"Invest?" Zhu Yijun looked at Antonio and said, "May I ask the prince, how did you get my investment?" And you've got the investment of Felipe II, King of Franco, who founded the empire on which the sun never sets, and I've only been confined to land, oh, and recently there has been a Luzon. ”

When Zhu Yijun said this, the courtiers of the Ming Dynasty were all a little dignified, the sun never sets on the empire, there is no doubt that it is an achievement, or a great enough title, and the supreme emperor and the Son of Heaven were actually compared to other kings.

The emperor of the Central Plains Dynasty, who in the known world can be more majestic than the emperor?

Now this title has appeared in front of the Ming Dynasty, that is, the Empire on which the sun never sets.

Broken!

Zhang Juzheng's breathing was a little shorter, and during the frequent exchanges with Hongmaofan, the first assistant of the empire realized a very serious problem, and the etiquette of the Ming Dynasty was challenged.

Under the whole world, although the land is wide, there is no foot of land and it is not the king's land. On the shore of the land, although there are many people, there is not a single person who is not a king's minister.

This is the Dharma of the Son of Heaven and the Mandate of Heaven!

In an imperial country, there are only two ways to challenge the etiquette, either to take the title or not to know it, but now the title has come out of the mouth of His Majesty the Emperor, and His Majesty the Emperor clearly knows the meaning of this title.

His Majesty's Wenhua Hall has a globe, and the meaning of the empire is that the sun never sets, that is, the sun will always shine on the territory of the empire.

But Zhang Juzheng thought about it, this didn't seem to be a problem, the ancestors of the Ming Dynasty included the known world of the Ming Dynasty under the command of the Ming Dynasty, at least nominally, even the Wa Kingdom was canonized by the Ming Dynasty as the king of the Wa Kingdom - the Muromachi Shogunate.

Now at least one target appears in front of the eyes of the Great Tomorrow.

At the very least, he must take this title in order to maintain his supreme authority as emperor.

"Felipe II, also my opponent." Antonio said helplessly: "I have found many people and described my plans, but none of them will help me, they will only laugh at the huge difference between my ambition and strength, only Felipe II, as my relative, will find me something to do, just like now, be a captain and don't cause him any trouble." ”

Finding an investor was a very difficult and painful task for Antonio, especially since a man like him, an illegitimate child, was only supported by the common people, and almost no one would approve of him succeeding to the throne, and no one was optimistic that he would inherit the throne.

The current King of Portugal, Enrique I, is the uncle of King Felipe II of Spain, which means Felipe II, who is also the legal heir to the throne of Portugal.

The Duke of Savoy, who controlled the military in the Portuguese Kingdom, and the Duke of Parma, who mastered the religion, were very supportive of Felipe II's succession to the throne of the Kingdom of Portugal.

If the gap between Antonio and Felipe II is measured from the idiomatic words of the Ming Dynasty, it is the difference between cloud and mud.

Militaryly, economically, culturally, politically, Felipe II was a natural protagonist, he himself was strong enough and had the support of the vast majority of nobles, Antonio only had the support of the commoners.

How powerful was Antonio's opponent, Felipe II? Felipe II could declare bankruptcy.

When he could not pay his debts, he declared bankruptcy, so that he could pay off his old debts and borrow new ones, and he had already done this twice, and the creditors who lent him money had to borrow again from Felipe II.

Antonio has been looking for his investors, but in the end he only finds Felipe II as his shipowner, and Felipe II is showing a mercy that if Antonio is obedient enough, he can make Antonio a rich man instead of killing Antonio.

"You're honest, but honesty doesn't impress investors." Zhu Yijun shook his head, if Antonio is a high-quality project, it will not be his turn to invest in the Ming Emperor, who is far away in the world, and there has never been a shortage of careerists and speculators in the world.

Money is money, and money doesn't lie.

Antonio was also a little disheartened, but the gift that should be given was still to be offered, and he bowed his head and said, "Your Majesty, I have a second gift for you." ”

"The territory of Daming is very vast, the population is so large that the entire Taixi combined, it is less than one-fifth of the population of Daming, this is a huge ethnic group, this is also a huge market, I have some plantations in the South China Sea of Daming, there is a material, it is needed by Daming, its name is palm oil."

"A palm tree from West Africa, whose oil palm can be used to extract oil, is my second gift, oil."

