unclear

Chapter 942 Showdown 2
Gabriel deeply agreed with the Ming Emperor's frankness. Now the Ming Empire and the Kingdom of Spain were competing for control of the East Indies. Portugal had nothing to do with it, but the King of Spain became the King of Portugal, and Portugal was also involved.

In this situation, if you put yourself in the shoes of the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, you will find that there is no other good choice. You can't just watch the enemy occupy important ports at your doorstep and on shipping routes.

You say you are Portuguese, you don't care about the Spanish war, you even hate the Spanish, and you won't help Spain to fight against the Ming Empire. But who can believe it? The fact is that the Portuguese have to obey the orders of the King of Spain, and the Indian Governor of Goa is no exception.

"In fact, there is an option that is more beneficial to both parties. You can join the Ming Empire and become my subjects.

Just now you said that some young people in Macau have never been to Portugal. They were born and raised here, drinking water from the same river as the people of the Ming Dynasty, eating food produced from the same land, and even speaking the same language. Except for different beliefs and appearances, there is essentially no difference.

In addition, returning to Portugal, or living in other trading posts occupied by the Portuguese, may not necessarily be better than living in Macau, at least business will be greatly affected.

Unless you are not satisfied with the current situation, I do not think leaving is a good choice. A great Chinese poet once wrote, "My hometown is where my heart is at peace." People live first for themselves, then for their loved ones. Only after these two points are met can they consider the country.

Most of you in your hometown are not nobles, nor rich people, but adventurers, who used their lives as capital to cross the ocean in the hope of gaining more wealth. Now you have wealth, but it is not given by the King of Portugal. I can't understand why you would give up all this and start over for the king. "

No one in the court or the army had ever raised the issue of how to treat the Portuguese merchants in Macau, but Hong Tao had thought about it very early, even before going to war with the Spaniards.

The general attitude can be summed up in four words: let them choose. Those who are willing to stay can become citizens of the Ming Dynasty, and those who are unwilling to stay can go wherever they want, and we will not interfere. But it is easy to leave, but it is difficult to come back.

In the future, ships flying the flag of the Portuguese Chamber of Commerce will no longer enjoy tax benefits, and may not even be able to dock at certain important ports. They will not be able to directly obtain first-hand goods and can only go to specific ports to purchase re-export goods.

Originally, Hong Tao still hoped that they could stay and become citizens of the Ming Dynasty, continue to engage in ocean trade, and sell Ming Dynasty products to Europe. In this regard, the Ming Dynasty merchants were just starting out and were far less experienced than them, so they had a lot to learn.

"...Thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty. I need to go back and listen to the opinions of other people in the Chamber of Commerce on this matter. I cannot give an immediate answer." Gabriel obviously attached more importance to this suggestion. After thinking about it again and again, he still couldn't make up his mind.

What the emperor said did make sense. The Portuguese people had no obligation to be loyal to the king. It would be a bit stupid for them to give up the good life they had worked so hard to create and become enemies of the Ming Empire for the sake of Spain.

But at this moment, he could not represent others, and he had to think clearly about the consequences of such a choice. This was a one-way street, and once he started, he could not turn back. Whether the future was really bright, he had to find a few more people to discuss it carefully.

"There is still plenty of time, think about it slowly. This is a flag of the Ming Empire, and there is also an identity card for honorary citizens. Keep them well. No matter what you choose, you are my friend. In the future, you can use this to enter and exit the imperial commercial port, just like a citizen."

Hong Tao did not expect Gabriel to give an immediate answer. He waved to Wang Chengen to bring out the prepared gift, and ended the meeting with a brief explanation.

Gabriel not only helped himself, but also indirectly helped the Ming Dynasty. It was he who obtained the seeds of American crops such as corn, potatoes, rubber, cocoa, and tobacco from the Spaniards through various channels.

A drop of water from someone's kindness should be repaid with a spring. At the national level, I cannot bend the law for personal gain and make peace with the Portuguese. But at the personal level, I can still give corresponding returns.

