As Zhu Cilang knew, Portugal is now in a situation of internal difficulties and diplomacy.

In terms of national power, after the rule of Spain, overseas territories suffered heavy losses, and the nobles and the people suffered in the torture of economic recession. A country that once became a world empire is now just a second-rate small country, which made the Portuguese even more unwilling.

Diplomacy, they resisted the rule of the Spanish Habsburg family and hoped to join the anti-Habsburg camp, that is, the Protestant camp. However, the Protestant camp prefers Portugal as an enemy country, so it is natural to plunder it through war.

This dilemma will always plague Portugal until next year, in 1648, the Peace Treaty of Westphalia was finally signed and a new European order was determined.

The soldiers of the Ming Dynasty could not catch up with the end of the Thirty Years' War in any case. The reason why they gave this "good intention" invitation was purely to send the first comprehensive inspection mission to understand the trends of Europe.

Compared with the Netherlands, which is about to rebel against the enemy, and Spain, which has no faith and deep blood hatred, Portugal is Zhu Cilang's best choice.

Similarly, Portugal, which is now isolated and helpless, will never reject a friendly allies like the Ming Empire. At least the two countries can launch an offensive against the West and the Netherlands in South China and regain the golden route to Japan.

The day after receiving the banquet, Lorensu received the agreement for the dispatch mission of the Ming Empire, and also a memorandum on jointly developing the Nanyang market.

The agreement has the effect of a treaty, and breach of contract will face tension in relations between the two countries. The Ming Empire may take back Macau at any time and will no longer guarantee the lives and property of Macau residents.

The memorandum on developing the Nanyang Market was a redistribution plan for the East Indies. The Portuguese could open a shopping mall within the sphere of influence of the Nanyang forces of the Ming Dynasty, conduct trade legally, pay commercial taxes, and be protected by the Ming Empire.

The former is a big stick, and the latter is a carrot. This trick is old-fashioned, but it is always useful.

Lorensu could not bear the responsibility of acquitting the Ming Empire. He also believed that all members of the loyal parliament would not choose to stand opposite to the Ming Empire. In particular, the imperial crown prince clearly expressed goodwill. The Macau authorities only needed to cooperate in the arrangement of ships and provide certain technical personnel. They did not need to invest too much manpower and financial resources.

"The Ming Empire is a civilized country that respects rules, unlike those barbarians who can only talk with weapons. They value promises and reputations, and we can fully trust their commitments about the development of East India." Lorensu wrote at the end of the letter, and after reading it, he asked the servants to send them back to Macau as soon as possible.

Returning to Macau from Xiamen can go down the sea and save nearly half of the time. After the members of the Macau Loyal Parliament discussed with the Jesuit priests, they decided to send a larger team to Xiamen. Among them, there are a large number of technicians needed by the Crown Prince, who will receive a high salary of 150 taels per month and a living allowance of 35 taels per month. They will go to Beijing, Shandong, Zhejiang and other places to exchange drawing and navigation techniques.

The other part is Joshua Chau's fellow Jesuits, the priests, who hope to gain the right to preach in the Ming Dynasty. Of course, Zhu Cilang was full of vigilance about Catholicism, a religion that subverted the foundation of the Ming society, because the gentlemen of the church were not all people with clear minds like Wang Zheng, and some of them would even accept the most extreme ignorant content in Catholicism.

However, Zhu Cilang was a person with the art of speaking, and used the reason that he had to preach the text first. He also collected several priests who were knowledgeable and well-versed in many languages. He set up Siyi Pavilions in Zhangzhou, Fujian and Guangzhou, Guangdong respectively to translate European academic works and train translators.

With the efforts and cooperation of the Portuguese, the number of the first batch of envoys to Europe of the Ming Dynasty was determined to be 300. Zheng Zhilong allocated a Western-style warship. As the ship of the Ming Dynasty mission, the sailors were cross-equipped by the Ming and Portuguese countries, aiming to cultivate the Ming Dynasty's sailors to master the ocean-going navigation technology.

The mission will set off from Xiamen, Quanzhou. It meets with the Portuguese fleet in Macau, then passes through Malacca with the east wind, crosses the Indian Ocean, and arrives at the Portuguese capital Lisbon after eight to nine months of voyage.

The 21st year of Chongzhen was destined to leave a strong mark in world history.

...

"Today is the first day of the 21st year of Chongzhen in the Ming Dynasty, and it is also the second day when they calculated the arrival of spring. I arrived at Xiamen Port today, February 2, and saw two old Portuguese gate ships. The Ming people did not hide their hostile attitude towards our company at all, and did not allow any crew member to leave the ship until they completed their so-called plague inspection."

Cohenlad sat in the cabin, looking at the newly built port outside the window, dipped in ink, and continued to write: "The Chinese are obviously more friendly to the Portuguese. Their ships are unloading every day, and even so, they are still very dripping. God knows how much cargo they load. Officials at the port of Xiamen will arrange unloading tomorrow, but all goods must be checked according to the list, and even unboxing and checking..."