Zhu Yijun looked at Antonio, and then at the bowl of oil with a somewhat clear color, and said with great confidence: "Prince, I suddenly understand why you are supported by almost all civilians. Your gift is not a jewel, not a thing that cannot be eaten by hunger or clothing, but you deserve to be loved by the common people. ”

Zhang Juzheng said that when Song Renzong did not like beads, he said: Ming Jun is noble and cheap pearls and jade, and the cover is not useful for no benefit.

Palm oil is indeed not delicious, but a pound of flour, six taels of oil, the calories per 100g of starch is 350 kcal, and the calories of 100g of palm oil is 900 kcal, one catty of sixteen taels, one catty of oil = 2.5714 catties of starch.

Antonio continued: "Thank you for your majesty's compliment, there are many, many people of the Ming Dynasty, more than the whole of Tessie combined, and the land of the Ming is very small and not very much, because I can see their hunger, so my goods, for the supreme majesty, can give birth to your majesty's people. ”

"I have another gift to give, and I believe that His Majesty will be very interested."

Two small yellow doors lifted a box, and Antonio opened it, and said very earnestly: "Your Majesty, this is a strange thing, its name is sucrose, a reddish-brown sugar cube. ”

"Like palm oil, it keeps hungry, hungry civilians at bay, always gives the king a headache, and when they come together, they either kill them or turn them into thugs, so I brought sugar cubes, a lumpy sugar, which is delicious and filling."

"Sugar has swept the whole world of Tessie, and sweets such as preserved fruits, sweet cakes, and candied fruits have become an important feature of the royal family of Tessie, so much so that the monarchs appoint an official to be in charge of the confectionery department, and this official also needs to be skilled in preparing all kinds of sweets for the royal table. During the meal, the servant learns when and how to use sugar. ”

"For example, in England, the dessert officer, who used sugar as a sauce for partridges and pheasants, or sprinkled it on grilled herring, the British, also designed special cutlery so that the slimy sugar slipped smoothly into the mouth."

"In France, sugar can sweeten dishes, preserve fruits and vegetables, and make sugar decorations and models."

"Sugar statues, in Tessie, are a display and flaunting of power, wealth and status."

Selling laughter can't sell medicine, selling medicine can't sell sugar, selling sugar has always been a lucrative industry, so Antonio had the ambition to fight against Felipe II, who was unrivaled in the whole of Tessie.

During his many years of sailing, Antonio had acquired a large amount of money and almost countless plantations, which cost about the same as the freight because of the widespread use of black farming tools.

The royal family of Tessie suffered from serious oral diseases such as tooth erosion, missing teeth, gum disease, collapsed mouth, and even disfigurement due to the large amount of sugar they consumed. and obesity.

"How much? How much palm oil and sugar cubes can you bring in a year? Zhu Yijun looked at the bowl of palm oil, as Antonio said, Daming has no extra land to grow palm trees, sugar cane and sugar beets, there are too many people in Daming, too little land, and a lot of these lands are controlled by the powerful gentry.

The gift given by Antonio this time also includes all kinds of seeds, Antonio's wishful thinking believes that these seeds will make the Ming Emperor happy, in fact, Antonio did it, the Ming really needs these, and the little emperor recognizes Antonio's respect very much.

Antonio bowed his head and said: "Your Majesty, palm oil and sugar cubes are packed in a kind of vat, which is about 20 fatals, each barrel is one ton, which is equivalent to 1,700 catties per barrel, and I can guarantee 20,000 barrels of palm oil and 30,000 barrels of sugar cubes every year." ”

The tonnage tax requested by Le Yasit was to collect the tax according to the number of barrels on the ship, regardless of the type of cargo.

The unit of ton, in the third year of Wanli, is the same volume unit as the stone of the Ming Dynasty, which indicates a barrel that can hold 20 fatales or 34 cubic feet or 252 gallons, and one hundred tons is able to hold a hundred such barrels.

In Ctessy, the tax on ships was a tonnage tax on Venetian bushels, that is, whatever was loaded, according to the size of the ship, the most typical being the flat-bottomed boats that transported coal from the upper reaches of the Tyne River in England to the lower reaches of the sea, and charged two pence for each Chaltron coal.

"Very good." Zhu Yijun very much agrees with this number that can arrive in Hong Kong.

"Then the franchise of Liuli will be handed over to the prince." Zhu Yijun intends to end this gift event, all of Antonio's actions are business practices, and those seeds are Antonio's gifts.

"I think I might need more help." Antonio still couldn't wait.

