Chapter 1178 Macau
Lin Hongzhong lived up to expectations and quickly found out the truth, bringing back one good news and one bad news.
The good news is that the news of driving the Portuguese out of Macau is most likely a smokescreen released by the Jiangnan Group to exert pressure in negotiations.
The bad news is that if the Portuguese refuse to surrender, the other side has the ability to make their threat come true.
Through such a long period of observation and contact with the Ming government, the Portuguese had long discovered that China was too big and Beijing was too far away. If they wanted to have fun in Guangdong, they didn't have to care too much about the attitude of the Ming emperor. It was enough as long as the officials in charge of Guangdong province could provide them with shelter.
So the official who had the power to decide whether to accept or reject Portuguese trade was actually the governor of Guangdong. And that governor happened to have a very close relationship with the Jiangnan Group. It was said that his life was saved by the Jiangnan Group...
How could the Portuguese play this game? Domingo had originally planned to settle accounts with the Jiangnan Company, talk about how powerful the Portuguese Empire was, and then list his own conditions, including but not limited to sharing the Japanese market, opening the Jiangnan port, prohibiting trade with the Spaniards, and compensating for the losses caused by the suspension of trade for half a year.
After a burst of impotent rage, he could only tear up the draft he had racked his brains to draft and let Lin Hongzhong contact the other party.
At present, the fierce negotiations in preparation will not happen. Whatever Zhao Liben says is the truth. So the old man successfully completed his grandson's request, and even exceeded the task. He asked the Portuguese to recognize the exclusive right of Jiangnan Group to trade with Japan. He also ensured that the Portuguese fleet could not pass through Ryukyu. And the fleets of both sides should avoid fighting in any sea area...
When Zhao Hao first discussed the first two points with the Jesuits, he didn't even dare to hope for the third point.
Although the validity period of the agreement was only three years, Zhao Hao was overjoyed. Three years was enough for him to quadruple the fleet and manpower of the garrison area! More importantly, he would definitely go to war with the Spaniards within three years, so he could avoid being attacked from both sides!
What if the agreement expires after he has dealt with the Spaniards? Young Master Zhao can even deal with the Spaniards, so how can the Portuguese dare to stir up any trouble?
As for the Jiangnan Group, they only needed to agree to return the two Western ships and the crews on board, and promise to give priority to the goods needed by Portuguese merchants and not to trade with the Spaniards.
These three points may be of great significance to the Portuguese, but they are of no importance to the Jiangnan Group. Although Mr. Zhao will sooner or later get involved in the galleon trade with America, this is not something that should be considered within three years.
The Portuguese side originally wanted to add a clause that the Jiangnan Group's fleet could not cross Ryukyu and go south. However, Zhao Liben sternly rejected it. The entire East and South Seas belong to the Ming Dynasty's waters. Who dares to prohibit Ming Dynasty ships from sailing? Isn't this forcing the group to go crazy?
The Portuguese had no choice but to stop talking nonsense.
Mr. Zhao was very satisfied with this, and even before the contract was officially renewed, he was eager for Yang Fan to put the Oriental Beauty together...
He asked Jiang Xueying to sign and seal the treaty that the old man had sent over an urgent journey of eight hundred miles, and then sent it back to Lingnan over an urgent journey of another eight hundred miles.
Today is the day when both parties will formally exchange the treaty. Because the Portuguese cannot leave the island, the old man agreed to condescend to go to Macau and hold the treaty exchange ceremony on Portuguese territory.
~~
Back to the topic, seeing Zhao Liben stepping out of the main room, Lin Huichun and Ye Zimei hurriedly went to meet him and supported him instead of Hantao and Cailian.
"Watch your step, old man."
"The old man slept well last night."
"That's good. Thank you both for your help today." Zhao Liben greeted the two of them with a smile. They will attend today's contract exchange ceremony as witnesses to the agreement.
"It should be."
"It is an honor to serve the old man!" The two officials treated him like an ancestor. It was said that Zhao Liben thought the Red Haired Girl had too many hairs, so they specially found him a Black Pearl. Unfortunately, the old man was old, and his eyesight was not good at night, so he couldn't see clearly where to start, so they just kept her as a maid.
However, the old man was still touched by their filial piety.
Zhao Liben got into the sedan chair prepared for him by eight people, and the two adults also got on the sedan chair. Then they set off for Macau with a grand procession of ceremonial guards.
Although the great sea merchant Lin Hongzhong had the title of a captain of the coastal defense, he neither rode in a sedan chair nor rode a horse. Instead, he followed Zhao Liben's sedan chair like a personal attendant, waiting to be ordered around.
He fawned on Zhao Liben for the Jiangnan Group and Mr. Zhao. No one, whether the Portuguese or the government officials, could see the great prospects of the Jiangnan Group as clearly as he did.
Because what he did was actually almost the same as Young Master Zhao, but it was much weaker. But because of this, Lin Hongzhong could better appreciate how great Young Master Zhao was.
It is conceivable that with the support of the richest place in the world, Jiangnan Group, and the monopoly of trade with Japan, what kind of behemoth will it grow into in the future?
He was eager to meet the young man and see if he could get on the boat, so of course he had to please Grandpa Zhao.
It was already a little stuffy at this time, so Zhao Liben ordered his men to open the curtains on all sides of the sedan chair. While enjoying the breeze from all directions, he crossed his legs and smoked the cigar that Lin Hongzhong had given him as a gift.
Lin Hongzhong called this thing "Tamburo", and seeing that Zhao Shouzheng also liked it, he bought the best Cuban cigars from the Spaniards in Luzon as a gift to him.
