The 17th century was a time of great struggle. All countries were trying their best to expand overseas colonies and do their best to safeguard the commercial interests brought by the colonies. For this reason, they did not hesitate to resort to force and carry out wars. However, in this numerous war, there were only a handful of them involving Britain and Portugal, which seemed to confirm from a certain perspective that the bilateral relations between the two countries have always been friendly and the success of the Portuguese Kingdom's policy of holding the thighs.

Mr. Morris Thompson has no idea how many times he has come to Lisbon. He came to this country before to discuss trade issues, but now he is actually the same. However, compared with the Portuguese who were always a little proud or reserved before, the Portuguese, from the court nobles to the market merchants, all present a sense of confusion and uneasiness, which undoubtedly brings endless benefits to English traders like Mr. Thompson.

Simply put, the current Kingdom of Portugal is gradually being incorporated into England's trading system. The signifiable incident was that Lisbon announced a while ago that the import tariffs on British goods were lowered. This was probably due to the princess' marriage to the UK, and the local people were beaten up by the East Coast people and the urgent need for allies. Of course, it is more likely that England sent 6,000 experienced soldiers to Portugal to help him fight. In short, the current Kingdom of Portugal is too friendly to British commercial capital, so friendly that it even turns a blind eye to Barbados sugar that enters the market at low prices.

Thompson came to Lisbon this time, to examine the feasibility of importing wool, raw silk, meat, dyes, medicines, wine, oils, fruits, spices and other urgently needed goods from Portugal, and to convey a message to the Portuguese court that the Kingdom of Portugal should have the determination to continue the war, and the English will be their backing. However, before departure, the gentlemen of the parliament also specifically reminded that they should not promise any money or material assistance to the Portuguese, and the court also had this opinion. It is natural that His Majesty Charles sent out 6,000 army officers and soldiers to be maintained by the Portuguese, but if he wanted to pay his own money to aid the Portuguese, even relatives would not be able to do this, unless there was enough benefit.

Mr. Thompson is the backbone of the parliament and naturally understands this spirit. He also happened to go to Portugal to deal with business issues, so he temporarily acted as a dual messenger of the king and the parliament, intending to negotiate with the Portuguese and give them some encouragement - well, spiritual encouragement, the Portuguese don't give enough benefits now, and the pressure on them on the East Coast people may not be a bad thing for England.

Furthermore, from the perspective of the powerful East India Company, directly intervening in the war between the East Coast and Portugal at this stage is definitely not a wise choice. The merchants of the East India Company have always been a group of people who bully the weak and fear the strong. If the enemy is weak and can be bullied, they will pounce on them like tigers and wolves; and if the enemy is strong, they will do business honestly. For example, the East Coast people with considerable naval strength are such an East India Company that needs respect and fear. They do not want their ships to disappear for no reason when passing through New China Island and South Africa.

"England does not intend to provide further assistance to Portugal for the time being, unless they offer very tempting conditions, aren't the French also doing this? Perhaps they are even worse, because they have been completely verbal in the past two years except for the assistance of property and officers to Portugal during the war with Spain. They want Portugal to follow their steps with their remnants of influence alone. How is that possible? The cowardly French suffered a loss in New China Island and wanted to cause trouble for the East Coast people here in Portugal." Before going to the palace to meet Duke Mallor, Mr. Morris Thompson thought.

He was undoubtedly disgusted with the French, especially their increasingly restless king. The European continent did not need such a strong monarch, such as the Habsburgs and the Bourbons, because it was obviously threatening the commercial interests of England.

Back to the topic, it is now a sure thing between the two countries' officials. Portugal opened its doors to British industrial products and overseas goods, and the United Kingdom also opened its doors to Portugal's wool, agricultural products, wine, oil, fruit and some Indian goods. There is no doubt that Britain is profitable in this trade, and Portugal is at a disadvantage, but what can I do? The Portuguese have long had this awareness, and they have placed themselves in a subordinate position between the two countries in exchange for political and military asylum, which is usually the way for small countries to survive - although the Kingdom of Portugal was not a small country before.

Of course, it is not a person who has not been occupied by mercantilist ideas. Those who accuse Portugal of trade with unnecessary luxury items, such as olive oil, wine, Indian wonders, raw silk, porcelain, tea, spices, etc. But Mr. Thompson is not the kind of pedantic person. In his opinion, England, which has gradually become rich because of the "Navigation Ordinance", will inevitably become richer. This is legitimate and completely unnecessary to be surprised or afraid.

As long as wealthy lives are common - only a few are in extreme poverty, the lower class can still enjoy a good life - as long as farming, labor and manufacturing continue properly during this period; as long as buildings and farm houses are constantly repaired; as long as people are not as frugal as they should have done, but still pay various taxes, give government assistance, and provide everything necessary to defend them, in such countries - such as England and the United Provinces - they are somewhat over-expensive and luxurious, rather than a cause and precursor to poverty in the future, it is a symbol and function of huge existing wealth.

Mr. Thompson and Duke Mello finally met in the palace garden. They each abandoned their entourage and had a completely secret private conversation. Mr. Thompson first conveyed the greetings from Charles II and his wife to Duke Mello, and then naturally talked about the two wars that the Portuguese were ongoing. There was nothing to say about Spain. The army of this country has collapsed and lacked experienced officers and non-commissioned officers. Even if some weapons were transported by the East Coast people, it was difficult to gain advantage on the battlefield, especially when Britain sent some non-commissioned officers and troops.

