Chapter 406 Give Taixi a little shock of the Ming Dynasty
Now, as long as Xu Fan nods, he can become the king of Portugal, what he expects will come true, and he can get a serious status, so that My children can return to Ming Dynasty openly.
The parchment brought by Sauron is written in Felipe's handwriting. This is a promise.
Felipe met Xu Fan and impressed him deeply. As long as his envoy Solon can complete the negotiations, Felipe II does not intend to break the agreement and will really ask the pope to canonize, and all dioceses will receive this appointment.
The King of Portugal is close at hand.
It seems beautiful, but it is not.
"The king your monarch rewards is not a king." Xu Fan still chose to refuse. Although it was within easy reach, Xu Fan knew that once he agreed, he would only get further and further away from his goal.
Xu Fan is a Ming Dynasty man from the East. He has no foundation in Thailand and the West. Even if he is canonized, it is just an empty show. The Portuguese nobles have made money because of the emerging assets of the sea. Classes and even civilians will regard him as Xu Fan as an enemy, because he is Felipe's tool to achieve cruel rule.
After Antonio was dealt with and the Portuguese could no longer stand the cruelty, Felipe II could use Xu Fan's head to quell public anger.
No one will listen to Xu Fan, he just has a name. This road looks like flowers, but in fact it is full of thorns.
"Sure enough, a wise man is a very knowledgeable person. We in Thailand have a proverb: It is better to believe that my wife loves me than to believe in the king's promise. Guests from the East may have difficulty understanding this sentence. After all, in Thailand, love is just a beautiful thing. Legend." Sauron was very helpless. It was not easy to deal with smart people.
Sauron thought for a while and said: "Wise man, these two pieces of parchment are just a good beginning, aren't they? With your wisdom, during this period of serving the king, you can completely obtain people's surrender. With wealth and power, as wise as you, there is no need to worry about the future. "
It is an extremely low-level provocation method, but it is very useful for smart people. Smart people are often very conceited and cannot tolerate others questioning their decisions.
Xu Fan shook his head again and said: "You are right, but I have never underestimated anyone. Foolish people can make the right decision after repeated thinking. I always firmly believe that when everything comes from For him, then I have to dedicate everything to him.”
“Thank you for your kind invitation.”
“This is really regrettable.” Look up, Felipe II is full of sincerity. As a king, as the king of an empire on which the sun never sets, Felipe II usually will not break the promise. Marriage and opening up borders will inevitably lead to an insufficient foundation for rule. It was not a loss for Felipe to resist the will of the fiefdom to win over a courtier and make friends with the East.
“Oh, by the way, my dear friend, a distinguished guest from afar, you may not know our captain well enough. When Antonio was kicked out of the monastery by the Pure, he had nothing. It was my king who trained him. , everything he has comes from my king, and then he uses it all to make an enemy of my king. I just remind the distinguished guests to be careful about him, especially after he gets what he wants." Sauron walked to the door. , telling the past in a rather emotional tone.
Sauron rubbed his brows and said with a rather sentimental look: "He is now lying at the feet of the Emperor of the East, begging like a dog. At the beginning, Captain Antonio also begged my king like this. ”
This is a very simple divorce plan. Although it is simple, it really works. Solon is Felipe’s secretary and is very talented. He knows how to deal with smart people, that is, don’t try to deceive. Wise man, what Sauron says is entirely true, but the effect is great.
Antonio is not a person who repays kindness. He has always been a gambler who uses small things to make big things.
"Your Majesty's loan is only for interest." Xu Fan sent Suolun away.
“My king told me that the door of the summer palace is always open for distinguished guests. I left an address. If the distinguished guest changes his mind, he can come here to inform my king, and my king will send an invincible fleet. Come to pick you up. Compared with a territory that cannot produce stable output, the experience from the east is more precious." When Solan left, he left a note with an address on it. Solan gave Xu Fan more choices. Likewise, give each other more opportunities.
Xu Fan said thoughtfully: "No matter how you look at it, helping Felipe II is a better choice. Felipe II and his staff have shown the composure to achieve great things. Antonio He can only yell, what do you think of Da Zhuang? "
The purpose of Sauron's visit was successful. He never thought that the negotiation could be completed in one go. He just came to drive a wedge between Xu Fan and Antonio. As long as The two cannot work together, and as long as there is a gap in their hearts, Sauron will succeed.
If it doesn’t work once, do it twice, if it doesn’t work twice, do it ten times. If the hoe dances well, the wall will fall down.
