I'm really not doing business

Chapter 560 We Taixi should join forces to fight against Ming!

Zhu Yijun, the weightlifting champion of the Ming Dynasty, carried the giant thunder of the Silver Barrier. According to the degree of accumulation of silver by internal funds, tens of millions of taels of silver piled up every year. To dismantle this giant thunder, the craftsmen of the Military War Bureau must be loyal to the emperor. The country must rapidly increase the number of printed silver coins, otherwise it will be blocked and the Ming Dynasty will be crushed.

This was also the reason for the economic collapse in the late Yongle period. Silver flowed in, but a large amount was concentrated in internal funds. The people did not benefit from the inflow of silver, but were harmed, and eventually official ships and official trade were stopped.

The suspension of official ships and official trade was the best solution that could be found at the time amid many conflicts. Now the Ming Dynasty has once again opened official ships and official trade, including global caravans, galleons trade, Japanese silver, and Womagang silver mines. It caused a large inflow of white silver. Through various channels, nearly half of the silver eventually flowed into the internal funds of the Ming Emperor. If it could not be dredged, there would be no currency to use downstream.

But it doesn't matter. As long as the emperor is willing to allocate the money, there will be no problem with the craftsmen. The craftsmen of the Ming Dynasty can be relied on. Zhu Yijun chose to trust the craftsmen.

Felipe II's special envoy Solon finally gave up his plan under the persuasion of another special envoy Legas.

The price to pay for being against the Ming Dynasty is too high. If the Ming Dynasty really hates the Ming Emperor, I am afraid that the Ming Dynasty will spare no effort to arm Antonio and be on good terms with England. If the Ming, Portuguese and British families join forces, even if they cannot destroy Spain, they can still destroy the arrogant Japanese. The native fleet of the fallen empire was blocked in the Strait of Gibraltar, unable to move forward.

The narrowest part of the Strait of Gibraltar is only twenty-eight miles, and it is the only passage from the Mediterranean Sea to the Atlantic Ocean. At sea, only a few small boats are needed to complete surveillance here. Heavy artillery is set up on both sides, plus the firepower of five-masted ocean crossing ships. , completely blocking the Invincible Fleet in the bathtub of the Mediterranean Sea is not Sauron's unfounded worry.

Once the Strait of Gibraltar is controlled by others, Spain will only be able to control it like a giant dragon.

Ming Dynasty is certainly beyond its reach now, but England and Portugal certainly hope to have one less diner on the table, and even bring Spain to the table.

Sauron really went to see Rui De's grave. Originally, Sauron wanted to make up for his life, but finally gave up. Rui De's past was actually very boring. A very ordinary illegitimate son of a nobleman was sent to The seminary, with the idea of ​​spreading divine grace, went to India.

John Harrison was in great pain. He hoped to communicate with the officials of the Honglu Temple of the Ministry of Rites, but the Ming Dynasty sent two people who did not understand Latin to contact John. This was equivalent to turning off the microphone and refusing to communicate. John had a huge headache with those square characters. , I can’t understand it at all.

John's relationship with Spain was not good, and his relationship with Portugal was also very poor, but the only people who were good at Chinese were the envoys from these two countries.

The Ming Dynasty's cotton business had a huge impact on the whole of England. Coupled with Felipe II's constant temptations, the British Parliament was overwhelmed and hoped that diplomacy would bring some improvement to the precarious situation, but it was very hopeful. Slim.

John went through various activities and finally got Ming's intention from the Dutch envoys. Before revoking the privateering license, Ming refused to have any contact with the envoys from England. Ming hated the pirates deeply and was deeply affected by the Japanese invasion. In the Ming Dynasty, the consensus from top to bottom was to refuse to associate with pirates.

With the strength of the Ming Navy and the production capacity of the Ming Dynasty, if pirates were allowed to exist, the pirates of the Ming Dynasty would spread throughout the South and West Oceans.

This is not a choice of moral integrity, but Ming Dynasty needs a stable sea territory to protect the safety of coastal people and allow the goods produced by Ming Dynasty's powerful productivity to circulate smoothly.

John found Sauron.

