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Chapter 359 The enemy of my enemy is my friend

Originally, Hong Tao wanted to get in touch with the Dutch East India Company first to see if the two parties could cooperate and remove the two teeth's strongholds in Southeast Asia one by one, and then discuss equally sharing the commercial interests in Southeast Asian waters.

However, after Li Zhi sent people to Fujian to have initial contact with the Dutch envoys, the news returned was not optimistic. It is true that the Dutch have a strong upward trend, they have a strong desire to do business, and they are even more greedy.

They actually wanted to be the exclusive agent for all Ming Dynasty goods export rights, and were very unwilling to allow Ming Dynasty merchant ships to enter the Indian Ocean and reach the Arabian Peninsula, because that would be tantamount to depriving them of their exclusive business.

Hong Tao specifically asked Pang Di and Xiong Sanba about this, and their answers were similar to Li Zhi's. The Dutch East India Company's first principle of doing business is exclusive agency, and it is precisely by relying on this principle that it has monopolized many supply sources and squeezed out many competitors.

Of course, having the means to do business is not enough. The Dutch East India Company's maritime armed forces are also very strong. Relying on the number of ships and excellent navigation skills, they broke through the maritime blockade of Two Tooths, and even began to intercept and kill Two Tooth's merchant ships. It was obvious that they wanted to dominate the Eastern maritime trade routes.

It doesn't matter whether the Dutch are very powerful in naval battles. With the current strength of the Ming Dynasty's navy, the attack is unable to defend enough. The Dutch and the British have to swim in the sea obediently.

But without the help of the Dutch, who should we rely on to help open the Maritime Silk Road? It is obviously unreliable to find the British, who have not yet established a foothold in the East Indies. At this time, the British and the Dutch were wearing crotchless pants in Europe to resist Spain's maritime superiority, and it was unlikely that the mainland would be harmed for the sake of Eastern interests.

They would be happy to choose the Portuguese, but Portugal is currently being ruled by Spain. Such strategic cooperation between countries cannot be decided by the Portuguese alone and must be approved by the King of Spain.

That leaves only one option, the Spaniards. In the 16th century, Spain was definitely a well-deserved world power and maritime power, and it was not the only one. Its colonies are spread all over the world, three-quarters of the New World are Spanish, and even the Netherlands is a Spanish possession.

However, since the rise of Protestantism, Britain, France, and some Germanic princes began to unite to challenge Spain's hegemony. First, it supported the independence of the Dutch, and then went to the New World to compete with the Spanish for territory. Finally, in the late 16th century, it overthrew the world's hegemon through several large-scale naval battles.

As the saying goes, a skinny camel is bigger than a horse. Although Spain declined, it did not sink. It still retained some of its maritime power and also had some advantages on land.

The more a country has been the boss and feels that it is on the verge of collapse, the more it hopes to return to the top, and will not hesitate to give up some of its benefits in exchange for more support.

But looking around the world, there are really not many countries that can stand with Spain that are old or suffering from internal and external troubles. The countries standing on the opposite side of Spain are all rising stars, and they are all on the rise.

At this time, if Ming Dynasty can extend an olive branch to Spain and offer conditions that are not particularly harsh, it is estimated that the possibility of cooperation between the two parties will be relatively high.

Hong Tao ordered the hijacking of the Manila galleon Montanis, and later revealed the news privately to Philippine Governor Aguna, just to cast doubt on the direction and want to see the reaction of Spanish senior officials.

But if you want to get in touch with the Spanish high-level officials, there is one person you can't get around. Spain's governor of the Philippine Islands, Aguna. Even if Baron Silva is released and asked to bring a message to the King of Spain or the Chief Minister, arrangements will still have to be made through the governor. Hong Tao himself was confident that he could not find a captain capable of sailing to Europe. However, he dared to assert that as long as he left the Forbidden City and the capital, the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty would have to be replaced in less than a month. Therefore, it is not enough to have a solution, but also to obtain the support of the governor.

Governor Aguna had a very bad reputation along the coasts of Guangdong and Fujian. In the 1603st year of Wanli (), the massacre of Chinese in Manila took place during his tenure. No one would believe it if he said it had anything to do with it.

In the blink of an eye, just eight years later, the same old tricks were repeated, and there was another Manila Port Massacre, and the target was still Chinese maritime merchants. Almost every maritime merchant near Zhangzhou, Fujian Province, wore Xiao, and even his heart was eaten alive.

In the eyes of ordinary people, a person's words and deeds can be attributed to good or bad character. But in the eyes of the country's rulers, people are not divided into good and bad, only friend and foe, pros and cons.

He has been sitting in the governor's position for more than ten years. He should not be just a cruel fool. He is about to leave office, but he encounters such a very difficult and big trouble. According to common sense, he will definitely actively find a solution, and he will most likely be in favor of the cooperation between Ming Dynasty and Spain.

If he could still make a profit from it, he would support it 100%. This is fucking human nature, the same in China and abroad. There are ministers in the Ming Dynasty who are willing to harm the country for their own interests, and Spain will definitely have officials who harm the public and enrich themselves.

That’s right, it’s cooperation. No matter how many Chinese he has massacred, when the country needs it, he must first forget hatred and pursue national interests as much as possible. This is the most basic quality of a ruler. Failure to do so means he is unqualified.

Facts have proved that Governor Aguna is not too stupid. He fully and correctly understood the hints from the Ming Emperor and quickly gave positive feedback.

In late June, Yuan Yingtai suddenly went to Shu to ask the emperor if he was willing to receive the special envoy of Bishop Benavidez of Manila, but he did not say why he came to Beijing all the way.

What else could it be for? Hong Tao was 100% sure that this special envoy came to negotiate terms with him on behalf of Governor Aguna. He was just trying to hide his identity under the guise of the Archbishop. At the same time, it was further explained that Governor Aguna did not want more people to know that the silver ship had been hijacked.

When the Royal Horse Supervisor sent someone from Tianjin Guard to bring the envoy to Beijing, the guy actually confessed on his own initiative, saying that he was not from the church at all, but the commander of the Philippine fleet stationed there. Following the secret order of Governor Aguna, he came specifically to explain to the Ming Emperor his previous misunderstandings, such as the Manila Port Massacre.

"It seems that this guy even wants to hide it from the church. He is not only smart but also brave enough. First take him to the Xiyuan Campus, and then go to the Haihe Shipyard to bring the captain named Angelo over!"

Although he was close to what he had guessed, Hong Tao didn't dare to meet him immediately. The main reason is that he is afraid of death. Who knows if this person is the commander of the fleet stationed in the Philippines? What if he is a desperate soldier, such as those guys in Assassin's Creed?

(End of this chapter)