"That's what I'm saying." After hearing her son's last words, Li Sha'er said: "But we must not be sealed to Hanzhou. Your father has always said that Hanzhou has fertile land and rich resources, and it is the real heaven.
In the long run, it would be best to seal the land to Hanzhou. But your mother and I don’t have such long-term knowledge. I just think that it will be easier for you to seal it. Hanzhou is still desolate, and the local people are also savages.
, it is extremely difficult to manage a fiefdom. It is better not to grant it to Hanzhou. As for the future, children and grandchildren will have their own blessings. Don't be horses and oxen for your children and grandchildren. It's good if I can take care of your generation. My grandson's generation may not be able to.
Wondering what people will do a few generations from now.”
"Mom, you are right." Wen Di immediately agreed with his mother's words.
"Okay, don't talk about anything else." Li Sha'er said a few more words to her son, and then said: "To attack Egypt, it is natural to have both naval and land forces. Your uncle's family is a pirate.
, was later recruited by the government, so the land division naturally has no acquaintances, but the navy division still has a few familiar and close people."
"The first one is your uncle. Your uncle himself is capable, and the officials of the Metropolitan Governor's Office also see me as the imperial concubine. He has now mentioned the commander of the capital, the second officer of the Nanhai Navy, who can also be regarded as
It’s a general. You don’t need all the Nanhai navy to attack Egypt. It’s enough for you to command all the generals or all the generals. It’s good to let your uncle be the general.”
"There are also those who were with your uncle at the beginning. Now some are in the South China Sea Navy and some are in the East China Sea Navy. I don't care about the people in the East China Sea Navy, but the people in the South China Sea Navy should try their best to be transferred to the expedition to Egypt.
In the fleet, on the one hand, they all have real talents and knowledge, and they are our own people who will not make mistakes. On the other hand, we also give them a chance to make meritorious deeds."
"Mom, dad said that we won't send troops to attack Egypt in the next few years. Why are we thinking about it so early?" Wen Di said.
"It's not early at all!" Li Sha'er said immediately: "Since your father told you, he must have told others, and the matter spread quickly. In recent years, the countries in Southeast Asia have all obeyed.
Yes, the land army still fights occasionally, and the navy can only fight pirates. Fighting pirates is certainly a merit, but it can't be compared with fighting the enemy's navy. If the people of the Nanhai Navy know about it, Xiao Jian will definitely squeeze in even if he has his head.
If we don’t prepare the fleet in advance, we won’t be able to arrange it.”
"But you don't have to worry about this. I'll have a chat with your father and then tell your uncle."
‘Since the son doesn’t have to worry about it, tell him what to do.’ Wen Di thought. But he didn’t say this.
At this time, it was completely dark. Li Shaer stopped talking to her son and ordered her servants to prepare dinner. Now each palace cooks on its own, which is much more convenient for the lord of the first palace like her than in the past. Of course, this
It is not convenient for all concubines. During the Hongwu period, a palace did not only house one concubine. Even if the entire capital was turned into a harem, it would not be enough. Those with higher grades lived in the main hall of the palace, and those with lower grades lived in the side halls.
.However, Yun had very few concubines, and he sent the low-ranking concubines together. There was only Li Shaer's family in Zhongcui Palace.
But then Yun suddenly came. Because Yun didn't come back with Wen Di, Li Shaer thought he wouldn't come to Zhongcui Palace tonight, so she quickly ordered her servants to prepare an extra meal for one person and went to greet Yun at the same time.
At the dinner table, Li Shaer mentioned to her husband the idea of letting her brother be the commander-in-chief of the expeditionary fleet to Egypt and assigning her acquaintances to join the expeditionary fleet. Of course, Yun understood Li Shaer's thoughts, but she also felt that this was nothing.
accepted.
On the second day, while giving the secret edict, Li Shaer also sent people to Guangzhou to pass the news to his brother Li Jiqian. Li Jiqian was very happy when he found out. He had just returned home at that time and couldn't help but take out a pot of flowers.
The twenty-year-old daughter Hong, who had been bought with a lot of money, drank a glass of wine and looked at the west and said: "As for the country of Castile, you must be ready to send troops as soon as possible so that you can attack Egypt as soon as possible."
…
…
"Sure enough, Alonso, your idea is right. After the Ming Dynasty heard that the Ottomans were also going south to capture Egypt, their attitude changed drastically, and they did not care about pursuing the fact that your country has not yet captured Tunisia." Returned to the hotel from the discussion location.
On the way to the inn, James Churchill could not help but speak to Alonso de Quijano in Castilian.
"Looking at your tone, do you think that what I said about the Ottomans going south to capture Egypt is false and that I made it up to deceive the Ming people?" Quijano said in French.
"Isn't it?" Churchill asked in surprise. He also switched to French.
"Of course not." Quijano said with a wry smile: "Ottoman really wants to go south to attack Egypt."
"This? How could this happen?" Churchill panicked. In the past two years, after returning to England, he tried hard to tell everyone what he saw and heard in the East, telling them how rich the Ming Dynasty was, and opening up connections with the Ming Dynasty.
The great benefits of controlling the choke point of Suez finally convinced most of the nobles to support sending troops to attack Egypt, and the king did not dare to stop it.
But if they want to be hostile to the Ottomans, they may not participate in the war. Everyone has heard about the power of the Ottomans, and it is definitely not a place that can be captured at a small cost. England's national strength is not strong in the first place, and the nobles are not willing to send too many
People are attacking Egypt; especially now that France is full of internal contradictions. His Majesty Henry V has joined forces in France, and diplomacy is going very smoothly. At this time, sending troops to attack France can achieve great results without paying much cost, and the nobles may not be willing to participate in the war.
