King Philip IV of Spain did not hesitate to sign the contract, the Ming Empire and Spain formed a lightning alliance, everything was so sudden, even Zheng Zhilong and Coqueira, who accompanied him to participate in the negotiation, were stunned on the spot.

Zhang Bin didn't think there was anything strange, Zheng Zhilong and Coqueira may not have imagined that such a huge empire as Spain was about to withdraw from the stage of hegemony and decline rapidly, but he knew that without external help, Spain would soon collapse.

Would Philip IV, the arrogant king of the earth, willingly withdraw from the arena and never recover?

Apparently not!

Therefore, it is not at all surprising that Philip IV would be in such a hurry to sign a contract.

However, the signing of this contract is only the basis for cooperation between the two sides, and the next negotiations are the focus, what kind of help does Philip IV want the Ming Empire to give him, or what kind of help will the Ming Empire give to Spain?

As soon as Philip IV finished signing the contract, he couldn't wait to ask: "Your Royal Highness, I wonder if your country's super battleships and cruisers can be sold to us?" ”

Not to mention Zheng Zhilong's translation, Zhang Bin heard this, and pretended to be embarrassed: "This, there is no problem in selling it to you, but we are a little too busy, if you want to buy it, you may have to wait a few years." ”

What do you mean by that, politely refused?

Philip IV was now most concerned about this issue, and he couldn't help but ask: "Why wait a few years, doesn't your country have plans to produce super battleships and cruisers in recent years?" ”

Zhang Bin shook his head again and again and said: "It's not, the main thing is that our production capacity is limited, and the super battleships and cruisers of our Ming Imperial Navy are not fully equipped, and Portugal has also booked some, so if you want to, you can only wait a few years." ”

It turned out that Portugal had booked, and Philip IV was a little unhappy, he originally didn't want to mention Portugal, and the two sides of the province were embarrassed, but now he had to say it.

He suppressed the unhappiness in his heart, and said in as plain a tone as possible: "Your Royal Highness, you should know that the reason why Portugal is asking people everywhere to form an alliance is because it is afraid of our retaliation, and now that we have formed an alliance with your Ming Empire, it is naturally impossible to retaliate against them anymore, what do they need super battleships and cruisers for?" ”

Zhang Bin hurriedly explained: "After all, they also have many overseas colonies, and if they don't build a strong navy, they can't guarantee the interests of overseas colonies at all." ”

Philip IV was ashamed to say: "As long as our Spanish navy is strong, we can help them ensure the interests of their overseas colonies." ”

Believe that you will come to the ghost, and when the time comes, you will annex Portugal and be your king of the earth, right?

Zhang Bin still pretended to be embarrassed: "This, we have reached an agreement with Portugal, we can't go back on our word, right, the exchanges between countries are about integrity, if there is no integrity, who is willing to deal with our Ming Empire?" ”

Integrity, that's a fart, as long as you are strong enough, even if you turn your face and turn the book, people can only swallow their anger.

Philip IV couldn't tell whether Zhang Bin was telling the truth or perfunctory to him at this time, he could only pester: "Your Royal Highness, we also have many overseas colonies in Spain, and we have been providing you with blister copper produced in the Americas to the Ming Empire, if we don't have a strong navy, how can the interests of this overseas colony be guaranteed, if our mainland and the Americas are cut off, the supply of blister copper will also have problems!" ”

Cut, threaten with the supply of blister copper, this little trick Zhang Bin didn't bother to deal with, he said directly: "Your Majesty, you can rest assured that our Ming Empire will build a military base in Lisbon, and will leave a hundred super battleships, cruisers and light ironclad ships to ensure the interests of your Spanish and Portuguese American colonies, at least in the next few years, it is impossible for us to withdraw the fleet, so you don't have to worry about the threat from the sea, I believe, The anti-Habsburg alliance does not dare to start a war with our Ming Empire, and if they dare to attack our fleet, we will fight back with all our might! ”

When Philip IV heard this, he did not show any excited expression, because his ideas were different from those of João IV, who only wanted to keep Portugal's overseas colonies first and then develop slowly, while he wanted to organize an invincible armada, defeat the anti-Habsburg alliance, and continue to dominate the seas.

Of course, Zhang Bin knew Philip IV's thoughts, and he also knew that Spain's national strength was incomparable to Portugal's, and if he fully supported them, it was very likely that he would cultivate a strong enemy that threatened the Ming Empire, so his strategy for Spain was completely different from that for Portugal.

Philip IV didn't know what Zhang Bin thought, so he could only ask regretfully: "How many super battleships and cruisers have you ordered in Portugal, and how long will it take for you to produce them?" ”

Zhang Bin smiled and said: "Your Majesty, please rest assured, Portugal only plans to equip more than 20,000 navies, and does not need many super battleships and cruisers, we will be able to complete Portugal's order in about five years, and when the time comes, we will be able to help you produce super battleships and cruisers." Anyway, you don't need to worry about the sea, with the fleet of our Ming Empire, you will definitely not encounter threats from the sea, but on this land, Your Majesty, are you confident that you can withstand the attack of the anti-Habsburg alliance? ”、

Land?

Philip IV couldn't help frowning when he heard this, in fact, the threat they faced at sea was not great, because the fleet of the anti-Habsburg alliance could only come to the Mediterranean if they wanted to fight a naval battle with them, and there was only one power on the Mediterranean coast, France, and their navy was not very strong, and it was unlikely that the really powerful Holland and Britain would make a detour of thousands of miles to the Mediterranean to fight their navy, because the distance was too far to replenish them.

In fact, the anti-Habsburg alliance was not monolithic, and it was impossible for Britain and the Netherlands to hand over such a fatal key to supply to France, if France cheated them, it was entirely possible that their navy would be killed together with the Spanish navy, and then the French navy would be dominant.

Therefore, in this complicated situation, the threat faced by Spain at sea is actually not very large, and Philip IV actually knew that most of the navies of the anti-Habsburg coalition powers were grabbing the interests of overseas colonies, and it was unlikely that they would come to a decisive battle with their Spanish navy, as long as their navy was nested in the Mediterranean, there was nothing at all.

Now that the Ming Empire has promised to help them safeguard the interests of their overseas colonies, he doesn't have to worry about the sea, unless he wants to continue to dominate the sea.

In fact, the great wars that have taken place between the Habsburgs and the anti-Habsburg coalition for more than 20 years have basically been on land, whether it is the Holy Roman Empire or Spain, the army has almost been disabled.

Philip IV realized at this moment that the land was the most important place, and if the Spanish Army was completely defeated by the anti-Habsburg coalition, it would be over, because the anti-Habsburg coalition had already reached Catalonia in northern Spain.

can't save his life and still thinks about fighting for hegemony, Zhang Bin is reminding him, do you want to die!