I'm sure of the prosperous age of Kangxi and Qianlong!

Chapter 463 The Emperor Wants the American Waterway

Before Chen Hongmou's memorial was delivered to Nanjing, the Spanish envoy arrived first.

This was Ming Dynasty's first meeting with the Spanish envoy in the real sense, and the last time they had a meeting was in Manila, so it doesn't count.

And the new governor was indeed eager to reestablish diplomatic relations with the Ming Dynasty. Although the envoy only came with ten people, the tribute gifts alone were enough to load a whole ship, most of which were American silver and some other specialties. .

The leader of the envoy is called Antonio, which is a very common name. People in Spain, Portugal, and Italy all like to have this name.

This Spanish delegation arrived in Ningbo a long time ago. They stayed in the Honglu Temple Guest House for more than ten months, which almost drove them crazy. Today they were finally summoned.

Antonio was very humble. When he came up, he followed the etiquette taught by Honglu Temple and gave Zhu Yijiong a prosperous ceremony: "Spanish envoy Antonio, on behalf of the Kingdom of Spain, pays homage to His Majesty the great and invincible Emperor of China!"

Zhu Yijiong, however, did not give a good look and scolded: "You, the country of Spain, have committed many crimes by massacring Han people. Last year, I launched an army to conquer Luzon. What are you doing now?"

When Antonio arrived, he was instructed by the governor not to have another conflict with China under any circumstances, otherwise Spain's situation in the Far East would only get worse.

Antonio quickly explained: "Your Majesty, the great Emperor of China, the orders to massacre the Chinese were all given by the former governors Cosio and Campo, and have nothing to do with the current Spain and the Philippines. The former governors have been sent back to Spain to await trial. New His Excellency Governor Fernando respects His Majesty very much and believes that Luzon should be an indivisible territory of China. Now he specially allows us to bring gifts to pay homage to His Majesty the Great Emperor."

It's called Hajj, but everyone here knows what the Spaniards are thinking.

Zhu Yijiong said: "So, you are just here to pay homage to me?"

Antonio said: "I dare not deceive your great Majesty. Your Excellency the Governor ordered us to come here not only to pay homage to His Majesty, but also to restore diplomatic relations with China and reestablish the American silver trade. The silver trade was originally beneficial to Spain and China, but it was just the former It was the governor's wrong decision that cut off trade. This was unwise. Now that the former governor has been repatriated, relations between the two countries should be restored to good terms."

To put it quite bluntly, these Spanish people are just as crazy as those Dutch people.

Since we all know that fighting will do no good, then why start a war?
Now that I have lost the battle and lost all my pants, I think of peace talks.

Zhu Yijiong frowned and said, "That's not enough. Since your former governor is responsible, let him come to Ming Dynasty in person to accept the trial."

This is a bit excessive, not to mention that Cosio and Campo had already been deported to Spain, and their property had been confiscated (divided up).

Even if he is still in the Philippines, he cannot be sent to China to face trial!

If we really do this, the face of Spain, the empire on which the sun never sets, will be completely lost.

Antonio did not dare to offend the Chinese emperor, so he had to find another way: "Your Majesty, the former governor has been sent back to Spain. At this time, it is impossible to recall him. Moreover, the silver wire trade has been cut off for a long time. It is an urgent matter. Please delay it for a while. The losses for both countries will only get bigger and bigger!"

Zhu Yijiong smiled: "What does it have to do with me? How can the interests of mere merchants be greater than the major affairs of state affairs?"

Antonio wanted to give himself a slap in the face for a moment. He was so shameless that he actually talked about businessman politics with a Chinese emperor.He quickly made up for it: "But those despicable Dutch people violated the covenant with China without authorization and distributed the goods monopolized by China and the Netherlands, such as colored porcelain, cinchona trees, cigars, tobacco, etc., to those hateful British people. "

The current king of Spain is from the French royal family, and the new political system is also pro-French and anti-British.

Zhu Yijiong had known for a long time that the Dutch were dishonest, but at this moment he was pretending to be surprised: "Is this really so? How can this small Dutch country be so treacherous?"