What really made the Portuguese headache was the pagans on the East Coast who were eyeing them covetously. These people were cruel and evil, with strong force, just like the Ottoman Turkey back then, and the situation on the battlefield now also appropriately reflects the comparison of military and economic strength between the two sides.

"The Kingdom of Portugal should persist. The East Coast people have consumed huge manpower and material resources for this war, and they cannot delay it indefinitely. Didn't they agree to participate in the peace talks before the mediation led by the Doria family?" Mr. Morris Thompson said for granted, "What have you lost now? Macau, Mozambique, Angola, Cape Verde, Brazil? No, don't worry, these are not fatal. The Kingdom of Portugal is now very well funded and can continue to fight with them until they agree to reasonable ceasefire conditions. At present, your country is also very dissatisfied with the "crazy" conditions proposed by the East Coast people, right?"

"When will England join the war?" Duke Mallor was a little moved by Thompson, but what he was most concerned about was whether the English could stand in the same trenches as Portugal, especially its famous navy. The Kingdom of Portugal needed these navies to defend the sea fronts so as not to lose face under the coastal attacks of the East Coast people.

"Not yet." Mr. Thompson shrugged and said with regret: "I'm sorry, but this is the order of the parliament and the king that I received before departure. Most of the ships of the English Navy need to be renovated and maintained, and cannot be dispatched in the short term. There are still some army, but your country is sure that we need to send us to help you fight?"

England has just cleared the faction of the officers led by Major General Lambert. The royal party and the bourgeois parliamentary elements celebrated each other and were preparing to cut down the unobedient army, which had been reduced in military spending, while also allowing themselves to sleep more peacefully. If the Kingdom of Portugal is willing to accept a considerable number of British army officers and soldiers and pay for them, then neither Charles II nor the members of the parliament would mind at all.

The young Duke of Melloir was silent when he heard this. Now Portugal needs a navy, not an army, because they no longer have too many threats on land, the Spanish were defeated, and the coastal harassment of the East Coast people was also a disease of madbyr. The navy is now insufficient! The shipyard at the mouth of the Tejo River has built several new warships in recent years, and the armed merchant ships ordered in England and the United Provinces should arrive, but even so, the Portuguese still did not have the determination and confidence to fight the decisive battle with the East Coast Navy on the offshore seas - they really could not bear the consequences of another crushing defeat. The two naval battles on Mozambique Island and Cadiz have hit the backbone of the Portuguese Navy, making them dare not easily win when facing the East Coast people. The pessimism in the navy seemed to have increased many times overnight, which made Duke Melloir and others speechless.

Now, we can only hope that the English naval overhaul will be able to go out to sea to stand on Portugal after the preparation is completed, and we will be able to stand on the side of Portugal as their strong backing. We do not expect them to really fight the bloody naval battles of the pagans on the East Coast. As long as they can use their strength and reputation to shock some of the escort warships that came to Europe and protect the safety of the Portuguese maritime border. As for the lost overseas colonies, the navy of the East Coast people cannot squat there all day long, so it is not impossible for the country to send a fleet to carry the army to recover after the time is ripe.

Now, the only question is whether England is willing to stand up for Portugal! This question is critical, because all the plans of the Kingdom of Portugal (maybe "delusion" may be) are based on this premise. If the English Navy is unwilling to stand up for Portugal and scare away the East Coast people, then Portugal will actually be unsustainable in the future. It is unwise and unprofitable to insist on not compromising. In that case, it would be better to agree to some of the conditions of the East Coast people and quickly make a peace agreement with them.

If the English planned to go out to sea to deal with the East Coast people after their naval preparations were completed, then the Kingdom of Portugal could safely send out the slightly recovered navy and take advantage of the opportunity that the East Coast people had no time to take care of to recover some of the lost overseas colonies, even if the war was long-term. Lisbon had not surrendered after so many years of wars, and today, facing the disgusting pagans, there was no reason to retreat.

However, this Morris Thompson always hesitated at critical moments and refused to answer whether the English Navy would fight for Portugal's interests. He did not even offer a bid to the Portuguese court represented by Duke Mallor, that is, what price should be paid to get them to join their side, which is always depressing.

However, let's wait and talk about it, and then persist and see if the situation will change. Paris and London have to send people to see it. The palace - especially Charles II - needs to go around there. The Kingdom of Portugal has given England so many benefits, so they can't send 6,000 troops and sent them to the death.

Thinking of this, Duke Mellor had basically made up his mind that the peacekeeping conditions of the East Coast people were too harsh and he could not bear this responsibility. Let Palermo ease it first and see the changes in the situation before talking about it. There is no need to rush to negotiate now. In addition, there will be several ships of supply to Brazil in the past two days. The Bay of San Salvador cannot be visited. You have to be careful to find a small port that the East Coast Navy cannot take into account and unload the goods before talking about it to support the long-term battle there - although there have not been too many wars in Bahia, Pernambuko and other places.

The opinions of the Portuguese court soon reached the negotiation venue in the Port of Palermo. On November 20, 1662, after learning that Prince Pedro requested a temporary recess, Zheng Yong, the East Coast plenipotentiary envoy who had just ended the fifth round of peace talks, smiled coldly. Then he packed his luggage and took his entourage to leave the Port of Palermo on a boat and headed to the Florence Merchant Station to inspect the work.
Chapter completed!