Eighth year of Chongzhen

Chapter 664 Fang Yizhi Is Still Too Young
"Mizhi, what do you think of what the prince mentioned at the banquet tonight?"

After the brief welcome ceremony on the pier, Visau, Fang Yizhi and Zheng Zhifeng rode in a four-wheeled carriage, personally sent them to a castle on the outskirts of Lisbon, and held a grand dinner that night. The two special envoys and main members of the mission were entertained.

The important officials of the Portuguese government and some nobles attended the welcome banquet, which was carried out in a friendly and warm atmosphere and ended an hour later.

The [-] Jinyi school captains and hundreds of children and handymen accompanying the escort were placed in several other castles for board and lodging.

After attending the official Portuguese dinner and returning to the castle where she stayed, Zheng Zhifeng took a shower and changed into a casual robe, and knocked on the door of Fang Yizhi's resting room next door.

"Brother Mingshan came just in time, drink a cup of hot tea to hangover first, sit down and let's talk slowly."

Due to the language barrier, both Fang Yizhi and Zheng Zhifeng rejected the maids sent by Portugal to serve them, and they did not bring their servants to come. An Xie did all the washing and washing by himself, which was hard to imagine in the past.

"Brother Yu, I also met a lot of Hongyi when I was in Ming Dynasty. I know that these Hongyi don't like to take a bath, and they always have a strange smell on their bodies. I was thinking about sending someone to bring the bathtub on the boat. I didn't think about it. Hong Yi is really careful, this Portuguese is not bad!"

Zheng Zhifeng, who had just finished taking a bath, took the hot tea from Fang Yizhi, leaned back comfortably on a large Huaxinggeer soft chair with her wet hair, and spoke in an appreciative tone.

When he met all kinds of Europeans in Fujian, he knew that these Hongyi did not like to take a bath. He thought that there would be no bathing facilities in the castle where he stayed, but he did not expect that there was a bathtub in the bathroom, and the hot water in it was also the same temperature. Appropriate, this made Zheng Zhifeng, who hadn't taken a hot bath carefully in the past year, very happy.

"As the saying goes, if you are polite to others, you must ask for something.

Judging from the personal welcome of the noble prince, and the gathering of dignitaries and dignitaries of the Portuguese court tonight at the welcome banquet, this country probably needs something from my Ming Dynasty! "

Fang Yizhi had just finished taking a bath and changing clothes, and was planning to go to Zheng Zhifeng's room to discuss with him. Unexpectedly, the two of them thought of getting together, which not only refreshed his perception of Zheng Zhifeng again.

He was very pleased by Zheng Zhifeng's down-to-earth style of doing things.

"Secret, before you and I left, when talking about the overview of European countries, the Holy Majesty once ordered that among the current European countries, France, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands should be the most powerful, with talents of all kinds. It is also the most, and it is also extremely important to Daming.

In Brother Fool's opinion, I should leave for the above-mentioned three countries after I stay in Portugal for a few days. If the Portuguese really wants something from me, or if the matter is too important, it's better for me to be vague and prevaricate. "

The lit candles in every corner of the room made the room very bright. After Zheng Zhifeng sipped a few mouthfuls of hot tea, he looked at Fang Yizhi's chiseled face and said.

"Before I learned that the Holy Majesty wanted to send my younger brother to Europa, I also searched for the relevant introductions about the countries of Europa, and visited Tang Ruowang, Matteo Ricci and others who worked for our Ming Dynasty, in order to understand the situation of the countries. .

As far as my younger brother knows, Portugal was also the overlord of Europe in the first 200 years. Its fleet traveled across the oceans, transported east and west, and obtained a large amount of wealth. The country, that is, oppressed and devoured by Spain as the Holy One said, gradually declined.

Today, I heard from the Prince of Visau that Portugal has completely driven out the power of Spain, and its lord is trying to make a new effort to repeat the glory of the past, but due to years of fighting, its national strength and people's strength have been exhausted. Therefore, external assistance is needed to help it become stronger.

