Land Purchase
The day after receiving the order from Madrid, Ambassador Juan visited the French Foreign Ministry again to meet with Foreign Minister Talleyrand.
By this time, Talleyrand was fully aware of Juan's intentions. The Ministry of Truth had already handed over the compiled intelligence to Talleyrand the day before. After reviewing the reliable documents, which were supposedly obtained by an inside agent in Spain, Talleyrand gave Lucien a thumbs-up in his heart, and then immediately went to see Napoleon, discussed the situation with him, and made preparations for the response.
In the Foreign Minister's luxurious reception room, Ambassador Juan met with Foreign Minister Talleyrand again.
"Your Excellency Foreign Minister, I have been instructed to make a suggestion to your country," Ambassador Juan said.
"My friend, I am all ears," Talleyrand said, spreading his hands.
"We hope to purchase a batch of weapons from your country," Juan said.
"That's not a problem," Talleyrand said with a smile. "We are allies, and our arsenals are perfectly open to our allies."
"But Your Excellency Foreign Minister, as you know, it's difficult for us to come up with that much money all at once," Ambassador Juan said.
"That's not a problem, we can lend you money," Foreign Minister Talleyrand said with a smile. "We are always willing to offer assistance to our allies to the best of our ability. I know quite a few bankers, and I think that with Spain's status and reputation, we can obtain loans with relatively favorable terms from them."
In fact, Spain's economic situation wasn't much better than that of pre-revolutionary France. After all, both were under the Bourbon Dynasty. Before the France Revolution, King Louis XVI also tried borrowing from bankers to maintain his finances. However, His Majesty went a bit too far and ended up not being able to repay the loans, so he had to borrow new money to pay off old debts. Well, in later times, this might not be a bad idea, as the Lighthouse Country has been doing it for a long time.
However, there is one major difference between this era and later ones: loan interest rates were generally higher. When the Lighthouse Country later adopted this strategy, the annual interest rate for borrowing was typically only two or three percent. Even considering the influence of the most powerful force in the universe, this system could still be sustained for a long time.
However, in this era, bankers are essentially equivalent to loan sharks. Borrowing interest rates aren't just two or three percent; if things go wrong, twenty-three percent is considered ethical. With such interest rates, and considering the most powerful force in the universe, this scheme simply can't last. The inevitable result is debt default. Debt default naturally leads to extreme difficulty in borrowing in the future, with much stricter conditions.
While Spain hasn't reached the level of Louis XVI, its creditworthiness in the debt market is still quite poor. This means that for the same amount of borrowing, Spain would have to offer higher interest rates to attract lenders. Therefore, the so-called "relatively favorable loans" are pure deception.
As for the France government's assistance, well, the Napoleonic Code clearly stipulates that France practices free market and free trade rules. The France government has no right to interfere in these matters.
Of course, this is only in theory. In reality, the ever-expanding French Bank Alliance is gradually taking on the characteristics of a central bank, and considering the Bonaparte Family's position in this union, they can certainly make this union cooperate with France policies. Of course, there is also a view that it is not the French Bank Alliance that cooperates with the France government, but rather the France government that has been cooperating with the French Bank Alliance.
In short, take Talleyrand's words with a grain of salt. As for borrowing money, whether from the France or the Britain, the interest rates will almost always be high.
"His Majesty does not intend to incur too much debt, as it would be a heavy burden on the people," Juan said. "Our King is a benevolent ruler who does not wish to add to the people's burden."
"It's not that I'm unwilling to increase the burden on the people, but I'm worried that the Spain people might follow the France and launch a revolution," Talleyrand thought to himself, but said aloud, "His Majesty's love for his people is truly admirable. I believe that your people, under the wise leadership of your King, will surely overcome these minor difficulties."
That sounds nice, but what it really means is. "I can't help you anymore. You're on your own. Whether you live or die is up to you."
"Your Excellency Foreign Minister, we have a suggestion," Ambassador Juan said.
"I'm all ears. We've always been ready to help our allies if given the opportunity," Talleyrand said.
"You guys are always so eager to screw over your allies," Ambassador Juan thought to himself, but his smile grew even more genuine.
