The meeting of the whole army in the study room behind the main courtyard of Hushan had not yet ended, and the news of the arrival of the Franc fleet at the wharf suddenly came, and the general flag on duty who came to report excitedly said that there were as many as nine large and small sea ships of the Franc man, which frightened Zhu Daolin, and he could not continue to discuss the expansion and training of the Lu Division, and whispered a few words to Ye Liangchen, the staff behind him, and rushed to the wharf with Xu Hongji, Zhang Gongwei, who were also surprised.

The two old warships of the Chongming Central Committee had already docked, and the officers and men of the naval division had already disembarked and wandered around, and the officers and men of the Shangyuan Institute still did not allow the Francophiles to disembark because they had not received orders, and the six Portuguese merchant ships and three Spanish merchant ships that had come together could anchor and wait on the river more than ten meters away from the wharf.

Director of the Spanish East India Company, Thiago. Gilbert. Seeing that the docks had changed a lot, and that there were many arrogant Ming soldiers, Sánchez was a little anxious, and ordered the captain to dock the ship to Paul, the patriarch of the Portuguese Chamber of Commerce. Fernandez. Molano's 700-ton cargo ship, the Knight Manuel, called Aznar, the commercial counselor of the Manila Governor's Palace, to pass through a makeshift gangplank and urgently negotiate with Moreno, who was also anxious.

The three of them and a group of attachés stood on the side of the ship, looking at the neatly dressed Ming officers and soldiers on the dock and the more and more Ming people gathered, marveling at the large population of the Ming Empire, and guessing whether the political situation of the Ming Empire had changed.

"Look, our friend Mr. Zhu is here, and there are two government officials in bright red robes around him, and there are many soldiers in armor behind him!" A sharp-eyed Portuguese entourage reminded loudly.

Sanchez and the others immediately looked at the crowd that separated from the middle like a tide in the depths of the dock, and soon saw Zhu Daolin in a dark blue robe, and couldn't help cheering with joy.

Molleno, who was based in Macau, was very familiar with the social hierarchy of the Ming Dynasty, and he happily corrected the mistakes of his subordinates: "Dear Paul, the two men in red robes next to Mr. Zhu are not government officials, judging by the pattern of the two yellow and red dragon flags held high behind them. Their identity is the senior commander of the army, and they are likely to have a high title, and the group of soldiers in shining armor behind them are almost all generals of the Ming Empire's army, it seems that our dear Mr. Zhu is doing very well recently. ”

"Thank God! All my worries can finally be thrown into the water. Ha ha! Sanchez laughed happily.

Zhu Daolin and his entourage walked quickly to the edge of the wharf and waved to each other with the passengers of the Franc aircraft on board, and several officers and men of the sailors of the Shangyuan Institute walked to the forefront of the wharf and signaled with gestures that they could dock.

A few minutes later, the "Manuel Knight" was the first to dock, and Moreno, Sanchez, and Aznar walked off the pedal and shook hands with Zhu Daolin in turn to greet each other. Zhu Daolin immediately introduced Xu Hongji and Zhang Gongwei to Moleno and others.

Xu Hongji and Zhang Gongwei were not used to shaking hands, and Moleno and others had a very good body odor, which made the two of them uncomfortable, so they just clasped their fists reservedly and saluted and said a few kind words that they had admired for a long time.

Moreno and the others solemnly arranged their robes, bowed down to the dukes and counts of the Ming Empire, and then expressed their respect very decently.

Zhu Daolin didn't have so many scruples, and waited for the two sides to finish greeting. Raising his hand to several long-distance cargo ships at berth: "My friend, what have these sail cargo ships been carrying?" ”

Moleno replied with a smile: "Most of them are all kinds of goods stipulated in the contract. On top of the outermost two cargo ships, which are adjusting their docking angles, are the Arabian horses you need, but unfortunately, 52 of the 150 horses brought in this time had to be thrown into the arms of the sea god because they could not adapt to the wind and waves of the sea and the humid and hot cabin. ”

Zhu Daolin was distressed: "It's really unimaginable. The mortality rate turned out to be more than a third! ”

Sanchez laughed: "We are a little luckier, the 30 pure-blooded Andalusian horses loaded from the port of Manila are very healthy, I am sure you will love them." ”

Zhu Daolin felt a lot better when he heard this, turned his head and discussed with Xu Hongji and Zhang Gongwei, and handed over the unloading work to Zhao Xunting and senior brother Yuxian and others who came in a hurry. Warmly greeted Moreno and Sanchez and their group of seven to go to the military camp on the side to rest.

