After listening to Nils Rosen's answer, Jiajing couldn't help but fell into deep thought.
"This Niels Rosen encountered the Ming Dynasty's fleet near India."
"Based on the sailing speed, the fleet should pass through the Strait of Malacca soon. With the map I drew, they should be able to avoid a lot of detours!"
Jiajing thought so, and then came back to his senses, looked at Nils Rosen not far away, nodded, and then spoke.
"Well, very good, your news has helped me a lot!"
Jiajing's words, after being relayed by the translator, fell into Niels' ears word for word.
When Nils heard what Jiajing said, a hint of joy flashed across his face.
In his opinion, as long as he can tie the interests of both parties together, he might be able to complete his mission of expanding diplomacy for the Kingdom of Spain.
Thinking of this, a look of worry flashed across Niels' face, as if he was hesitant to speak.
Naturally, Nils's expression could not be hidden from everyone present. Jiajing, who was sitting on the dragon chair, couldn't help but feel a little funny when he saw this situation.
"Hmph, you are actually playing this trick with me, so let me just listen to what you want to say!"
After that, Jiajing coughed twice, turned his eyes to Nils, and then asked.
"Do you have anything you want to say to me?"
When Nils heard this, he thought about it for a moment before speaking slowly.
"His Majesty the Supreme Ming Emperor, do you know about the Kingdom of England?"
After Nils finished speaking, the official responsible for translation soon translated Nils's words intact.
When Jiajing heard this, an inexplicable smile appeared on his face, and he turned to speak.
"Of course I know about England. Not long ago, I talked with businessmen from England."
"I heard from those English people that the Kingdom of Spain has blocked the sea and does not allow ships from other countries to sail on the sea."
"Not only that, you also heavily funded the pirates and allowed them to plunder wantonly on the sea. Those English people also said that you also planned to invade their country!"
"They call you, the Kingdom of Spain, shameless invaders!"
Jiajing's words, after being relayed by a translator who knew Ming Dynasty Mandarin, reached Niels' ears verbatim.
When Nils heard Jiajing's words, he suddenly panicked, and then he scolded secretly with a sullen face.
"Oh God, how dare these damn British guys slander the Kingdom of Spain like this!"
After that, Nils came back to his senses, looked at Jiajing, and explained sincerely.
"His Majesty the Ming Emperor, don't be deceived by those cunning British guys. They are the villains who secretly fund pirates!"
"To be honest, our ships from the Kingdom of Spain are often robbed by those despicable and shameless British pirates on their way back!"
"You control such a huge and powerful empire, so you shouldn't listen to the lies of those British guys, right?"
After listening to what the translator said, Jiajing sneered and said to himself: "Hmph, you two countries are obviously the same. Let's start a fight. This way, I, the Ming Dynasty, can make a lot of money from war!"
After that, Jiajing was seen smiling and spoke immediately.
"This is natural. I never believe in what one family says. Just as the messenger said not long ago, your Kingdom of Spain hopes to take this opportunity to become friends with my Ming Dynasty. So why not my Ming Dynasty?"
In Jiajing's view, according to the current momentum, Spain will decline sooner or later.
It would be better to take this opportunity to gain more benefits for Ming Dynasty. When the time is right, Ming Dynasty can take over the title of the Empire on which the Sun Never Sets from Spain!
Jiajing's words, after being repeated by the translator on the side, fell into Nils's ears verbatim. Hearing these words, Nils felt a little comforted, and the hanging heart in his heart , and finally landed safely.
After that, Niels organized the words in his mind and continued.
"His Majesty the Ming Emperor, I was worried about this just now. What should I do if the merchant ship carrying silk, tea, and porcelain is robbed by British pirates while being transported to Europe?"
In Nils' view, what he wanted to express was already very obvious: "In order to protect merchant ships from being plundered, you should hurry up and sign an alliance with our Kingdom of Spain!"
