Fox of France

"So, I can ask, if we insist on making Santo Domingo independent, how much does the French government need us to pay for the land purchase?" Toussaint Louverture

"150 million francs." Victor replied, "Of course, we can provide you with a special low-interest loan, and you can use the annual trade income to repay the principal and interest."

"This number is too big." Toussaint Louverture said, "It means that you will continue to suck the blood of us blacks for another generation or two!"

"But in this case, you still have a trade line." Victor said, "Santo Domingo was originally a French territory, we can allow French citizens to live here freely, but we cannot allow it to be independent unconditionally without any reaction. Because that will encourage some of our internal enemies. Moreover, if this is still French territory, France will have a lot more trade materials. The sugar and coffee from Santo Domingo can bring nearly ten million francs to the republican government every year. Income. We can’t afford to lose it for nothing.”

"Your income is plundering us blacks." Toussaint Louverture said sharply.

"You can say that in the Kingdom period, but not now." Victor said, "Like other regions in France, paying taxes is the responsibility of citizens. It is impossible to say that while enjoying citizenship rights, you don't have to bear responsibilities. You have read Mendes Dove works, you should understand that rights and obligations are unified.

If you insist on independence without an agreement, then you don't have to think about trade with France. From a legal point of view, your independence means that you have plundered the territory that belongs to France. The first governor did not send troops to suppress you, and massacring those black people who followed your rebellion is already the greatest goodwill he can show under this situation. So, you lose the trade line France.

The Spaniards will definitely take this opportunity to expand the production of sugar and coffee in Cuba - IMHO, this is very easy, these things have no technical threshold at all - and they obviously don't need to trade with you. As for the British, they are as eager as the Spaniards to kick you out of the supply chain. Therefore, you will also lose the trade line with them, in fact, their trade with you is also limited.

Therefore, after leaving the law without an agreement, you and the black people you have wholeheartedly maintained can only try various types of wheat in Santo Domingo. In all of Santo Domingo, I guess, you won't find a few people who know how to grow wheat. And Santo Domingo's climate is simply not suitable for growing these food crops. Then maybe there will be a famine that will follow... Therefore, even from an economic point of view, even paying 150 million francs for the purchase of land will be more cost-effective economically than leaving the law without an agreement. Of course, from an economic point of view, the most cost-effective is to stay in France. "

Governor Toussaint Louverture was silent.

"Actually, for blacks, Santo Domingo is not a suitable place for independence." Victor threw out a new topic, "Because the land here is really not suitable for growing other than sugarcane and coffee. This means that building a country here will be very dependent on trade. And all the trade lines in the world are in the hands of white people, which means that if you build a country here, you will either be extremely poor or have to Attached to some white country. If that is the case, if you must wish to have an independent country belonging to the blacks, why don't you change the place?"

"Change place? What do you mean?" Dusan Louverture was taken aback again. To be honest, this special envoy really brought too many surprises tonight.

"It's also Louisiana, where the land is suitable for growing food. You can also buy a piece of land in Louisiana for your money at the price we mentioned earlier, which is 21 centimes per acre. The land on which to build the country. The price of the land over there is much cheaper. It will be much easier for you to buy it."

"I heard that there are plains over there. And we are not familiar with the place there." Dusan Louverture shook his head and said, apparently he was still worried that once they all went to Louisiana, Leaving a familiar environment, the French will turn their faces and deny people.

"Your Excellency," Victor said, "you can also stay in France for the time being, and on the one hand carry out the plan of staying in France, um, I mean, eliminate those conspirators, and then confiscate their land to ease the situation. The land here is contradictory. On the other hand, during this period of time, you can gradually send people to Louisiana in batches to buy land and settle there. In this way, it will take a few years to gradually Transfer those who are willing to go to Louisiana to establish an independent country. During this process, you will also be familiar with the situation there, and judge our sincerity. Finally, you will be in Louisiana, the fertile land by the Mississippi River In order to build our own country, and those blacks who are willing to stay in Santo Domingo, we also guarantee that their citizenship and legal private property will not be violated.

