Iron Dynasty

Standard aristocratic etiquette and conversation prove that Claire is a veritable aristocrat. Eight? One? Chinese W ㈠ W? W?. ㈧8?1㈧Ｚ㈧W?. COM

Rod acted as an interpreter between the two at this time, and he translated Claire's words to Xiao Ming.

Xiao Ming nodded lightly and stretched out his hand to signal Claire to sit down. He said: "Welcome to Dayu Country, to Dengzhou."

Sitting down in response, Claire glanced at Xiao Ming again. What surprised him was that the king of the Great Yu Kingdom was so young, and he began to understand why this king of Qi was so tough.

In his perception, young people have always lacked patience, but they are always passionate and impulsive.

After a moment of silence, he spoke first, "His Royal Highness Qi, I think you are very clear about the purpose of our visit this time. Regarding the Ryukyu issue, I hope that there will be a negotiation result that satisfies both parties. This is also my visit. The reason here."

The place between the two is a long table. At this time, Rod and Claire are sitting opposite, while Xiao Ming and Yang Chengye are sitting on the other side, as if they were in a modern negotiating posture.

Hearing this, he said: "This king also hopes to negotiate this matter. No one likes to risk the lives of their soldiers."

"If this is the case, please allow King Qi to allow us to keep the city of Relanzhe. Apart from that, we are willing to agree to your other requirements?" Claire said sternly.

By saying this, Claire agreed that Xiao Ming would dominate the trade routes in East Asia and only trade between Dengzhou and Ryukyu. It was just the same as Rod’s last visit to Qingzhou. Claire also refused to evacuate the Dutch soldiers from Geranj.

Xiao Ming tapped his fingers on the table top, his gaze swept across Claire's body, Claire's face was calm, unable to find a trace of emotional fluctuation, and the tone of his speech was also very firm.

"If you don't withdraw the garrison, then you need to give this king a reason." This time Claire personally came to mean that the negotiation would end between the two.

Therefore, Xiao Ming had to be cautious at this time. This Earl Claire was much calmer than Lord, and was a difficult character to deal with.

"First, before our safety can be guaranteed, we cannot do without the protection of the army. In addition to protecting the routes of East Asia, the Ryukyu fleet has another purpose to prevent privateers from looting the caravans. I don’t know if your Highness knows anything. Is it a privateer?" Claire's words contained a sense of temptation. He wanted to find out whether the King of Qi, the Great Yu Kingdom, possessed profound knowledge.

"Private boat?" Xiao Ming frowned.

A privateer is a kind of civilian vessel authorized by the state to possess armed forces and is used to attack merchant ships of other countries. It is essentially state-supported piracy.

In modern times, from the 16th to the 19th century, European powers used all means including "encouraging pirates to attack ships of other countries" in order to compete for maritime hegemony.

Although on the surface all countries have justly declared that they are not at odds with the pirates, they are arbitrarily collecting pirates for their own use.

Armed civilian ships were born under this background.

"Could it be the privateers of Britain and Spain?" Xiao Ming said lightly. "It is said that Britain started with a group of pirates. It is even said that the whole of Britain is a large group of pirates, and the Queen of England is the biggest pirate leader.

Claire's expression moved slightly, and he was a little surprised. Qi Wang's answer was exactly the same as their Dutch description of the British and the Spanish.

With a sigh, Claire said: "Yes, it is the privateers from these two countries. They are already seriously threatening our merchant ships. Now they are even appearing on the route near Manila."

"Well, this is a reason." Xiao Ming said, "But how do the soldiers of Relanzhe City explain that the privateers are on the sea. I don't think they will attack Relanzhe city rashly."

"These soldiers are to guard against the Japanese nation." Claire's eyes flickered. "I'm sorry, we Holland started trading in Nagasaki first, and some merchants who were so dizzy with gold sold the skill of the matchlock gun to the Japanese people. We think that the country of Japan is more dangerous than the country of Da Yu, because the country’s skills in producing matchlocks are very high, and the country of Japan, which has a firearms force, has ambitions to expand, which is very dangerous for us."

Speaking of the Japanese nation, Xiao Ming’s expression was very ugly. He said: “Given your gift, the Japanese nation is planning to invade Korea and Dayu. This is your own responsibility. You should be very clear that the island nation’s nature is no different from pirates. In Europe it is Britain, and here is the Japanese country. They are all the same, always thinking about robbery and murder."

"I have to say that I agree with you very much." Claire suddenly laughed, "It's just a pity that you also have a problem with Da Yu Country? This problem prevents us from trading with you the first time."

"Oh, what's wrong?" Xiao Ming asked.

"Arrogant." Claire was very polite.

Xiao Ming nodded, "This king admits that this was a mistake, but it doesn't seem to make much sense to discuss this now. Let's return to the main topic of the negotiation."

"Isn't that enough to explain why we kept the garrison?" Claire said.

"Yes, but you can only keep two thousand people and four battleships." Xiao Ming said with a smile.

Claire was startled. The real Dutch garrison on Ryukyu Island was only two thousand people. The king of Qi had very vicious eyes, and he believed that the king of Qi had also figured out the information about the city of Relanzhe.

At present, eight of the twelve warships in Ryukyu were originally from the Manila colony. It was only to stop King Chu’s adventures that he mobilized another eight warships from Manila to Ryukyu.

"It seems that His Royal Highness has understood everything~www.ltnovel.com~ Claire gave a wry smile.

Xiao Ming sneered. For these Europeans, they no longer care about the life and death of the indigenous army, and it is easy to use these indigenous army to take risks.

Precisely because of this, he kept Will Claire only in the pure Dutch army, so the Dutch would even consider it before starting a war in order to reduce casualties.

"This is the king's bottom line. At the same time, I will send two thousand soldiers to Zhelanzhe City to protect you." Xiao Ming smiled maliciously, and then he looked at Claire and waited for Claire's answer.

Frowning his brows tightly, Claire's eyes drifted away. He knew very well what the purpose of King Qi was. He was testing whether they were sincere.

After a long silence, he hesitated and said: "Well, I accept this condition."

Hearing these words, Xiao Ming felt relieved. This was the last test for the Dutch. If the Dutch had ghosts in their hearts, they would naturally not accept his request to garrison troops in Geranzio.

(To be continued.)