On the west coast of Africa, in the vast Atlantic Ocean, a huge fleet is heading towards Europe from south to north. This fleet is very large, consisting of more than fifty huge warships.
Such a large fleet is extremely rare in the whole of Europe. Except for Spain and Portugal, two major maritime powers, few countries can build a fleet of such a large scale.
However, this fleet is neither the Spanish fleet nor the Portuguese fleet. The Ming dragon flags flying on each warship tell everyone that this is the Ming Empire fleet from the far east.
"These Atlantic pirates are really cunning. They are all monkeys. It is really difficult to destroy these pirates."
Tian Erniu stood on the deck, holding a telescope in his hand, looking for traces of pirates.
Since he was sent to Huangjin Continent by Liu Jin, he has been brought here by Huangjinzhou and has not returned to the Ming Dynasty. Even his wife, children, old and young at home have also been sent to Huangjinzhou.
Settling down is also to manage the industry and trade in Huangjinzhou for Tianjin Ocean Trading Company.
The signing of the "Penglai Agreement" between the Ming Dynasty and Spain was also led by Tian Erniu. At the same time, it was Tian Erniu who led the army to conquer the Aztec Kingdom and the Inca Empire, which could bring millions of dollars to the Ming Dynasty every year.
With a huge profit of tens of millions of taels of silver.
In addition, the Ming Dynasty's rule over the Golden Continent has always been relatively rough, and the appointment of officials to manage it only started this year, so Tian Erniu has always been one of the main people in charge of the Ming Dynasty in the Golden Continent.
Because of the Penglai Agreement signed with Spain, Spain recognized all Ming sovereignty over the Golden Continent, and the Ming Dynasty authorized exclusive trade rights to Spain. The two parties also joined forces to attack the colonies of European countries on the east coast of the Golden Continent.
This series of actions also seriously damaged the interests of European countries and completely angered European countries. Britain, France and Portugal even united to attack Spain.
At the same time, the wealth of Golden Continent and its trade with Europe also attracted a large number of pirates. In the fifteenth year of Hongzhi alone, large and small colonial strongholds on the east coast of Golden Continent were attacked by pirates hundreds of times.
It didn't cause much damage, but Tian Erniu was still very annoyed.
In addition, Spain became in danger under the attack of the three countries, and the imperial court quickly formed a fleet to go to Europe to prepare to support Spain.
Tian Erniu naturally became the commander of this fleet, responsible for leading the fleet to eliminate pirates and support Spain.
Tian Erniu is not in a hurry about supporting Spain.
After two years of contact, Tian Erniu is also very aware of Spain's strength. Spain is now considered the most powerful country in Europe, especially at sea, Spain's power is still quite strong.
Even if it is attacked by three countries at the same time, there is no need to worry too much. Spain can hold on for a long time, and there is no need to rush to support.
What's more, in the past two years, Spain has made an unknown amount of money from trade with the Ming Dynasty. To put it simply, the purchase price of a pound of sugar in the Ming Dynasty only costs a few hundred coins, but when it comes to Europe,
You can easily sell it for a few taels of silver, and the profit is astonishing.
There are also spices. The spices here in the Ming Dynasty are very cheap. When they come to Europe, the price is as good as gold. The Spaniards also make a lot of money and their strength is greatly increased.
What Tian Erniu really paid attention to was the pirates entrenched in various shipping routes in the Atlantic. These pirates seriously threatened the security of various strongholds in the Golden Continent of the Ming Dynasty, and also threatened the exchanges between the Ming Dynasty and Europe.
Now the colonies of the Ming Dynasty have been developed to the southernmost tip of Africa, and they are also the colonies of his boss Liu Jin, the British Duke and others. If these colonies want to develop, trade with Europe is very important, but the existence of these pirates has seriously
It hinders exchanges with Europe and makes free trade extremely dangerous.
Liu Jin also sent a message to Tian Erniu, asking him to clean up and attack these pirates first, and there was no urgency to support Spain. If Spain really couldn't hold on, it wouldn't matter.
Anyway, Ming Dynasty has now established a firm foothold on the Golden Continent.
In the fifteenth year of Hongzhi's reign, the number of people from all over the Ming Dynasty who came to the Golden Continent to pan for gold exceeded one million. Last year, they were mainly concentrated on the west coast of the Golden Continent. This year, colonial strongholds have spread all over the east coast of the Golden Continent, and from the Ming Dynasty
Three routes have been opened up to the Golden Continent.
In addition to the large number of newly built colonial strongholds and the immigration of a large number of people, the Ming Dynasty's power on the east coast of the Golden Continent is also unprecedentedly powerful. There are hundreds of ships that can be used for combat, which is enough to ensure that the Ming Dynasty
The interests on the Golden Continent.
