The Portuguese court band played cheerful music, which made the atmosphere in the palace very relaxed.

King João IV of Portugal sat on the throne and listened attentively to the report of his vice-minister for foreign affairs, Raphael, and the results of the peace negotiations between the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.

The war between the European powers lasted for three years and finally ushered in a draw.

With Li Zhi's support, the Netherlands and Britain, who were self-assured, did not take advantage of the fact that they were strong.

Although the distance was tens of thousands of miles, Li Zhi still worked hard to send a ship and transported key equipment and supplies to Portugal. The superior mobility of the steamship was vividly demonstrated in this transportation halfway around the world. Although the Anglo-Dutch combined fleet controlled the African coastline, it could not stop steamships with a speed of 10 knots or even 11 knots from making breakthroughs again and again in the night.

Indeed, a large fleet of steamships could not be replenished on such a long route. But a single steamship or two could find firewood for a steam engine and fresh water for sailors in a small fishing village along the coast. The dry rations on board were prepared long ago, because the transport ships were not equipped with gunners, and the total number of people on board was not large, so the amount of dry rations was enough to support the crew to complete the transoceanic transport.

The limited number of the fleet also allowed the convoy to quietly buy small quantities of fruit in small coastal fishing villages to replenish key vitamins.

In short, Li Zhi delivered sixteen ships of weapons to Portugal.

The supplies of these sixteen ships consisted of front-loading rifles, front-loading rifled guns, conical flowering shells of more than twenty pounds, and in short, all the weapons that the Portuguese should be equipped with. With the help of Li Zhi, the dying kingdom of Portugal summoned the greatest courage to defend the country, defeating the ambitious Dutch and the British.

The Dutch did not get their coveted Brazil, which remains the jewel in the crown of the King of Portugal.

By the third year of the war, both the Dutch and the British were exhausted. On the land battlefield, the rifled guns supported by Li Zhi allowed the Portuguese to hold the line, and thousands of Anglo-Dutch soldiers were killed every month on the front line. And the combined Anglo-Dutch fleet, although in an overall advantage, could not blockade Portugal under the terrible power of front-loading rifled guns and conical flowering shells.

In the end, both the Netherlands and England were tired, and Portugal, despite their old age, was still able to fight.

After the last failed assault on the out-of-town trenches of Porto, the Dutch and the British despaired. Three years was enough time for the Anglo-Dutch army to open up hundreds of thousands of square kilometers of land around the world, but now all the time was wasted on the Portuguese waste. So a sincere peace talk came without any suspense.

Britain and the Netherlands had no other demands than to restore their pre-war borders and spheres of influence. Although Portugal still had the strength to fight again, it only had the strength to defend and could not attack, so in the end it also accepted the peace conditions of returning to the status quo ante.

Joao IV was largely satisfied with this.

Portugal's independence from Spain was not long, and the defeat of two of the most powerful kingdoms in Europe was enough to prove the strength of Portugal and make other powers dare not covet it.

Raphael didn't take long to introduce the peace agreement. It was a simple agreement that, in addition to restoring the borders and spheres of influence of the countries to pre-war levels, was a five-year peace agreement. For five years, the Anglo-Dutch and Portuguese kingdoms would not go to war again.

Joao IV patted the armrest of the throne and said: "The biggest key to Portugal's ability to resist the joint attack of Britain and the Netherlands this time is the help of the Oriental Li Zhi. ”

João IV spoke highly of the covenant with Li Zhi.

However, Raphael disagreed. Raphael has made several achievements and is now a prominent figure in the Portuguese cabinet, with considerable say.

He said to João IV: "My king, Li Zhi did not help us for free. He used us as cannon fodder to attract the firepower of the Anglo-Dutch forces in Europe, and after the British and Dutch pulled their troops out of the Far East, Li Zhi swept through the Far East in the past three years. The whole of Indochina has been turned into Li Zhi's territory. ”

"If the recent rumors in Holland are not wrong, I think that even Batavia and the larger islands further east have been occupied by Li Zhi, and the whole Far East is no longer European."

Raphael bowed and said, "My king, Li Zhi is using us, taking advantage of the contradictions between white Europeans to divide and disintegrate us. We have paid three years and tens of thousands of casualties and received nothing, and Li Zhi has already gotten everything. ”

"My king, if we don't reach an agreement with the British and Dutch this time and continue to contain the British and Dutch, Li Zhi will easily take India. Even Persia. ”

Hearing Raphael's words, João IV fell silent.

Raphael was right, if Li Zhi and Portugal were allies fighting side by side, Li Zhi's side gained too much benefit, while the Portuguese side gained nothing.

João IV's chief foreign minister, Alves, coughed and said: "Raphael, it can't be said that we have gained nothing. We got a front-loading rifled gun, and now we can copy it. We also learned to make front-loading rifled guns, although we couldn't make a good rifled gun shell anyway..."

Raphael sneered and said, "Your Excellency, is this the result of three years of fighting and tens of thousands of sacrificed soldiers?" As far as I know, the Dutch did not pay for the lives of any soldier for Li Zhi, but they also had the secret of rifled guns and rifled guns. ”

"And Your Highness, according to the report of our ambassador stationed in Fanjiazhuang, Li Zhi's army is now using more advanced weapons. It is said that Li Zhi has already equipped their army with rear-loading guns, and Li Zhi did not sell us any of these new weapons, just to prevent us from copying them. ”

"Li Zhi treats his allies to the extreme."

João IV stood up, took a few steps back and forth in front of the throne, and muttered: "We, Portugal, have gained in this war... Not much, indeed. ”

Raphael said, "My king, we should let Li Zhi know about our grievances and make him reassess the value of our ally. ”

João IV bowed his head and thought for a moment.

Alves bowed and said, "If the king needs it, I am willing to go to the East myself to talk to this legendary Li Zhi, so that he can understand the loss and dissatisfaction of Portugal." ”

João IV looked up at Alves.

After a long time, he said, "Indeed, Alves, you should go to Tianjin." ”

"It's not just you who should go, I'm going too!"

"The alliance with Li Zhi is the most crucial thing for us in Portugal right now, and I have to find out on the ground what Li Zhi's country is really like. How strong is he, what kind of combat effectiveness his army has. I'm going to go to Tianjin to see it in person and talk to Li Zhi. ”