Zhu Yijun said quite calmly: "That needs more chips, these seeds you give are indeed very precious, but your purpose is to trade, in order to open up a new market, in Taixi The scale of production and sales of these things has approached saturation, and the development of your plantation has also come to a standstill, you need a huge market to continue to expand your business." ”

"It's a reciprocal thing, it's just a deal, and it's a kind of greed that you hope that the deal will get my support for you."

Zhu Yijun's organization is extremely clear, Antonio's seeds are indeed an excellent gift, so Zhu Yijun rewarded the franchise of Huangzhuang glazeware, but the rest of the things are all buying and selling, mutual benefit and reciprocity, why do you want more preferential treatment?

"Your Majesty has misunderstood, I am not so greedy, I have a new gift to offer." Antonio gritted his teeth and said, how can the little emperor be more like a businessman than him? Aren't they the most important thing to talk about face?

In Tessie, the royal family was already poor as pants and wore silk, and those nobles would rather go bankrupt than maintain decency, but he did not see any decent practices from the most noble man in the world, opening and closing his mouth was all interests, and every time Antonio spoke, he would fall into a terrifying illusion of trading with the devil.

It wasn't a delusion, Antonio was indeed a demon in front of him.

Zhu Yijun said with a smile: "Don't take it out first, I have to know what you want first, if I can't give things that I can't give, such as land, such as people, such as tariff exemption, such as franchise rights for various commodities." ”

"My palace is indeed magnificent, you do see solemnity and solemnity, it seems that I can do anything, I only need a word, anything can be done, in fact, you misunderstood, but there are actually very few things I can decide, the glazed ware of the imperial village is one of the few things I can decide by myself."

"Then you'd better not take them out, or the officials of the empire will snatch those gifts from you."

When Zhang Juzheng heard the little emperor say this, he bowed his head and said, "The minister is ashamed." ”

In an empire based on the emperor's institutional design, the emperor can only manage his own one-third of an acre, which is a trampling on the imperial power, but this is indeed the case now.

"Sir is also joking." Zhu Yijun smiled and waved his hand and said, it is impossible to do better than Zhang Juzheng if you change the first assistant, and it is even more difficult to change the first assistant, orphans and widows.

Antonio clenched his fists and said, "I want to get weapons, armor, cannons, muskets, bows, crossbows, long and short soldiers, etc., I need weapons to fight Felipe II." ”

"Why don't you just ask for a regimental camp of 20,000 people? I can pack it up for you and send it over, but you don't have a professional soldier anyway. Zhu Yijun sneered, Antonio was really greedy.

"That's better." Antonio's eyes lit up, Zhu Yijun's eyes were dark, telling himself that this was a cultural difference, Zhu Yijun was a rhetorical question, and Antonio listened to the initiative.

"Hongmao Fan is part of the Daming Haikou, and I can't sell you weapons, because you can't guarantee where these weapons will go, so let's go here." Zhu Yijun made it clear this time, every feather arrow sold by Zhu Yijun could be shot on Daming's head.

When the Daming Maritime Patrol and Coastal Defense system had not yet been established, weapons would not have been sold as commodities.

"My conditions will definitely make Your Majesty feel tempted and invest in me." Antonio said eagerly.

Zhu Yijun shook his head and said: "Then you will die faster, Felipe II will write a special letter to express his grief for your death and express his gratitude to me, after all, I have removed a trouble for him, the holy city in Tessie's mind, the fall of Constantinople, isn't it the Ottoman sultan, in order to kill the contender for the last throne?" ”

"It would be fitting for any of my sons, chosen by God to be the Sultan of the Empire, to kill his brothers for the sake of a better world order. That's Fatih's famous quote. ”

The Ottoman Empire's succession system was the Guards succession system, and whoever could kill the other heirs to the throne was the only king. Whoever controls the Ottoman Guards holds the throne, or rather, whoever the Guards make the king is the king.

The Ottoman Empire is the biggest enemy of the entire Tessie, in order to show the difference from the Ottoman Kingdom, Felipe II could not kill Antonio, but Antonio died in the Ming Dynasty, Felipe II will only express regret and gratitude, this is a trouble, not a big trouble.

"I don't have any other choice." Antonio said helplessly: "Your Majesty, I promise that these weapons will be sent to Tessie, and will not be left in the far east to cause trouble to Your Majesty, otherwise, how can I come here to trade with galleons?" ”

"Tell me about your gifts." Zhu Yijun thought about it and finally relented.