After listening to the translation by the official on the side, Jiajing nodded and said solemnly.
"Don't worry, my Ming Dynasty can protect the safety of merchant ships. If you have too much time to take care of yourself, you can come to my Ming Dynasty for help. Currently, my Ming Dynasty's warships only cost five thousand taels of silver to escort one time!"
When Nils heard what Jiajing said, his face suddenly darkened. He didn't expect that things would develop in this direction.
Originally, I just wanted to take this opportunity to sign an alliance with this powerful country rich in silk, tea, and porcelain. Unexpectedly, the other party promoted escort services.
Immediately afterwards, Nils decisively rejected Jiajing's proposal after thinking about his own fleet that was invincible in the world.
"His Majesty the Supreme Ming Emperor, as you said before, we, the Kingdom of Spain, are also capable of protecting the safety of merchant ships!"
When Nils said this, he changed the subject and continued to add.
"However, precisely because we both have this ability, we should sign a covenant to avoid conflicts. What do you think?"
Niels' words, after being repeated by the translator on the side, successfully aroused the dissatisfaction of several people in the cabinet, especially Xu Jie. At this moment, his face was full of resentment.
"A mere barbarian wants to sit with me and the Ming Dynasty, so why talk about an alliance?"
Jiajing took in the expressions on the faces of Xu Jie and others, chuckled, and then asked with interest.
"Oh, since you, the Kingdom of Spain, want to sign an alliance with the Ming Dynasty, you might as well ask me, what is the content of the alliance?"
Jiajing's words, after being relayed by the translator on the side who knew Ming Dynasty Mandarin, reached Niels' ears word for word.
When Nils heard this, his face was full of smile, and he immediately responded without thinking.
"First of all, between the Ming Dynasty and Spain, both merchant ships and warships have the right to sail freely on the sea, and no interference is allowed. When ships from both sides meet at sea, they cannot attack each other!"
"Secondly, after one of the ships is unfortunately stranded, if the other party's ship is present, it has the obligation to rescue!"
"When the ships transporting goods from both parties arrive at the other party's port, there must be no other fees except necessary taxes!"
"Finally, ships from both sides can obtain fresh water, food, medical supplies, etc. at each other's ports. In addition, missionaries must be allowed to preach..."
Niels's words, after being relayed by an official who knew Rakshasa language, reached the ears of Yan Song and others word for word.
Hearing this, Yan Song turned his gaze to Xu Jie who was aside, and asked: "Mr. Xu Ge, what do you think of the content of this covenant?"
When Xu Jie heard Yan Song's words, he thought about it for a moment and immediately responded: "Well, except for the missionary part, the rest of the covenant is not a big problem!"
After listening to the suggestions given by Xu Jie, Yan Song rarely expressed his agreement.
"Well, what Mr. Xu Ge said makes sense. I heard officials from the host and guest department mention it earlier. These countries are very keen on sending missionaries to preach. I heard that it is to spread the glory of Christianity, so that they can go there after death. Heaven!"
Zhang Juzheng on the side couldn't help but frowned when he heard Yan Song's words, and immediately asked.
"The Kingdom of Heaven, their Kingdom of Heaven over there, is similar to the underworld here, right?"
Upon hearing this, Yan Song was stunned for a moment and then responded without confidence.
"This...this should...should be about the same!"
After that, Yan Song turned his eyes in the direction of Jiajing. Just when he was about to give some advice, Jiajing spoke first.
"There's nothing wrong with the rest of the terms. I just don't agree to sending missionaries to preach!"
Jiajing's voice was not loud, but it contained an unquestionable meaning.
Niels obviously did not expect this sudden change. In his opinion, the terms he proposed were very friendly, fair and just.
If it weren't for the Eastern country in front of us, which is rich in silk, tea, porcelain and other luxury goods, its strength would not be inferior to Spain.
