Venice, Doge's Palace.
Governor Micheli Steno stared at a map and pondered silently.
The heavy door was pushed open, and Tommaso Moseniger of the Council and Marco Rossini of the Senate came in.
Mosenig walked to Steno, looked at the map, and said in a deep voice: "Adam and William's fleet was blocked, and the Mamluks did not allow us to enter the Red Sea. They sailed out Conditions, if you want to use the road, you need to hand over 70% of the goods."
"Seventy percent?"
Steno sneered: "Nasreddin Faraj really thinks that the Mamluks are still as powerful as they were twelve years ago? Our fleet is heading to the East and needs to get countless silks and ceramics. Only in this way, Venice Only in this way can we become the center of many countries and possess countless wealth. Only in this way can we build more ships and arm more armies!"
Mosenig nodded repeatedly.
The goods of the Ming Dynasty were the most in-demand goods around the Mediterranean Sea, and they were as valuable as gold.
Adam has now become the most successful Venetian merchant and already owns a large manor. Many years ago, he was just an inconspicuous sailor!
There is no secret for a sailor to become a noble. He has more luck and courage than others because he reached the great eastern country that countless people yearned for and brought countless goods.
With Adam in front, Venice wants to be the second Adam, and wants to become the most outstanding, powerful, and least messy existence among all Europeans!
But under Venice's ambitious plan, the Mamluks became a stumbling block to the rise of Venice, and they were still a big stone.
If you want to go to Daming, the best way is to go to the Red Sea and carry goods by ship.
Now, the sea route is blocked.
Rossini sighed: "I'm afraid our conflict with the Mamluks is inevitable."
Steno did not want to start a war. Every war meant a loss of strength. Moreover, the Mamluks were not without the power to fight back. The current governor of Damascus also obeyed the Mamluks' call.
"Let's negotiate."
Steino's eyes were firm and he added: "If the negotiations are fruitless, then we can only resort to war."
Mosenig said solemnly: "Negotiations are possible, but negotiations without strength can only lead to weakness. I suggest that we mobilize five hundred ships to the waters near Mamluks to show our strength."
Steno looked at Mosenig and then at Rossini. Seeing that Rossini had no objection, he nodded: "Then let's convene the consultative group, the Council of Elders, and the committee to make a decision."
church.
Bishop Francis and Father Johnson looked at the returning William with some sullen eyes.
Francis suppressed his anger: "So, the Mamluks are determined to fight against us. They want war, so we should give them war!"
William looked at the bishop in surprise. He had never seen him so angry in so many years. It was obvious that this time he was really offended.
Thinking about it, the bishop invested nearly half of his wealth in this voyage, placing his treasure on the distant Ming Dynasty. As long as he goes to the Ming Dynasty and comes back, the bishop will become a wealthy existence, and his wealth will no longer exist only on believers, but also on material things.
But this time, the scale was larger than before, with more cargo and more manpower prepared. The voyage was told to end before it left the Mediterranean. If this voyage could not take place, then a fleet of this size and cargo of this size would But they can only stay in the port of Venice, and they will never be able to exchange for silk, ceramics and tea. If they cannot exchange for Eastern goods, they will not be able to exchange for more gold and silver treasures.
William said helplessly: "Right now we only have two roads to take. The first road is through the Syrian road and enters the Timurid Kingdom. There is news that the Timurid Kingdom to the east is the Western Xinjiang Province of the Ming Dynasty. , it was once a country within Yili. Later, due to Timur's expedition, the Ming Dynasty took it as its own. In many countries around Timur's country, a lot of silk and ceramics appeared, which should have been shipped from Western Xinjiang. Come."
"We can let
Abandon the sea route and choose to go to Daming by land. This would require more manpower and the purchase of more camels. Although this method was a bit clumsy, it could make up for the loss to some extent. What's more, at this time, there is peace in Timur's country, and Harry has issued an order not to harm merchants and caravans..."
Bishop Francis shook his head: "Although it is feasible to go to the Ming Dynasty via Timur, don't forget that there is a war in Syria, and our caravan may not be able to pass safely. Even if it passes, we are willing to stay in the western frontier of the Ming Dynasty Really? How much goods can it bring us there? Only the capital of the Ming Dynasty, the richest place in the world, can bring us endless wealth and the best goods."
"If a land caravan wants to reach the capital of the Ming Dynasty, it will take more than three years to go back and forth. It will also cost a lot of money on the road, and the goods exchanged are also very limited. No matter how you look at it, it is not as good as sailing by sea. The Mamluks do not allow us to borrow the road, then We should open a way! Didn’t the Ming Emperor say that Ming wants to strengthen commercial ties with Venice? If we can open a sea channel between the Mediterranean and the Red Sea, then we still need to look at the Mamluks’ faces in the future?”
