New books, ask for collections, ask for recommendations

August 21, 1843. Paris at the Docks of Orsay, French Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

"Sir Blanc, Monsieur Bai, France's friendly relations with China date back to the time of Louis XIV and the Kangxi Emperor. Unlike Britain, we in France have only goodwill to China and no ambition, and we are sincerely willing to help China carry out reforms, so that China can restore its former glory and ......prosperity at an early date."

It was François, Foreign Secretary of the Kingdom of France and de facto head of the Cabinet of Sirte. Pierre. Guillaume. Kitzo. He was a tall and thin man in his fifties, with a very serious appearance. A guy in a stiff suit with the words old-fashioned and stubborn written on his face.

If Zhu Jishi was not a doctor but studied history, he would definitely know the person in front of him very well. Because this Mr. Kezot is actually a very famous historian. Before entering politics, he was a professor of history at the University of Paris, and is the author of a large number of historical works, such as "History of the Origins of European Representative System", "Introduction to French History", "Collection of Memoirs on the English Revolution", and "History of the English Revolution during the Reign of King Charles I and Charles II".

And his springboard to French politics was very different from his old-fashioned, stubborn appearance. In fact, he is also a master of playing the politics of getting laid, and the French aristocratic female writer Paulina who is 14 years older than him. Morality. Merlin got married and became acquainted with many of the leading figures of the French royalist party, and was able to enter politics. Since 1840 he has been France's foreign secretary, and at the same time the real power in the French cabinet, the almost 70-year-old Marshal Sirte is old and mediocre, and he is simply his puppet.

In the past few days, when Zhu Jishi was traveling to Paris, His Excellency Minister Guizot was in frequent exchanges with French dignitaries, and there was only one thing to discuss, that is, how to adjust diplomatic relations with China. Because the original Jihua, who forced the Manchu government to sign an unequal treaty similar to the Treaty of Nanjing, now seems to have come to naught.

Because the birth of Zhu Jishi and Bai Siwen almost means that the internal affairs of France were completely known to the Qing Dynasty government. Today's France is no longer the military power under the leadership of Emperor Napoleon, and France's military performance can only be described as miserable, just look at the Algerian War. Guizot, who is the de facto controller of the cabinet, also declared in a public speech: "We don't want to talk about conquest, war, and revenge. Let France prosper, let it be free, rich, intelligent, and carefree—we will not regret that it does not have an impact on the great affairs of Shijie. ”

This remark is a little bit of a sour meaning of not eating grapes, but it also truly reflects the current situation in France. The country did not undertake an expedition halfway around the world at all, at most to scare the ignorant and ignorant Orientals...... However, Zhu Jishi and Bai Siwen, who are sitting opposite His Excellency Kizo now, don't look like they are ignorant no matter how they look at it.

Still, he was going to fool them with his three-inch tongue, so he picked up the glass on the table and took a long sip - inside was the cocaine that had just been delivered by Segur Liquor Company, and although it tasted the same as ordinary wine, it was ...... Well, I feel very good after drinking, I am full of energy, quick thinking, and I seem to have endless words! What a good wine!

"But there is no such thing as a free lunch on Shijie, and France cannot help China with reforms in vain. And we French believe that it is more difficult to help a person than to bully a person, so the return required should be more, and as far as the current situation is concerned, the remuneration that France gets from China for helping China should not be lower than the benefits that Britain gets from China for bullying China! ”

After listening to this high theory, Zhu Jishi smiled and turned his head to ask Bai Siwen: "Svensson...... Do you think there is any truth to what this Lord Guizot said? ”

Bai Siwen was stunned for a moment, and said with a wry smile: "Sir, what are you asking...... Today is not a Sino-French peace talks, we are not the ministers of the imperial court, is this reasonable, we don't count! ”

The two of them spoke Chinese, which Kizo didn't understand at all, just as they were discussing their proposal.

Zhu Jishi sneered and said: "Let's take it as a Sino-French negotiation, I dare to guarantee that the conditions we negotiated in Paris will be better than those negotiated by the ministers of the Qing Dynasty!" Svensson, let me tell you what you think. ”

Bai Siwen nodded, and said in silence: "Sir, according to my meaning, this France should still be wooed, this France and England are not right after all......"

"Raze to raze?" Zhu Jishi blurted out these four words, even if he is not very proficient in history, he knows this diplomatic policy of the Qing Dynasty.

"That's right! It's to rule the raze! Bai Siwen nodded heavily, and then Zhu Jishi's stubble went down and said: "We can give France some benefits, as long as France helps, we can find a way to deal with England." ”

Zhu Jishi smiled bitterly, "It's okay to use razing to control razing, but the premise is to be really familiar with the situation of Western countries and really understand diplomacy...... You and I can't do this, I'm engaged in natural science, and you're just half a bottle of water swaying blindly, so it's better to die of this heart. As he spoke, he turned back to Kizo and smiled, and said in English: "Your Excellency, Mr. Bai will truthfully give your opinion back to his superiors, but ...... I would like to remind you that the conflict between China and Britain was born out of a misunderstanding, and now that this misunderstanding has been resolved, China will no longer regard Britain as an enemy, and will not refuse Britain's help in the future. I think you can understand this, right? ”

Gizo's face was slightly pale, and he said word by word: "Sir, I don't think you should bring too much personal emotions to state affairs!" Although you have many friends in England, Britain has just invaded your homeland! ”

Zhu Jishi shook his head and said: "Your Excellency, you should have read the interview about me in the "Rheinische Zeitung", the Qing country is not my motherland, and I am not an official of the Qing country, not now, nor will I ...... All I want to do is to introduce Western science, history, geography, and political thought to the Chinese and help them really open their eyes to shijie. When the time comes, they will naturally know who their true friends are and who is cheating on them. ”

Ji Zuo's face sank like water, and he looked at Zhu Jishi and Bai Siwen coldly.

Zhu Jishi continued: "Today I have come to visit Your Excellency for two things, one is to call on the French government to treat China equally, instead of treating China as a colonial or semi-colonial country, and in fact China is not such a country! France has no liliang to treat China like the UK!

Second, I hope that the French government will help me to start a Western-style secondary school and university in Hong Kong. Prince Albert of England has provided me with a lot of help, including providing the land and some teachers needed to run the school...... I think the French government is also willing to provide some help for modern education in China, right? ”

"Of course," nodded Kizot, a university professor himself, and of course knew that while educating the elite of a backward nation, it was also a great opportunity to cultivate agents. He thought for a moment and said, "But we also have one condition, the school you run must have a Roman Catholic church, and French priests must be allowed to move in." ”

"Okay, but I can't pay for the church, and I can't ask for the priest's salary."

"That's natural." Guizot smiled and nodded, today's negotiations have finally gained a little, at least the Catholic Shili in France will be more satisfied.