At 2:00 p.m. the next afternoon, the new Foreign Minister Pierre Henry Elena Lebren, who had been in office less than two months ago, came to the Palace Duille and met the other five ministers of the Interim Executive Committee of the First Republic of France.

This interim executive committee is the highest national administrative body established by the National Convention after Louis XVI was removed from his post as king in August this year, and consists of six cabinet ministers.

In addition to Foreign Minister Lebron, other members include Attorney General Dominic Joseph Galat, Navy Minister Gaspard Monge, War Minister Joseph Selvan, Interior Minister Jean Mali Roland, and Etienne Cravier, Minister of Economy and Finance.

According to the initially determined principles, six ministers regularly take turns to chair the Interim Executive Committee. The first chairman was former Attorney General Dandong, who had resigned as a member of parliament last month. The current rotating chairman is Interior Minister Roland. Yes, the famous Mrs. Roland is his wife.

Because everyone was very busy, Lebron immediately told the story of the visit of the Chinese delegation as soon as he came up, and took out a letter from Le Havre's special mission and handed it over to the ministers for circulating.

"Everyone, this is undoubtedly a major diplomatic breakthrough for the Republican Government. I plan to go to Le Havre in person and hope that His Excellency the Chairman will approve it."

For all the ministers in the cabinet, it is undoubtedly an exciting thing to have a huge mission to visit just as the new French is established.

However, China is too far from Europe, and the only official exchanges between the two sides can be traced back to the Louis XIV period more than a hundred years ago. And with the collapse of the Bourbon dynasty, these old things have been buried in the old paper piles of French National Archives, and almost no one knows it.

At this time, the Minister of Interior Roland asked the other ministers present: "Gentlemen, who do you know the country far away in the East? What's going on with this 'Republic China'?"

All ministers, including the Minister of Foreign Affairs, look at me and I look at you, and they all look at each other.

When it comes to tea, porcelain and silk, every family has no shortage of these, but in addition, their understanding of the great power in the East is limited to the works of Enlightenment thinkers.

It was an ancient empire with a vast territory, autocratic monarchy, established a system of justice through ethics and education, and governed the country through a complex civil service system.

Although in the 17th and 18th centuries, Europe had a "China fever" centered on France, including Diderot, Voltaire, Rousseau, Montesquieu, Hallbach and other large number of enlightenment thinkers who drew nutrients from Chinese culture, the climax of that wind was thirty years ago and is no longer fashionable now.

French Enlightenment thinkers once praised Confucianism and traditional Chinese systems, in fact, in order to criticize the corruption under the European monarchy and the deception of Christianity. When the "locksmith king" was defeated, the spirit of civil rights and law came to the forefront, governing the country with etiquette and determining justice with morality and natural laws became unadvanced.

Whether it is the Gironde or the Jacobins, they are deeply influenced by Rousseau and Montesquieu. Those who are lawyers such as Danton, De Muran, and Robespierre do not believe in any natural law!

Especially Mara, who was extremely disgusted with the monarchy and could not even accept the constitutional monarchy in Britain; because the king would influence the power of the parliament through bribery and limit the people's right to vote.

So in the eyes of these people, a country that does not talk about the rule of law, whose sovereignty belongs to the monarch but not the people will inevitably be corrupt and backward. This is true of European countries and Eastern empires.

Attorney General Galat suddenly said: "I seem to have heard of this name somewhere, the consul in Guangzhou mentioned in the letter."

Navy Secretary Gaspard Monge pondered for a moment and said, "I think you should be talking about old Joseph, the head of Oriental Language of the National Library, who had served as the king's translator before. I think the consul should be his son."

Although he is the Minister of the Navy, he is actually an academician of the Paris Academy of Sciences. He is one of the most important mathematicians in France at the end of the 18th century and is proficient in engineering measurement. In addition, he is also the founder of the "Paris Integrated Polytechnic Institute" established two years later. This school will become one of the seven major military academies in France in the future.

Roland said in surprise: "Oriental? Then he should be very familiar with China, right?"

Meng Hexin said I didn't know, but he nodded: "It should be."

