The Wanli Emperor of the Ming Dynasty was extremely rebellious

Chapter 682 Portugal's Plea for Aid
Time flies, and it's already May.

At this time, the Ming Dynasty's inner sea was already teeming with ships.

The two hundred newly built Weiyuan warships equipped with armor and cannons from Southern Zhili have already arrived. Adding the Weiyuan warships without armor and cannons, the number of giant ships with a capacity of three thousand liang alone has reached two thousand.

There were as many as six thousand shuttle ships.

There are also newly developed flying dragon ships, which number six hundred.

The soldiers of Xuanfu Town, their families, cattle, sheep, and horses have all boarded the ships.

Just as Emperor Wanli was preparing to lead his army to the Eastern Capital in North America, news suddenly came from the South Seas that the Portuguese envoy, De Shera, was requesting an audience. It seemed that this fellow had come to ask for help.

At this point, Wanshengtang's business still needs to be handled by Portugal. If Portugal is left out, Wanshengtang's business will not be able to continue.

Although they no longer need to rely on the profits from Wanshengtang to maintain the army's food and supplies, Wanshengtang's business is still related to the livelihoods of hundreds of millions of ordinary people, and he cannot abandon Portugal.

There was nothing he could do but postpone his expedition and wait for this guy.

Fortunately, the wind was blowing from the south in May, so even if this guy came in a Fujian-style warship, he wouldn't be much slower than the flying shuttle that came to deliver the message.

On the sixth day of the fifth lunar month, around 9:00 AM, this fellow finally transferred to the navy's centipede ship and arrived in the imperial city.

At this moment, Emperor Wanli was in the Imperial Study with Zhu Changxun, Song Yingxing, and Li Tingji, reviewing memorials.

He was too lazy to go to the main hall where foreign envoys were received, so he simply ordered someone to bring Descartes over.

De Shera was a little dumbfounded at this point.

Because the Ming Dynasty had far too many naval ships in its inland waters.

The mouth of the Haihe River was completely blocked by colossal ships that blotted out the sky; the densely packed ships stretched as far as the eye could see.

The strength of the Ming Dynasty's naval fleet was truly terrifying; he was utterly shocked.

He entered the imperial study as if in a dream, and only when Li Xuancheng coughed did he realize what was happening. He quickly cupped his hands and bowed, saying, "Greetings, Your Majesty the Emperor of the Great Ming Empire."

Wanli nodded slightly, calmly got up, invited Deshera to sit down on either side of the tea table where guests were entertained, and ordered someone to bring a pot of tribute tea.

Descartes had no interest in drinking tea at that moment.

The problem is, His Majesty the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty seems to want to drink.

He had no choice but to wait for the tea to be served and drink a cup with His Majesty the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty before cautiously saying, "Your Majesty, our stronghold on the Gold Coast and Salvadoran capital of the Viceroyalty of Brazil have been occupied by the Dutch and Anglo-French allied forces."

Our Governor-General sent me to request assistance, hoping that His Majesty the Emperor, considering our many years of cooperation, would send troops to the Americas and Africa to help us reclaim El Salvador and the Gold Coast.

So those guys went and tried to seize your colonies.

very good!

Emperor Wanli was originally worried that the Dutch and Anglo-French allied forces would attack the Eastern Capital in North America or seize the islands in Central America.

Now that's good, those guys have gone off to attack Portuguese colonies, he doesn't need to worry anymore.

They do need to help Portugal now, but not for free. They need to get something in return. These days, you can't do something without getting something in return.

He pretended to frown and ponder for a while before sighing slightly and saying, "You know how far the Americas are from the Ming Dynasty's mainland."

Especially your Viceroyalty of Brazil, which is probably 30,000 to 40,000 li away from the Ming Dynasty mainland, and the Gold Coast, which is another 6,000 to 7,000 li away from your Viceroyalty of Brazil.

You still want my help? How can I help you with this?

Well, that's quite a distance.

But we really can't think of any other way.

With our limited strength, we couldn't even defeat the Netherlands, let alone the Dutch and Anglo-French allied forces.

Now, only your Ming Empire can defeat the Dutch and the Anglo-French allied forces; even Spain is no match for you.

