On the fifth day of the 26th Lunar New Year, King Xiangyang invited Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands, France, the Republic of Genoa, the Republic of Florence, and the Kingdom of Abbasid in the Middle East, which had settled in Xiamen, to participate in the talks.

Of course, the main people invited by Gan Tang were the commercial chargé d'affaires of various countries and the military attachés in Xiamen, and Florence did not set up an official office in Xiamen, and Lentini came to the party to play soy sauce.

Because they were full of curiosity about His Royal Highness the Prince of the East, there were many people who came to join in the fun, and they didn't know the relevant content of Gantang's banquet, so Wanyan Zhiqing and Grace also followed the Lopez couple to join in the fun.

"Because it is a private invitation, there will be no recorders, and there is no need to worry about any inconvenience caused to you by some of the comments after the meeting. So everyone can speak freely.

The banquet was attended by representatives of the Great Xia from the business side, military attachés of escort business, famous scholars, and of course, the beautiful Mrs. López.

By the way, there are also two beautiful young ladies. First of all, I would like to welcome you here. Gan Tang smiled and welcomed the guests. ”

"I see that Your Highness is here not only for us businessmen, but also for the military attaches of the commercial guards of various countries, and I will guess the purpose of Your Highness's invitation, and I can guess what action your country is going to take. Pirates have been wreaking havoc along the coast all this time, and your country is finally going to take action against pirates, right? López said with his hands crossed, leaning forward slightly, and smiling.

Herman and Henry, though a little surprised, were generally calm. The Spanish military attache Juan, was a little shocked.

"And your country has great ambitions this time, not only in the coastal areas, but also on Shuangqi Island, the pirate's nest, right?"

"As for why you chose this time, I can guess a little. His Royal Highness the King of Xiangyang, the choice of this point in time also has the element of beware of Yan Kingdom, right? As far as I know, the two sides of Yan and Xia have been preparing for the war for more than a year, and this is also part of the preparation for the Northern Expedition or the defense against the southern invasion of Yan to clear the obstacles and prepare for the war. ”

"Your country has caught a very good timing! However, I would like to express my support for your country's actions, so that our trade with your country will be smoother, and we will also be able to contribute some strength to your country's war effort, especially the stockpile of war materials. After López finished speaking, he looked at the other party quietly.

"Thank you for your kindness, Mr. López, for your outstanding contribution to the relations between the two countries, and you will become a friend of Great Xia."

Gan Tang's words changed! "However, as far as the king is concerned, you and I are only verbal friends. I can understand that Mr. López has something to hide from me, after all, is it a businessman who seeks profit! But from my personal point of view, Mr. López shipped part of the grain from the South Seas of Great Xia to the north and sold it, which was a betrayal to Great Xia and the entire Western world.

Of course, Mr. López is still inclined to Great Xia and Yan in the two countries, because Great Xia can earn more money for you merchants, especially tea and other goods, while Yan implements a policy of banning the sea, and for the open Great Xia, ignorant grassland people are always afraid of the unknown world. You say yes, right? Mr. López? ”

Gan Tang looked at López who was sitting next to him and said.

"I apologize for my previous behavior, but more than ninety percent of the north of the Yellow River seems to be your Han people, and the famine in the north is also your Han people, in the name of God, I just provided them with some food to eat, I hope Your Highness can forgive me for not informing your country in advance." López said with some embarrassment.

He was also worried that these things would affect the commercial quotas of Bactria for Portuguese merchants, and Bactria implemented a free trade policy for merchants from the West on general goods, but for the following goods that were in demand, such as saltpeter and brocade for the manufacture of gunpowder, luxury goods such as saltpeter and brocade were allocated to Western countries.

"Mr. López may have made some mistakes, not a single grain of grain that Mr. provided to the north through smuggling could not reach the mouths of the Han people in the north, and the Yan State obtained all of this grain as strategic materials and provided it to the army of the Yan State." Gan Tang said solemnly.

"And Mr. López got one thing wrong, it is impossible for Xia Yan and Xia Yan to have a war between the two countries in the near future, because they met in the last war. It is impossible to start a new war before they are completely sure, because they lack supplies, and they can't rely on the little supplies that smuggled and some humanitarian aid from Great Xia to the Yan Kingdom, and they could launch a major campaign against Great Xia, which was far enough.

They have other channels for access to large quantities of strategic supplies. ”

"What channel? I know that the land in the north is now largely deserted, and except for Great Xia, there is not so much food around the Yan Kingdom that can afford a war. Lentini asked.

"Mr. Lentini is right, but because they are not prepared to feed the war with food." Gan Tang said solemnly:

"In addition to food, there are also cattle and sheep that supply the army, because it is now the period of the Xiaoice River, the north is cold, and a large number of cattle and sheep in the northern grassland animal husbandry have frozen to death, but there is no in the north, and there is in the west!" Gan Tang had a mysterious smile on his face.

