half a year, making it impassable for ships, the territory of New France would open the St. John's River to the Americans, enter the river from the Bay of Fundy, go up to the middle reaches of the river, and then pass through By land (the upper reaches of the St. John River are full of rapids and dangerous shoals, making it unnavigable), bilateral trade was launched with the French to exchange what they needed.

It can be said that except for the fact that France and Qi have not reached a military alliance agreement, they have carried out very in-depth exchanges and contacts in almost all aspects, and they are even tied together economically.

However, what dissatisfied the colonial Catholic Church was that the Qi people firmly rejected the church's proposal to send priests to Acadia and Newfoundland on its own, requiring all church members to go to Qi territory to pass their review and approval. Religious authority must not be placed above the colonial government of Qi.

You must know that the Catholic Church in France is subject to royal restrictions and submits to royal power. However, in the territory of New France, perhaps in order to soothe the hearts of the colonial people, the French colonial government was relatively loose in its restrictions on the church. This, to a certain extent, made New France an alternative and strict bastion of papal totalitarianism. The Catholic Church was more It was even more authoritative in France and had a huge influence on all aspects of the colony, including management and the spiritual world of the people.

It may be that the excessive influence of the Catholic Church in the colonies also indirectly hindered the immigration of New France. Because, since 1627, the entire New France colony has only accepted Catholic immigrants, and has closed the door to other "heathens".

In Qi State, which is more completely secularized, how can the religious power be allowed to compete with the royal power for the power to manage the people?

Otherwise, your Catholic Church will change its teachings like we did here in Qi?
(End of this chapter)