Chapter 517: I Can Also Negotiate, I Can Also Love the Great Ming

In the third month of the tenth year of the Wanli reign, the Great Ming's ocean-going merchant fleet, organized by five major overseas trading firms, consisted of twelve five-masted ocean-crossing ships.

The captain of the fleet was Liu Ji, who had served as the deputy official for the special envoy to the West, Xu Jiugao, on the previous mission.

The entire fleet carried two million bolts of broadcloth and three million bolts of narrow cloth. In addition to cotton cloth, there were porcelain, tea, silk, silverware, lacquerware, iron pots, and more. The variety was vast, with a total value exceeding six million taels of silver.

While passing through the Viceroyalty of Mexico, Peru, and Brazil, they had already traded nearly three million taels of silver worth of goods for local specialties, finally arriving at the City of Freedom.

Iron pots sold for one tael of silver each; before reaching Freedom Cape, they were already sold out, with demand far outstripping supply.

Liu Ji was very puzzled. It was one thing for Great Ming iron pots to be popular in the Southern Ocean, as the Southern Ocean indeed lacked iron pot production, but for them to be just as popular in the New World and the new continent, even outselling silk and cotton cloth, was something Liu Ji could not fathom no matter how he thought about it.

One tael of silver for a pot—one tael of silver could buy a hundred catties of pork. At such an expensive price, they were still being snatched up.

Bringing too few was Liu Ji's deepest realization. Who knew this thing would be so popular?

Opening new shipping routes was more difficult than imagined. Endless storms, silent diseases, greedy and fierce pirates, insidious and cunning Western barbarians, and insatiable tax collectors—these difficulties were all expected. However, a new challenge appeared on the route: the viceroyalties along the way often had no intention of doing business properly, wanting only to rob openly.

Kill you, and your goods are mine.

This was the challenge encountered while sailing along the route, one the fleet could not have anticipated. Those viceroys collaborated with sea bandits, intending to rob the Great Ming fleet. The viceroys were responsible for providing the fleet's arrival and departure times at ports, while the pirates were responsible for the looting.

The previous circumnavigation route was mainly for exploration and did not carry many goods, so it did not attract widespread attention from pirates. But this time, the large quantity of goods finally drew the covetous eyes of the pirates. No matter where they went, they had to be on high alert; the slightest relaxation meant death without a burial place.

The biggest challenge was the Tierra del Fuego archipelago in the Strait of Magellan. The waterways there were complex and very narrow, and the hydrology and wind directions were changeable, making navigation very slow. The Strait of Magellan was a necessary passage for global trade. To pass through the Tierra del Fuego archipelago, there were only two ways: one was to pay money, to "pay respects" to every pirate they met and give some silver. Seeing the Great Ming ships were large and the crew numerous, the pirates would also take some benefits and stop there.

At first, Liu Ji used this method, but later, Liu Ji chose another way: fight their way through!

The four words "insatiable greed" were manifested to the extreme in the pirates. Liu Ji originally did not want to cause trouble; sea trade was profitable, and giving some silver to send them away was just a matter of paying a toll. But soon Liu Ji found that these pirates kept coming back, which was incredibly annoying, and their appetites were growing larger. The moment the pirates fired rockets at the Great Ming ships, the Great Ming ocean-going merchant fleet bared its fangs.

The five-masted ocean-crossing ships were designed from the beginning for the security of Great Ming's maritime borders. Even though some designs were changed for trade, the original design was that of a warship. This time, each ship had at least seventy-five large and small cannons, and the entire fleet's hermetically sealed gunpowder storage exceeded one hundred thousand catties.

After Liu Ji struggled through the Tierra del Fuego archipelago, when trading again, he began to no longer satisfy the insatiable tax collectors. Facing the rude demands of the tax collectors, Liu Ji chose to stuff eighteen-catty cannonballs into their mouths!

