I

  Chapter 701 698 [Receive the younger brother]

   Kuang Hong was ordered to pay a visit to the King of Banten. As for who should be the king, this is out of his consideration.

   "His Royal Highness, please allow me to introduce myself," Kuang Hong said with a smile, "My name is Kuang Lu, and I am an envoy from China. On behalf of His Majesty the Emperor of Datong, I made a special trip to bring the emperor's greetings to the king."

  Sultan Ah Geng saluted again: "Welcome Your Excellency, please convey my gratitude to the emperor of your country on my behalf."

   "This is a gift from His Majesty the Emperor." Kuang Hong turned and pointed to the two boxes.

  The accompanying envoy immediately handed over the gift list, and the navy soldiers carried the box over.

   Sultan Ah Geng was even happier. He had just won the throne today and received a gift from the Chinese emperor.

   He knows about China. It defeated the Dutch fleet last year. This matter has been widely spread in Nanyang. What's more, there are many Chinese in Banten itself, and even the minaret of the Banten Grand Mosque was designed and built by Chinese.

  A Geng said: "Please come inside your envoy!"

   "Please." Kuang Hong smiled back.

  The envoys were arranged to live in the palace, and the treatment was very generous, because the Wandan Kingdom was very rich.

  Banten Port is the maritime trade center of the entire Southeast Asia, and the volume of goods traded far exceeds that of Malacca and Batavia. This is because Malacca and Batavia are both controlled by the Netherlands to do exclusive business. Banten Port is a free port, except for the Dutch, no matter which country can come to trade.

  That night, Sultan Ageng hosted a banquet in honor of the envoys.

  Before the banquet started, everyone received a beautiful gift. Sultan Ageng also held out a sword: "This is the royal collection of Wandan. Please pass it on to His Majesty the Emperor of China. It only represents my personal respect for the Emperor."

   "It must be brought." Kuang Hong stood up and took it.

  This sword has a strange shape, it is a Malay snake sword. As for the specific appearance, please brainstorm the Golden Snake Sword of Mr. Jin Snake.

   Moreover, the blade is made of Damascus steel, the scabbard is wrapped in sharkskin, and inlaid with rubies and sapphires.

  Banten Port has ships from various countries, and the culture and art are also very inclusive.

  Although Banten Kingdom is a religious country, the religion here is very distinctive, absorbing and integrating Hinduism, Buddhism, and All Souls. The minaret designed by the Chinese for the Banten Grand Mosque is neither Arabic, Persian, nor Chinese in architectural style, but a fusion of Mughal and Malay-Hindu styles.

  The same is true for this sword. The blade style is Malay style, but the scabbard decoration is Persian style. I think Emperor Zhao of Nanjing will like it very much.

   "Papa papa!"

  Sultan Ah Geng clapped his hands, the band and dancers came on stage, and the palace servants came with all kinds of food.

  Alcohol is prohibited here, and the drinks are juice drinks.

  Sultan Ah Geng raised his glass and said, "This cup is for the great Chinese emperor!"

   "Your Majesty!"

  Kuang Hong got up quickly, and led all the envoys, turned around and bowed to the northeast.

  After sitting down again, Geng pointed to a Chinese at the table: "Your Excellency, this is Mr. Skbanka, an advisor to the Banten royal family, a profound scholar, and an excellent architect."

  The Chinese was about fifty years old. He stood up and cupped his hands and said, "Chen Lian, an overseas Han citizen, meet Angel!"

   "You're polite," Kuang Hong asked, cupping his hands, "Where are you from?"

Chen Lian replied: "From Xiangshan County, Guangdong. My family was poor when I was young. After studying in a village school for several years, I had to abandon school to fish for a living. At the age of thirteen, I went to sea with my elders and came to Java Island. My uncle died in Jakarta. Wandering around, I was taken in as a servant by a fire man. The fire man saw that I was smart, so he let me join the religion and learn some knowledge from him."

   Kuang Hong smiled and said, "You and I are still from the same hometown, I am from Nanhai County."

   "I see. No wonder your accent is kind." Chen Lian became more enthusiastic immediately.

   Immediately afterwards, Chen Lian talked with Sultan Ah Geng again in Malay, probably translating the conversation just now.

Sultan Ah Geng smiled even more happily, and while drinking fruit juice, he said: "What a coincidence, the advisor of the Wandan royal family is actually a villager with Your Excellency the Envoy. Your Excellency, you are a very talented villager. Years ago, he designed and built the minaret for the Banten Grand Mosque, which was unanimously praised by the majority of religious believers."

  Chen Lian spoke beside him and said, "Thanks to the old Sultan's love, otherwise how would I have a chance?"

   After some chatting, the atmosphere became more harmonious.

Sultan Ageng picked up the opium and smoking sets: "Your envoy, please taste it. This is the best product. The Dutch are very bad. The opium they sell is always inferior. Banten's friend, the British, is the real opium. There is honesty, and the opium sold by the British is always of good quality."

Kuang Hong had seen opium a long time ago, and everyone put a copy in front of the case. He cupped his hands and said, "Your Highness, opium is forbidden in our country, just like drinking alcohol in Banten. His Majesty the Emperor of China said that opium is poisonous and will It's addictive and ultimately maddening."

   "Is that so?" Sultan Ageng was puzzled, "In Banten, only the nobles can enjoy opium, and it will make people feel refreshed after taking it."

   Kuang Hong said: "The emperor of our country prohibits smoking opium, so thank you for your kindness, all envoys are not allowed to touch this thing."

  Sultan Ah Geng said: "That's really a pity. I wanted to share the best opium with your envoy."

