On a highland overlooking the Seine estuary on the coast of Le Havre, there was a small manor said to have originally belonged to a nobleman of great stature. When bored, he often visited here to watch the variety of sailboats on the Seine, which led him to na the estate "Villa des Voiles."
During the Revolution, nobles naturally fled abroad, and their estates were inevitably confiscated by the revolutionary governnt. This particular manor produced little but served as a leisure spot for the aristocracy. However, due to its advantageous location, it beca an outpost for the French army to monitor the Seine estuary. Later, as the situation stabilized, it beca the country retreat of Minister Charles Maurice de Talleyrand, a new elite of the Republic.
Early this morning, several carriages arrived at the manor, and as an elderly man in his sixties and a group of young people alighted, they were greeted at the entrance by the Minister himself.
"Simone, welco to my villa," Talleyrand, also greying at the temples, greeted warmly, limping over with a smile and extending a hand.
Their hands clasped, both faces beaming as if they were indeed great friends.
Hand in hand like a young couple, they laughed and chatted as they walked inside.
Talleyrand personally led them into a small sitting room where everyone took seats on the sofas and servants brought in tea.
Generally, the French of this era preferred coffee when hosting guests, but this ti, the servants presented them with tea.
France had a history of tea consumption, but since the Seven Years' War and the loss of its colonies in the Far East, the British had largely monopolized the tea trade. French colonies in Africa and Haiti, however, produced coffee, shifting French consur habits toward coffee. Though Talleyrand had previously also served them coffee, the sudden appearance of tea could be seen as a hospitable gesture by the French, but perhaps there was more to it.
The British representative, Simone, gently sipped the Darjeeling tea, which carried a distinctive grape aroma. Since Britain had been blockaded, even British nobility found it hard to enjoy such authentic Darjeeling tea.
"Ah, the war has been so long that it's been a while since I've had such fine Darjeeling tea," Simone comnted as he set down his cup, "My friend, I think it's ti to end this senseless war."
"I agree," Talleyrand replied, frowning slightly, "The war isn't pleasant for either side, it's affected many businesses and is incredibly costly. Look, we've had to issue war bonds for the third ti. If this continues, our governnt expenses will inevitably lead to a deficit. We might even have to pause the annual increase in veterans' pensions. Plans for the Culture Palace and the Art Gallery are also being affected, directly impacting people's satisfaction with life and reducing their smiles. It's quite unfortunate."
To Simone, Talleyrand's words felt like a blatant show-off. Issuing war bonds for the third ti? The UK didn't even know how many tis it had done so. And that line about "our governnt expenses will inevitably lead to a deficit" seed almost like bragging about France's financial strength, a flaunt of superiority to the British.
Even so, regardless of French boasting, it was the victor's privilege. After all, they agreed on an important point—both sides needed peace.
"What are your country's thoughts on peace?" Simone asked.
"Last ti we t, I gave your country a morandum, but you had so opinions, or rather, misunderstandings about it," Talleyrand said with a sincere smile, "which led to so conflicts we both wished to avoid. So, we've reviewed our previous morandum and found many areas were indeed not appropriate, which might have led to your misunderstandings. We've revised it. You can take a look and see if we can use this new morandum as a basis to bring peace to our ti."
A young aide handed Simone a thick docunt.
Simone's expression darkened; he suspected Talleyrand's "revision" likely added even more demanding terms. Despite directives from the Prince Regent and the Pri Minister to endure, to achieve peace, "to consider Britain's resources and win France's favor," and knowing the French's greediness could lead to even tougher conditions, he was instructed not to imdiately reject any demands. The kingdom was nearing collapse and could not continue the war.
Reluctantly, he took the morandum.
"It's quite lengthy and complex," Talleyrand chuckled, "Take your ti, consult with others, even send soone back to discuss it with your governnt if needed. But the First Consul hopes we can conclude negotiations within a week."
"So soon?" Simone looked even more troubled, "Both our countries sincerely want peace, and peace is inevitable, so why the rush?"
"
Because until peace arrives, we won't see its benefits—how can we not be in a hurry?" Talleyrand explained, "Moreover, from what we've gathered, if we don't reach a peace agreent soon, your country might experience so turmoil. We're worried such disturbances could complicate the peace process."
Simone flipped through the thick morandum and then said, "We'll need to thoroughly review this docunt. Could we have a private room for that?"
"That's easy," Talleyrand responded, turning to his aide, "Bousaion, please take my friends to my study."
Simone and his colleagues followed Bousaion to the study where they gathered to examine the new French proposal. To save ti, each person was responsible for a section. The morandum's structure was very similar to the previous one, which facilitated comparison.
Soon, each had read their assigned sections.
"Minister, the part I reviewed differs little from the previous morandum," one young man started, easing Simone's tension.
"Just so differences in phrasing. The current morandum emphasizes mutual responsibilities and obligations more... it seems more equitable than before, but fundantally, it's not much different," the young man added.
"Let
see?" Simone urged.
Everyone knew they were negotiating a treaty that would be seen as a national humiliation. Anyone signing such a treaty would be condemned in the annals of history. Thus, the original Foreign Minister had suddenly resigned for health reasons, and Simone, initially just a secret envoy, was abruptly promoted to take the bla.
Though forced to sign a humiliating treaty, if the terms could appear sowhat better, it wouldn't be so bad.
"Quick, let
see?" Simone pressed.
The young man handed him the section he had reviewed, along with the corresponding section from the previous morandum.
Simone quickly read through them.
Indeed, the text was now more "equal." For instance, the clause concerning the UK's full opening of its market to France read in the previous morandum: "The UK must unconditionally open its market to France and its allies, ensuring that individuals and businesses from these countries enjoy completely equal, non-discriminatory status in the UK's economic activities. A committee ford by France and its allies will monitor the implentation of this clause and report to the French governnt."
This was essentially a demand for the UK to unilaterally open its market, turning it into a French colony—an annihilating clause for the UK.
But now, it was frad like this:
"The French Republic and the United Kingdom recognize that equal economic exchanges are the most reliable guarantee for world peace. To ensure world peace and promote the welfare of both nations' peoples, both governnts commit to the following on trade issues: Both governnts, and any others joining the peace agreent, promise to fully open their markets to each other, with neither side using discriminatory asures such as tariffs or quotas to restrict the other's products in their markets. Both promise to provide their citizens and businesses with completely non-discriminatory national treatnt.
To ensure the implentation of this clause, both sides will equally form a Free Trade Joint Committee to resolve and arbitrate any disputes arising during the implentation. Both governnts commit to respecting the diations and arbitrations of this committee. Subsequent joining nations will also enter this committee, fulfilling their obligations and enjoying their rights."
Comparing the second version to the first, doesn't it seem much more equal? The humiliating overtone is much less. However, often, textual equality is the greatest inequality.
As Joseph had once said after the promulgation of the Napoleonic Code, "The law, in its majestic equality, forbids the rich as well as the poor to sleep under bridges, to beg in the streets, and to steal bread." If one does not consider the power and status of the contracting parties, so-called "equal" terms are just a fig leaf for the victor.
Consider the current state of the British economy, already collapsing, with many businesses either shut down or on the brink due to losses. How could they possibly compete "equally" with French businesses? To demand "equal competition" is as absurd as asking a male heavyweight boxer to "fairly compete" with a female featherweight boxer. "Fair competition" only leads to taking even more from those who have, and taking everything from those who have not.
Thus, this mutual market opening is practically no different from unilateral market opening by the UK.
For the UK, this clause is no different from the one in the previous morandum. But for Simone, now forced to sign it, this revised clause is almost a lifeline.
...
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