Red Mansion: I am Jia Lian

Chapter 476 Defining the Sphere of Influence
Jia Lian met the French ambassador at Tianjin Port, and also saw the Lavoisier couple who were following behind and looking around.

The British sent three third-class battleships to escort the envoy to China, while the French only had one ship, which was indeed shabby in comparison.

Fortunately, Jia Lian knew that France's ground power was stronger, but that did not prevent the British from forming cliques and targeting France.

Britain and France have a very long history of being enemies, and they still look down on each other today.

The guard of honor was used again. The French envoy was obviously a little confused. How could it be played like this?

The problem is that France doesn’t have a national anthem now, and in fact, the Great Zhou doesn’t have one either, so they can only make do with a piece of Qin Wang’s Breaking the Formation Music.

The French ambassador thought to himself that he must send a report back as soon as possible to let his country know how the Eastern superpower plays the high-end game.

After the procedure was completed, Jia Lian hosted a banquet for the envoys and thoughtfully prepared knives, forks and soup spoons for them.

It is unknown what others felt when they saw the Chinese staff using chopsticks so skillfully, but the Lavoisiers felt an inexplicable sense of shame, a shame of being raw meat eaters coming to the civilized world.

Fortunately, this couple are not writers, otherwise they would have to write for "Yilin" and "Reader's Digest" when they return.

Speaking of these magazines, to be honest, at a certain stage in history, although they deceived people, they portrayed a beautiful world for us to work towards.

People nowadays feel disgusted simply because they have been deceived and have forgotten the warmth and touch that chicken soup originally brought them.

The meal was very solemn. Jia Lian did not arrange any court dance. They used the same temporary manor as last time to accommodate the envoy.

As usual, get checked by a doctor. Foreigners have a lot of viruses on them, so there's nothing wrong with being careful.

Lavoisier couldn't wait to find Jia Lian.

"Your name is very familiar. Is the basic chemistry I got your book?" Lavoisier looked very serious. He was exploring the truth of the world. There was a sentence in Jia Lian's basic chemistry that the basic particles that make up the world are molecules and atoms. Although it was not elaborated in depth, it was like a loud bell to Lavoisier, a revelation.

"Ah, yes. Some of the contents in the book can be proven, and some are conjectures. Because they make sense logically, I wrote them that way." Jia Lian didn't dare to say that anything could be verified.

Jia Lian later learned French from Jean Valjean, who also asked him to learn Chinese.

"Due to the language difference, I suggest you learn Chinese first and then read this book. There may be errors in the translation." Jia Lian reminded again, Lavoisier, he is a great god, we have to keep him.

"You are absolutely right, but I didn't expect that you are actually a senior government official." Lavoisier was very moved. He thought he was an old scholar, but he turned out to be a young man.

There were certainly setbacks, but for Lavoisier, what mattered more was the exploration of the truth.

"The court has special scientific research institutions. If you are interested, you can stay here to study and conduct scientific research." Jia Lian calmly made his move and left Lavoisier, hoping that the stabilizer of nitrocellulose would be successful.

"Is that so? That's great." Lavoisier was very excited and wanted to enter the scientific research state immediately.

Unfortunately, the half-month stay was still mandatory. During this period, both the minister and the Lavoisiers mainly studied Chinese.

The difficulty of learning Chinese is a disaster for people who have learned Latin since elementary school, especially for people other than Lavoisier. Lavoisier, who has a high IQ, got into the state quickly. Even if he was memorizing by rote, he was a top student. In half a month, he had learned hundreds of words and some simple expressions.

French Minister Menique repeated his suggestion to intervene in North America after studying. Jia Lian said that at this stage, the Great Zhou had limited maritime power and was not strong enough to cross the Pacific Ocean to reach North America. If it needed to go around half the world, first to Europe and then to America, even if it wanted to intervene, it would be difficult to play a big role.

Of course, based on the principle that France is the first friendly country to visit, a certain degree of preferential treatment can be given in trade.

The French ambassador was disappointed when he received this answer, but after all, it was not a complete failure.