Yes, John, an English pirate, found the Spanish envoy Solon. Since the issuance of the privateering license, Spain has closed all channels of communication with England. Felipe, who was still proposing to marry the Queen of England before, is now with England broke off diplomatic relations.

If England wants to have an official dialogue with Spain, it needs to find an envoy in the Ming Dynasty. After all, in the Ming Dynasty, the envoys of both countries have to give face to the Ming Dynasty.

"We should unite and fight against the Ming Dynasty. The Ming Dynasty is really too powerful." When John saw Sauron and saw that Li Yashi was not there, he was immediately overjoyed and without hesitation, he went straight to the point and explained his purpose. .

In John's mind, Legas was already an official of the Ming Dynasty. This recognition was not only felt by him, but also by Felipe.

Only when England, Portugal and Spain join forces can the West have a bright future!

Ming Dynasty is so powerful, Taixi should unite!
"Are you telling some weird joke?" Sauron looked at John and said blankly: "We in Spain are cooperating with you group of pirates to fight against the Ming Dynasty? Is there something wrong with my ears, or did I hear it wrong? Is there something wrong with your head?"

"I wish England would die immediately. If I can't defeat the Ming Dynasty, I can't defeat you English people!"

"Being with pirates is a disgrace!"

John slapped the table and stood up, took two steps forward, and shouted loudly: "Are you doing too many bad things in Spain? There is an old saying in China that laughs at fifty steps. When escaping, he ran for five steps. Those who take ten steps laugh and those who run away one hundred steps, we are pirates, what about you? Are you not pirates? The whole new world is your pirate!"

"We are forced! No one is born a pirate! After our merchant ship was robbed, weren't those goods also traded in your Cape Verde? We were catching slaves, didn't you catch slaves? Rich silver The miners in the mountains and the Peruvian Saltpeter Mountains are all voluntary, right?”

Sauron was also furious and slammed the table. He also took two steps forward and said sternly: "They have converted! They are all believers of God. They have contributed their efforts to God and will eventually be saved! They will go there after they die." Kingdom of God.”

John and Sauron were already touching the tips of their noses, spitting everywhere. John sneered and said with great disdain: "Hypocritical, more shameless than us English people! At least we admit our banditry, and you, tsk tsk, Put the blame on God, and then continue to do those evil things after repenting devoutly before God!”

"At least we're not as hypocritical as you!"

"You have blasphemed God! I want to duel with you!" Sauron is very good at debating, but in the end no one can convince anyone in this kind of debate. He is obviously an even more hateful troublemaker. This righteous look is really annoying. Too annoying!
John is an adventurer and has been fighting for his life at sea all year round. Of course he is not afraid of the requirements of this kind of duel. Sauron is already very old. He picked up the gloves on the table and threw them in front of Sauron, half raising his head. Said: "Then come on! You don't have a clear understanding of your own strength, let me help you wake up."

"Use this." Sauron took out a firecracker.

A very exquisite handgun, a flintlock handgun. This was a gift given to Felipe II by the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty last time. It was used to demonstrate the technology of the Ming Dynasty. It is not removable. Zhu Yijun once dismantled it. He disassembled it. After that, it cannot be installed. The fire gun is specially made. The structure of the Ming Dynasty fire gun will be simpler. Simplicity means reliability.

"You!" John stared blankly at the musket in Sauron's hand, and immediately regretted agreeing to the duel.

"What are you! Are you still dueling?" Sauron took out the medicine bag and prepared to fill it. Of course, John also had a musket, but the activation speed of the matchlock gun was far slower than that of the flintlock gun. He would definitely shoot faster to let the opponent Die in front.

John's face turned red and he said, "Huh! Even if you win, you won't win with courage, wisdom, or your own strength, but with unfair means. This is not honorable!"

Sauron shook the fire gun in his hand and said: "Coward, why don't you go to Marcus for a duel? He is a sword master, so if you don't go to him and go to my secretary who has no force, will you be honored?"

Marcus's sword is faster and his spear is faster. If there is a swordsmanship competition, he is very powerful. If there is a fire blunderbuss competition, Marcus is invincible with the flintlock blunderbuss given by the Ming Emperor.

