The opening of Qingyu Pavilion, as we expected, ushered in a wave of sales frenzy. This wave lasted for almost two months, and it directly led to us having to go to the bank three times in a row to make deposits and convert a large amount of physical gold and silver into promissory notes.

Two months later, this frenzy gradually dissipated, but the situation was still hot, and the daily flow of water still woke up Qinglian and Yuhe in the middle of the night. These two people have repeatedly lamented to me that Europeans still have a lot of spare money, and they would have come earlier if they knew about it.

I couldn't help but laugh dumbly, and immediately corrected their two wrong views.

First of all, it is not that Europe has more spare money, but that their money is more concentrated, and the aristocracy also prefers vassal elegance.

In addition, the fire of Qingyu Pavilion this time is also at the right time, the right time, the right place, and the people are indispensable, if it is not so, it will never be possible to reach such a height.

The two girls stuck out their tongues after listening, indicating that they understood. Immediately, Yuhe frowned slightly again and said something strange.

In the past few days, a guest has come to Qingyu Pavilion several times in a row, but he only looks at it and does not buy it, and the attitude of the front desk responsible for the reception is still very enthusiastic, and he takes the initiative to lean up and ask about the demand.

Of course, there are also security guards who are observant behind the scenes, which is the need of the industry. But the man remained silent until this morning, when he suddenly asked:

"Is your owner Mr. Sun, Marquis of Mexico?"

This sentence immediately aroused the great attention of the general manager on duty, Yuhe, who was acting secretly, and the target was directed at me, so Yuhe led him to the VIP room for a detailed discussion.

However, this middle-aged man in his forties never said that if your host is interested, you can come and see me, and I have brought some information that he may be interested in.

Yuhe responded quietly at the moment, and settled the mysterious person, and then she and Qinglian hurriedly came to me.

In their understanding, although the present London seems to be lively and prosperous, in fact there is an undercurrent surging behind the scenes, and they remember what I said at the beginning: if you are too careful, it will not be too many times a thousand times; Carelessly, one time is too much - and so we have a conversation.

After listening to their descriptions, I had no impression of this person, at least not a very close person. But in line with the attitude that I would rather kill a thousand by mistake than let go of one, I decided to go to the headquarters of Qingyu Pavilion and meet this mysterious person.

I don't know why, but after hearing about this person's situation, I always had a strange nervousness in my heart. There's no shortage of tricksters in this world, but my instincts tell me that this person isn't.

In the VIP room on the second floor of the Qingyu Pavilion headquarters, I met this middle-aged man with red hair and a slight mustache. I don't know, I'm sure, but I'm still very polite.

"This is the best dragon well that we put from the east, and I invite you to taste it together." I raised my hand, and the only remaining Qinglian and Jade Lotus in the room brought us teacups, and then returned to me and stood quietly.

The man took two sips, put down the teacup, and smiled, "My name is Pilas Gonzares." You don't know me, and it's the first time I've seen me. Now that I see it, it is really an extraordinary task, and it is extraordinary. ”

As soon as this person opened his mouth, he turned out to be fluent in Chinese! And it is Chinese with an accent from the southern Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions. This made my heart tighten, and it seemed that I was really prepared.

So I laughed a few times and exclaimed: "Being able to use the language of a foreign country so proficiently is either superhuman, or staying for a long time." In my opinion, your Excellency is probably a bit of both! ”

Pierces Gang Zares also laughed, glanced at me, and said lightly: "I came this time to be with the Marquis of Mexico, no!" It should be said that Mr. Sun Qilan, the first-class viscount of the Ming Dynasty and the deputy commander of the Jizhou battalion, talked about a business. ”

The smile on my face was even kinder, but my heart was secretly murderous. If you have a calculating mind, such a person is a hundred times more terrible than a person who dances a knife and makes a gun, shouts and shouts to kill!

But as the saying goes, those who come are not good, and those who are good do not come, since he comes, it must not be so simple. So I smiled mildly: "Business, I like it very much, who would have trouble with money?" Let me just take the liberty of asking, who is your representer in this business? ”

Pierres Gang Sales glanced at me, then laughed, and said after a while: "Don't worry, Mr. Sun, I have no malice here, and the person I represent is also someone you know." ”

I shrugged my shoulders and motioned for him to continue.

Pierces Gang Sales didn't speak, but looked at Qinglian and Yuhe behind me. The meaning couldn't be more obvious, there are outsiders, he doesn't say it.

I smiled faintly and said, "My grandson is a person who crosses the sea, and he is not a person who does not understand the rules. These two are my confidants, and you don't have to look down on them just because they are women. There is anything, but it doesn't hurt to say. ”

Pierces Gang Thales was slightly stunned when he heard this, and then smiled: "In that case, then I'll just say it!" ”

As he spoke, he leaned back slightly, leaned lightly on the backrest, and said with a smile: "I often hear that General Sun is deeply favored by the late Zhang Jiangling, the former first assistant, although he is far away from the court, but he cherishes his homeland and does more things to defend the country, I don't know if there is such a thing?" ”

Hearing this, I couldn't help frowning slightly, this person actually knows me so deeply? It seems that he must have some kind of connection with the people of the Ming court. So I said lightly: "It's a false praise, I don't know what this has to do with the business you said?" ”

The visitor tapped his fingers lightly on the tabletop and smiled in a low voice: "Of course it matters!" First of all, I should identify myself, I am a Spaniard, and I represent your loyal ally. But ......"

