After sending an emissary to Lisbon, Kohler suddenly found Marin and stopped Marin's approach:

"Your Majesty, don't apply to Portugal for the right to trade on the Senegal!"

"Why?" Marin didn't react.

"You forgot about the Far East? You have cheated the Portuguese. Once the Portuguese find out what is going on in the Far East, they will have to find fault......" Kohler reminded.

He was talking about Marin asking Conté to help the Ming Dynasty fight against Da Gama's expeditionary force, and Marin provided the Ming Dynasty with the casting technology of the 12-pounder cannon, which was equivalent to the enemy in Portugal. Therefore, once the Portuguese mainland got the news of the crushing defeat of the expeditionary force in the Far East, and then knew the news of the 12-pounder cannon of the Ming Dynasty, it would definitely blame Marin. At that time, even if the Portuguese did not go to war with the North Sea State, they would definitely take back the North Sea State's trading rights at the mouth of the Senegal River. When the time comes, Marin will be doing useless work.

"You have a point, okay, I'll send someone to chase them back immediately!" Marin thought for a moment and then said.

"However, this is very important to us, should we do it secretly in the future?" Marin said unwillingly.

Kohler proposed:

"You can learn from the previous practice of hunting rhinos in the Dakar Peninsula in Senegal and cooperate with the Duke of Coimbra!"

Kohler was talking about Marin before making the Duke of Coimbra Jorge. Morality. Rencastel helped him cover up and set up a Senegalese company.

The Duke of Coimbra was the illegitimate son of the previous King of Portugal, João II, and had competed with the current King Manuel I for the throne. The two are mortal enemies, and the enemy of the enemy is a friend. As a result, Marin and João II had a good relationship.

Previously, Marin relied on the cover of the Duke of Coimbra to carry out rhinoceros and elephant hunting operations in the Senegalese region. Then, the rhinoceros skins used to make the armor went to Marin, and the elephant skins also went to Marin. And the rhinoceros horn and ivory, which are luxury goods, belong to the Duke of Coimbra, Jorge. Morality. All of Lencastre. Over the past few years, the cooperation between the two sides has been very pleasant, and they can be regarded as taking what they need.

Thinking of this, Marin said bitterly:

"If it's just a hunt for rhinos and elephants, the Duke of Coimbra doesn't have a problem. However, if it involves the passage of large numbers of ploughing cattle and black slaves, the Duke of Coimbra will certainly not sit idly by......"

The reason is very simple, Marin sent people to hunt rhinos and elephants in Senegal, among them, the most precious rhinoceros horn and ivory went to Marin, and the Duke of Coimbra naturally had nothing to say.

However, if Marin had transported cattle and black slaves in large quantities here, the Duke of Coimbra would not have been pleased. Because, this huge benefit is not his share. In this case, he will definitely not do it.

At the end of the day, the Duke of Coimbra and Marin were only business partners, partners in pure interest, not loyal allies. It's okay if it doesn't involve interests, but when it comes to conflicts of interest, it's very likely that you will turn your face.

The slave trade, in particular, is a typical profiteering industry. It would be strange if he knew that Marin would leave him alone and not turn his face. After all, the price he asked for from Marin was as high as 40 gold coins for a black slave, and the black heart was going to die.

If he knew that he could get a large number of black slaves cheaply from the Songhai Empire, he would definitely be blushing......

"Let's have a meeting, let's talk about it."

Then, three absolute henchmen, Schwarz, Sauer, and Stadder, were called in. As for Karn, another absolute henchman, he had already gone to the American colonies to play the orc at this time. Even if he was at home, Marin wouldn't call him. For, when it comes to coming up with ideas, Karn is an ornament......

After Marin explained the situation, everyone also found it tricky. In the end, it was Sauer who gave a suggestion:

"Your Majesty, since you want the Senegal River Basin for the purpose of cultivating cattle in tropical Africa, why don't you take advantage of the fact that the Portuguese have not reacted, stun them with a high price, and directly buy the development and trade rights of the Senegal River Basin?"

"Do you mean to tempt the Portuguese to sell us the Senegal River valley at a high price, taking advantage of the news from the East before it comes back?" Marin was thoughtful.

Sauer waved his hand and said:

"No, Your Majesty, we don't have to buy it, we can rent it. I understand what you mean, that is, you want to buy farming cattle and black slaves from the Songhai Empire. I guess 10 years will be about the same. In 10 years, it is estimated that the Portuguese will also be able to fight Timbuktu. So, it doesn't make sense to take too long. Moreover, after you bought tens of thousands of African black cattle from the Songhai Empire, it is estimated that there is not so much demand, and at that time, it doesn't matter whether you want this land or not. So, my advice is to hurry up and spend a lot of money to lease the Senegal River basin to Portugal for ten years. The reason is that you want to raise tropical cattle in the grasslands of the Senegal River basin to supply the needs of the tropical regions of the Americas. After all, the fact that temperate cattle were not adapted to the climate of the rainforest region had already been reported back to Europe by the mission. ”

"Lease the grasslands of the Senegal River basin for 10 years to raise African cattle?" Marin thought about it and thought it was a good idea. After all, it makes sense.

Although the Senegal River basin is tropical, it has a savannah climate, not a tropical rainforest climate with many poisonous insects and mosquitoes, and is very suitable for grazing. Marin said that he rented the place to graze African cattle adapted to the tropical climate, and the reason is reasonable.

"However, we almost fell out with the Portuguese because of piracy, will they agree to the lend-lease request?" Marin was a little worried.

For this point, Kohler, who has always been in charge of money, smiled and said:

"Your Majesty, no one can't get along with money......"

Marin thought about it for a while, so he decided to send someone to Lisbon to negotiate the lease of the Senegal River basin.

Lend-lease is not a purchase and does not involve sensitive sovereignty issues. Besides, Portugal did not actually regard African land as a national territory, but as a trade sphere of influence. Portugal has too little population and is enough to develop its own territory, so where would you think of developing Africa?

Not to mention renting out a piece of African land that is not in business in the first place, even if it is sold, it is normal. However, if you want to buy ownership, the asking price will definitely be higher. On the other hand, if you rent it, you can spend a lot less.

Marin did not intend to occupy the Senegal River basin for a long time, but only used it as a trade route. Therefore, a 10-year lease is reasonable.

Originally, Marin wanted to send Kohler, but Sauer wanted to make a meritorious contribution and took the initiative to take the initiative. After all, Kohler, Schwartz, and Kahn were already counts, and Sauer was still a baron because of his lack of merit, so he naturally wanted to be promoted through meritorious service in order to catch up with his friends.

In this way, Sauer, as the plenipotentiary of Marin, prepared to rush to Lisbon to start negotiations with the Portuguese on the lease of the Senegal River basin......