Daming: If I find a great-grandson, I will teach an emperor through the ages

Chapter 178 European Oil? Mine!

Seeing this scene, Zhu Yuanzhang, Cao Wei and Zhu Xiongying looked at each other in shock.

Judging from the posture of Alfonso Fred Amal Mod, it was obvious that he had planned it before he came, and even the "remuneration" was already prepared.

He came to Daming simply to find reinforcements.

It's just that... Ming Dynasty really has no reason to help the Kingdom of Sardinia, which is so far away.

Moreover, with the current state of the Ming Dynasty's treasury, it does not look down upon the three melons and dates brought by Alfonso Fred Amal Mod.

Now that the Ming Dynasty has opened its seas, merchants from the Ming Dynasty are doing business all over the world. The tariffs paid on exports and imports in a year are equal to the entire tax revenue of some small countries.

There was also the Iwami silver mine in Japan that continuously mined silver and transported it back to the Ming Dynasty.

A year's worth of several hundred stones of silver!
  Ming's treasury has never been so full as it is now!
  In the past, when the Ming Dynasty did not open the sea, the treasury was empty, and money was needed everywhere, Zhu Yuanzhang could at most hold an enthronement ceremony for Zhu Xiongying.

As for the military parade ceremony that consumes money, materials and energy, I'm afraid I can only think about it.

But now that Ming Dynasty's banks have sufficient funds and silver coins, holding a military parade is just a matter of holding them.

Not only must it be done, but it must be done well! Show the magnanimity of the Heavenly Kingdom! No pressure at all!
  This is rich and powerful!
  The gold and silver jewelry brought by Alfonso Frederic Amal Mode were also of some size, but their combined value was no more than a thousand taels of silver.

In Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes at this time, it was not enough to fill his teeth, and it was even less likely that he would send troops to aid other countries for this little money.

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Alfonso Frederic Amal Mode who was lying on the ground, rubbed his fingers in his sleeves, and was about to refuse, but Cao Wei suddenly stepped forward and whispered a few words in his ear. .

After hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang raised his eyebrows and looked at Cao Wei, who gave him a reassuring smile.

Zhu Yuanzhang hesitated slightly and nodded towards Cao Wei.

Cao Wei received permission, returned to his previous position, and spoke to Alfonso Fred Amal Mod again:
  "Prince of Sardinia, we all understand what you just said, and we are deeply sorry for the current situation your country is experiencing, and we really want to help you, but... just with the treasures you brought, I think our Ming Dynasty There is still no reason to send troops.”

"You know, your Kingdom of Sardinia is very far away from our Ming Dynasty. If the Ming Dynasty sends troops, the financial resources and materials it will cost are simply incalculable."

The translator from Honglu Temple told Cao Wei's words to the latter.

After hearing this, Alfonso Fred Amal Mod was stunned for a moment, and then he was ecstatic!

What does this mean? As long as there is enough reward, Ming Dynasty will be willing to send troops?

For a moment, Alfonso Frederic Amal Mod was on the verge of tears.

Originally, his father asked him to come to the Ming Dynasty to seek help, but he was just a dead horse. After all, no one knew whether the Ming Dynasty would lend a helping hand to them.

Alfonso Frederic Amal Mod also understood this truth. Why did the Ming Dynasty help the Kingdom of Sardinia if it was neither a relative nor a friend?

But now the Kingdom of Sardinia has almost reached a desperate situation. This is the last resort and we must try it no matter what.

As a prince of the Kingdom of Sardinia, Alfonso Frederic Amal Mod traveled across the ocean to the Ming Dynasty. After seeing the power of the Ming Dynasty, the hope in his heart became even slimmer.

Ming Dynasty is so powerful, just like a Big Mac!
  Compared with the Ming Dynasty, the Kingdom of Sardinia didn't even look like a country, it was so weak.

Between countries, all that matters is the exchange of interests.

So, what benefits can the powerful Ming Dynasty get from helping their Kingdom of Sardinia?
  Even from the perspective of the Prince of Sardinia, Alfonso Frederic Amal Mode could not think of a reason.

Ming Dynasty is so rich and powerful that it is very likely that he does not look down on what his country can produce, even if it is the best in their country.

But no matter how small the hope is, it is for the sake of his father and the people who are still suffering in the Kingdom of Sardinia. Alfonso Frederic Amal Mode also had to go for it.