"Mr. Solomonson." The captain knocked on the hatch of Cohenlad Solomonson: "A Chinese official requested to see you."

Cohenlad nodded, checked his outfit and walked out of the cabin.

With his military rank and senior business commissioner, he was qualified to serve as the commander of a squadron. However, he was very self-aware of his tactical abilities, so he only brought two sailboats - Lusdunan and Egret. Even so, in order to reduce the risk of the Ming Empire's betrayal, Cohenlad only took Lusdunan to Xiamen and parked the Egret on an island outside the ocean for support.

"Nicolah, I really didn't expect you to come in person." Cornlad walked to the deck and saw the old acquaintance standing on the dock, Zheng Zhilong.

Nicholas is Zheng Zhilong's teaching name.

Zheng Zhilong smiled at Cohenlad and replied in Dutch: "Is this trip still going well?"

"It depends on the final terms of trade that your country has reached." Cohenlad smiled and said, "Can I come down?"

Zheng Zhilong nodded.

The guards guarding the ship only allowed Cohenlad to pass, but even his servants were not allowed to go ashore.

Cornrad looked at Nicholas, believing that this was not a question he could decide, so he had to bury his displeasure in his heart. He walked towards Zheng Zhilong and said, "Is there a plague here? It's very strict."

Zheng Zhilong did not reply, but asked his subordinates to hand over a letter of nationality: "This is the latest "All National Kunyu Map" issued by our domestic cabinet."

Cohenlad took the map in confusion, and after opening it, he found that there were rare color prints on the map, among which the Ming Dynasty territory was printed with a light yellow color on the upper right side of the map. Other countries were dyed with different shades to distinguish the general boundaries.

"Thank you for your gift." Cornlad put away the map and was about to take out the return gift he had prepared for Zheng Zhilong, but saw Zheng Zhilong raise his hand to stop him.

"Please take a closer look at the territory of the Ming Dynasty." Zheng Zhilong reminded.

Cohenlad expanded the map again and couldn't help but focus on his place - Fujian. He immediately discovered that Holmosa was also dyed the same color as the Ming Dynasty: light yellow.

"What does this mean?" Cornlad suppressed his anger.

"It means that the Netherlands should withdraw from Gerranzha and Fort Anthony and return Taiwan to Ming officials to govern." Zheng Zhilong said simply and clearly.

"This is impossible, a magistrate," Cohenlad said: "The Governor General cannot agree to such excessive demands."

"If you leave consciously, you can still gain equal trade power with the Portuguese." Zheng Zhilong raised his head slightly: "Otherwise, we may have to fight another war to decide who obeys who."

Cornlad felt a deep chill. In the Battle of Liaoluo Bay in 1633, it was the Ming fleet led by the man in front of him who defeated the Dutch fleet, making the "expedition to China" a joke.

Zheng Zhilong will not forget the duel in Chongzhen in the sixth year. Although the Dutch sailboat showed accurate artillery ability, he eventually defeated the European fleet, which was known as the most powerful in the East Indian Ocean. Now, thinking about it seems that there is still more effort, and he can fight again at the moment of the crown prince to add weight to himself.

"You are blackmailing, an official." Cornrad glared at Zheng Zhilong.

Zheng Zhilong raised his hand and shook it gently at him: "Take him away."

The guards on the side stepped forward and grabbed Cohenlad and almost raised him up.

"The United Company will not let you kidnap like this!" Cohenlad shouted.

"No, I just invite you to visit." Zheng Zhilong squeezed out a smile.

Cornlad did not make any unnecessary resistance. He hoped that after someone on the ship saw him being taken away, he would send a small boat back to Batavia to report the news. However, reason told him that the Chinese would definitely not let any Dutch ship leave the port. What made him even more worried was that if the facts proved that the Ming army was worried about by Oufuwat was right to attack Holmosa, then General Ryan would face the accusation of dereliction of duty.

The dream of becoming a commander or even a governor of the land naturally became nonsense.

——If the war in Shermosa can be avoided, there may be room for maneuver.

After Cohenlad was under house arrest, he thought hard, hoping to get out of a desperate situation.

...

"We have no possibility of peace with the Netherlands." Zhu Ciyang never thought of oppressing the Dutch to surrender through negotiations and oppression: "Even if they are willing to give up Taiwan, they cannot give up Japan. Even if they give up all routes east of Batavia, they cannot give up Batavia. However, the Ming navy had to occupy Luzon and Java until they control Malacca. This is an unshakable national policy."

Zheng Zhilong looked at the range marked on the map and suddenly felt that if this place was all the territory of the Ming Dynasty, it would be a very good deal. (To be continued...)
Chapter completed!