According to the temperament of the maritime overlord of the Kingdom of Spain, why would he talk so much nonsense? After he returns, he will directly ask His Majesty to send an invincible fleet to conquer!
Facing Nils's extremely puzzled eyes, Jiajing cleared his throat and continued.
"Don't worry, I'm not targeting anyone. I'm treating everyone equally. No matter who they are, they are not allowed to preach in our Ming Dynasty!"
"There was once a group of Portuguese people who stayed in the Haojing area of the Ming Dynasty on the grounds that their ship was damaged by wind and waves. Since then, they have settled here. Originally, the Ming Dynasty was very enlightened and welcomed their arrival!"
"Unexpectedly, they used the excuse of preaching to secretly support the Japanese pirates and sell cannons to them, causing them to harm the southeastern coastal areas of the Ming Dynasty. Not long ago, I ordered all of them to be expelled from the Ming Dynasty!"
After listening to what the translator said, Niels roughly understood the reason why Jiajing was so resistant to the missionaries, but he was still a little unwilling and wanted to make amends.
After all, if such a populous, vast and powerful country could be brought back into the embrace of the Christian family.
Then after his death, his soul will definitely ascend to heaven, where he will be closest to God and listen to God’s teachings!
"His Majesty the Supreme Ming Emperor, I can assure you that our Kingdom of Spain is a friendly and generous country, and we will never be like those Portuguese!"
Niels's words, after being relayed by an official who knew Rakshasa language, reached the ears of everyone in the cabinet word for word.
At this moment, when everyone heard what Nils said, they couldn't help but feel a strange feeling in their hearts.
Friendliness refers to massacring local indigenous people and using them as slaves to mine gold mines for themselves. However, generosity is true. Every year, Spain buys the most luxury goods such as silk, tea, and porcelain from Daming.
Seeing that Nils was planning to give some advice, Jiajing had a look of impatience on his face and turned to speak.
"No need to say any more, anyway, I will not agree to sending missionaries here to preach!"
"If you talk nonsense again, then there is no need to sign this covenant again!"
Seeing this situation, Nils knew that the emperor of the Ming Empire in front of him had made up his mind. If he continued to insist, he would only be disgusted by him. Not only would he not get what he wanted, but he would have to pay more. .
After Niels thought about this, he immediately nodded, his face full of apology, and then explained.
"I obey your will, His Majesty the Supreme Ming Emperor!"
After listening to the explanation of the official who understood Rakshasa language, Jiajing nodded and immediately gave instructions.
"In that case, let's do this for now. I still have things to deal with, so you can leave!"
"As you command, Your Majesty!"
As soon as Jiajing finished speaking, everyone in the cabinet sitting not far away immediately stood up from their seats and bowed to Jiajing.
Seeing this, Nils and his party quickly stood up from their seats and saluted Jiajing using the etiquette taught to them by the Honglu Temple officials earlier.
After that, Niels and his party of four, as well as the cabinet members, left the Qianqing Palace one after another. Under the guidance of a eunuch, they went to a separate room to discuss specific terms.
After all, this meeting between the two parties is only to confirm a general direction. The next relevant details still need to be discussed in detail by the cabinet with this group of Rakshasa messengers.
After everyone left the Qing Palace one after another, Jiajing slowly stood up from the dragon chair, looked at Lu Fang beside him, and then spoke.
"Lu Fang, let's go and go out with me!"
"As you command, Your Majesty!"
Immediately, Lu Fang was seen walking out of Qianqing Palace, following Jiajing step by step. Behind them, there were many eunuchs and maids responsible for serving.
The master and the servant walked along the neat stone road under their feet, and soon came to a lake. There was a small pavilion by the lake, and Jiajing stopped here.
"Let's rest here for a while!"
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
After Jiajing finished speaking, many eunuchs and maids soon came forward and put soft cushions on the stone benches. They also filled the table with all kinds of rare pastries, and the green teapots were still steaming.
(End of chapter)
