Shi Luobao's pupils dilated instantly, this news was like a bolt from the blue for him, recently, he has been working hard to reopen the Canton Fair, and has thought of many ways, from bribing Lin Cha with a lot of money, to mobilizing Guangdong Catholic scholars to exert influence, the methods have been exhausted, and the feedback from all parties is also good, but the news in front of him means that all efforts have been counted.

The Ming Dynasty is a state of the Celestial Empire, not a tribe in Africa, and the Europeans can only use flattery and bribery here, and do not dare to resort to force at all.

"That's really bad news, maybe I should call a council right away." Shi Luobao muttered to himself, but before he could act, he was interrupted by the man surnamed He.

This man's name is He Liangtao, like Ferreira, he is also a Chinese converted to Catholicism, his original place is Zhejiang, because his family is poor and went to sea, he fell to Macao, developed here, can write books, learned Portuguese language and writing, and was baptized into the church, has worked in the Macau Council and the Bugarao Cannon Foundry, and participated in the construction of the defense facilities of the Fortress and Macao.

Therefore, he has dabbled in the knowledge of cannon casting, city building, etc., when Sun Yuanhua set up a firearms unit in Shandong, the imperial court asked Macao to assist, He Liangtao was one of the important personnel, but with the death of Sun Yuanhua, everything was settled, and He Liangtao returned to Macao.

However, He Liangtao had a track record of cooperating with the Ming court, so this time Shi Luobao sent him to Guangzhou as a representative to assist the commander-in-chief Lin Cha in dealing with William's fleet, but he never thought that he would return soon.

He Liangtao heard Shi Luobao's words and said, "Your Excellency the Governor, that is indeed bad news, but it is not the only bad news, nor the worst news. ”

"What else is going on?" Shi Luobao's voice trembled a little.

He Liangtao said: "In the city of Guangzhou, I saw with my own eyes the English, the government authorized them to sell goods, not to buy goods for the time being, and on the way back by boat, I also saw the English boat in the Humen area to carry out water mapping, what is even more strange is that this is not a survey for the war, but a friendly survey, because there are Ming officials to accompany them."

I paid for some local service providers, and according to them, several officials from Xin'an had been accompanying me for a few days. It is said that the English were allowed to choose a piece of land on the east bank of the Lingding Ocean for trade, and the English chose the Humen area, and the mapping was to determine the location of the port. ”

"This is impossible, how could the Ming Dynasty allow Europeans to trade in such a deep place!" Schroebel couldn't accept it at all, and for a moment he roared hysterically.

As a Portuguese, Schroeb knew very well what Portugal had paid, and in gaining the land of Macau, in order to maintain this special status, the Portuguese did everything they could, and the English should not have been so easy to get.

And Schroebel knew even more that once the English really succeeded, what a tragic consequence it would be, and he would definitely not be able to keep his position, and he would become a sinner in Portugal.

"There must be a deal in this, and I have heard that the English have even been represented to see the Governor." He Liangtao showed no mercy, and dared to tell him bluntly about any news.

Shi Luobao didn't believe it anymore, and he couldn't change the actual situation, he waved his hand and said, "Mr. He, if there is any bad news, you can tell it together." ”

"I did get an important piece of news, but I don't know if it's bad news or good news," Ho said. ”

"Please, what could be worse news than the English being given a trade position?" Shi Luobao sat down on the chair, pinched the corners of his forehead, and said silently.

He Liangtao said: "Some time ago, Li Zhaoji, who made some trouble in Macau, do you still have an impression? ”

Shi Luobao nodded: "Cunning guy, huge ambition, good at words, difficult to master. ”

Shi Luobao used a few simple words to describe his evaluation of Li Zhaoji, but more precisely, it should be resentment.

He Liangtao was helpless: "I don't know if this news is good or bad, it has something to do with him, I saw him at the home of the chief soldier Lin Cha....... ”

"What!" Shi Luobao and Ferreira were shocked, because they personally participated in the killing of Lin Cha's henchman Li Yerong, theoretically, Li Zhaoji and Lin Cha should not share the same genius, right, why did they come together.

He Liangtao didn't know these inside facts at all, and continued: "I inquired that this Li Zhaoji Li shopkeeper has become the guest of honor of the governor Shen Youlong, and he directly assisted the chief soldier Lin Cha to deal with the affairs of English trade. ”

"This ...... How is this possible! Ferreira exclaimed.

He Liangtao raised five fingers: "This news is worth five riyals!" ”

Ferreira and Shi Luobao looked at each other, although they were shocked, but they still chose to believe, especially Shi Luobao, when he chose He Liangtao, not only because of his resume, but also because of his ability.

