I am Emperor Wanli

Chapter 876: Why not just give in?

A Portuguese minister said angrily: "According to the decree of Pope Alexander VI, the land west of the Papal Meridian belongs to Spain, and the land east of the Papal Meridian belongs to Portugal. The Redwood Territory (Brazil) in the southern part of the New World is just east of the Papal Meridian, so it naturally belongs to us Portugal!"

Shen Wanxiang was a little confused, "Pope's Meridian, what does it mean?"

Leon explained, "Mr. Shen, since Columbus, who was commissioned by the Spanish royal family, discovered the New World, and Count Da Gama of Portugal discovered the route to India, Portugal and Spain had a disagreement over these newly discovered lands.

In 1495, an agreement was reached through the mediation of Pope Alexander VI.

His Holiness the Pope declared in the form of a decree that the meridian one hundred leagues (three nautical miles, about 5.56 kilometers) west of the Azores and Cape Verde Islands was the dividing line, and all the land west of the line belonged to Spain, and all the land east of the line belonged to Portugal.

By decree, we, Portugal and Spain, signed the Treaty of Tordesillas, which formally established the Papal Meridian as 370 leagues west of the Azores and Cape Verde Islands.
In 1522, Magellan made the first circumnavigation of the world, proving that the earth is round. Then Portugal and Spain signed the Treaty of Zaragoza, dividing the two countries' spheres of influence in the Pacific Ocean."

Shen Wanxiang laughed angrily, "This is a treaty between Portugal and Spain to divide the sphere of influence. What does it have to do with my Ming Dynasty? Could it be that Portugal and Spain signed a treaty to divide the solar system, and we no longer have the right to see the sun and the moon?"

Sebastian I and his ministers looked at each other.

Yes, the Treaty of Tordesillas and the Treaty of Zaragoza were signed between Portugal and Spain and are not binding on the Ming Dynasty.

When we used these two treaties to reason with the Ming Dynasty, they simply refused to accept them.

By the Treaties of Tordesillas and Zaragoza, Spain possessed most of the New World, as well as the areas west of the Spice Islands in Asia.

However, the Ming Dynasty has already driven Spain out of the Pacific region, and is currently encircling and suppressing Spanish forces in the New World from multiple directions by land and sea, determined to wipe them out!
How to reason?
Another minister said indignantly: "The Treaty of Tordesillas and the Treaty of Zaragoza were signed according to papal decrees, guaranteed and supervised by His Holiness the Pope."

Shen Wanxiang asked bluntly: "The Pope is your Pope, not our Pope.

How many battleships and guns does he have? How dare he dare to dictate to the Ming Dynasty?"

Sebastian I and his ministers were even more dumbfounded.

Yes, they are pagans and don’t care about the one in Rome at all.

Papal Bull?

People won't take it seriously at all.

Besides, the reason why they dare to stand here with such confidence is that they have defeated Spain and Portugal successively in the past few years.

They are the winners!
The victor is not to be blamed!
How to deal with it?

Sebastian I coughed twice and said, "Two Ming envoys, we are aware of the conditions proposed by your country, and now we need to discuss it carefully before we can give a response.

Please go down and rest first. We will discuss the matter with the two envoys after we have come up with a conclusion."

"it is good!"

Shen Wanxiang and Wang Yongji were also unambiguous and answered immediately.

After the two left, Sebastian I glanced at his ministers and asked, "Gentlemen, the conditions of the Ming Kingdom are before us. How should we respond?"

A minister shook his head and said, "Other conditions are easy to negotiate, but asking us to give up the Redwood Territory in the New World! This is not acceptable!"

The Redwood Territory was found by our Portuguese navy officers and soldiers at great risk. They fought bloody battles with the Spaniards and the damned French, British, German and other Protestants for decades, which led to its current size.

