After a night of painful struggle, Sebastian finally made a difficult decision - to exchange some overseas colonies for Ming Dynasty troops.

After much pleading, his proposal was finally approved by Master Zhao. Then Ma Yinglong and Tang Baolu led a negotiation team to negotiate with Sebastian on the specific terms of exchange.

The negotiations were very difficult, mainly because the prices asked by both sides were too different.

At first, Sebastian only wanted to transfer the colonies east of Malacca to the Jiangnan Group, and even wanted to retain Malacca as an important forward base.

In Xiao Sai's opinion, ceding Makassar, the Spice Islands and the Lesser Sunda Islands to the Jiangnan Group was already a high enough price to pay.

Europeans were crazy about spices such as cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, and pepper. They not only preserved food and enhanced flavor, but were also said to prevent and treat diseases. For example, black pepper was used to treat the Black Death. One of the driving forces behind the Age of Exploration was the endless desire for spices.

Although spices were valuable in the Ming Dynasty, in Europe at that time, spices were precious luxury goods that could be used as currency. Because Europe could not grow spices, it could only obtain them from India and the Far East.

In the 1580s, the Portuguese's pitiful shipping capacity could not meet even one percent of Europe's demand for spices.

Scarcity makes things valuable. Merchants used pepper to buy land and slaves, and nobles used it as dowries. In the period when spices were most scarce, its value was comparable to that of gold.

There is even a Spanish ballad that goes like this: 'Close the window to prevent the wind from blowing away, the rich merchants use tweezers to count the peppercorns, one by one...'

Because spices are valuable and popular, and the Portuguese directly control the production areas, they have always been the most profitable part of their overseas trade.

Most of the spices shipped to Europe every year were produced in these three places. Sebastian was handing over the most profitable spice business in overseas trade to Mr. Zhao. In his opinion, he was absolutely generous.

Unexpectedly, Ma Yinglong and Tang Baolu scoffed at this, and the latter warned Sebastian that Malacca and the entire Nanyang would not be used as conditions for negotiation. Because this place has been a vassal of the Ming Dynasty since ancient times, the Celestial Empire will never accept its own territory as a bargaining chip!

The imperial decree issued by the emperor decades ago is still valid. The Portuguese must withdraw from Malacca unconditionally! Jiangnan Group must take back Nanyang completely!

Ma Yinglong revealed that the Coast Guard Fleet has formulated a plan to besiege Malacca. With the cooperation of the Sultanate of Johor, they are confident and capable of quickly taking over Malacca!

"So, Nanyang is not included in the negotiations!" The two generals, one civil and one military, said firmly.

~~

However, the conditions proposed by the negotiation team were impossible for the Portuguese to accept - they actually demanded all of Portugal's overseas colonies!

Although the expression is more euphemistic, the meaning is the same.

"You are just taking advantage of the situation! You are so greedy and shameless!" Sebastian was so angry that he slammed the table and said, "If you insist on such absurd ideas, I refuse to talk to you anymore!"

Facing Sebastian's anger, the two generals Heng and Ha remained unmoved. Ma Yinglong also stood up, leaned over and stared at Xiao Sebastian's angry blue eyes and said:

"Your Majesty may not know this yet. According to the latest news received this morning, because your nobles and troops continued to surrender to the King of Spain, the Duke of Alva's army easily defeated the last line of defense of the bastard organization on August 25, 1580."

After a pause, he continued to say to Sebastian, whose eyes quickly turned to fear: "That night, Lisbon took the initiative to open the city and surrender to the Spanish army. Therefore, we have determined that your country has been destroyed."

"What, so fast?" Sebastian sat back in the chair, and Pinto beside him quickly supported him.

"Obviously, you underestimated your opponent, and naturally overestimated yourself." Ma Yinglong looked down at poor Sebastian and continued to attack him mercilessly:

"So we must remind Your Majesty that the overseas colonies we are discussing now all belong to Spain. They do not belong to you."

At this time, Don Paul took over the conversation and said, "Yes, I heard that the red cross flag has been hoisted in Malacca City."

"So, Your Majesty, you are not the current king of Portugal, but a former king who has nothing. Yes, you are exactly the same as the deposed King Abu of Morocco, there is no difference." Don Paul walked up to Sebastian, put his hands on the table, looked down at him and said:

"Now you are asking us for help to seize a country that no longer belongs to you. Of course, those overseas colonies also do not belong to you. Do you still feel so sad now?"

Sebastian stared blankly and remained silent. Thinking about it this way, he was a little numb...

"Moreover, you are a small country with a population of less than two million. You have a powerful neighbor at home and it is difficult for you to protect yourself. You should not have any unreasonable expectations overseas! The current crisis in your country is entirely caused by this wrong national policy!"

