While Methwold was still racking his brains to find a way to curry favor with Chongzhen, Zhu Youzhen had already taken his eyes off the British.

For him, the trade deal paid off as long as the British agreed to borrow ports on the Eurasian route.

Although the Portuguese still occupy the most ports on this route, after leaving Macau, the Portuguese lost their reverence for China. Even the Portuguese colonists in Malacca, not far from China, exploited Chinese merchants a little better than they did with the local natives.

And Noronia, the Portuguese Grand Governor of India in Goa, was obviously a Portuguese colonizer who did not know the times. Perhaps he is still immersed in the time when the Portuguese pioneered the Age of Discovery, more than 100 years ago, ravaged the poor natives everywhere.

When the Portuguese were hostile to the Dutch, and the British were eyeing the Portuguese port next to him, he did not hesitate to refuse, and Chongzhen asked the commander of the Sino-Japanese trade fleet, Sarmento, to bring the proposal to buy the city of Malacca.

Sarmento struggled in Goa, but failed to get Noronha and a Goan official to change their minds. He has been active in Goa for so long that he almost missed this year's trade monsoon.

The day after the British arrived in Tianjin, Sarmento also arrived in Tianjin with half a fleet. The failure to fulfill the Chinese emperor's commission made him very anxious.

He once regarded monopolizing Sino-Japanese trade as his biggest goal in life, but now he hopes to gain the trust of the Chinese emperor. After all, only by gaining the trust of His Majesty the Emperor could his fleet return full of the finest Chinese cargo, without having to endure the Chinese traitors fooling him with inferior goods.

Not to mention, he is also counting on the mirror workshop he has invested in to bring him a stable and high income in the future. Although the ocean-going trade is lucrative, it is also too threatening.

The Portuguese colonizers who occupied Chittagong in Bangladesh lamented, "It is rare to see the Bengal monsoon twice in life." ”

This is of course because the local climate and epidemics have caused great harm to Europeans, but it also proves from the side that the ocean voyages and colonial development of this era were piled up with human lives.

Although Samento has been involved in Asian entrepot trade for more than a decade, he does not consider himself adapted to the Asian climate and food. In his opinion, the reason why he was able to survive was entirely due to the protection of the Virgin Mary.

But God knows, how long will this shelter last? If he can get a high and stable income, he doesn't mind retiring and building a estate in Goa to retire.

It's not that he didn't love the Kingdom of Portugal, but the Kingdom of Portugal, which was annexed by Spain, has now become the place where the King of Spain prepared money and supplies for the war. Businessmen like him, who brought back large sums of money from overseas to prepare for retirement, were the focus of the kingdom's officials.

Samento would rather spend money in Goa to buy a parliamentarian and retire in that beautiful port city than go back to endure the double exploitation of Portuguese and Spanish officials.

But his good ideas were destroyed by the stupid Goan officials. A city of Malacca that is under the watchful eye of the local natives and the Dutch, just last year the king of the Kingdom of Aceh, Makutasilam, launched a war to seize the city of Malacca.

Although Don Alvaret de Botello led 80 sailing ships, defeated the fleet besieging the city of Malacca, captured almost all the besieging Acehnese troops, and achieved a rare brilliant victory.

But anyone with a discerning eye can see that this will do little to solve the plight of the Portuguese in Malacca.

The Portuguese have occupied the city of Malacca for nearly 100 years, and they have offended the surrounding indigenous forces. The Portuguese, who had occupied the city of Malacca, seemed to feel that the glory of Portugal could forever shroud the land.

Not only did they treat the natives harshly with their native lands and the neighboring natives, but they also arbitrarily raised taxes and expelled merchants from West Asia and Africa. Even to their fellow Europeans, they have behaved in a way that is not friendly.

The Acehnese attack on the city of Malacca was only a signal. Samento is very worried, if the Dutch come to attack next time, will Malacca City still be able to hold on?

This time the Dutch were not directly involved, but the Kingdom of Aceh was too proud and unwilling to give the Dutch what they wanted.

And the kingdom of Aceh was in a period of great prosperity, and King Makutasilam was an ambitious man, who had been waging wars and recruiting holy warriors since he succeeded to the throne.

By last year, the entire island of Sumatra had been brought under its rule, and the former Kingdom of Johor had become a vassal of the Kingdom of Aceh. How could a person like this give up his plot against Malacca City because of a single failure.

