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Chapter 754 Dutch Envoy
"Wei Zhongxian, why are you here instead of sitting in court to handle official business!" The second kernel of corn was just thrown in, and the golden dragon fish float made of balsa wood had not yet turned over, when a figure jogged along the shore in the distance.

Hong Tao recognized who it was just by his running posture without looking at his face. This guy has been working very hard since he took over the job at the East Factory. He is also smart enough to distinguish the priorities without much reminder. However, his flattery habit is a bit annoying. He always comes to me no matter what.

"Your Majesty, I'm here to deliver a letter on the orders of Eunuch Wang." Hearing the emperor's call, Wei Zhongxian ran faster, knelt on one leg, took out a foot-long scroll from his arms, and held it high above his head.

"…What letter from the credible state? Are the Ministry of Rites just sitting there doing nothing? They have to ask for my permission for such a small matter!" Such a formal address made Hong Tao unable to react for a moment. It took him several seconds to move his eyes away from the fishing float. His face was full of anger, and his facial features were a little distorted.

Well, you guys came on time, right? You just sat down and the bait hasn't been put down yet, but you're in trouble as soon as you get on the small horse's mouth. The letters are either from Japan, Korea or Ryukyu, and they're full of nonsense.

"Uh... Eunuch Wang said it's called Liansheng Republic, which is hard to pronounce. I guess the Ministry of Rites is also ignorant and came to bother His Majesty. I did hear a detailed report from my subordinates, who said that the leader was tall and thin, with curly hair, eyes that were neither green nor blue, and looked even worse than Doctor Xiong."

It is estimated that Wei Zhongxian did not come here on his own initiative, but was assigned a difficult task by Wang An. Seeing the emperor's appearance, he knew that he could not escape, so he could only bite the bullet and try his best to explain the situation clearly, hoping to avoid a few scoldings.

"Has the East Factory ever stationed personnel in Guangzhou or Manila?"

Hong Tao took the scroll and squeezed it gently. It was not made of paper, but sheepskin. The wax seal was intact, but he did not open it immediately. Instead, he asked about an unrelated topic.

"...Reporting to His Majesty, there are them in both places." Wei Zhongxian didn't even dare to raise his head. He hesitated for a few seconds. He really couldn't figure out the emperor's intention, so he could only tell the truth.

"Then why don't you know about the United Provinces Republic? How can you help me with your ignorance?"

At this time, Hong Tao thought of Wei Zhongxian's shortcoming, that he had little experience. It was right to work hard to learn new knowledge, but you couldn't just rely on what the books said. You should at least walk around more. It was useless to just keep watching over yourself. You wouldn't get promoted even if you stood by him every day.

"Your Majesty, please forgive me. I will correct my sin immediately!"

At this moment, Wei Zhongxian must have cursed Wang An's eight generations of ancestors in his heart. The old man knew that disturbing the emperor's fishing would not end well, but he insisted on going to the palace to deliver the letter himself. He was so damn mean. But he didn't dare to show it on his face, so he just knelt down with both legs.

"When you are not too busy at work, go out and travel around more. Hearing is not always credible. Sometimes seeing is not always true. It is best to experience it in person. If you have been to Guangzhou and Manila, you will know about the United Provinces Republic, and you will not be amazed by its appearance.

Get up, go tell Wang An to arrange for the envoys to come to the Yangxin Palace for questioning, and call the officials from the Ministry of Rites. Oh, and call Minister Xi to be the interpreter as well."

Hong Tao opened the parchment scroll as he spoke, and closed it after taking a few glances. It was written in Latin, and the font was very flamboyant. It looked nice, but it seriously affected his reading. It would be better to find a professional to take a look.

"Your Majesty, these corn beans..." At this time, Wang Chengen and two young eunuchs came back carrying wooden barrels. Seeing this scene, they didn't know whether they should go to make a nest. "You come with me, let them make a nest, and fish tomorrow!" Looking at the full bucket of fresh corn beans and smelling the fragrance, Hong Tao seemed to see big fish coming ashore one after another.

But looking at the parchment scroll in his hand, he could only put down his fishing rod helplessly, got up and walked to the classroom of the Cuju team to change clothes. This emperor gets up earlier than chickens, sleeps later than dogs, works more than donkeys, but can't do whatever he wants. What is he trying to do?
Jane Petersson Cohen strode on the smooth road paved with blue bricks and stones, looking at the buildings on both sides that changed from time to time, and always felt a sense of unreality.

The palace was so huge that every time I thought that the towering building in front of me was the emperor's palace, after a while I would pass by it or walk through it, and then another equally huge palace would appear in front of me.

I tried to count carefully at first how many gates, walls and steps I had passed, but I forgot as I walked along. My mind was filled with the high red walls, yellow tiles, huge copper vats and the stacked roofs.

Then he began to calculate silently in his mind, trying to roughly estimate how many silver coins would be needed to build the palace. Unfortunately, after using all his knowledge to calculate all the way, he still had no clue until he stopped in front of a small courtyard.

"It seems that this attempt is likely to be a waste of time!" Looking at the Ming official who led the way walking into the courtyard in small steps, Cohen muttered softly, and lowered his expectations for the prospects of this trip.

Two months ago, the merchant fleet from the mainland had been reduced from seven to four, and the hulls were covered with scars. Looking at the bodies of the sailors wrapped in white cloth, Cohen knew what they had encountered on the way without anyone reporting it. It was not the damage caused by the storm, but the result of intensive artillery attacks.

Since the Spanish and Portuguese occupied most of the supply points to the East, the journey to the Spice Islands for the United Provinces merchant ships was particularly difficult.

Starting from Amsterdam, merchant ships had to deliberately avoid the Spanish fleet and carefully sail south along the coast of West Africa until they could dock in Liberia for supplies. Fortunately, the Cape of Good Hope had not yet been occupied by the Spanish, otherwise the Eastern Route would not have been completed.

However, after rounding the Cape of Good Hope, the future was still not bright, as most of the port cities on the east coast of Africa and the Indian Peninsula were under the influence of the Portuguese.

Fortunately, the Portuguese did not prohibit the merchant ships of the United Provinces from docking, which led to the East India Company settling on Java Island, then slowly expanding to the surrounding areas, and gradually controlling most of the Spice Islands.

A few years ago, the Spanish governor who had occupied the Philippine Islands was defeated by troops sent by the Ming Emperor, and then he had limited cooperation with the East India Company, which was originally a very good thing.

However, with the re-emergence of open hostility between the United Provinces and Spain, the good situation suddenly took a sharp turn for the worse. Most Portuguese ports along the way refused to provide supplies to the East India Company's ships and even opened fire on them.

As the second-in-command of the East India Company's Indian branch, if he could not find an effective solution, the losses of the Indian branch would be huge, and his own work might be wasted.

(End of this chapter)