Already.
That's why Churchill was flustered. He was involved in planning to attack Egypt. If the matter failed in the end, he would not get any political capital. Facing a group of people who had made enough political capital in France, he could not compete with them at all.
Not to mention whether he can become the most powerful person in England, he may not be able to inherit the title.
"How did you know that the Ottomans wanted to go south and seize Egypt?" Churchill asked, forcing himself to calm down.
"This is also a mistake of our country." Quijano smiled bitterly again: "After discussing with His Majesty Ferdinand I and several nobles, Queen Catherine concluded that Sicily is too far away from Egypt and may not be used as a starting point to attack Egypt.
, so I want to get the island of Crete or Cyprus. Crete is occupied by the Venetians, and the geographical location of this island is very important. The Venetians will not agree to sell it to the Ottomans or Aragon; they can only attack the island of Cyprus.
idea.”
"The finances of several knights occupying the island of Cyprus have long been bankrupt. The knights are living in a very difficult life. The Pope has no way to call for a crusade again. They are trapped on the island of Cyprus and cannot move forward or retreat. They are willing to exchange the island for money and move to other places.
place. I went to the island of Cyprus to discuss this matter."
"But I don't know whether he was drunk or just wanted to show off too much. A person from a great nobleman in Castile who was sent as a follower to gain diplomatic experience told people from the Knights that they would use this island as an advance base to attack.
Regarding Egypt, it was also mentioned that the powerful Ming Dynasty in the East would also send troops to join the war. You also know that the places closest to Cyprus are controlled by the Ottomans. In order to survive, the Knights can only do business with the Ottomans. There are Ottomans on the island.
It was just to cover up that he wore the same clothes as the Crusaders. The people of the Knights knew about it, and soon Osman on the island knew about it and reported it immediately."
"If only Castile wanted to occupy Egypt, Muhammad I might not care, let alone be anxious; but when he heard that China also wanted to send troops to rule Egypt together with Castile, he became very anxious. After all, Ming
He had heard about the country's strength for a long time and did not dare to let the Ming Dynasty control Egypt."
"So, he gave up the idea of expelling the Venetians on the Aegean Sea, and stopped building castles on the north bank of the Danube as a forward base for attacking Hungary. While still sending troops to suppress the Sufi uprising, he was preparing to send troops to Egypt."
"Moreover, in addition to the Ottomans wanting to attack Egypt, there are other troubles when this news comes. The Venetians have always regarded the Eastern Mediterranean as their own territory. They had to share a piece of Castile's pie on the Black Sea-Caspian Sea trade route.
I'm very happy. If I knew that Castile wanted to join forces with the Ming Dynasty to get rid of them, I would definitely be very angry. Then I have to think carefully about how to deal with the Venetians."
"What should we do now?" Churchill continued to ask anxiously.
"Although the Ming Dynasty did not agree to send more troops to attack Egypt, it temporarily gave up the idea that Castile must capture Tunisia, and agreed to capture Tunisia as a dowry after capturing Egypt. I will return to Castile immediately,
Tell Queen Catherine and His Majesty Ferdinand I all these things, and ask the Queen and Your Majesty to gather all the troops that can be mobilized as soon as possible, agree on a time with the Ming Dynasty, and launch a war to attack Egypt as soon as possible. As for how to deal with what the Venetians will propose.
If you ask, then let the Queen and Your Majesty worry about it. I don’t know what to do.” Quijano said.
At this time, they had already walked back to the inn. Quijano walked into the yard and ordered the dark-skinned servant to bring a bucket of well water to wash his face. He then said to Churchill: "You should also return to England as soon as possible and tell the nobles what happened.
Urge them to send troops as soon as possible."
Churchill did not speak, but gave a wry smile. In this situation, it is extremely unlikely that the English nobles would be willing to send troops.
"You don't want to be completely honest with them." Quijano said: "You can make the situation more optimistic, and you can even tell some lies appropriately. After all, England is located in the northwest of Europe. In addition to caring about the British Isles and France, the nobles do not care about the British Isles and France.
Even if other places don’t care and don’t understand, the truth may not spread.”
"That's all we can do." Churchill sighed again, and then gritted his teeth and said, "I must ask the nobles to send troops, even if there are only two or three thousand people, they must send troops."
"Yes, you have to have this kind of energy," Quijano said again.
The two said a few more words and then dispersed.
The next day, Quijano found Claviyo and asked him to say goodbye. At that time, Claviyo was writing about his experiences in India. When he heard this, he said: "Why don't you stay a few more days?"
"The Ottomans also want to seize Egypt. The Ming Dynasty is powerful and occupies a lot of fertile land. Don't worry about it. Our Kingdom of Castile cares about it very much. In order to get ahead of the Ottomans, I can only do my best.
." Quijano said.
"Okay." Claviyo actually wanted to stay with his old friend Quijano for a few more days and relieve his homesickness. But since he said so, he couldn't stop him from going back, he could only agree.
.
He picked up a few books on the table and handed them to him: "If you take these books back, it may be more beneficial to what you want to do."
"Records about the wealth of India and the Ming Dynasty?" Quijano glanced at the cover a few times and asked.
Clavijo nodded.
"It may indeed be useful, so I won't be polite." Quijano said, taking the books. He said a few more words to Clavijo, then turned and left the room.
The next day, he and Churchill took a boat and left India.