The Wanli Emperor of the Ming Dynasty was extremely rebellious

Chapter 617 Trading Land for Business
Portugal has indeed declined at this point.

Their homeland had been occupied by Spain.

Desila had no intention of going back; he was doing business in the Ming Dynasty.

He did a pretty good job with this business, because he could import a lot of goods from the Ming Dynasty as long as he paid enough taxes.

They made a high profit by taking these goods to the West and even Europe to sell.

Therefore, several Portuguese governors of Goa entrusted him with the responsibility of being a base or supply point for the Ming Dynasty.

He was essentially living off the favor of the Ming emperor, so when Wanli summoned him, he naturally dared not be negligent.

As soon as the naval fast ship arrived, he immediately called Huang Cheng and they quickly set off with the naval soldiers.

However, to avoid revealing the secrets of the steamship, the navy still used a centipede-shaped ship to pick him up.

The distance between Guangdong and Guangxi and the capital is four or five thousand miles. It took the navy's fast ships more than ten days to bring him to the capital.

Right now, the weather in Beijing is similar to that in Guangdong and Guangxi—warm and comfortable.

Desila felt very comfortable.

This time, Wanli received him again in that extravagantly decorated hall.

He even felt like he was being treated as an honored guest.

Early that morning, around 7 a.m., he and Huang Cheng were led to the luxurious main hall of the Qianqing Palace, which was used to receive envoys from various countries.

Wanli was already seated in the main seat, waiting. Xiao Zhu Changxun was already sitting beside him, while Song Yingxing stood behind Xiao Zhu Changxun as usual.

This is the first time these two little ones have ever met foreigners.

They all stared wide-eyed at the strange man with slightly yellowish hair.

Desila couldn't help but stare wide-eyed at the child sitting next to the Ming emperor.

Who is this child?

Upon seeing this, Huang Cheng quickly pulled him aside, cupped his hands, and bowed, saying, "Greetings, Your Majesty! Greetings, Third Prince!"

Emperor Wanli nodded slightly, then pointed to the last seats on the left and right and said, "Please take a seat."

Two eunuchs immediately came over and pulled out two golden chairs.

Seeing this, Huang Cheng quickly pulled Deschel down to sit down.

Descartes even curiously touched the gold thread on the table.

This legendary golden tree is amazing; it really is as good as gold.

Seeing this, Wanli raised his hand again and said, "Serve tea."

The patterns on this tea set were even drawn with gold wire!
Descartes' eyes widened in astonishment at the extravagant tea set.

The European colonial bandits nowadays really seem like country bumpkins in front of the Ming Dynasty, acting like they've never seen the world before.

At this point, apart from gunpowder weapons and shipbuilding technology, they were still quite backward in everything else. Otherwise, they wouldn't have traveled tens of thousands of miles to the Ming Dynasty to purchase goods.

When Wanli saw this, he was not surprised, since the Ming Dynasty was already hundreds of years ahead of Europe.

He then invited De Shera and Huang Cheng to have some tea before solemnly asking, "You know about the Spanish oppressing Ming Dynasty merchants in Luzon, right?"

Upon hearing this, Huang Cheng nodded involuntarily.

He was actually a merchant himself, and many of his fellow villagers were being oppressed in Luzon. Among those oppressed merchants were even his relatives and friends.

Upon hearing this, De Silva nodded slightly and said, "Your Majesty, I know that the Spanish like to bully the weak."

This guy can actually speak the official language of the Ming Dynasty!

Upon hearing this, Emperor Wanli couldn't help but show a hint of surprise.

This is not surprising. When a dynasty or a country is powerful enough to influence the course of the world or even dominate it, many people will naturally learn everything about that country, including its language.

He paused for only a moment before continuing, "Luzon was originally a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty."

The Spanish not only occupied Luzon, but also oppressed the people of the Ming Dynasty. I cannot ignore this.

Therefore, I am prepared to send troops to recapture Luzon, drive the Spanish out of Southeast Asia, and prohibit any Ming merchants from doing business with the Spanish.

what?
What does this long string of words mean?
Upon hearing this, Deshera couldn't help but look at Huang Cheng across from him.

Huang Cheng quickly explained to him, his voice tinged with excitement.

The Ming emperor went to war with Spain, the current maritime superpower, because merchants were being bullied!
This is a good thing.

They are being bullied by Spain too.

De Silva paused for a moment before nodding repeatedly and saying, "The Spaniards definitely deserve to be beaten."

This guy has clearly missed the point.