John wouldn't challenge Marcus to a duel because he couldn't beat him.

The young ministers Gao Qiyu and Xu Jiugao outside the door were filled with emotion when they heard the movement inside the door. Your Majesty deliberately made John and Sauron neighbors. It turned out that he was here to watch a good show!
It's like the Ryukyu King Naohisa and the Japanese King Ashikaga Yoshiaki are next to each other. They throw excrement at each other all day long, so much so that the emperor issued an order not to let them do it. The stench is so bad.

John and Sauron were neighbors, and they said nothing about it. After a few quarrels, they were about to use firearms.

Xu Jiugao thought for a moment and whispered: "Actually, we are going in now to give them a step down. After all, it is a bit embarrassing now. John said he is an adventurer, but in fact he is also a pirate. He does not cherish his reputation at all, but he cherishes his life. And Sauron doesn’t really want to kill John. After all, he is the envoy sent by England to the Ming Dynasty. If he kills John, what will happen to the Ming Dynasty? "

"Do you want to go in?" Gao Qiyu also hesitated.

The two young ministers were in front of the room, neither going in nor leaving. There were people all over the Ming Dynasty who wanted to have fun and see how the two people who had quarreled to a duel would end.

In the end, John got discouraged and chose to apologize and let Sauron calm down.

"Are you really not going to consider my proposal? Let's join forces in Taixi to fight against the Ming Dynasty." After John apologized, his tone became gentler.

Sauron asked back: "The Ming Dynasty can give us goods like the Pacific Ocean, but what can England give us? Apart from getting a reputation, what else can we get from cooperating with England?"

"Nothing will be gained. Even if we annex you, countless homeless people will need to be resettled. Ireland, Scotland and you all have different intentions and actions are inconsistent. We still need to spend a lot of money to solve these problems."

"So, life and death is the only fate between our two countries."

"Humph, we English are not easy to bully! You will regret it!" John stood up.

In fact, John knew very well that Sauron was right. England could not provide enough benefits to Spain. Things like diplomatic relations only depended on profits. The woolen business in England also caused a conflict of interest with the Spanish Mesta Association. Ming Dynasty did not export woolen cloth to the outside world, because Ming Dynasty was working on the side and there was not enough woolen cloth itself, let alone selling it out.

Last time Sauron wanted woolen cloth, but the Ming Emperor decisively rejected it and gave him cotton as a cheap substitute.

John left angrily. As soon as he opened the door, he saw the two young ministers who had not left yet. They were people that John had never wanted to see before. This chance encounter made John overjoyed.

"You two young gentlemen, I finally meet you!" John immediately greeted him in Latin.

"Do you know Latin?" Xu Jiugao looked at Gao Qiyu and asked in Latin.

Gao Qiyu also said in Latin: "I can't, can you? Do you understand what he said?"

"It seems that we need to find a general manager, otherwise we can't understand what he says, how can we communicate?" Xu Jiugao ignored John, and the two young men just left the slightly embarrassed John and walked in inside the room.

Of course they did it on purpose. Emperor Ming had said that Ming would not have contact with England until the British royal family withdrew its privateering license.

Xu Jiugao and Gao Qiyu came to Suolun to confirm the list of goods. Bulk commodities such as silk, cotton, cloth, and ships need to be confirmed in the Jingtang before they can buy enough goods. Of course, private purchases will be cheaper, but it will take a long, long time. , such a large order can only be fulfilled by the imperial court.

"The five-masted transoceanic ship has been reduced from 250,000 silver to 180,000 silver. This year, it has been reduced to 50,000 silver. So what did Spain buy?!" Sauron looked at the price of the ship on the trade list and was extremely horrified. said.

It is simply unbelievable that the price has dropped so much.

Gao Qiyu said with a smile: "Thanks to the ability of vertical integration, production costs have dropped rapidly. This is natural. Of course, this price reduction is only achieved by Ming Dynasty merchants. Any five-masted ocean-going ship must Each ship is inspected once every two years. Even if it is reported as a loss, it will cost you 180,000 silver if you want to buy a five-masted ship.

