Chapter 335

"Land, vast land! Do not think the Great Ming's territory seems large; compared to the entire world, it is very small!"

"Ah? Really?!"

Su Qiao took a sip of tea, tilted his head, and continued, "Of course! Vast land represents resources: gold, silver, copper, iron, tin, spices, precious gems, mineral deposits, and so on. These are all things the Great Ming needs. The Great Ming's current territory is not much, nor is it the center of the world, but if the Great Ming controlled half the world's land, could it not then be the center?"

Liu Ru was stunned by the picture Su Qiao had painted.

Her cherry-red mouth opened into an "O" shape, and her heart was also filled with curiosity and expectation about setting sail.

Her gaze toward Su Qiao also became strange.

Su Qiao did not notice this.

At this moment, Tang Ruowang behind them was arguing passionately with his colleagues.

Tang Ruowang's group totaled eight people; two were currently not in the capital, so including Tang Ruowang, there were only six people.

Although there were six people, their opinions were not unified; they even started arguing.

"Extortion! This is extortion! I refuse to hand over the nautical charts or the shipbuilding technicians to them!"

John's face turned ashen; he stood in place, his hands swinging wildly with his emotions.

Tang Ruowang shook his head. "If we do not hand them over, do you think we can still stay in the Great Ming? The Great Ming's Emperor has changed; he is not as easily fooled as his older brother was. When that Su Qiao came today, I knew that if we did not agree, we might all die."

"Die then, die! Since we dared to board ships and risk crossing the great ocean to come here, we are not afraid to return to the Lord's embrace!"

"Of course, none of us are afraid, but what is our purpose in coming here? It is to spread the Lord's gospel, to preach. If we die, who will preach?"

Tang Ruowang's words made everyone fall silent.

Even Father John, who had been relatively emotional just now, fell silent.

"But if we hand them over, relying on the Great Ming's wealth and power, they will easily build ocean-going ships. Then it will not be us coming to them, but them going to our Europe."

Just at this moment, another Father, Joey, who had little presence, voiced the very point they feared most in their hearts.

Why Father John disagreed and opposed it so fiercely.

Was precisely because he feared this point!

"We have no choice!"

Tang Ruowang delivered the final verdict.

Everyone: "..."

"Could we only hand over one thing?"

"Yes, after all, this is negotiation; we can test both sides' bottom lines."

"Good!"

After discussing for nearly an hour, the six people finally reached a result.

Tang Ruowang's originally solemn face now relaxed considerably.

After all, once the decision was made, the rest was much easier to handle.

He walked lightly to the front hall; Su Qiao had already drunk a whole teapot of tea.

If it were not for having Liu Ru beside him to chat with.

Su Qiao would have turned and left!

These foreign devils are actually just a pack of insatiable wolf cubs...

Currently, the Great Ming's national strength is flourishing, so they dare not bare their teeth.

Wait until the Great Ming collapses; later, will they not dare to strike at the Central Plains?

Su Qiao had no good feelings toward this group.

Except for their technology!

"Apologies, apologies, Mr. Su. My companions and I had some disagreements; convincing them took me quite some time."

As soon as he entered, Tang Ruowang hurriedly apologized to Su Qiao.

Su Qiao shook his head and said, "Father Tang, I hope my patient waiting is acceptable; after all, Your Majesty needs a good result."

Pulling the tiger's skin to drag the banner!

Su Qiao's words stopped just short, giving Tang Ruowang enough pressure.

Tang Ruowang was a priest after all, not a merchant, even though he had mixed in the Great Ming for quite a few years.

Yet sweat still beaded on the tip of his nose.

"Of course, of course, Mr. Su. As for the nautical charts, we can hand them over, but as for the shipbuilding technicians, we have no way to manage that. The Great Ming needs to build ocean-going ships; that cannot be solved by just a few people. How about this? I will write a letter and have someone take it back. When they come again, they will bring them for you. How does that sound?"

The delaying tactic?

Su Qiao saw right through Tang Ruowang and the others' little schemes.

How far is it from the Great Ming to Europe? It takes at least several years to get a result.

While Father Tang and the others were deliberating, no technicians would come out in the following years, but the Great Ming could not simply go to Europe, could it?

The sky is high and the Emperor is far; with such a great distance, as long as they drag it out, they are 0.3 safe.

But they underestimated Su Qiao.

"Fine, you can send a letter to Europe, but I am accustomed to preparing two contingencies. You came by sea; the winds and waves on the ocean are unpredictable. You must be carrying sailors with ship-repair skills. Lend these personnel to us; we can hire them to train our craftsmen."

Su Qiao said with a smile.

Hearing this, Tang Ruowang's expression changed; he did not expect Su Qiao to bring up this point.

Are there such sailors?

There certainly are!

Furthermore, the purpose of European sailors is simply to make money.

Otherwise, they wouldn't be making a living on the dangerous seas.

As long as the money is right, they have absolutely no passion or loyalty.

Isn't it better to earn money comfortably than to live in constant fear on the seas every day?

191, World Map and Globe!

"Alright, I agree!"

Tang Ruowang's idea of delaying was basically bankrupt.

He had no choice but to agree.

They, these priests, could not control those sailors.

"Thank you, Father Tang, for your generosity."

Su Qiao said with a chuckle.

Tang Ruowang took out the nautical chart Su Qiao needed and handed it to him.

Su Qiao opened it for a glance; it was in English. Fortunately, not German. Hmm, he recognized most of it, only a small portion was unfamiliar.

But even with incomplete recognition, Su Qiao could roughly determine that this nautical chart was genuine.

Tang Ruowang was not trying to fool them with a fake.

In fact, it was the pressure Su Qiao had brought upon them through their brief previous exchanges.

Su Qiao could speak some English and knew their customs very well.

They felt that Su Qiao had even been to Europe and lived there for many years.

Or he knew other Europeans; otherwise, he wouldn't understand so much about them.

Therefore, they dared not use fakes to fool Su Qiao.

If Su Qiao discovered it, they would be finished!

Seeing the genuine nautical chart, the smile on Su Qiao's face became even brighter.

He declined the invitation to stay and have a meal with Tang Ruowang.

Su Qiao took Liu Rushi and the maid Qing'er directly home.

Su Qiao went straight to the study.

"Someone come!"

Su Qiao sat down in the study while Liu Rushi and Qing'er went to change clothes.

The steward walked in respectfully to await instructions.

"Master!"

"Find a carpenter and have him make a large wooden board. Also, go check if there is any stiff paper available and purchase a sheet!"