"Those who are not from my race must have different hearts." Chen Dazhuang did not understand these twists and turns. In his opinion, Sauron was just a relatively polite guest.
Xu Fan packed his bags. He actually had an insight into Antonio's choice.
In the early morning of the next day, Marcus came to the House of Wise Men and informed Antonio that he had invited Xu Fan as a lobbyist to go to France and England. This journey lasted more than three months. Antonio hoped to have a good result.
Xu Fan told Marcus about Sauron’s visit. If Sauron can appear in the House of Wise Men, the assassin can also appear here. In this era of slow transmission of information, Sauron Lun can find this place, obviously there is a traitor among Antonio's men.
Xu Fan doesn’t like the City of Freedom. The West calls it Cape Verde. It consists of fifteen islands in total. It is the only place that the West must pass when going to the sea. It is a transportation hub for all people going to the New World, Africa, India, Ships from Southeast Asia have to pass through here. It is the most important overseas port in the entire West. It is an archipelago that focuses on trading. The culture here is destined to be money-first.
As long as you have money, you can get everything you want in the Free City. The supremacy of money has led to a place where there are no rules or morals at all.
This is where the largest number of pirates gather in the world, and these pirates are usually merchants from various countries. There are many flags on their ships, such as pirate skull and crossbones flags, red crosses, clan emblems, crescents, etc. The city is littered with rubbish, and the city hall is indifferent to it because farming is never done here, so human and animal feces can be seen everywhere in the city, and the entire air is filled with the smell of fermented feces and inferior perfume.
Prostitutes of different skin colors from all over the world are gathered here. You can see them everywhere within two steps. In addition to prostitutes, there are also some Thai and Western noble ladies who come here to hunt. Those black ones are their favorite, and killing is possible at any time. It happened, and the cause wasn't even silver coins, it was just a verbal dispute.
Xu Fan dislikes this place very much, because Xu Fan is afraid, and he occasionally worries that his hometown, Songjiang Mansion, will become like this.
With the continuous advancement of sea opening, the development of Songjiang Prefecture is changing with each passing day. With nine provinces as the main thoroughfare and the distribution of department stores all over the world, Songjiang Prefecture is destined to become the richest place. Money, the whisper of the devil, will tempt everyone to become the richest place. Become a slave to money.
Xu Fan didn’t want to see Songjiang Mansion slipping towards the abyss.
Xu Fan set off, with Antonio's expectations, his own retinue, Marcus, and three thousand sailors, riding five five-masted ocean ships, heading towards the West. Go, their first stop is none other than Lisbon.
At this time, Lisbon has fallen into chaos. The sudden death of the Purist caught everyone off guard. At this time, Portugal is jointly managed by five people. Before the new king is born, these five people jointly act as temporary successors. The duties of a king.
And Xu Fan's first stop was to announce that Antonio would inherit the throne as the heir.
The five members of the town hall are all nobles, and they all support Felipe II to obtain the throne, such as the Duke of Braganza, the Farnese family, etc. Farnese has great influence in Portugal For example, the archbishop is Ranuccio Farnese, and Ranuccio's father is a fervent admirer of Felipe II, and Ranuccio's brother joined the army in the Armada.
When Xu Fan and the others arrived in Lisbon, no one came to greet them. What was more interesting was that no one came to stop them.
Xu Fan arrived at the King of Portugal's Sintra Palace with about 300 people. The body of Enrique I had begun to stink, but no one cared about it.
The architectural style is white walls and red roofs. The style is a fusion of Gothic and Moorish. The two unique tapered chimneys are particularly eye-catching and stand tall like ox horns, so this place is also called the Ox Horn Palace. .
The palace was in a mess. After Enrique died and the center of power shifted to the Five, the maids in the palace took away everything they could in the palace, including the porcelain and furniture in the Chinese Room. , there were even many corpses in the palace. Apparently there were conflicts while fighting for property.
The palace is in a mess, just like this country.
After more than three hundred people cleaned up the inside and outside of the palace, they buried Enrique I. Then they summoned some officials and announced that Antonio would succeed the throne.
"Interesting, what do these five people mean?" Xu Fan sat in the Swan Hall of the palace, curiously looking at the swans of different shapes on the dome, and asked Marco Si's opinion.
The five-person group in the city hall neither supported Antonio's return to inherit the throne nor refused to stop them. They just watched them come to the palace to clean up the mess.
"I thought there would be a bloody battle, but it didn't seem to happen. I don't know what they wanted to do." Marcus looked confused. He did not expect this to happen at all.