News has come from Europe that Spain suffered a major defeat at Ostend and was forced to sign armistice agreements with the Netherlands, Britain, France, and other countries, thus withdrawing from the struggle for supremacy.

Your Great Ming Empire is different. The ships I saw at sea today were enough to crush the Dutch and the Anglo-French allied forces.

Desila thought for a moment, then cautiously said, "Your Majesty, when I came here by sea today, I saw many ships anchored there."

"If you just send those ships over, you can easily defeat the Dutch and Anglo-French forces and help us reclaim El Salvador and the Gold Coast."

I am going to lead those ships to the Americas, but you can't know that.

Emperor Wanli shook his head slightly and said, "Those ships are taking people to the southern part of the South Seas."

As you probably know, we've discovered several large islands in the southern part of the South Seas. These islands are sparsely populated, but have abundant farmland. It would be a real waste not to cultivate them; I must bring people there to farm them.”

I do know that you have discovered several large islands in the southern part of the South Seas, and I also know that you like to grow crops.

The problem is, now we're about to lose our Viceroyalty of Brazil.

If you don't help now, what's the point of planting crops?
It seems the only way to lure you there is with the benefits of those colonies.

De Shera thought for a moment, then said cautiously, "Your Majesty, our Governor-General said that as long as the Great Ming Empire is willing to help, we can appropriately share the resources of the Governor-General's jurisdiction in Brazil and even the Gold Coast with the Great Ming Empire."

You've finally figured it out.

Who would do something without a profit these days?

Emperor Wanli remained noncommittal, saying, "If you want my help, you must tell me what your strength is like over there, and what the strength of the Dutch and Anglo-French allied forces is like over there, right?"

Does this mean there's a chance?

Upon hearing this, De Shera quickly explained in detail: "Your Majesty, our Governor-General's jurisdiction in Brazil is actually composed of fifteen general's jurisdictions."

The Bahia General District, where El Salvador is located, is just one of them; we have fourteen other general districts there.

These generals commanded armies ranging from several hundred to over a thousand men, totaling tens of thousands.

As for the strength of the Dutch and Anglo-French allied forces, they seem to have sent more than two hundred ships this time, but not many men, probably no more than twenty thousand.

"Your Majesty, their strength is nothing to the Ming Empire. You could easily wipe them out by sending a few ships and troops."

That's not necessarily true. Wanli slowly shook his head and said, "Don't think I don't know. The Netherlands now has more than 10,000 ocean-going ships. Although the British and French don't have many ships, they have a lot of men and men. They can all muster hundreds of thousands of troops."

Uh, you knew all that?
How to do it?

Then we have no choice but to confront them directly.

Desila thought about it carefully again, then gritted his teeth and said, "Your Majesty, our Governor said that you may make any request you have, and we will do our best to grant it."

Yes, that's exactly what I wanted to hear.

This is war, and we're facing the combined forces of the Netherlands and Britain and France. Why should I help you if there aren't enough benefits to be gained?
Emperor Wanli pretended to ponder for a while, then slowly nodded and said, "If you can grant the Ming Dynasty the priority right to exploit all resources in the Governor-General's jurisdiction of Brazil and the Gold Coast, I can consider sending troops."

what?
This means you want all the resources over there!
De Shera hesitated, "Your Majesty, this would mean that the Viceroyalty of Brazil and the Gold Coast would be of no benefit to us. I'm afraid we can't do that."

You can do it.

Wanli said calmly, "Don't you still get a 10% share of the profits from the Ming Dynasty's overseas trade? Moreover, we can also pay you a 10% tax when we mine resources in the Governor-General's jurisdiction of Brazil and the Gold Coast."

With your small population, you can't extract many resources. If we, the Great Ming, were to mine them, we could extract more than ten times the resources you could.

So, you didn't lose out, you actually gained.

Hmm, that makes some sense.

The problem is, resources are limited.

Upon hearing this, Descartes hesitated and said, "Your Majesty, I cannot make this decision. I must go back and ask our Governor."

Can't you make the decision?

I don't have time to wait for you here.

Wanli thought for a moment, then asked, "Since the capital of your Governor-General of Brazil has been occupied by the Dutch and Anglo-French allied forces, does that mean your Governor-General of Brazil is gone too?"

