Chapter 471 Win-Win
"Marshal Lanz, Paris' intention is very clear, what should we do now?" Monty asked. The telegram sent from Paris had clearly expressed Xiao Jie's request. Moreover, Lance is required to have full authority to deal with matters in Northern Europe. And Monty is fully assisting.
"What else can we do? Send someone to call Rich. We must make him agree to our conditions." Lan Shi said viciously. He has decided that if Rich refuses, he must let him know how powerful the French military is.
"Okay, I'll send someone to find him now," Monty said. He still respects Lanshi and his group of old marshals very much. After all, they are generals who have established outstanding achievements in the Napoleon period. Therefore, he did not have the slightest resistance to Paris' order to assist Lanzhe with all his strength.
After a while, Rich was ushered in by the guards. Lance and Monty quickly stood up from their seats. Among them, Monty said enthusiastically: "Come, come, come. Mr. Rich, let me save you a little. This is the famous Marshal Lanz, the commander of the French 3rd Army, and one of the famous generals in our country."
"Nice to meet you." Rich said humbly. After all, his status is completely different from Lanshi's. One is a marshal with noble status, and the other is just a humble servant. If Rich hadn't held the information that France needed, he wouldn't even have the chance to meet people like Lance.
"Nice to meet you, too." Lan Shi said with a smile on his face.
"Marshal Monty, you called me here today, presumably what we talked about before has come to fruition." Rich said with a smile.
"Yes. Paris has given us clear instructions. And, Marshal Lanz will negotiate with you." Monty also said with a smile on his face.
"Oh? Then I would like to ask Marshal Lanshi, what is the answer that the emperor of your country must answer?" Rich said.
"In principle, our country has already agreed to the request of Your Excellency Aubrey. However, since you were too vague when you first raised the conditions, we need to have a good discussion to determine our respective interests." Lan Shi said.
Richie was overjoyed when he heard what Lance said. However, nothing was revealed. "Then I don't know how we should talk?" Rich asked.
"First of all, about Aubrey's proposal not to hold him accountable for his mistakes in this war. After consideration by our Majesty, His Majesty finally decided to pardon His Excellency Aubrey. What do you think?" Lanshi said.
Rich pondered for a moment, he knew that France had made concessions. However, he still wanted to fight for more, so he said: "Your Excellency Lanshi, I don't think the pardon is necessary. After all, my master didn't make any mistakes. If that's the case, my master's reputation will be greatly damaged .”
"Hmph! I didn't make any mistakes. Are you treating us as idiots? If Aubrey hadn't provoked us, it would have been hard to say whether Gustav IV would have made up his mind to go to war with us." Lance snorted coldly. Said. He has never had a good impression of such people who sow discord.
After listening to Lan Shi's words, Rich's face flushed red. He didn't expect Lanshi to disrespect him so much.
"Two, calm down, everyone, don't be too impulsive." Monty said with a smile. Now, his duty is to act as peacemaker. And secretly strive for the greatest interests for France.
"As for Lord Aubrey's request that our army protect the interests of the Aubrey family from infringement, there is no problem. I have already ordered the troops, and no one will violate the interests of the Aubrey family. However, there is a premise , that is, the Aubrey family cannot do things that harm the interests of our country. Otherwise, our country would no longer have to abide by any agreement." Lanshi said.
"This is what it should be. I can give you a clear answer, the Aubrey family will never do anything that harms the interests of France." Rich said.
"The last one, Your Excellency Aubrey wants to be the spokesperson of our country in Northern Europe. Your Majesty has already agreed to this one. Our country must canonize Your Excellency Aubrey as the Governor of Northern Europe. It should only be responsible to His Majesty the Emperor, which should be good Right." Lance said with a smile. In fact, my heart is full of disdain and contempt for this position.
Rich didn't seem too happy about it. Because, Aubrey's instruction to him was to try his best to win the French side's consent to become the new king of Sweden. If this is not possible, then do other considerations. However, obviously this is already the bottom line of France, and the French will not make any more concessions. Therefore, Rich had to find a way to get as much benefit as possible in other aspects.
