Jefferson was quite efficient at his work.
Early the next day, the proposal to join forces with France to eradicate the Barbary pirates had already been submitted by him to the United States Federal Congress.
There was also mention of purchasing two escort ships tacked on at the end, but it was mentioned briefly, as if he did not intend for Congress to pass that part of the proposal.
Two days later, at the French Embassy in the United States.
The ambassador to the United States, Victor Dupont—the eldest son of the president of the French Chamber of Commerce—hurried into an office on the second floor of the embassy and, with a tip of his hat, greeted the special envoy reading by the window:
“Archbishop Talleyrand, I’ve just heard from the United States Congress…
He took a couple of sips from a cup of water brought by a servant and continued, “The majority of the American congress members are in favor of contributing money to fight the pirates, but they want to reduce the amount to 150,000 US dollars. As for purchasing warships, they seem to lack enthusiasm. The final vote might have to wait until next week.”
“Thank you for the update, Mr. Dupont.”
Talleyrand closed his book indifferently, thinking to himself: Just as the Crown Prince predicted, getting these poor and miserly Americans to pay up wouldn’t be easy. It seems necessary to approach that member of the “American founding faction”—what’s his name again?
He took out his notebook from his pocket, where the Crown Prince’s instructions were detailedly noted down.
“Hamilton.” He found the name, looked up at Dupont, and asked, “Would you be so kind as to arrange a meeting with Mr. Alexander Hamilton for me?”
“Of course, Archbishop Talleyrand.”
That very afternoon, in a private villa in Philadelphia, Talleyrand was able to meet with the “founding faction” leader Hamilton, as the Crown Prince had referred to him.
Yes, the United States had gained independence in 1783, and five years had passed, yet the United States still had not truly formed a nation. The so-called Federal Congress was merely a symbolic leadership body, with specific affairs decided separately by the assemblies of the thirteen states, essentially in a state of anarchy.
And the congressmen from the thirteen states were divided into two factions—the nationalists and the status quo faction. Although the United States had drafted a Constitution the previous year, setting a general direction for nation-building, the latter was still fiercely obstructing this process.
After some perfunctory small talk, Talleyrand suddenly sighed and said earnestly, “Mr. Hamilton, to be honest, I truly feel sorry for the United States.”
“Oh? Why would you say that?”
“The people of the thirteen states have paid a tremendous price to win this great independence, yet to this day the United States is still fragmented, without even a central government to lead the nation.”
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Hamilton was stunned momentarily, then nodded in deep agreement. “You are absolutely right!”
“Those congressmen only consider their immediate interests, yet they slander those who wish to establish a united America as seeking ‘centralization’ and ‘dictatorship’! Look at the Federal Congress now—it doesn’t even have the power to collect a bit of tax.”
Talleyrand agreed, “The loose and weak thirteen states have no deterrent force, and that’s why even Mediterranean pirates dare to bully you.”
“At this rate, it won’t be long before the Native Americans, Canadians, or Caribbean pirates will turn their sights on you.”
Hamilton clenched his fist tightly. “And those people in the Federal Congress keep preaching about the ‘perils of centralization’… I think they’re just scared of their power in the state legislatures being diminished.”
“If it weren’t for Shays’ Rebellion that frightened them, the United States would still be under a confederate system now!”
“Look at the world; all strong nations have a strong government. Even better is to have a strong leader, similar to…”
The words “His Majesty the King of France” were on the tip of his tongue, but it was indeed hard for him to spit out such a clumsy lie, so after a brief pause, he changed tack:
“Just like England, France, and Austria. If we had a king right now in the United States, it wouldn’t be long before we could escape our current impoverished and backward state!”
Talleyrand spread his hands, “Regrettably, the United States Federal Congress needs to strengthen its appeal to potentially give rise to your government.”
He looked at Hamilton, who had an indignant expression on his face, and a hint of amusement flashed in his eyes; “Unity only comes internally when facing a powerful enemy.” Find your next adventure on мѵʟ
“Speaking of which, there is currently an opportunity that could enhance the prestige of the Federal Congress, but sadly, your congress members don’t care about it at all.”
“Oh? What is it?”
“Buying warships to join the French Navy in fighting the Barbary pirates!”
Seeing Hamilton’s puzzled look, Talleyrand immediately continued, “The warships to be purchased would belong to the Federal Congress.”
“Imagine for a moment, after the pirates are eradicated, whether the headlines in the American newspapers would read ‘The French helped us deal with the pirates’ or ‘Our warships went to the Mediterranean to exterminate the pirates’. Which one would better lift the American people’s confidence in the Federal Congress?”
Hamilton’s eyes lit up upon hearing this. Exactly! A victorious battle abroad is undoubtedly the best means to strengthen national cohesion, even if the opponents are just pirates.
And those foolish and shortsighted congressmen were even thinking about rejecting the proposal to buy the warships these past few days!
No! The warships must be bought; this is a prime opportunity to prompt the establishment of the United States government, and it would be best to buy several so that American warships can sink a pirate ship.
Thinking about buying the ships, his heart suddenly sank, “Archbishop Talleyrand, to be frank with you, I fear the Federal Congress might really be unable to allocate tens of thousands of dollars for two escort ships.”
When merchant ships were hijacked by pirates, the states would pool money to ransom the crew, yet they were unwilling to contribute an extra cent to the Federal Congress in peacetime.