The English communication between Zhao Han and Peter Mundy was very difficult!
I kept guessing throughout the whole process, occasionally writing words with a pen. If it didn't work, I asked two translators to take action.
The first translator first used Portuguese to communicate with Peter Mundy, and then told the other two translators in Cantonese. The second translator then converted Cantonese into Ming Dynasty Mandarin, so that Zhao Han could truly understand it.
"In other words, the Dutch navy is now the most powerful?" Zhao Han asked.
Peter Mundy replied: "Spain is not weak either, and both sides are evenly matched. But Spain is on the defensive, and the Netherlands is looking for opportunities to attack everywhere. This is also true in Asia. Last year, the Dutch fleet blocked Malacca for several months, and the Spanish fleet has been able to avoid fighting.
Dare to show up."
"How did the Dutch navy rise?" Zhao Han asked.
Peter Mundy said: "The Dutch's navigation technology is already advanced, and they have been building warships since they began to fight for independence. Seven years ago, the Dutch fleet attacked Antwerp at night, annihilating the Spanish fleet in the port, and also captured a large number of ships.
Spanish battleship. The forces of both sides reversed. The Netherlands turned from defense to offense, and Spain turned from offense to defense."
"The Netherlands is not a big country, right?" Zhao Han said.
Peter Mundy laughed: "Of course, it's very small, but they have money. Spain is so poor now that they can't even pay the crew's wages."
Legally speaking, the Netherlands at this time was still a subordinate province of Spain, and the supreme ruler was the Governor of the Netherlands appointed by the King of Spain.
Any religious conflicts are just superficial excuses. The Dutch are fighting for independence because Spanish exploitation is too heavy, and their nature is a bourgeois revolution accompanied by a war of national independence.
As for the key node, the Spanish royal family went bankrupt, Dutch financiers suffered heavy losses, and the financiers completely turned to the independent faction.
Peter Mundy added: "Portugal is also fighting for independence and has secretly cooperated with the Dutch for a long time. Without Portugal's port in India, the Dutch would have no way of disrupting the situation in China. But last year, the Netherlands' blockade of Malacca completely destroyed Portugal.
People were outraged. Various colonial ports in India refused to allow Dutch ships to dock for supplies. In desperation, the Netherlands had no choice but to lift the blockade."
It can be understood that Spain is the parent, while Portugal and the Netherlands are the younger brothers.
Two little brothers are clamoring to separate.
The Netherlands beat up Spain, and they beat you back and forth.
Portugal did not dare to join. While secretly passing sticks to Holland to help, he stood aside and muttered that I also wanted to separate.
The Portuguese in Macau are the sons of a common family. While they were dissatisfied with the fact that everyone grew up Spanish, they also started fighting with their Dutch brothers because the Dutch wanted to come to Macau to grab lollipops.
Neither Zhao Han nor Peter Mundy knew that after a naval battle next year, the Netherlands would officially become the world's number one maritime power.
Only at sea!
From Africa to Asia, there are Portuguese colonial ports all along the way. The Netherlands showed off its power at sea, but when it came ashore, it was like sleepwalking. It could only cower in southern Taiwan and bully the indigenous people.
The Netherlands once tried to seize Macau. Thousands of soldiers landed to fight and were ambushed by dozens of Portuguese. They were so frightened that the entire army collapsed on the spot.
If fighting in the open on land, two hundred Datong soldiers should be able to defeat three to four thousand Dutchmen head-on.
Listening to Peter Mundy's talk about the situation in Europe, Zhao Han felt that his opportunity had come, or that it was a good time to go overseas in the future.
Spain is declining day by day, Portugal has long since stood up, and Britain has not yet risen on the sea.
The Netherlands is about to flourish, but its territory is too small. The population is scarce and the army is weak. It can only do business honestly and do not want to occupy too many colonies.
As a commodity production center, China has beaten these countries into dogs and driven them all out of Southeast Asia. They will also engage in trade. Because tea, silk, and porcelain can only be purchased in China, and they are all scarce in Europe.
commodity.
But all this must be led by oneself.
Before developing a strong navy, the Europeans cannot be driven away. Macau will be Zhao Han's window to the outside world.
Of course, the Netherlands must be attacked. Who makes it the number one maritime power?
Peter Mundy returned to the house and continued to write his travel diary: "Zhao talked about the situation in Europe today, and he was very interested in it. This is a king with a far-sighted vision. Yes, king, please allow me to use this word,
He may become the emperor of China in the future. God, how incredible it is that I actually became friends with the great emperor of China..."
"There is no doubt that Zhao will definitely develop the navy. From his eyes, I can see that he will definitely go to war with Spain and the Netherlands in the future. For Britain and all European countries, this is a big deal
Good thing. Once China defeats Spain, Portugal, and the Netherlands, many countries will be able to trade directly with China..."
"May God bless Zhao and bless him to defeat the evil Spain and the Netherlands, and Britain will gain huge benefits from it."
…
After waiting for three days, Zhao Han finally summoned the Macau delegation.
"It's a great honor to meet you, great general." Paulo smiled and saluted.
Zhao Han cupped his hands and said, "Nice to meet you."
