My life skills in Daming Liver

For Diogo, the leader of the Portuguese Chamber of Commerce, this year is a year cursed by the devil. According to the saying he just learned from Daming, it is estimated that his ancestral grave far away in Portugal has bad feng shui.

As the plenipotentiary representative of Portugal in the Far East and the pioneer of the Far East waterway, Diogo played a huge role in leasing Macau. Through bribery and bribery, the Portuguese leased Macau and finally opened up trade opportunities in the huge empire of the Ming Dynasty. aisle.

But although Macau was leased, Diogo soon discovered that trade with the Ming Dynasty was not easy.

The reason why it is difficult to do is that the Ming Dynasty hardly needs the goods of the Portuguese, but the Portuguese are very dependent on the goods of the Ming Dynasty.

The business of the Portuguese in the Far East, such as spices, weapons, and spices, is naturally in demand in the Ming Dynasty, but this demand is not a rigid demand. Besides the Portuguese, the Arabs have a history of selling spices to the Chinese Empire for thousands of years. The Portuguese There is not much advantage in this trade.

The same is true for weapons. The Ming Dynasty did not trust the Portuguese, and now Daming can also manufacture bird guns. Although the quality of the Portuguese bird guns is better, what can you do if they don’t buy them?

But the Portuguese are much more dependent on Ming's trade.

Tea, porcelain, and silk are all specialties of the Ming Dynasty.

Although Japan also had porcelain, and North Korea also had silk, only the Ming Dynasty could provide the highest-grade silk, the highest-grade porcelain, and the best tea.

When these high-end goods are shipped to Lisbon, Madrid, and even Amsterdam, the profit will be dozens or even hundreds of times.

Diogo tried to sell Portuguese products, but the merchants of Ming Dynasty were not interested. This huge empire was too rich in products.

And Diogo's competitor, the business representative in charge of trade with Japan, is much more prosperous.

Ruola, the business representative of the country of Wa, has made a series of achievements in the country of Wa.

First of all, Shimadzu, the daimyo of Kyushu, opened up Kagoshima as a trade base, and even set aside a "Nanban Pavilion" on Kagoshima, which was reserved for Portuguese businessmen to trade.

In addition to Kyushu, the Portuguese also tried to establish a trade channel in Nagasaki, the newly opened port of the Wa Kingdom. ) is also very popular in Japan.

More importantly, the missionaries led by Ruo La have also made great achievements in missionary work.

Compared with the official vigilance and strict prohibition of missionary work in the Ming Dynasty, the attitudes of the famous names in Japan towards Catholicism are very different.

Some daimyo are very interested in Catholicism, but most of them have no objection to Portuguese missionaries.

For example, the Shimadzu family, who are in charge of Kyushu, did not object to the Portuguese preaching in Kyushu, and even allowed them to build churches.

The progress in business and religion has greatly increased Ruola's voice in the Far East, and the silver brought back from the Japanese country has made Diogo jealous.

Diogo urgently needs a stable business route. He needs Ming porcelain, tea and high-grade silk, and he also needs a big Ming buyer who can spend a lot of money to establish a long-term trade relationship.

Diogo was thinking, when a dark-skinned employee reported that a businessman from Ming Dynasty wanted to visit him.

Could it be that God heard his prayer? Are you in business?

Diogo hastily ordered the staff to meet the Ming merchants. Smelling the residual curry smell in the air, Diogo really didn't like these primitive Goans. It's a pity that the Portuguese elites in the Far East are basically under Ruola's command. A person who is willing to mess with himself.

Su Ze also couldn't help feeling that the Indians are talented in language and can speak any language like curry.

This Goan guide is proficient in the languages ​​of many countries and was recruited by Diogo to come to Daming.

Su Ze soon met the person in charge of Portugal in Yuegang. Diogo saluted Su Ze with standard Ming etiquette, and then invited them to sit down.

After Diogo greeted Su Ze, he immediately saw Pierre behind Su Ze's team.

There are only a few Western faces in the Far East, and Theodore and Father Pierre have also dealt with each other.

Although I am not ashamed of Captain Alfonso's life for the Spaniards, after Alfonso's New World disappeared, Diodo also helped inquire about the news at sea, but the New World is like a ghost ship, and no one sees it again over its trace.

The missing Pierre appeared in the ranks of the Ming merchants, and Diodo hurriedly said:

"Father Pierre?"