His main concern was that the Ming Dynasty was going to fight Spain.

Upon hearing this, Emperor Wanli simply reminded him, "Do you know how big the business between Spain and the Ming Dynasty is?"

I understand that.

De Silva nodded repeatedly and said, "I know. According to the Ming Dynasty's calculation method, the Spanish would have to purchase 40 to 50 million taels of goods from the Ming Dynasty every year."

It seemed this guy couldn't understand long sentences, but he could understand simple ones. Wanli nodded slightly, then asked, "Can you handle these kinds of deals?"

what?
What does this mean?
Descartes wasn't that he didn't understand; he just didn't quite grasp the meaning behind those words.

He thought about it carefully before asking, "Your Majesty, do you mean to entrust these businesses to us?"

Emperor Wanli nodded slightly and said, "Yes, I just want to know if you can handle such a large business."

Is there such a good thing?

Upon hearing this, De Shera couldn't help but feel excited.

However, he quickly became dejected and said, "Your Majesty, we don't have that much gold and silver to stock up."

This problem is not big.

My main purpose is to continue this business.

Wanli pondered and said, "You can prepay part of the payment for the goods. Pay as much as you have. You can settle the full payment after you sell the goods."

However, I must make this clear beforehand: if you attempt to embezzle my payments, don't blame me for being ruthless. I will send troops to seize all your overseas colonies.

This is another long string of words.

Upon hearing this, Descartes couldn't help but look at Huang Cheng again.

Huang Cheng quickly offered a low explanation.

Is there really such a wonderful thing?
Upon hearing this, Descartes' face lit up with excitement once again.

However, he quickly said dejectedly, "Your Majesty, it would probably take more than ten ocean-going warships to carry all this cargo."

We have the means to mobilize so many ocean-going warships, but our fleet dares not pass through the waters of Luzon to reach the Ming Dynasty.

If it's just one or two ships, we can sneak past, but if it's more than ten, the Spanish will probably spot us.

Your fleet doesn't dare to come over yet.

How dare you come here during the Jiajing reign?

Oh, by the way, Portugal hadn't been annexed by Spain during the Jiajing reign.

It's actually a good thing that the Portuguese fleet doesn't dare to come over now.

Emperor Wanli nodded slightly, thought about it carefully, and then decisively said, "This is not a big problem. I can send a fleet to deliver the goods. You just need to send someone to act as a guide."

Uh, does this mean we also have to tell you about the sea route from the Ming Dynasty to Goa?

We make money from the shipping routes!
The problem is, if we don't tell you, we won't make more money.

This is truly a dilemma.

Deshera hesitated for a moment, then cautiously asked, "Your Majesty, with so much merchandise, how much of the profit are you planning to share with us?"

This benefit may not be much to us, but it is so great to you that it would motivate you to work your lives to the death.

Emperor Wanli solemnly said, "We can share one-tenth of your net profit."

One percent?
How is this calculated again?

Upon hearing this, Descartes couldn't help but look at Huang Cheng again.

Huang Cheng quickly offered another explanation in a low voice.

This means that goods worth forty to fifty million taels can yield a net profit of four to five million taels!

They can't earn this much money in a year even if all their businesses are combined.

Deshera nodded repeatedly and said, "Okay, I'll send a guide to take you to Goa. Once you deliver the goods to Goa, we can arrange for a large ocean-going vessel to take them there for sale."

Do you think I'm really giving you money for nothing?
Wanli suddenly asked again, "Do you want to do this business?"

what?
What does this mean?
Didn't we agree on that?

You asked me again if we want to do this business.

Deshera hesitated for a moment, but nodded repeatedly and said, "Your Majesty, we want to do this business."

If you want to do it, then give me land in exchange.

Emperor Wanli nodded slightly and said, "If you want to do this business, then return Malacca to the Ming Dynasty."

what?
You want Malacca, which we fought so hard to capture!
Upon hearing this, Descartes said with some difficulty, "Your Majesty, I cannot make this decision."

If you don't give it to me, I can simply take it myself.

However, that would mean no one would do business for me.

Upon hearing this, Emperor Wanli frowned slightly and said, "Do you think that the Ming Dynasty is not strong enough to reclaim Malacca? If you won't give it to us, I will send troops to take it back."

do not!

Desila hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, I really can't make this decision. I have to consult our Governor."

Then hurry up and go, who knows how long it will take to go back and forth.

After careful consideration, Emperor Wanli decisively said, "Alright, I will send a fast naval vessel to take you there."

(End of this chapter)