If a merchant in the Ming Dynasty bought and sold a five-masted ocean-going ship and could not provide documentary evidence, such as a customs clearance document from the Municipal Shipping Department, proving that it was indeed a loss in maritime trade, then the merchant and his relatives and friends would no longer be allowed to buy new ships. Five-masted ocean ship.

This is a combination of melons and vines. As long as one person violates the court's prohibition, he and his relatives and friends will suffer together.

"It only costs 50,000 silver to sell it to the Ming Dynasty, but it costs 180,000 silver to sell it to us? Isn't this bullying!" Sauron clenched his fists, the price difference was more than three times!
"If you think it's expensive, I still think it's expensive. Do you think you can buy as much as you want? It depends on how much the craftsmen in the shipyard can make. Ming merchants don't have enough, so you don't have to buy it. Take a look at cotton cloth. The price of cotton cloth has increased again this year. It’s reduced, one silver per piece, how about it? Isn’t that very kind?” Xu Jiugao chose to change the subject. If you think it’s expensive, you don’t have to buy it. Folk merchants in the Ming Dynasty were very enthusiastic about five-masted ships.
Love comes or not, love buys or not.

If Taishi doesn't buy it, His Majesty will be spared a few scoldings. He would rather stay with friends than domestic slaves. This is already a very severe accusation.

"A piece of cloth among the people is only one cent and three cents. The Emperor of Ming Dynasty sold it to us for one silver each. This is too dark. How kind is that?" Sauron said with a painful look on his face: "I can also understand some miscellaneous things. Report!”

"Well, you can raise your own funds. There are many business gangs in Songjiang Prefecture." Xu Jiugao still smiled and was polite.

The reason why Sauron chose to buy the expensive ones from the Ming Emperor instead of buying the cheap ones was because in the eyes of the Ming Dynasty Merchant Gang, the merchants in Taixi were all taken advantage of and fat sheep.

The private price is a little lower than the court price. The main reason is that the Ming Dynasty also has merchant ships. The merchant ships can bring the goods to Nagasaki and the Mughal Kingdom and sell them at high prices.

The problem caused by being a little cheaper is that inferior products are passed off as good ones. Businessmen in the Celestial Kingdom did not give up pursuing profits just because they were in the Celestial Kingdom.

The quality of the goods in Minfang varies greatly. When buying goods from Minfang, you need to test your eyesight. This is true even for cotton, tea, porcelain, and iron pots. If you have this skill, you might as well buy it from the imperial court. There are also other things involved. It's a judicial issue.

If a trade dispute occurs, the Ming court will be more inclined to local merchants rather than the foreigners like them. Therefore, it is safer to do business with the Ming Dynasty, it is safer to do business with the emperor. It is a bit expensive, but the goods are really good. , and it is very guaranteed, such as Lingluo silk and satin. Over the years, the quality has never declined, but the varieties and patterns have become more numerous.

Moreover, the bulk of the transaction was still silk, which was an extremely expensive luxury product and could only be purchased from the imperial court.

When Sauron and Ming were discussing business, Zhao Zhenyuan, the Ming emperor's sparring partner and son of Tishuai Zhao Mengyou, brought Tiqi to Legas's mansion. Ligas built a house in Ming and moved out of Seyi in the third year of Wanli. As the general manager of Honglu Temple in the Ming Dynasty, he received two salaries from the Ming Dynasty and Spain.

But this time, Zhao Zhenyuan led a team not to arrest Legas, but to 'ransom' his home.

"Special Envoy Li, please don't embarrass Your Majesty." Zhao Zhenyuan looked at Li Yashi in front of the door and said: "You can translate the content that the court allows for translation, but your Majesty does not allow the discussions related to the Iron Horse. If you refuse to hand it over, then I can only dig three feet into the ground."

"I don't have a translator." Legas shook his head and said, "If you don't believe it, just go check it out."

Ligas did not seem to be lying, but Zhao Zhenyuan did not hesitate. With a wave of his hand, the Tiqiu people scattered out, entered Ligasi's house, and began to rummage through the boxes and cabinets. The Tiqiu people were very professional. After all, they were not guilty of any crime. Make a mess at home.

