It's not that the former ministers of João II are so unlucky that they can't eat, but that they have no future. As aristocrats, their families at least have land, and they don't have to worry about food and clothing. However, he didn't want to hold any position, he could only nest in the countryside and be a rich man. Because, they are members of a rival faction of the current King of Portugal.

Just like Magellan, the great navigator, why did he go to Spain to mix? And not because he was once an attendant to the queen of João II. If João II's crown prince, Prince Alfonso, succeeds in taking over the throne, as his mother's attendant, Magellan will definitely be considered "his own person", and the future will be bright.

Unfortunately, Prince Alfonso fell off his galloping horse while hunting and died. Moreover, Prince Alfonso is the only legitimate heir of João II. As for the Duke of Coimbra, Jorge. Morality. Lencastre, however, was an illegitimate child. João II tried his best after the death of Prince Alfonso to get the Holy See to recognize his illegitimate son as heir to the throne.

Here we have to mention the struggle between João II and the domestic aristocracy......

Portugal is a small country in Europe, but it has a history of several hundred years, and there are many big nobles in the country. And the great nobles of Europe are not only noble, but their power is also very strong, strong enough to compete with the king.

João II was an effective monarch who followed in the footsteps of his uncle Prince Enrique and developed his seafaring career. It was with his support and order that the famous Dias actively explored the west coast of Africa and discovered the Cape of Good Hope. Later, da Gama's voyage to explore the Indian route was actually the result of João II's preparations. João II died in 1495, and the voyage of da Gama began in 1497. Obviously, exploring the Indian route is not something that can be prepared in a day or two. It was during the reign of João II that laid the foundation for the opening of the Indian route to Da Gama.

Therefore, in the eyes of later generations of Portuguese, João II was the real promoter and decision-maker of the Portuguese voyage. And Manuel I, on the other hand, just sat back and enjoyed it. Thus, Manuel I had another nickname of the "lucky one".

At the beginning, in order to develop the seafaring industry, João II had a desperate contest with the great aristocratic forces in the country. In order to suppress the great aristocracy, support the merchants and navigators in maritime trade and explore new routes, João II raised a butcher's knife against the great aristocracy. This was a rarity in European aristocratic battles, and it was none other than Manuel I's brother, Duke Diogo of Viseu, who was executed by João II.

Both Diogo and Manuel I were cousins of João II, and Diogo was also a leading figure in Portugal's conservative and stubborn aristocracy.

At that time, Portugal was not yet a predominantly seafaring country, and the great aristocracy valued land more than seafaring. In order to promote the Great Voyage, João II raised the butcher's knife and carried out a brutal purge in Portugal. Not only did he kill his cousin, Duke Diogo, but also killed a large number of nobles who opposed him, confiscated their property, and forced many old Portuguese nobles into exile.

And after purging the great aristocracy, João II naturally needed a large number of people to help him. So, a large number of low-ranking nobles entered his realization, and were promoted and appointed. The reason why Magellan was able to enter the Portuguese court was also related to João II's policy of promoting and reusing low-ranking nobles. Otherwise, how could a small knight family like Magellan have the opportunity to let Magellan enter the palace as an attendant?

You must know that in Europe, those who can serve the royal family have always been the children of the great nobles. Even when he was an attendant, he was selected from the children of the great nobles who had no inheritance rights. After all, serving as the chamberlain of the king and queen also belongs to close ministers, and they have a better chance of being promoted and appointed in the future. No matter how poor he is, he is also a child of a middle-class aristocratic family.

But João II and the Portuguese aristocracy completely turned against each other, and even drew their swords against each other, and carried out a great purge. Therefore, it is naturally unlikely that João II will let the children of the enemy family enter the palace. Then, Magellan, a knight's son, had the opportunity to enter the royal palace as the queen's chamberlain.

According to the normal development of the plot, Magellan and a large number of low-level nobles will have a bright future, and replace the former great aristocracy and become the new upstart of the Kingdom of Portugal......

But people are not as good as heaven, who knew that Prince Alfonso, the only legitimate son of João II, would fall from his horse and die? Then, Magellan and a large number of quasi-upstarts who originally had great prospects were instantly beaten back to their original shapes. And the successor to the throne happened to be Manuel I, the younger brother of Duke Diogo, the former leader of the great aristocratic class......

