Zhu Youzhen's resolute attitude made Best feel difficult, and since the two met that day, Best's three requests to meet were rejected by the Ministry of Rites.

"Our Majesty has already said that Mr. Best did not come with sincerity, so please leave our country."

Best shook his head again and again: "No, no, no, of course I came with sincerity, if His Majesty the Emperor of your country feels that this condition is harsh, we can discuss again, we don't want the full sovereignty of Macau, just a lease, so it's okay, we can also talk about the term of the lease." ”

"Lend-lease is also not good, we have a saying in China, it is called not giving up an inch of land!"

Huang Jingfang sternly refused: "We will not discuss any conditions related to national territorial sovereignty, and this is our attitude." ”

Best wanted to fight again, but this time even Huang Jingfang didn't bother with him anymore.

It dragged on for ten days, and Best finally had no choice but to bow his head.

"Well, then, Macau is still under the jurisdiction of your country, but we must be given the sole right to do business in Macao, prohibiting Portuguese and Dutch people from entering Macao, and in addition, your country shall protect the safety of our merchants and workers in Macao and in your country."

Huang Jingfang finally smiled: "Of course, the laws of our Ming Dynasty will protect everyone who lives in this land, as long as he loves this land, respects this land, and does not violate the laws of our country." ”

Best nodded with a wry smile: "Then it's decided, Your Excellency Huang Jingfang, Your Majesty the Emperor is the most negotiating monarch I have ever met." ”

Huang Jingfang stood up and said: "No, our majesty will not negotiate, he just did what every Chinese would do, that is, unconditionally defend the national territory." ”

"Well, I took the liberty of it." Best stood up and stretched out his right hand to Huang Jingfang, which made the latter startled, but quickly reacted and stretched out his right hand and shook it with Best.

He also smiled: "This is really a strange etiquette, few people in our country can use it, but it is quite simple." ”

Best increased the strength of the handshake and asked, "Then let's sign the contract when will we sign it?" ”

"We Chinese like to pick an auspicious day for everything, General Best waits with peace of mind, we will choose a good day as soon as possible."

"Wait for the good news."

Huang Jingfang let go of his hand with a smile: "I didn't expect General Best to master our country's idioms so quickly, if there is a chance in the future, the general can come to us more often, believe me, after this damn natural disaster is over, our country is very beautiful." ”

"Definitely!"

After more than a month of negotiations, it was finally successfully completed with Best's regression.

However, Zhu Youzhen was not in a hurry to sign a cooperation agreement with the East India Company, but did one thing first.

The Ministry of Household Affairs set up a business name in Beijing, the name of the business was outdated, Zhu Youzhen personally took the name, and also used the name of the company, called the Daming Central Grain Management Company, which belonged to the leadership of the Ministry of Households.

Abbreviation, COFCO!

As for why such a company was created?

We can't let the country sign this treaty with the East India Company.

On May 19 of the second year of Chongzhen, Xue Liangxiang, the first president of COFCO and the former left waiter of the household department, signed a cooperation agreement with the East India Company in Beijing on behalf of COFCO.

The name president is not ahead of its time at all, on the contrary, it has existed since ancient times, and it is also a serious court official.

The number one person in charge of the national book editing project is called the president, and famous ministers of the Ming Dynasty, such as Yao Guangxiao, Xie Jin, Yu Qian, Xie Qian, and Li Dongyang, have all served as presidents of one or more national book editing projects.

Zhu Youzhen is just taking it here and putting it on COFCO.

The general person in charge, adjudicating all administrative affairs of the company, referred to as the president is fine.

The content of the cooperation agreement is very simple, and there is no such thing as a large number of professional terms and constraints like later contracts.

Because it was signed in the second year of Chongzhen, it is also called the "Jisi Agreement", and the content is simply a few articles.

1. COFCO buys 30 million tons of grain from the East India Company every year and pays 2 million taels of silver.

2. COFCO shall expand and own no less than 16 wharves in Guangzhou, Quanzhou, Fuzhou and Tianjin within one year, and the East India Company shall enjoy the same right to use these wharves without paying a fee.