"They don't care who becomes the king, as long as their status is guaranteed." Xu Fan said with a strange expression: "If Felipe II becomes the king, their interests cannot be damaged, then Who will satisfy Felipe II’s interests?”
The answer is obvious, civilians.
The lower class people firmly advocated maintaining the complete independence of the country, not because they liked Antonio so much, but to fight for their own interests. After being annexed by Felipe II, it was already extremely difficult to support meat eaters. With an apex predator, the burden on civilians will only be heavier.
“The situation is much better than I imagined.” Xu Fan looked at Marcus and said with a smile: “Pack up, we are going to France.”
“Advisor, is this all? Have you set off? You and Your Highness did not talk about what conditions you would give France and England in exchange for their support. When you were in Liberty City, I thought you wanted to see the situation in Lisbon before making a decision. So what should we do? At what price?" Marcus did not choose to agree, but asked about the price.
Without gratuitous support, there is no difference between France and England. Without enough benefits, they will definitely not provide substantial help.
Xu Fan asked in surprise: "I never planned to pay these kings any benefits, because I never asked them for any substantial help. Could it be that if we need it, they will provide us with help?" Isn't it? Is Antonio prepared to pay the price for this? "
"Of course." Marcus's face immediately turned red, and he was a little ashamed, because Antonio had promised many conditions.
Xu Fan looked at the document in his hand and his face turned dark. Felipe II said that Antonio had no wisdom. This evaluation was very pertinent.
Antonio promised: The Portuguese royal family will marry members of the Bourbon family, so that Portugal will officially join the Bourbon family group and become enemies of the Habsburg family headed by Felipe II (from a strength perspective);< br>
"I can understand that this is a cultural difference. I don't agree with what you may value. Can this also be one of the conditions?" Xu Fan was a little confused about this. The feudal system of the Ming Dynasty and The feudal system in the West is completely different. The recognition of blood here far exceeds that of the Ming Dynasty. The Habsburg family is a huge force in the West, including the Holy Roman Emperor, the Archduke of Austria, the King of Hungary, the King of Bohemia, the King of Spain, etc.
The Bourbon family is also a large family in Thailand, and has successively ruled France, Naples, Sicily, Luxembourg, the Principality of Italy, etc. The Bourbon family originated from the Bourbon region of France.
Marcus thought for a moment and said: "Yes, as long as you marry a woman from the Bourbon family, the children you give birth to will have the right to inherit."
"I kind of understand. "Xu Fan finally understood this condition. This is a cultural difference. Don't blame Xu Fan. The inheritance law of the Ming Dynasty is completely different from the inheritance law of the West. The inheritance of the Ming Dynasty mainly depends on the eldest son, and the eldest son is naturally very good. , if there is an eldest son, usually there will be no legitimate son, to prevent things that violate the ancestral laws from happening.
The inheritance in Taixi is quite chaotic. Xu Fan has not yet figured it out. The blood relationship between the king, grand duke and marquis in Taixi is much more complicated than the official positions in the two Song Dynasties. The inheritance in Taixi is very complicated. Chaos, for example, illegitimate children can inherit the family property, and Antonio is an illegitimate child.
"Well, it probably means something similar." Marcus nodded, somewhat similar to Ming Dynasty's wife, but not exactly the same. It's not impossible for Xu Fan to insist on understanding it this way.
In the Ming Dynasty, in the early years of Wanli, the social status of a son-in-law was the same as that of a criminal, and they were both of low status.
“Portugal and England signed a permanent alliance agreement two hundred years ago. In order for England to fulfill this alliance agreement, Antonio can agree to transfer twelve countries including Lisbon, Caminha, Porto, etc. Transfer commercial ports and fortresses to the Queen of England unconditionally, and allow them to station fleets in these places?" Xu Fan looked at the decree signed by Antonio in front of him in disbelief, and looked at Marcus blankly.
Marcus lowered his head in shame.
Xu Fan pointed to one of them and said in surprise: "In order to gain support from the Holy See, Antonio promised to allow the archbishop to interfere in state affairs, fully respect the archbishop's opinions, allow the establishment of tribunals, and support religion. The validity of the law in the diocese, the burning stake in the central square of Lisbon to determine the authority of the Holy See? ”
"We even have to cede three colonies in the New World, including Brazil, to England, and recognize the ownership rights of some of the colonies occupied by England and the Netherlands."