In other words, after Manuel I succeeded to the throne, the authority of Portugal was again held by the conservative and short-sighted aristocracy. Otherwise, Portugal has a first-mover advantage, how could it be so bad later? Obviously, the upper echelons are not powerful......

Originally, in history, since gaining the colonial rights of Brazil, the Portuguese nobles actively sent people to Brazil to farm. As for maritime trade, they were not aggressive, but were robbed of a large share by the British and French later. Later, it was robbed of a large share by a rising star like the Netherlands.

It was to open up the Indian route, and the large group of old-fashioned nobles in Portugal almost stopped it. It was Manuel I, who was greedy for the huge profits of the Indian spice trade, insisted on continuing João II's original plan to find an Indian route, which led to the prosperity of Portugal. In other words, after the death of João II, the return of the Portuguese nobles was not only not the driving force for Portugal to move forward, but a great hindrance.

……

Of course, none of this is for Marin to worry about. In fact, the stupidity and short-sightedness of those great Portuguese nobles were even more beneficial to Marin. Otherwise, how could he have a chance to snatch the benefits?

After the return of the great aristocracy, the capable minor nobles who had been promoted by João II all suffered. Only a few of them succeeded in taking refuge with the blind aristocracy or the monarch Manuel I. There are also some who have taken refuge with the Duke of Coimbra, Jorge. Morality. Rencastre, but the Duke of Coimbra could not support too many people due to his repression by Manuel I. As a result, there are still most of the capable little nobles who once mixed well under João II, and since then they have been completely sidelined and there is no hope.

Therefore, a capable man like Magellan, for the sake of wealth, was forced to risk his life and run to Spain to seek support for his sailing expedition. There's no way, it's not going to be a good day in my country. As a former minister of João II, he is destined to be suppressed......

Marin was very interested in the information provided by Magellan. So, he asked:

"How many of Portugal's former ministers like you, who are capable but suppressed, of His Majesty João II?"

Magellan thought for a moment and said:

"There are a lot of people who have been suppressed, and there are still hundreds of capable people......

"Then can you persuade a few to come and serve me?" Marin asked.

Magellan's heart tightened, worried that introducing so many people would rob him of his job, so he became a little squeaky.

Marin seemed to see what he was thinking, and said with a smile:

"I'm just looking for a few people to help me hunt rhinos on the African savannah to get cowhides, what are you thinking?"

It turned out that Marin had a new plan after learning about the existence of such a group as "João II's former ministers" in Portugal......

In any case, those former ministers of João II, who had lost power, were also Portuguese nobles. Manuel I and the great Portuguese nobility only let them sideline, and did not deprive them of their titles.

As Portuguese aristocrats, it may be difficult for them to get opportunities on their home soil. However, if it was requested to do business and open a trading point in Africa, the Portuguese court would not refuse. After all, no matter what they do, if they want to be authorized, they have to give benefits to the royal family. After all, Africa is theoretically the territory of the Portuguese royal family, and if you want to trade on it, you have to give the royal family benefits.

Moreover, because Africa is the territory of the royal family, the opening of new trade areas does not require the consent of those big nobles, only the negotiation with the royal family. After all, those undeveloped lands in Africa are owned by the royal family, not by the big nobility.

Marin had cooperated with the Duke of Coimbra Jorge before, but the Duke of Jorge was a big nobleman after all, and even if his IQ was not good, he had a large number of brains to advise him. Therefore, it is difficult to take too much advantage from the Duke of Jorge.

But those down-and-out former ministers of João II are different, many of them are low-level nobles and do not have so many hearts. Marin could have found a low-level nobleman who had lost power, such as a knight or something, and promised them a lot of money to apply for a license from the Portuguese royal family and go to Africa to hunt rhinos. Of course, the hands of the rhinoceros hunter, Marin himself will send. However, there needs to be a cover on the surface.

And the next region to be targeted by Marin to hunt rhinos is what later became South Africa......

South Africa here is not a Guide Department Africa, but specifically refers to the later Republic of South Africa. In later generations, South Africa was the world's largest rhino country, with more than 80% of the world's rhinos.

