Lopez and Rafael looked at each other, and Rafael replied: "Your Highness, please speak!"
Li Zhi said: "There are two conditions. First, Macau must be returned to our Ming Dynasty. No matter what the reason is, Europeans cannot illegally occupy the territory of our Ming Dynasty."
Lopez was stunned for a moment, then raised his hands and said: "Your Majesty, we only occupy a small peninsula in Macau and store goods on it. The magistrate of the Ming Dynasty promised us that we could occupy a piece of land the size of a cowhide, and we would
A piece of cowhide was cut into long thin strips to cover the narrowest part of the peninsula, which was originally an uninhabited land..."
Rafael stopped the chattering Lopez and said: "Your Majesty, if Macau is taken back, can we Portuguese still import raw silk in Ming Dynasty?"
Li Zhi smiled and said: "Yes, absolutely. Our raw silk in Jianghuai Province is of high quality. Portuguese sailing ships are welcome to come to Jianghuai Province to sell raw silk and porcelain. In any place in Jianghuai Province, Shandong Province, Tianjin Town and even Liaodong Province, Portugal
All sailboats can be freely berthed, resupplied, traded, and can also purchase and rent warehouses.”
"Of course, tariffs will be levied on goods sold from Portugal to our town and nine provinces."
Lopez was stunned when he heard Li Zhi's words.
According to Li Zhi, if free trade can be done in the north of the Ming Dynasty, then Macao will lose its strategic significance. In terms of territorial area alone, Macao is extremely small. Since raw silk can be purchased in one town and nine provinces, Macao will lose its
Trade ports are nothing...
Moreover, the north under Li Zhi's rule had a variety of novel goods, and the trade value was much greater than that in the south.
Raphael nodded and said: "Your Highness, we will definitely convey your request to our king. As for the surrender of Macau, as expected, our king will agree."
Li Zhi looked at this well-organized young man and said with a smile: "Okay, there is another treaty, which is a military support treaty. Once I sell weapons to Portugal, then when I go to war with Britain and the Netherlands, as long as I
One town and nine provinces issued instructions, and Portugal must send troops to support or respond!"
Raphael was stunned and asked loudly: "Your Highness, as you said, Portugal must support the county king. Will the county king support Portugal when Portugal asks for help?"
Li Zhi smiled and said, "It depends on the situation and our troop arrangements."
Raphael's face turned red and he said loudly: "This is a completely unequal agreement! This puts Portugal in the status of a slave country!"
Li Zhi looked at Raphael but said nothing.
Seeing that Li Zhi remained silent, Raphael became a little uneasy and asked: "Your Highness, why did you impose such an unfair treaty on Portugal?"
Li Zhi said slowly: "There is no such thing as fairness between countries. It's just about taking advantage of the situation. Now that Portugal is besieged by the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, with Spain watching covetously from the side, it is not surprising that Portugal was annexed. At this juncture,
, it is the greatest fairness that our town and nine provinces can help."
"I would like to ask, should we just sit back and watch your country's demise? Or should we let Portugal take on some supporting tasks and preserve the fairness of the country?"
Raphael's face turned pale and he was speechless for a moment.
Li Zhi looked at the young man and said nothing.
It seemed that after a silent tug of war, Rafael finally lost and said: "Your Highness, the King of Portugal must make the decision on this matter."
Li Zhi nodded and stopped talking.
Raphael held up his hand and said: "If the king has no other requirements, we will return to the country on a sailboat and report the king's conditions to the king."
Li Zhi smiled, waved and said: "Don't take your sailboat. That sailboat runs so slowly. If you sail back to Europe, Portugal may have been annexed by the Netherlands. I will send you a ship so that you can get there as soon as possible."
Bring the news back."
When Raphael heard this, his face turned red.
But what Li Zhi said is true. If we return to China by sailing ship, and then return by sailing ship to reply, it will take at least half a year. And then it will take more than a year to transport the weapons to Europe. Whether Portugal still exists at that time is up to us.
That's a problem.
Lopez was speechless and stood aside with a red face.
Raphael cupped his hands and said, "Then please leave it to His Highness the County King to make arrangements."
A naval officer walked up and guided the two of them to the dock to mobilize the ships.
Seeing the two Portuguese people leaving, Cui Changwu raised his hands and asked: "Your Highness, this Franji envoy is very dissatisfied with our conditions. I am afraid that a treaty signed in this way will not make these Franji people grateful. Five years later, the Franji envoy will
The Langji people will definitely turn against us."
Li Zhi sat back on his throne and said: "White people are afraid of power and have no morals. As long as Portugal gets rid of the situation of being besieged, they will definitely turn against us."
"Then why does the prince want to save Portugal?"
Li Zhi smiled and said: "I am not saving Portugal, I am fighting the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. The United Kingdom and the Netherlands did not suffer much from the war with us, but they learned a lot of our new technologies. They may annex their neighboring countries and become
Even stronger. Europe is too far away and our troops cannot be projected to Europe to restrain these barbarians. Let the Portuguese teach the British and Red barbarians a lesson on our behalf."
"We can force Portugal by signing a treaty that requires Portugal to send troops according to our requirements. In order to obtain new weapons and save the country, Portugal can only fight with Britain and the Netherlands every day. It will turn Europe upside down and no one can gain the upper hand. We are in Asia.
This will reduce resistance and capture high-quality colonies as quickly as possible."
"It doesn't take five years, three years is enough."
Cui Changwu thought for a while, raised his hands and said: "Your Majesty is wise and powerful, and I admire you." After a pause, Cui Changwu said: "It's just that Raphael seems to be a smart man. Now that he has successfully sent us an envoy to nine provinces, we have
Due to his meritorious service, he will definitely gain power in Portugal in the future."
Li Zhi looked at the Portuguese envoy who was leaving, pondered for a moment, and smiled.
…
Lopez and Rafael walked out of the palace. It was getting late, and all the street lights on "Tianjin Avenue" outside the palace were on. The first batch of light bulbs Li Zhi were installed outside the palace for demonstration. At this time, on "Tianjin Avenue"
The lights were brightly lit, and many Tianjin people came to see the lights.
Merchants have also discovered business opportunities these days. Under the street lights, there are vendors carrying various goods in small carts everywhere. It looks like a bustling market.
Lopez stood under the street lamp and looked at it for a while, his eyes as wide as copper coins, and said: "Raphael, come and see, this street lamp does not use fire, it emits its own light. It's so bright!"
Raphael went up to look at it for a while and sighed.
Lopez asked: "Smart Rafael, why are you so frustrated? Are you worried that the king will not agree to the conditions of King Tianjin?"
Raphael shook his head and said: "Now that Portugal is facing the risk of annihilation, the king will undoubtedly agree to all the conditions of the King of Tianjin."
"Raphael, why are you sighing?"
Raphael's face turned gloomy and he said slowly: "The King of Tianjin has a train that can run with horses, a ship with sails that can sail, and now there is a lamp that can light itself with fire. The career of the King of Tianjin is really terrible.
Already."
"What I'm worried about is that we white people are still fighting each other. Are we seeking death? What I'm worried about is that Portugal's request for help from Li Zhi this time is inviting a wolf into the house, which will eventually have devastating consequences for Europe." 8)
