Chongzhen and I became partners

Chapter 594 The Emperor's Special Hobbies

For the Spaniards, the Ming Empire in the Far East, in their impression, is actually a very rich one, just like the previous Inca Kingdom.

When the Spaniards were still in Mexico, they heard from the local Indians that there was a country in the south where the people used to eat and drink were all made of gold; the gold there was like what you brought. as cheap as iron.Even speaking of later, the southern country seemed to be a mythical land, full of golden caves, and the king wore a new coat decorated with gold dust every day, he was like a gilded king.

As a result, the adventurers among the Spaniards began to march south, and after ten years of exploration and colonization, they finally conquered the Inca kingdom with a population of more than four million.

The same is true for the Ming Empire. The most sought-after silk, raw silk, porcelain, etc. in Europe, especially in the rendering of Marco Polo's travel notes, is also a country full of gold.

The reason why Europe started the Age of Discovery was because the road leading to the rich Eastern Empire on land was monopolized by the Persians, and they tried to open up a new road from the sea.

For the richness of the Ming Empire, as long as they are Europeans, they have always been coveted.

The Spanish colonists in Luzon, their governors, bishops, etc., jointly wrote to the Spanish king at that time, requesting that [-] expeditionary troops be sent over to occupy this huge empire.

In that letter, the plan was very detailed, and it was even clear how to rule this huge empire.

It's just a pity that the king at that time was very moved, but it happened to be the end of the Thirty Years' War in Europe, and the mighty Spain was already in decline, and even Europe could hardly cope, let alone send an expeditionary force.

However, the King of Spain was indeed moved, and even prepared for it.This matter, the high-level Spanish know.

And the governor sent by Spain to the colonies, because it is a fat job, is competed by the big nobles.The governor of Lima, Avgeny, is no exception and knows about this.

Now, the merchants from the Ming Empire came to him on their own initiative, and he was very moved, he just wanted to see the reality of the Ming Empire.Coupled with the fact that the other party presented a big gift, they immediately agreed to the request of the Ming merchants and allowed them to go ashore to do business, of course, under their supervision.

The colonization of these Spaniards can be said to be similar to that of pirates. If you can grab it, you will grab it. If you can’t grab it, you will do business first.

As for the Zheng family, they were also mixed up by pirates and businessmen, and they became a tyrant on the southeast coast of Daming. The Dutch, Portuguese, and even Spaniards were all charged protection fees, which was also not a good thing.

When the three big ships docked, Zheng Zhibao naturally made deployments to show the force on board, but not too much; it means that the fleet has the ability to protect itself, and if it thinks of any wrong thoughts, the price will be very high.

At the same time, under the endorsement of military force, Zheng Zhibao kept his attitude very low. As long as he met white people, they would give gifts of different sizes according to their status, which immediately won the favor of the Spaniards.

Afterwards, under the escort of a team of brothers, Zheng Zhibao participated in the reception banquet hosted by the Spanish Governor. It can be said that the two parties, at least on the surface, still looked like they were having a good time.

After drinking for three rounds, the Spanish governor, Evgeny, smiled and asked Zheng Zhibao, "I don't know what business you want to do when you come to me from such a long distance?"

Seeing the force displayed by Zheng Zhibao, he was still a little worried. Could it be that these people are colonists of the Ming Empire?Because it seems very similar to when they started colonizing.

Jiang Shouxing must have been by his side, acting as an interpreter.

After hearing this, Zheng Zhibao didn't hesitate, and immediately gave an excuse that he had already thought up: "My family wants to expand business and earn more wealth, so I found out that our emperor likes different flowers and plants very much." , Therefore, the family sent me out to look for things like flowers and plants that I have never seen in Ming Dynasty. If there are any on the Governor's side, we can exchange them with silk, tea, porcelain, etc.!"

Hearing this, Evgeny couldn't help being a little surprised, and then he was overjoyed.

These merchants from the Ming Empire did not come to earn gold and silver!As long as it is flowers and plants that are not available in the Ming Empire, it is fine. Doesn't that mean that I am going to get rich?
At this time, the Lima Colony included the entire central and western part of South America, and had not yet been divided into several governorships by the King of Spain.Therefore, Avgeny's jurisdiction is very wide.