Antonio felt that there was something wrong and said anxiously: "Your Majesty, those despicable Dutch people have always been greedy for small profits and betrayed the country. Their current business ally, the British, once defeated the Dutch navy, and it was the British who were funded by these Dutch businessmen themselves. So "The Dutch, who only have interests in front of them but no national survival, have what qualifications to ally with China?"

Hearing a European talk about the survival of the country, Zhu Yijiong suddenly felt inexplicably happy, but it was normal for him to be a Spaniard in front of him.At least in the past few decades, the Spaniards have no doubt about their patriotism. This is mainly due to the effect of the previous throne war. With so many foreigners messing around in their own territory, anyone would have to be bloody.

Although it collapsed quickly afterwards, it collapsed very thoroughly.

Zhu Yijiong pretended to think for a moment, and then said: "I will issue an order to reprimand and hold accountable the Netherlands. As for Spain... Since your governor is so sincere, the silver trade is related to people's livelihood and maritime trade, so it really should not be blocked forever. "

In this scene, the envoy who was looking for trouble with the Dutch had already driven south in a warship.

Moreover, even if the Spanish governor did not come to seek to repair diplomatic relations, the silver trade would not really be cut off.

If the legitimate ones are gone, wouldn’t there still be smuggling?

Although those Filipino officials did not earn as much as before through smuggling, they were all very fat.

This new governor is obviously someone who wants to do something, and wants to take this opportunity to completely take back the rights of the silver wire trade from the hands of underground smuggling.

This is no easy task!
But it has nothing to do with Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Yijiong added: "The silver wire trade can be restored, but I want your Spanish silver wire trade chart from the Americas to the Philippines, and I also want a Chinese official ship every year to follow your silver wire trade galleons. Heading to the American Colonies.”

The lion opened his mouth and it belonged to yes!
In the Age of Discovery, the hardest thing to find was a safe route. First of all, the Dutch definitely did not have a route map from the Philippines to the Americas. And Spain, which was on the America-Philippines line and had been engaged in the silver wire trade for so many years, must have one in hand. , several stable routes.

Moreover, Zhu Yijiong also asked for Ming Dynasty's official ship to follow this group of Spaniards to the Americas. This was because he was preparing to prostitute an old sailing man for free and let him take China hand in hand to join the luxurious feast of the sailing.

Although Antonio was only an envoy, he felt that this matter was quite big at this moment: "Your Majesty..."

Before he could finish speaking, Zhu Yijiong waved his hand to interrupt and said sternly: "I haven't finished speaking yet. Not only do I want the silver trade chart, but I also want Spain to maintain the current tariff rate and not raise it back for any reason. And Chinese people also have the right to live in various parts of the Philippines and set up businesses and workshops, and the Spanish Governor-General shall not block or treat them harshly."

Good guy, these conditions were imposed. In modern terms, this is called a loss of power and humiliation of the country. Then the Spanish Philippines gradually became a semi-colonial and semi-feudal state... ahem.

I don’t know what he was thinking, but Antonio didn’t refuse immediately. Instead, he thought carefully for a moment, and then said respectfully: “Your Majesty, the great Emperor of China, the terms of China’s silver wire trade are beyond the scope of my authority and responsibility. I will go back to the Philippines and ask His Majesty the Governor for instructions before I can reply, and please forgive me."

Zhu Yijiong ignored him and just waved his hand to send him away.

Antonio and the envoys respectfully exited the hall.

Zhu Yijiong did not think these Spanish conditions were excessive. As a saying goes in later generations, a weak country has no diplomacy.

Not to mention that Spain has long been reduced to a third-rate country. Like the Dutch, if the British had not changed their interest in India than China, Spain would have died long ago.

Moreover, even if the sun never set in Spain a hundred years ago, and the Far East Army suffered such heavy losses, it would no longer be qualified to talk to China.

"Just wait another year! It's almost time for the Ming-style warships from the Fuzhou Shipping Bureau to come out."

　First class brain fever, the situation is not good
　　
　
(End of this chapter)