Along the way, Zhu Daolin wanted to talk to the tall and handsome Spanish Navy captain Asnar, but this guy couldn't speak Daming, so Zhu Daolin had to use gestures to gestify, and Asnar was also enthusiastic to express himself as much as possible.

The guests and hosts humbly entered the conference room in the middle of the front row barracks, and several clever young flags were already ready, waiting for the guests to sit down and immediately serve fragrant tea.

Xu Hongji and Zhang Gongwei seemed to be very unaccustomed to such diplomatic occasions, briefly inquired about Zhu Daolin's situation of the goods, agreed on the time of the next meeting, and politely said goodbye to the guests after a little explanation.

As soon as the two big men left, Moreno, Sanchez and the others immediately relaxed a lot, and Aznar, who was born in the military, asked curiously: "Dear friend, please take the liberty of me, the venerable Duke and Earl, who have just left, do you hold positions in your army?" Do you have a good relationship? ”

After listening to Sanchez's translation, Zhu Daolin saw that everyone was looking at him, and felt that it was better to answer frankly: "One of them is the Zuo Governor of the Nanjing Governor's Mansion, who is in charge of the water and land armies in the south of the Ming Empire, and is also in charge of the Jiangnan Navy of the Ming Empire, and the other is the Right Governor of the Jiangnan garrison of the Ming Empire, their family has shares in my company, and their son and I are like brothers." ”

"In addition, there is a special thing that needs to be told to you, my current position is the commander of the Nanjing Governor's Office of the Ming Empire, responsible for the military defense and fleet management of the Yangtze River and the coastal areas of the sea outlet...... Equivalent to the Chief of Staff of the Navy's Southern Fleet. ”

"At the same time, I am also responsible for organizing and commanding a fleet of 1,500 officers and men of the navy, and two armies of 6,700 marines, and the barracks and port where we are at the moment, as well as the port of Baoshan, where your fleet passes through when entering the mouth of the Yangtze River, are all defense areas under my direct jurisdiction."

Moleno and the others were shocked, and Asnar listened to the translation of the attaché behind him, and immediately opened his eyes wide, looking at Zhu Daolin with a calm expression in disbelief.

Zhu Daolin patiently explained: "My military rank and position were personally appointed by the emperor of the Ming Empire, and a special edict of appointment was issued for this purpose. ”

"Our country and the barbarian peoples of the north have always been in a state of war, like the wars of religion that broke out in Europe in 1618 and continue to the present day, long and cruel, so I must heed the call of the emperor and contribute my strength to my country."

Sanchez, the director of the Spanish East India Company, who came with a heavy responsibility, was keenly aware that Zhu Daolin's foreign trade was likely to be closely related to the Ming Empire's royal family and the protracted war in the north.

The Portuguese Moleno had a different idea, and he deduced such a result from Zhu Daolin's introduction: Zhu Daolin was a favorite minister who raised war funds for the emperor of the Ming Empire, otherwise it would be impossible for the emperor to personally issue an edict to give Zhu Daolin, who was only twenty-six years old, such huge power, Duke Xu Hongji and Count Zhang Gongwei, who held military power to guard the southern capital of the Ming Empire, could not be so kind to a young man who was not from a noble background!

Zhu Daolin's mind is also spinning rapidly, what the Portuguese and Spaniards think he may not need to explore, but he must make a comprehensive consideration for the next trade, among which Zhu Daolin is most worried about the transaction of the Tamsui Port on Taiwan Island.

This time, Sanchez, the director of the Spanish East India Company, and Aznar, the commercial counselor of the Manila Governor's Palace, came together again, which made Zhu Daolin see great hope for the purchase of the Tamsui Port.

If the governor of Manila did not agree to the sale of the port of Tamsui, where only 27 Spanish officers and soldiers were stationed, he would not have sent the commercial counselor Asnar again, but Zhu Daolin had to deal with it carefully until the deal was concluded. (To be continued......)