"I don't know what specific powers the Nordic governor has?" Rich asked.
"Power? I don't know if the nominal chief executive of the Nordic region counts?" Lan Shi said. In his heart, he couldn't stop laughing. The position of Governor of Northern Europe has no power at all.
Rich's face fell instantly. He has already heard that the Governor of Northern Europe is just a false title, without any practical significance. Power will ultimately rest entirely in the hands of the French, and Aubrey will exist as a puppet.
This is definitely not something Aubrey can agree to. Therefore, Rich must fight for it. "Marshal Lanz, are you kidding me? A governor title without any real power will be exchanged for a huge fortune. Do you think this is possible?" Rich said.
"Why don't you have any actual power? At that time, officials in the entire Nordic region will need to take an oath to him before they can take office." Lan Shi quibbled.
Negotiations between the two sides have reached an impasse. After Monty dealt with each other, the two sides started talking again. And, they started wrangling for a little profit. Monty really admired Lance. He was so old, and he was able to argue so fiercely with Rich.
"Mr. Rich, you have to know that this is already the biggest concession of our country. Originally, according to His Majesty's intention, all those who caused this war should be executed as war criminals. They will all be sent to the gallows Yes. The family property will also be confiscated. Now we not only did not confiscate Lord Aubrey’s family property, nor sent him to the gallows, but instead appointed him Governor of Northern Europe, which is already a great gift to him.” Lance said.
"But my master has news that you urgently need. Everyone knows how valuable those treasures are. With them, France can not only recover the losses in this war, but also increase the French treasury a lot. Especially now is the critical period for your country and the United States to rectify the entire Atlantic Ocean, with this wealth added, I believe your country will be much more relaxed in future wars." Rich said. He already knew very well the importance of those treasures to France. So I have been insisting on not giving in.
After a fierce quarrel, the two finally reached an agreement. That is, in the future Nordic government, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Finance must be French. Aubrey will not have the power to depose them. At the same time, 20% of the annual fiscal revenue of Northern Europe will be handed over to France. In addition, France will station four divisions of the army in northern Europe, one deployed in Kapelsijr, north of Stockholm. One was deployed in Gothenburg, one in Oslo, and finally spread out in northern Sweden. At the same time, Northern Europe will form an army of 200,000 troops, trained and led by French officers. When the war broke out, France had the right to ask this army to join the French army's station sequence. Nordic police forces will also be trained by France.
In this case, the whole of Northern Europe is completely in the hands of France. If there is any trouble for Aubrey, the French side can immediately drive him down from the position of Governor of Northern Europe.
Originally ~www.mtlnovel.com~ Rich did not agree to these harsh conditions proposed by France. However, Lance became tougher. If Rich doesn't even accept that. Then the French army will immediately march to northern Sweden, and at the same time, all the property of the Aubrey family will be confiscated. As for those women, the end was even more tragic. Hundreds of thousands of French troops are in northern Europe, but they haven't touched a woman for several months.
For Lanz's rogue behavior, Rich was very angry, but there was nothing he could do. In the end, Lan Shi had to agree to the request.
As for Xiao Jie's request to take all of Sweden's high-quality iron mines into French ownership, Rich also met with serious protests. However, compared with life, the value of iron ore is still much smaller. Therefore, he had to abandon those high-quality iron ore.
In fact, the conditions proposed by France are indeed a bit harsh for Aubrey. However, looking at it from another angle, Aubrey has actually earned a lot. If he had not been able to get news of the whereabouts of the treasure, his end would undoubtedly be very tragic. He was either sent to the gallows by France, or spent the rest of his life hiding in Tibet. But now he can become the Governor of Northern Europe, which is already quite good. And France also got the desired benefits. First of all, that huge wealth will give a boost to France's high-speed rotating chariot. At the same time, the Nordic region is firmly in hand, so why not do it?