Hundreds of exquisite pieces of official kiln porcelain have smashed the Portuguese magnates in Lisbon to the point of losing their ability to think. The Portuguese nobles who bought the porcelain at auction all went home with the porcelain in their arms. Even King Manuel I of Portugal, after taking pictures of several of the best porcelain, refused to let go of the porcelain he bought.

Of course, there are also sober ones. For example, Marin's partner, the Duke of Coimbra, Jorge. De, Rencastree understands very well that this is by no means all there is to the ship.

So, taking advantage of no one, he found Kong Tai and offered directly:

"Bring me a few dozen porcelain, and each piece of porcelain will be exchanged for an African ploughing ox!"

Conté was a little confused, Jorge. De, Lencastree also reflected that Conté and Columbus had just returned from the East, and did not yet know that Marin had purchased African cattle adapted to the tropical climate from them.

So, Jorge. De, Lencastree sent people to invite the representative of the North Sea State to Portugal and its liaison to communicate with him.

When it became known that Marín was indeed in dire need of a slave from the Duke of Coimbra, Jorge. After purchasing African ploughing cattle from De and Rencastre, he decisively took out 4 dozen 48 pieces of porcelain from the official kiln and gave them to Jorge. De, Rencastre. Because, Kong Tai knew that Marin was not interested in porcelain, but only interested in exchanging porcelain for money and benefits. It's no wonder, after all, Marin was used to seeing porcelain in his previous life, how could he treat porcelain as a treasure? For him, exchanging porcelain for gold or other benefits is the most important thing.

However, Kong Tai did not dare to sell out the porcelain. Because, Marin is not interested in porcelain, it does not mean that other magnates in the Beihai Kingdom are not interested. You must know that placing a few pieces of porcelain made in China in a conspicuous position in the living room at home is the only way to compare and match the European aristocratic circle......

So, Conté hid most of the porcelain and waited for it to be shipped back to Marin for disposal. Whether to sell or give, Marin has the final say. However, he brought back thousands of pieces of porcelain, and it was still possible to take out a few hundred pieces. Anyway, Marin, the master, is not interested in porcelain.

……

The next day, Conté and Columbus took out some silk and tea bricks in the royal palace of Lisbon, in front of many Portuguese magnates, which caused another robbery. Some people didn't buy it, and even wanted to go through the relationship between Columbus and Conté to pick up the goods on the ship.

However, the two did not dare to call the shots, and the other nobles also understood. After all, these things should be said to belong to Marin, not Columbus and Conté to call the shots.

If it weren't for the convincing Portuguese that they had been to China, and had not set the stage for the next foolish plan, these things should not have been taken out in Lisbon at all.

The reason why Marin arranged for Columbus and Conté to show porcelain, silk and tea in Lisbon was to stimulate Portugal to go to the East and then fall into Marin's trap......

……

As expected, that evening, Manuel I summoned all the Portuguese nobles in Lisbon for a big discussion in the royal palace. The content of the discussion was the matter of marching into China as soon as possible.

Although Portugal was still working with the Spanish fleet to dominate the Arabian Sea, intending to control the Indian spice trade, it could not spare much energy to go east.

However, the porcelain, silk and tea brought back by Columbus's fleet had already made the Portuguese red-eyed.

That night, almost all the Portuguese nobles present at the meeting expressed a strong desire to trade with China. At the same time, they were also ready to monopolize the Chinese trade and were ready to eat alone.

But the problem is that the Portuguese have not been to the East and do not know the routes. Therefore, the Portuguese monarch decided to feast Columbus and Conté, and then took advantage of the drunken cliché to reveal the secret of the Chinese route...... If they can't do it, they plan to spend a lot of money to buy Columbus or Conté, or their sailors, to make sure that they get the secret of the route to China......

So, the next day, Manuel I sent a solemn invitation to Columbus and Conté and Sconda, three officials who presided over the voyage, to attend a grand banquet at the royal palace in Lisbon.

……

In fact, neither Manuel I nor his ministers knew that even if they did not act, Columbus and Conté intended to reveal some "inside information" to them. Now that the invitation has arrived, how can Columbus and Conté not know what it means? So, the two set a strategy of "pretending to be drunk and bragging......

