"Your Majesty, His Holiness the Pope has revealed such information before. Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 Info said that it is intended that Spain and Portugal will divide the two gold producing countries in Africa equally......" Marin said softly.

"Oh, how do you divide it?" Ferdinand II asked with interest.

"Whoever acquires Zimbabwe will also acquire the right to possess Morocco. And those who obtained the Songhai Empire did not. ”

"That's balancing?" As a veteran politician, Ferdinand II naturally understood the truth.

"Your Majesty, actually, this is not a balance. Because, after all, the Holy See once assigned all Africa to Portugal. Spain was able to obtain one of the two major gold-producing countries, in fact, it was a cut of flesh on the Portuguese...... Coupled with the fact that India is going to give half to Spain, it is estimated that His Majesty King Manuel I of Portugal will have the heart to kill you......"

"This ...... That's right. At first, we mistakenly believed Columbus and thought that the Savage Islands were India, and we signed the stupid treaty of the Treaty of Todesillas...... Alas, I really want to beat Columbus again...... "Columbus, who was far away at home in East Friesland, suddenly felt a chrysanthemum tight......

"Your Majesty, this is your excuse!" Marin took the opportunity to flicker.

"How?"

"The premise of the signing of the Treaty of Todesiras was that Spain had discovered India?"

"Yes, we thought Columbus had discovered India...... Ferdinand II said honestly.

"Isn't that what it takes? As for this reversal, you say that Columbus deceived Spain, but also the Holy See and the previous Pope. In fact, the Treaty of Todesiras was signed on the premise that Spain had discovered the Indian ......"

"Yes......" Ferdinand II patted his head, agreeing with Marin's statement.

Since the premise of the signing of the Treaty of Todesiras was that Spain had discovered India, the Spaniards' claim for rights in India was justified at all, and the Portuguese should not be frightened. Thinking of this, Ferdinand II's joystick straightened.

"So, what kind of reasons should I use to meddle in African affairs? Even if they want to get Zimbabwe, the Portuguese won't agree, right? ”

"This is simple, you announced that you would use the Savage Continent to exchange it with the Portuguese, wouldn't you have it?"

"What if the Portuguese won't?"

"Then you just give up the wild continent and announce the division of Africa with Portugal?"

"Abandon the Savage Continent? I'm so reluctant......" Ferdinand II was a little reluctant.

"Your Majesty, do you think it is reasonable for you to occupy the wild continent at the same time, and you want to divide Africa with the Portuguese? If you really want to do this, you will not be reasonable, and the Holy See will not support you. Also, the Portuguese are probably going to be so angry that they want to kill you......"

"That's right...... However, Zimbabwe does not have as much gold as the Songhai Empire...... "Ferdinand II is still reluctant to give up the gold of the Songhai Empire."

"Your Majesty, don't look at Zimbabwe's gold as much as the Songhai Empire. However, Zambia, in the north of Zimbabwe, has the most copper in the world......"

"The most copper? How many? Ferdinand II was a little confused.

"According to my teacher's estimates, the total copper reserves here, that is, in the plateau area north of the Zambezi River, may reach 30 million tons...... Uh, that's 66.1 billion pounds......"

"66.1 billion?" At first, Ferdinand II thought that Marin was talking about 6.61 million, and then he suddenly jumped up with excitement:

"What do you say? 66.1 billion pounds? Ferdinand II was so frightened that he almost fainted. This number is too scary.

Before, Mansa. The 33,000 pounds carried by the "Golden Sultan" of Musa scared Ferdinand II, let alone the 66.1 billion pounds.

Although, the price of copper is much less than that of gold. However, in Europe at this time, 180 pounds of copper could also be exchanged for a pound of gold. 66.1 billion pounds, wouldn't it be exchangeable...... Well, I'll do the math...... Ferdinand II spread out the parchment on the spot, dipped the ink with a quill pen and began to calculate. In the end, he got a terrifying figure - the equivalent of 367 million pounds of gold......

Ferdinand II almost didn't sit still, but Marin helped him in time.

"Too ...... That's an exaggeration...... So much copper ......"

"Your Majesty, there is so much copper, if it is really mined, I am afraid that the copper will depreciate in value......" Marin reminded.

"It's okay, it's a 100-fold depreciation, and there are 3.67 million pounds of gold, which is better than that Mansa. The 33,000 pounds that Musa carried that year was a hundred times more...... "Ferdinand II was very good at math, it seems that it was not taught by the physical education teacher......

