Louis XVI and Zhu Jinsong tacitly avoided mentioning which Louisiana it was, even defaulting to the area of Louisiana being only equivalent to that of the Fujian Provincial Administration Commission.
Louis XVI naturally knew the true size of Louisiana, and Zhu Jinsong was equally clear – it was close to the area of two Us-Tsang provinces, roughly a quarter of the entire United States.
If Louisiana were sold at one tael of silver per acre, the Louisiana mentioned by Zhu Jinsong would be about thirty million acres. In reality, what was handed over to the Great Ming was equivalent to two Us-Tsang Louisianas, a total of five hundred million acres, with the price difference being more than seventeen times.
The price for leveling this difference was for Zhu Jinsong, the Emperor of the Great Ming, to properly vent Louis XVI's anger and poke the United States in the lungs, making Thomas Jefferson, the third-generation leader of the United States, recognize his place in the martial world.
These people who play politics have incredibly dark hearts; no one is cleaner than the other.
However, arranging for Thomas Jefferson was not an easy task.
After all, the United States was isolated on the American continent, giving it a unique geographical advantage. Furthermore, Thomas Jefferson, the third-generation leader of the United States, had not experienced the harsh realities of society. He was neither as cunning and experienced as Washington nor as fond of extravagance as the second-generation leader, John Adams.
All these messy factors combined made arranging for Thomas Jefferson significantly more difficult than arranging for Louis XVI and the others.
Therefore, after gathering all information about Thomas Jefferson, Zhu Jinsong directly found the elder statesmen of the cabinet, such as Zeng Cheng, and also summoned Zhu Erdan and Zhu Sanshun.
Once everyone was present, Zhu Jinsong pointed to the map spread on the table and said to Zhu Erdan, "Coincidentally, I was wondering where to assign you. This is perfect timing, like a pillow arriving just when you're sleepy. This area is yours, and the rules will be the same as for Third Brother."
Zhu Erdan looked at the map spread on the table in confusion and asked, "Where is this? Judging by the map, it should be in the United States' territory. But isn't the United States one of our Five Benevolent Ones? Is Your Imperial Brother planning to make a move against the United States?"
Upon hearing Zhu Erdan's words, Zeng Cheng and other civil officials like Liu Huaiwen immediately frowned. Liu Huaiwen even muttered, "We are short of money everywhere right now. If we start a conflict with the United States again, the national treasury will truly be empty."
Zeng Cheng also tentatively said, "Your Majesty, if we start a conflict with the United States now, how should we arrange for the little broken pot over there? After all, without the United States, the Five Benevolent Ones would become Four Benevolent Ones..."
Seeing Liu Huaiwen and Zeng Cheng getting carried away, Zhu Jinsong couldn't help but clear his throat and interrupt Zeng Cheng and the others, "When did I say I was going to make a move against the United States?"
Zhu Erdan was stunned and asked, "If we don't make a move against the United States, would they be willing to give us this land?"
Zhu Jinsong first shook his head, then nodded, saying, "The United States certainly won't give us all the land. In fact, the United States is currently eyeing this piece of land, wanting to swallow it."
With Zhu Jinsong's words, Zhu Erdan and Zeng Cheng and the other elder statesmen became even more bewildered.
The land belonged to the United States, but the United States was eyeing this land and wanted to swallow it?
After careful consideration, Zeng Cheng tentatively asked, "May I ask Your Majesty, does this land not belong to the United States?"
Zhu Jinsong nodded and said, "That's right. This land does not belong to the United States, but to France. Now Louis XVI has sold this land to me for one tael of silver per acre. This land has naturally become the territory of our Great Ming. Should I bestow this land upon our Prince of Qin, it should be fine, right?"
As he spoke, Zhu Jinsong couldn't help but sigh, "I originally wanted to buy it from Louis XVI at one tael of silver per mu, but he refused to accept anything but one tael of silver per acre. It's a loss, a real loss."
