In mid-August, after more than two weeks of negotiations, Portuguese businessmen from Goa finally reached a cooperation agreement with the Portuguese from Macau.

To celebrate the accession of Princess Isabella to the throne as Queen of Portugal and the official establishment of the Kingdom of Portugal's government-in-exile in the East, Bishop Antonio hosted a banquet with the members of the newly formed government-in-exile.

Naturally, Goan merchants such as Sammento were also invited, and since these Portuguese were not very familiar with Chinese banquet ceremonies, the banquet took the form of a simple and casual garden party.

Antonio borrowed a garden mansion from the emperor to organize the banquet. Obviously, he hopes to use his new identity to break into the upper class of the Ming Dynasty.

But as it turned out, he still thought too much. For the magnates of the Ming Dynasty, the Queen of Portugal who was pushed out by the emperor was no different from the vassal kings of the Ming Dynasty.

Although there have been many books on European countries in the past year, few officials are willing to understand the differences between these Western countries.

In the eyes of these officials in charge of the Ming Dynasty, even if this so-called queen really ruled the Kingdom of Portugal thousands of miles away, Antonio and other Westerners were just officials such as the chief of the royal palace.

And now, the recognition of this queen is nothing more than hundreds of Portuguese merchants living in Macau, the government-in-exile that calls itself the Oriental court of the Kingdom of Portugal, and has no land of its own except for Macau, which belongs to the Ming Dynasty.

Therefore, except for a few eunuchs who knew Antonio and others, and the merchants of the Four Seas Trading Company, only some low-ranking officials appeared at this banquet.

But even so, Antonio and the others are already very satisfied. You must know that in the past, they didn't want to hold such a grand banquet, even the capital was difficult to enter.

In the shade of a tree in the corner of the courtyard, several Goan merchants gathered together. Seeing the continuous communication between Antonio and the others and those Ming people, a Goan businessman couldn't help but say sourly to his companions beside him.

"They are really a bunch of qualified merchants, and even the queen they are loyal to sells for a good price. Don't you think that in the eyes of those Ming people, they are like a bunch of clowns? ”

Several Goan businessmen laughed heartily after hearing this, and Sabrosa chuckled a few times before saying to Samento beside him: "Mr. Samento, do we really want to cooperate with these Chinese?"

Those Macau people gained the right to trade freely in Asia, but we lost the right to monopolize Sino-Japanese trade. And what they give you is nothing more than the fictitious title of commander-in-chief of a naval fleet. Is such a cooperation agreement really worth honoring? ”

Samento didn't care about the expressions of his companions, he just watched Bishop Antonio, who was holding a wine glass not far in front of him and communicating with several Ming people.

After a long while, he said, "What else?" Do you think that we should report to the Governor when we return to Goa that the Portuguese in Macau, with the support of the Chinese, have embraced Antonio's daughter, Princess Isabella, as the new queen of the Kingdom of Portugal? ”

In response to Sammento's rhetorical question, several Goan businessmen looked at each other, and one of them whispered, "Isn't this an option?" At the very least, Sevilla will be convinced that we have no connection with the opposition party, and that we will not be implicated in it. ”

Sarmento finally withdrew his gaze, and after turning his head to look at the expressions of his companions beside him, he said slowly: "What if you tell Sevilla?" When His Majesty ascended the throne, he expanded the kingdom's army to 300,000 men, but he was unable to bring the Dutch to their knees.

Look again at the Prime Minister he appointed, the Count of Olivares, who has been around our noble Majesty all day long and says, "Yes, Your Majesty." What else would he do?

Since he took office, he has been helpless against the kingdom's poor finances, but he has been very good at currying favor with our noble majesty. He connived with His Majesty and threw the kingdom's precious wealth into the swampy ponds of the Netherlands, but never received anything in return.

Just the year before last, the finances of the great Kingdom of Spain had once again gone bankrupt. And what did the Lord Count Olivares do? Instead, he happily added a duke's crown to himself, and then stole the private wealth that was supposed to be protected by the kingdom and brought back home from the colonies to fill the kingdom's financial gap.

In order to maintain the king's large army, he aggressively inflated the annual tribute of the Portuguese to the Kingdom of Spain and raised the price of franchises on various maritime trade routes. Do you think that when we get the news of Princess Isabella's accession to the throne back, that lord will reward us for it?

