"Your Excellency, I know that Sweden is now at war with the Holy Roman Empire, but Portugal has not joined the Catholic war camp. What's more, the Castello Chamber of Commerce is just a trade chamber and only wants to sign a trade cooperation agreement with you! Raphael said with a chuckle.

"Thank you, Christina!" Xu Mo took the hot cocoa brewed by the red-haired beauty, handed it to the guest in front of him, shook his coffee with his hand, and began to speculate in his mind about Raphael's intentions.

Gustav II had declared war on the Habsburgs of the Holy Roman Empire, Sweden's strongest rival since its founding. For nearly two centuries, the Habsburgs, through royal marriages, ruled almost all of Europe.

Austria, Hungary, and Spain were the traditional territories of the Habsburgs. Italy, the German states, Portugal, France, and the entire Burgundian Low Countries, on the other hand, were inherited by the Habsburgs through royal marriages.

In fact, England is also on this list from the perspective of inheritance. Queen Mary, who was beheaded by Queen Elizabeth, was the wife of Emperor Philip II of Spain, although he never spent a night in England after his marriage.

The enemy has the support of Catholics from all over the world, and the territory is vast and abundant. Although the Habsburgs suffered many major blows in successive wars, such as the destruction of the Armada, the independence of Portugal and the Netherlands, the failure to annex France, and the dismemberment of the Kingdom of Burgundy by the French. Still, for Sweden, the Holy Roman Empire was a behemoth.

Maritime trade in the Age of Discovery was extremely developed, and even if the two countries were at war, in fact, private merchant ships would not necessarily cut off trade completely. Of course, in general, such maritime trade rights had to be authorized by the Swedish king. However, a cooperation agreement signed by a Swedish admiral is also partially valid.

This kind of cooperation agreement is actually a tacit unspoken rule, the Chamber of Commerce provides supply and cover for the warships of a belligerent country in a neutral port, and in return, the belligerent countries will also acquiesce to the commercial behavior of this Chamber of Commerce in their own ports~.

The cooperation agreement proposed by Raphael was in fact this unofficial cooperation, and the Castello Chamber of Commerce would provide material supplies for the Vasa in the Mediterranean. In return, Xu Mo needed to sign a cooperation agreement with Raphael, agreeing to allow the Kastro Chamber of Commerce to conduct trade in the ports and seas controlled by Sweden.

Sweden currently has maritime hegemony in the North Sea and the Baltic Sea, and if it wants to obtain strategic resources such as iron ore and timber in Northern Europe, it must obtain Sweden's commercial rights. Otherwise, Viking warships in the North Sea and the Baltic Sea, without mercy would have sunk the merchant ships of any Catholic country.

This monopoly of maritime trade, in fact, was hugely profitable, especially in times of war, when the great powers needed iron ore and timber from Northern Europe. From this point of view, the young master Raphael of the Castello family is very good at business.

Xu Mo slowly shook the coffee cup in his hand, he didn't care if Raphael was going to spy in Sweden or just do business. Sweden's national interests did not matter to him, and the old Commander K was only concerned about one thing, and that was the safety of the Vasa.

With the Spanish galleon of the Ink Wind Regiment following the Vaasa, it didn't matter with or without the assistance of the Castello Chamber of Commerce. Thinking of this, Xu Mo's eyes flashed, and he was about to open his mouth to reject Raphael's proposal for cooperation.

"Your Excellency, I understand your concerns, and if it were me, I would not rush to dock at the seaports of Catholic countries to receive material supplies. But wouldn't you feel safer if the Castello Chamber of Commerce could find you a supply port in North Africa? Seeing that Xu Mo's face was getting colder and colder, the enthusiasm on Raphael's face did not diminish in the slightest.

"A supply port in North Africa?!" The coffee cup in Xu Mo's hand shook slightly, his pupils constricted, revealing a solemn look, and he turned his head again to carefully look at the handsome young man in front of him.

After looking at the young man with a calm face for a long time, Xu Mo suddenly smiled dumbly, and shook his head lightly, "Your Excellency Raphael, with all due respect, with your age, I really can't believe that that redbeard has any friendship with you!" ”

"It's okay, your concerns are justified. In fact, the first time I met Hayredding at sea, it was not a pleasant memory! Raphael nodded honestly and began to recount his adventures with the Redbeard Pirate King.

When Raphael met Hareddin in the Mediterranean Sea and North African waters, he was still a rookie who had just been out to sea, and the merchant ship under his feet was only a dhow. However, in his negotiations with the Pirate King, the Portuguese boy bravely made a bold statement of victory over Hayreddin.

Perhaps it was because Hayreddin really didn't look down on Raphael's little sampan, or maybe it was the bravery of the young man who impressed Hayreddin, and the red-bearded pirate king of Islam laughed and let Raphael and his party go. What Hreddin didn't expect, however, was that Raphael did not give up on trade in North Africa.

