Not only that, but according to Cortez's report, the city of Zvongombe, the capital of Zimbabwe's Mutapa Kingdom, is also full of copper ore.

It should be pointed out that these copper ores are all rich ores of high purity. Because, those black buddies don't pick up the poor ore at all. At the same time, those Arab merchants did not take it.

In other words, Marin's statement that the local copper mine is extremely rich is correct. Just these old blacks who don't know how to smelt copper can pick up mountains of copper-rich ores at will, which shows how rich the local copper resources are. (In fact, the Zambia region, north of Zamby West across the river, is more rich in copper mines.)

Unfortunately, Cortez's expeditionary force really couldn't carry much with it, so they had to retreat with the gold first. If you want copper ore, you can only wait for the next time to trade. In any case, the Zambezi estuary area was already under the control of Spanish warships.

It is foreseeable that if the copper-rich ore can be continuously transported back to the mainland in the future, Spain will be able to mint a large number of Malawi copper coins. At the same time, it is also possible to cast an additional batch of copper artillery.

The whole of Spain was in a state of excitement and frenzy because of the gold and the mountains of copper-rich ore. Subsequently, the Spanish government and the opposition held a nationwide debate on the multiple-choice question of "trade or occupation". Subsequently, the news was transmitted back to the mainland by spies from the North Sea Kingdom in Spain with carrier pigeons.

Marin looked at it - ouch, there are still smart people in Spain? What a means that modern colonists had to monopolize trade in order to drive local agents to help dig gold and copper mines!

However, for Marin, it was in his best interest that the Spaniards sent troops to occupy Zimbabwe. Because, occupying Zimbabwe and sending people to mine gold and copper is very laborious and national strength. Even if you get enough gold and copper, the cost is very high.

The monopoly trade exchange of gold and copper is a means of colonization, and the cost of colonization is relatively low. In addition, the exchange of domestic goods can also promote the development of local handicrafts, which can be said to kill two birds with one stone.

However, most Spaniards do not have such a long-term vision and are relatively short-sighted. Otherwise, in the original history, after the occupation of the Americas, Spain would not have neglected the development of domestic handicrafts. As a result, it was cheaper for the UK.

So, in this discussion, Marin decided to intervene in the shadows, influencing the judgment of the Spaniards and making them more inclined to send troops to occupy Zimbabwe.

As for the reason, it is very simple, first of all, it is a pity that the gold that cannot be traded (it is impossible for the Mutapa kingdom to trade all the gold, and there will definitely be a small part left). Then, the technical level of Zimbabweans in finding gold mines and mining and smelting gold mines is questioned. And pointed out - if the "civilized" Spaniards had operated it personally, gold production would have increased several times......

In addition, the Spaniards are much better than the locals in the development of local copper mines. Zimbabwe's copper resources are much richer than gold, and if developed, copper ingots can be shipped to the mainland in ships and ships......

……

These two reasons for Marin sound very reasonable. Indeed, Spain's technology is certainly much more advanced than that of Zimbabwe's Mutapa Kingdom.

However, regarding the high cost of going into battle in person, as well as the adverse conditions such as the harsh local climate and environment, Marin deliberately ignored the ......

Not only that, Marin also planned to find the Omani Arab merchants who had monopolized the East African trade through the Egyptian merchants, and ask them to inform the Mutapa kingdom in advance and teach them guerrilla tactics to deal with the Spanish in the rainforest. Once this happens, even if the Spaniards occupy Zimbabwe, they will be unlucky in the future......

The Spanish occupied the Zambezi estuary and blocked the trade routes of Arab traders to the kingdom of Mutapa. However, this is only the mainstream trade route. There are many Arabs and local black mixed Swahili people along the coast of Mozambique, and these people do not necessarily need to walk along the Zambezi River valley, but they can also walk through the rainforest without the river, and quietly go to the kingdom of Mutapa to bring the news that Marin wants to send someone to bring with them.

As long as the king of the Mutapa Kingdom does not foolishly fight with the Spaniards, with the number of troops of the Mutapa Kingdom, as long as they are scattered in the rainforest to fight guerrillas, the Spaniards will be helpless.

……

Of course, that was later, and for now, Marin decided to send spies to spread the rhetoric of "monopolizing all the gold and copper mines of Zimbabwe" in Spain to induce the Spanish court to send troops to occupy Zimbabwe.