Sure enough, at the banquet, Manuel I asked the Portuguese nobles to toast the three Columbus frequently, which was completely a wheel war.

Halfway through the drink, Sconda lay directly on the table, and he was indeed almost there, but today he was not the protagonist, so he simply pretended to be drunk. And Columbus and Conté also seemed to be drunk, and their tongues began to grow bigger, and their speech began to be casual......

Seeing that it seemed to have succeeded, Manuel I hurriedly sent someone to talk to him......

In order to pretend to be a little more like, when communicating with the Portuguese ministers, he used Latin, the lingua franca of the European aristocracy, for a while, and a sentence or two of German came out of his mouth, which made the ministers who talked to him a little confused.

However, Portuguese Prime Minister Lavaldo nodded at Manuel I, which is what a drunk person should look like, and it is very suitable for clichés......

Then, Foreign Minister Ricardo, who knew German and spoke very well, personally stepped in and began to communicate with Conté. On the side, Columbus saw that Kong Tai's acting skills were better than his own, so he simply lay on the table and pretended to be drunk. As a result, Conté became the only one to deal with the Portuguese monarchy......

"Master Kongtai, have you successfully traded with the Eastern Empire?" Ricardo asked, trying.

"Trade?" Kong Tai, who was in the state of a big tongue, was full of disdain. Then he suddenly became furious:

"Hell trade, it's so exciting! We did try to ask the Eastern Empire for trade, but they were too demanding. Do you know, officials of the Eastern Empire, let us submit to their emperor, and as messengers, I must bow down to them, three times and nine times! After speaking, Kong Tai also explained what it means to kneel three times and knock nine times.

Manuel I, who was listening on the sidelines, was dumbfounded, Nima, this is too embarrassing, right?

Ricardo went on to ask:

"Maybe your Grand Duke's title is a little lower, and the other party is so demanding...... If the messenger of His Majesty the King gives him his credentials......"

"Sneer," Kong Tai smiled dismissively.

After laughing, Conté explained:

"Lord Ricardo, you probably don't know the virtues of the Eastern Empire. In their eyes, the kings of other countries are just the chieftains of some barbarians, and they are not qualified to be equal to their emperors! Even if His Majesty Manuel went in person, they would ask His Majesty to kneel and bow to their emperor! "Kong Tai's words are not nonsense, but facts.

However, these words infuriated Manuel I. He was furious and said:

"How dare they be so arrogant, so dismissive? Kong Tai, you can't lie to me, do you? ”

Kong Tai blushed and defended:

"How so? I, Comté, swear in the name of God, that what I say is true! Then, he added in his heart that the next thing was to fool......

Seeing that Kong Tai had sworn in the name of God, and was in a drunken state, everyone believed it.

As if not satisfied, Comté continued to boast:

"You don't know, that country is really rich, and there is a lot of porcelain and silk. However, they especially look down on people. In their eyes, we Europeans are all barbarians and unworthy of fellowship with them on an equal footing. We handed in our credentials, and they were torn up. The other official said to me that when you have learned to be humble and deferential, you will talk about things. Moreover, the Eastern Empire does not accept equal trade ...... with any country"

"What? Don't trade on an equal footing with any country? Everyone present was amazed.

"Yes, in the eyes of the Eastern Empire, people from other countries are inferior. There's only one way to get their porcelain and silk......" Kong Tai said with his tongue wide open.

"What's the solution?" Everyone is interested.

"Send messengers to their capital to kneel to their emperor and show submission to their emperor! Then they will give you the opportunity to trade. This trade is called tributary trade. Moreover, the silk for your porcelain is not an equal trade with you, but after you pay tribute, the other party rewards you like a begger. Thy messenger, bow down and thank them for their reward......"

Suddenly, the atmosphere of the Royal Palace of Lisbon froze......

Obviously, if you want to trade with the Eastern Empire, you must first let the king be someone's dog...... This is unacceptable to the arrogant Portuguese......