Mr. Governor, let's just say that if there is a war between France and you, the United States and Britain will be on your side, hoping to use the blood of your people to weaken us, mind you, not only weaken France, but weaken us , Whether it is a strong France or a rich black republic, fundamentally speaking, it is not good for them. This is why we try to avoid such situations as much as possible.

And in Louisiana, if we were to wage war on you, you would be closer to England and America. Don't say that the plains can't fight, do the Irish know that? They are all plains, only tens of nautical miles away from the British mainland. The British can even mobilize more than 100,000 troops to suppress them, but have they been suppressed? How far is Louisiana from mainland France? If you even... Of course, the Irish are all white. "

As soon as this obviously racially discriminatory sentence came out, Dusan Luvi Duton became angry. He stood up and said, "What's wrong with the white people? We fought against the white people before, and we are no worse than the white people!"

"Since that's the case, why is there any hesitation, Your Excellency the Governor?" Victor said with a smile, "This approach is almost the most beneficial for you. When a good deal comes to your door, it's best not to hesitate too much. "

Obviously, Victor brought too many surprises to Dusan Louverture tonight, so that he could not even judge how credible the words of the special envoy sent to him by the First Consul were. And which sentence is credible and which sentence is not. He felt that he needed time to digest the news brought by the special envoy before making a decision.

So he said to Victor: "Mr. Treville, these suggestions you brought are indeed beyond my expectations. I think these suggestions, no matter which one they are, involve very complicated things. I think, I can't reply to you and your esteemed First Consul right away. I think I need some time to think about your suggestion."

Victor also stood up, and while extending his hand to Dusan Louverture, he said: "This is a big event, for everyone. Before deciding on such a matter, no matter how cautious and how much you think about it, you must It should be. I will await His Excellency's decision."

The two men shook hands and ended the meeting.

The next day, Victor got up, had breakfast, and found that the adjutant who received him yesterday was already waiting there. He told Victor that the governor was still in a meeting, and now he would accompany him.

"Ah, I forgot to ask your name yesterday." Victor said.

"Matt," said the Negro adjutant, "Oka Matt."

"Okay, Mr. Matt, can I walk around Santo Domingo?" Victor asked.

"Of course, the governor said, you are our most honored guest." Matt replied, "Except for certain military restricted areas, you can move freely."

Speaking of this, Matt hesitated again, and then said in a hesitant and embarrassed tone: "However, if you are going to the port area, you have to wait until I call a team of soldiers …the port area is not very safe, and the people there are not very friendly to white people.”

Victor is very clear about this matter. In fact, when he passed the port area in a carriage yesterday, he noticed the eyes of the black people around him, even the eyes of the black soldiers who came to greet and escort him. , are full of malice.

It was not the first time for Victor to see such gazes. Ten years ago, when the hurricane of revolution was just blowing on the land of France, Victor once lived in a carriage with his brother and father, from St. Antoine I saw the same look in the eyes of those poor people in Wan District. At that time, my father simply dismissed the hateful eyes of these "poor ghosts" and "scum from the bottom of society".

However, when the flames of revolution ignited, those proud aristocrats were easily torn to pieces. In the singing of "It's going to be okay, it's going to be okay..." Victor's father and mother were hung on the lamppost, only the two brothers escaped by luck...

"Santo Domingo is already on the eve of a similar storm." Victor thought in his heart. In fact, in the original history, when the French army finally failed in Haiti and Haiti gained independence. The new Haitian government immediately organized a massacre against Haitian whites. At least 2,000 Haitian whites were killed. Victor, who was born in a noble family, actually sympathized with those wealthy white slave owners psychologically. However, he was born in a noble family, but he came to the side of the revolution. He had to be firmer and more ruthless than others in order to Really climb up.