unclear

Chapter 755 Dutch Envoy 2
Now Europe is said to be divided into two factions, and a fight is imminent. The head office is helpless and can only notify its merchant ships to be as vigilant as possible and find a supply port on their own.

But he was just the head of the Indian branch. How could he turn things around? But Cohen did not intend to go with the flow. No matter what the result was, he would try his best. To use a more popular saying in later generations, my fate is determined by me!

The specific method is to seek help from the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty! It sounds outrageous. The Ming Dynasty is tens of thousands of miles away from Europe. No matter what position you stand on, there is no reason to intervene in this melee mainly caused by religion, unless you drink fake wine and have a brain injury.

However, after careful analysis, Cohen believes that it is still possible, although not high. There are three reasons: First, the Ming emperor knows Europe very well, which is what he heard from Mrs. Silva of the Sun and Moon Bank.

Only those who fully understand Europe can find opportunities to gain benefits from this war. And I, or the East India Company, can help the Ming Emperor seize this opportunity and make a fortune by the way.

Secondly, the Ming Emperor was a man who attached great importance to business and had a strong business mind. This was also what Mrs. Silva said... Well, 80% of Cohen's knowledge of the Ming Empire and the Emperor came from Mrs. Silva.

Half of the remaining 20% ​​came from Lambrecht's senior business representative who went to Guangzhou for negotiations last time, and the other half was learned from Chinese businessmen doing business in Batavia in recent years.

The so-called desperate attempt to find a doctor at random may refer to his current situation, as he actually placed all his hopes on a Spanish female manager of the Ming Bank. However, when the condition is really urgent, it is not necessarily a bad thing to randomly find a famous doctor to see, and it may really work. It all depends on luck.

Finally, the Ming emperor has this ability, such as the black-sailed warships that have frequently appeared in the waters north of Borneo in the past two years. Although they are not big, they are very flexible and fast, and are equipped with a large number of artillery.

If its commander was not too stupid, he would be fully capable of competing with the main battleships of Spain and Portugal stationed in Indian ports. It doesn't need to be much, as long as he can capture a port, the Indian branch and even the entire East India Company will be much better off.

And he would become a great contributor to the company, and could take advantage of the situation to replace Lawrence Real, the Governor-General of the Indian branch who had always been a burden on him but had yet to take office.

But after entering this huge palace, the original 30% confidence became increasingly slim. What kind of emperor would spend a huge amount of money to build such a grand palace? Although I haven't seen it with my own eyes, I can roughly guess it.

He certainly does not have the talent of Henry IV of France. As for whether he will be as prodigal as Philip III, the king of both Spain and Portugal, it is hard to say now.

If the United Provinces had so much financial and material resources at their disposal, they would have ended the civil war and driven back the Spanish interventionists long ago. Or they could have built countless warships and drowned the Spanish fleet alive!

"Please follow me..." Not long after, a young man walked out of the yard and called softly in fluent but strange Latin.

"I'm a little curious, is Latin also used in your country's court?" Cohen followed the young man into the yard, looking around as he walked.

"Please come in... His Majesty is meeting with ministers and will be here in a while. Please wait here and do not walk around casually." The young man stopped and pointed to the room on the west side, his face expressionless and answering irrelevant questions.

"Excuse me, who are you?" Cohen walked slowly into the house, where a man was sitting. His vision was a little blurry due to the sudden dimming of light, and he hesitated for a few seconds. After seeing the man's face clearly, he couldn't help but be a little surprised.

The fat man was not very tall. He wore the same long robe as the officials of the Ming Dynasty and a hat with ears on both sides, but his facial features were very much like those of a European, especially the black hair on the back of his hands.

"Butler Cohen, please take a seat... I am Marcos de Silva, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Taxation of the Ming Empire. His Majesty the Emperor has asked me to be the interpreter and be responsible for the entire translation of the meeting that is about to begin."

"...Excuse me, Mr. Marcos de Silva, but from your accent you sound like you are from Spain?"

As expected, he guessed right. The fat black man actually spoke French. Judging from his grammar and name, he was most likely a noble. But Cohen was a little unsure about a European noble wearing the official uniform of the Ming Empire and appearing in the palace of the Ming Empire.

"Yes, I was born in Tordesillas, Spain. You should have met my wife. She just borrowed a lot of silver coins from you not long ago." Silva did not mention the hijacking of the Montanes by the Ming Navy, but cleverly changed the subject through Oyani.

It was not uncommon to be summoned to the palace as an interpreter, but after arriving, I did not see the emperor, and I did not know what to talk about with the Dutch, so I had to be cautious and try to talk about topics that were not likely to cause ambiguity.

"Oh... God, Mr. Marcos de Silva, you have a wife who is both wise and beautiful. She is very enviable." Sure enough, as soon as Cohen heard the name Oyani, the seductive appearance and wise conversation immediately emerged in his mind, and he began to praise her sincerely.

"Silva, please call me Silva... Director Cohen, I have heard a little about the United Provinces East India Company, but it has no formal business dealings with the Ming government. Are you here this time on behalf of an individual or a company?"

Taking advantage of his wife's change of topic, Silva immediately turned from defense to offense and began to find out the other party's intentions. Emperor Jingyang knew Latin and asked him to be the interpreter. It must be more than just translating the conversation.

"...If Mrs. Silva does not intend to repay the debt immediately, I am here to see His Majesty the Emperor on behalf of the East India Company." With Oyani as a buffer, Cohen's worries were slightly relieved, and he answered half-jokingly and half-seriously.

"From the letter, it seems that the East India Company is ready to formally conclude a trade agreement with the Ming Empire? Excuse me, Director Cohen, if your company does not know the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty very well, it is best to be more cautious and sincere, otherwise the consequences may be serious."

Silva did not despise the Dutchman who was half his age. His wife had mentioned this man's general situation when she returned to Beijing to report after handling the Sun Moon Bank run.

Generally speaking, the evaluation is good, capable, professional, decisive, and far-sighted, but it still cannot escape the arrogance of European colonists. Therefore, necessary warnings should be given in advance, so as not to wake up after suffering losses, which may be too late.

(End of this chapter)