Now, regardless of whether European countries recognize it or not, it is a fact that the Golden Continent has already been occupied by the Ming Dynasty. It is only the east coast of the Golden Continent.
From the northernmost region, which later became Canada, and the east coast of the United States, to the southernmost region, which later became Argentina, there were hundreds of colonial strongholds, large and small.
Immigrants from the Ming Dynasty planted wheat on the Golden Continent, felled precious mahogany trees on what would become Brazil, and grazed cattle and sheep in what would become Argentina.
People of the Ming Dynasty can be found everywhere in the entire Golden Continent, and colonial strongholds are blooming everywhere. The Western Golden Continent mainly mines gold and silver, while the Eastern Golden Continent mainly develops agriculture and animal husbandry, completely transforming the original European
The traces left by various countries are covered.
So there is no need to be afraid of European countries. Whether they admit it or not, it doesn’t matter. This is already the land of the Ming Dynasty.
Spain's recognition no longer seems irrelevant. If Spain loses, it will actually be a good thing for Ming Dynasty.
Because of the exclusive trade zone, Daming's goods can only be sold to the Spanish, which makes the prices of Daming's goods inflated and is not conducive to the sales of goods.
If Spain is defeated, Ming Dynasty can resume trade with European countries. With competition, the price sold by Ming Dynasty will naturally be higher. In the European market, the price will be lower, which will help stimulate market demand.
.
In short, Spain is no longer important to the Ming Dynasty, but the Ming Dynasty still needs to send troops to help to some extent. After all, it is an ally that has signed an agreement, and the reputation of the Ming Dynasty is still very important.
"Although these Atlantic pirates appear to be pirates, they actually have official backgrounds. Among them, the British did it most blatantly. They even directly issued privateering licenses to these pirates."
"So don't think they are just pirates, but no matter what, they are extremely professional."
Beside Tian Erniu, Jiang Liang smiled and said.
He can now be regarded as a European expert. He was the first person to arrive in Europe during the Ming Dynasty and has been traveling in Europe for almost two years.
He has seen the two kings of Spain, dirty Paris, France, London, a small rural county, the Holy Roman Empire, and even Hungary in Eastern Europe, where he has met the barbaric Slavs.
In two years, he traveled to almost every country and famous big city in Europe. Wherever he went, he was very popular. The kings of each country personally received him. European ladies were crazy about him and almost tired.
Broken waist.
"Now everyone knows that we are destroying pirates in the Atlantic Ocean. I guess these pirates have already fled back to their respective countries. How can they dare to compete with our Ming Dynasty's warships."
Jiang Liang is quite confident about this.
Tian Erniu was not wandering around in the Atlantic Ocean. He had already wiped out many pirates. Hundreds of pirate ships were sunk alone. It was considered a heavy blow to the pirates on the Atlantic Ocean.
"In that case, doesn't it mean we have nothing to do?"
Tian Erniu curled his lips helplessly and said.
Suppressing pirates is now his main task. Although the more than fifty warships under his command are not warships of the Ming Navy, they are also quite powerful. Among them, the warships from the Ming Ocean Trading Company are not much worse than the warships of the Ming Navy.
.
With such a powerful fleet, it is depressing enough to have nothing to do now.
"It's almost the Chinese New Year here in Ming Dynasty, right?"
Jiang Liang didn't answer Tian Erniu's words, and asked after thinking about it.
"Today is December 16th in the 15th year of Hongzhi. There are still more than ten days until the Chinese New Year. It will soon be the 16th year of Hongzhi~"
Tian Erniu counted the time and nodded slightly.
"Do you want to spend the New Year at sea?"
"Our boys can't wait to arrive in Spain."
Jiang Liang asked with a smile.
"Haha, yes, everyone has been impatient for a long time. I estimate that the order from the court will arrive at us soon. Spain is about to be unable to support it. It is almost time for us to help, otherwise no one will be able to do it in the future.
Ming Dynasty will never trust us again."
When Tian Erniu heard this, he couldn't help laughing happily.
This Jiang Liang has been to Europe for two years, and the way he talks has become somewhat European.
But what he said makes sense. These more than fifty warships and tens of thousands of troops have been at sea for several months. Everyone is already tired of it. What's more, the Chinese New Year is about to come.
, some people have been clamoring to go back to Golden Continent to celebrate the New Year.
"Send my order and set off for Spain in Europe~"
“We’re celebrating New Year here in Spain!”
Soon, Tian Erniu gave an order loudly.
"oh"
"Haha~"
"Okay~"
After hearing Tian Erniu's order, the people on the boat couldn't help but cheer. Many people have been to Europe and have experienced the hotness of European girls.