The Great Ming ocean-going merchant fleet, in just one sea trade, learned four words: "Trade with sword in hand!"

His Majesty had a sacred edict: "In an age of great contention, the strong are strong, and the weak perish!" At first, Liu Ji did not quite understand this sentence, always feeling that His Majesty was a bit too violent. As a monarch, violence was very dangerous for the state. But this ocean-going trade gave Liu Ji a very full understanding of His Majesty's words.

"Friendly nations" my foot! Philip II and Antonio, these two kings, had absolutely no control over the viceroyalties!

Strong ships and sharp cannons were the only rules of sea trade!

At first, Great Ming's understanding of the Western viceroyalty colonies was based on the Ryukyu Viceroyalty and the Luzon Viceroyalty. Whether in military, economic, political, or cultural terms, that was how they understood it. But after doing business for a few years, they realized that what viceroys—they were all just robbers.

"Special Envoy Xu, does Philip II's Invincible Armada just eat for free on weekdays? In front of the Strait of Gibraltar, I was surrounded by over a hundred pirate ships! If it weren't for my ships being large, fast, and heavily armed, I almost wouldn't have made it to Lisbon!" Liu Ji was full of complaints as soon as he jumped off the pier.

The Tagus River was quite calm in winter.

Lisbon Port was an ice-free port all year round. If the temperature dropped sharply, there would be thin ice, but most of the time the temperature was above zero.

The Great Ming fleet looked a bit battered, clearly having just experienced a major battle. There were various arrows and grappling hooks hanging on the ships, and wounded sailors were bandaged. Sailors were busy cleaning the decks, and the corpses of some pirates who had boarded the ships were transported to the pier, ready to be burned collectively. Meanwhile, gunners were cleaning the cannon barrels. The salty, fishy smell of the sea breeze, mixed with the smell of gunpowder smoke and blood, permeated the port.

"My friend, you are right! Ever since Philip II failed to take our Lisbon last time, the sailors of the Invincible Armada discovered that Philip II, this king, is nothing more than this. I suspect the pirates you encountered were not just pirates, but also ships of the Invincible Armada. Ordinary pirates would avoid such a massive fleet." Antonio reached out, gave Liu Ji a warm hug, and patted Liu Ji on the shoulder.

"Long time no see, my friend."

Antonio had met Liu Ji before. Last time, when Xu Jiugao served as the special envoy to the West, Liu Ji was already the deputy official. For Liu Ji, who could help Antonio make a fortune, Antonio naturally responded with the most sincere enthusiasm.

Liu Ji was struck as if by lightning. He pushed Antonio away violently and said, "Your Highness the King of Portugal! I, Liu Ji, am a desperate man, weathered by wind and sun, a rough fellow. Can you stay away from me? I am only interested in beautiful maidens, not in men!"

This was actually just a hug.

"It's just a cultural difference, the Special Envoy need not mind." Antonio didn't care either, smiling and saying, "I am also only interested in beautiful maidens. I have prepared a grand ceremony to welcome the arrival of the Great Ming ocean-going fleet."

The situation in Portugal was still in shambles. Antonio still had not received the support of the nobility and the church because Antonio was very poor. He also owed a large amount of war debt, and the reason Liu Ji chose Antonio instead of Philip II, and Lisbon instead of Seville, was also very simple.

Because he, Antonio, had to repay the original war loans.

The war loans, totaling over ten million taels of silver in principal and interest, plunged all of Portugal into confusion. Although Great Ming did not press for collection and even granted a thirty-year extension, the interest on the extension was even more despairing. This made everyone anxious and uneasy, and the arrival of the Great Ming ocean-going merchant ships immersed Portugal, both inside and out, in celebration!

Large ships needed monsoons and would not stay in the West for long; they needed a middleman. Great Ming chose Portugal, which meant that Lisbon would become the distribution center for Great Ming goods in the West. This was good news for everyone. Even the nobles who had previously ignored Antonio visited the palace one after another in the past few days and had friendly exchanges with Xu Fan in the China Hall.

