I

  Chapter 770 767 [Cromwell who is difficult to communicate]

   "Boom!"

  At the negotiation scene, Zhang Ruifeng was so angry that he slapped the table, pointed at Cromwell and cursed: "Zhuzi, how dare you play me like this!"

  Cromwell didn't want to get stuck, and quickly explained: "Mr. Messenger, what I said just now is just a proposal, and everything can be discussed slowly. If Mr. Messenger agrees, Britain will definitely return something, and you can put forward any conditions."

Zhang Ruifeng wanted to leave in a huff, but suppressed his anger and said, "Although Sulu, Brunei, and Palembang are all Chinese territories, they have their own customs. Especially in Sulu and Brunei, they have kings." .They did not betray His Majesty the Emperor of China. Chinese officials cannot interfere. You'd better put away your gangster ideas!"

  Sulu, Brunei, and Palembang all generally believe in Christianity. Now with the support of China, missionaries have been fully expelled and Christian churches have been demolished.

  Cromwell actually wanted to obtain missionary rights in these three places through China.

  In addition, Sulu and Brunei are also rich in commodities such as pearls and spices. These goods were initially controlled by Spain, after which China and the Netherlands jointly monopolized the trade.

  As the naval battle between China and the Netherlands broke out, the sultans of the two countries quickly made their attitude clear, announcing that spices and pearls were only sold to Chinese businessmen.

  Cromwell was simply inexplicable. He wanted to obtain the trading rights between the two countries without doing anything.

  As the negotiations went on, the Chinese envoys felt more and more that this guy was crazy.

   In terms of diplomatic negotiations, Cromwell has always been like this.

  He demanded that the United Kingdom and the Netherlands merge into the Commonwealth, and then demanded the Anglo-Dutch alliance. This has already been said, so I will not repeat it.

   A few years ago, Portugal just wanted to establish diplomatic relations with the United Kingdom, and Cromwell threw out a bunch of conditions out of thin air, treating Portugal as a colony.

  For example, allow Portugal to open global ports, allow British missionaries to preach and build churches in Portugal, and so on. At that time, Joao IV was dumbfounded, and even suspected that there was something wrong with his ears. Each of these harsh conditions is more outrageous than the other. Portugal is a country that believes in Catholicism. What does it mean to allow British Protestants to come in? The Thirty Years War of Religion had just ended.

Cromwell was like an unreasonable child, and the other children didn't provoke him, and even said out of kindness: "I think you are good, let's be friends." Cromwell replied: "Being friends is fine. Give me your toy and your lollipop, so that you can be my friend."

  João IV experienced this at the beginning, and the Chinese envoys are now experiencing it again.

  Cromwell said: "As long as it obtains trade rights in Brunei and Sulu, Britain agrees to form an offensive and defensive alliance with China to prevent the expansion of Dutch colonial trade in Asia together."

Zhang Ruifeng is a good-tempered person. He was so angry that he laughed, and his anger disappeared in an instant: "Your Majesty the Protector, China does not owe Britain anything, and does not need the cooperation of Britain to suppress the Netherlands to death. I Before going to sea, His Majesty the Emperor ordered dialogue and diplomacy with all countries on an equal footing. Since you are not sincere, let’s stop talking. In addition, I advise you to let officials do the negotiations in the future. It’s really not good for you to do it yourself. suitable."

  Cromwell is really a diplomatic genius, as long as he participates in negotiations, he will offend one by talking about one.

  Before letting the parliament be responsible for negotiating with the Netherlands, the talks were good, but the Dutch were almost compromised. Cromwell insisted on standing up, forcing the Commonwealth of the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, and the Dutch negotiators were so angry that they almost flipped the table.

   Facts have proved that after Cromwell personally negotiated, the armistice agreement signed with the Netherlands, although on the surface the United Kingdom won the hemp, but many treaties cannot be operated and have no practical significance at all. If the whole process is handed over to Parliament for negotiation, the UK will gain more effective benefits.

  This guy seems a little narcissistic, and a little paranoid.

  Leaving the negotiating table, Zhang Ruifeng strode out of the room, and said to the left and right: "I have nothing to say to this guy. When Lord Fan returns from the Mediterranean Sea, we will immediately return to China by boat. It's just... unreasonable!"

   In the next half month, Cromwell talked in person several times.

  Zhang Ruifeng always had a smile on his face. No matter how outrageous the other party's suggestion was, he always made an excuse to return to China to ask Emperor Zhao for instructions. In a word, I'm tired and I don't want to talk to you.

Fan Chao finally came back with the fleet. He said: "I haven't seen the Pope, but the Pope sent someone to pass on a message. He said that if China wants to establish diplomatic relations with the Papal State, missionaries must be allowed to preach freely, and Chinese believers are not allowed to worship Confucius again." Ancestor. I was so angry that I didn't bother to wait any longer, so I visited a few small Italian countries by the way."

   "How about those small states?" Zhang Ruifeng asked.

Fan Chao replied: "Those small countries are very polite, and they exchanged gifts. There are also several big families who sent their children to accompany the ship, saying that they want to visit China. Then they went to the Ottoman capital. , I almost got into a fight with someone, and I ran away with my troops when I saw that the situation was not good."

   "Fight with Osman?" Zhang Ruifeng was quite puzzled.

  Fan Chao explained: "Osman's empress dowager was killed more than a year ago, leaving a mess. Do you know who killed Osman's empress dowager?"

   "Who killed it?" Zhang Ruifeng asked.