"So you can only choose one between restoring your country and retaining the colonies. If you don't concentrate the power of the colonies, you will die if you return to Portugal. But in this way, the colonies will inevitably be left with empty military forces, and even if we don't take action, the Ottoman Empire will take the opportunity to swallow them up." Don Paul changed his tone and persuaded him.

"In fact, we can completely rely on our own strength to take those overseas colonies! And the price we pay is definitely much less than helping you to fight the Spaniards thousands of miles away! So for us, helping you is far less cost-effective than taking advantage of the situation. It's just that we have a grudge against the Spaniards, so you took advantage of this."

Ma Yinglong then said in a cold voice: "If you still act like a good boy after getting an advantage, it will be a humiliation to us. You don't need to mention it, we will take the initiative to withdraw from the negotiations!"

"This is originally a war between us and the Spanish. There is no Portugal in this world anymore." Don Paul sighed and said, "If your Majesty can't figure it out, just watch us fight all the way west to Spain. But I advise you to be smart, because the people who are about to be wiped out by us are the Portuguese who should have gone back with you to restore their country."

"You have already brought great sacrifices to your country. Do you really want to bury the precious population in your own quarrel?" He put away his folder and ended the meeting today. "Let's talk about this for today. Your Majesty, please think about it carefully."

After saying that, he and Ma Yinglong left with the members of the negotiation team.

In the huge conference room, only Sebastian and Pinto were left.

The two looked at each other sadly, and Xiao Sai felt pitiful, weak and helpless.

"Pinto, what do you say?"

"Your Majesty, we actually have no choice..." Pinto said bitterly, "You also saw it during the military parade that day. If the Ming people are determined to seize our colonies, they can do it. In fact, the colonies rely on the fleet to exist. They only need to find an opportunity to destroy our fleet. They don't even need to destroy it. They just need to seize control of the sea and block our sea transportation lines, and the colonies will collapse one after another."

"Then why are they pretending to talk to me?" Sebastian said unhappily.

"First, it can avoid unnecessary sacrifices. Although we have fewer people, we have been operating fortresses for a long time. They will have to pay a high price to take them down one by one. And we can't afford to waste time. Spain may send a large army to take over our colonies at any time. If Spain occupies strategic points first, such as the Cape of Good Hope or even Ceylon, they will have no chance to swallow up our colonies." Pinto analyzed:

"Finally, and most importantly, Spain is the biggest enemy in Mr. Zhao's eyes. That's why he is unwilling to waste his strength on us and hopes to fight the Spaniards together with us."

"How can they be so cruel to their allies?" Sebastian said with great suffocation, "I think they want to eat us all together!"

"No, Europe is too far away for them." Pinto shook his head. "And what they said makes sense. We may really need to free up our hands from the colonies first and focus on defending our own country."

"..." Sebastian was silent again until the darkness completely enveloped him, then he asked faintly: "Has Lisbon really been occupied by the Spanish?"

"This kind of thing can't be false." Pinto said softly.

"Then my cousin will definitely move the capital from Madrid to Lisbon." Sebastian covered his face with his hands and seemed to be sobbing, "Will he live in my palace?"

"This..." Pinto didn't know how to answer.

~~

After three days of painful struggle, Sebastian asked Pinto to inform the other party that the negotiations would continue.

He agreed to the other party's conditions in principle, but still tried his best to obtain some favorable terms, both for the future of the country and for his own dignity.

After another round of arduous bargaining, the two sides finally reached a "Secret Agreement of Friendship and Mutual Assistance", the main contents of which are as follows:

First, from the date of signing the agreement, Portugal will permanently transfer the rights of the Asian region under its management, as well as all castles, docks, shipyards and all public property in the region to the Jiangnan Group in exchange for the group sending 20,000 elite soldiers and navy to join the Restoration Army as volunteers.

Second, when the Restoration Army successfully captured Lisbon, Portugal's rights in Africa, as well as all castles, docks, shipyards and all public property in the area, would be permanently transferred to the Jiangnan Group. However, the Portuguese enjoyed the right to navigate, trade and settle in Africa without discrimination.

Third, if the group can seize Guiana for Portugal, then Portugal's rights in Brazil, as well as all castles, docks, docks and all public property in the area, will be permanently transferred to the Jiangnan Group. However, the Portuguese will enjoy the right to navigate, trade and settle in Brazil without discrimination.

Fourthly, the Azores, Cape Verde Islands, Ceuta and Tangier still belong to Portugal, but the group enjoys non-discriminatory rights of navigation, trade and settlement throughout Portugal.

Fifth, the two sides signed a permanent offensive and defensive alliance, and any attack on Portugal would be regarded as an attack on the Jiangnan Group, and the Group would take all necessary measures, including the use of armed forces, to provide immediate assistance. And vice versa.