Between Antonio and the Duchess, it was not love, nor was it family affection, but Antonio's choice for the sake of his throne.

"Nobles can also negotiate, can also love Portugal, and can also love Great Ming." Xu Fan said with a beaming smile after Liu Ji took his seat.

Liu Ji was stunned for a moment and asked, "Can Western nobles also love Great Ming?"

"If you don't love it, there's no money to be made; if you love it, there's big money to be made." Antonio smiled and said, "Everyone knows me. I have a heart of reverence, which has been recognized by the Great Ming Emperor. Although I am poor, every gift I bring to His Majesty makes him exceptionally satisfied. Seeds of corn, sweet potatoes, sugarcane, rubber, rosewood, and cotton—they really don't cost much, but His Majesty is truly happy."

"I don't love Great Ming because of silver! This is completely different from the nobles!"

Antonio eagerly stated his position of loving Great Ming. At that time, he was at the end of his rope; Portugal was about to fall into Philip's hands, and he, the heir, had been exiled overseas by the old king, the "Pure One," and could only make a living by sailing. He had no money, no people, no supporters, and no core followers; only a Sword Saint, Marcus, who believed like a fool that Antonio could save Portugal.

Loyalty is one of the knightly virtues of the Middle Ages, but with the Great Travel movement, this quality is becoming less and less common in the West.

Loyalty to the state, loyalty to one's own people, loyalty to the collective interests of one's country, and loyalty to one's own heart—I don't know when it started, but it slowly became a kind of shame.

Antonio became the King of Portugal as he wished. Even for the sake of Great Ming's support, he wore the imperial-bestowed five-chapter robe and became a king in an incongruous manner, appointing the Easterner Xu Fan as Minister of State. In these few years, Antonio had not been living well.

Now! The Great Ming ocean-going merchant fleet had arrived!

Lisbon would become the distribution center for Great Ming goods in the West!

The dawn piercing the common people rose from the East, shining on the masts of the sailing ships!

"Your Highness the King, Special Envoy Xu, Special Envoy Liu, Philip II's secretary, Solon, has arrived." After Chen Dazhuang whispered a few words to the coastal defense inspector, he said to everyone.

Liu Ji asked with some confusion, "Isn't Solon Philip's secretary? Why is he in Lisbon?"

"He is trying to turn me, using all kinds of means." Xu Fan looked at Chen Dazhuang and said with a smile, "He has been nagging me to work under Philip for three years. Philip II thinks that Antonio, who has lost his Minister of State, is vulnerable, and that Antonio, who cannot even handle trivial matters, will make Portugal yearn to join Spain."

"Then it's no surprise that Solon is here." Liu Ji nodded in approval, saying that Xu Fan was a very talented person, very much like his father, Xu Jie.

Xu Jie also had talent, but Xu Jie's talent was all used in internal strife and corruption.

Solon, wearing a round pointed hat and his signature large white beard, walked into the China Hall. He looked at Liu Ji and said with great regret, "It is a pity that the captain chose Lisbon instead of Seville. This is not a wise choice. Seville could have swallowed all the guests' goods, while Lisbon still needs to issue IOUs."

"Hmm, this is indeed unwise. Lisbon is not as good as Seville; this is obvious." Liu Ji nodded and said, "This is His Majesty's decision because Antonio is the King of Portugal enfeoffed by His Majesty, and Philip II is not. It's that simple."

Great Ming raising a dog doesn't mean letting it starve to skin and bones. After all, Antonio is a house dog.

"Thank you for His Majesty's trust. Although Lisbon has two bad points—this is bad, that is bad—but with goods from Great Ming, in a few years, it will be 'this is good, that is good'." Antonio said with gratitude, "You can distrust me. I was originally a monastery abbot, then a captain, then a pirate, and now a king, but you can trust my Minister of State."

