Tiger Mountain Main Courtyard, Tea Room.

Feng Shengtai whispered something he knew: "Almost 30 years ago, there was a large Portuguese cargo ship named 'Santa Catalina', which loaded more than 600,000 pieces of porcelain in Haojingao at the mouth of the Pearl River and returned to Tessie, and sailed to the Manchurian Sea, where it was robbed by three Dutch warships. ”

"The Dutch killed the Portuguese shipowner, forced the shipwright to drive the ship to Amsterdam in the Netherlands, and moved more than 600,000 pieces of porcelain ashore to sell publicly, as a result, the monarchs and princes of the Taixi countries and the famous families rushed to buy it, and they sold more than 5 million guilders, equivalent to more than 600,000 taels of gold, and my Ming porcelain has been famous all over the world since then......"

"Since then, the Portuguese and the Dutch have had a deep enmity with each other, and the two sides have been fighting for land in the Americas for decades, and the hatred between them has become irresolvable."

Ying Changpei asked in surprise: "Haven't Portugal and Spain also been fighting back and forth?" Why are Moreno and Sanchez able to do business together? ”

Feng Shengtai patiently explained: "These two countries are different from the Netherlands...... Portugal was originally a province in the north of Spain, and it was only divided into two countries two hundred years ago, and they can be said to be brothers to each other, so they can still sit together and talk about business. ”

"The Dutch are different, they have lived for generations on the northwestern coast of Thailand, thousands of miles away from Portugal and Spain, and have not been a country for a long time, and they have always been fierce and barbaric......"

"However, the Dutch are very good at business, they are proficient in shipbuilding, they have a strong navy, they are constantly encroaching on the overseas territories of Spain and Portugal, and now Batavia, the most prosperous port in the South Seas, was snatched by the Dutch from my Ming immigrants 13 years ago. Even the entire island of Java was occupied by them, and they also occupied the southern part of Yingzhou. ”

"I heard that the Dutch were not satisfied, and sent troops several times to attack the port of Manchuria, which the Portuguese had occupied for decades, and although the Portuguese finally barely held on, no one knows how long they could hold it."

Ying Changpei finally understood: "The Dutch are wolf ambitions and insatiable greed!" I'm afraid that it belongs to Yingzhou Island. We're going to have to fight them! ”

Zhu Daolin nodded: "This is the fundamental reason why I befriended the Spaniards and the Portuguese!" ”

"The Viceroyalty of Luzon and the Spanish East India Company, as well as the Portuguese East India Company, headquartered in Goa, India, were never willing to sell warships to the Ming Empire......"

"The two countries have already established a number of large shipyards in the ports of Manila and Goa, using the abundant local sandalwood, iron wood, rosewood and other precious timber, as well as human resources, to build a large number of armed merchant ships and warships, and the quality and materials are better than those built in Europe."

"However, in order to guarantee the interests of both countries. They never sell large armed merchant ships and improved warships of more than 300 tons, but what we lack the most is warships, and in the past six months, they have been able to sell me 8 new Galen cargo ships, which is already good! ”

"Our shipbuilding workshop is indeed a little smaller, and we don't have to worry about it when the new shipyard in Baguazhou is built." Feng Shengtai said with deep feelings.

Ying Changpei, who didn't know anything about ships and naval warfare, asked curiously: "Can't we build it ourselves?" The shipbuilding workshops south of the wharf now have 7,000 apprentice craftsmen, and I heard that those docks can build a large ship in less than two months, and five large and small docks can build 10 large ships a year, at least, right? Wouldn't it be better to go down and build more warships? ”

Zhu Daolin shook his head: "You all got on the boat and saw it." You don't know how sturdy the Portuguese and Spanish 500-ton ocean-going carriers are, right? If nothing else, the hull alone is 40 centimeters thick. It's almost twice as thick as my Ming warship! ”

"That's why I'm buying their ships to be converted into warships...... Their battleships have thicker hulls, more advanced designs, and stronger structures than their cargo ships, as long as they can be persuaded to build warships in Manila and Goa to sell to us. The tonnage doesn't need to be too big, just a new 500-ton warship improved from an armed merchant ship! ”

"As long as they want, they can easily build more than 12 500-ton warships in a year, and our shipbuilding workshop can concentrate manpower and material resources to build new ocean-going carriers of more than 500 tons. Only in this way can we meet our expanding needs, and as long as we survive next year, everything will be easy! ”

At this time, Ying Changpei completely understood: "In this way, it is necessary to form an alliance with the Spaniards and the Portuguese. ”

"Located at the mouth of the Yangtze River, the large-scale Baoshan Port will take at least two years to build, you transfer the trading location to the Tamsui Port in Yingzhou, which is more convenient for the Spanish and Portuguese, and the fleet of Tiangong Commerce and Trade can transport all kinds of goods from the south of the Yangtze River to the Tamsui Port, and then transport back the timber, sulfur, camphor and sea salt from Yingzhou Island, and it is also convenient for you to buy and resell from the overseas Tianshu Pavilion, which is indeed a lot of gains, and it is very hidden, and no one knows if you make a fortune."

"However, the safety of the freshwater port becomes a crucial issue! But what if the Spaniards and the Portuguese were unwilling to form an alliance? ”

Zhu Daolin smiled lightly: "It's easy to do, the Arab merchant Sayid, who has been away for half a year, will come back next month at the latest, and as soon as he returns, I will immediately form an alliance with him, jointly fund the formation of an ocean-going trade fleet, transfer 5 warships and 5 ocean-going cargo ships, and specialize in Alexandria and Damascus with his fleet." ”

"At most, I will send another 10,000 recruits to garrison Tamsui Harbor, equipped with enough muskets and artillery, to defend to the death, no matter how embarrassed it is, the Dutch or Zheng Shihao will not let the Dutch or Zheng Shihao storm in, and when the time comes, the Spaniards and Portuguese will come to me without me opening their mouths!"

######

On the morning of the third day, two days of difficult negotiations finally came to an end.

Zhu Daolin, Moreno, and Sanchez solemnly signed their names on the memorandum of the meeting and the draft treaty in triplicate, respectively, and then hugged each other and blessed each other.

The assistants of the three, Ye Liangchen, Juan and Garcia, immediately sorted out the signed documents, shook hands with each other, and silently stepped aside.

The draft agreement still needs to be brought back to the respective headquarters for review, and finally a grand formal signing ceremony will be held at Yingzhou Tamsui Port, but there will be no major changes to the 25 articles and 124 detailed rules in the agreement.

The only thing that has not yet been determined is whether this secret treaty, which would have shaped the pattern of trade between East and West and the course of history, was signed by companies backed by various governments, or by the governor of Haiphong of the Ming Empire, the governor of Luzon in Spain, and the governor of Goa in Portugal.

However, no matter what level of representatives come forward to sign, behind it is a country, and the essence of the agreement will not change.

The wharf of Shangyuan Port is bustling with people, and the fleet of Franc locomotives loaded with 12,000 horses of silk, 4,200 boxes of tea, more than 7,000 boxes of porcelain, 300 boxes of polished mirrors and 2,000 sets of axles is about to depart.

Zhu Daolin led more than 10 large and small managers to say goodbye to the guests, and the concerto of various musical instruments and the singing of the changed tune came from the naval barracks in the north, and the guests thought it was Zhu Daolin's parting romantic farewell, and everyone's hearts were very moved, and they kept thanking Zhu Daolin.

The guests quickly boarded the boats, and the fleet slowly sailed away from the dock before disappearing into the vast expanse of the river. (To be continued.) )