Juan, the Spanish military attache in Xia, shook his head: "No, no, no, the West? This is impossible, as far as I know, it seems that no country is building to deliver beef and mutton to Yan Kingdom, it is too far. ”

"You're right, Juan, I'm not in the habit of slandering my friends, for the barbarians, they can't afford to buy them, and they have a simpler and cruder method, which is robbery.

According to the news from the secret agent I planted in the Yan Kingdom, the Yan Kingdom had gathered heavy troops in the Pamir Plateau two months ago, and the troops would be divided into two routes to attack the Ottoman Empire and the Abbasid Kingdom. You are too far from your homeland to seem to be very well informed.

As soon as Gan Tang's words were finished, Abbas's business chargé d'affaires jumped up from his seat, his face full of surprise, as a prince of a country, it was impossible for him to be a foreign affairs officer of so many countries.

"Your Royal Highness, please help us as much as possible in the light of our many years of friendship, and please do not trust the Shiite infidels, who are introducing robbers into our homeland."

"There are some disputes between our two countries on economic and religious issues, and there are also frictions in Indonesia and the Philippines, and the foundation is not very good, but everyone can sit down and talk, especially you are very friendly to Bactria , but the Chinese nation is a country that can tolerate people, and our two countries have a long history and brilliant civilization, so I believe that in the future, the relationship between Bactria and Abbas will definitely reach a new level."

Gan Tang said calmly. "Let him pass the past, we have to look forward, and I am personally willing to work hard for this, and let you see our sincerity, and you can also see the hypocrisy of certain countries. This matter will not wait long, we will see in half a year! ”

Gan Tang swept the audience with his eyes: "Remember what I said, although Abbas is not a powerful country in politics and economy, even in the Middle East, it is much weaker than the Chagatai Khanate that occupies the Pamirs, but we can still be friends of the country." But there are countries that are powerful, but they cannot be our friends. In some countries, the rulers do not represent the will of their citizens, but only for their own personal or family interests. ”

"I have to say that in some countries that use religion to deceive people, their entire management can be brainwashed. They have always been able to gather a large number of allies through benefit-sharing and other tricks. And when you have more allies than enemies, then victory is not a problem. ”

"When the powerful Yan Guotie rode in, he was able to judge the situation and bend his waist to pray for the mercy of the strong, and even did not hesitate to give his own people to the strong as slaves, Mr. Henry, I think before you came to Great Xia, the Pope of Rome had already communicated with you about this matter, I am not interested in the content, because I can guess."

"But these things have nothing to do with what we are talking about today, and you don't want your Excellency to comment on European affairs!" It was Dutch envoy Hunt who spoke without the slightest sense of presence.

"I beg your pardon for Mr. Hunt's rudeness." López immediately came out of the round.

"It doesn't matter, you don't agree with what I said above, it doesn't matter, this kind of thing is very complicated and vague, and you must agree with what I said below, you are a patriotic Dutchman and defend the interests of the Netherlands. And you want to extend the idea of Dutch Christianity to the whole world, right? Gan Tang said disapprerovingly.

"That's right, Your Highness." Hunter affirmed.

"Well, I'm going to tell you about one of my guesses.

In the future East, Xia Yan will inevitably have a battle for the country, but at this stage, both sides are not ready.

Yan has an overwhelming advantage in the overall quality of the army, but the Great Xia and the Yangtze River are dangerous, and it is impossible for Yan to cross the Yangtze River for a long time, so there is only one way to win the final victory, that is, a protracted war.

But the Yan Kingdom did not have the necessary materials needed for a protracted war, that is, food, and the only thing they could think of was the easiest method they used, which was robbery.

And the direction of the robbery, it is impossible to go south, it is impossible to go north, and to the east is the sea, so there is only one direction, and that is to the west.

There are two directions to the west, one is the Middle East, because where the Chagatai Khanate has been based for decades, it is the most convenient and the easiest to rob.

However, there is a fatal shortcoming, that is, the Middle East is poor in land and is not the world's main grain-producing region, which does not help much in the reserve of war materials.

They would send divisions to attack the countries of the Middle East in order to widen the depth of their battles, and their main force would inevitably be to the west, and the first to be attacked would be the Ottoman Empire, which had been in decline for hundreds of years.

Due to the long distances and transportation difficulties, the Ottomans alone could not be satisfied with a war of overpower, and after the capture of the Ottoman Empire, they would establish power here as a bridgehead for westward expansion.

They will attack the next target, which is the Balkans, followed by the countries of the Mediterranean, and all the way to the Low Countries.

But they don't set up power anywhere, they will rob the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Hungary, Austria, etc.

They paved the gold and silver from the money on the road in the Daming Palace, inlaid the gems on the walls of the palace, transported the grain along the Yangtze River, and finally had a battle with Daxia.

You can believe it or not, we can wait. It will take up to two years to see the difference! His Royal Highness Gantang, King of Xiangyang, said very terrifying words in a very calm tone.