I'm not willing to give up in vain! "

"Scale? How big is Hongmu Territory?" Another minister retorted bluntly, "The Hongmu Territory we occupy has no gold or silver mines, it's all primeval forests, and even if we want to cultivate it, we have to spend a lot of effort to open up the wasteland.

Not only does it require a lot of manpower and material resources, but it also requires guarding against constant attacks from indigenous savages. Why is Redwood Territory often invaded by Protestants from France, Britain, and Germany?
It is because we have not invested much energy there. The future of Portugal lies in Africa, India and the East!"

"So you mean to give up the Redwood Territory and hand it over to the Ming people?"

"We can use it to exchange benefits with the Ming people."

"Cough cough!" Leon coughed twice, interrupting the argument between the two ministers and attracting the attention of Sebastian I and others.

"What's wrong, Baron Leon?"

"Your Majesty, ministers, today the envoys from the Ming Dynasty proposed that Portugal give up the Redwood Territory and retreat to two designated islands in the Caribbean Sea. According to my understanding, this should be done."

Leon hesitated to speak.

Sebastian I asked, "What should I say? Baron Leon, you might as well make your words clearer."

"Your Highness, according to my understanding, the Ming envoy told us these conditions as a notification, not a negotiation."

"What do you mean?"

"Whether we in Portugal agree or not, the Ming people will carry out the decision in the following way."

Sebastian I and other ministers were shocked.

Is the Ming Dynasty so domineering?
Sebastian I turned to look at Marcelo, his teacher and more trusted confidant.

"What is your understanding, Marquis Marcelo?"

Marcelo sighed, shrugged and replied, "Your Highness, I understand it the same as Leon."

Sebastian I was furious.

This is so unreasonable!

"What if we in Portugal don't agree?"

Marcelo replied: "Then the Ming can save two or three Caribbean islands. They can also transfer the ports of Daman, Surat and Diu in northwestern India to Arab merchants, and then..." "Alliance with the Ottomans?" exclaimed a minister.

The other ministers were shocked.

The Christian world is already struggling to cope with the infidel Ottoman, and now comes a more ruthless and capable infidel.

God, please save our souls and bodies!
Sebastian I held his neck with his right hand and loosened his collar. The possibility of an alliance between the Ming Dynasty and the Ottoman Empire made it almost impossible for him to breathe.

Like Spain, Portugal is a Catholic country with a strong Christian pedigree and one of the favorites of the Pope.

If the two powerful pagans, the Ming Dynasty and the Ottoman Empire, formed an alliance to deal with the Christian world together.

The sky is falling!

Marcelo added fuel to the fire calmly, "Your Highness, ministers, when Leon and I were on a diplomatic mission to the Ming Dynasty, we happened to meet the Ottoman envoys and the Persian envoys who were also on a diplomatic mission to the Ming Dynasty.

The Ming Dynasty and the envoys from our three countries negotiated separately, so we don’t know what the Ming Dynasty and the Ottoman Empire talked about or what agreement they reached.

All we know is that the Ming Dynasty also sent people to accompany the Ottoman and Persian envoys back home."

Sebastian I remained silent. Two ministers who had always been at odds with Marcelo looked at each other and asked sarcastically, "What benefits did Marquis Marcelo and Baron León gain for Portugal when they went to Ming?"

Marquis Marcelo replied bluntly: "Make peace!"

"Peace? Haha, where is peace? Why can't I see it?"

Marcelo replied: "Ming is preparing to send a squadron with ten times the number of warships and artillery as the escort fleet, directly to Europe to bombard Portugal and Spain.

Your Majesty, my Lords, this is a common tactic used by the Ming people, blocking the coastline and using various firearms and marines to bombard coastal ports and cities.

There is a country called Dong Wa in the east of Ming. Because of the war with Ming, Ming adopted a naval blockade tactic. Over the past ten years, it has degenerated from an island country similar to England to a barbaric country similar to Africa. "

Sebastian I and his ministers were shocked. "Blockade for more than ten years? The Ming people are so cruel!"