That guy was naturally taken prisoner.

De Shera nodded repeatedly and said, "Yes, our Governor-General of Brazil has been captured by the Dutch and Anglo-French allied forces."

Then you should become the governor.

Wanli nodded slightly, then solemnly said, "Go and tell your Goa governor that I have another condition: you must be appointed governor of Brazil before I will send troops."

what?
And such a good thing!

Upon hearing this, Descartes was genuinely excited, but his expression quickly darkened, and he sighed softly, "Your Majesty, that's probably not very likely."

In Portugal, and indeed throughout Europe, there is a rule that only nobles can serve as governors of overseas colonies. I am not a noble, therefore I cannot serve as governor.

You're not an aristocrat?
Emperor Wanli pondered and said, "Your nobles are nothing compared to the true nobles of our Ming Dynasty. How about this, I will grant you the title of Earl, and then you will be a noble."

Uh, what good would it do me to make me an earl?
This seems to actually work.

Because the noble titles conferred by various European countries are mutually recognized; even the noble titles conferred by Spain are recognized by Portugal.

The Ming Empire was still considered their ally. They would accept the nobles bestowed by their enemy country, so how could they not accept the nobles bestowed by their ally?
De Shera thought for a moment, then nodded repeatedly and said, "Then thank you very much, Your Majesty. If I become a nobleman, then it is possible for me to become the Governor-General of Brazil."

That'll do.

Wanli nodded slightly, then solemnly said, "Alright, go back and tell your Governor-General of Goa."

If you agree to my conditions, then I will send you directly to Brazil to serve as governor. At that time, you can send someone from there to find General Deng Zilong, who is in charge of the Americas.

"I will send troops to help you reclaim the Viceroyalty of Brazil and the Gold Coast. If you disagree, then forget it; I will simply send my troops to the Americas to guard our own territories."

Can this matter be left unresolved?

That's highly unlikely.

If the Ming Empire doesn't step in to help, let alone reclaim the Gold Coast, our Governor-General's territory in Brazil will be lost sooner or later.

I'm almost certainly going to become governor!
Descartes thought for a moment, then cautiously asked, "Your Majesty, when would you like me to be granted the title of Earl?"

Isn’t this simple?

Wanli waved his hand and said, "Uncle, order someone to take him to the Ministry of Rites and have Huifu bestow upon him the title of Earl of Zhongshun, and grant him an official seal and robes."

Upon hearing this, Deshera quickly got up, said goodbye, and left.

Seeing this, Xiao Zhu Changxun couldn't help but ask, "Father, isn't this a good opportunity? Why should we help them take back the Governor-General's territory of Brazil and the Gold Coast?"
Wouldn't it be better if we just took over the Viceroyalty of Brazil and the Gold Coast?

Don't you understand the principle of not biting off more than you can chew?

Wanli shook his head slightly, then explained in detail: "Didn't we take over the Viceroyalty of Brazil and the Gold Coast precisely for the resources there?"

Now they let us exploit their resources there, and these two colonies are practically ours.

Have you considered how many troops we would have to send to guard these two colonies if we were to actually occupy them?

Furthermore, and more importantly, we understand the principle of picking the softest persimmons, and so do those colonial plunderers in Europe.

Instead of occupying these two colonies, we'll help them reclaim them and then withdraw our troops. That way, if those European colonial powers want to attack the Americas, they'll definitely attack them first.

This is essentially asking them to guard our colony, draw our fire, and even act as outposts.

If they get beaten up, they'll definitely come to us for help, and then we can get benefits from it. Why not?

Besides, if we go to war with the European colonial powers, we certainly won't be able to do business in Europe. We need them to do business for us.

If we directly take over the Viceroyalty of Brazil and the Gold Coast, not only will we have to send a large number of troops to garrison them, but we will also break off relations with Portugal, and we will lose our business in Europe.

Therefore, weighing the pros and cons, it is far more beneficial for them to have these two colonies than for us to have them ourselves.

Oh, I didn't know there were so many benefits.

Upon hearing this, Xiao Zhu Changxun could not help but nodded slowly.

(End of this chapter)