The Fox of France

Chapter 233: Negotiations

Over the next two hours, Captain Martain's operations became increasingly skillful, the efficiency of the battle improved, and his boldness grew. Relying on his superior power and maneuvering, he continuously seized advantageous positions, leaving three British steamships powerless. Not only did their paddle wheels shatter, but even their masts were broken by the close-range chain shot. Captain Martain, driven by greed, left these immobilized British escort vessels behind and headed towards the remaining operational warships, intending to capture all of the British ships in one fell swoop.

However, it turned out that not knowing when to quit was not a good habit. Just as Captain Martain was planning a grand victory, a massive ship appeared on the horizon - it was the third-rate battleship that had been lagging behind.

With the appearance of this large ship, the demoralized British sailors suddenly rallied, fighting tooth and nail to protect their injured ships against Captain Martain's assault. Captain Martain took a quick look at the distance between the two sides and realized that it was unlikely they could deal with the British ships before the third-rate battleship closed in. He muttered, "What I hate the most is when the young ones bring in the old ones."

After this complaint, Captain Martain cast a glance at the approaching British warship and added in his mind, "Even more infuriating is that we might not be able to handle this old one."

A battleship, even a lowly third-rate battleship, was armed with sixty to seventy heavy cannons, with over thirty cannons on each side, each firing heavier and more powerful shots than Captain Martain's guns, with longer range. Considering the battleship's stability, each shot was more accurate than his. Moreover, the battleship's robust defense was impervious to the 12-pounder shots.

Captain Martain estimated that before the battleship arrived, he might have a chance to sink one of the British warships with a daring maneuver. However, it could also lead to damage to his own vessel, and if crucial areas were hit, he might end up stranded here due to his haste.

Therefore, Captain Martain immediately realized that he couldn't afford to waste more ammunition on the British ships. Why not save the ammo for the fast clippers that were harder to deal with?

"Retreat, we won't play with them anymore!" Captain Martain ordered.

After passing by the British escort vessel for the last time, the Equality sped away without looking back, disappearing quickly into the vast sea.

In this battle, the British only lost their decoys and didn't lose more warships. Of course, half of the steam escorts were heavily damaged, and the remaining three were not in good shape. These ships would have to be towed back by the third-rate battleship.

However, this battle also proved fruitful for the British. They expended a significant amount of cannonballs and gunpowder from Captain Martain. After finally breaking free from the British warships, Lieutenant Martain checked his cargo hold and discovered that he had consumed nearly two-thirds of the chain shot, half of the regular cannonballs, and one-third of the grape shot. Considering the necessary reserves for the return journey, there wasn't enough ammunition left for hunting!

"If these cannonballs were used against those flying clippers, how many could we have taken down? This is..." Captain Martain couldn't help but let out a sigh of regret.

In the following days, the British showed remarkable efficiency. They had realized that their "steamships" were almost a generation behind the French counterparts. Even in the outnumbered battle, they couldn't gain the upper hand. In unfavorable weather conditions, catastrophic consequences were possible.

Moreover, during the last stage of the battle, the Equality had demonstrated a speed far exceeding the British steamships, meaning that even in the most difficult situations, the French had time to retreat.

This meant that the "whale hunting plan" fundamentally had no chance of success. On the contrary, the released decoys might become free meals for the enemy.

So the British swiftly called back their hunting teams and decoys, and the Equality only managed to capture one flying clipper that hadn't received the notification in time and fled hastily.

Since they couldn't deal with the French steamships, it meant that the blockade of Ireland had failed completely. So the British ordered their troops in Ireland to go into full alert, while reconsidering negotiations with the French.

This time, the British's peace terms were much more practical. They used the Dutch as intermediaries to propose peace to the French.

The British proposed: an immediate restoration of peace between England and France. England would abandon the blockade of the French coast and recognize French special interests in the Netherlands, the Rhine, and other areas. In return, France would acknowledge British rule in Ireland and cease support for Irish rebels. Additionally, France would recognize British special interests in Hanover.

This demand was much more reasonable compared to the previous ones, and it was clear there was room for negotiation. After consulting with his two brothers, Napoleon also believed that France needed a period of peace for the time being.

"We need peace now to shift more resources towards production and improve people's living standards," Joseph said. "Furthermore, achieving a more favorable peace for France will boost your support among the people and serve our 'Roman Plan.' However, there are a few principles that must be upheld."

"First, regarding the issue of Ireland, we cannot abandon it. It's our most potent leverage against the British. Besides, the Irish are resilient and valuable allies. A peace that can be torn up at any moment versus a small brother who can fight, the difference in value is immense."

"Secondly, there's Hanover, which must also be under our control."

"Why even mention this?" Napoleon shook his head disdainfully. "We are the victors, or at least the ones in an advantageous position. Why should we make concessions on all these fronts? Cut the nonsense!"

Joseph ignored him and continued, "In addition, we should insist on certain rights, and it should be a mutual give-and-take. We should demand mutual 'open-door' policies with Britain. They and their territories should open their markets to us, and our markets should open 'equally' to them. This market includes ordinary goods, literature, art, and news."

"Mutual market opening? Are you sure we'll gain an advantage?" Napoleon asked.

"Of course," Joseph said without hesitation, "their steam power and water-powered textiles—what do they have against our electric-powered textile production? Of course, they don't know this. I imagine they might resist when it comes to news and art markets, especially with how well Lucien has been handling things at the Ministry of Truth, dismantling those reactionary feudal remnants. The British might have some concerns. Let's propose mutual market opening for news and art first and then use mutual opening of the ordinary goods market as a trade-off."

"Well, with Lucien in charge, the British newspapers and such are decent. Given their level, as long as they don't use violent means to counter our propaganda, any Minister of Truth, with the support of all of Europe, shouldn't have trouble dealing with those blockheaded British newspapers. Otherwise, they ought to be promptly loaded into a large cannon and launched toward the sun at the speed of light!" Lucien chimed in.

And so, the French delegation, led by Foreign Minister Talleyrand, engaged in negotiations in the Amsterdam City Hall in the Netherlands.

The negotiations were difficult, with two major roadblocks. These issues threatened to bring the discussions to an impasse multiple times.

The first roadblock was the issue of Ireland. The British vehemently accused France of brutally trampling on their internal affairs and demanded that France immediately cease all connections with Irish rebel organizations.

The French countered by arguing that the core of the Irish issue was the shameless exploitation of the wealth of the Irish people by the British and the cruel persecution of Irish Catholics. Talleyrand adopted a humanitarian stance and presented himself as a devout Catholic:

"Respect for sovereignty is the cornerstone of international relations. However, based on the fundamental principles of our nation and the ideals in the 'Declaration of Human Rights,' we believe that human rights are a higher standard than sovereignty and form its foundation. When human rights are wantonly trampled upon, we do not believe that any just-minded nation should remain silent due to the restrictions of sovereignty. If the British genuinely wish to address the Irish issue, there is only one solution, and that is to sincerely respect the inalienable human rights of the Irish people, their property, and religious freedom. In other words, the legislative principles of France, the foundations of our state, do not allow us to remain indifferent to this humanitarian catastrophe, especially one that affects Catholics."

The British, of course, also understood that hollow "peace" would not make the French relinquish their most critical leverage. Negotiations were a bargaining process. Therefore, the British raised the issue of Hanover, which immediately became another roadblock.

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