Chapter 1386: Learning from the Bandits of the West

After the rescue of Great Ming, main text, Chapter 1376 — Great Ming Has a Filial Son, Portugal Has a Good Younger Brother. Now it was the turn of Luo Dongni and Luo Afang of the Australia-New Zealand Company to go upstairs and meet the Ming Emperor. Both of them held Ming noble titles, were subjects of Zhu Cilang, and were of course old acquaintances of his. Luo Dongni had even served as a foreign officer in the Hard-Working New Army, while Luo Afang had been a supplier to the Ming army for more than twenty years; his arsenal and shipyard in Shanghai were still providing weapons and equipment to Great Ming to this day.

After they had performed the bowing ceremony, Zhu Cilang granted the two men seats and had the serving matron palace maids pour wine for them. Everyone drank as they talked, and the atmosphere was quite harmonious.

Emperor Zhu did not discuss the Australia-New Zealand Company's business of exploring the southern continent with the two Portuguese-descended nobles — there was nothing to discuss there, because Zhu Cilang himself was a major shareholder of the Australia-New Zealand Company, and his dealings with the company were related-party transactions. But the Son of Heaven of Great Ming did have a very pressing matter to discuss with Luo Dongni and Luo Afang.

"I hear that Afonso of Portugal has a good younger brother who is very concerned about his sister-in-law?" Zhu Cilang inquired about the domestic affairs of the Portuguese royal house.

In 1667, something very melodramatic had happened in Portugal. The newlywed wife of King Afonso VI of Portugal — who was also a distant niece of Louis XIV, a French girl named Maria Francisca de Saboia — suddenly left the royal palace, took refuge in a convent, and demanded that the Archbishop of Lisbon annul her marriage to the king, on the grounds that the king had a physical defect... At first glance this looked like a royal scandal, not very pleasant to hear, but not a particularly big deal either — there were plenty of European kings who could not produce a son!

But what happened next was astonishing.

Because the nobles of the Kingdom of Portugal all felt that Queen Saboia was a good queen, and moreover the niece of the Sun King Louis, she could not be replaced.

Since the queen could not be replaced, then the only option was to replace the king!

So the Portuguese nobles placed their king under house arrest, forced him to give up power, and then had the king's good younger brother Pedro step forward, marry Queen Saboia, and become Prince Regent of Portugal... while King Afonso was confined on the Azores in the Atlantic.

With such a brave and responsible good brother, King Afonso should be able to die with his eyes wide open!

"Your Majesty," Luo Dongni did not understand what Zhu Cilang was after, so he asked with a slight frown, "you are not thinking of interfering in the succession to the Portuguese throne, are you?"

Luo Afang added, "Your Majesty, although this affair is steeped in the air of a palace coup, the Portuguese nobility and the Catholic Church have both supported Prince Pedro... and Prince Pedro has also obtained the support of King Louis of France."

Zhu Cilang smiled and said, "We do not intend to interfere in the Portuguese succession, only to help Afonso leave Portugal and go to India for medical treatment... We have heard that there is a kind of divine oil in India that might cure his illness. Moreover, Indian yoga would also be good for Afonso's health. Perhaps after a few years in India, he will be able to become a father."

Indian medicine is very advanced! If King Afonso goes to Goa, he is guaranteed to become a father...

"Go to India..." Luo Dongni began to understand. "Your Majesty, do you want King Afonso to go into exile in Goa?"

Luo Afang was also startled. "Your Majesty, do you want Goa to break away from the jurisdiction of the Kingdom of Portugal?"

Zhu Cilang put on a surprised expression. "How can you say that Goa would break away from the jurisdiction of the Kingdom of Portugal? The King of Portugal is still Afonso, is he not? If the king personally administers Goa, does that not strengthen the Kingdom of Portugal's presence in Goa?"

Indeed, Afonso is still the king! That good younger brother Pedro is not very thorough in his work — could he not have arranged for his elder brother to die of poison? Has he never heard of the Incident at the Gate of Seizing the Throne?

