After a moment of silence, López said with a hideous face, "You're a true madman!" ”

Zhu Ping'an touched his nose, "I can't think of where I'm crazy?" ”

"Then you're entertaining us!" Liu Xiaodao followed closely behind López, looking at Zhu Ping'an and Wang Jinfa with an unkind face. Wang Jinfa was also a little unnatural, but he didn't dare to speak rashly, so he had to stand with his head down and his hands down.

"Mr. López, Shopkeeper Liu, I made such a decision precisely considering the situation of both of us!"

Liu Xiaodao laughed angrily, "Haha, Master Zhu, what you said is a little too funny!" ”

After experiencing the initial annoyance, López looked at Zhu Ping'an's bland application but suddenly regained his composure, he suddenly interjected, the flush on his face gradually faded, but his voice was still as cold as ice. "I'd like to hear what your lord thinks about both of us."

"If I remember correctly, the 'Eighteen Zhi' that was once in the limelight at sea is now dead in name, right?"

Zhu Ping'an's words suddenly made Liu Xiaodao and Lopez change their faces, Liu Xiaodao looked at Wang Jinfa with resentment, but Wang Jinfa shook his head in panic, indicating that this was not his own sue to Zhu Ping'an.

The disintegration of Eighteen Zhi is no secret at sea. Since a protracted naval battle on the sea of Hiroshima in the eighth year of Chongzhen, Liu Xiang, a maritime tycoon who was once on an equal footing with Zheng Zhilong, committed suicide, and the "Eighteen Zhi" has existed in name only.

Zheng Zhilong eliminated the large and small pirates along the inland coast, became the de facto hegemon of the South China Sea, and controlled almost all the share of maritime trade.

Yang Liu, Yang Qi, Guo Huaiyi, and Li Kuiqi were captured alive, Liu Xiang had no way out, so he threw himself into the sea angrily, and Hong Xu, Gan Hui, and Shi Daxuan took refuge in Zheng Zhilong. After this battle, the power of the Dutch was greatly expanded, and Zheng Zhilong was also rewarded by the Ming court and became the chief military officer of the Fujian Naval Division. However, the Spaniards and Portuguese were so discouraged that they were said to be trapped in Manila for a long time. I just don't know if Shopkeeper Liu and Mr. Lopez are also one of them? ”

"The strongholds of the Indian Ocean, the Pacific Ocean, and the east and west coasts of Africa, I don't know how many of them can belong to the Portuguese today, and it is not easy to come to Mr. López today!" Zhu Ping'an said as he looked at the faces of Lopez and Liu Xiaodao.

López was like a ball that had been pumped, and he sat down in his seat with his butt slumped, Liu Xiaodao lost his momentum just now, and the whole person was low.

Zhu Ping'an kept talking to himself, "In order to show sincerity, let's talk about myself." At present, I can only be regarded as an ordinary mid-level officer in the Ming Empire. Zhu Ping'an tried his best to explain in the vernacular that López could fully understand.

"I believe that Mr. López will also feel that our empire is facing a great change not seen in a century. With the alien race in the north on the rise, and the rebels in the heart of the empire, the situation will deteriorate again, and if the situation deteriorates again, it will face an era of chaos of heroic supremacy. ”

Zhu Ping'an's words attracted the attention of Lopez and the others, and even Yin Shigang's eyes lit up, with a focused expression and some inexplicable excitement.

"If such a situation arises, as a soldier, I will inevitably need a lot of weapons and money and land. Unfortunately, until now, I didn't have a single site to use as a foundation. All you have is money and an army. To tell you the truth, at present I have an elite army of 1,000 men, who are not only good at fighting, but also absolutely loyal to me. ”

Lopez somewhat understood what Zhu Ping'an meant, and he suddenly interjected: "But you don't have much power and territory, this is your biggest hidden danger at present." With all due respect, I'm not the only one in the Chamber of Commerce who can call the shots, and the shareholders of the Chamber of Commerce will have their say ......! ”

"So we're going to start small!" Zhu Ping'an's cunning scum eyes, "For example, a musket!" ”

"Three years!" Zhu Ping'an confidently stretched out three fingers, "It only takes three years for me to get a piece of land that is completely my own, and when the time comes, Mr. López can make a decision according to the shape!" ”

López hesitated a little, he didn't expect Zhu Ping'an to draw such a big cake, although it was delicious, it was just a flower in the mirror and a moon in the water, but it kept shining with the light of temptation.

López himself is a Spaniard, and it is precisely because of the rise of Portugal and the Netherlands that Spain, a once invincible empire at sea, has been pulled down and turned into its current decay, and has to follow the Portuguese ass to pick up some scraps, but now that the Portuguese are defeated by the Dutch, the life of the Spanish merchant group is even more difficult.

Zheng Zhilong cooperated with the Dutch, and was supported by the Ming court, and fought a fierce battle with Liu Xiang on the sea of Guangdong, and behind Liu Xiang was the so-called Franco, that is, the Portuguese and Spanish.

The defeat of Liu Xiang also heralded the complete loss of a foothold for the Franco-Rang merchants in the South China Sea, and the Dutch East India Company took advantage of the situation to become the final beneficiary.

