On the fifth day after that profound secret meeting, it was a sunny morning. As usual, Ashikaga Yoshitoki got up to stretch his muscles and shared a rich breakfast with his wife and children. He just arrived at the Imperial Palace and sat down without having time to ask.
As for the government affairs, we learned that a large English fleet arrived at Edo Port and berthed yesterday evening. When the Edo Castle gate was opened at dawn, a messenger was sent to deliver the news, saying that it was the York Chamber of Commerce in England.
Come here for overseas trade.
After a hurried explanation, he rushed to the port to receive the guests. In the Nanmankan in Edo Port, he saw the long-lost woman Claudia. The man and woman who had reunited after a long separation hugged each other passionately again, and immediately had a long French kiss.
After a long moment of separation, Ashikaga regained his senses and then noticed that Christina was also in the room.
"I was surprised that the fleet that came here a few years ago was still the Agote Chamber of Commerce, and how it turned into the York Chamber of Commerce in the blink of an eye..." Ashikaga Yoshitoki pretended to be relaxed and said: "What a good name, I knew it as soon as I saw it.
You're here, how have you been these past few years?"
Claudia snuggled in his arms and whispered softly: "When my son grows up, he asks me where his father is? I tell him that his father is in the far east. He can only see him when he becomes the greatest sea overlord.
I believe it."
Ashikaga Yoshi was a little caught off guard: "What's the child's name? Is he doing well?"
"His name is Edward Joseph York. He is seven years old and is healthy and lively. He has brown and black curly hair. His nose and mouth look very much like yours. His smile is so beautiful that I can't help but remember you. He has a
A hound, a cat and a talking parrot. He likes swimming, hunting and fishing, and he is very much like you when he is quiet and meditative." Claudia took out a scroll. It unfolded and it was Claudia and Edward's.
Portrait.
The background is the Caribbean Sea, golden beaches and exotic coconut trees under the blue sky and white clouds. Claudia is sitting in the courtyard of a certain villa, combing her hair exactly the same as today, with a happy smile on her face.
Next to her was a cute little boy with snow-white skin. He had long curly brown hair and blue eyes, and the corners of his mouth were slightly raised, just like Ashikaga Goshi's smile.
Ashikaga Yoshitoki sighed for a long time: "What a lovely child."
Only then did I notice that the woman in front of me had her long hair pulled up high into a woman's style. Her waist was still as slender as before, and the plumpness of her chest seemed more spectacular than before. Her slightly cold expression added a bit of aloofness and aloofness.
Proud, Ashikaga Yoshitoki praised: "You are more beautiful than before, and your temperament seems to have changed even more, and you look more like a duchess. Christine also pulled up her hair. Which nobleman did she marry?
Madam?"
Claudia rolled her eyes at him and said: "Christine misses you so much. How can she get married while she is pregnant with your child? A few years ago, she was several months pregnant and begged Francis to give up the search.
You take revenge and completely give up the opportunity to return to London for this reason, and stay with me on the American continent to take care of your children and cultivate plantations."
Ashikaga Yoshitoki sighed and said: "Sure enough, it's still my fault. I shouldn't have treated Kristine like this a long time ago. Is the birth a boy or a girl?"
Claudia covered her mouth and chuckled: "It's a boy, his name is Alfred Joseph Drake. Little Alfred's life was much miserable. He had no father since he was a child and only had time with Christine.
I depend on each other for life, but fortunately I am magnanimous and give her a generous salary, otherwise it would be unthinkable."
Ashikaga Yoshitoki was dissatisfied and said: "This is too much! Why doesn't Francis just ask about his sister?"
"Of course I won't interfere. It is a very dishonorable stain for my sister to have a child out of wedlock. It will have a great negative impact on the Drake family. In order to make Francis give up his revenge on you, Christine voluntarily gave up everything in London, including
Inheritance rights in exchange for the peace of your life." Claudia glanced at Christine again, who came over at a loss.
Ashikaga Yoshitoki snorted coldly: "Threaten me? A ship or a sword? I will not be afraid of a trainee sailor."
"He is no longer a trainee sailor. He is now the captain of the Golden Hart, responsible for privateering in the North Atlantic. Francis Drake's name is already quite prestigious at sea." Claudia smiled and pulled Chris up.
Tingni's little hand gently pushed it into Ashikaga Yoshitoki's arms.
Ashikaga Yoshitoki curled his lips and smiled disdainfully: "The privateer of the Golden Deer has grown from a small trainee sailor to this point. It seems quite powerful. In my eyes, it is nothing more than that. He is not a few years old.
