Chapter 2695 Unequal "Equal Treaty"

"I have talked to Quintilian, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Far East three times before. That guy is very annoying. He can't wait to squeeze oil out of the stone. If he can't take advantage, he will suffer a loss. The cooperation conditions offered are so harsh that he is crazy. If I dare to agree I am afraid that I will be called a 'traitor' by all the revolutionaries in the colony!"

The old man Franklin shrugged helplessly, held his pipe, and continued to say to Joan: "Comparatively speaking, His Majesty Roland is more reasonable than his foreign minister. He understands our difficulties and knows where our bottom line is. Although the terms offered It's harsh, but it deserves serious consideration."

"It's not convenient for Fang to disclose what conditions His Majesty Roland offered?" Joan asked curiously.

The old man Franklin nodded slightly, and made a "mage's secret room" to cover this area in a secluded corner of the coffee shop to prevent eavesdropping.

"His Majesty Roland proposed three conditions. As long as the Continental Congress is willing to accept it, he and the Far East government will publicly recognize the legal status of the Continental Congress and the Continental Army, and promise to support us in resisting the Fizhen invasion army. The ocean went to the New World to join the war."

Old man Franklin opened his briefcase, took out a file and handed it to Joan.

"The first condition is that the 'Federal Republic of Wilnoa', represented by the Continental Congress and composed of Jotunheim, Midgard, and Alfheim, must sign a contract with the Far Eastern Kolas Empire. A free trade agreement, the full name is "Treaty of Friendship, Mutual Assistance, Commerce and Navigation", the draft of the treaty is here, you can take a look."

Qiao An opened the file bag, took out the draft and browsed it, and found that the content was quite complicated, with a total of thirty items and sixty-eight items listed.

An overview of the treaty is as follows:

The nationals of either contracting party have the right to live, travel, and engage in various occupations such as commerce, industry, culture, education, and religion in the "whole territory" of the other party, as well as the right to explore and develop mineral resources, and to lease and hold land; and Enjoy national treatment economically.

The goods of this Party shall enjoy treatment in the other Party no less favorable than that of any third country and the goods of the other Party, and this Party shall not impose any prohibition or restriction on the import of any articles from the other Party, or any articles from this Party to the other Party.

Ships and airships of this side can navigate freely in any port, place, territorial water, and airspace opened by the other side, and their personnel and goods have the freedom to pass through the territory of the other side by "the most convenient way".

Ships of this side, including warships, may enter any port, place, territorial water or airspace of the other side that is closed to foreign commerce or navigation in case of "any distress".

...

Generally speaking, this is an economic cooperation treaty with the theme of free trade and free navigation. Since both parties enjoy the same rights and obligations, there is no so-called "unilateral most-favored-nation" clause, which is fairer than what Joan had expected Reasonable.

"I originally thought that the Far East government would force the Continental Congress to sign a treaty similar to the 'Empire Preferences', but now it seems that is not the case, the content of the treaty is very fair."

Joan's comments on the draft treaty caused Mr. Franklin to shake his head and laugh.

"You don't have the experience of working in the foreign service, so you can't see through the traps behind the words. My child, you must know that fairness in the literal sense is not the same as fairness in fact."

"How do you say that?" Joan asked in surprise.

The old man Franklin spit out a string of smoke rings, making a popular but vivid analogy.

"The two parties who concluded this agreement are like two boxers in an open duel in the ring. The boxing rules are transparent and fair, and there are also referees to ensure that the two sides compete according to the rules. However, one player is a 150-pound professional boxing champion, and the other is They are short-sighted civil servants of the same weight, who have never received boxing training, and sit in the office copying from morning to night. Do you think this kind of competition is really fair?"

"Joan, you came to Fort Colas today, what do you think of this city?"

"It is very prosperous and orderly. Not only is the magic industry very developed, but the industrial achievements have been widely used in various fields of daily necessities of life for citizens."

Joan commented objectively.

"Then what do you think is the difference between our cities in the New World, such as Midgard, and your hometown of Leiden, compared with Fort Colas?" The old man Franklin continued.

Joan frowned slightly, and replied reluctantly: "I have to admit that there is a big gap. Even in peacetime, Midgard City and Leiden City are unlikely to reach the level of Fort Colas in a short period of time. levels of prosperity, not to mention ravaged by war."

"The sadder reality is that the country where Fort Koras is located has quelled internal and external troubles through a series of wars, basically achieved industrialization, and is in the golden period of rapid economic development. In the foreseeable future, the Koras Empire The gap with our New World in the industrial and commercial fields will only widen.”

The old man Franklin sighed, and then said to Joan: "The Korath Empire has the ability to export industrial production capacity to the New World, and has the ability to drive fleets and airships over our bays and even cities. On the contrary, even if the war in the New World ends, industry and military It is also impossible to catch up with the Far East within a generation.”

"If we sign this so-called "Treaty of Friendship, Mutual Assistance, Commerce and Navigation", we can only be regarded as the source of bulk raw material procurement by the Far Easterners, and we will be dumped in trade activities for a long time. The market is full of industrial products produced in the Far East. Our children and grandchildren are unable to develop their own industrial system, let alone participate in international competition."

"In this way, the people from the Far East do not need to occupy our land, manage our people, or bear any governance costs. They can actually become our suzerain country, and at the national economic level, turn the New World into a dependent A colony of the Korath Empire."

"Joan, now you know why His Majesty Roland opposes the current colonial system? It's not because the powers' way of carve-up the colonies is too inhumane, but this kind of behavior that focuses on fighting for land is too outdated in his opinion, far inferior to economic colonization more efficient."

"If the major traditional powers in the Vales world are a group of greedy and ferocious hungry wolves, our Majesty Roland is like a handsome devil who wipes the corners of his mouth with a white napkin after drinking human blood!"

"Joan, my child, who is more terrifying, a hungry wolf or a devil? Needless to say, you should know it well."

The young mage nodded heavily.

"Old Dean, thank you for your advice. I understand that there is no such thing as free gain. In order to get rid of the iron heel of the 'Empire on which the Sun Never Sets' and seek independence and liberation, we have to endure the exploitation of another powerful empire."

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