For a long time, if it weren't for the many years of operation of the Francophone merchant group in the Japanese kingdom, coupled with the important area of Manila, I am afraid that these ocean-going trade would have really been occupied by the Dutch and Zheng Zhilong.

But now, Zhu Ping'an has put a chance to turn over in front of López. However, Lopez hesitated, because the current Zhu Ping'an was too weak compared to Zheng Zhilong.

But it's an opportunity. Moreover, in López's view, Zhu Ping'an is completely different from all the Ming officials he has come into contact with, and he exudes a unique vitality.

"Perhaps, he can really create a miracle?" López thought to himself.

Seeing the battle between heaven and man in López's heart, Zhu Ping'an smiled, "Let's talk about the gold and silver business just now." I know that the Franc Merchant Group has deep roots in the Wa Kingdom, and that there are ways to obtain silver and gold, so I can consider increasing the profits paid to your merchant group to 20%. But to state one thing, I only want gold, and according to the ratio of gold and silver to huàn in the Wa Kingdom, that is, four taels of silver to one tael of gold. ”

López calculated carefully, "Five taels, I can take this business myself." I can find a way to cash out the silver ticket, just according to the proportion of huàn you said, 20%, I did it! ”

Liu Xiaodao was about to dissuade him when he heard this, but Zhu Ping'an applauded and laughed, "Mr. Lopez is really a business wizard, just being a middleman, you can get a lot of benefits for nothing!" ”

López was momentarily speechless. At this time, the price of gold and silver, in the country of the country is one to four, in the Ming Dynasty is one to ten, the country is rich in gold, but the amount of silver is very small, this business is equivalent to the wealth in the hands of Zhu Ping'an into gold, and according to the price of gold and silver in the country of Japan, among them, Lopes and Zhu Ping'an are very cheap.

"However, I can only insist on five taels of silver for the price of the musket!" Zhu Ping'an said.

"No problem", López made up his mind in an instant. Although he had to pay five taels of silver for each musket, it was a small amount compared to the previous gold and silver transactions. What's more, the deal has given him an extra stake, and in every way, he's guaranteed to make a profit.

López stood up, walked up to Zhu Ping'an, and stretched out his right hand, "I hope this is the beginning of our cooperation, and it will depend on your results!" ”

Zhu Ping'an shook hands with him, and then looked at Liu Xiaodao behind him, "In the future, you will find out how correct your decision is today!" ”

……

When leaving, López was full of ambition, but Liu Xiaodao had a sad face, in his opinion, the backstage boss of his family was really fooled by Zhu Ping'an.

After the end of an unprecedented tragic naval battle in Guangdong, Zheng Zhilong compensated his younger brother Zheng Zhihu, who was known as "Long Zhi and Tiger Yong", but on his side, Liu Xiang, the big dragon, also committed suicide by throwing himself into the sea because he was forced into a desperate situation. Liu Xiang, the only one in the "Eighteen Zhi" who can compete with the Zheng family, has since turned into a passing cloud.

Over the years, the remnants of Liu Xiang's defeated army such as the Francophone and Liu Xiaodao had to retreat on some islands in the area from the Wa Kingdom to the Daming Jianghuai, waiting for the opportunity to recover, but the Zheng family in the Netherlands and the Ming Dynasty with the support of the Ming Dynasty, is more and more like a fire cooking oil, from the Wa Kingdom to Malacca, as well as to the Manila line of sea trade is firmly controlled by them, the number of sailors under their command has reached more than 50,000 people, and there are more than 4,000 warships of all kinds, truly becoming the first family in the Daming Sea.

It is not easy for Liu Xiaodao and others to restore the glory of Liu Xiang's era.

As the trade representative of the Francophone people in Daming, Liu Xiaodao and others fell into a low ebb together with the Spaniards and the Portuguese.

But today, Liu Xiaodao felt that López had swept away the haze and anger just now, and became a little excited.

"Mr. López, if we go back, how can we explain to the shareholders of the business group? That's more than 200,000 taels of gold ......! ”

López shook his head with a smile, because of the inconvenience of his appearance, he stayed in the carriage, and when he arrived at Zhu Ping'an, he negotiated the business, and immediately rushed back non-stop.

López reclined on the soft couch in the carriage, smiling, but looking unusually tired. "Don't go through the council of the Guò Chamber of Commerce, we'll do this business ourselves."

After the First World War in Guangdong, the dominance of the trade of the Franc people in the Ming Dynasty was completely crushed, and even the merchant groups became fragmented, and most of them wanted to shift the business focus of the merchant groups back to Africa and the Japanese Kingdom. At this time, if such a large fortune was to be made through the guò merchant group, it would inevitably attract unanimous opposition from everyone.

Anyway, the left and right are just to earn the money of the daimyo of the Japanese country and the Tokugawa family, it is better to do it directly by yourself, this is the idea of López, as soon as the left and right are reversed, you can easily make a lot of profits, so why bother to fake your hands?

"You have so much confidence in this Zhu Ping'an?" Liu Xiaodao asked boldly.

López thought for a while, then suddenly pursed his lips and smiled, "Maybe it's because he's ambitious, just like me!" “