Pierre nodded and said, "It's the great Su, this kind knight of Ming Dynasty who saved me."

Diogo looked at Su Ze. Westerners did not understand the complicated military system of the Ming Dynasty. All officers of the Ming Dynasty were called "knights".

In Fujian, "knights" trading with merchants are not uncommon. In Guangdong, where maritime trade is more developed, almost all coastal guards are involved in smuggling. The main trading partners of Diogo's Macau counterparts are these Ming "knights" them.

Diogo immediately talked to Su Ze in Chinese.

Diogo's Chinese is still fluent, but Su Ze still dislikes his slow speech, so he simply communicates with him in Portuguese.

Diogo was secretly surprised. He has been in the Ming Dynasty for so many years, and he has also met Ming businessmen who are learning foreign languages, but it is the first time that Diogo has seen Su Ze who is as fluent in Portuguese and still has a Lisbon accent.

In addition to being fluent, Diogo was very respectful to Su Ze's demeanor, which he had only seen in a few senior officials of the Ming Dynasty.

All this made Diogo curious about Su Ze's identity.

But the other party was here for business. After Diogo finished greeting, Su Ze took out a lacquer box.

Diogo's eyes lit up when he saw this box. Daming's lacquerware is also sold well in the West. This box is very high-end at first glance.

Opening the box, Su Ze took out another porcelain tea pot from it.

Seeing this tea pot, Diogo's eyes became brighter.

This set of porcelain customized by Su Ze is specially ordered according to the preferences of foreigners. The painted patterns of the porcelain are also extremely exaggerated, but foreigners like this.

Su Ze opened the porcelain tea pot and poured out the brown tea leaves in it.

Smelling the fragrance in the jar, Diogo asked quickly, "Tea?"

But when he saw Lapsang Souchong, Diogo was puzzled again, is this different from the tea he drank in Daming?

Su Ze asked Lin Deqing to bring the teapot, and Diogo's Goa assistant brought hot water. Su Ze quickly brewed two cups of black tea and handed them to Diogo.

fragrant!

Diogo was quickly attracted by the rich aroma of black tea. The thick tea soup was very suitable for his taste, and this tea did not have the bitter aftertaste of green tea. It is the best tea!

Su Ze took out another piece of sugar from his pocket, poured the sugar into the teapot, and brewed two bowls of slightly sweet black tea again. Now Diogo's eyes became brighter!

When Portugal was in the middle world, it was occupied by the Green Cult for a long time, and their eating habits also have the trend of nomads, like milk and sugar.

Diogo also tried to add milk or sugar to green tea, but the taste was a bit weird.

The black tea brought by Su Ze today perfectly matches the sweet taste, it is simply perfect!

Diogo looked at Su Ze, his eyes were full of enthusiasm. If such goods are shipped to Lisbon, it will definitely set off a wave of "Da Ming Tea"!

"Dear guest, how much tea do you have left?"

Su Ze said: "This is the tea produced in my tea garden. This time I only brought a small part. We can sign a long-term cooperation agreement."

Diogo was even happier. Those who could own tea gardens in the Ming Dynasty must be the nobles of the Ming Dynasty.

Su Ze said again: "My tea has another advantage. As long as the tea pot is kept sealed, the tea will not deteriorate across the entire world."

Diogo asked respectfully, "May I ask you the price of this tea?"

Su Ze quoted a price that was four times that of a normal Wuyi Mountain green tea. He was just going to make an offer first and then counter-offer, but he didn't expect that the Hong Kong general representative on the other side would agree to Su Ze's offer without hesitation.

Is that a promise?

Su Ze just regretted not asking for a higher price.

Agreeing to the offer, Diogo soon regretted it.

He regretted that it wasn't that he quoted a high price to Su Ze, but that he didn't have so much silver in his hand to buy Su Ze's tea for a long time.

He hesitated and said, "Dear Su, can we trade with commodities?"

Diogo was prepared to be rejected, but he didn't expect the other party to agree very happily.

"Just use commodities to trade! I don't know what commodities you can provide."

Diogo immediately took out his product brochure. Su Ze saw the Bird Gun and Frang Cannon on it. He suppressed his excitement and pretended to be calm and said, "You can trade with the Frang Gun and Bird Gun."