"But that much copper can't be mined all at once...... Marin reminded.

"That's right...... However, as long as this place is occupied, it is enough to mine 33,000 pounds of copper worth of gold every year...... "Ferdinand II remembers Mansa. The amount of gold that Moses carried.

"Your Majesty is wise!" Marin was actually snickering inside. Seeing that Ferdinand II agreed to abandon the "terrifying" wild continent, Marin died of joy in his heart.

Where is it so easy to mine copper in hot Africa? Moreover, this data was explored by later generations. With Spain's current technology, it would be good to be able to mine for one-tenth of the copper deposits. Then, when it comes to mining, it's also very difficult.

This series of exploration and exploitation could steadily drag Spain in Zimbabwe and Zambia. Then, their eyes were all set to the north, and naturally they would not pay attention to the South African region south of the Limpopo River.

South Africa, but Marin wants to take it. There are not only huge gold mines, but also huge reserves of chromite, which are of great industrial significance.

That's why Marin threw out Zambian copper to attract the attention of the Spaniards and make them turn their efforts to the north, not to South Africa, south of the Limpopo River.

Moreover, with the technological prowess of Europeans in this era, it is also unrealistic to want to mine copper on a large scale without machines. Producing thousands of tons of copper every year scares people to death. At most, it has brought the price of copper down. However, if you want Spain to soar, you can't do it.

In the final analysis, it is a pit, a pit that drags down Spain's national power, a pit that is more than Zimbabwe's gold......

However, it was such a big pit that ignited Ferdinand II's blood......

Ferdinand II felt that his whole body was about to explode, he walked up and down excitedly, and then stared at Marin and asked:

"Marlin, are you sure there's so much copper in that place?"

"I'm sure and sure, and I can swear!" Zambia's copper descendants are very famous, and Marin is not lying. However, whether Spain in this era can find all the copper mines, Marin is not sure......

Moreover, the Zambian region is almost 750,000 square kilometres. Even if all the plateau areas are explored, it will take decades of work. Anyway, this pit is extremely big, just waiting for Spain to jump......

"Your Majesty, even the coastal areas of Mozambique are very rich and can develop sugar cane cultivation." Marin pointed to the Mozambique part of the map and said to Ferdinand II.

"It's also tropical over there?"

"Of course, moreover, Your Majesty can buy black slaves directly locally and use them on the plantation."

Marin is not true at all, African tribes often fight with each other, and capture each other as slaves. It was very cheap to buy black slaves locally. Moreover, there is no need for long-distance transportation. In fact, Marin wondered why not plantate in Africa if the climate in Africa is similar to that of the Americas?

After thinking about it, I realized that Africa was the territory of the Portuguese. The Portuguese were weak chickens on the land, and were simply powerless to conquer the black tribes on the land. Therefore, they could only buy prisoners of war with black tribes through trade and sell them as black slaves, and they were unable to conquer those black tribes in Africa.

Therefore, plantations in Africa did not begin to develop until the 19th century, when Europeans invaded Africa in a full-scale manner. Now, it seems that the Portuguese have only cultivated sugar cane plantations on the island of São Tomé.

The army strength of the Spaniards was much stronger than that of Portugal, especially after the emergence of the Spanish phalanx, Spain was crazy about the European continent for a hundred years, and it was not until the appearance of the line formation of Morris and Gu Erye that the Spanish army began to decline. However, taking the Spanish phalanx and going to those African indigenous tribes is not a problem at all.

Use the Spanish phalanx to pluck the black tribes in the fertile land of Mozambique's great rivers and occupy good lots. Then, buy tamed prisoners of war from other black tribes as black slaves with cheap goods, and develop sugar cane plantations and even spice plantations on the spot, so as not to be too promising......

Marin explained this idea to Ferdinand II in detail, and Ferdinand II was even more explosive, and the whole person kept walking around the room to relieve the agitation. Then, he also whispered:

"I want Zimbabwe, Zambia and Mozambique! I want gold, and lots and lots of copper...... Well, and ...... growing sugar cane."

It's just that, in Marin's eyes, Ferdinand II, who walked around excitedly and roared from time to time, why did he look so much like Teacher Fan Wei who "took two steps to try"......

Anyway, Marin can conclude that Ferdinand II has been "fooled and lame" by himself......