Bringing the Railway to Daming

Louis II was relieved to hear that there were other conditions.

His many years of life experience had taught him that there is no such thing as a free lunch. It was only reasonable for the State of Jin to allow him to hire an army at such a low price if there were any conditions attached.

So he asked, "What are the conditions?"

Fang Gui said, "Our Jin state actually sent a delegation to visit King Charles VI of France and proposed conditions for friendly relations between the two countries, such as opening up trade and establishing an embassy, ​​but Charles VI refused them all without even discussing them."

"We later learned that your country is actually governed by three regents, oh, and perhaps a queen as well. But of these four, Grand Duke Philip II of Burgundy actually has the most say, doesn't that sound?"

Louis II, a Grand Duke who had been marginalized by the French court, was unaware that he had ever sent an envoy to visit the French king. Upon hearing that his political rival, Philip II, had likely offended the Jin state, he was secretly delighted.

He nodded and said, "Yes—Although Philip II always said that he was helping his nephew Charles to handle state affairs, anyone with eyes could see that he was manipulating royal power and treating Charles VI as a puppet."

Fang Gui said, "Our condition is that after His Excellency the Grand Duke removes Philip II's regency, he can persuade the King of France to accept our Jin Kingdom's friendly treaty."

Louis II said, "If it is truly a treaty of friendship for France, I would certainly advise His Majesty to agree."

Louis II's words here clearly leave room for maneuver, implying that if he finds Jin's demands to be unfriendly in the future, he will not honor them.

Fang Gui naturally understood Louis II's implied meaning, but he pretended not to care and said with a smile, "Don't worry, we will never make things difficult for you."

Fang Gui was well aware that the Ming Dynasty never truly intended to support the Grand Duke of Bourbon to influence the French political situation—that would be far too much of a waste of effort.

The Ming Dynasty's initial idea was to use the identities of the pro-war lords like the Grand Duke of Bourbon as mercenaries to cover up the fact that the Jin army and the armies sent by the four princes could gain a foothold in France.

Once they gain a foothold, even if the Duke of Bourbon discovers something is wrong in the future, it will be too late.

Even back then, it's not necessarily true that the Archduke of Bourbon and the Count of Naville were considered collaborators of the Ming Dynasty by other French nobles.

To put it bluntly, the Archduke of Bourbon and the Count of Naville might have become "French traitors" supported by the Ming Dynasty at that time.

Having dispelled Louis II's suspicions, Fang Gui continued, "Since Your Excellency finds this matter feasible, then I would like Your Excellency to mediate with the Count of Naville."

Louis II smiled and said, "Don't worry, I'll take care of it."

Thus, Fang Gui successfully completed his mission.

Louis II was also pleased to have a powerful henchman and warmly invited Fang Gui to the banquet arranged at the castle that evening.

Fang Gui pretended to decline for a while, but then agreed.

At the banquet, Fang Gui, Zhang Debiao, and other key officials of the delegation were dine on what was supposedly a grand meal prepared by Louis II's private chef. They were quite speechless because the food was really not very good.

Previously, the delegation had passed through many noble territories on their way to the Duchy of Bourbon, but had never visited any noble castles or eaten at any local banquets.

Therefore, although they had no expectations for the food of the French barbarians, they still did not expect that the food prepared by the private chef, whom Louis II, a duke, was so poor.

Seeing that Louis II was eating with great relish, Fang Gui and the others couldn't very well refuse to eat, so they could only force themselves to eat some.

Louis II noticed that Fang Gui and the others looked off, so he asked directly, "Does Your Excellency find the food unpalatable?"

Fang Gui said tactfully, "It's probably because of different eating habits."

Louis II, being a nobleman, was quite curious. Upon hearing this, he asked, "What kind of food do you Jin people eat?"

Looking at the rather rustic dishes on the table—roast lamb, roast beef, beef stewed in red wine, chicken stewed in red wine, and onion soup—Fang Gui felt they were even inferior to the cuisine of the grasslands and Western Regions of the Ming Dynasty. He thought that since he had decided to "support" the Grand Duke Bourbon, it was essential to make him appreciate Chinese culture—and besides the already famous silk and porcelain, food was undoubtedly a very good starting point for making a worthy person appreciate Chinese culture.

He then said, "If Your Excellency does not mind waiting a little while, I can have the chef accompanying the delegation prepare some of our Ming Dynasty's delicacies for you."

"Very well!" Louis II happily agreed.

He then instructed the steward to bring the delegation's cook to the kitchen and to fully cooperate with them in the cooking process.

Although the chef accompanying the mission was not a famous chef, he was still very skilled and brought a lot of cooking equipment with him, so he could make a lot of delicious food even without using the kitchen of the Grand Duke of Bourbon's castle.

Of course, I can't make anything too complicated, since time and ingredients are limited.

Louis II chatted with Fang Gui while waiting. About two hours later, one after another, Ming Dynasty delicacies were served: boiled mutton, roasted whole lamb, beggar's chicken, sweet and sour pork ribs, vegetarian goose, spring rolls, braised lion's head meatballs…
These dishes, with their mere appearance and aroma, made Louis II and his eldest son Jean, among others, drool and stare in astonishment.

After all the dozen or so dishes had been served, Louis II looked at the few French dishes still on the table, prepared by his own chefs, and immediately felt that they were as coarse and unpalatable as farmers' food.

After finally regaining his senses, Louis II couldn't help but ask, "Is the chef accompanying your delegation a court chef?"

Louis II had actually attended many French court banquets, and he was certain that even the royal chefs could not produce so many fragrant and beautiful dishes.

But he simply couldn't imagine any chef with a higher status than the royal chef.

Fang Gui smiled and said, "No, he is just a chef in our Jin Kingdom with excellent culinary skills. He is not as good as our king's royal chef, much less as good as the royal chef of the Ming Dynasty."

Upon hearing this, Louis II assumed that the food only smelled good and looked appealing, but was actually not tasty.

He disregarded etiquette and ate a braised lion's head meatball. As soon as it entered his mouth, his eyes widened and he froze.

Just as the butler beside him was wondering if he had been poisoned, Louis II quickly began to chew, and after he had almost finished, he said, "I never imagined that there could be such delicious food in the world..."

There was something else he didn't say—he felt he had wasted the past few decades, having eaten such coarse and unpalatable food for decades despite being a first-class French nobleman.

Upon hearing this, the other French people at the table also picked up their knives and forks, putting the dishes into their plates to enjoy. Then came the sounds of chewing and the clinking of knives and forks against plates.

Although eating Chinese food with a knife, fork, and spoon is not very convenient, Louis II and his entourage ate very quickly.

They had already eaten two hours earlier, yet they devoured more than a dozen Chinese dishes in just over ten minutes.

Fang Gui and his entourage, mindful of etiquette, didn't get to eat much. However, seeing how much these French nobles and officials enjoyed Chinese food, they felt both disdain and pride.

When Louis II finally finished tasting the sweet soup made with the fermented rice brought by the mission, he felt that his life was complete, yet he couldn't stop savoring the memory.

After regaining his senses, Louis II looked at Fang Gui expectantly and said, "Your Excellency, I have a request. I hope that the chefs of the delegation can be hired as my personal chefs."

Fang Gui smiled.

He thought to himself, "Isn't this tantamount to asking them to plant a spy in the heart of this Bourbon Duchy castle?"

But outwardly he said, "Your Excellency, that depends on whether our chef is willing."

Louis II said, "I can pay him twice, no, three times the current wage, and I think he'll be willing!" (End of Chapter)