Excited, Pimont took a pleasant sip of the sweet and sour tomato juice, well, it tasted good, sure enough...... Aussie things are always different......

At the same time, a familiar whistle sounded on the sea in the distance, and Pimont couldn't help but look back at the Pride in the distance, only to see her whistle again, and under the guidance of the pilot boat, a few puffs of smoke erupted from the stern of the boat, and began to slowly sail towards the dock......

It took more than an hour from the time Pimont boarded the ship to the pier when the Pride docked, because for the docks in Macau, the draft of the Pride was still relatively deep, so that most of the docks in Macau Harbor could not dock.

Fortunately, the Port of Macau finally found a berth that could barely reach the Pride, but it was necessary to tow away a ship that was already leaning there, and it took a long time for the Pride to actually dock.

It was in this period of more than an hour, under the pergola on the foredeck of the Nicole, that Pimont had a "candid, friendly and fruitful meeting" with Sun Lao, Gu Jin and others.

According to the descriptions of later historians, what was discussed in this hour was of great significance, and later facts proved that in a sense, the talks between the two sides at that time changed the power structure of Nanyang and was the beginning of a new era.

At the time, however, the meeting was secret, and for at least for a long time, the contents of the meeting were kept in the filing cabinets of both sides as classified files, and were not made public.

In addition to the almost substantive-free diplomatic rhetoric that was soon made public, there was also a brief "Statement on Free Trade between the Governor of the Timor Territory of the Kingdom of Portugal and the Commonwealth of Australia".

In this Portuguese-Macao Declaration, the only thing that has more substance is that the two sides have reached a consensus:

Jointly promote the free trade system in the region, and commit to the Viceroyalty of Timor and the Zixia Island Jurisdiction of the Australian Commonwealth to fully open up to trade, investment and immigration to both sides.

Obviously, the Declaration is a document full of diplomatic rhetoric, and its content seems a bit vague, but the amount of information that is revealed between the lines is enormous.

According to later historians, the meeting, known as the "pergola talks", was in fact an extremely important and informative meeting.

There is information that Pimont, in his capacity as Governor of the Portuguese Timor Island, has entered into a secret agreement with the Australians, which is very specific and rich, and although no details have been leaked, two aspects are certain:

The first is that the Australians will fully support Pimont's counterinsurgency efforts on the island of Timor, and in return, Pimont will support the eight-word principle put forward by the Australians - "open doors, equal opportunities", and will cooperate with Australians in various fields, including business and investment, after Pimont regains the governorship's authority on the island.

The second aspect is that on the island of Timor, Australians will own a piece of coastal land and build a port called a "free trade zone" on this land.

Obviously, this is not a new concept for the Portuguese, because in a way, the Port of Macau is also a "bonded zone" for the Portuguese on the mainland.

A few years later, at a large gathering of high society, Pimont made a speech in which he swore that he would never betray the interests of the Portuguese in Timor, as the "narrow-minded fools" imagined, which was utter nonsense!

At that meeting, Pimont impassionedly said:

"Yes, I did open the whole island of Timor according to the agreement reached between the two sides, and turned Dili City into a free trade port, yes! In fact, the entire Viceroyalty of Timor Island has been turned into a free trade zone!

Gentlemen, this is why Portuguese merchants and merchants from other countries flock to the port of Timor to do business, because merchants from all countries can also carry on all kinds of trade freely and legally in the port of Dili......

Yes, it is true that the Viceroyalty of Timor does not restrict the business activities of foreign merchants as elsewhere, there is no repulsive distinction of nationality and status, and there is no tax discrimination, and at the same time, we have developed a system of commercial law that is different from that of other countries, and needless to say, all this I have copied from the Australians......

Finally, Pimont also eloquently answered the questions posed by many nobles and directors of the Portuguese East India Company:

"Yes! To hell with the mercantilism of the British, French and Spaniards! All the businessmen who come to Timor to do business legally are our friends, and they have all made a fortune!

I have to point out - most of them are Portuguese merchants! And it is precisely because of this system of free business that the port of Dili and the whole island of Timor became one of the most prosperous and prosperous regions in the whole of the South Seas in the years that followed, no, you will not find such a prosperous and rich free paradise in the whole world!

Therefore, I, a mere Viceroyalty of Timor, provide one-third of the revenue of the entire Viceroyalty of Goa every year! If this is also a betrayal of the interests of the Portuguese, then please tell me, what does it mean to protect the interests of the Portuguese?! ”

Of course, there is no such thing as a free lunch, and if Pimont sells something from Timor, there is.

For example, the four-square-kilometer wasteland west of the port of Dili, where the Australians were given a "storage bonded area" and the right to build their own special wharf, and in this bonded area, the laws of the Australian Commonwealth will be enforced.

Eventually, this "free trade zone" became an overseas territory of the Australian Commonwealth and a military base.

However, this "free trade zone" is also a world-famous prosperous place, a gentle township, known as a bustling and prosperous city that never sleeps.

All this is the result of the efforts of Australians themselves and investors, businessmen and workers from all over the world to develop and build.

In addition, the Viceroy of Timor also transferred the right to develop part of the forests and minerals of the island of Timor, after all, for these forests and minerals, the Viceroy of Timorse used to have only nominal jurisdiction, in fact, it is the world of the indigenous tribes, it is a foreign land, if the Australians do not develop, in fact, the Portuguese Viceroy of Timor is beyond the reach of those places.

Because Australians were interested in the island's mahogany and various minerals, the two sides later cooperated to form several holding companies led by Australians, and the shareholders included Pimont and Duchess Margaret, among Timorese celebrities.

With the conclusion of this agreement, over the years, Australians gradually increased the number of investment projects, and the Australian funds were mainly invested in the island's basic resource industries, including the island's timber, coal, non-ferrous metals, iron sand ore and sand gold mining, and of course, the spice, sugar cane and cocoa plantations that later spread throughout the island.

These investments have resulted in a vast industrial chain that has greatly prospered the local economy, changed the demographics and raised the overall standard of living, including the indigenous peoples, and its huge transaction tax has become a major source of revenue for the Viceroyalty of Timor......

Of course, all this that Pimont said was only a vision of the future on that fine morning at the end of December 1657......

When the Pride approached the Ho Kiang South Pier outside Macau with thick smoke, the entire pier square quickly became crowded and lively.

At this time, the people of Macao are experiencing an unexpected scene, a scene that people will never forget.

Ever since the day the Aurora and the Casa Princess arrived in Macau from Timor, the legend of the Australians and their iron ships, one large and one small, has been the talk of the town, and it is clear that this topic is of a national nature, from the Governor and the members of the city council to the merchants of various countries, from the barmaids in the bars to the drunken sailors, from the courtyards of the houses to the fairplaces.

Today, the legendary Blue Sailing Iron Boat appeared on the sea outside Macau, and the magical rumor suddenly became a reality for all to see, which obviously had a very great visual impact on the entire Macau market.

The governor of Bucano, who was the first to receive the news, immediately issued a series of orders, so that the governor's flag was soon hoisted on the top of the fort, and the bells of St. Paul's Cathedral and the Church of Our Lady of the Snow rang together.

At the same time, the Governor himself rode in a horse-drawn carriage and led the city councillors and officials to the docks.

However, he was still late, and Pimont was the first to board a ship in territorial waters and had already left the docks, so the Governor had to join the citizens who had spontaneously gathered in the dock square to watch the "magical sailing show" of the Pride.