Diogo quickly signed a long-term transaction contract with Su Ze, and he was also guessing Su Ze's identity.

Merchants in the Ming Dynasty would also buy bird guns sporadically, but not many bought on such a large scale as Su Ze.

The knights of the Ming Dynasty were different from those in Europe, their weapons were all provided by the Emperor of Ming Dynasty.

What a generous and wealthy emperor. Compared with the Ming emperor, the European monarchs were stingy, and the lords had to prepare their own weapons and horses.

Is it Japanese pirates?

Diogo shook his head again. All pirates in East Asia can be classified as Japanese pirates, but Diogo has seen many Japanese pirates, even the famous Japanese pirate Wang Zhi, but no one has Su Ze's bearing.

Su Ze should be a knight of Ming Dynasty, and a knight with a relatively high status.

Besides the knights, maybe Su Ze bought the weapons on behalf of the Ming Dynasty officials?

This is quite possible. As more and more bird guns flow into the Japanese country, the Japanese pirates' equipment is getting better and better.

Maybe the Ming court let officials like Su Ze buy weapons privately out of face?

Otherwise, which knight would buy so many bird guns at his own expense?

Diogo is not going to delve into Su Ze's identity.

Su Ze said again: "Mr. Diogo, do you have any Western books for sale?"

Western books?

It was the first time that Diogo encountered a Daming person who was interested in Westerners' books.

Diogo said in embarrassment: "I didn't bring a book to Yuegang this time. When I go to Malacca next time, I will help you pay attention to it?"

Su Ze nodded. It is very good to reach an agreement to exchange tea for arms.

After talking about the deal, Father Pierre said, "Are there any other priests in Yuegang?"

Diogo shook his head and said, "Several priests are building churches in Macau, and there are no priests in Yuegang."

Pierre was a little disappointed, and he said to Diogo: "Dear Your Excellency Diogo, please give this letter to him the next time you see Bishop Gianilao in Macau."

Diogo received the letter, and Pierre said, "Dear Ming Knight Su, you support us in preaching in his territory, but I can't spread the gospel of the Lord by myself. I hope the church can send more people over."

"They can come to Moon Harbor first, and wait until the next time we come to trade to go to Su's territory."

Diogo looked at Pierre in surprise. The Portuguese missionary in Daming had never been nervous. The church in Macau was still under construction, but it did not attract many believers.

Father Pierre actually got the support of a Ming knight?

This is a remarkable achievement!

Diogo immediately promised to send the letter to Macau as soon as possible, and then handed over the fifty bird guns in stock to Su Ze, completing the tea transaction.

Back on the boat again, Lin Mojun stared at Su Ze and said, "I didn't expect Mr. Su to be so deceptive. I didn't realize this before."

Su Ze immediately said, "Where is the lie?"

"You said you supported Pierre's preaching, but you clearly prohibited him from spreading the faith in Changningwei."

Su Ze said immediately: "Didn't I agree with him preaching to the Crooked Hoof people? It's just that he can't speak the language of the Crooked Hoof people, so he can't preach."

Su Ze smiled again and said, "Changningwei is not my territory, it is your Lin Baihu's territory, and you are the one who forbids him from preaching in your territory."

Lin Mojun also laughed and said, "Sure enough, a man's mouth cannot be trusted."

Su Ze said inexplicably with a guilty conscience: "Look at how comfortable Father Pierre lived on the island, he did it voluntarily!"

Lin Mojun said lightly: "I have to be careful in the future, don't be sold by you and count the money for you."

Su Ze did not lie. Today, Father Pierre is studying astronomy and mathematics at the same time, and he is very busy.

And Su Ze drew a big cake for him and asked him to translate the Chinese version of the "Bible" on the island.

Although Pierre was a Jesuit, he opposed Protestantism's private translation of the Bible.

But Su Ze still convinced him that the East is different from the West. If there is no Bible that readers can understand, then the intellectuals will not be interested in Catholicism at all.

This made Father Pierre unable to refuse the temptation.

We are different from those heretics in Württemberg. We are translators, not tamperers!

But this work cannot be done by Pierre alone, which is why he is willing to cooperate with Su Ze to lie and deceive more missionaries to Changningwei.

Returning with a full load of cargo, Su Ze rushed back to Nanping City. He had just returned to the editorial office of "Surprise" when he heard from Lin Qingcai that someone was visiting.