"We intend to sell some of our territories in North America to obtain the necessary funds," Ambassador Juan said.
"Ah." Talleyrand looked surprised and asked, "What land does your country intend to sell?"
"We are planning to sell Florida. I wonder if your country is interested?" Juan replied.
Florida was still Spain territory at the time, but the United States had already made significant inroads there. If the United States bought this land, United States would gain a very good foothold in the Caribbean. This was not good news for the France, who were planning to develop the Louisiana and were clearly eager to advance northward. Therefore, when Talleyrand and Napoleon discussed the matter yesterday, they both concluded that it was best not to let this location fall into United States hands.
However, both Talleyrand and Napoleon believed that the sale of Florida was primarily intended to force the France to pay more. They reasoned that losing Florida would allow the United States to directly encroach on the Caribbean, posing an even greater threat to Spain interests.
Furthermore, the Spain declaration to sell Florida also suggests an attempt to further escalate tensions between France and the United States. Although Florida is Spain territory, the Spain have only held it for about twenty years; before that, it was Britain territory. Therefore, the predominantly white population there is Saxon-Anglo-American. After the Britain withdrawal from the region, these people immediately allied with the United States, another Saxon-Anglo- United States nation to the north. While the land is legally Spain now, the Spain have virtually no control over it. Unless other disruptive elements emerge, it's almost inevitable that this land will fall into United States hands sooner or later.
If this territory falls into France hands, given France's current strength, it will be much more difficult for the United States to infiltrate. This would actually make other parts of Spain, especially Cuba, much safer.
"Florida? That's a very lucrative place; your government could have made a lot of money from it. Isn't it a shame to sell it like this?" Talleyrand said. "Besides, given the demographics of the population, frankly, we're not that interested in it."
The United States Navy was not yet capable of severing France's ties with Louisiana. Therefore, when Joseph discussed with Napoleon the Spain intention to sell Florida, he stated that even if Florida fell into United States hands, the immediate threat would be relatively limited. Taking over the territory, on the contrary, would bring a host of troubles. Thus, Talleyrand's statement at this time was not a bluff to lower the price.
"If your country is not interested, then we will have no choice but to sell this land to the United States," Ambassador Juan said.
"This is your country's internal affair, and we have no intention of interfering," Talleyrand said. "However, considering that our country and your country are allies, we are still willing to help your country in this matter. I think that in any transaction, if there is only one buyer, it is difficult for the seller to get a good price. We can cooperate with your country and make it appear that we are also actively involved in buying Florida, helping your country to raise the price. Of course, doing so will offend the United States, and for this, we will need some compensation."
This request surprised Ambassador Juan, but he still asked, "What kind of compensation do you need?"
"We also hope to purchase some land in North America from your country," Talleyrand said. "We hope to acquire several ports in the Pacific Ocean to expand our trade routes. As you know, since our setback in India, our trade with the Far East has been forced to stop, and we hope to revive it from this direction. Therefore, we hope to purchase the Panama region from your country. In addition, to facilitate whaling operations in the Pacific Ocean, we hope to purchase San Francisco and San Jose from you."
Panama's strategic importance is self-evident—even without the canal. As for San Francisco, it has a name familiar to many China: "San Francisco." This name comes from a large, shallow gold mine nearby, which even sparked the famous Gold Rush. Joseph had seen similar themes in many Westerns he'd watched in his past life. Joseph felt that if he could take advantage of the Mexico Revolution to bring these places under his control, it would be a profitable move no matter what.
Convincing Napoleon and Lucien to support him was not difficult for him. Prior to this, he had, in the name of the French Academy of Sciences, organized several expeditions to North America to investigate the geology and flora and fauna there. He then told Napoleon, "Our men have discovered gold veins in the area near San Francisco."
This is not a lie, because when Joseph sent out these expeditions, he specifically targeted these locations.
"Expedition leader Mr. Jones discovered gold dust in the rivers near San Francisco. But he's very cautious and hasn't revealed this secret yet. So, it hasn't been made public for the time being. These places are still wild and undeveloped, and if we take over these territories now, it won't cost us much money; we'll definitely make a profit," Joseph told his two younger brothers.