In addition to this, Marin will also send spies to quietly contact French spies in Spain. On the premise of keeping your identity secret, tell the French what is at stake. Then, let the French secretly exert their efforts to trick Spain into sending troops to Zimbabwe. The French and Spaniards have been fighting each other for hundreds of years, and both sides have penetrated each other very deeply. Moreover, there are many aristocrats who bet on both sides between France and Spain. It is more convenient for the French to do this than Marin. Marin's greatest strength in Spain is his ability to gather intelligence, but when it comes to infiltrating Spain, the French are the more powerful. Moreover, when this matter is investigated later, it is also the pot of the French, and it has nothing to do with Marin......

Spain was too dangerous, and its excellent geographical location was naturally suitable for colonizing the Americas. Moreover, Spain has a population of more than 8 million, much more than England and Portugal combined.

These days, don't think England is much better than Portugal. In terms of population, England is less than 3 million. Even if you add 500,000 in Scotland and 250,000 in Ireland, it is about 3.75 million. And Portugal, at best, has a population of two or three million, and it is not necessary to have England less.

Even, because of the colonization of Africa and the windfall profits from Indian spices, Portugal was even stronger than England at this time.

England's only advantage, probably in terms of coal and iron resources, is much stronger than Portugal. But when it comes to the current strength, it is really inferior to Portugal.

Spain is different, although more than 8 million people are not very many. However, among the seafaring nations of Europe, it is already far ahead. Even the four seafaring powers, Portugal, England, Denmark and Venice, did not have as many populations as Spain. And this is Spain's confidence and a threat to Marin.

Of course, all this is on the premise that the French behemoth does not interfere in the nautical business. If France, with a population of 15 million, joins in, the rest of the world will have to step aside.

In fact, France was delayed by the European hegemony. Moreover, the one that delayed France the most is probably Italy. France has coveted Italy for a long time, and the Italian wars in history alone have been fought for more than 60 years, and the national strength has been wasted.

If it weren't for Italy's super fat hanging in front of France's eyes and inducing France to engage in continental hegemony, France might have changed to a great voyage and then become a maritime power.

Therefore, for Marin, a divided Italy is necessary. Otherwise, it will not attract France. However, France cannot really be allowed to swallow Italy. Otherwise, France will be too full and may covet other places.

For this reason, Marin carefully arranged to use Italian volcanic ash as bait to attract the attention of France. And carried out of Spain, and French dog-eat-dog. Marin, on the other hand, had to free up his hands to integrate the North Sea Kingdom and England. Then, put Portugal down. In this way, the purpose of rising can be achieved.

……

Probably hearing the news that the Spaniards had obtained 150,000 ounces of gold, the Portuguese government and the opposition also went crazy. The Spaniards got the gold, so the news of the gold given by Marin to Timbuktu was assured.

As a result, the entire Portuguese government and opposition moved to speed up the progress of the attack on Timbuktu......

But as soon as the Portuguese took action, bad news came from the Far East - after learning that Portugal had forcibly occupied the royal city of the Kingdom of Malacca, the Ming Empire repeatedly sent envoys to the city of Malacca, demanding that the Portuguese colonists withdraw from the city. Otherwise, trade between Portugal and the Ming Empire was permanently banned.

If only before the discovery of tin in Kuala Lumpur, Portugal would have taken a step back in exchange for tributary trade with the Ming Dynasty.

However, with the Kuala Lumpur tin mines, Portugal was reluctant to give up Malacca's interests in any case. Therefore, the Portuguese categorically rejected the demands of the Ming court.

was rejected several times, and the Ming court was annoyed and angry. As a result, Zhengde issued an edict permanently prohibiting the Portuguese from coming to Daming to carry out any activities. Once the Portuguese landed, they were all arrested as spies. Moreover, the Cabinet also decreed that any official in the eastern part of the country who had previous dealings with the Portuguese must immediately draw a line with them. Otherwise, direct dismissal!

In other words, the opportunity for the Portuguese to obtain quiet trade by bribing local officials of the Ming Dynasty was also completely lost. Between Ming and Portugal, the possibility of communication has been completely cut off!

The news came back to Lisbon, and Lisbon, while paying attention to Timbuktu, also began to discuss how to deal with Mingting's reaction.