In such a vast place, those flowers and plants that Ming Dynasty did not have are definitely worthless here, but they can be exchanged for oriental specialties. If this is not to get rich, what else is it?
For him, it is only a matter of one sentence, and he can just order it casually, and let the Indian chiefs from all over the place send it over, and the wealth can be obtained!
While he was overjoyed, he could also understand why the businessman in front of him had traveled so far without hesitation.

In fact, in order to compete for the position of the governor, he also voted for the king of Spain and paid a considerable price to grab the position.

This Ming businessman wanted to curry favor with their emperor in exchange for more benefits. Naturally, he wanted to collect rare treasures as much as possible, no, strange flowers and plants.

Thinking of this, he suddenly felt a little emotional.That emperor of the Ming Dynasty was so rich that he was so rich that he couldn't count it, so he looked down on ordinary wealth and liked some strange flowers and plants?

This seems to be logically correct.

Thinking of this, Evgeny laughed loudly and said, "We are friends, and I have to satisfy your request no matter what. In this way, you just stay here with me, and I will send someone to collect your request. You don’t have to go anywhere else, how about it?”

This is simply a gift of wealth, and he is naturally reluctant to let Zheng Zhibao go to other governorships, such as Mexico, or even the territories of the Portuguese and the Dutch.

After Zheng Zhibao heard this, he also wished for it, but he didn't show that he was very willing.For the grasp of this, although he is not as good as his elder brother, he is not far behind!

As a result, the Zheng family fleet stopped in Lima.While doing business, maintenance of ships, repairs and the like are inevitable.

In the west of South America, as the Spanish Governor's order spread, almost every Indian tribe knew the news.

For these Indian tribes, they don't know what are the unique flowers and plants in South America.Just try to exchange all the things that you think are special, useful, and good-looking.

In this way, almost all Indians in South America were moved by the news.For them, the flowers and plants on the roadside can be exchanged for wealth. Although it is for the Spanish governor, it is also very positive.

First of all, those Indians who are close to Lima use various methods to transport flowers and plants to Lima.

The Zheng family set up three points outside the city for trade.

The reason for the three points is because there were only three people who had the opportunity to look at the treasure in the hands of the emperor.

The reason why Zheng Zhibao didn't watch it alone was because he came all the way here. To put it bluntly, if Zheng Zhibao had something good or bad, at least someone else would know what he was going to collect back.

The three trading points are all watched by the Spanish governor, and they have to collect taxes.

Of course, the merchants from the Ming Empire were very generous, and they collected all the local worthless things. Therefore, the tax collection was not collected from the Ming merchants, but from the Indians.

In other words, in fact, if the Indians succeed in the transaction and get the special products of the East, they will basically be taken away by the Spanish Governor, and then they will be rewarded with any money, or even no reward, that's it!

The cinchona tree is the national tree of Peru in later generations. It can be seen that this place is very common, and the Indians are the first to know what kind of diseases the cinchona tree can cure. Therefore, among the flowers and plants they exchanged, there are small cinchona trees and seeds and such.

There is also the rubber tree, also known as the tree of tears, which naturally cannot escape.

In short, the flowers and plants sent by the Indians for trading must not be random flowers and plants, but have certain effects, or are particularly beautiful, or particularly rare, in short, something that can be said.

Among the things Emperor Chongzhen entrusted to Zheng Zhibao to pay attention to collecting, more than half of them were collected in just half a month, which made him very happy.

As for the key species, such as cinchona trees and rubber trees, etc., Zheng Zhibao would pretend that these might win the favor of the Ming emperor, so he asked for more, and the Spanish colonists didn't care, anyway, it would be enough to get oriental specialties.

Of course, this is also the same as cinchona tree in this period. Although its medicinal effect has been discovered by the colonists, it has not been taken seriously.According to the original historical development, it will take some time before this cinchona tree is spread to Europe before it is valued by the Spanish royal family, thus monopolizing this cinchona tree.

In the process of this trade, the Indians who came to trade were also very surprised.

Because they discovered that the people of the Ming Empire looked similar to them.However, no matter in terms of dress or conversation, they are similar to the noble Spaniards, which simply refreshes their cognition.

This made them very surprised and curious about the Ming Empire in a distant place. Similarly, they were also very curious about Zheng Zhibao.

It's just a pity, because there are Spaniards watching, they don't have the opportunity to communicate with the people of the Ming Empire in private.

In less than a month, even the distant Indians hadn't arrived in time, and the things Zheng Zhibao collected could no longer fit.

At this time, he made a request to the Spanish governor Avgeny.

(End of this chapter)