After a sumptuous lunch, the guests happily went to the tea room in the side hall to take a short break and began to discuss next year's cooperation.

Both the Portuguese Moreno and the Spaniard Sanchez are very optimistic about the Baoshan Port and Tamsui Port under construction.

The two agreed that the port of Baoshan, located at the mouth of the Yangtze River, had a huge geographical advantage, connecting the vast inland areas of the Ming Empire, Huzhou and Suzhou, which were rich in silk, Huainan and Jiangxi, where tea was grown, and Jingdezhen, which produced fine porcelain, all of which were likely to choose to transport goods to Baoshan Port for sale.

The freshwater port of Yingzhou has great geographical advantages, and after the completion and opening of the port, it will become a hub connecting the Far East shipping route and the northern coastal areas of China.

With the excellent conditions and well-equipped freshwater ports, trade between them is more convenient.

Knowing that the huge port of Baoshan would take two years to complete, Moreno and Sánchez, in order to shorten the trade cycle, wanted to allow them to lease two or three terminals, corresponding warehouses and residences on a long-term basis after the completion of the port.

Zhu Daolin did not directly agree to the lease matter, but first expressed his concerns: "Gentlemen, although we are tens of thousands of kilometers away from war-torn Europe, and it takes 18 months or more for a fleet to make a round trip, I am still deeply worried about the growing scale of the war in Europe. ”

"The war has caused great damage to the economic production of various countries, and has also had an immeasurable impact on the trade between the East and the West......"

"I was worried that the volume of trade between East and West would gradually shrink as the war in Europe continued, which is the main reason why I offered to buy South American rubber, grain, saltpeter, crops and plant seeds at lunch."

Sánchez solemnly stated: "Dear General, we can organize a short-distance fleet between the port of Manila and the port of Tamsui to strengthen the trade between us and shorten the transaction period. ”

"If the two sides can come to an agreement on goods from the Americas. The Governor's Office of Manila and the Spanish East India Company were more than willing to include in the forthcoming trade agreement between the two sides, resins, metals, saltpeter, tobacco, cane sugar, corn, peanuts, crop seeds, and plant seeds, which the General called rubber. ”

"Personally, I am very much in favor of the general's view that it would be more beneficial for Spain to include all kinds of goods produced in the Americas in trade, and at the same time effectively compensate for the losses caused by the war in Europe."

"So. We are more than willing to engage in long-term and stable trade with the generals. ”

Zhu Daolin nodded and looked at Moreno with a solemn expression: "What does Mr. Moreno think?" ”

Moreno put down the warm celadon teacup in his hand and said with sincerity: "The general is right, the war in Europe has a great impact on Portugal itself. ”

"While we never expected the poor, who make up the majority of the population, to be able to afford luxury goods brought back from the East, it is a worrying fact that the purchasing power of the middle class in Portugal and in the belligerents of Europe is declining."

"Most of the goods we bring back to Europe from the East need to be sent to France and England, which are becoming more and more taxed, for sale, if not for the care of the generals. By buying large quantities from us large ocean-going carriers, Indian cotton, and metals such as copper and iron, which the Ming merchants were unwilling to buy, our East India Company is likely to suffer huge losses this year. ”

"On behalf of all the shareholders and employees of the Portuguese East India Company, allow me to express my heartfelt thanks to His Excellency the General!"

"You're welcome, I've also received tremendous help from you and your company in the cooperation."

Zhu Daolin stood up politely and asked Moreno to sit down: "It's no problem to lease the Tamsui Port wharf, if the space is not enough, you can extend it another 200 meters to the south." A breakwater was added, and warehouses and a small residential area were built above the pier. ”

"Extrapolating from the current construction schedule. The port will be officially completed and opened in May next year at the latest...... I think a lease of 5 to 10 years is more appropriate, and if you need to continue the lease after the expiration date, you can renew the contract. ”

Moreno and Sanchez looked at each other, feeling that the ten-year loan period was still a little short, but it was barely acceptable, so they both nodded in unison. I don't want to spend too much time on this minor issue.

Zhu Daolin continued: "Before we discuss next year's trade plan, I would like to ask gentlemen to consider two questions: First, what share should our three parties occupy in the overall East-West trade to be reasonable? Second, what do we ask of each other? Do you need help? Or do you need any help from the other person? ”

"For example, my foundry will be up and running in two months, so next year I will stop buying artillery, flintlock pistols and gunpowder and multiply the number of shipbuilding timber, fine cotton and various metals. I would also like to ask you to sell me as many new 500-ton warships as possible. ”

"Next, I am going to block all the enemy's access to the sea in the north and launch a non-stop artillery bombardment of the coastal areas they occupy, and I simply cannot do this without enough warships."

Sanchez and Moreno understood Zhu Daolin's thoughts, felt more or less guilty in their hearts, and paid more attention to the two questions raised by Zhu Daolin.

Both men are keenly aware that this is an extremely important and valuable opportunity, and immediately said that they really need to adjust their cooperation well, and that they also need time to discuss and agree to continue the trilateral talks tomorrow afternoon.

After bidding farewell to the guests, Ying Changpei and Feng Shengtai followed Zhu Daolin back to the tearoom and humbly asked Zhu Daolin about the intention of deepening cooperation and successive tripartite alliances.

Zhu Daolin explained helplessly: "The reason for this is that our maritime forces are too weak, and we have to pay huge manpower and material resources to go north to fight, at least in the next three to five years, we can only protect ourselves, and we cannot open up." ”

"If we don't unite with the Spaniards who are beginning to decline and the Portuguese who are in a difficult situation, we will not be able to resist the attack of the Dutch or the Zheng family of Fujian, and in order to keep the hard-won Yingzhou, in order to buy time to accumulate strength, I can only form an alliance with the Portuguese who were beaten by the Dutch and the Spaniards who were in the twilight."

"Of course, they also need such an alliance, as long as the three parties are together, neither the Dutch nor the Fujian Zheng family dare to touch us easily."

Ying Changpei and Feng Shengtai nodded frequently.

The strength of the Dutch is undoubted, only this period people know, there are Wanli 32 years, the second year of the Apocalypse the Netherlands twice sent a fleet to attack Penghu and succeeded, and later the Ming Dynasty although the court sent troops to drive it out, but the Dutch's greed for land and interests can be seen.

According to Zhu Daolin, who has traveled to various countries, the Netherlands now has tens of thousands of branches around the world, and its trade volume accounts for almost half of the world's total trade volume; More than 10,000 merchant ships flying the Dutch tricolor flag cruised in the world's five oceans, and there were 20,000 sea ships in the world, and the Dutch had 15,000, which was more than the total number of ships from Britain, France, Spain, Portugal and the Ming Dynasty!

In this case, huddles are the best way to stay warm. (To be continued.) )