Fan Chao didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "It was killed by her daughter-in-law. The person who planned it was a black eunuch. Nowadays, the queen mother killed the empress dowager. After taking power, she only knows how to enjoy herself, and she raises dozens of little white faces as faces. Osman is so big In the country, the power is controlled by the black chief eunuch. The black chief **** only knows how to make money. In the court, several big families compete with each other for power, and there are sectarian disputes behind it."

   What is this all about?

  The queen mother who killed the empress dowager was born as a Ukrainian (Polish) slave girl. The head of the black **** who controls the power of the country is also of African black slave origin.

  Two slaves turned themselves into masters, and jointly controlled the Ottoman Empire that spanned three continents.

  Fan Chao sighed and said: "I am so old and looks fierce, I was seduced by the queen mother and wanted to sleep with me. It is probably because she has never seen a Chinese man, and she is hungry and wants to try something new."

  Pan Wei suddenly asked: "My lord, is Queen Osman beautiful?"

   "A female slave who can be a queen mother is only in her twenties. Do you think she is beautiful?" Fan Chao asked.

  Pan Wei smiled tacitly.

"What are you laughing at?" Fan Chao said angrily, "I just heard about the Queen Mother's affairs when I first entered the city. After more than a year in power, she has raised dozens of face heads. Beauty is beautiful, but I am I don’t dare to go to bed with her, what if I get Hualiu disease? If I really get sick, I won’t be ashamed when I go back, and I will share my age with that.”

  Zhang Ruifeng asked: "Why did you almost get into a fight?"

Fan Chao said: "I offended the queen mother by not having **** with her. Negotiations between the two countries were all done by black eunuchs. The head of the black **** was greedy and vicious at first glance. Without saying a few words, he Asking for money, I have to give him gifts for everything I want to talk about. I have been in war for half my life, but I was blackmailed by a eunuch, and he was a black eunuch. When I got angry, I didn't bother to talk anymore. "

"Unexpectedly, before I left, a noble minister came to the door. That minister, I don't know where he knew, I was angry in front of the eunuchs, and even instigated me to help them carry out a coup d'etat. He said he had soldiers, plus my soldiers , as long as it is taken by surprise, it will definitely enter the palace and kill the dissolute empress dowager and the greedy eunuch."

   "I'm not stupid, so of course I wouldn't agree. As a result, the next morning, the local officer hired in the area panicked and said that the situation was not good, and the palace seemed to be mobilizing troops."

"The dog entered, it must be the minister's mischief. When I hit a wall, I ran to the queen mother to make a false accusation, forcing me to send troops to fight the queen mother. I won, and they took advantage of the coup d'etat. I lost, and they have The merit of the prosecution."

   "Damn it, I don't fight. It's no good to lose or win. Before the Queen Mother's army came, I immediately led the army and left. No one dared to stop me when I shot all the way."

  Everyone looked at each other in dismay. It was too exciting for Fan Chao to go to Ottoman this time.

   Moreover, everyone looked at Fan Chao differently. In their eyes, apart from being able to fight, this lord is actually a rough man who came from a water bandit.

   But he didn't expect that this old boss was as careless as a hair, and he saw clearly the tricks of the rebel minister.

Cai Yuncheng said with emotion: "Throughout the journey, everyone said that Ottoman was extremely powerful. Especially the European nobles, feared Ottoman's force. Who would have expected that this country would be usurped by two slaves. A foreign queen mother who caused troubles in the palace, and a power overlord The black eunuchs are simply unimaginable and unbelievable!"

  Lu Tianxiang commented: "In such a chaotic political situation, Ottoman should stop contacting. Even if they can get along with their queen mother, I am afraid it will be useless."

"It's really useless," Fan Chao said. "The Queen Mother only wants to enjoy herself, and she doesn't bother to contact the foreign court. The black eunuchs only want to make money, and whoever gives the money will reuse it, and kill whoever is disobedient. In addition to making money and looking for beautiful men, they The other decrees of the two can't leave the capital at all. Ottoman's local provinces are all controlled by noble ministers, and it is said that they are fighting each other."

  Lu Tianxiang asked: "Have you harvested the pasture seeds?"

   "Accepted." Fan Chao replied.

   "Then set sail and return to China." Lu Tianxiang said.

   During this trip to various countries, there is another task, which is to collect economically valuable crops along the way.

  Especially pasture needs to be introduced and improved. This is not uncommon. Chinese alfalfa was introduced by Zhang Qian in the Han Dynasty. Alfalfa is not only used to raise livestock, it was also an important food material in ancient China.

   During this trip to sea, we got ryegrass seeds in Persia and Europe.

  The fairway of the golf course, the lawn is ryegrass, which is also an extremely important pasture. The ryegrass in Persia is suitable for planting in the northwestern provinces of China. The ryegrass in Europe is suitable for planting in the southern provinces of China.

  In addition, the mission also collected some vegetable seeds.

  For example, when the fleet sailed through the southwest corner of Africa and docked at the Portuguese colonial port, everyone clamored for vegetables. Therefore, they explicitly asked for vegetables to be supplied, and the Portuguese took the opportunity to rip off and send a lot of local fruits and vegetables at high prices. One of the vegetables was unheard of, and Zhang Ruifeng hurriedly paid for the seeds.

  Hundreds of years later, this stuff is called Bingcai in China. Salt-alkali and drought-resistant, it can grow in seaside and desert areas.

   It is amazing that after discussion among members of the mission, they unanimously named this vegetable "ice vegetable". On its emerald green branches and leaves, there are things that look like "ice beads", which are hard and cold to touch with hands, and it tastes icy and refreshing.

   Moreover, iced vegetables have their own salt content, so you don’t need to add salt when cooking.

  (end of this chapter)