Zeng Cheng frowned, "According to Your Majesty, the United States is currently eyeing this land, and Louis XVI has given it to our Great Ming at a half-price sale. Doesn't this mean our Great Ming will confront the United States?"
Zhu Jinsong shook his head slightly, "It's not just the United States, but also Spain."
This time, Zeng Cheng's frown deepened.
Although confronting the United States and Spain was not a big deal, the Great Ming was currently at war with the Ottoman Empire. Although the low-ranking dwarves from Japan were recruiting laborers in India, the Great Ming still had to send troops to garrison the Provincial Administration Commission of India.
In addition, troops also needed to be stationed in the Great Ming's mainland and the territories of Myanmar, Jiaozhi, Jiugang, Ryukyu, and Lanfang, which had been recovered in recent years. The Great Ming's military strength was actually a bit strained.
If they were to confront the United States and Spain now, it would basically mean that the Great Ming would have to expand its military first to deal with the possible wars that would follow. Military expansion and war also meant that the Great Ming's original plans might have to be changed, and its development speed would be delayed as a result.
Thinking of these troublesome issues, Zeng Cheng couldn't help but advise, "Your Majesty, we have bought this land, but our Great Ming's population is still too small. Should we postpone the enfeoffment of the Prince of Qin and the relocation of people there?"
However, to Zeng Cheng's surprise, Zhu Jinsong shook his head and said, "This matter cannot be delayed. After Third Brother arrives in New Qinzhou, Second Brother must prepare to go to Louisiana."
Speaking of this, Zhu Jinsong looked at Zhu Erdan again, "By the way, Third Brother renamed Alaska to New Qinzhou. Do you want to rename Louisiana too?"
Zhu Erdan glanced at Zhu Sanshun and said, "Why don't we rename Louisiana to New Jinzhou?"
Zhu Sanshun was about to applaud, but suddenly saw his second brother looking at him unpleasantly. He immediately snorted, "Why are you looking at me? If you have the ability, you can even call it Old Qinzhou."
Zhu Erdan couldn't help but glare at Zhu Sanshun and reprimand, "You're not a child of a few years old, why are you still so immature!"
Seeing that Zhu Erdan and Zhu Sanshun were about to argue, Zeng Cheng quickly said to Zhu Jinsong, "Your Majesty, let's talk about renaming Louisiana later—is our Great Ming really going to make a move against the United States and Spain?"
Zhu Jinsong shook his head, "It's not like that."
"Although Louis XVI has given Louisiana to our Great Ming at a half-price sale, it doesn't mean that our Great Ming will confront the United States and Spain. From the legal perspective of European countries, Louisiana still belongs to France. Therefore, this is only a matter between us and France, and has nothing to do with the United States or Spain."
"Of course, part of French Louisiana was secretly sold to Spain by France during the Seven Years' War. Therefore, if we want to obtain the complete Louisiana, we will indeed have to confront Spain."
After Zhu Xisong roughly explained the Seven Years' War and the entanglements between France, England, Spain, and the United States, Zeng Cheng and the other elder statesmen couldn't help but feel a bit vexed.
The so-called Seven Years' War in Europe was, in essence, a free-for-all among several European countries. One side was Great Britain, Prussia, and Portugal, while the other side was France, Russia, Austria, Spain, and Sweden. The war lasted for seven years, and Britain defeated France. France then ceded French Louisiana to Britain.
However, the French were rather unscrupulous, as they had already given Louisiana to Spain the year before the war ended. Transferring the territory of Louisiana, which had already been given to Spain, to the British was equivalent to marrying one woman to two husbands and selling one item twice.
As the saying goes, "A woman does not marry two husbands, and a servant does not serve two masters." In the peace treaty at the end of the war, Louisiana was divided into two at the Mississippi River, with the east going to Britain and the west going to Spain, each getting half.
Subsequently, when France supported the United States in breaking free from English colonial rule, in addition to the thirteen colonies originally belonging to England, France also helped the United States obtain all the territories east of the Mississippi River, north of Florida, and south of Canada.
