The Portuguese envoy López and the interpreter Raphael stood nervously on the main hall of the Tianjin County Palace. Pen, fun, and www.biquge.info

López wiped the fine sweat from his forehead and said, "Raphael, do you think the King of Tianjin will meet us?" ”

Raphael pondered for a moment and said, "Clerk, I think the prince will meet us. If the prince hadn't seen us, he wouldn't have let us stand in the main hall and wait. You know, clerk, this hall is a very important building, and it is a place used by the king of the county to hold important ceremonies. ”

López looked at Raphael, oh, and said, "The Lord is with you, Raphael, and I hope you are right." Raphael, do you think the prince will agree to help us in Portugal? ”

Raphael thought for a moment, shook his head and said, "I don't know about this." ”

"Now Britain and the Netherlands are constantly attacking our territory and plundering our coasts. Portugal is a small country, and although we have many colonies all over the world, we are a small country with a small population. If the Netherlands and Portugal attack us like this, we will not be able to sustain it. Spain was also hostile to us, Portugal, and now our colonial empire is crumbling. ”

"Now on the whole earth, the only one who can save Portugal is probably His Royal Highness the King of Tianjin. He and we have a common enemy. He had completely annihilated the combined Anglo-Dutch fleet in Japan, and was a mortal enemy of Britain and the Netherlands, and he would not sit idly by and watch the British and Dutch become stronger and stronger. ”

Raphael concluded: "If I were His Royal Highness, I would be very interested in the emissary of Portugal. ”

López wiped his sweat and said, "I hope you're right, knowledgeable Raphael." You are so young, and you will one day surpass my achievements and become the governor of a colony. ”

Raphael bowed to López and said, "Clerk, I just hope this trip is not in vain. After a pause, Raphael said, "Clerk, I suggest that we wait and bow to His Royal Highness. He is a powerful king, several times more powerful than our king. We should abide by the etiquette of the Ming Dynasty, so as not to offend him. ”

López nodded and said, "Okay, you're right, Raphael. ”

The two were talking, when they suddenly saw a lot of guards and dependents walking out from behind the main hall. These people were richly dressed and controlled all directions of the main hall.

Then, some Tianjin officials came out in red official robes and stood on both sides of the hall.

Raphael nervously and excitedly observed the pomp and circumstance of the king of Tianjin, and whispered: "Clerk, there is hope." Looking at this momentum, the king of Tianjin is very serious about us! ”

After a while, one of the guards shouted, "Your Highness has arrived!" ”

Everyone in the hall knelt down and bowed their heads to the top of the hall. López and Raphael also knelt down, prostrating themselves on the ground and not daring to look up.

Li Zhi wore the four-clawed golden dragon robe of the county king, slowly walked up to the throne of the main hall, and sat down with a flick of his sleeves.

"Flat body~"

When they heard this, they all got up from the ground. Raphael stood up and, seeing that López was still sweating on the ground, went up and pulled him up and pulled the clerk up.

Li Zhi looked at the two Portuguese and muttered for a while.

Unlike the Spaniards and the Dutch, Portugal has always been very honest in Daming because of its small country and weak strength. Although they occupied Macao by force, the Portuguese never dared to plunder the Ming people, let alone enslave and slaughter the Ming people. The trade strategy of the Macanese has always been to bribe Ming officials, bribe Ming civil officials like a local merchant, and hire Han Chinese fairly.

In fact, in order to be recognized by the Ming government, the Portuguese tried their best to meet the requirements of the Ming court every time. The Portuguese in Macao cast red-coated cannons for the Ming Dynasty, provided artillery technology, and even proposed to the Ming court to send Portuguese mercenaries to help the Ming deal with Jiannu.

It was precisely because of the low profile of the Portuguese that the Ming court never thought of recovering Macao by force. Both the government and the opposition have a curious attitude towards the Portuguese in Macao, and regard Macau as a window to Western technology.

Because of this friendly relationship, Li Zhi came to meet the Portuguese envoy.

"Is there anything wrong with the two of you coming to find the widow?"

López followed the example of a Ming man and arched his hand and said, "Your Royal Highness the King of Tianjin, we are here to seek the help of the King of Tianjin on behalf of the King of Portugal. ”

Li Zhi sighed and asked, "What kind of help do you want, why do I want to help you." ”

López said loudly: "Venerable King of Tianjin, do you know that the British and Dutch stole His Highness's technology in Daming and created a large number of terrible weapons. Their rifles were capable of shooting up to 500 'palms', and at least 250 palms, defeating the Portuguese soldiers. ”

"We don't know how the British and Dutch improved their rifles, but all our lands and colonies are now under attack by both the British and Dutch. Because of their advanced weapons, the Dutch had invaded Portuguese colonies in the New World, and even established a foothold in Portugal proper. If this continues, we in Portugal will undoubtedly lose all our colonies, and even destroy the country. ”

Historically, there have been constant wars between European countries. When a country weakens a little, other countries will rush up and tear his body. There is hardly a year in which Europe has not been at war.

This time, the unlucky country is Portugal, which is already in decline.

Li Zhi smiled.

"This is your war, what does it have to do with me?"

When López heard this, his heart was cold, and he was speechless for a while.

Seeing that López had nothing to do, Raphael took a step forward and said, "Your Highness, Britain and the Netherlands are not only enemies of Portugal, but also enemies of Your Highness. If the Dutch had conquered Portugal, then the Dutch would have more ships, more soldiers, more fertile colonies and more gold. ”

"In that case, His Highness will have to put more effort into defeating the Netherlands."

Raphael exclaimed, "On the contrary, if His Highness gives Portugal a helping hand, the Portuguese will be able to hold back the Dutch forces and help the king." ”

Li Zhi looked at Raphael and smiled.

"Indeed, the widows hate the English and the Dutch, especially the Dutch, who have always been against the widows."

"Then what am I going to do to keep Portugal at bay from the Dutch?"

Hearing Li Zhi's answer, López's eyes lit up and he looked at Raphael happily.

Raphael exclaimed, "The King of Portugal wants the King of Portugal to sell us 50,000 rifles capable of shooting 250 'palms'. With these 50,000 rifles, the brave Portuguese soldiers could withstand more than 70,000 Dutch infantry. ”

Li Zhi was stunned and asked curiously, "You want to buy so many rifles?" You have 50,000 infantry? ”

Raphael replied, "Your Royal Highness, we do have more than 50,000 infantry. ”

Li Zhi thought for a while and said slowly: "If you agree to the widow's conditions, I can consider selling the new rifle to you." ”