The navy in Venice is powerful and cannot be provoked by anyone.
Father Johnson glanced at the bishop and said sternly: "The Governor's Mansion does intend to open up a river between the Mediterranean and the Red Sea. Now the Mamluk Dynasty refuses our fleet to enter the Red Sea. The reason is obvious, that is, it was proposed in the Governor's Mansion. The Mamluks chose to refuse our request to open a river channel. Not only did they refuse us, they also planned to completely cut off our access to the sea."
William nodded.
Indeed, after the Ming Dynasty proposed the strategy of connecting the Mediterranean and the Red Sea, the Governor-General of Venice indeed sent envoys to the Mamluks to negotiate with Faraj on the plan to open a river channel. All the money to start the construction, and explain that the river will be under the jurisdiction of the Mamluks in the future, can withstand 30% of the heavy tax.
Even so, the Mamluks still rejected Venice.
Such negotiations were lengthy. The Venetians' patience was lost due to the Mamluks' repeated rejections, and they could not see any hope of reaching cooperation.
If the talks fall apart, then the talks fall apart. For the time being, we should do things the way we have in the past, and we can always borrow a way to get there.
Now the Mamluks don't even want to borrow this road, and they say that no Catholics are allowed to set foot on Christian lands. They even want to take away most of the goods to prevent Venetian merchants from sailing again.
"War is inevitable."
Bishop Francis looked solemn, with cannibalistic ferocity in his eyes.
In the luxurious manor, beautiful ceramics are placed everywhere, gorgeous silks are worn on Adam, and red wine is swaying in the cup.
Burley, Cardin, and Tony were pacing back and forth restlessly.
Tony saw that Adam was still enjoying leisurely and couldn't help but stepped forward: "My most respected captain, the wind on the sea has blown, which is a good time for us to set sail. If we miss this winter, our losses will be huge. Five More than a hundred sailors have their mouths open. They need to eat every day and need us to feed them."
Cardin couldn't help complaining: "We should think of a way. It's not that we are impatient to wait, it's just that we don't know when the wait will end. There is news from the Metropolitan Governor's Palace that they still hope to negotiate with the Mamluks. You Listen, it's a negotiation! They have already rejected us and even want to take away almost all our goods, do we still need to negotiate?"
Bailey looked at Tony and Cardin and waved his hands: "You guys should stop talking loudly. I didn't see the captain being so quiet. I guess I have a countermeasure. Right, my beloved captain, you must have a way to guide me." Let’s go to Ming Dynasty again, to the richest and greatest place, shall we?”
Adam took a sip of wine, slowly turned his head to look at the three of them, and said calmly: "A way? Haha, there is no road, how can there be a way. If you want to go to Daming, you must find a way. If you are willing to lead the camel , by walking seventeen thousand miles, we can leave here immediately."
"Seventeen thousand miles? Oh my god, you might as well just let me go to God."
Cardin feels terrible when he thinks about it. Such a long journey is all on two feet. It will take nearly two years to reach Ming Dynasty, and it will be nearly two years to come back, and he can only bring a little goods. Such a loss-making business , who is willing to do it?
Tony quickly said: "The land route is not our choice. We are captains, captains of the sea. We want to sail across the blue sea and return to Ming Dynasty with a full load."
Burley meant the same thing.
The people recruited this time are all sailors. Let them change into camel caravans to climb deserts, walk on plateaus, and climb mountains. This is extremely painful for them. Maybe if the news spreads, most of these sailors will leave.
Bailey walked up to Adam and asked uneasily: "Captain, we won't stay here forever, like a stone, without any movement, right?"
Adam burst out laughing: "Of course not, we can't sail, which is a good thing."
"A good thing?"
Cardin and others looked at each other.
How long has this been? You can’t even get out of the Mediterranean Sea. How can there be any good things to say?
"What's so good about it?"
Tony asked eagerly.
Adam's eyes were bright: "The good thing is that the Mamluks are about to end. From now on, not only can we sail if we want, but we may even be able to dig up the channels of the Mediterranean and the Red Sea."
Are the Mamluks doomed?
Berry, Tony and Cardin were even more shocked.
Could it be that the Governor's Office is determined to deal with the Mamluk dynasty?
Adam stared at the south and said slowly: "You still remember Timur, he was the one who defeated Faraj. And the Ming army that defeated Timur has already appeared in Levia. Their arrival shows that the Ming Dynasty The emperor's will has reached the Red Sea! The greatest tragedy of the Mamluk dynasty is that they thought they offended Venice, but little did they know that what they really offended was the Ming Dynasty."