Fang Shengchang, the prefect of Guangzhou, Guo Shunyu, the admiral of the Municipal Shipping Department, Deng Yunzhan, the director of the Municipal Shipping Department, and Wan Bangyan, the commander of the Guangdong Navy, all attended to observe the negotiation process.
Members of both parties knew each other, and the negotiation soon got down to business.
Desino, a member of the Macau Council, said in Ming Dynasty Mandarin: "General Zhao, the Governor of Macau, and the Macau Assembly are willing to recognize the general's right to rule Guangdong. The premise is that Macau maintains the status quo and Guangzhou immediately resumes food supply."
"Of course not," Zhao Han said with a smile, "I want to take back Macau, especially the bunkers and forts you built."
After Desino translated and relayed the story, Macau Guard Commander Julio immediately stood up: "This is impossible, the Ming Emperor has already leased Macau to us!"
Zhao Han looked puzzled and asked: "You don't know that I am a rebel? What does it have to do with me that the Emperor of Ming Dynasty rented Macau?"
Yes, Ming Dynasty’s lease of Macau has nothing to do with rebels!
Julio was speechless immediately, and then said with a red neck: "War, your Excellency will definitely cause war!"
Zhao Han said with a smile: "I have inquired clearly. Not counting the naval crew, the land garrison in Macau only has 300 people. I am too lazy to send troops to attack. I will wait for you for a few months."
Naval Commander Sarmento said: "By doing this, you are forcing the Macau Navy to rob the coast. We only want to do trade and do not want to be pirates. Please think carefully."
"Zheng Zhilong is a guest in my house. If you want to be a pirate, you can chat with him and maybe you can learn some experience." Zhao Han said in a kind tone.
Upon hearing Zheng Zhilong's name, all these people's expressions changed drastically.
The Portuguese in Macau also had to pay protection fees to Zheng Zhilong. Moreover, something big happened this year. Japan closed the country.
The "Macau-Japan" trade route is one of the main business routes for the Portuguese in Macau. In the future, if you want to obtain goods, you must go to Fujian or Ryukyu, or simply purchase goods from Guangzhou to Malacca.
Guangzhou is China's largest entrepot trade center.
A large number of goods from Zhejiang, Fujian, Japan, and Ryukyu were first shipped to Guangzhou for sale. Zhao Han controlled this place and, regardless of food, also blocked the Portuguese from business.
The Governor of Macau, Paulo Paulo, still had an aristocratic smile: "Please ask the general to offer a reasonable price, otherwise this negotiation will be difficult to proceed."
"See for yourself." Zhao Han handed out a contract.
Paul Shi took it and read it carefully, his face was very ugly.
Article 1: Zhao Han has sovereignty over Macau. Portugal and Macau must hand over the fort and disband the guard!
Article 2 allows Portugal and Macao to retain parliament, but can only manage Portuguese and Spanish settlements.
Article 3 allows Portugal and Macao to retain the Grand Court, but it can only try Portuguese and Spanish people. Any cases involving Chinese people must be transferred to Xiangshan County for processing.
Article 4 allows Portugal and Macao to retain churches, but they can only preach inside the church and not outside the church.
Article 5: Foreigners who have settled in Macao for a long time must apply for household registration in Xiangshan County. With a household registration card, they can leave the settlement and are allowed to travel outside Macao.
Article 6: Set aside a piece of land to build a Macao primary school, and choose to build a Macao middle school in the future. Children under the age of twelve in Macao must enter school and do not enjoy the preferential treatment of free study.
Article 7: If foreigners who have settled in Macao for a long time can speak Chinese and write Chinese characters, they can apply for formal household registration and become naturalized Chinese. However, they must give up Catholic, Protestant and other Western religious beliefs.
Article 8: A Taoist temple and a Buddhist temple will be built on the edge of the foreign settlement area in Macao, and land will be allocated to monks and Taoists for farming. Foreigners who are willing to convert to Buddhism or Taoism can go and listen to monks and Taoists preaching.
Article 9 allows the Portuguese and Spanish to trade directly in Guangzhou.
If these nine articles were signed, what kind of governor would Paul be?
Julio's face was even more livid. He was the commander-in-chief of the Macau Guard, but Zhao Han wanted to forcibly disband the guard.
The rules of Guangzhou Port are very strange. Merchants from all over the world can trade directly in Guangzhou, except Europeans and Japanese.
If Europeans want to do business, they must smuggle goods from Guangzhou to Macau through fishermen.
This is the latest policy in the late Ming Dynasty.
Now that Zhao Han continues to open up, Portuguese and Spanish businessmen can also go directly to Guangzhou to buy things. What does this mean?
This means that half of Macau Port has been abolished, which means that the Netherlands and the United Kingdom can bypass Macau and go directly to Guangzhou!
"No bargaining is allowed. You only have two choices. Sign or not sign! Don't worry, even if you don't sign, I will let you go. After you go back, prepare your troops for war." Zhao Han left after saying this and ended the negotiation directly.
Everyone looked at each other.
Paul Shi said: "Who dares to sign?"
No one answered.
After a long while, Desino said: "If we don't sign, Ma Port will be gone. There is Zheng Zhilong on the sea, and we can't fight on land. The bunker is useless. Without food for a month, the defenders will all starve to death."