Xu Fan's forehead , in his opinion, it is so absurd, that is, it happened in the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties. It is equivalent to erecting a statue of Sakyamuni in the Temple of Heaven and the Temple of Earth in the Ming Dynasty, where heaven and earth are worshiped, and then all the things that violate the rules and precepts are put up. The Ming Emperor was willing to burn people to death in front of the Buddha, but would the Buddhists dare to agree? If you dare to agree today, you will have to destroy the Buddha tomorrow.
Ceded Luzon, Ryukyu, and Nagasaki to the Japanese pirates. If the Japanese pirates dare to ask for it, the Ming Emperor is afraid that I have already known the ambition of the thieves. Today, destroy the Japanese!
Portugal is indeed not the Ming Dynasty, but Xu Fan, as an envoy to the Han Dynasty, felt ashamed even reading about such a treaty that was so humiliating and humiliating to the country.
Marcus often travels to and from the Ming Dynasty. He has also read the travel notes written by Legas. He whispered: "That's why Your Highness and I feel that the Ming Dynasty is a civilized country, and the great repayment of gratitude established in Nanjing City The Temple Glazed Pagoda is the tower of civilization, so His Highness begged for His Majesty’s canonization.”
“Advisor, is there a possibility that all of us in the West are like this?”
"I think it's dirty even if you use it to wipe your butt! It's simply unreasonable! Just ask Felipe II to be the king!" Xu Fan returned the document signed by Antonio to Marcus.
Xu Fan looked at Marcus and said very solemnly: "Don't let others know about his things. Since Antonio trusts me and appoints me as an envoy to visit, then do as I say, Marcus, the sword master of Tessie, your majesty once said to the courtiers, today, I tell you, dignity is not obtained by kneeling on the ground, dignity is only on the edge of the sword!"
"Five! A five-masted transoceanic ship, all set sail for France! If the King of France refuses to support the new king's accession to the throne, he will block them at their door and destroy all their ships that dare to go to sea! ."
Marcus was stunned and asked: "Is this really necessary?"
"Do you have a better way?" Xu Fan asked.
"It seems not." Marcus shook his head.
Xu Fan took the five-masted transoceanic ship from the Ming Dynasty and headed for France in great glory. In just one month, French King Henry III signed the "Franco-Portuguese Contract" and recognized Antonio's boarding. He took the throne of Portugal and sincerely hoped that Xu Fan would withdraw the blockade.
Henry III was very absurd. He ignored state affairs and dated his mistresses every day. Most of Xu Fan's peace talks and blockades were conducted with the Queen Mother Catherine de' Medici. As the mother of three French kings, the slightly obese Catherine knew very well that France was falling into internal and external troubles. Religious wars, an empty treasury, and a huge war deficit all put France in danger.
So, after a simple negotiation, Henry III's male favorite handed Xu Fan the French-Portuguese contract, a contract recognizing and supporting Antonio's ascension to the throne.
Yes, the absurdity of Henry III was not only that he liked mistresses, he also liked male favors. In the palace, Xu Fan saw many gorgeous male favors and controlled great power.
France is in danger, this was Xu Fan’s only feeling when he left France.
After three days of sailing, Xu Fan took five five-masted ships, like five-masted ocean-going ships like giant beasts on the sea, and broke into the wide Thames River without any official documents. They arbitrarily and unreasonably squeezed the coal ships to both sides and sailed upstream. England was easier to deal with than France, because as long as the Thames Estuary was blocked, the entire England was blocked.
Xu Fan's presumption did not arouse strong resistance. England, which could not even build a three-masted plywood ship, was really unable to deal with such a behemoth as a five-masted ocean crossing ship.
At this time, the entire England had only ninety-three firearms that could be called cannons, less than 5,108 matchlocks, less than 100,000 kilograms of gunpowder, and only three five-masted ocean ships. The firepower completely exceeds that of England combined.
Therefore, the Queen of England did not hesitate and chose to warmly welcome Xu Fan, who was not particularly belligerent. After a friendly exchange with Elizabeth I, England recognized and supported Antonio's accession to the throne, and the succession was based on the order of succession. Duchess Catarina, After announcing his withdrawal from the succession race, Antonio was the first in line.
Elizabeth I euphemistically expressed her wish to send envoys to the Ming Dynasty. The goods from the Ming Dynasty were also urgently needed by England. Even though there was no commercial route between England and the Ming Dynasty at this time, Elizabeth I watched the five-masted ship crossing the ocean. Ship, I believe that the Ming Dynasty will be able to conquer the ocean and storms and come to the West.
Xu Fan readily agreed and asked the envoy to follow him to the City of Freedom, waiting for the caravan to leave for Daming.