3. The wharves owned by the East India Company in India are open to COFCO, and COFCO enjoys the same right to use these wharves without paying a fee.

4. COFCO has the right to do business in India, but it is required to pay 20% of the profits earned by trade to the East India Company.

5. The two sides shall jointly safeguard the right of each other's merchants to operate, reside, play and socialize within the jurisdiction of the other side and to maintain public order.

6. This Agreement shall enter into force on the date of signing and shall be valid for a period of 30 years, after which the Parties shall decide whether or not to continue their cooperation.

It's as simple as that, and there is no breach of contract clause.

As for the clause that would help the East India Company fight the Dutch and give the East India Company exclusive rights in Macao, that must not be added to it.

Otherwise, there would be no need for Zhu Youzhen to come up with a COFCO company to sign this agreement with the East India Company.

This was only a unilateral commercial cooperation between COFCO and the East India Company.

It has nothing to do with the imperial court.

As for why you say that 30 million tons of grain are only sold for 2 million taels so cheaply?

It was all expired grain of the East India Company, and it was not normal to sell it at a low price.

Originally, I didn't plan to ask for money, but COFCO showed a little sincerity and made a symbolic payment.

As for whether it is expired grain?

Every year, the surplus grain produced by India is bought by the Ming Dynasty, where is there still expired grain!

After the signing of this treaty, the East India Company celebrated, and the dawn of victory to drive out the Dutch was imminent, and the Ming court also celebrated.

At the beginning, Bi Ziyan didn't know what the concept of 30 million tons of grain was, and he didn't understand it until Zhu Youzhen changed a unit of measurement.

Six tens of billions, catties!

Of course, this conversion is not accurate, because one pound in the Ming Dynasty was 600 grams, but Zhu Youzhen said it completely casually, and he didn't bother to calculate it so carefully, so he directly reported this figure to Bi Ziyan.

Bi Dashangshu was stupid, and he was muttering a sentence back and forth.

"Every ordinary person can get 600 catties of grain, and every ordinary person can get 600 catties of grain."

Just when Zhu Youzhen was worried about whether Bi Ziyan was a demon, the latter knelt down directly and looked up to the sky and roared.

"Ancestors and ancestors, have you seen the ancestors and ancestors, our Ming Dynasty has been saved, and the civil unrest will never happen again."

Well, he did get stunned.

The effect of the signing of the treaty can be described as quite explosive, and on the first day of the official envoy's copying and distribution of the newspaper, the price of grain in Beijing directly came to a fracture.

From the original two dollars of doumi, it plummeted directly to one stone of rice, five hundred wen!

That's almost the equivalent of two folds.

On the contrary, the price of rationed grain has not changed, and it is still maintained at two cents per bucket of rice, and the price of 500 wen is completely sold by the private grain merchants themselves.

They have hoarded too much grain over the years, and they are afraid that they will not be able to sell Indian grain when it comes in the future.

As for why the price of rationed grain should not fall, this is because the household department is worried that India's grain will not be able to come in in a short period of time, and if the ration is swept away by the market, there will be a crisis of running out of grain in the future, so it forcibly holds the price.

Although doing so will be met with criticism and some scolding from the people.

Who cares, though.

"Let the people scold for a few days, and be happy and sprinkled with nothing, these years have really been a little bitter."

Zhu Youzhen was very optimistic, so optimistic that he ran into the Fengxian Palace, carrying two pots of wine and going to find Lao Zhu.

Well, Zhu Yuanzhang.

"Grandpa Tai, I will soon save you from your Ming Dynasty, if you can see it in the spirit of heaven, don't be too angry with me when I use the knife against your uncompetitive descendants in the future."

Zhu Youzhen poured a glass of wine on Zhu Yuanzhang's portrait and grinned.

"Save it this time, I will protect your Ming Dynasty, and another three hundred years of national fortune!"