(There will be another chapter later!)
On May 13th, the Iberian Ministry of Foreign Affairs held a welcome banquet for Lord James's road. As the prime minister of the government, Forbeck also attended and gave a speech to welcome the arrival of Lord James. Although the relationship between France and Britain is currently very stiff, But these necessary etiquettes are also essential. It's just that Xiao Jie is still on his way to Valencia at this time. At the banquet, James also conveyed the King of England's best wishes to Xiao Jie, and hoped that the relationship between the two countries would develop on a good side.
Political things are so hypocritical. There is no relationship between France and Britain at all, and there are only endless wars and confrontations. Will the King of England have good wishes for Xiao Jie? I'm afraid I really hope that Xiao Jie will go to see God right away. After all, what Xiao Jie did put a lot of pressure on them. One Napoleon was enough for them. If there was another one, they would not know how to deal with it. All signs indicated that Xiao Jie's achievements would not be inferior to his "uncle". In order to eliminate this threat, the British even organized several assassinations, but the guards around Xiao Jie were too strict, and they failed to succeed.
On May 15th, the negotiations between the two sides officially started. Originally, according to the ideas of Gregor and Ottove, they planned to show James a good tour of Madrid. Anyway, they were not in a hurry. But James is in a hurry. Every day he stays in Madrid, the pressure on the Portland government will increase. Therefore, under his strong request, the negotiations still started.
The location of the negotiation was chosen in a small conference room where the Iberian government is located, so that it would be economical or not waste time. The British representatives were James and one of his deputies, while the Iberian representatives were Grigio and Ottove. When Autov was introduced as Villa's finance minister, James was a little puzzled. He didn't understand why he was a finance minister to participate in this kind of diplomatic negotiation, but he understood later.
"Thank you for taking care of us these days. If you are lucky enough to go to England in the future, I will treat you well. Well, if you have nothing else to do, let's start." At the beginning , James said.
Gregor and Ottove looked at each other and smiled, nodded, indicating that it was time to start. Both of them noticed James' anxiety, and they also thought of ways to get more benefits from James.
After being affirmed, James said: "Okay then. I believe that the two of you are very clear about my intentions. It has been half a year since the end of the Peninsula War. For the time being, we don't care who is right or who is wrong. I hope your government can release our country. The 20,132 captured soldiers returned to the UK, and their families and relatives are eagerly looking forward to their return, I hope you two can understand."
"We deeply understand this, but should the government of your country take corresponding responsibilities for this war?" Gregor said, the meaning is obvious, that is, people can, but do not pay to satisfy us The price is impossible.
"Your Excellency, you must know that we also suffered heavy losses in the war, and we are also victims." James quibbled.
Gregor sneered: "Really? But no one invited your country to join this war, and your country's losses have nothing to do with our country."
"We don't want to be involved in a war, really, please believe me, no one likes war. But we have an alliance with Portugal, so we have to intervene in the war." James said "innocently".
"Then you can't blame us. Maybe your lord can go and ask for losses from the Portuguese puppet royal family in exile in Brazil." Gregor said coldly. Since Portugal was occupied by the 88th Legion and incorporated into Iberia, it was announced that the Portuguese royal family no longer enjoys the right to rule Portugal. Of course, if they can defeat Xiao Jie, that is another matter.
"But our people were captured by your army. We can only go to your government." James is not in a good mood now. When did the great British Empire need to be so humble? In negotiations with other countries , they have always been in a strong position.
James glanced at Ottove, and finally said: "So what does your country want to promise our country?"
"It's very simple. According to international practice, your government will use a batch of ransom money to redeem these prisoners of war." Gregor continued.
James already knew about this request, and the previous ones were just pretending. "So how much ransom does our country need to pay your country?" James asked. money? Not a problem, Britain is very rich, at least much richer than countries on the European continent.