In April of the eighth year of Wanli, Antonio completed his mission and returned to Lisbon. Marcus took two five-masted ocean ships to the Free City to pick up the King of Portugal back to Lisbon, and Xu Fan Stayed in Lisbon to make final preparations for Antonio's return.
Catalina and Ranuccio Farnese, the two most important people in the five-member coalition who exercised royal power on behalf of the king, came to the Palace of Oxhorns.
"Look what you have done? Oh, may God forgive your sins. You are so arrogant and rude that we have offended France and England at the same time." Ranuccio rushed in angrily When Chen Dazhuang slowly drew out his weapon, Ranuccio's attitude immediately became much better. At least he no longer dared to point at Xu Fan and spoke in a gentle manner. .
Ranoucho had no doubt that he continued to point at Xu Fan. This sturdy guard would chop off his palm with a knife.
Seeing this scene, Xu Fan felt a little amused. He looked at the archbishop Ranuccio, spread his hands and said: "I did this. Neither the King of France nor the King of England expressed excessive expressions. Angry, on the contrary, they are very polite, just like you now."
Ranuccio was afraid of the knife in Chen Dazhuang's hand, just like the king of France and the king of England were afraid of the five-masted ocean ship.
It is true that Antonio was weak compared to Felipe II, but with the investment of the Ming Emperor, Antonio was already very powerful.
"Damn it! I swear, if this is not the palace, I will definitely use my sword to pierce your heart! Purify this dirty world!" Ranuccio's tone became calmer, but his words were not at all You're welcome, Ranuccio was sure, this honest guard couldn't understand Latin.
In the West, except for the nobles who have big travel needs and need to learn Latin, most of them are illiterate, especially these warriors, who use the common language of various places.
Under normal circumstances, a big shot like Xu Fan would not translate his words of abuse to the guards, as this would be detrimental to his face.
Chen Dazhuang's Latin literature is not good, but when he understands the words "pierce your heart", he knows that this guy who stinks all over is not holding back anything good!
"Apologise, or die." Chen Dazhuang pulled out the knife and pointed it at Ranuccio.
"Oh my God! You actually know Latin?" Ranuccio said dully.
“Forget it, let’s throw this rude guy out. In the future, our conference hall must have a correction officer, otherwise the conference hall may be as noisy as a vegetable market.” Xu Fan did Instructions were given, signaling Chen Dazhuang to send the impolite archbishop out of the palace.
Two coastal defense patrols lifted Ranuccio up and threw him outside regardless of how he struggled.
"Antonio's advisor, this is the archbishop. Throwing him out like this will probably cause dissatisfaction with the Holy See." Duchess Catarina reminded Xu Fan that this is the West, Portugal and Spain are both As a country of God and a diocese, being so rude to the Archbishop may lead to some bad consequences.
Xu Fan shook his head and said: "You should call His Highness the King instead of calling him by name directly. I will only warn you this time. What I have to remind you is that His Highness owns seventeen five-masted transoceanic ships. Our fleet has six hundred nine-pound naval guns. Indeed, this firepower may not be a match for Felipe II, but it is completely enough to deal with you.”
"Compared to throwing the Archbishop out of the castle, what I will do next will be even more extreme."
The Duchess was choked, and the five people assumed the royal power, all supporting Felipe II to win The reason why Xu Fan and others did not stop the throne was not because they didn't want to, but because they didn't dare. All kinds of news about the fight for the Strait of Gibraltar had already been sent back to Lisbon. Antonio was by no means Felipe's opponent, but he was not someone they could fight against. .
It can only be said that Antonio is indeed a lucky man. He received canonization and investment from Ming Dynasty.
"Then, respected advisor to the king, what are you going to do next?" The duchess was a little curious as to what this domineering orientalist would do.
Xu Fan slammed the table, stood up suddenly, and said loudly: "This dirty, smelly Lisbon should have completely changed! As the capital of a country, it is so smelly. , Don’t you feel ashamed?”
“Do you want to use such a dirty royal city to welcome his king?”
Note 1: The number of firearms in England is extremely high. In 1637, King Charles I of England counted the number of firearms after his defeat to Scotland. Note 2: Although Felipe II had a lot of troubles, he was still the undisputed overlord in Europe at that time. Felipe II lost many times, but his opponents could only lose once. Note 3: At this time in France, France was very weak, with a dim-witted monarch, nobles with their own thoughts, and the whole country was moved by people's thoughts. In 1589, the absurd Henry III was assassinated, the French Valois dynasty perished, and the French Bourbon dynasty Establish. Please give me a monthly ticket, wow! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !
(End of this chapter)