Billy Chowly took another sip of wine, and then continued: "In 1640, after Portugal became independent from Spain, it was the rise of England, the Netherlands and other countries, Portugal's maritime power was weakening year by year, coupled with the oppression of Spain and France and other countries, as well as various wars around it, Portugal never found a chance to recover. In order to maintain its independence from Spain, Portugal had to rely on British power against Spain, and eventually even became a British vassal state.

At that time, Portugal had to choose Britain as a last resort, and they paid a very heavy price for it. What can be judged is that not only is Portugal currently negotiating with us in the Far East, but the Portuguese envoy to London may also be negotiating with the British. The Portuguese and the British must not be allowed to mingle with each other, and we should take advantage of the opportunity to support Portugal and intervene in European affairs.

According to intelligence from the Intelligence Department in Europe, history has changed due to the arrival of our Far East and the control of sea power and trade throughout the East. At present, European countries have stepped up their efforts to develop the New World of the Americas, and if we continue to deal with the trajectory of history, we will definitely lose the opportunity.

Although we in the Far East are not ready for global colonization, we can find some footholds in South America in advance. We have already taken over colonies such as Mozambique from Portugal and Madagascar, which has created the conditions for us to travel to the South American continent. As long as we occupy South Africa, across the Atlantic is Brazil in South America. ”

Li Ming thought for a moment and said: "Your idea is not bad, but the Admiralty is organizing the Pacific Exploration Fleet to go to the west coast of the Americas, and the South Pacific Exploration Fleet is going to Australia, New Zealand and Fiji, and our current strength is obviously a little insufficient." ”

Billy Zhou listened to Li Ming's words and couldn't help but be happy.

"Big brother, your idea itself is a joke. Do you know how many ships and how many people were used in the New World of the Americas in those Western colonizers? Countless Spanish feudal nobles led a group of infantry, servants, knights and mercenaries, relying on a few broken ships, hundreds of men and horses, and a hundred and ten broken guns, people dared to cross the Atlantic Ocean and explore the New World of America.

When Hernán Cortés led an expedition into the city of Tenochtitlan. They faced at least 40,000 potential enemies, but he had only 400 infantry, 15 cavalry, 10 heavy artillery and 4 light artillery. When he laid siege to the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan, he had only 850 infantry, 86 cavalry, and 15 artillery pieces. When Pizarro conquered the Inca Empire, he had only one hundred and two infantry, sixty-two cavalry, and two light artillery.

It was these Spanish adventurers who had made countless fortunes from the Americas until 1560. It is estimated that at least 99 tonnes of gold have arrived in Spain from the New World, which is almost equal to all of Europe's gold reserves combined. By the end of the 16th century, about 6,800 tons of silver had been shipped across the Atlantic to Europe.

There are also gemstones from the Aztec Empire, emeralds from Bogotá, pearls from Venezuela, beaver skins from New Mexico, precious woods from Guyana, indigo dyes from the West Indies, vanilla and cocoa, and many more. The Spanish conquistadors not only helped their country win the battle for gold, but also ushered in a brief but glorious heyday in Spanish history.

Look at our Far East Exploration Fleet, my mother, the Exploration Fleet is equipped with four steam-powered sailing ships, as well as rifles, heavy machine guns, and cannons, and hundreds of brave and fierce men. A well-trained army of daredevils, such a force can destroy a small country even if it goes to Europe. But what did we bring back from a trip? ”

Li Ming listened to Billy Zhou's words. I was speechless.

He was stunned for a long time before he smiled and said, "What you say makes sense, we ...... We're a bit conservative. ”

Billy Zhou shook his head and said, "I know, after all, the Admiralty has been established for a short time, and we still lack the experience of crossing the ocean, and it takes a certain amount of time to accumulate." Let them now cross more than 10,000 kilometers of the Pacific Ocean. It is indeed necessary to be cautious, and it is understandable to let the officers and men of the unit have a process of adaptation.

But now we have control of the East African coast and Madagascar, and if we take South Africa, we can cross the Atlantic to reach the New World of America. Although our main force at present is the conquest of Asia, there are so many warships in the Admiralty. Idleness is idleness, and it should be no problem to take advantage of the agreement between us and Portugal to get a few footholds in Brazil.

Let's not always think about casualties, because the Western colonial adventurers didn't have steam-powered crews, nor radios, modern charts, or sextants. Columbus crossed the Atlantic Ocean for the first time and made his maiden voyage to the American Fleet with only three ships, one of which was a right-angle galleon. The flagship "Santa Maria" weighs only 130 tons, the "Pinta" weighs 90 tons, and the "Nina" weighs 60 tons.

If you have not experienced the stormy waves in the ocean, you will never be able to train a real navy. The Europeans pioneered the Age of Discovery, and it took only a few hundred years to occupy the entire world. Our Far East has sailing ships that are more than 100 years ahead of this era, as well as nautical charts accurate to the meter level in modern society. ”

Li Ming glanced at Zhou Billy, and then said, "Why didn't you say these words at the meeting of the Military Commission?" You probably were there when the exploration fleet was formed. ”

Billy Zhou smiled bitterly and said, "Big brother, I want to too...... But if someone else says this, it's fine, as long as I say it, I have to be sprayed to death by them. My popularity is not good, and it is useless to say it. Besides, there wasn't such a good opportunity at that time, and I wasn't interested in the company crossing the Pacific in the first place.

I think that the current development of the company is very good, the military commission is strong, has the conditions for large-scale expansion, it is estimated that in two or three years, the military commission will be able to complete the strategic task of conquering Asia that we have set before, and the Admiralty can now make active preparations to lay the foundation for the company's future global colonization. ”

Li Ming lowered his head and thought for a while, then looked up at Zhou Billy and said with a smile: "You sit down first, I'll make a call." ”

Billy Zhou was stunned for a moment, not knowing what Li Ming meant.

I saw Li Ming come to the desk in the study next to him, pick up the phone and dial a few numbers.

"Old Joe, what are you doing? Ha ha...... Nothing, just looking for you for a drink, huh...... Billy Chou is here, come here, okay...... I'll wait for you ......" (To be continued.) )

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