  The Banten nobles and officials present just lit the smoke ointment, and began to smoke on the spot, and Chen Lian, who was an adviser to the royal family, was also smoking. After a while, everyone became more comfortable, and their words and deeds became more casual.

   This exotic hero instantly turned into an opium ghost.

  The next day, the British were approved by the Sudan and came to the palace to contact the Chinese mission.

  Britain focuses on India and has established 28 factories in India. The so-called factory is actually an office, which is responsible for buying, selling, transporting, and packaging goods. The entire process is tax-free, which is licensed by the Mughal emperor.

  On the Banten side, there is only one trading post in the UK, which buys goods from Chinese maritime merchants and stores them in warehouses for merchant ships to return to Europe.

  By the way, the British East India Company has finally started importing Chinese tea in the past two years.

   I didn’t buy tea before because the British don’t drink tea. Thanks to the vigorous promotion of Dutch businessmen, Chinese tea is not only popular in the Netherlands, but now it has also spread to the British aristocracy.

   "Nice to meet you, distinguished Chinese envoy," the British guy saluted, "My name is Thomas, and I am the person in charge of the Banten Trading Station of the British East India Company."

  The British guy brought his own translator, and he was a Chinese.

   Kuang Hong nodded with a smile: "Nice to meet you."

Thomas asked straightforwardly: "China defeated the Netherlands in a naval battle last year. Is it going to attack Batavia this time? If so, Britain is happy to help, and we will send troops together with China. And, I will convince King Banten Also send troops."

Kuang Hong said with a smile: "I haven't received the king's order whether to attack Batavia. I came this time to establish diplomatic relations with Banten Kingdom, and I was ordered to reprimand the Dutch. As a punishment, China will prohibit the sale of If the brocade is given to the Dutch, is Britain interested in the brocade?"

   "Is it the Chinese royal silk that is as beautiful as clouds?" Thomas' eyes widened with excitement.

   Yunjin is currently only produced in Nanjing, employing nearly 20,000 workers, and the annual output is limited. More than half of it can be consumed in the domestic market, and very little is exported overseas. The European market of Yunjin is completely monopolized by the Netherlands.

  A few years ago, the Dutch auctioned Yunjin brocade and sold it at an unprecedented price. Now only the top nobles or the rich can afford it.

   Kuang Hong said: "I brought a boatload of brocade brocade when I came to Banten this time. If you are interested, you can sell half of it to the British East India Company."

   "I'm interested, I'm interested, the price can be negotiated." Thomas was afraid that Kuang Hong would regret it.

  This kind of scarce commodity is a pure seller's market, as long as you buy it, you can make a lot of money.

   Kuang Hong said: "The Netherlands is too rampant. The emperor of our country has a good impression of Britain and is willing to conduct long-term friendly maritime trade. Please tell the king of your country that he can send an envoy to visit China."

   "Be sure to bring the emperor's words with you."

  Thomas, the king of England who has a fart, has been imprisoned long ago—in fact, the king has been cut off, but the news has not yet reached Banten.

  A few days later, Datong Navy began to sell goods, many of which were scarce products that were previously covered by the Netherlands.

  In addition to Yunjin, there are imitation Ru porcelain and the like, and there are also a lot of cigars.

  The name "Cigar" was given by Emperor Zhao himself.

  It is gray and white like snow, and its shape is like a cigarette, which is a cigar.

  The raw materials for making cigars are all high-quality tobacco leaves, and the customers are also rich people. Now they are gradually selling well in the south, and they can contribute a lot of tax revenue to the court every year. The leftover tobacco leaves from cigar making are used to make shredded tobacco.

  At present, Jiangxi cigars are the most expensive, followed by Hunan cigars. However, Yunnan cigars are developing rapidly, and there is a great tendency to catch up.

  Actually, Europe already has this thing, but Zhao Han still wants to make a fortune. He ordered a large sum of money to buy cigars, packed them in lacquerware boxes lined with imitation Ru porcelain or multicolored porcelain, and carved patterns on the lacquer boxes, writing Chinese characters "only for the Chinese royal family".

   Then, this time, the navy brought in Banten, and the price went up and down.

   I only made money once or twice. After the products become popular, knockoffs will definitely appear, and European merchants will make their own packaging. Of course, this kind of packaging has to be done well by Chinese businessmen.

  While the civil servants of the navy and the Ministry of Commerce were selling goods, Kuang Lu was conducting official diplomacy with the Sultan in the palace.

   "Suzerain?" Sultan Ageng hesitated.

   Kuang Hong said: "The predecessor of your country, Danmu, is actually a vassal state of China."

  The founding monarch of Wandan Kingdom was originally a local aristocrat of Danmu Kingdom, who seized the country by rebellion and continued to grow.

  Sultan Ah Geng asked: "If you become a vassal state of China, what obligations do you need to perform?"

   Kuang Hong said: "China is going to war in Nanyang. If Banten is needed to cooperate, Banten should send troops. Chinese people in Banten, even if they don't believe in religion, should not be taxed."

   "That's all?" Sultan Ah Geng was quite surprised.

Kuang Hong smiled and said: "That's all. If His Highness wants to pay tribute, you can also take the tribute to Nanjing. Of course, you will definitely not suffer. These tributes are all paid. If Datong China becomes the suzerain of Wandan, it will guarantee The safety of Banten. Any country that attacks Banten without authorization is tantamount to going to war with China! Of course, if Banten takes the initiative to attack other countries, and other countries are forced to resist, China will not care about it.”

"it is good!"

   Sultan Ah Geng was overjoyed: "Wandan Kingdom is willing to honor the Emperor of China!"

  Kuang Hong's real mission is to come to Nanyang to recruit younger brothers.

  (end of this chapter)