Or Portuguese Prime Minister Lavaldo was more astute, he suddenly asked:

"Since the search for trade has failed, where did the porcelain and silk on your ship come from?"

Manuel I and the rest of the Portuguese nobles suddenly realized yes, you said you couldn't trade, so where did your goods come from?

Kong Tai smiled smugly and said:

"We robbed it!"

"Robbed?" Everyone was dumbfounded, but then they understood. Why? Because the Portuguese are also keen on plundering. Conté said this, very much to their appetite. So, they asked Conté to give details.

Conté drank another glass of wine and said with a big tongue:

"We are not willing to submit to each other, but there are small countries in the East that are willing to submit. They sent tributary merchant ships loaded with porcelain, silk, and tea...... Then, when they returned......" Kong Tai blinked, with a "you know" expression......

The Portuguese monarch really understood it in seconds......

"That's a great idea!" The Portuguese monarch who was a thief was happy to think so......

……

As if he didn't feel like he was talking enough, Kong Tai also took out a small map from his pocket and pointed it out to everyone:

"You see, this is the ...... of the Eastern Empire"

"This is Guangzhou, here is the Pearl River Estuary ......"

"The defense of Guangzhou City is very tight, and it is estimated that there are 20,000 troops stationed in ......" Kong Tai did not say nonsense, Guangzhou does have four guards, each with more than 5,000 guards, and the total number is more than 20,000. Of course, this is a theoretical figure, and there are many empty salaries.

And this number also frightened the Portuguese monarchs and ministers.

"Don't be afraid, no matter how many of them there are, they are also in the city of Guangzhou. Our ships are waiting for the small trading ships of the small countries off the coast of the Pearl River estuary. And then, hey, hey......"

The Portuguese monarch smiled evilly again......

Then, pointing to the Strait of Malacca, he said:

"Do you know where this is?" The Portuguese monarchs shook their heads.

Kong Tai said proudly:

"It's called the Strait of Malacca, and it's India's main sea communication route to China. Whoever occupies this place will have a monopoly on maritime trade with China......"

Speaking of this, Manuel I's eyes lit up suddenly. And, staring at the little map, he was clearly moved......

"I tell you, there is a small country called the Kingdom of Malacca. Don't look at this country is not big, but because it is in the main road with China, it can be prosperous. Moreover, in their country, a huge tin mine has just been discovered! It's a huge tin mine, not a small one! Kong Tai said seemingly ostentatiously.

"How big?" Ricardo asked, feigning surprise.

Kong Tai pretended to think for a while, and then said:

"The tin reserves there are estimated to be tens of millions of pounds of tin metal!"

"Tens of millions of pounds!" Manuel I's glass didn't hold it steady and fell to the ground.

You know, there is a shortage of tin ore in Europe, so the price of tin is higher, about the same as copper ore. In other words, tens of millions of pounds of tin are worth millions of pounds of silver......

Thinking of this, Manuel I and the Portuguese nobles present were about to drool......

"Are you sure you're not talking nonsense?" Ricardo said with some disbelief.

"Believe it or not! You can send a spy to inquire! That place is called Kuala Lumpur, and I'll leave you at your disposal if you say something wrong! Kong Tai blushed and roared as if angry. Then, he pointed out to Ricardo on the map:

"This is the city of Malacca, this is Kuala Lumpur...... If you can occupy this place, it is equivalent to occupying a big gold mine...... Hiccup......"

Staring at that map, Manuel I's eyes were full of blazing ...... He nodded to Ricardo, who understood in seconds......

"Come, keep drinking......"

"Okay, I'll drink...... Dry...... Cheers......" After a few more drinks, Conté pretended to be drunk, collapsed to the ground, and went straight under the table......

Manuel I carefully took the map from Conté's hand when he ordered the three men to be sent to the guest room to rest. Then he commanded:

"Get a court painter and make a copy. Finish it before he wakes up, and send the original picture back......"

"Yes!"

Then, at the end of the song, everyone dispersed, and the "drunk" Columbus, Conté and Sconda were all sent to the guest rooms of the Lisbon royal palace to rest......