The two also understand why this news is not good or bad, and the bad part is that Schrobao and Ferreira secretly caught Li Zhaoji directly, forcing the merchant ship Dongfang under his command to provide smuggling services for merchants in Macao, but Li Zhaoji directly saw through and escaped.

Although the two sides did not tear their faces, and the branch business of the Oriental Trading Company in Macau was in full swing, the conspiracy was definitely exposed.

On the one hand, the two also know that Lee Siu Kee has a blood feud with the English, he escaped from the enslavement of the British, and even took a ship from them, if Macau wants to maintain its monopoly position, it may be able to focus on this Lee Siu Kee.

"The news is a bit bad, but overall, it's good news." Ferreira spoke, and after Shi Luobao's puzzled gaze, Ferreira explained, saying: "Your Excellency the Governor, Li Zhaoji is a businessman, for him, interests are paramount, if you can give him enough benefits, the previous unhappiness can be completely dissipated. ”

Shi Luobao nodded slightly, thought for a while, and said: "I will tell the person in charge that in the future, the ships of the Oriental Trading Company will only have half of the tariff when they enter and leave the port, and I believe that this news will be sent to Li Zhaoji soon, which is enough to express the sincerity of the Macau Council." ”

He Liangtao added: "Perhaps I can also provide good news, that is, Nikolai's son and his right hand are in the city of Guangzhou, and they should be our friends." ”

Shi Luobao nodded, he knew that He Liangtao was talking about Zheng Hongkui and Zheng Fusong, but he had already known the news, because Macau was one of the destinations of the two big names of the Zheng family, the reason was that when Zheng Zhilong was young, he had a comfortable life in Macau, and Zheng Zhilong has always maintained goodwill towards the Portuguese in Macau.

Over the years, the Portuguese merchants here had barely survived with the help of Zheng Zhilong, who handed over the purchased goods to Zheng Zhilong and borrowed the Zheng family's ship to sell them in Nagasaki, and Zheng Zhilong did not take any profit from them except for the necessary rent.

Shi Luobao thought for a while and said: "Nikolai is the king of Fujian, and his influence in Guangdong is not great, I don't think he can directly help us solve these problems, everything depends on us." So we have to make some preparations, two, what kind of conditions do you think the Ming government will propose. ”

Ferreira was puzzled and asked, "Your Excellency the Governor, do you think it is a conspiracy to allow England to trade with the Ming Dynasty?" ”

"Maybe it is, or maybe not, neither Macau nor Portugal can afford it." After Shi Luobao invited the two of them to sit down, he continued: "Since the Ming government already knows that the Weddell fleet five years ago belonged to England, and now it is discussing trade with England, why is it? ”

He Liangtao said: "There may be two reasons, it may be that the Ming government can seek something from the English, or what the English can give that makes the Ming court happy." Your Excellency the Governor, I would like to remind you that this trade is a matter of the Governor of Liangguang, and although the news that the English Commissioner of Commerce has seen the Governor of Daming may be false, one thing is certain, that is, Shen Youlong, the Governor of Liangguang, knows about this matter.

This shows that although William's fleet and Weddell's fleet were both here to seek trade, they were already fundamentally different, and William's fleet had gone further. ”

Shi Luobao nodded slowly, agreeing with He Liangtao's words, the Weddell fleet was also seeking trade back then, but the officials involved were only Chen Qian, the chief soldier of Guangdong, and Haixundao, which was not low, but it was not high, and it was completely different from William's fleet to directly contact the governor of Liangguang

Moreover, Chen Qian was completely playing English for bribes, and he couldn't hide it anymore, so he alarmed the local government. It was a private operation in nature, but this time, Lyncha was in contact with English merchants on the orders of the governor, and it was an official act.

Shi Luobao said: "What Mr. He said is very reasonable, then it is very clear, if we can also meet the conditions formed by the governor of England and Liangguang, then this matter can be completely solved." ”

"Exactly, the question is, what is this condition. How can we know? Ferreira asked.

Shi Luobao stood up and said, "Both, for the sake of the prosperity of Macau and everyone's cause, go your separate ways, Ferreira, you try to ask the Oriental Trading Company and Li Zhaoji." Mr. Ho, you have to find a way to get the news from Rincha, and I will personally inquire and write to Nikolai's brother and son.

We can get the news from three aspects, and then confirm it. ”

After He Liangtao responded, he said: "Your Excellency the Governor, I would like to remind you that if you can indeed do this, you need to go to Guangzhou in person, which is very important, the officialdom of the Ming Dynasty is very face-heavy. ”

Of course, Schrobao replied that there was no problem, although he was reluctant to go, because he was the governor in Macau, but when he went to Guangzhou, in the eyes of the local officials in Guangzhou, he was a barbarian.