Compared to Seville, the business environment in Lisbon is indeed very poor. Lisbon merchants cannot even pay enough for the goods to buy the large ships' merchandise and can only issue IOUs, becoming part of the debt.

Is this completely a manifestation of the Emperor's will? Not entirely.

This was the choice of the merchants and traders of the five major ocean-going firms. Great Ming needed a bridgehead in the West, a bridgehead to open the door to free trade for all countries, a bridgehead to let Great Ming goods flood in and let Westerners accept Great Ming goods. Choosing Lisbon was a joint decision by the firms before departure. Even animals understand the principle of whether to be full once or full every time.

And there was interest. There was no need to worry about Antonio not having the ability to repay. If Antonio really couldn't repay, they would report it to His Majesty and let His Majesty arm the collection. Admittedly, Portugal was far away, but the Goa Viceroyalty and the Diu Viceroyalty were within the Western Ocean; Great Ming could take it back from other places.

"Well, this is indeed the only advantage of His Highness Antonio. He has been enfeoffed by Great Ming." Solon's expression was gloomy. From now on, Spain would no longer monopolize the galleon trade with Great Ming, and Spain did not have a very good way to deal with it.

Liu Ji looked at Solon, his eyes becoming a bit colder, and asked calmly, "So, when our fleet passed through Gibraltar, was it Philip II's Invincible Armada that attacked us?"

The Strait of Gibraltar was the gateway to the Mediterranean, controlled by Philip. Being attacked by over a hundred ships while passing through was very abnormal. Now Liu Ji understood a bit: it wasn't pirates at all, but Spain's Invincible Armada wanting to rob Great Ming's merchant ships because Great Ming's merchant ships did not choose Seville!

As soon as Liu Ji said this, Xu Fan's face changed instantly. He looked at Solon fiercely, his gaze like a venomous snake.

Great Ming scholars had always been known for being insidious and ruthless. If it wasn't a conspiracy, they would guess three or four points of conspiracy, not to mention that this matter was so obvious. The sailing ships arrived at the port on schedule, and Lisbon was immersed in an ocean of joy. Before the New Year, being able to see Great Ming people again made Xu Fan very happy, and for a moment, he had been a bit negligent.

"Philip II made a very unwise choice. I will report truthfully to His Majesty. For this attack, Spain must pay a price." Xu Fan sat up straight and said, "Solon, Philip is the hegemon of the West. Great Ming and Spain are ten thousand miles apart. Even if Great Ming is powerful, it is far away in the East. How can we talk about price and punishment?"

"Simple, just increase taxes. A punitive tariff of 30%, and no longer enjoying the 6% port commission. It is indeed extremely far away, but it is not without ways."

Solon waved his hands repeatedly and said, "This is impossible! It was not an order from my King. Since the last naval battle, my King has been questioned. In Great Ming's words, it is 'raising bandits to maintain self-importance'."

Solon pondered how to explain this phenomenon and soon found four words to describe it, so that those present understood immediately.

After Philip II failed to attack Portugal, the Marquis of Santa Cruz, Álvaro, came to Lisbon to negotiate peace and leased a port. The failure of the war, coupled with Philip II purging a group of opposition, caused some noise within Spain, and the intuitive manifestation of these internal contradictions was the "raising bandits to maintain self-importance" in the Strait of Gibraltar.

Some Spanish naval generals began to "raise bandits to maintain self-importance." While using the excuse of clearing out pirates to demand gold, silver, and military expenses, they deliberately indulged the pirates. These pirates knew precisely what goods the ships carried and knew the ships' departure times.

"This is why the Queen of England issued privateering licenses. She tried to make privateering merchant ships and pirates an armed force to contain Spain's energy. In fact, she succeeded. These pirate ships are related to my Spanish naval generals and also related to the English royal family." To clarify the misunderstanding, Solon tore open the scar and told the Great Ming guests.