"It is said that these cigars are all rubbed from the thighs of beautiful girls." Zhao Liben exhaled a smoke ring with enjoyment.
"No wonder the red-haired devils don't make it themselves, but have to ask Cuban girls to rub it." Lin Hongzhong laughed, "There are too many hairs, it must be painful to rub it."
"Oh, hahaha, that makes sense!" Zhao Liben couldn't help laughing and suddenly felt that this kid was a fellow traveler.
While chatting and laughing, we arrived at our destination.
Lin Hongzhong then acted as a tour guide for the old man, and he said the name of this place was "Haojingao".
Because it is a peninsula, with circular bays on the east and west sides, on calm and moonlit nights, the seawater is silvery and smooth like a mirror, just like the inner wall of an oyster shell, so it is called "oyster mirror". Later, because the word "oyster" is vulgar, it was changed to "Hao mirror".
In Fujian and Guangdong, "Ao" refers to a curved place on the seashore where ships can be docked. Because the terrain of Haojing resembles a "gate", merchants traveling here also call it "Macau".
Zhao Liben looked at the Macau Peninsula, which was connected to the mainland by a narrow strip of land. The area was really not large, just a "city built on the mountain with a length of four or five miles".
On that narrow strip of land, there was a city gate building with round Western-style bunkers on both sides, on top of which stood fully armed Portuguese musketeers.
Zhao Liben couldn't help but frown and asked, "We've already left the country?"
"No, no, in the past, Guanzha was still the territory of our Ming Dynasty, and we still had to obey the king." Lin Hongzhong quickly explained: "Originally, there was no such gate. Didn't the Portuguese help the government army to repel the giant bandit Zeng Yiben last year? In order to prevent retaliation from the pirates, Liu Guancha of the sea route granted the Portuguese to build walls and towers for self-defense... In our Guangdong area, watchtowers are very common."
"Haha, just take one step at a time." Zhao Liben saw through it clearly. This was the rhythm of a lazy tenant wanting to become a landlord, but he was too lazy to meddle in other people's business.
Seeing the county magistrate and the officer guarding Macau coming, the Portuguese quickly opened the gate and let the group in.
Zhao Liben looked around coldly and saw that Macau was not a big city. A cross street divided the city into four parts. The street was paved with primary colored gravel, and there were two or three-story exotic buildings along the street. The ground floor was a stone porch, the walls were painted in various bright colors, the windows were white shutters, and there were flowers and plants on the windowsills. It looked quite decent, and it was indeed not a barbarian.
There were people of all races on the street, including the red-haired people, Ming people, and black people that the old man had seen, as well as many other species that he had never seen before.
Lin Hongzhong introduced to him that those with dark brown skin and curly hair were Indians. Those with short stature and shifty eyes were natives from Southeast Asia. And those with red skin... were Americans with red paint on their faces, and they were slaves of Spanish merchants who came to Macau to do business.
Zhao Liben was really surprised. He saw that many women on the street were wearing knee-length skirts, probably because it was too hot, with only strips of cloth covering their plump breasts. It was so fucking exciting... Oh no, it was too indecent!
"Bah, shameless." Zhao Liben stared at her with wide eyes and criticized her harshly. "But it's a pity to cover up her curvy figure." He couldn't help but imagine that if the girls in the Ming Dynasty also dressed like this, it would be a beautiful sight.
"Haha, that's why they are called barbarians. Westerners are okay, but there are many women from hot areas who don't wear clothes." Lin Hongzhong laughed.
"Where, where?" Zhao Liben looked around hurriedly, but didn't see a single naked butt.
"My parents have strictly prohibited it." Lin Hongzhong said hurriedly.
"What a pity, oh no, it's a good ban!" Zhao Liben coughed twice, feeling quite regretful.
As we were talking, we arrived at Pasuda Street, where the official residence of the commander of the Macau Squadron of the Malacca Fleet is located.
"What kind of crappy name is this?" Zhao Liben got off the sedan chair with the help of Lin Hongzhong.
"Yes, the Portuguese like to name streets after their people. We all call it 'Basu Spank You Street'." Lin Hongzhong said with a smile: "General Domingo has come out to greet you three."
Then I saw two rows of neatly dressed Portuguese musketeers standing in front of the official residence with guns raised.
On the red-carpeted steps stood a Portuguese nobleman wearing a black square hat with gold edges, a pure gold medal around his neck, a gorgeous top with shoulder pads, a pair of white tights, and a bulging crotch with a huge lump of stuffed stuffed in it.
The military and political chief of Macau, Major General Domingo, was probably in his fifties, not very tall, with gray hair, a hooked nose and a square chin, which made him look very resolute. When he saw the three people, he took off his hat and bowed, speaking a lot of bird language.
The Xiangshan County Magistrate was afraid that the old Minister Zhao would be angry, so he hurriedly explained: "The red-haired ghosts can't bend their legs and can't kneel down, so let's not embarrass them."
Lin Hongzhong, who served as the interpreter, naturally followed the magistrate's opinion and said that Domingo had also apologized. They had problems with the structure of their knees and could not get up after falling to the ground, so they really had no way to kneel down.
"That's quite pitiful." Zhao Liben smiled indifferently and said, "Let's change the contract quickly."
The two sides don't speak the same language and there's nothing much to talk about, so they might as well finish their business quickly and go to the Macau casino to have some fun with the sexy dealers.
ps. I will continue writing and try to make up for the previous chapter. Don’t wait, it will be the same if you read it tomorrow morning.
(End of this chapter)