Tiqi, a professional, did not find any documents that should not be translated.

Legas sighed and said: "I really don't have a translator, because translating is useless. Instead of translating, it would be better for Taixi to send some smart people to study. But judging from my personal example, if they come, I'm afraid Don’t want to go back.”

The content of Legas' translation mainly focused on the theory of contradiction and class. The problem in Spain is not productivity, but that the vassal feudal system has come to an end, and a way out needs to be found as soon as possible. The steam engine is of course important, but there is no stable country. No matter how powerful the machine is, it will never be used.

Legas has been in the Ming Dynasty for ten years. He knows where the emperor's boundaries are. Legas can also clearly distinguish what is diplomatic activity and what is spying.

Ming Dynasty has very strict technical precautions. Any people and goods leaving must be carefully inspected to prevent entrainment.

Zhu Yijun received the memorial from the Ministry of Rites. Regarding the issues that the special envoys from various countries were more concerned about, Zhu Yijun made a reply. He held a memorial in front of him, paused for a moment and said: "Although selling arms is very profitable, let's forget it. How much will it cost?" Lipe, save some face."

The Northern League of the Netherlands, the special envoy of the Utrecht League (Netherlands), is named Iron Mullen. The Northern League is composed of civilians. This time Iron came to buy arms from the Ming Emperor. to the resistance movement.

Ain hopes to get the help of the Ming Dynasty, which can indeed sell some arms, but this will undoubtedly add obstacles to Felipe II and affect the diplomatic relations between the two countries. Even without the Ming Dynasty's participation, the north and south regions of the Netherlands have become de facto Be independent.

"If Sauron insists on expressing Felipe II's anger, it's not impossible to sell it. Tell Sauron the news. Felipe II had better make a wise choice, otherwise don't blame Ming for rubbing his wounds. It’s salty.” Zhu Yijun said to Feng Bao.

If Sauron roars at the Wenhua Palace, Zhu Yijun can only take it down.

Sauron is different from Ruid. The Ming Dynasty and the Governor-General of Goa are in a hostile state. As an envoy of the enemy country, Ruid is dissatisfied. His roar before the imperial court is more of a kind of courage. It is a kind of courage to risk death and sink the boat. The Ming Dynasty If the emperor is in trouble, he will appear harsh, and the two soldiers will not be killed when the two armies are handed over.

But the relationship between Ming Dynasty and Spain has not yet fallen to the stage of hostility.

"This Iron Mullen can be considered a figure." Zhu Yijun looked at the memorial in his hand. Iron Mullen's superficial identity is a miller and a member of the Northern Alliance's parliament, but in fact, behind the scenes, Iron Mullen is A captain, a pirate captain.

This is not surprising. The Netherlands is located at the mouth of the Rhine River. Because of its low terrain, it is also called the Lowlands. The Dutch themselves are very good at shipbuilding. In the Netherlands, swimming and maneuvering ships are like Innate instinct.

Although Spain's ocean-going fleet needed goods from the Netherlands' handicraft workshops and Dutch people to become sailors, the Spanish still scorned them as sea beggars.

The heavy taxes eventually broke out into fierce resistance. Starting from the second year of Longqing, the Netherlands began a vigorous resistance movement and finally succeeded.

Iron Mullen was one of the people who emerged in the resistance movement. He was a resister and a pirate captain. His father was burned at the stake for hiding Protestant books. His mother was regarded as a witch, but she avoided the fate of being burned to death because his mother died in the inquisition under mysterious circumstances.

When Iron Mullen was thirteen years old, he turned from a miller's son into a pirate, and then began his brave life. He defeated the Spanish army many times, and even the famous Spanish Grand Square was destroyed. Defeated by Ain.

Sauron all knows Iron Mullen. Iron Mullen's head is worth 3.5 hot florins. Hot florins are a standard unit of minting. Each coin is made of g of pure gold, which means that En Mullen's head was worth five thousand taels of gold.

Felipe II was never able to pay out the bounty, and Iron Mullen remained alive.