Don't be naïve, those Spaniards will only take away from us, the last pitiful bit of trade power. In order to prevent the Portuguese in Goa from learning from Macao, the flag of the independence of the Kingdom of Portugal was also hoisted.

A mere rebellion in the Netherlands had exhausted the Spaniards' financial resources. As long as our Majesty does not go mad, there will be no other war in the East. Therefore, when we send this news back to Seville, it will only give a headache to the anxious Supreme, who will certainly not provoke a war with the Chinese, but will definitely cut off the trade ties between Goa and Macao.

If that happens, we will have to watch as our ships rot in Goa's ports. Is this what you want in return? ”

After listening to Sarmento's analysis, the faces of several Goan businessmen suddenly became a little unnatural. Before they could figure it out, Sabrosa suddenly spoke, "Anyway, we're still Portuguese after all.

Regardless of whether this Princess Isabella is the blood of the royal family or not, she has finally raised the banner of restoration. We can wait and see, but if it is reported to Seville in the future, if it spreads in the future, don't you worry that when you return to China, you will be troubled by those Zionists? ”

Sabrosa's words finally dispelled the last trace of the merchants' desire to tell Seville. After a moment of silence, a younger businessman finally voiced his concern, "Are we really going to move our family and possessions to Macau?" However, in my estimation, with the help of the Chinese, it is not a problem for them to hold Macau, but it is like a dream to restore the independence of the entire kingdom.

They are acting so openly that even if we go back and don't report the situation, it is estimated that Goa will receive the news sooner or later. Goa received the news, and Sevilla knew that it was only a matter of time. At that time, wouldn't the kingdom have ordered the trade route to be cut off? ”

Sarmento nodded and said: "What you said is indeed good, but when Sevilla passively receives the news and wants to make a decision, it will be at least 3 or 4 years later."

If these Macao businessmen and Chinese still do not make any achievements in 3 or 4 years, it will not be too late for us to support Your Majesty.

Anyway, after this year's trade season, it is time for the new trade power of the China-Japan route to be put up for auction again. This time we will not participate in the auction, if the Chinese really intend to support the restoration movement of the Kingdom of Portugal, then the next 3 years of Sino-Japanese trade will obviously be intercepted by those Chinese.

In that case, although we lose the trade privileges between China and Japan, we still have a chance to retain the right of navigation between Macau and Goa. If the Chinese really start intercepting Portuguese ships in Goa in East Asian waters, then we will be the only Goan fleet that can travel between India and China.

The restoration movement led by Princess Isabella is indeed a danger for us, but it is also an opportunity. If the Chinese and those Macanese perform better at sea, we may be able to recover the loss of the Sino-Japanese trade route. ”

As he spoke, Sarmento remembered that these days, those Chinese had asked from their mouths about the real situation in the city of Malacca and the ports of the Indian Ocean.

Based on the questions asked by the Chinese, Samento was almost certain that the Chinese did not get the city of Malacca in a peaceful way, which seemed to annoy them so much that they had already begun preparations to take the city by force.

The city of Malacca is indeed the key point to control the strait, and if the Chinese control the city, as long as they can move enough people, they can really establish themselves on the Malay Peninsula.

Although the Dutch founded Batavia, they controlled the Sunda Strait, which entered Southeast Asia from the Indian Ocean. But as long as the city of Malacca did not fall into the hands of the Dutch, trade in Southeast and East Asia would not be monopolized by any one country.

In Sammento's view, the city of Malacca fell into the hands of the Chinese than in the hands of the Dutch. However, when the Chinese occupied the city of Malacca, it meant that Chinese ships could travel freely in the Indian Ocean.

If the Chinese control this strait, then the restoration movement led by Princess Isabella will not be regarded as a child's play. Because, the Chinese who controlled the Strait of Malacca, even at sea, could compete with the Dutch.

The Portuguese merchants in the Indian Ocean, who had been cut off from trade routes with Southeast Asia, should soon be bowing to Princess Isabella.

Few of the merchants who participated in the ocean-going adventures of this era were loyal to their homeland and the king. As long as the Chinese choke their throats, and then let Princess Isabella come forward to win people's hearts, then the ports east of mainland India are estimated to fall into the hands of the Chinese.

Then when the time comes, even if the Portuguese Restoration Organization is openly involved in Macao, there is no need to worry too much about the retaliation of the Spanish king. Conversely, if the Chinese can't even take the city of Malacca, they don't need to abide by any agreements.