He smiled mysteriously and continued in a lower voice: "Because this transaction is too sensitive, my boss doesn't want to reveal his identity, but you should know this!" ”

As he spoke, he pulled out a small badge, a token that Alfred and I had left each other when we met, so that it might someday be used as proof of its existence if necessary.

It's him! During this period of time, our cooperation has been very pleasant, he asks for money, I ask for information, and we get along very well. Why did he take this form to connect with me this time?

For a moment, I felt even more that this event was unusual. After thinking about it again and again, let Qinglian and Yuhe go down first. It's not that they don't trust them, but that some things are a powerful burden in themselves, and staying here is afraid that it will do them all kinds of harm and no benefit.

Seeing the two leave, Pillais Gonzales smiled comfortably: "Sure enough, as people outside say, you are a very shrewd and sensible person!" Adults didn't look away! ”

At this time, I had no interest in gossiping, and said lightly: "Now you and I are left in the room, Mr. Pillais, so there is no need to be polite." Mr. Alfred and I trust each other, otherwise you wouldn't be sitting here. ”

Pierces Gonzares nodded, but did not directly say what he meant, but talked about other things.

"About a hundred years ago, the Iberian Peninsula experienced one of the darkest periods of history in history," he said, and I don't know what he was trying to say, but he listened carefully: "Yes, our territory is completely green, you know what that means." ”

I nodded, and Pilés Gonzares continued with satisfaction: "Later, the marriage of the two kingdoms of Castile and Aragon greatly increased the strength of Spain, which was able to fight back against the white turbans and successfully recover the Iberian Peninsula. ”

I know, he's talking about the history of medieval Spain being e*rannized, it's really dark, but what does it have to do with me?

"It is a sacred cause that Spain has been restored, but years of war have caused great deprivation in the country and its surroundings! People are bombed, the economy is weak, and a large number of goods are hoarded in the streets and alleys, until they rot and deteriorate, and they cannot be sold. Pillais continued.

I know this, during that period of time, Spain fell into a serious "involution" crisis, and the demand was seriously insufficient, which can be described as internal and external troubles. And speaking of which, I vaguely know a little bit about his intentions.

"Gold! We need gold! "Pierces just Zares suddenly raised his voice, and I certainly knew that he was not asking me for gold, but recounting that history.

Sure enough, he spoke of the development of the Spanish maritime industry: "There is no inside, we have to look outside." Here I would like to mention an interesting character - Mark Polo. You've probably heard of his name! ”

I smiled and said, "A man who exaggerates and sells his reputation." ”

Pilas Gonzares shrugged and said, "It doesn't matter who he is, after all, no one is going to revise his epitaph." But the reality is that the royal families of Europe are all moved, and they need gold everywhere in the East! ”

I laughed and said, "But they appointed that Columbus idiot!" It's funny to ask a road idiot to find a route. ”

Pilas Gonzales also laughed and said: "Indeed, this fool thought to death that the Cuba and Mexico he found were India, as well as China. ”

I teased, "I wonder if this guy would die if he knew that there were 10,000 miles between where he found and where he was going to go?" ”

At this point, we laughed together. But Pierces Gonzares soon stopped laughing, and continued: "As much as Columbus was an idiot, he was also a lucky idiot - at least he found America! ”

I hummed and nodded, and Pilles continued: "There, we found a lot of gold, iron ore, grain, and specialties, and we grabbed untold wealth, and this made us Spain a true empire on which the sun never sets. ”

"But it's a pity." Seeing that I was noncommittal, Pieras continued: "I cannot judge whether the royal family is right or wrong, or whether they are wise or not, but what we can see is that countless gold and silver have been exchanged for luxury, not for war readiness. ”

"The British did a better job of this." I replied.

"That's right! The British, but also the Dutch, and the kind-hearted Swedes. So, we need more gold to support it all! Glory! Majesty and victory! Pillais Gonzales said in a strange tone.

I clapped my hands and exclaimed, "Great idea, so, it's also about our business, right?" ”

Pillas Gonzares gave me a deep look, took something out of his bosom, and slowly opened it. I know that this is the most perfect map of the world at this stage – even though it's not complete.

Pilas Gonzales looked at me and started south from Spain with his hands, crossed Africa, crossed the Indian Ocean, reached Southeast Asia, and smashed it hard in the position of Manila!

He asked me in an almost fanatical tone: "Philip II has decided that here, in Luzon, a large number of fleets, warriors and artillery will be assembled, and guess what he is going to do?" ”

I was shocked in my heart, and suddenly remembered something from the depths of my memory, and I suddenly broke out in a cold sweat behind my back!

If nothing else, it is precisely for the Chinese conquest plan proposed by Spain, Portugal and other countries together, and the sword is aimed directly at the Ming Dynasty!