Iron Mullen's growth experience is actually a microcosm of the life of the Dutch. Under the high-pressure rule of the inhumane Inquisition, the Dutch had no choice but to go to sea and become bandits.

In other words, the pirates who Felipe II is now having a huge headache and cannot even recruit are all reaping the consequences.

The Spanish royal family's annual tax is 500 million florins, and more than half of these revenues come from the Netherlands. Felipe implemented high-pressure rule in the Netherlands in exchange for wealth, and now he will spit it out.

Except for the English envoy John, all the envoys were arranged to meet, and the most special one was the Portuguese envoy Marcus.

Marcus met Marcus alone. The Emperor of the Ming Dynasty received Marcus at the Guanlong Pavilion next to the Dragon Pond in Tonghe Palace. This was a distinction between closeness and distance. No matter what, the Portuguese king wore the Ming Dynasty's five-piece robe and received extra preferential treatment. It is also a gesture.

"Last time, the French envoy Gillian was executed by Queen Mother Catherine. France did not send another envoy this year." Marcus talked about the last envoy who came to the Ming Dynasty with a special mission, Gillian. He wanted to use a honey trap, but in the end His Majesty just wanted to sell cotton.

"I have nothing to do with their family affairs, right?" Zhu Yijun shook his head and said: "The problem with their family is that they have no heirs, so they are replaced by the Bourbon family. It is basically the consensus of France. The Queen Mother's struggle is in vain."

That ridiculous Henry III had no heirs, which was an unsolvable problem. If there was an heir, Zhu Yijun wouldn't mind playing a casual game.

"How is Antonio's life?" Zhu Yijun asked about the Portuguese king he had enthroned, whom he had not seen for several years.

Marcus said with a smile on his face: "Thanks to His Majesty, His Highness has lived a very comfortable life. Now he has a son. Although he still has conflicts with the nobles in the country, overall, His Highness has lived a very comfortable life in these years. The most peaceful time.”

Zhu Yijun rubbed the center of his brows and said with some worry: "What I'm saying below may not sound good, but I hope Antonio can listen to it."

"What I want to remind him is to be careful of a small group of careerists, especially his soldiers. I know that his soldiers are all former sailors, fighting for their lives on the sea and sharing life and death with the King of Portugal, and establishing a relationship with Antonio. But people’s hearts will change, and when Felipe II pays a high enough price, these soldiers will inevitably be affected.”

"To put it more bluntly, be careful of assassinations and armed coups. If he doesn't pay attention now, there is still the possibility of trouble. Of course, I also hope that Antonio's soldiers will all be loyal to Antonio and to Portugal."

After Marcus heard this, he scratched his head and said, "On this issue, State Minister Xu Fan reminded His Highness. After Xu Fan's warning, His Highness is only protected by the coastal defense patrol Haifei."

"Ah? To be the king of Portugal with him, all depends on my people?" Zhu Yijun sat up straight, looked at Marcus and said in disbelief: "Does the security also have to be handed over to the coastal defense inspection? Are you afraid that I will give a decree? Let Da Zhuang kill him?"

Chen Dazhuang, formerly known as Chen Zhu, was the victim of the Yanzhou Confucian Mansion's Dog Crying Grave Case. Ling Yunyi's former guest soldier chose to trust the emperor's coastal defense inspection again, and he is now the special envoy to the West.

Zhu Yijun called him Da Zhuang, and Ling Yunyi also called him the same. The biggest characteristic of Da Zhuang is that he is very strong.

"Your Highness is the King of Portugal canonized by His Majesty. If you don't rely on Your Majesty, what can you rely on..." Marcus said matter-of-factly.

"Antonio wants to default on the debt?" Zhu Yijun frowned and felt that the matter was not simple, and he immediately thought of a possibility.

Marcus looked at His Majesty blankly. He looked at Zhang Hong and Feng Bao for help. He couldn't understand why His Majesty's thinking was so out of the ordinary. How could His Majesty jump to the level where His Majesty wanted to default on his debt?

"I am stupid." Marcus admitted that he was stupid and could not keep up with His Majesty's thinking.

(End of this chapter)