In other words, the half of Louisiana that was originally sold to England by France became American. The land area of the United States directly increased from 800,000 square kilometers to 2.3 million square kilometers.
And two years ago, Spain, by a strange twist of fate, joined forces with the Habsburg family and intended to completely defeat France.
Louis XVI thought, since you, the Spaniard, started it, don't blame me, Louis, for finishing it. With a command from Louis XVI, the French army immediately beat up the Spanish and forced them to sign the Treaty of San Ildefonso III.
An important clause in the "Third Treaty" was that Spain returned Louisiana to France. Louisiana had previously been divided and ceded to Britain and Spain, one half each. Now, Britain's half had gone to the United States, and Spain's half had returned to France.
This was also the reason why Thomas Jefferson and other leaders of the United States sought to buy Louisiana from Louis XVI instead of Spain.
Of course, the reason why the United States was determined to get Louisiana into its own hands was not only because Louisiana was located in a crucial position between the north and south of the United States, but more importantly, it was because the French were recruiting laborers in large numbers in Orléans. For the sake of profit, those French frogs even set their sights on the Kunlun slaves from the southern plantations.
The United States thought, this is simply unacceptable. France needs laborers to earn money, but our United States also needs Kunlun slaves to grow cotton. If you recruit all the laborers, will the gentlemen have to pick the cotton themselves?
Therefore, the third-generation leader of the United States, Jefferson, was so anxious that he couldn't sleep at night, and finally came up with the idea of buying land from France.
After clarifying the intricate details, Zeng Cheng's tightly knitted brows slowly relaxed.
Upon deeper analysis, it was not difficult to see that the fundamental demand of the United States was not necessarily to obtain the territory of French Louisiana, but rather not to have France as a neighbor, and at the same time, to secure guarantees for waterways and trade.
The fundamental demand of the Great Ming was not to engage in conflict with the United States and Spain, nor to completely destroy them, but to transform French Louisiana into a feudal territory of the Prince of Qin, whose future name was yet to be determined.
This made things much easier.
After careful consideration, Zeng Cheng said to Zhu Jinsong, "Reporting to Your Majesty, I believe that the interests of our Great Ming and the United States are not in conflict. On the contrary, there are many areas where we can cooperate. If French Louisiana becomes the fief of the Prince of Qin, the United States can directly do business with our Great Ming through the fief, which would be a good thing for the United States."
Zhu Jinsong first nodded, then shook his head, "From a commercial perspective, that is indeed the case. However, from the perspective of national security, this statement is actually untenable."
Zhu Erdan nodded in agreement, "Imperial Brother is right. As the saying goes, how can you sleep soundly with someone snoring beside your bed? If I were to go to my fief, I would definitely try to weaken the United States in the future and would never sit idly by with a powerful neighbor next to me."
Zhu Jinsong nodded approvingly, "Precisely. I believe that the United States' leader, Thomas Jefferson, also understands this."
Zeng Cheng, however, said, "I believe that what Your Majesty and the Prince of Qin have said is reasonable, but it does not apply to the current United States. After all, the United States has only been free from British colonial rule for a few years, and its strength is still relatively weak. Stability and development are the most important things for the United States at present. As for other matters, they are not so important."
"Furthermore, since Your Majesty has reached an agreement with Louis XVI of France, the original French Louisiana legally belongs to our Great Ming. Even if the United States is unwilling, they actually have no other options unless they are willing to go to war with our Great Ming."
"I think the United States doesn't have the guts for that!"
However, after Zeng Cheng finished stating his opinion, Zhu Jinsong couldn't help but frown again.
Frankly speaking, Zhu Jinsong also agreed with Zeng Cheng's statement, but if things really developed as Zeng Cheng said, how would he then poke the United States in the lungs?
After thinking for a moment, Zhu Jinsong simply said, "The matter of Louisiana is easy to handle. The current issue is how to poke the United States in the lungs, especially the United States' leader, Jefferson."