What is the purpose of being the Governor of Malacca?

Fat poor! There is a lot of oil and water, and it can also control trade for the royal family and get the favor of His Majesty the King.

Juan immediately began to ask Wang Zhi what goods he wanted to exchange.

"I don't need to bring back a lot of goods this time, my father confessed, there are not many goods that are easy to sell in Daming in the West." Wang Zhi shook his head, "Only gold and silver are needed." See how many gems I brought? There are already many gemstones in Waiyun. In addition to gold and silver, only some delicate ornaments and a small number of gems that are not easy to find in the Ming Dynasty are needed. You know, this year the court will change a lot of important ministers, and my father just uses them as gifts. ”

Alfonso was anxious: "What about the glass?" Don't want glass either? ”

"Glass?" Wang Zhi chuckled, "The news from the capital is that there is so much glass that some big families are ready to use it as windows." ”

“…… When was that? ”

Wang Zhi squinted at the Nanao county lord: "It's been more than five years since you left the capital, right?" In the past five years, another outer city has been built in the capital, and I sigh every time I have changed so much. Now, unless we find the rubber that the British need, we can just buy some spices from here in Malacca. Even if this wine is ...... Taste this. ”

He actually took a small wine jug made of thick glass from his waist, and it seemed to be everywhere.

In fact, Alfonso brought it from the palace and put it with him first.

Juan only saw him uncork the bottle, and a strong aroma of wine filled the room.

"That's all I have to drink!" Wang Zhi himself smashed his mouth, "I only brought a jar in total, and I still have to drink it on the way back!" ”

Zhu Houyu is already arranging for the development of disinfectant alcohol, which is a by-product of the process, and there is not enough food in Daming to open up for Zhu Houyu to brew this kind of thing.

But soon, Juan felt the excitement from the high liquor of the East.

Dizzy, the most atmospheric, Wang Zhi said that next time he came over, he would also give him a beautiful and supple Japanese beauty - although Wang Zhi hadn't been there yet, but now he wanted to go for a spin.

Alfonso also took the opportunity to ask about the Xu family's views on Malacca, as well as the latest news from Cochin.

Wang Zhi tasted the local food, took out a handkerchief made of silk from his bosom and wiped his mouth luxuriously: "Some people say that the complete extermination of the Mongolian Tartars is the priority, and some people say that the request of the lord of Malacca cannot be ignored. Those are the things that the lords in the court are worried about. Alfonso, Your Majesty is willing to let you go, isn't it just that if you want to do business, you will honestly abide by the rules of Daming City? What do these do, you ask? ”

Alfonso glanced at Juan and said slowly, "Malacca, it's very important to us. Daming may not be short of Europa goods, but we can't give up Malacca. ”

Hearing his words, Wang Zhi frowned.

Not only did he not say a word, but he also looked at Juan again.

After creating some strange atmosphere, Wang Zhi opened his mouth: "I have been wanting to ask just now, this friend of yours Juan is His Excellency Juan, who is called the Governor by the people in the tavern, right?" ”

After that, he looked at Alfonso, and said a little vigilantly: "Alfonso, I am willing to do business with you because you have promised the British Duke and the Marquis of Jingshan that you will only be a merchant by virtue of your familiarity and understanding of the sea. Now that you say such things, do you want to get involved in the affairs of Daming and Malacca again? ”

"This is indeed His Excellency the Governor." Alfonso said anxiously, "I am more familiar with the sea, the route from Europa to Malacca. If there is peace between the two countries, I can use the advantage of knowing Europa and Daming very well to help the British Duke and the Marquis of Jingshan make more money. It's better for your family, isn't it? ”

Juan saw that something was wrong with the atmosphere and asked.

Alfonso didn't hesitate to explain a little about what he was talking about, and then simply asked him to call another confidant translator to listen.

Wang Zhi first formally greeted Juan again and saluted, and then hesitated for something.

After a long time, he said with a headache: "Father also wants Malacca to be like this." Since His Excellency Juan said that we can ask for silk, porcelain, and tea that we have brought, we naturally do not want another war here. If you want to fight, you can't do business. ”

"Can you ask the British Duke and the Marquis of Jingshan to help again? If His Majesty the Emperor thinks it is possible, we can then support the natives to establish a new dynasty and submit to His Majesty the Emperor for canonization. ”

"This ......," Wang Zhi suddenly seemed to be inspired, "to tell you a piece of news that you don't know yet, the son of the great uncle committed an accident in the capital and was demoted to Jiaozhi as an official." I've heard ......"