Roland immediately said to Grovere, who was the secretary of the Executive Committee: "Phillip, please send someone to the National Library and invite Mr. Degine to come over. We would like to know about the official exchanges between China and our country. If you have any written materials, it is best to bring them together."

"Okay, Mr. Chairman."

The predecessor of the French National Library was the Royal Library founded in 1368. Its location has been relocated several times. Its current location is located in the Tubev Palace not far northeast of the Palace of Duille.

An hour later, the six ministers met Joseph Degine, who was carrying a thick book of materials. This year is 71 years old, wearing a pair of reading glasses, gray-bearded hair, dusty, and a hunched figure. In his early years, he studied under the Oriental expert Etienne Formon and studied Chinese.

Do you still remember Huang Jialuo whom you mentioned before? Etienne Formon's research results on Chinese characters were accused by Huang Jialuo of plagiarizing the "Kangxi Dictionary" translated by him.

So I understand why Huang Jialuo was not discovered until the 1960s? His academic achievements were plagiarized, so naturally no one paid attention to the original creator.

As a European sinologist in the late 18th century, Lao De was not only proficient in Chinese, but also proficient in Arabic and Phoenician. He even published a large number of related works before the Europeans studied Sanskrit.

He was the first European scholar to work hard to coordinate Eastern and Western cultures. By writing the five-volume "History of the Huns", he tried to connect the development context of the entire Eastern and Western civilizations by revealing the rise and fall of this nomadic civilization.

This chapter is not over, please click on the next page to continue reading! However, Lao De was obviously going wrong in the study of sinology. After years of research on Phoenician, he believed that there was a certain "consistency" between the characters of Chinese characters and the Phoenician alphabet. So he came up with a paradox, Chinese characters are a combination of letters originating from Phoenician alphabet.

As a result, a more enigmatic conclusion was born. Ancient China was a colony of ancient Egypt. The Western princes mentioned in "Spring and Autumn" were actually ancient Egyptian pharaohs.

Well, this weird research result has not been recognized by the mainstream French academic community. Even Voltaire laughed at the specious evidence of Lao De.

To put it simply, thanks to the fact that Western pseudo-historical theorists in another time and space never read academic monographs, but only dig up unofficial history; otherwise, if they could understand Lao De's "Memoirs of Phoenician Literature", they would definitely say that ancient China was vast and even Egypt was ours. No doubt, we have the French monographs to prove it... Brabra.

After the French Revolution began three years ago, Lao De lost his job at the Royal Academy and the Louvre, so he stayed in the National Library every day to review materials and write articles in exchange for a meager income.

He was suddenly summoned by the temporary executive committee today, and he didn't know what happened. The person who came just kept urging him to bring some information about his interactions with China.

The problem is that he has a lot of information about China, so he can't bring them all. So after asking clearly whether it is related to diplomacy, he searched and hurried over.

"Joseph, old friend. I guess you're in the library, sure enough." As soon as I entered the door, Navy Minister Mengri greeted him enthusiastically.

"Sweet, sir. You also know that it is quiet and there is no one to disturb me. I can concentrate on writing books." Lao De bowed to the six ministers and asked, "What's the matter when I call me here today? I heard you want to know about China? I brought all the information because I was in a hurry..."

The Minister of Interior Roland interrupted the old Degenie's nagging and said with a smile: "There is good news to notify you first. Your son, he has returned to his country with the Chinese mission and has arrived in Le Havre."

"My son! This is such a happy thing..." Old Degenie's eyes hidden behind the lens burst into strange expressions, and he was so excited that he almost cried.

You should know that he is only one son, and it has been eight years since he was separated! And since the second half of last year, he has never received a letter from his son again.

Mengri comforted, "Yes, it's always exciting to be reunited after a long separation from father and son. But this will take him to Paris with the Chinese mission. We invite you to come today because we want to ask you something."

"Please ask."

"How much do you know about 'Republic China'? I remember that China was an authoritarian country in the past?"

"..." Like the six ministers, Old Degenie also looked confused.