Alfonso Frederic Amal Mode starved himself for two days in the inn, not that he really wanted to starve himself to death.

He originally thought that if he didn't see Zhu Yuanzhang again today, he might give up, but he didn't expect that he would actually do it.

After meeting Zhu Yuanzhang, he said those words respectfully, and then he could only resign himself to his fate.

However, in his anxious heart, he thought that Ming would probably reject his request.

Unexpectedly, Cao Wei's answer gave him hope.

"...Based on the treasures you brought, I think our Ming Dynasty still has no reason to send troops..."

What does it mean?
  This means that the treasure he brought is not enough. If the Kingdom of Sardinia can provide more, Ming Dynasty may consider sending troops to assist!

Regardless of his extremely weak body after two days of starvation, Alfonso Fred Amal Mod raised his head and looked at Cao Wei in disbelief.

"My great and honored lord, what shall I call you?"

"Just call me Grand Master Cao."

"Dear Master Cao, what I want to ask is, what kind of reward should our Kingdom of Sardinia give so that the Ming Dynasty will be willing to help us?"

Under Alfonso Fred Amal Mod's hopeful gaze, Cao Wei slowly shook his head.

"what……"

Cao Wei wanted to call him by his full name, but found that he didn't remember it at all, so he had to change his name.

"Prince Maude, our Central Plains has been a land of etiquette since ancient times, and so has the Ming Dynasty. We are happy to help the weak, but it depends on whether you are sincere enough."

Cao Wei said something specious, expressing his intention both clearly and implicitly.

To put it bluntly, Cao Wei wanted benefits, but he did not say what he wanted specifically. He only said that it depends on the sincerity of Alfonso Fred Amal Mod.

As a foreigner, Alfonso Fred Amal Mode couldn't fully understand what Cao Wei meant, but he still heard that the other party was raising the price.

Enough sincerity?
  What is enough sincerity? Alfonso Fred Amal Mod frowned and thought hard for a long time, and finally made up his mind and said:

"Dear Master Cao, as long as Ming Dynasty is willing to send troops to assist our Kingdom of Sardinia, on behalf of my father, I can give one million silver to express my gratitude to Ming Dynasty."

"This one million silver...is the only remaining fund in our Kingdom of Sardinia. No matter how much more...I still need to go back to discuss with my father."

Seeing the expression on Alfonso Frederic Amal Mod's face like a mask of pain, Cao Wei knew that the maximum the Kingdom of Sardinia could offer was one million silver.

Even after the one million silver is taken out, it is still a question whether the Kingdom of Sardinia can live a stable life.

Cao Wei nodded,

"I have seen Prince Maud's sincerity, but one million silver is still too little..."

Hearing this, Alfonso Fred Amal Mod's face instantly turned gray.

Here Cao Wei changed the topic and said again:

"However...since Prince Maude has sincerely found our Ming Dynasty, we can't help but die. I will propose a compromise method and Prince Maude will listen to it first. How about it?"

Alfonso Fred Amal Mod's eyes instantly regained some sparkle, and he nodded repeatedly.

"If our Ming Dynasty sent a large army across the ocean to aid the Kingdom of Sardinia, the money and materials consumed, plus the losses of soldiers, would definitely be far more than a million silver."

Alfonso Frederic Amar Mode did not deny this, and he also understood that all wars cost was money.

Having said this, Cao Wei grinned:

"But there is still a solution to this problem. My Ming Dynasty opened the sea a few years ago. In recent years, Ming merchants have begun to do business all over the world. The Prince of Sardinia should have seen this."

Alfonso Frederic Amal Mod nodded.

Indeed, in the past year or two, a small number of Ming merchants have begun to do business in Europe. However, the Kingdom of Sardinia is precarious and has no great trade value. Most of the Ming merchants have gone to other more powerful countries in Europe to trade.

Seeing Alfonso Fred Amal Mod nod, Cao Wei continued:
  "Businessmen of the Ming Dynasty will also bring benefits to the Ming Dynasty when doing business. Therefore, my request is that after the Ming Dynasty helps the Kingdom of Sardinia to overcome the difficulties, the Kingdom of Sardinia will impose taxes and various restrictive policies on the merchants of the Ming Dynasty to do business in this country. It needs to be modified as appropriate to ensure that businessmen from the Ming Dynasty can make money after going to the Kingdom of Sardinia."

Alfonso Frederic Amal Mod blinked;
  "That's it?"

Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Xiongying thought so too.

That's it?

Just to let the merchants make more money, they sent a large army to cross the ocean to help the Kingdom of Sardinia. This is not worth the gain!

Cao Wei smiled and shook his head.

Of course it won’t stop there, the big head is still behind!

Step by step, he came to kneel down in front of Alfonso Frederic Amal Mod who was lying on the ground, stared into his eyes and spoke again, in a low tone.

"In fact, our Ming Dynasty can not only help the Kingdom of Sardinia overcome this difficulty, but also add more troops to help the Kingdom of Sardinia conquer other countries, and then expand its territory, making the Kingdom of Sardinia the largest country in Europe! Never again Will be invaded by other countries!”

When the Honglu Temple translator tremblingly translated Cao Wei's words, Alfonso Frederic Amar Mod opened his mouth, widened his eyes, and looked at Cao Wei with a ghostly expression.

Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Xiongying looked at each other and began to worry that Cao Wei was too busy during this period and his brain was damaged. Why was this getting more and more outrageous?
  But based on his trust in Cao Wei, Zhu Yuanzhang frowned but did not interrupt his son-in-law.

Cao Wei's voice sounded again here,
  "Of course, helping the Kingdom of Sardinia to overcome difficulties and helping the Kingdom of Sardinia to expand its territory are two different things. The price you need to pay for Sardinia is also different."

Alfonso Frederic Amal Mod's Adam's apple rolled, and he asked in a daze,
  "What price do we need to pay to allow Ming Dynasty to send more troops..."

Hooked!
  Cao Wei slapped Alfonso Frederic Amal Mod on the shoulder, almost knocking the Sardinian prince to pieces after being hungry for two days.

His face was closer to Alfonso Frederic Amal Mode again, and his voice was like a devil's whisper, tempting the young foreign prince opposite.

"It's very simple. Since Ming Dynasty wants to send more troops, then the army must have a place to settle. Ming Dynasty needs to have legal and inviolable right to garrison troops in the future Kingdom of Sardinia!"

"In addition, in the future, we Ming must be able to purchase the kerosene mined in the Kingdom of Sardinia at a low price. The price is determined by Ming, but don't worry, Ming will never let the Kingdom of Sardinia suffer."

"How about it? As long as you accept these conditions, our Ming Dynasty can send troops to Europe. They will not only help your Kingdom of Sardinia overcome the difficulties, but also help you expand your territory and strengthen your national strength!"

Cao Wei could only say that it was a coincidence that he came here today, and he happened to meet Alfonso Frederic Amal Mode, the fat sheep who came to his door!
  If he were not here today and Lao Zhu directly rejected Alfonso Fred Amal Mod, the loss to Ming Dynasty would be inestimable!

European oil is more fragrant than Japanese silver mines!

In fact, people in ancient times also knew about petroleum, and there are many records in history, but no one knew the real use of petroleum. They only used petroleum to make fires for lighting, or to make ink for painting, so people at this time generally called it kerosene or stone lacquer. .

And because petroleum has a peculiar smell when burned and is difficult to store, it has not been able to replace candles as the main lighting tool.

In people's eyes at this time, oil is obviously of little use, but Cao Wei knows how precious this non-renewable energy source is!
  It's really worth using it, and it's even scarcer than gold! Let countless people fight for it!

Although gold and silver are considered non-renewable resources, gold and silver are generally used, not consumed.

Oil is different. Use a little and a little less, it is very precious!

In the later generations, which are basically peaceful, how many years has a certain country been squeezed and exploited by the ugly country just because of the issue of oil?
  Countless people shed blood and sacrificed their lives just for oil...

There are also some countries that have their own crude oil and do not use it, but only use imported oil.

Just because oil is non-renewable, buying other countries' oil like this is equivalent to leaving your own oil to future generations...

All of the above are enough to show how indispensable and precious oil is!
  Now people don’t have enough knowledge about oil, so it’s a good time for Cao Wei to take action!
  Of course, Cao Wei did not bully Alfonso Fred Amal Mode. He did not take the oil for free, he bought it with money!
  What price do candles cost?
  Daming bought them at the price of candles.

Anyway, kerosene is not as good as candles. After all, the profit is still the Kingdom of Sardinia!
  Even for such a "generous" Ming Dynasty, the Kingdom of Sardinia has to be grateful and grateful that Ming Dynasty takes care of their economy!

(End of this chapter)