The first colony in the Pacific
After the Maori chieftain repeatedly confirmed the details of the transaction with Marion du Fresne and consulted with High Priest Mataro, confirming there were no traps, he finally solemnly agreed to France's proposal to purchase the land.
Moreover, the chief of Tuai seemed to feel that the France were too sincere, to the point that he felt somewhat indebted, so he agreed to sell Marion du Fresne 1,000 acres of land with full France ownership, as long as it was not too close to the Tainui tribe, and he could choose the location himself.
Marion du Fresne was overjoyed and immediately claimed the land where he had landed. It could be developed into a port, and further inland, a town could be built, making it convenient to ship Wool from the New Zealand hinterland to France.
The two sides reached an agreement and immediately became much closer. Tuai then instructed his people to prepare a ceremony to welcome the France guests. Meanwhile, the priests brought by Marion du Fresne were already chatting with the Maori High Priest.
"Yes, there is a greatest god in the world, who rules over everything," Mataro said devoutly, raising his hands high. "Io Matua Kore, we worship him, we revere him, we offer him everything!"
A priest in the Reims District immediately smiled and nodded, "Father Mataro, God's name is indeed Jehovah, and He truly rules over everything."
This rather cunning priest saw in the Crown Prince's "New Zealand Guide" that the Maori people loved facial tattoos, so he drew some lines on his face with a pen. Although the meaning of "facial tattoos" was unclear to the Maori people, it was indeed much more pleasing to the eye than those with fair skin.
Mataro looked at him and said, "How could that be? That's what our ancestors told us. They wouldn't be wrong."
Father Dietri, mindful of the instructions in the "guide," never contradicted the Maori beliefs, and instead said, "You see, different languages use different names."
He picked up Sweet Potato from the table. "Like this, you call it..."
The translator immediately uttered the Maori word for "Sweet Potato".
"But we call it Sweet Potato," Dietri continued. "And our names for God, though perhaps pronounced differently, definitely refer to that God."
He looked at the High Priest with some nervousness, until the latter nodded thoughtfully, and he immediately felt relieved— His Crown Prince was right after all; these Maori people seemed very likely to convert to Catholicism. The Church's huge investment should not be a loss!
Joseph had seen this in a documentary before. The Maori people believe in a supreme god, and their religious theories are very primitive, so they are easily swayed by Christianity, which has been developing for nearly two thousand years. Historically, United Kingdom colonists also quickly persuaded the Maori to become Protestantism.
Now, the Maori are bound to be subjugated by Catholicism. In the future, if the United Kingdom want to win over the Maori, they will face another religious obstacle—although Protestantism and Catholicism are both branches of Christianity, the enmity between them is much deeper than that between pagans.
Sure enough, by noon the next day, Mataro had already been persuaded by several seasoned members of the Church to make the sign of the cross. Yet he remained steadfast in his belief that he had never changed his religious faith, but had simply gained a greater understanding of God and His deeds.
Before sunset, the signing ceremony for the "map sale agreement" between Marion du Fresne and the leader of Tuai officially began.
The Maori people did not have a written language or Paper. When they "signed contracts," they usually held a ritual similar to a sacrifice and drew some marks on animal skins. Their reverence for their ancestors and their piety towards the gods meant that they would never break the terms of a contract. In other words, if a Maori broke a contract, he would be ostracized by all the Maori people.
Since the event involved tens of thousands of acres of land belonging to the Tainui tribe, the ceremony was very grand, and almost all the tribespeople who could come came to watch.
Marion du Fresne also followed the traditions of the indigenous people, working until after 9 p. m., and finally finalized the purchase agreement for 50,000 acres of pasture and 1,000 acres of "self-use land".
Kawhia Port readily handed over dozens of Matchlock Gun to the Maori as a deposit.
Tuai immediately lit up with a smile, and his goodwill towards these France friends increased even more.
A few days later, the France royal flag was raised at the spot where Marion du Fresne had landed, and the port that would later be known as Kawhia Port was renamed "New Marseille Port".
Marion du Fresne led his exploration team on a non-stop journey to the central New Zealand North Island, where, through the introduction of the Tuai people, they met the chief of the Ngati Rangi tribe.
A few days later, as Marion du Fresne was escorted out by the Ngati Rangi tribe, he couldn't help but feel grateful that he had accepted this colonization mission. He had really struck gold—the mission was almost effortless, and at the current pace, he could settle all the major tribes of New Zealand North Island in two months at most, after which he could sit back and collect his rewards.
Meanwhile, construction work on a makeshift town has also begun near the "New Marseille Port".
The employees and priests of the Double Company are directing thousands of Maori natives to level the ground after it has been burned. Not far away, a large amount of neatly felled timber is piled up, ready to be turned into houses at any time.
These Maori people weren't hired by the Double Company; rather, the tribal leaders were so fond of these France friends that they sent their people to help.
When Marion du Fresne returned to the New Marseille Port a little over a month later with contracts for nearly 300,000 acres of land, the bronze bell atop the newly built Small Church could already be seen in the distance.
Three flat rammed earth roads connect the dock, and more than a dozen houses have been built on both sides of the roads. There are also a large number of indigenous people and company employees building new houses.
A satisfied smile spread across his face as he began to imagine the bustling scene that would unfold here a few months from now, once the company had sent thousands of laborers.
Of course, there are also sheep; the company's ships will bring in large numbers of sheep. They will be the new masters of this island.
Southeastern France.
Toulon.
As soon as Joseph disembarked from the ship, an officer handed him documents sent by the General Staff Headquarters.
After dismissing the officials who were waiting at the port, Joseph got into his Carriage and began to open the documents.
The first item on the agenda was that, after assessment, the General Staff Headquarters decided to transfer 10,000 troops from Montpellier, Provence, and other places to Tunisia to assist the Moulins Legion in stabilizing the situation there.
Of these 10,000 troops, nearly half came from the newly reorganized Montcalm Legion —now renamed the Montpellier Legion —while the rest were troops stationed in Provence.
This was the first batch of troops transferred from two provinces near Toulon, adhering to the principle of proximity. The General Staff Headquarters planned to send another 10,000 troops to Tunisia.