"Your Highness, the Ming people are just so cruel. The way they treat their enemies is beyond our imagination."

Some ministers were unconvinced: "Is this true?"

"Eastern Wa is also called Japan. We have ships and merchants who have been there. There are still missionaries there. They often send letters back through the Ming people. You can find out by asking."

Sebastian I asked in disbelief: "A blockade of ten years requires not only great determination and perseverance, but also great power."

Yes, the blockade has been going on for ten years, and sending the navy there in rotation every year is just hard work without any benefits. If it were Portugal, Spain or other European countries, the navy and the nobles would be in uproar in two or three years, not ten years, and this decision would soon be impossible to implement.

Then it is necessary to rely on the authority of the monarch to suppress opposition from all sides.

Marcelo replied: "Your Highness, the Great Emperor of Ming was only sixteen years old when he ascended the throne, and now he is twenty-two years old.

At the age of ten, he began to handle military and state affairs with the support of his grandfather. When he ascended the throne, everyone in the Ming Dynasty bowed down to him.

Marcelo told Sebastian I about Zhu Yijun's deeds, which made him feel refreshed.

The aristocratic families who have occupied the local area for hundreds of years can kill people at will; they control the military power, financial power, and personnel power; their words become laws, and their decrees are decrees.
This is what a real man should do!
However, when he saw the noble ministers standing in a circle below and looking at him with various looks, Sebastian I immediately returned to reality.

impossible!
At least it is impossible in Europe. Even the Pope of Rome cannot have such power because those popes were elected by the great nobles through bribery.

For example, Pope Alexander VI, who drew the Papal Meridian, was born under the name Rodrigo di Borgia. He was proficient in drinking, whoring and gambling since he was a child, and he had no idea how many illegitimate children he had. It was because his family was a great noble family in Valencia, Spain, and they were very rich that they bought the position of bishop.

That’s right, the priesthood of the Catholic Church is clearly priced and is fair to everyone. This is one of the important means for the Roman Curia and bishops in various regions to make money.

At the age of 25, Di Borgia was made a cardinal by his uncle, Pope Callixtus III.

In 1484, Di Borgia, who had amassed a large fortune, prepared to march towards the papal throne, but he was defeated by Innocent VIII because he did not give enough money to the College of Cardinals.

In 1494, Innocent VIII died, and Di Borgia went straight to his greatest rival, Cardinal Ascario Sforza.

Tell me how much money you need to withdraw from the election.

After using gold coins to settle accounts with Sforza, he continued to spend money to buy enough votes from cardinals, and Di Borgia became Pope Alexander VI.

What power can such a pope have?
Apart from the common people, nobles and clergy who were fooled by indulgences, who would truly listen to him?
If the Pope can't do it, how can I, a mere King of Portugal, do it?
Sebastian I sighed, his eyes swept across the faces of the noble ministers, and he made up his mind.

According to the Papal Meridian, Portugal's interests are in the East, relying on Africa and India, as well as the transit trade of the Ming Dynasty. In comparison, the New World Redwood Territory (Brazil) is a chicken rib for Portugal.

Apart from these reasons, the most important reason is that Portugal could not defeat the Ming Dynasty.

If you lose, you have to admit it!
You can't keep losing, or you will end up losing beyond repair.

After a heated discussion among the ministers, they finally reached a consensus.

In a place in the Sintra Palace, Shen Wanxiang and Wang Yongji were led to a house by Portuguese guards.

The guard left tactfully. Shen Wanxiang went forward and was about to knock on the door when he heard a fierce quarrel coming from inside.

He exchanged a glance with Wang Yongji, then extended his right hand and knocked on the door.

"Please come in!"

Shen Wanxiang and Wang Yongji pushed the door open and spoke to the people inside who were arguing fiercely.

"Everyone, what are you arguing about? Mingshou and I heard you quarreling outside."

(End of this chapter)