From Aceh to Malacca, there is only one strait. But from Goa to Malacca, it is separated by half the Indian Ocean. Don Alvaret de Botelho's success may seem brilliant, but Sarmento is well aware that this is nothing more than a strong outsider.

Botello's attack took almost all the ships and troops of Goa, and now Goa is almost an undefended city. This kind of adventure is just a once-in-a-time experience.

If the city of Malacca had to come every time it was besieged, it was estimated that Goa would have been conquered by the neighboring princely states. Although the Portuguese did well in Goa, the atrocities committed by the Portuguese colonists against the local natives were no different from those of the Portuguese colonizers in other regions.

The reason why the Portuguese were able to stay in Goa in peace was only because of their own military force and the weakness of the neighboring princely states. The Western Ghats became the best barrier to Goa, making it impossible for the powerful princely states of the Deccan Plateau to attack Goa.

But with the advent of the British and Dutch in the Indian Ocean, the Portuguese in Goa faced more than just the neighboring princely states. They also need to worry about whether these fellow Europeans will make a surprise attack on Goa.

So, for Botello's brilliant victory, Sarmento was not at all interested. He and some businessmen felt that giving the city of Malacca to the Chinese in exchange for the free passage of Portuguese ships through the Straits of Malacca was the best option for Goa.

The surrender of the city of Malacca to China not only relieved the Portuguese of the burden of defense of the Strait of Malacca. It was also possible to shrink the defensive front and disperse the Portuguese in Malacca into several important ports in the Indian Ocean.

Under the protection of China, Portuguese merchant ships were also free to navigate the Strait of Malacca. The attack on the city of Malacca by the natives and the Dutch would also give Portugal a powerful ally in the East.

But this plan was rejected by the arrogant Portuguese nobles and officers. In their opinion, although China is strong, it is still very weak in the sea, otherwise they would not be restless in the coastal areas of a group of pirates.

Surrendering the city of Malacca to China might soon fall into the hands of the Dutch, so they could not easily abandon the fortified castle of Malacca in order to protect the interests of the Kingdom of Portugal.

What's more, since the Kingdom of Portugal opened up to the sea, there has never been a precedent for directly abandoning overseas colonies without a war. In order to preserve the honor of the kingdom, they could not allow the city of Malacca to be handed over so easily.

The colonial officials, who had a significant interest in the city of Malacca, also actively opposed the proposal of the Chinese emperor brought back by Sarmento.

Therefore, Samento, who went with confidence last year, arrived in Beijing this year with great humility.

After listening to the bad news brought back by Samento, Zhu Youzhen frowned and asked: "So what do you say about the regular flight between Tianjin and Goa?" ”

Samento raised his head and quietly glanced at Chongzhen's face, before he said in a stammering voice: "This proposal was also rejected by the Goan Parliament, because most of the parliamentarians believed that the shipping interests between China and Goa should belong to the Kingdom of Portugal, and it would be detrimental to the interests of Portuguese merchants to allow China to obtain a regular flight." ”

Samento did not tell the full truth, and in fact the idea of a regular China-Goa flight touched the hearts of many Goan businessmen.

These merchants had long wanted to meddle in the China-Goa trade route, but they were unwilling to pay too much for it, since it was the most lucrative and dangerous route.

The establishment of a regular Macau-Goa flight would not only avoid the royalties paid to the kingdom for the trade routes, but also greatly reduce the cost of trade.

Therefore, after rejecting the proposal of the Chinese emperor, the Goan parliament is in full swing discussing how to establish a regular flight between Macau and Goa.

The Portuguese in Goa rejected Chongzhen's hand of friendship, forcing Zhu Youzhen to consider other paths.

Zhu Youzhen was silent for a long time before calmly asking Samento: "I went to Beijing with you, and the Bishop of Macau, Antonio, reported to me, it is said that when you went to Macao this time, you also brought a Goa-appointed governor of Macao?" ”

Sarmento was a little flustered at this moment, and he quickly explained to himself: "This is the idea of the Grand Governor Noronia and the councillors, and I have tried my best to oppose it in the Parliament..."

Zhu Youzhen waved his hand at him, interrupted his explanation, and said, "The Ming Dynasty has given great kindness to the Kingdom of Portugal, but they have abandoned my kindness, so they should pay enough for their choice."

As for you, I hope you will think about it for the next few days, and the choices you make before you leave China will determine whether or not you will be able to enter the ports of China for trade next time..."