Through the Castello Chamber of Commerce, the brave teenagers helped evacuate large numbers of Moriscos (Spanish Muslims who converted to Christianity and their descendants) to North Africa in places such as Grenada, Valencia and Andalusia in Spain. This won the friendship of the Ottoman Empire and the Muslims at large, and Hayreddin graciously agreed to allow the Castello Chamber of Commerce to conduct trade in North African ports.

Xu Mo sipped his coffee and fell into deep thought, and after Raphael finished speaking, he no longer continued to persuade and waited quietly on the side. His hole cards have been played, and whether he can win the right to trade in Northern Europe for the Castello Chamber of Commerce depends on Xu Mo's decision.

In fact, the Ottoman Empire in the Age of Discovery was a great power recognized by European countries, and when the Habsburgs dominated Europe, the Ottoman Empire also formed war alliances with France and England against the Holy Roman Empire. However, after the deaths of Henry IV and Elizabeth I, the alliance was now in vain.

If it is a port supply in North Africa, it will indeed have a huge effect on hiding the movement of the Vaasa. This can be seen from the port information sent by the Argotic Chamber of Commerce, where the information on Venice was very detailed in the same port riots, while the information on Tripoli and Alexandria was vague, as if shrouded in fog.

If he could enter Tripoli and Alexandria, maybe Xu Mo would still be able to find clues about the Temple of the Gods. In addition, being able to disguise the threat of Barbarossa Hayreddin is also a blessing for the Vaasa.

Thinking of this, Xu Mo's expression relaxed, and he smiled at Raphael, "Now I kind of understand why that red-bearded pirate king looked at you differently. Your eloquence, Lord Raphael, is truly outstanding! ”

"Your Excellency, what do you mean......" Raphael's eyes flashed with joy. His chamber of commerce already has the industrial goods and luxury goods of the Mediterranean, the precious metals and native products of North Africa, and if he has the iron ore and timber of Northern Europe, then in a few years he will be able to have a merchant fleet that can sail to the New World.

"Yes, Your Excellency Raphael, you are welcome to do business in Sweden!" Xu Mo smiled and nodded, "If you don't rush back, when my chief accountant (Serna) comes back, you can negotiate the specific terms of the agreement with her!" ”

"Great!" After receiving Xu Mo's intention to cooperate, Raphael happily jumped up from the chair and waved his small fist. It was only at this time that the young president of Castello revealed the heart of a young man.

"Your Excellency Raphael, are you going to Nordic to buy goods next?" Before entering the Mediterranean, a potentially huge threat was removed, and Xu Mo also seemed to be in a very good mood.

"No, we just came back from Copenhagen, and now the Baltic Sea is full of Swedish privateers, we really don't dare to take risks, we just purchased a small amount of iron ore in Copenhagen and set off back!" Raphael spread his hands helplessly, and sighed in distress, "However, we met a very interesting little girl in Copenhagen. ”

Very interesting little girl? Xu Mo raised his eyebrows, it's not that coincidental, is Raphael talking about that person?

"Her name is Lilu, and she is the president of the Dutch Argoth Chamber of Commerce!" Raphael didn't know what she remembered, and a smile appeared on the corner of her mouth, "She just coaxed us to sign a cooperation agreement with her, but she is really young and promising!" ”

You are also young and promising! Xu Mo rolled his eyes, and said in his heart that it was really her, this era is really full of outstanding people, and when she was the age of Lilu and Raphael, I am afraid she was still a high school student!

"Oh, yes! Your Excellency, if you want to enter the Mediterranean Sea next, will you be able to go with us? Raphael suddenly turned around and asked.

"Why do you ask this?" Xu Mo narrowed his eyes slightly, and asked vigilantly.

"Your Excellency, please don't get me wrong!" Raphael waved his hand and hurriedly said, "Actually, I will also go to the Mediterranean Sea to trade next, and your warship can follow us and familiarize yourself with the seaports of North Africa first." ”

"This ...... We are a warship, the first task is to fight, if there is no other special reason......" Xu Mo declined a little hesitantly, with a faint contradiction in his heart.

In fact, following Raphael to Tripoli and Alexandria is a good choice. At the very least, Raphael's connections in North Africa can be used to find the traces of the Temple of the Gods more quickly. But Xu Mo didn't want the course of the Vasa to be mastered by others, even if it was a plot chamber that had already determined a partnership.

"That's right......" Raphael furrowed his eyebrows and tilted his head in annoyance, as if thinking about something.

"Your Excellency Raphael, are you in trouble?" Looking at the young man's expression, Xu Mo's heart moved.

"Well, I can tell you......" Raphael looked at Xu Mo, took a deep breath, and seemed to have made some difficult decision, "Actually, I once got something in Alexandria, Egypt, and this time I went to the Mediterranean ......"