Jia Lian did think about whether to intervene in the issue of North American independence, but the current level of navigation is there, and no one is willing to take the North Pacific route. Unless he hires a foreign fleet to explore. This is not impossible, but it has to wait until Jia Lian is sent out. Moreover, even if he reaches the west coast of North America, it is still a long way from the thirteen states of North America. What he can do in this life is probably to put a few nails on the west coast of North America, get a few pieces of land, and make a forward base to help the natives resist the westward movement of the United States. This is something he can consider.

As for the fact that Louis XVI went bankrupt for the independence of the United States, Jia Lian felt that any help he could provide would be helpful, at least to delay the outbreak of the French Revolution.

In fact, Louis XVI and his wife were both eccentric. In Mencius' words, they did not look like a monarch!

Before the French were sent away, the British Wayne and Rear Admiral Churchill arrived, and Jia Lian came again.

Compared to Wayne's concern about Da Zhou's attitude towards North American independence, Wayne's focus was on the huge cannons on the artillery platform and the rifles in the hands of the soldiers.

After the ceremony, the British and French lived in the same manor, although not in the same yard, but it was very interesting.

Knowing in advance that there was a half-month detention observation period, the British were very cooperative and all disembarked. There was a Japanese named Lin who ran a flesh trade near the farm. He usually received some seafarers and also did business with the British. Anyway, whose gold and silver coins are not money? Speaking of it, letting women earn foreign exchange is an old tradition. It's just that Lin is now a Japanese running dog under Li Heng. Half of his earnings have to be handed over to Li Heng, and half of the remaining half has to be used to bribe the shogunate. The remaining quarter is enough for him to become a superior person.

Of course, the most important thing is that Lin can travel freely in Da Zhou, which greatly facilitates his business.

When Wayne asked about North American affairs, Jia Lian said righteously: "Britain and France are both friendly countries to our country. As a third party, we remain neutral in the conflict between you. However, as a representative of the Zhou Dynasty government, I would like to express the most serious protest against the smuggling of opium by your merchants. If your government cannot curb smuggling, we will take severe measures to retaliate."

When dealing with foreigners, you should be simple and straightforward, and speak clearly; they won't understand if you're being subtle.

However, Wayne did not have a good solution for opium smuggling, because opium was still rampant in Britain. In contrast, the situation in Da Zhou was much better than in Britain because the court had laws prohibiting it and there were only a few smuggling activities in the local areas.

"Well, our country has no relevant laws prohibiting the opium trade. I will convey your intention to the country." Wayne could only answer this way. In his heart, he silently greeted the women of the Sassoon family and complained that the damn Sassoon family was causing trouble for him. "I hope so! I hope that the friendship between the two countries can be maintained for a long time." Jia Lian was also restrained and did not pursue it further.

Wayne asked back: "It has been found that your army has occupied part of the territory of Annan and incorporated it into your jurisdiction. Now our East India Company is developing in India. I hope that both sides can reach some consensus and avoid unnecessary friction."

Regarding this matter, Jia Lian's eyes quickly turned around, and he immediately changed to a more severe face: "Many small countries in Southeast Asia were vassal states of our country hundreds of years ago. They accepted our country's protection. It was only because of the wars in the past two hundred years that we had no time to take care of them. Now that His Majesty the Emperor wants to re-establish our country's prestige in Southeast Asia, the European thieves such as Spain, the Netherlands, and Portugal will be driven out. After all, more than two hundred years ago, our country set up two Xuanweisi in Southeast Asia, which are formal official institutions. If the British do not want to have friction with our country, it is best not to cross the Strait of Malacca."

After hearing these words, Churchill, who was accompanying him, became very serious. The British Empire attached great importance to India. If it angered the Zhou Empire, once the other side went to war, Britain, which was focused on the European continent, would not have much power to deploy to Asia. After all, this was a large country with a population of 200 million and a vast territory.

Wayne also became serious and said seriously: "I will convey your attitude to the East India Company. I suggest that we sign a relevant agreement on this matter to avoid conflict."

The Ansari are the most realistic. Once they find out that they can't beat you, their attitude will change very smoothly. Once they find out that you can't beat them, they will get ahead of you.

The Angolans are the most unreasonable people, and if they can be reasonable, it is only because they have no other choice.

The current Great Zhou navy is still in its infancy, but Jia Lian still said in a tough manner: "This is a good idea. The two countries can carry out extensive cooperation, keep in touch, and avoid misjudgment."

