Listening to Álvaro's thanks, Zhang Zhijie smiled meaningfully: "Our Daming is the most hospitable, since ancient times, many envoys from foreign countries have come to Daming, and they have been grandly entertained by Daming. Marshal Álvaro came from afar, and it was just a box of tea, and it was not worth anything. ”

Álvaro smiled, "The Governor is a gentlemanly nobleman who is admired. I was very touched by the Governor's hospitality, but I wondered why the Governor had led the fleet to Manraka. ”

"It is true that there is some friction between the Ming Dynasty and the Kingdom of Portugal, but that is because there is a misunderstanding in it, and now that the misunderstanding has been resolved, I am also trying to eliminate the friction, and the Governor has brazenly led the fleet to force Manraka, which makes me very sad!"

Zhang Zhijie listened to it and said in a deep voice: "Marshal Álvaro may have made a mistake, Manraka is not the territory of Portugal, on the contrary, since ancient times, Manraka has always been a subject of the Ming Dynasty, that is to say, he is the territory of the Ming Dynasty. It's just that now it's rudely occupied by your Kingdom of Portugal! ”

"In the past, the Governor and the Governor of Arathas did not know each other, and they couldn't bear to drive him away immediately, and planned to give him a place to stay temporarily! However, your country has seized the merchant ships of the Ming Dynasty in Manchuria, and this practice makes His Majesty the Emperor very angry! ”

"So Manraka must be reassigned to the Ming Dynasty, if your Kingdom of Portugal does not agree to withdraw, we don't mind recovering it by force!"

Álvaro shook his head when he heard this: "I know that the cause of this turmoil is that we seized the merchant ships of the Ming Dynasty, and I admit that this is our responsibility. ”

"There was even a war that broke out because of this, and I admit that we bear the main responsibility. We are willing to make reparations for this, and this is also a sign of our friendship to the Ming Dynasty, and we also hope that the Ming will recognize Manraka as part of the Kingdom of Portugal! ”

Zhang Zhijie said with a smile: "Since Marshal Alvaro has admitted that it is the responsibility of your Kingdom of Portugal, then compensation should be made!" As for the belonging of Manraka, this is not in dispute, because he has belonged to the Ming Dynasty since ancient times, and not to the distant kingdom of Portugal! ”

"Therefore, the conditions of the Governor will not change, unconditionally release the seized Ming merchant ships, and the Governor can allow you to redeem the captured soldiers, each with a thousand taels of silver! Withdraw from Manraka at once, or else the Governor will expel him by force! ”

Although Zhang Zhijie said it with a smile, it had a categorical taste. Álvaro looked at the young Ming governor steadily, the negotiations had just begun and seemed to be about to end.

Because the Governor of the Ming Dynasty had no intention of negotiating, the Governor of the Ming Dynasty had only one intention, either to accept his demands or to use force to complete his demands.

For the first time, Alvaro felt so helpless, and said helplessly: "Your Excellency the Governor, I can't make the decision on this matter, I must ask our Majesty the King, and I hope that Your Excellency the Governor can make it convenient!" ”

Zhang Zhijie smiled: "I'm sorry, I have to complete the task assigned by His Majesty the Emperor, one day's time, one day later, this governor will attack Manraka!" ”

Álvaro said in a deep voice, "Your Excellency the Governor is a little too pushing! ”

Zhang Zhijie smiled with a triumphant smile: "Marshal Álvaro, your Kingdom of Portugal has vast colonies in Africa and the Americas, and these colonies must be maintained by fleets!" ”

"Is it for the sake of Manga that Marshal Alvaro intends to ignore these vast colonies? If all the more than 30 warships in Marshal Álvaro's hands were buried here, what would the Kingdom of Portugal do to maintain that vast colony? ”

"When the time comes, let alone Manraka, the Kingdom of Portugal will lose all its colonies, Ben Governor is right, right?"

Álvaro didn't nod, but his face became very gloomy. Because what the Ming Governor said was all the truth, Álvaro pondered for a moment and said, "Your Excellency the Governor, we are willing to release the seized warships, and we are also willing to pay three million taels of silver to ransom our soldiers, and we can even withdraw from Manchuria!" ”

"However, I hope that your Excellency can give us some islands as our foothold in the East, we need to settle down to trade in the East, and I believe that the Governor also hopes that we can trade with the Ming Dynasty!"

It seems that Álvaro is not willing to give up the Spice Islands even if he gives up Manraka, Zhang Zhijie said with a smile: "Of course, the Governor welcomes merchant ships who come to trade, but you don't need the islands as a place to settle at all, because all the merchant ships can come to Manraka to settle down, and the Governor not only welcomes them very much, but also ensures their safety." ”

Álvaro frowned, "We just want a few small islands as a place to stay, it's not a harsh requirement, is it?" ”

Zhang Zhijie shook his head and said in a deep voice: "It's okay to come to trade, but it's not okay to occupy an area!" ”

Hearing Zhang Zhijie's resounding words, Álvaro felt a suffocating suffocation in his chest, he had never been rejected so mercilessly in his life.

He was the marshal of the Kingdom of Portugal, leading the Portuguese fleet across the seas and conquering a vast territory for the Kingdom of Portugal, but he did not expect that one day he would be treated so embarrassingly.

Álvaro was silent, Zhang Zhijie did not urge or say anything more, but leisurely picked up the tea, for Zhang Zhijie, Álvaro was just a defeated subordinate! The Kingdom of Portugal is just a country that has been overtaken by the Ming Dynasty and trampled on the soles of its feet.

After a long time, Álvaro's face turned a little pale and said, "Tomorrow, I will lead the fleet to withdraw from Manraka!" From now on, Manraka will belong to the Ming Dynasty! ”

Zhang Zhijie laughed lightly when he heard this, this was exactly the result he was looking forward to, and the soldiers occupied Manraka without bloodshed, and expelled the Portuguese.

Zhang Zhijie chuckled and said, "Marshal Alvaro, this is a wise decision, which is beneficial to both of our countries. For the Kingdom of Portugal, it was able to concentrate its forces to maintain the colonies of the Americas and Africa, and Manraka originally belonged to the Ming Dynasty, and now it has returned to the arms of the Ming Dynasty. ”

This is of course a good thing for the Ming Dynasty, but it is a good thing for them when the Kingdom of Portugal came, they lost the cornucopia of Manraka and the Spice Islands.

Álvaro's heart was filled with bitterness and remorse for his strategic mistake that had caused the kingdom to suffer a great loss! If Zhang Zhijie knew the self-blame in his heart, he would definitely comfort him, buddy, this is a matter of time or time, and now it just happened in advance.

(End of chapter)