"Forgive me for being ignorant. I have been engaged in oriental research for almost sixty years and have never heard of any 'republic China'. However, in the era of the Sun King, we had an official relationship with the Emperor Kangxi, but later it was interrupted due to the relationship between the Roman Catholic Church."

"Oh? What's going on?" Interior Minister Roland once served as Louis XVI's Interior Minister, but he had never heard of it.

Degine put the information in his hand on the table, took out a clip wrapped in red velvet from it, opened it, handed it to Roland and others, and said, "This is the original handwritten letter written by the Sun King to Emperor Kangxi. The picture on the left is two pages on the front and back, and the picture on the right has only one page."

Lebron took the clip, and under the curious gaze of the other five ministers, he carefully picked up the letter paper and read it softly:

"Supreme, great monarch, dearest friend, may God make you more honorable with good results.

We learned that there are many knowledgeable people who are proficient in European science around and within His Majesty. Many years ago, we decided to send our people, six mathematicians, to bring us the latest scientific and astronomical observation knowledge in the famous Royal Academy of Sciences in Paris.

However, the distance between the sea not only separates our country, but also is full of surprises and dangers. Therefore, to satisfy your Majesty, we plan to send you the same Jesuits, our mathematicians, and the Count of Syria, to the shortest and less dangerous land routes so that you can reach you as soon as possible as a symbol of our respect and friendship. And when the most loyal witness, Syria returns, we can tell you your extraordinary actions in your life.

For this reason, may God make you more honorable with good results.

Written on August 7, 1688 in Marley. Your dearest friend, Louis."

After reading the book, Foreign Minister Lebron said in surprise: "This is the original? What I mean is that why did this letter not be delivered to the Chinese emperor, but remain in France? Did the Sun King write two copies?"

"Just as I said just now, this is the original, and it is the only original. It was previously stored in the National Library. Because I heard that your ministers need to know the relevant information about your interactions with China, I brought it here. Give it to me. This letter is so precious!"

Degine received the letter, took the coffee handed over by the secretary of the Executive Committee, tasted it lightly, and then explained: "As the letter said, the Sun King asked the Count of Syria and the accompanying Jesuits to go through land, that is, to go to China through Russia's Siberia. However, Russia at that time had regulations that no one could detour Siberia to China without the permission of the Tsar and legal documents."

Etienne Cravier, Minister of Ethiopia and Finance, interjected: "Damn Russians, they just want to dominate the land trade."

Degine nodded and said, "Yes. The Sun King also wrote a letter to Peter the Great for this, but the other party did not agree. The Count of Syria had to come back with the letter. When he returned to the country, Joachim Bouvet and other Jesuit priests had already taken a boat to China, so the letter was left in the Royal Archives."

The "Joachim Bouvet" he mentioned was Bai Jin, a Jesuit missionary who succeeded Nan Huairen during the Kangxi period. This man and his fellow Jean François Gerbilon (Zhang Cheng) were both academicians of the French Academy of Sciences. They entered the Qing Palace together to serve and were responsible for teaching Western science to Kangxi and the princes.

They participated in the compilation and drawing the first national map in Chinese history that uses trapezoidal projection method and painted a Jingwei net, namely "The Complete View of Emperor Kangxi". This map has epoch-making significance in the history of the development of Chinese maps. In another time and space history, until the early years of the Republic of China, various Chinese maps published in the world basically originated from this map.

(I have to say that there are always Qing fans on the Internet saying that Qianlong and Louis XVI were pen pals, which is a false news. Whether it is the Qing Palace archives or the French National Archives, there has never been a letter from two people. Qianlong and the French officials have never had direct contacts. At most, they were urging Guangdong Customs to order enamel porcelain from the French through thirteen lines. As for example, Qianlong donated money to support the American War of Independence through the French, it was even more nonsense!)

When it comes to this situation, asking Lao Dejine for consultation is a waste of time. The ministers of the Interim Executive Committee are very busy every day and have to go to the National Guild for meetings. It is impossible to get involved in one thing. So after exchanging opinions, the rotating chairman Roland made a decision.