Seemingly sharing a common interest as a merchant and a stable trade, Wang Zhi began to provide Alfonso with information and operational ideas.

"Yan Gongzi is the son of the great uncle, and he wants to re-incorporate Jiaozhi into the land of the Ming Dynasty and make contributions to His Majesty. If he can help him make this contribution, Uncle Zong, as the secretary of the Ministry of Rites, may be able to convince His Majesty in this matter. The richest place in Jiaozhi is in the north, and the rest of the place will be handed over to the original Li clan to take care of, and then you will send an envoy to the capital to ask for a seal, then you can do it together, and there will be no more disturbances in the future. ”

Alfonso listened eagerly and looked at Juan, "What do you think?" ”

There was a time lag in this, but Juan didn't know it.

Now in the face of Wang Zhi's proposal, he didn't say anything first.

“…… When I didn't say. Seeing their reactions, Wang Zhi immediately spoke, "Alfonso, you said that when you come to Malacca, you will definitely be able to persuade your people to establish peace with the Ming Dynasty and conduct stable trade in the future, so I am willing to bring the goods." Now that you say it's impossible to abandon Malacca, I'll wait for the outcome of the matter here when I go back. By the time they passed through Guangzhou, they had already assembled in Dongguan. Although the British Duke and the Marquis of Jingshan will not talk about the major military aircraft incident, I guess that they will naturally solve the problems of Jiaozhi and Malacca by the way. ”

Wang Zhi shook his head: "Luzon also said that you Westerners came nine years ago, and I was so scared that I couldn't do it." At that time, it will be up to the feudal ship to see if he will follow the sea master to go through all the vassal states. If there is really going to be a war, I will go to Ryukyu and Goryeo, Japan. ”

Alfonso was anxious: "But although the new king of Jiaozhi has not yet been canonized, won't we go to attack Jiaozhi to anger His Majesty the Emperor even more?" ”

"Don't you always say that you have mercenaries over there?" Wang Zhi rolled his eyes, "I have various business partners on Ji Po Island, and I secretly have business dealings with the descendants of the Li Dynasty. If it's great, I'll help you pull a thread again, you were hired by Ruan Gan to help the Li Dynasty restore the country. There are lessons from the Yongnian Xuande period, and this time it will only be easier to govern the north of Jiaozhi. ”

Juan didn't understand, and after Alfonso's explanation, he realized that a hundred years ago, the Ming Dynasty had made the whole of Cochin a province under its direct jurisdiction, and the southernmost border was terrifyingly close to Malacca.

"Now this obstacle is not Ruan Gan, but Mo Dengyong!" Wang Zhi seems to be a person with a very high status here, pointing out the country, "In the past, it was a lot of trouble to directly govern Jiaozhi, and now I won't take anything further away from Malacca." For the south of Cochin and Champong, which are too far away, they just need to be more stable. The most troublesome thing for you is nothing more than eating the bear's heart and leopard gall back then, and hitting Guangdong! ”

Wang Zhi glanced at Juan, although he was the governor, Wang Zhi's current personality was different.

He said contemptuously: "Your Excellency, the Ming Dynasty is not a small tribe like Malacca, which is not much uncivilized. If you can't give up the benefits of trade here, it's better to make a trade-off earlier. Help Yan Gongzi, there will be a good start. When you arrive at the door of Daming's house, you still have to follow the rules here. Alfonso, have you told His Excellency the Governor about Japan? ”

Alfonso nodded.

Juan looked at Wang Zhi's demeanor, and felt a little angry in his heart.

However, he also had to think about the legendary Japan, which was also far away from the Ming Dynasty. Originally, it was one of the feudal states, but because the two nobles in the country competed to trade with Daming, they violated the rules, and later they were deprived of the qualification to trade with Daming.

Now, they can only wait in Japan for the merchant ships of the Ming Dynasty to pass by, sell their own things at a cheaper price, and buy what they need at a high price.

That's fine, after all, the trade routes are endless.

And the rules that His Excellency Wang Zhi said are the former tributary and the current trade license.

"The current Da Sima is the same Lord Wang Feng who defeated you in the past." Wang Zhi said again, "When you go back to Malacca, don't you just want to get a license so that you can lead the fleet back and forth between Ningbo and Malacca in the future?" If you succeed in using troops against Jiaozhi, Lord Wang will also have merit. With all due respect, if the British Duke and the Marquis of Jingshan are not easy to say, if there are two Shangshu lords to help you speak, this can be done! That's all you have to say, and you can decide for yourselves. ”

The other Portuguese merchants did not have much opinion about the Governor taking the bulk of the goods on behalf of the royal family.