"Antonio," Zhu Cilang asked with a smile, "you once served as the head of the Portuguese troops in Macau. Do you think this matter could succeed?"

Of course it could succeed! How many Portuguese soldiers could there be on the Azores? It was not wartime now, and the penniless Prince Pedro — how many standing troops could he have at hand? And how many of them could have been sent to the Azores?

But one could not say there was no risk at all.

"The possibility of success certainly exists..." Luo Dongni said with a frown, "but the possibility of failure is not small either. Once the rescue operation fails, the Kingdom of Portugal will turn completely toward France!"

Although the queen beloved by the Portuguese nobility was a distant niece of Louis XIV, the Kingdom of Portugal, because of its long war with the Spanish and the opportunism of England and Holland, had already fallen from its golden age into the mire, and naturally did not wish to provoke the great Ming Empire in the East for the sake of King Louis.

But if Great Ming meddled in the domestic affairs of the Portuguese royal house, then Prince Pedro might well throw himself entirely into the arms of the Sun King of France.

"Your Majesty," Luo Afang said, "although the era of Golden Goa has passed, and the number of pure Portuguese settled in Goa is steadily declining, because of the evil practices of the female slave trade and concubinage, Goa has a very large mixed-blood population, as well as a great number of Indian natives who have converted to Christianity and many Hindus and Muslims under the rule of the Portuguese Governor-General's office in India. The total population may be as high as 250,000... If they all went over to France, it would greatly strengthen France's power in India."

The Portuguese had occupied Goa in 1510, one hundred and fifty-nine years ago. In the so-called Golden Goa era, the Kingdom of Portugal had colonized Goa on a large scale. Although for various reasons the number of pure Portuguese now living in Goa was less than a fraction of what it had been in the golden age, because the overwhelming majority of Portuguese who arrived in Goa were male and were keen on keeping all sorts of responsible female slaves, these "vanished" Portuguese men had all left behind large numbers of mixed-blood descendants. In addition, the Portuguese-Indian authorities had constantly pushed the spread of Christianity in Goa, causing large numbers of locals to convert.

So now the weakly guarded Portuguese India held a large Christian population! If they fell into French hands, the Sun King Louis would be able to organize a huge army in India.

"Then do not fail! Plan it carefully, and do not skimp where money needs to be spent..." Zhu Cilang looked at Luo Dongni and Luo Afang, his tone already turning somewhat grim. "Which of you is willing to make a trip to Portugal?"

"I will go!" Luo Dongni drew a breath. "After all, I am a Portuguese noble, and I once swore allegiance to King Afonso."

Luo Dongni was a transnational noble — a count of Great Ming and a knight of Portugal.

Zhu Cilang then looked at Luo Afang, who said, "My shipyard has a fast ship of the line that has just finished fitting out... The Portuguese navy does not have a single ship of the line in active service that could engage it!"

The Kingdom of Portugal was now so impoverished that it certainly could not update its warships, so they had only some decrepit galleons, and few cannon capable of firing explosive shells.

Luo Dongni said, "I can also hire a few pirate ships... There are many Portuguese pirates in the Indian Ocean, and Portuguese pirates in the Caribbean as well. As long as the money is enough, there will always be men willing to risk their lives.

Besides, mercenaries can be hired in Goa. There are many mercenary captains there; if the price is high enough, they will be willing to play the hero who rescues the king."

In this era, although the Portuguese mother country was in dire straits, there were plenty of second- and third-generation Portuguese wandering overseas — pirates, mercenaries, craftsmen, merchants, all sorts. And with few restraints on them, they were all men who sold their lives for money, and among them there was no shortage of desperadoes.

Zhu Cilang waved his hand and smiled. "As for money, just speak with Mary... How to hire desperadoes, you decide as you see fit."

"But there is still one problem!" Luo Dongni said. "If I am to hire enough men, it would be best to go to Goa... Although there are still some people of Portuguese descent within Great Ming's borders, they are all living quite well, and it would be hard to find enough desperadoes there."

"Good!" Zhu Cilang nodded. "We will arrange for you to go to Goa. There is a good opportunity right now."