Unlike the meeting with Gabriel, Bach mentioned that the Yarkand Khanate delegation could not be received privately, but had to be conducted in a state-to-state manner with the participation of ministers in accordance with the rules. Eighty percent of it was in the realm of etiquette and had no practical significance, and the remaining 20% ​​was also discussed in advance. Every sentence was a line, and no one knew who was performing for.

The Ming Empire recognized Abdulchayin's rule over the Kingdom of Yarkand, granted him a golden book, and named him the King of Yarkand. The basic treatment was similar to that of North Korea, and in principle, it did not interfere in the internal affairs of the country, but it had the right to veto the appointment of the crown prince and the enthronement of the new king.

With power comes obligations. When the Yarkand Kingdom was invaded by foreign enemies, the Ming Empire, as the suzerain state, should have sent troops to protect it and also participated in the negotiations between war and peace.

Unlike North Korea, the Ming Empire would station troops in the Kingdom of Yarkand to protect the trade routes to the west. At the same time, it would designate Hami and Turpan as trusteeship areas, which would be managed by the Ming Empire, but sovereignty would still belong to the Kingdom of Yarkand.

It was not until the end of the ceremony that Hong Tao had the opportunity to meet with Bakhti alone and listen to the changes that had taken place within the Yarkand Khanate over the past year, as well as the specific reactions of the surrounding forces.

According to Bakhti, after Abdullah ascended the throne, he did not launch a large-scale purge of the nobles and emirs within the Khanate. Instead, he arranged all his forces in the Turpan Khanate near the cities of Yarkand and Kashgar, replacing some of the old aristocratic forces.

He publicly expressed support for the Ming army stationed in Kashgar, Khotan and Ruoqiang, and actively provided supplies. He was just not very satisfied with the placement of the Shadi Khoja family in Hami, but he did not express opposition publicly, and only complained slightly in private.

"To show my sincerity, I will order the Kashgar garrison to withdraw to Aksu, but the Khanate must guarantee the safety of the Ming Chamber of Commerce in various places. If a Ming merchant violates local laws, he must be arrested and handed over to the Ming garrison for trial, and no one may make any arbitrary decisions.

Go and make it clear to Abdulchayin that Shadi Khoja is kept to negotiate with Bukhara and the Kazakh Khanate. If a more suitable candidate can be provided, I can send his people back to the empire.

The Turpan and Hami trusteeship areas were not intended to seize Khanate land, but to guard against the Oirat people in the north. They took the opportunity to attack the Ming Empire and have not repented to this day. They are the enemy of the empire and must be strictly guarded against! "

Hong Tao did not completely believe Bakhti's statement. He was now the governor of Kashgar. Although his son Rahim could no longer become the lord of Yarkand City, he married a woman from the Abudayin family. He was a vested interest and it was doubtful whether he would tell the truth.

However, he was not the only one who could provide intelligence about the Yarkand Kingdom. With the support of the Ming garrison, Abash became the lord of Khotan City. Naturally, he became a thorn in Abudain's side. He could no longer please both sides and could only continue to cling to the Ming Empire.

In addition to regularly providing Du Wenhuan with local and internal information of the Khanate, he also had to provide necessary cover for the Western Regions Branch of the Statistics Department. With the two lines of the army and the Statistics Department, most policy changes could not be concealed, except for the secrets of the kingdom's top leaders.

As for whether Abdul Chaiin really surrendered to the Ming Empire, Hong Tao thought it was highly unlikely. Take North Korea as an example. As long as the Ming Empire showed signs of decline, the attitude of the North Korean high-level officials would also change.

Similarly, before he ascended the throne, Abdul Chayin would certainly be grateful for the help of the Ming Empire, but once he ascended the throne, he would immediately become disgusted with the Ming Empire, and even turn it into hatred.

The reason is very simple, the Ming Empire encroached on some of his interests. As the saying goes, once you step on the pedal, your mind changes immediately. When your position is different, your interests will also change. It is very common for an alliance to become an opposition.

How to deal with it? Without making any special preparations, as long as they ensured that their own strength did not decline drastically, the Kingdom of Yarkand, the Kingdom of Korea, and the three marquises of Inner Mongolia could only continue to endure hardships with beautiful fantasies.

(End of this chapter)