Antonio bowed his head and said: "Your Majesty seems to have built a maritime academy in Matsue Mansion, but as far as I know, Your Majesty still has not solved some of the problems of the voyage, and I have brought a solution. ”

"To be more precise, it is some books, these books, can solve Your Majesty's troubles, this is my deference, with the majesty of the Ming Dynasty, even if I am far away in Taixi, once I betray the respected Majesty, it seems that I can't escape Your Majesty's punishment."

Li Yashi's whole face has changed, all the previous things, Li Yashi has the mentality of watching the excitement, it is a very interesting thing for an illegitimate child to fight against the powerful Felipe II, Li Yashi is all having fun watching it, when Antonio said the book of the voyage, Li Yashi's face finally changed greatly.

Damn businessman Antonio! He didn't know what he was coming up with, it was more than a hundred years of experience in the Great Voyage, and this damned merchant actually came up with such an expensive gift for the throne!

"We're just trading, not betrayal, let's see." Zhu Yijun motioned for Antonio to take out his chips.

Soon a big box appeared in front of Zhu Yijun, Zhu Yijun opened it and looked at it, he had learned Latin, it was not difficult to understand, and the old case of "Zheng He's Envoy to the Water" was the same, the books in this box were urgently needed by the Ming Dynasty.

For example, in this box, there is a map "North Celestial Sphere and Southern Celestial Sphere Star Map", which records a large number of astrological phenomena that can only be seen in the southern hemisphere, in addition to nautical charts, there are also experiences in the voyage, such as spirits mixed with water, scurvy, etc., recording the customs and customs of many places, cocoa beans, coffee, sugarcane and other concentrated production areas.

Zhu Yijun looked at Antonio and said: "I see it, I can't lose it, you are a stupid and smart businessman, and at the same time, you know Da Ming very well, and you know that if you say it in advance, it will be more troublesome." ”

"I'm in a quandary."

Antonio knows the Ming empire very well, because the fire man Yasan and the court pharmacist once lived in the Ming Dynasty for a long time, bringing the thinking mode of the top level of the Ming Dynasty back to Portugal, and the Portuguese living in the Hao Jing sent back the news of the bottom of the Ming Dynasty in a steady stream, these messages are one-sided and scattered, but they are indeed very accurate news.

The Ming were in contact with Portugal for a longer period of time than with Spain.

In the eighth year of Zhengde, the Portuguese merchant Ruoerge began to contact with the Ming Dynasty, and the Ming Dynasty and Portugal have actually been in trade for sixty-two years.

Antonio is stupid, because he shows his hole cards, and it is a big taboo to show his hole cards when he makes a deal, and in the same way, Antonio is smart, because he is already taking risks, knowing that the Ming Emperor is bound by etiquette, and when he puts these chips in front of the emperor, he will not only not die, but will also get a response.

"Your Excellency, then I wish us a happy cooperation." Zhu Yijun finally made a decision.

Antonio knelt on the ground respectfully, bowed his head and said, "Thank you for your generosity, thank you for your Majesty's ron." ”

The latter sentence was uttered by Antonio in extremely unfamiliar Chinese, Zhu Yijun, on behalf of the empire, agreed to Antonio's request to buy weapons from the Ming Dynasty.

Antonio and Li Yashi left the Wenhua Palace, and the courtiers all looked at Zhang Juzheng.

Zhu Yijun waved his hand and said, "Today's court meeting is dismissed, I will talk to Mr. ”

"The ministers are leaving." Qunchen, look at me, I look at you, left the Wenhua Palace, and everyone was talking on the way.

"Sir is in charge, but I have agreed to Antonio's request." Zhu Yijun said with a little emotion: "Mr. won't be angry." ”

Zhang Juzheng was stunned for a moment, frowned and said: "What does Your Majesty mean, let the ministers go to the noon gate to ask for beheading, or hit the pillar?" ”

Why don't you go back and eat a pound of arsenic yourself? It won't be so miserable when you die like this, at least not in a different place.

"Isn't the gentleman angry?" Zhu Yijun asked with some surprise.

Zhang Juzheng said quite accurately: "The minister is the minister of the first emperor and the teacher of His Majesty's banquet, but the minister is also His Majesty's minister, and His Majesty has the right to be in charge. ”

Zhu Yijun watched Luo Mu roll in the autumn wind, and said with a slight distraction: "New Deal, sir, I am the first mate of the New Deal, and I am the captain of the New Deal, so what is the driving force of our ship of the New Deal that drives him forward?" ”

"I thought it was grain and silver, but what did you think?"