The Holy Majesty once said that although Portugal is a small country, it is far superior to other countries in terms of benevolence, righteousness, propriety and wisdom. This can be seen from the fact that the soldiers and gunners of the Portuguese army have helped me suppress bandits and slaves in the Ming Dynasty several times. When Portugal needs help, if I, Daming, can benefit from it, it will be a good thing for me to take advantage of the situation and help. "

After thinking for a while, Fang Yizhi spoke out his thoughts.

As a traditional scribe of the Ming Dynasty, Fang Yizhi still values ​​people who know how to repay kindness. When Zhu Youjian called him into the palace to perform the right before his arrival, he could feel the emperor's appreciation for this small country. , and the emperor ordered them to set their first stop in Portugal, which should have other meanings.

"In my opinion, the reason why the Portuguese treat us so favorably is that they want to use the convenience of their advanced navigation technology to traffic the silk, porcelain and other things needed by Europe from the Ming Dynasty, and make a huge profit from it in order to make a comeback.

I have to wait and think about this matter. Brother Yu guesses that the Portuguese may want to underwrite the goods that I sold to Xiyi from the Ming Dynasty.

Secretly, you also know that the products produced by my Ming Dynasty in these Western Yi countries are extremely sought after. If my Ming Dynasty organizes its own fleet to transport all kinds of goods here, the profit will range from several times to more than ten times. .

But if it is underwritten by one country, the bulk of its benefits will be given to others. If the Portuguese want to sign this agreement with us, they must carefully consider it! "

Zheng Zhifeng sat upright and put down the teacup, looking at Fang Yizhi with a serious face.

"Haha! Brother Mingshan, you are thinking about it!

This time we traveled tens of thousands of miles from Daming to this place in the extreme west, and it took us almost a year. Fortunately, there were no accidents when the boat capsized and injured people during the journey, but the climate on this ocean is changeable, and no one can guarantee it. There is always no worry during the communication. If someone is willing to take risks to communicate things, why can't the goods be handed over to him?

Besides, the main purpose of our visit is to seek more talented people in arithmetic, physics, astronomy, general work, etc., according to the instructions of the Holy One, and use fame and fortune as bait to invite them to be used by me. Little ear! "

Seeing Zheng Zhifeng's expression of disapproval, Fang Yizhi continued to smile and said: "Brother Mingshan forgot, in the words of the Holy Majesty, he disdains and hates the Spaniards in the north of Portugal, and even threatened to wait for Daming to become stronger." Afterwards, officials and troops will be sent to fight against it.

On the other hand, Portugal has been oppressed and exploited by Spain for decades, and the two countries have become feuds.

If my Ming Dynasty can help it become stronger as soon as possible, do you think the people of Portugal will not want to hate it?

If there is another continuous war between the two countries, wouldn't it be just for profit if we really want to send troops to conquer in the future? "

"Mizhi, although what I said just now is not as far-sighted as yours, I'm afraid your judgment on this matter is a bit biased.

Among the current maritime forces, the European countries should be the Netherlands as the strongest. These European countries are all attacking each other.

If the goods of our Ming Dynasty are sold by Portugal, the Netherlands, England, Spain and other countries will definitely plunder them at sea.

Therefore, the idea of ​​secret talent is a bit too simple.

According to His Majesty's will, if you want to take on the Spaniards, you must find a stronger one to cooperate. "

Zheng Zhifeng vaguely remembered that when he was drinking and chatting with Wang Shiqin, he occasionally mentioned it, saying that he had heard from his uncle that the Holy Majesty was always concerned about the massacre of Manila Daming immigrants by the Spaniards during the Wanli period. statement of inquiry.

Since you want to avenge your hatred, you should join forces with the strong.

"So that's the case, then this matter really needs to be carefully considered.

It seems that there are many conflicts among the countries of Europa. How to deal with the countries, you and I seem to be unable to make rash decisions.

In my opinion, you and I should go and see more next time, record the situation of each country in detail, and submit them one by one after returning. The specific decision-making needs to be decided by the emperor and courtiers. "

Zheng Zhifeng's words reminded Fang Yizhi that he took too much of his own ideas on how to deal with such a major issue between countries. It is better to listen and watch more in the future. This trip to Europe is still based on inviting people Lord.

(End of this chapter)