Even in the global environment of rhino protection, more than 1,000 rhinos are hunted and horned in South Africa every year, and the total number of rhinos is 10,000. In the 16th century, however, the area had not yet been developed, and the Europeans who used muskets had not yet entered. And the local black natives have no ability to provoke the powerful rhinoceros. So, this year, there are tens of thousands of wild rhinos in South Africa. Want rhino leather? Hunting on the South African grasslands is ......

……

Marin's plan was actually to recruit a few not-so-smart former ministers of João II and let them stand in front as a cover. But in fact, it was Marin who sent his men to South Africa to establish a trading port. Then, send musketeers on horseback to hunt and hunt rhinos in the grasslands to obtain rhino skins. As for the rhinoceros horn, it was used as a messenger to deal with the Portuguese royal family. Anyway, Marin was not interested in things made from animal bones such as rhinoceros horn and ivory, so he might as well use them to fool the Portuguese. Then, he took rhinoceros skin himself and made light armor for real benefits...... As for that trading port, Marin intended to build it at the Cape of Good Hope......

Moreover, Marin chose to send people to South Africa to hunt rhinos, in fact, he was also preparing for the capture of South Africa later. In the future, Marin will definitely take control of South Africa, the world's largest gold producer. However, South Africa's gold mines are deep inland and are not easy to find. Therefore, this requires Marin to send people in advance to find out the local terrain and find the road to the interior. One day, Marin will be able to quickly reach the area where the gold mines are located when he gets the territory of South Africa from the Portuguese.

Not to mention anything else, Marin may not be familiar with other places in South Africa, but because of the World Cup in South Africa, Marin is very clear about the coordinates of Johannesburg, South Africa. Johannesburg's Soccer City Stadium is the common venue for the opening match and final of the World Cup in South Africa. As a half-fan, Marin remembers Johannesburg well. Out of the habit of geography lovers, he wrote down the latitude and longitude of Johannesburg. When the time comes, as long as the hunting party opens the road to the Johannesburg area, it can send people to develop the gold mines at any time. Johannesburg, on the other hand, happened to be developed on the basis of the South African gold mine and is the location of the gold mine.

In other words, Marin sent people to South Africa to hunt rhinos, which is actually a very clever layout. First of all, South Africa is a place with a lot of rhinos, and sending hunting teams there can hunt enough rhinos. Secondly, through the hunting of rhinos, the hunting party will definitely need to go deep into the interior of the grassy South African plateau and reach the area near Johannesburg. In this way, Marin was able to obtain an abundance of rhino skins and open up and explore the road to the area where South Africa's gold mines are located, killing two birds with one stone...... When Marin officially took over South Africa from Portugal, he didn't have to find a way out from scratch, just send people to develop gold mines......

Moreover, South Africa is not only rich in gold, but also extremely rich in chromite, accounting for 72% of the world's reserves. That chromite reserve in Cuba is too small to be enough. That is, the demand for stainless steel in Marin is small now, and if it is industrialized later, the demand for chromium will be very large. Stainless steel requires chromium and nickel, of which nickel alone is enough for Cuba's laterite nickel ore. However, there is relatively little chromium in Cuba, and if you want to make a lot of stainless steel, you need to find a lot of chromium resources. It just so happens that South Africa is the region with the world's largest ferrochrome reserves. Winning South Africa will not only get the world's largest gold mining area, but also the world's largest ferrochrome resource production area.

In addition to the two strategic resources of gold and chrome, Marin is also very interested in cattle in South Africa. Marin, who had a very good history and geography in his previous life, remembers that the Zulu people in South Africa, including the Bantu people, the source of the Zulu people, loved to raise cattle. Moreover, when a man marries a wife, he must use oxen as a dowry. Generally speaking, if you want to marry a woman, you need to pay more than a dozen cows as a dowry. The more cattle you have in the family, the more wives you can get......

Marin is not interested in those black girls, but he is very interested in the cattle that are exchanged for black girls. After all, having cattle means having the power to arable land. No matter how bad it is, you can kill and eat beef......

In short, South Africa is a treasure trove. The sooner you lay it out, the sooner you can reap the huge benefits......