However, His Excellency Wang Zhi, who was boldly purchasing Europa wines and exquisite gifts and even works of art from the West, said: I am not sure when I will come back next time.

Now other Portuguese businessmen have a big opinion: they are still waiting for the goods from Daming, so that they can be sold back to Europe for a lot of money!

Of course, they also knew about the dispute between Portugal and that great eastern power ten years ago. It's just that ten years of calm have made them think it's over, or they don't think it's a big deal.

Trade, of course, has to knock on the door first. If a door can be opened with a single knock, it's the lowest-cost trade – robbery.

If you can't knock it open, then you are very strong and have the qualifications to serve first.

Let's talk about it, what can't we talk about?

Wang Zhi couldn't figure out the reason, so they could only ask Juan again for an explanation and ask Alfonso about this "big Mingtong".

In the end, the truth is very convincing: the majesty and face of His Majesty the Emperor, the status and deterrence of the Emperor in the eyes of the vassal states are quite important. It may not be worth the loss to deal with the powerful Portuguese fleet and the caravans of both merchants and thieves here in Malacca, but if the main navy of the Ming Dynasty and the tens of thousands of troops they deployed thousands of miles from the capital arrive here, how will His Excellency the Portuguese Viceroy of India deal with it?

The difference between canonizing the king of a vassal state and dividing a duke with real power is just like the Duke of Qianguo set up by the Ming Dynasty to guard the southwest border for generations.

"Isn't it true that many soldiers are now employed by Ayuthaya? We can hire new people in Malacca together, we all have boats! Your Excellency Alfonso, can you really get permission to go to Daming Commerce? ”

“…… I came with the mentality of giving it a try, as long as I can find the rubber that His Majesty the Emperor Ming has been looking for for many years. ”

"Rubber, what's that?"

Alfonso shook his head: "I don't know, His Majesty the Emperor said that if there is no East India and India, it can only be a new continent on the other side of the ocean." ”

"Oh my God, the emperor of the Ming Dynasty also knows about the New World? Isn't that what Magellan just discovered? ”

“…… Don't be stupid, Daming's fleet almost reached the Cape of Good Hope a hundred years ago. The emperor of the Ming Dynasty not only knew about the New World, but the Yindians on the New World were also the descendants of a dynasty they migrated two or three thousand years ago......"

Alfonso was also fooled by Zhu Houxi, and here he spread more ironclad evidence "since ancient times" personally certified by the Great Tomorrow. As for the Indians, who were mistaken by Western navigators for arriving in India and got their name, wasn't the emperor of the vast empire of the East more authoritative than he?

"His Majesty the Emperor said that there is a huge rainforest over there, and maybe rubber is what is there. Believe me, His Majesty the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty has an incredible amount of knowledge. There are different species in different places, and as long as you can find rubber, you will definitely be able to get permission to trade in Daming. ”

Alfonso's other mission was to spread the news of the need for rubber through Malacca, and to clearly point out the Americas, the most likely place of origin, according to Zhu Houxi's arrangement.

Zhu Houxi has been looking for South Asia and Southeast Asia for so long and has not found it, if this kind of thing is available in Africa, there should be some news.

Now, let the European outlaws find this thing instead of the Ming, and bring it with them—they will do exchange some goods with the Ming, instead of taking out opium after they can only take out gold and silver and make a deficit.

Industrial? Before the tonnage of sea ships can not be qualitatively broken, only some goods with higher profit margins will become the main trade goods, and it is impossible for the Ming Dynasty to buy iron ore and coal from overseas at too high unit prices.

How much can a ship sell for a maximum of several dozen tons or two or three hundred tons?

The total value of the goods brought by Wang Zhi did not make these people too hot, but what excited them was the possibility of stable trade profits in the future.

And Wang Zhi's suggestion that Alfonso and Juan solve the peace problem between the two countries is also very appealing to their appetite: they can first become tacit comrades-in-arms to deal with the problem of a neighbor that Daming wants to solve now.

How complicated can it be to attack the seaside cities of a small country that is far weaker than the Ming as a mercenary?

It's not about occupying it, it's just about creating chaos and putting more pressure on them.

It's going to rob friends!

In the tavern, someone is carrying a bag full of silver coins and starting to recruit outlaws.

