Outside the port of Xiamen

A three-masted warship flying the blue and white flag of the Kingdom of Portugal slowly sailed into the dock.

On the deck of the battleship, Steve, the Portuguese governor in Macao, looked up at the more than a dozen third-class battleships that were several laps larger than his own on the dock, and his face showed a solemn expression.

He turned his head and asked an officer behind him, "Lieutenant Commander Oreve, is this the latest warship of the Ming Kingdom that you mentioned in your letter?" ”

"Yes, Your Excellency!" Lieutenant Colonel Orev nodded: "This is a new type of warship with very strong combat effectiveness, which is very good in terms of protection, firepower and speed, and one ship alone is equipped with eighty guns. It seems to me that at the moment there is not a single battleship in Europe that is its opponent. ”

Hearing this, another officer next to him said a little unconvinced: "Lieutenant Colonel Orev, what you said is a bit exaggerated. I admit that from the point of view of a naval officer, this Ming warship is indeed quite good, but it is not too much of an exaggeration to say that none of the battleships are its opponents, and in order to increase the protection it also covers the side of the ship with iron armor, which will cause its weight to increase dramatically and make its weight fall, how can a bulky elephant beat a pack of nimble hyenas. ”

"But don't forget, this elephant can fire." Lieutenant Colonel Olev sneered: "Some time ago, His Excellency the Marquis of the Ming Kingdom led more than 50 warships of this fleet to fight a decisive battle with more than 300 warships of Zheng Zhilong's group in Taiwan, and in the end, Zheng Zhilong lost more than 100 warships, while the Fujian Navy Division only lost 6 warships, but none of the warships of this type were lost, doesn't this explain the problem?" ”

Hearing this, the officer next to him was silent. Zheng Zhilong has been fighting with them for so many years, how can they not understand Zheng Zhilong's power, just some time ago Zheng Zhilong robbed their merchant ships, they could only stare dryly, and in the end, Liu Xiang led the Fujian Navy Division to arrive in time to let them escape, and the Ming Army Navy was able to rely on this battleship to severely damage Zheng Zhilong, and its combat effectiveness can naturally be imagined.

It's not that the officers don't understand this truth, but when they think of this mission to Xiamen, many people feel unusually aggrieved.

Steve naturally understood the mood of these officers, but a smile appeared on his face as he sighed helplessly in his heart: "Gentlemen, I understand your feelings at this moment, but you must understand that since His Majesty's order has been officially issued, as soldiers, we naturally cannot disobey His Majesty's order, and besides, we will not return Macau to Ming Kingdom in vain."

The Marquis of the Ming Kingdom had promised that our merchant ships could continue to dock in Macao, and that the Ming Kingdom had allowed our merchants to go to their interior to purchase porcelain, tea, and other goods, and with these things, I believe that each of us would be able to make a good profit. ”

"Boom...... Boom ......"

As soon as Steve finished speaking, he heard a deafening burst of cannon fire suddenly sounding on the dock.

The people on the ship are all soldiers except Steve, and they are naturally very sensitive to the sound of cannons, and at the moment when the cannons sounded, everyone looked almost reflexively in the direction of the cannons, and when they looked over, they found that it was a thick white smoke coming out of the sides of several warships around the dock.

"God, what did I see, those Ming people were firing a gun salute, when did they learn the etiquette of those Prussians and Anglos?"

Taken aback, some officers complained that in the seventeenth century, the gun salute was not as common as the international rite of welcome, and that many people in many countries regarded this ritual as rude.

Steve frowned and shouted to the crowd, "Okay gentlemen, what time is it, you are still complaining, don't you see that the sailors are already lining up on the deck to welcome us?" Hurry up and order our men to stand in line, and don't make people laugh at the lack of manners of our officers of the Navy of the Kingdom of Portugal! ”

Under Steve's order, the sailors and officers on the battleship also lined up in a neat formation and slowly docked at the pier with the battleship.

"Welcome, Lord Steve!"

When Steve stepped off the battleship and stepped on the dock, Yang Feng, dressed in military uniform, strode in front of Steve, the Portuguese Governor in Macau, and had a bear hug with him, but maybe his strength was too great, and the Portuguese Governor in Macao rolled his eyes for a while.

Fortunately, Yang Feng also realized in time that the strength he used might be too great, and apologized a little embarrassed: "Oh...... I'm so sorry, maybe I'm too excited, knowing that I've been looking forward to this day for too long. ”

"Well, it's the first time I've seen an apology like yours, and it looks like I need to relearn Da Ming's etiquette." Steve smiled helplessly.

"Governor Steve, I've prepared lunch for you and your officers, what do you think about it after we finish eating?"

"Of course there is no problem, don't you Daming have an old saying that the guest is the host, since I have come to your territory, I naturally have to obey your arrangement."

While the two were talking, a carriage slowly came to the side of the two and stopped, Yang Feng invited Steve to get into the carriage, and soon the carriage left the dock and headed towards the Zhengnan Metropolitan Governor's Mansion.

At noon on the same day, Yang Feng hosted a banquet in the Governor's Mansion to entertain Steve and his party, both Steve and the casual Portuguese officers were conquered by the delicacies of the Ming Dynasty, and the group was full of praise.

After lunch, Yang Feng invited Steve to his study alone.

After taking a sip of tea, Yang Feng said to Steve: "Your Excellency, I think you must have brought good news this time, right?" ”

"Yes!"

Steve nodded, took out an envelope from his body and solemnly handed it to Yang Feng.

"Your Excellency, Your Majesty's reply has arrived, in which His Majesty formally agrees to your country's demand for the recovery of Macao, and also agrees to withdraw all our troops, but His Majesty also hopes that your country will keep its promise and effectively protect the safety of our expatriates and merchants."

"Of course!" Yang Feng also nodded solemnly: "Keeping promises is the basic principle of a civilized country, since we have promised, as long as the merchants of your country abide by the law in our country, we will definitely protect their safety." And I'm sure you'll gain more than you lose. ”

"I hope so!"

Steve let out a long sigh, with a complicated look on his face, as the last Portuguese governor in Macau, it was in a bitter mood, but when it thought that Portugal could obtain the right to do business with the Ming Dynasty in the future, its mood was much better.

At this time, I heard Yang Feng say again: "Your Excellency Steve, I have a proposal here, do you want to hear it?" ”