"If you lose silver, Daming's department stores will lose their ability to circulate, and if you lose food, Daming will lose everything."

"It is true that now Antonio and the red-haired fans come to Daming to sell with a large amount of grain and silver, but whether it is active or passive, once we lose the silver brought by the red-haired fans, then the new deal will become unsustainable, and this feeling of handing over fate to others is like being strangled by someone with a pair of hands as powerless."

"We now have the advantage of commodities, but after our Chinese silk fabrics, musks, pearls, etc. are transported to Malacca, they can be sent to Tessy around the Cape of Good Hope, and we can make a profit thirty times, we have everything, but the route is not in our hands, as long as Felipe II, with a slight force, I can't breathe."

Zhang Juzheng seriously pondered it and said, "Your Majesty, it's over, it's a little exaggerated. ”

If Felipe II had the ability to cross the ocean to pinch the Ming to death, those red-haired merchants would not have talked about the damned Englishmen all day long, and from the description of the red-haired fans, the Englishmen lived on an island, about the same size as the Japanese country.

Actor Feng Bao also did not approve of the little emperor's acting skills.

"It's a bit pompous." Zhu Yijun nodded in recognition of Zhang Juzheng's words, his acting skills are indeed slightly exaggerated.

Zhu Yijun recovered his expression for a moment, and said quite confidently: "Actually, the benefits that Antonio can bring outweigh the risks, so I agreed to him." ”

"That's what the minister thinks, too." Zhang Juzheng said quite confidently: "If the eggs are placed in a basket, it is easy for the chicken to fly and the eggs to beat." ”

Both the monarch and the minister are profitable, and the Spaniards are dominant, which is not conducive to the maritime trade of the Ming Dynasty, and they can divide their opponents all the time in order to ensure their own interests.

"Sir, Zhang Han, the secretary of the ministry, recommended Wang Chonggu, the governor of Xuanda, as the secretary of the criminal department." Zhu Yijun talked about the appointment and dismissal of major personnel in the DPRK and China.

"The minister already knows, Wan Shangshu found the minister and told him about it." Zhang Ju said with a strange face: "The minister didn't expect that Wan Shangshu found the minister, he now has a good relationship with the Jin Party and the Zhejiang Party, and the relationship with the minister seems to be good?" ”

Wan Shihe's state is a little weird, Wan Shihe is good at dancing with long sleeves, wandering between several major parties, seems to maintain a good relationship with anyone, and seems to be not so close to anyone, this kind of person is more like the top card in the Qinglou, and those romantic talents, everyone has a good relationship.

How did Wan Shihe change from being old and old-fashioned to this kind of person? It doesn't matter what happened in between, what matters is that he is like this.

It is also necessary for the DPRK and China to have such a person who is not very respectable, Wan Shihe always appears on various occasions where he should not appear, and it is extremely reasonable.

"Oh? Is it? Zhu Yijun showed a sunny smile, looked at Zhang Juzheng and said, "Mr. doesn't seem to care very much about Wang Chonggu's return to the dynasty. ”

Zhang Juzheng said with certainty: "The ministry recommends, the minister can not question it, it is different from this time, he continues to stay in Xuanda, the foundation will be deeper, and it will hinder the decree of the Ming Dynasty." ”

Wang Chonggu returned to Beijing before, and the Beijing camp was sluggish, and Wang Chonggu could threaten His Majesty's power of prestige, but now, Wang Chonggu can no longer do it.

Wang Chonggu's life was very comfortable, and it was not an exaggeration to describe it as a place of wine in Xuanfu, it was extremely comfortable, and then a paper order was sent from Beijing to Xuanfu, and Wang Chonggu was stupid.

What are you doing back to Beijing? When you return to Beijing, do you face Zhang Juzheng, who eats people and doesn't spit out bones, is insidious and cunning, and can't fight at all?

He can not only make money in Xuanda, but also enjoy life, do whatever he wants, return to Beijing, layer after layer of shackles are put on him, on Zhang Juzheng's territory, what to fight with Zhang Juzheng?

"Stupid! Stupid, before you do stupid things, can you have a little heart, even if it's to talk to me! After Wang Chonggu returned to Beijing, Zhang Siwei, Zhang Han, and Wan Shihe took Wang Chonggu to Zhang Siwei's house, and Wang Chonggu scolded directly.

It's a little late today, I'm so sorry, thank you for the 4,500 points of "sorry ahhhh Ask for a monthly pass, woo!!!

(End of chapter)