"So that's it." Liu Ji believed Solon's words. Everyone was an envoy and was ashamed to talk about their own country's shortcomings, just as Liu Ji would not tell Antonio or Philip that 80% of Great Ming was in extreme poverty, and 98% of farmers in the countryside were on the verge of bankruptcy. Great Ming was indeed very strong, but also very weak.

Liu Ji thought for a moment and said blankly, "How does this England look more and more like Japan?"

Like, it was really too like.

History is always a ruthless victory over the brainless. The maritime order that Philip II had always pursued was vulnerable in the face of ruthless privateering licenses. The entire Western ocean was collapsing toward the edge of disorder.

"Does Philip II have no solution?" Liu Ji looked at Solon and asked.

Solon said very eagerly, "Isn't the solution on the captain himself? To be precise, it is on the goods the captain brought with the fleet!"

"Originally, my King planned to send a massive navy to defeat England's naval power and then dump the goods into England. England has no silver. At first, the goods they exported were mainly wool. For the sake of wool, England carried out a cruel enclosure movement, forcibly confiscating farmers' land in an arrogant posture, creating a large number of displaced people."

"After England accumulated a certain amount of silver, they began to tighten wool exports and began to build workshops to export woolen cloth. The extremely cheap labor gave England a huge price advantage in the woolen cloth business, and more silver flooded into England."

"England's silver all comes from wool export trade. Only by shattering England's handicraft workshops can it be eliminated."

Solon did not hide anything and explained Philip II's plan clearly: use force to knock open England's door to free trade, use dumping of goods to destroy England's handicraft industry, and finally curb England's rise.

At the dining table of sea trade, there were four players: Portugal, Spain, England, and Great Ming. Being able to independently complete a global voyage was the sign of being at the table, completed by Ferdinand Magellan, Francis Drake, and Xu Jiugao respectively. Areas that could not be at the table were all dishes on the menu.

Magellan was Portuguese and worked for Spain, so the global navigation completed by Magellan was the joint achievement of the two Iberian countries' navigation technology and experience.

Francis Drake was England's hero. To Spain, he was a notorious pirate.

Sea trade, sea trade—how can there be sea trade without goods? And England's commodity advantage was cheap woolen cloth. Only by completely crushing England's handicraft industry could England be kicked off the table and become a dish on the menu.

"It's not impossible. Philip II opens England's national gate, and we Portuguese merchants sell goods behind him. Isn't Philip II's goal achieved? Don't you think so, my Minister of State." Antonio looked at Xu Fan, the meaning was very clear: Fool them! Fool them quickly!

Fool Solon, fool Philip II, fool Spain, and take the opportunity to make money.

"Yes, Your Highness the King is very right. This can be negotiated." Xu Fan said with a smile, "I can also love Spain."

Solon said in a rage, "But am I a fool? We in Spain are charging and fighting in the front, and you Portuguese are taking the biggest benefits in the back. If I return to Spain with such an agreement, my King will tie a thousand-catty boulder to me and throw me into the Mediterranean!"

Solon was even clearer about Xu Fan's shamelessness. As long as it didn't involve Great Ming, Xu Fan had no sense of honor or disgrace because it was all fake.

Love Spain? Love a ghost!

Xu Fan said steadily, "Philip II doesn't have to fight England. He can choose to admit defeat. Why not continue to seek marriage with the Queen of England? Although she has sworn to remain unmarried for life to serve God, continuing to seek marriage is not impossible. Marriage for territory expansion is not shameful. Hand over the governance of the Netherlands to England and marry the Queen."

"Hand over the Netherlands region to the Queen, and the Queen will definitely be moved."

Xu Fan's words were actually mocking Spain's marriage for territory expansion, which was completely inconsistent with his status as a hegemon. Previously, Philip II had indeed sought marriage with the English Queen, but it failed.

"This is impossible!" Solon said loudly.

Antonio immediately said, "Did the Queen disagree?"