Without Juan taking action in person, other businessmen spontaneously began to cooperate, and discussed the proportion of "capital contribution" and the proportion of dividends for this "sale".

Juan felt that this would not work, what if there was a mess?

At this moment in real history, Malacca also sent 200 mercenaries to Ayuthaya, and the defense in Malacca was not very strong at this moment.

He urgently sent a Karak warship and a general with fifty men as commanders, so that the merchants who used merchant ships as warships must first meet the hired emissaries of the old king who had been destroyed and negotiate the price before approaching Cochin.

Alfonso must also be among them, both as a hostage and to avoid all this being a trap set by Alfonso, a man who cannot yet be fully trusted.

At the same time, he also urgently issued an order to recall the two hundred mercenaries who had gone to Ayuthaya, so that the eight hundred Dadian were exempted from an imminent sneak attack.

It is also appropriate to ask Goa for support and prepare for the worst.

The nest in the South Seas was laid in this way.

It has already entered autumn, except for Tang Shunzhi, the governor of the three sides, who is still stationed there to guard against the northern captive Koubian, Wang Shouren has to return to Beijing once.

After surviving that year, Wang Shouren's body really stabilized. His old friend Wu Wending, after making great contributions to the southwest, has been running around in Waiyun at the beginning of the year, and now he has submitted a petition to Zhishi.

The focus of the capital is on the upcoming Great Power Policy Conference, and on the grasslands, the bald people are reduced to pieces, hiding among the tribes looking for a place to survive the winter, moving eastward, or pretending to be the caravans that are already common on the grasslands and marching towards the Duoyan tribe.

Walking day and night, they approached the area of the Duoyan Tribe, which had been peaceful for four years.

With the territory under their control, the horse team sprinted and plundered with all their might, and it would not be long before they reached the heart of the Duoyan tribe - two or three hundred miles at most.

In this way, on the eve of the November Great Power Policy Conference, the Duoyan Department was raided.

Although the Duoyan Department itself has a large number of troops, it has a mental calculation or no intention, and the losses of the Duoyan Department are very large.

For Da Ming, the Duoyan Department controlled more than 10,000 strings but was broken into the core area by only 3,000 horsemen, and after looting a large amount of materials, they fled to the north, which was the lack of strength of the Duoyan Department, or that there was a big problem with the control of the tribe by the newly inherited Gramtai.

However, the Ming Dynasty's Xuanjiao embassy stationed in Duoyan was also ransacked, and no one was spared, from the Xuanjiao envoy to the ordinary guards.

When the news was transmitted back to the capital, Zhu Houxi's face turned pale: "Xuan Feihong, Xia Yan, Xinjian Hou, Yan Song, Yang Shen, Wang Hong!" ”

The Household Department Shoshu and the Military Shoshu were convened at the same time, and there is no doubt that the emperor has been really angry and has the intention of sending troops.

Zhu Houxi calmed down his emotions, and then said: "Secret order Wang Xueyi, Yan Shifan, and Ping Nanbo, to fight the toe matter, and surrender to others without a fight!" If the Xuanwei Division is not good, you can set up a capital division! I want Sanfu and Cat Ba Island, must have! Let Zhao Jun take the sea master and go over and shake it off! ”

There is a new change in the north, and the south has to settle for the second.

Then he said to Wang Shenzhong: "Let "Ming Pao" write an article to report the martyrdom of the envoys of Duoyan's ministry, and posthumously present the Chengde County Lord!" ”

"Obey the order!"

Then Zhu Houxi clenched his fists, gritted his teeth and whispered: "I will answer ......"

Although there is no direct evidence, the only way to deal with the north in Zhu Houxi's eyes is me.

At this moment, I was also furious after receiving the return: "Full of bald bastards! Let him sneak away after looting, why did he slaughter the Ming people's Xuanjiao Embassy? ”

He was shocked and reasonable, but he was also helpless.

Among the generals under his command, only the man who had traveled to Qinghai for a long time was more suitable to do this.

can tell me thousands of instructions, but I still can't forget the shame of being defeated by Li Jin back then. Naturally, he would have a lot of excuses, but I knew what the consequences of this incident would be, and what kind of passivity the Tumut Ministry would usher in.

Sure enough, although the important ministers had not yet arrived at the Yangxin Palace, Zhu Houxi issued a fourth order: "Order Guo Xun and Yu Dayou to reorganize their armies and take Tucheng and Dry Horse Terrace!" ”

(End of chapter)