"I will answer this question, Your Excellency." Ottof took over the conversation. "After a detailed assessment, our country believes that a captured soldier in your country needs 2,000 francs. We have captured a total of 20,132 soldiers from your country, which is 40.264 million francs. In addition, the distance between the end of the war It has been half a year. During this period, we are responsible for their food supply. Calculated at 10 francs a day, the total is 36.2376 million francs, and the total is 76.51 million. One thousand six hundred francs, minus the odds, your country needs to pay our country 76.5 million francs." Autov reported the accounts with a serious face.
James thought it was nothing at first, but the more he heard it, the more ugly his face became. Now he finally knows why the other party sent a finance minister to participate in this negotiation. "76.5 million francs! Blackmail! You are naked blackmail." James shouted angrily.
"My lord, please pay attention to your words. It is completely legitimate to ask your country to use money to redeem soldiers captured by our army. Of course, if your country thinks the price is too expensive, you can not redeem it. Of course, that If so, the 20,000 soldiers captured in your country can redeem themselves by working, but after the food expenses, there should not be much left, but it should be completed within ten to twenty years at most." Gregory Said with a cold face.
"Your Excellency, do you think our British Empire is a fool? 76.5 million francs. You must know that in the just-concluded Fifth Anti-French Coalition War, the Austrian army also captured 120,000 people. You must know that your government also I only asked Austria to pay 50 million francs. Every day 10 francs for food, don’t you give them French meals every day?” James was very angry, this was already an obvious extortion.
"Your Excellency, you must know that life in Iberia is very difficult now, and the price level is frighteningly high, so it is understandable that the food cost is a little higher. In addition, His Royal Highness has always believed that the British are very noble, so Their ransom is naturally much higher than that of the Austrians. Does your lord think that the British are the same as the Austrians? Or are they not as good as the Austrians?" Otov said with a smile.
"We Brits are of course more noble than the Austrians." James said proudly. Hearing that the British were noble, James was still very happy, but when he thought of the high ransom, his face suddenly changed.
"You two, aren't you afraid of destroying the relationship between the two countries? Don't you want to cause a war between the two countries?" James had no choice but to use the threat of force. You must know that Britain's military strength is very strong. countries, as long as they threaten with force, the other party will quickly succumb. But this time he obviously made a mistake. Will Iberia be afraid of the British threat of force? That's obviously no.
"I really can't think of any relationship between our two countries other than the war relationship? In addition, if there is a war, Your Excellency can go back to China. We are waiting for the arrival of your army at any time." Gregory said without embarrassment . Britain only has a stronger navy. As for the army? That is certainly not the opponent of the 88th Army.
"You." James just wanted to get angry, but when he thought of the current situation in the UK, he held back.
"I think everyone is quite excited today, why not stop here today and let's continue tomorrow." Gregor said, and then went out with Ottove. Leaving James alone, sulking~www.mtlnovel.com~ In the second day of negotiations, James took the initiative to lower his posture. He knew that it would not be good for him if he continued, but he repeatedly stated that Iberia would open The price offered was too high, too high for them to accept. For James' performance, Gregory and Ottove are very useful. As the saying goes: ask for prices all over the sky, and pay back the money when you land. Business is negotiated. In the following time, the two sides started a fierce bargaining on the specific amount of the ransom, which was almost as intense as when buying vegetables in the vegetable market in later generations. Finally, after two days of negotiations, an amount satisfactory to both parties was finally reached, that is, the total amount of ransom was 50 million francs, which was the same as the redemption of the 120,000 captives by Austria, but it was obvious that the British side suffered a big loss, but The current situation does not allow them to procrastinate. In the end, representatives of the two parties signed the peace treaty, James brought back the 20,000 captives, and the Iberian treasury had 50 million more enamel.
But the UK is not easy to bully. After all their captives return to the UK, their revenge will begin, but it will not be until 5 months later.
(It’s Chinese New Year, and Xiaoyu is going home. There is no computer at home, so Xiaoyu can’t update. I can only try to find time to see if I can update. I’m sorry, but after the Chinese New Year, Xiaoyu will resume updating as soon as possible. In addition, I wish you all Happy Chinese New Year!) (To be continued, if you want to know what will happen next, please log in to .FU., more chapters, support the author, support genuine reading!)