After reaching a consensus, Wayne and Churchill left and returned to their residence. When no one was around, Wayne started to curse: "Damn Spain, damn the Dutch, damn the Sassoon family."

Churchill sneered, "Mr. Wayne should be thankful that the emperor and ministers of the Zhou Empire can distinguish who is who. Otherwise, with the size of the Zhou Empire, it would not be impossible to expel the East India Company from India. Now the Portuguese and French are making trouble for us in India. If the Zhou Empire also joins in, it will be a disaster."

"And that Sassoon, if possible, I hope the Zhou Empire can catch him and hang him!" Wayne's attitude was not surprising. At this stage, Europe was in the process of being shunned, and only Britain was relatively better, but the good results were limited.

"That's a good idea!"

According to the agreement, the envoys of the two countries could spend money to buy a house in the capital as an embassy. This modern model was relatively new to Wayne and Menick. Although they disliked each other, they agreed that this was the style of a civilized country.

Both of them had enough money, so they had to pay a price when buying a house. They once advocated buying land and building a house, but were rejected. The reason was very strong, it would destroy the overall style of the capital's architecture and affect the city's appearance.

China and France, China and Britain, all reached a consensus on the issue of Southeast Asia and signed an agreement that Southeast Asia was the sphere of influence of the Zhou Empire. As for the Spanish and the Dutch, to hell with them! That was a matter between the Zhou Empire and them. Both Britain and France believed that in principle the Zhou Empire was still willing to respect the contract. After all, the Portuguese had cheated Macau and were now allowed to live there.

It can only be said that because Napoleon had not yet emerged and the British Empire had not yet reached its heyday, the world's number one power recognized by Europe at this stage was still the Zhou Empire in the East.

It's just that because it's a continental country, the investment in maritime forces is insufficient. However, judging from the current development, the Zhou Empire has begun to pay attention to the sea, which is really not good news.

At this stage, Europe views the East through a filter, which is the ideal country in the minds of many thinkers.

People are all the same. They are dissatisfied with the people and things around them, but they still think that a faraway country would be a good place.

This is the case at this stage because of the trade surplus and the top luxury goods all come from the East.

Wayne personally attended the banquet hosted by Her Majesty the Queen, where various state gifts brought back by Henry were displayed. Her Majesty the Queen called these return gifts the most precious collection of the royal family.

He also said that Henry's diplomatic achievements were a strong counterattack to the high-profile propaganda from an unfriendly country across the strait.

Isn't it just that your people went there first? Now what you have, I also have.

That’s the mentality.

In fact, during the Qianlong period, European countries still had a licks-the-dog mentality towards the Eastern powers. When Macartney visited, he brought with him everything that the British were proud of.

All I can say is that mystery also has its benefits.

The Great Zhou was not the Qing Dynasty and did not adopt a policy of closing the country to the outside world. It can be said that God blesses China.

In fact, the Ming Dynasty was very tolerant towards Europeans and even allowed missionary work and church building.

In contrast, the Taizu of this dynasty issued a strict order prohibiting European missionaries from preaching and even prohibiting the construction of churches. In other aspects, it did not prohibit official exchanges.

As for Russia, because it was beaten back, it stopped its eastward expansion and turned to develop westward, and is competing for access to the Black Sea.

Therefore, the sphere of influence proposed by Jia Lian was limited to Southeast Asia, which was still a big gain for the British.

Doesn't Jia Lian know the drawbacks of this agreement? Of course he knows it. The key is that with your naval strength, it will take time to drive away Spain and the Netherlands, let alone fight Britain.

After staying in Beijing for a few days, Churchill returned to Tianjin and asked to visit the shipyard, but was rejected. He then asked to visit the fort, and this time he was allowed.

The reason why Jia Lian agreed to let him see the fort was simple. Forts were a dead defense structure, so he could just look at them casually. Even if he saw them, he wouldn't have any idea. At this time, it was suicide for a warship to attack a fort. Not to mention, Jia Lian specially had the fort renovated and used cement.

So, when Churchill was walking on the artillery platform, what he saw made him despair, especially the 8,000-jin cannon. He reached out and touched the barrel, and was shocked by its smoothness.

This shows that the craftsmanship level of the Great Zhou Dynasty was not worse than that of Europe, and was even slightly higher.

(End of this chapter)