"It's not like that. How could the Netherlands region be ceded to England? Pirates must be eliminated after all!" Solon's mouth twitched. Xu Fan and Antonio singing in harmony was really infuriating.

Solon argued forcefully, "This is not a problem of marriage! The Netherlands region not being contiguous with the mainland is the key to the problem. Territory expansion will definitely cause problems. Don't blame it on marriage."

"Because marriage is a means of appeasement, it cannot liquidate the original meat-eaters, and it has interest demands on newly opened territories, so civil unrest will definitely break out because there is one more knife cutting the commoners." Xu Fan briefly explained the dilemma of marriage for territory expansion.

Marriage represents the recognition of existing vested interests. Without liquidating the old meat-eaters, the new meat-eaters have more interest demands, and the current situation in the Netherlands will definitely appear.

This is predictable. It is necessary to liquidate the existing vested interests and complete the replacement in terms of class to complete the true opening. This is written clearly and plainly in the second volume of Class Theory.

Meat-eaters need to be completely replaced; otherwise, if there is one more meat-eater, the producers will not be able to supply. The second volume of Class Theory discusses distribution.

Xu Fan didn't say that much, nor did he explain it so clearly. Solon didn't read Class Theory, so they couldn't talk about it together.

Actually, Xu Fan misunderstood. Solon really read On Contradictions, On Public and Private, On Production, Class Theory, and On Freedom. These were all Latin translations done by Legazpi. Solon brought back these translated books, but the national conditions were different and could not be copied mechanically.

Liu Ji stopped talking. He had now become a person who enjoyed the fun and watched the excitement.

Anyway, he was here to do business. No matter how this interest was divided, Great Ming's share would not be less.

This was the confidence given to Liu Ji by commodity advantage and military advantage. Commodity advantage needs military force to protect it. Just like trading with a sword in hand, without powerful military force, trading is meat on the chopping block, and commodity advantage cannot be talked about.

Liu Ji watched the excitement, Xu Fan and Antonio fooled Solon, and Solon argued with a red face.

There were four diners at the dining table. Three diners got together to discuss how to deal with the last diner, and the last diner was the kind of person who had no morality at all.

Finally, the distribution of interests was determined. Spain had to provide labor and effort to knock open England's door for free trade, while Portuguese merchant ships had to pass through Porto Port and pay taxes to Philip II. Porto Port was the port leased by Spain for use in military operations against the Netherlands and England.

The two sides engaged in a war of words over the taxes of Porto Port.

Because of the situation, Spain could only swallow this bitter pill because Spain had to solve the problems of the Netherlands rebellion and English pirates. Philip II's status as the hegemon of the West had been seriously challenged.

Portuguese merchant ships did not have to pass through Porto Port and could sail directly to the Thames for trade.

Antonio prepared a huge ceremony to show his welcome, along with many beauties. The sailors of the Great Ming merchant ships fell into a carnival, but the escorting naval soldiers remained unmoved.

"Legazpi always says that Great Ming soldiers are Paladins, are Templars. It really is like this. Great Ming is ten thousand miles away, yet still so orderly in military appearance. It is truly moving." Solon looked at the soldiers at the port who were still on alert and not participating in the carnival, and said sincerely.

Solon used to think Legazpi was bragging. Where were there any Paladins? Where were there any Templars? Those were all legends of legendary stories. But today Solon saw it.

This kind of soldier who completely met the definition of a Puritan, and still maintained such a massive scale, was simply incredible.

Puritans are English Calvinism, emphasizing that all believers are equal before God, advocating that everyone can communicate with God and get inspiration from God, opposing the church's monopoly on divine oracles, and using God's name to scrape wealth, etc.

For Great Ming people, this is not hard to understand: replace God with the Great Ming Emperor, and replace believers with Great Ming people.

"Great Ming soldiers are just living people. They come from the common people, so they must protect the common people." Liu Ji also said with empathy.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 518 =====