"Lebrun, I agree with your request. Go to Le Havre and bring the Chinese mission."

Minister of Economy and Finance Cravier added: "Lebrun, I will also send someone to go with you. The letter said that the Chinese brought thousands of tons of wheat this time. This batch of food is really important to the Republic! I am going to use the Ministry of Finance's public funds to purchase it, and the transportation convoy will be arranged immediately."

Minister of War Joseph Selvan hurriedly said, "The Ministry of War will arrange the escort army, and I will transfer a regiment of troops."

Navy Minister Monge thought for a while and said: "In order to ensure the safety of the mission, the Navy will dispatch two frigates and a second-class battleship to strengthen Le Havre's defense."

Roland didn't care about saying "invisible hands" at this moment, and he finally said, "Yes, this batch of wheat is very important. With this batch of wheat, the grain prices in Paris should be stable."

Lebron nodded and said, "If that's the case, I plan to set out in three days."

Then he instructed old Dejine: "Mr. Dejine, I need a group of scholars who are proficient in Chinese as the translator."

Old Degenie was crazy about his son, so he nodded immediately: "I will arrange the personnel and I will send the list to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs tomorrow afternoon. But I plead for permission and let me go too. I haven't seen Kretien in eight years."

Lebron did not hesitate and nodded immediately to agree.

At this time, he didn't know that French Chinese scholars, including Lao De himself, learned either Cantonese Mandarin or Fujian Mandarin, and there was no one who could speak Northern Mandarin!

The interim executive committee was quick. The next morning, Roland and Lebron came to the National Convention and reported to the members the news of the arrival of the "Republic China" mission, which caused a sensation.

In the evening, the news of the Chinese bringing a lot of wheat spread throughout the streets and alleys of Paris. The news became more and more outrageous, saying that the Chinese fleet was a huge fleet of hundreds of warships and merchant ships.

My God! All those who heard this said were shocked and their chins dropped.

What kind of scene would it be for hundreds of boats? I'm afraid there must be thousands of crew members?

Merchants and nobles considered how many goods the Chinese brought from the East would have from the East, besides food, so that they could make a fortune; philosophers and thinkers hoped to discuss Eastern and Western civilizations with the Chinese to see whose system was more advanced and great; prostitutes and socialites hoped that all Chinese people would wear gold and silver and spread coins on them.

Well, what most people at the bottom hope is to return the price of bread in Paris to the era of 3 Su. As for tea, silk, and porcelain, it is not something they can afford.

Another day later, a signed article titled "Let's Welcome Revolutionaries from the Far East" published in Paris appeared on the front page of Le Patriots. The author even said that the distant China is the birthplace of "social equality, economic equality and direct civil rights ideas."

The "Republic China" mentioned in this article made the mission staff of European countries in Paris confused. The only thing they could understand was the officials of the Tsarist Russian Embassy in Paris.

"My Virgin! Those devils have actually come to Europe!" The left-behind embassy secretary saw the contents in the newspaper and suddenly jumped up from the chair.

He paced around the house for a moment, turned around and returned to the table and picked up the quill. More than ten minutes later, a secret letter had been written. Because the handwriting had not dried out, he pulled down a rope hanging from the wall behind him. The rope was connected to the bell outside, and the servant would come over when he heard it.

After the massacre in August, Russian Ambassador to France Ivan Simolin was recalled. The Russian embassy in Paris was left with only a few left-behind personnel, including the secretary. Their mission is to regularly report important situations in Paris to Vienna. The appearance of Chinese in Paris is definitely the most important information and must be reported immediately!

After a while, a strong man walked in and bowed and said, "Master, what are the instructions?"

The embassy secretary folded the letter, dripped it with a fire paint, stamped it, and ordered: "Petrovich, you send this letter to Vienna immediately and hand it over to His Highness Dmitry Mikhailovich Golitsin. Remember, it must be delivered to him!"

"Yes! Please rest assured." Not long after the man went out, the crisp sound of horses trampling on the stone slabs sounded in the embassy yard, and soon disappeared on the noisy street.
To be continued...