The little sailor I was before, I am no longer the little lord I was a few years ago."
He spread out a nearly accurate map of Japan, drew a large circle on the area belonging to the Eastern Kingdom, pointed at the map and said: "These all belong to me. A huge territory covering hundreds of thousands of square kilometers, almost the same
Given the size of England, its abundant resources and millions of people, I am the ruler here and I will be an even stronger ruler in the future."
"It's really amazing! I occupy so many islands but I don't have that much space. It seems that I have to work harder in the future. I can't let Edward be looked down upon by his half-brother when he grows up." Claudius
Ya rubbed his chest a few times with "shuxiong" and said with a smile: "If you want to talk about this again, I will take Christine back to the ship."
"You are such a little fairy." Ashikaga Yoshitoki held his waist and walked slowly to the depths of the room. After a while, a fierce attack horn sounded in the sultry curtains of spring, just like the bright spring morning outside the window.
The English fleet, formerly known as the Agote Chamber of Commerce and now the York Chamber of Commerce, is one of Claudia's several fleets. It mainly travels the East Asian trade routes and sails steadily every two years for trade. Making money is to support her man on the one hand.
On the other hand, it certainly does not rule out the possibility of exploring and collecting information on Asian sea routes and islands to leave enough space for future colonial expansion.
Everyone has their own secret, and Claudia’s secret is one of the more common ones. Her secret shouldn’t be about physical infidelity. It can be seen from her words and deeds that she has been hungry for many years.
As soon as he arrived, he planned to drain this man dry, but it was because of his loyalty to England that he could not grasp the context of this woman.
Claudia's loyalty to Elizabeth I is very deep, just like her attachment to Ashikaga Yoshitoki is very deep. The former is absolutely loyal and the latter is not necessarily called love. A woman can endure seven or eight years of wandering away to raise children alone.
Not coming to see him shows that this woman is very tolerant and that she has certain purposes and is willing to sacrifice her enjoyment of family life for this purpose.
Ashikaga Yoshitoki couldn't control her. A few years ago, he tried to attract her attention to change each other's senses, but the effect was not very good and did not have the expected effect. Instead, by some strange combination of circumstances, Claudia used some tricks to get her.
Christine, an outsider, got involved, which made him very suspicious that Claudia might have planned to take advantage of this stupid woman.
As expected, Claudia admitted her thoughts. She had been very optimistic about John Hawkins and Francis Drake for a long time, but she was not willing to condescend and use her body to seduce a little captain, so she set her sights on Clee.
For Stinny, as long as she drags her only sister into the water, she won't have to worry about Francis Drake flying out of her hands. As long as she ties the Drake brothers and sisters, they can use these two chess pieces to involve the two brothers and sisters' cousin John Hawking.
S.
Ashikaga Yoshitomo pondered for a moment to digest this unbelievable story, and suddenly reached out and slapped Claudia's snowy buttocks, and said angrily: "You are such a bold woman, expressing your love in front of your husband.
If I don’t want to sell my body and become someone else’s mistress, should I give you a good beating to let you know how powerful Dongfang’s family methods are?”
Claudia said proudly: "Giggle...you are not my husband! You are just my lover."
"You want a formal wedding? That's no problem. There is a Protestant church in the port, and I can give you all this." Ashikaga Yoshitoki said seriously.
Claudia tilted her head and suddenly smiled: "No need, I don't want to compete with other women for favor, and please don't forget that we are monogamous and do not allow bigamy in any form or by any means. You will give up everything for me.
Madam?"
Ashikaga Yoshitoki immediately gave up his temptation to test Claudia and cursed secretly: "This cunning woman is really difficult to deal with. We must find a way to control her."
There is really no better way to deal with Claudia. This woman has always been invulnerable in front of him. This time he came here and didn't even say a word about England. It was all about how rough the sea was, how many sharks there were in the Caribbean, and how much plundering there was.
Topics such as how many islands were built with gold and silver treasures.
This is defensiveness and a way to protect secrets. Similarly, Ashikaga Yoshitoki never talks about his love life or the earth-shattering things he has done over the years. He brags about the invincibility of enemy lords and how miserable they are.
As for escaping, that's the general situation anyway. It's impossible to expect a foreign girl to remember the difference between Yuki Haruto and Yuki Harutsuna.
Each other's lack of honesty does not affect the continuation of the cooperation. Not only must it continue, but the degree of connection must become closer. While the two parties complete intersections through physical warfare, they are also constantly testing their respective strength growth lines.
Both are very satisfied with each other's achievements and have identified goals for further strengthening their connection in the future.
During the hands-on conversation, Ashikaga Yoshitoki also kept thinking: "This is the process of political investment. If both parties are satisfied, they invest more capital in operation. In comparison, I take advantage and get two women."
A son plus the products needed for maritime trade, and the other party paid so much and only got some trade goods. Since I have always made a profit, why should I deliberately care about whether I control it or not?"
Nowadays, Ashikaga Yoshitoki has many top products, such as silk and linen fabrics, porcelain, silver, iron cannons, plate armor, tea, dyes, and other trade goods that they cannot obtain from the Ming Dynasty. Claudius
Ya's trading products are also very rich, including England's native woolen trading products, spices, coffee, cocoa, rubber, palm oil, cotton, iron ore and other trading products. Because the output is relatively low at the beginning, it is not yet able to dominate the entire transaction process.
Claudia can also provide many supplies from private plunder, including Clark's galleon, Galen's galleon, some half-snake cannons, mortars, and a large amount of practical supplies such as gunpowder and saltpeter. For this, Ashikagagi Toki needs to pay a sufficient amount
It takes a lot of silver to complete the exchange, and the entire trade process is lengthy and annoying.
This foreign couple didn't care at all about the fact that their children were already able to play soy sauce. They argued hard for their own advantages and argued all night long. Sometimes the fight between men and women did not include too many words and exchanges. They were in love with each other with deep affection.
I envy so many people, but once they pull away, they start a tit-for-tat confrontation without any trace of tenderness. The contrast is so big that Christina is very puzzled.
The two of them are both titled nobles and are both top figures in their respective worlds. Similar ways of thinking and similar intelligence and acumen made the two of them make the decision to form an alliance with each other. This is not love or two rational monarchs of equal status.
Love cannot arise between them, and any beautiful thing seems so pale and feeble under the cold eyes of the two.
A cold king may have a beloved woman. That woman can be anyone, but she will not be the same cold queen. The same level of thinking makes it impossible for them to be romantic. A woman with a strong desire for power and a man with the same desire for power will come together.
Being together is like a lion meeting a tiger. The powerful members of the opposite sex make them involuntarily try to stay strong in front of each other. This will not lead to love after all.
Looking at the long and detailed list of transactions, Ashikaga Yoshitoki said dissatisfied: "Are you trying to use me as a dumping point for scraps? It's just artillery, gunpowder, saltpeter, iron ore, etc., more than a hundred tons of Netherland Qu
The bow ship was also dumped to me. Among the fifteen ships, only one Galenic sailing ship exceeded 300 tons. It was much worse than the last 500-ton Galenic sailing ship. The asking price was even higher than last time.
Can’t we get a 50% discount price?”
"This is already the best deal price. Each ship will be given a 30% to 10% discount based on its age and damage. This price will be sold out in any port in Europe. Didn't we just offer it?
A long friendly battle? Do I look like a noble female knight?" Claudia let down her long hair quietly, and her slightly curly hair reached her waist, looking charming and sexy.
"Yes! You are a noble female knight, I am your brave mount, ride me on the wilderness!" Ashikaga Yoshitoki helplessly shrugged, there was absolutely nothing he could do against this crazy woman, lying beside him
Kristine snickered in a low voice, and was pulled up by Claudia to play the trick of riding two horses.
A good life always passes quickly. In addition to the blending of love and lust in a month, the most important trade exchanges are also completed during this period. The York Chamber of Commerce returned with a fleet of Western trade goods in exchange for exotic goods.
, the equivalent value of the silver in the transaction was about two million taels, and the actual silver currency transaction was less than 200,000 taels, and most of them were achieved by exchanging handicraft products.
The unprecedented big deal gave another shot in the arm to the rapid development of the Kanto Ashikaga family. It also made Ashikaga Yoshitoki deeply feel the oppression of England's rapid rise. In less than twenty years, it would transform into a great maritime empire.
Claudia's path will also go further and further, and whether he can catch up is still a huge question.
The short-lived trade ended one day in early April. In front of Edo Port, Claudia kissed him for a moment and turned to board the deck. As the large sailing ship slowly left the port, she waved: "If everything goes well, we will
Your second child will also be born. Next time I will come with a larger fleet. I hope that when I come to see you again, you will have become the master of this country. Don’t let me down."
Ashikaga Yoshitoki looked at the fleet that was gradually going away and was stunned for a long time, and said meaningfully: "What an interesting woman..."
