Beginning in the 23rd year of Chongzhen, Emperor Chongzhen focused on domestic road construction and economic construction, taking into account various disciplines, which can also be said to be the system construction of various industries.
On the eighth day of March of this year, in Lisbon, the Portuguese capital far away in Europe, João IV was very unhappy. It could even be said that nothing went smoothly for him.
It's not that the Spaniards have reached Lisbon, but a lot of things make him feel very worried and distressed.
The Kingdom of Portugal was a long-existing country, founded in 1139; but in 1581, it was annexed by Spain. At this time, Spain was a powerful country in Europe, and the Spanish fleet was known as the Invincible Fleet. However, the Spanish fleet was subsequently defeated by the combined forces of England and the Netherlands, and fell into the quagmire of the Thirty Years' War.
With the war, there is no doubt that Spain's oppression of Portugal will be even greater. In response to the current situation, the Portuguese revolted, elected John IV as their king, declared independence and rebelled against Spanish rule.
At the beginning, Spain was at a critical moment in the Thirty Years' War and therefore had no free hands to deal with Portugal.
And Portugal knew that with its own capabilities, it would be difficult to resist Spanish suppression. Therefore, it seeks help from everywhere in order to gain recognition from other countries.
Originally, Portugal and England had always been allies. As a result, John IV was unlucky to encounter civil strife in England, and Charles I was executed. Originally, he wanted to remain neutral in the civil strife in England and support whoever came to power in the end. However, unexpectedly, a group of British royalists used the long-standing alliance between the two countries as an excuse to lead a fleet loyal to the king and anchored in He arrived at the port of Lisbon and used it as a base to attack Cromwell's fleet, forcing John IV to join the team, but in the end he could not defeat Cromwell's fleet.
In addition, John IV was also seeking support from France. But France was a big country at that time, and it looked down upon Portugal at all. Even if Portugal promised to give France many benefits, others did not take a serious look at it.
Logically speaking, Portugal, as the party that resisted Spain, can be regarded as the victorious party in the Thirty Years' War. As a result, when the contract was concluded, they ignored Portugal at all and did not allow Portugal to attend. Even the Treaty of the Pyrenees (1659) signed separately by France and Spain clearly stipulated that France would not support peace talks between Portugal and Spain. Portugal has become a bargaining chip in the game of interests between major powers.
Other parties, including Rome and the Pope, did not recognize Portugal.
It can be said that Portugal's situation after independence was quite bad. Now that the Thirty Years of Religious War has ended for more than a year, Spain has licked the wounds caused by so many years of war and may launch an attack on Portugal at any time.
So many unsatisfactory events made King Joao IV's hair turn gray. He was worrying when suddenly, he heard a huge noise coming from the direction of the port, which made him furious: "Is there anything left? I can't beat those rebels, so I just want to vent my anger here!"
Those British royalist fleets were unable to be defeated again and again. When docked in Lisbon, they often went ashore to cause trouble. If they made any demands on them, these British guys would yell that Portugal disliked them and wanted to betray the alliance. João was so angry that The fourth generation is really fed up.
There was so much noise at the port at this time, and I could tell with my toes that it must have been causing trouble after drinking again. However, even so, so what, those British guys are not reasonable at all!
João IV thought about this, sighed, and told himself to calm down and not be disturbed by the outside world. Then he forced himself to calm down and continued working.
If things go by in the past, those British people will slowly calm down after making a fuss for a while; but this time, the noise in the port direction has been going on, and it is getting louder and louder.
At the beginning, João IV told himself in his heart: a normal heart, a normal heart! Try to soothe yourself and not be disturbed by the noise.
Later, it was obvious that Joao IV's hand holding the pen paused several times, and he even wanted to stand up as soon as he threw the quill away. But in the end he endured it and sat down again.
But as the noise continued, it greatly exceeded his endurance. After trying to comfort himself many times, he finally threw away the quill and rang the doorbell. He had to deal with it.
The bell rang, but the attendant at the door did not respond as before. This made Joao IV even more annoyed, so he rang the bell very hard.
Finally, the door opened, and the attendant at the door rushed in. It seemed that he did not see the gloomy face of Joao IV, who was about to rain, and said excitedly: "Your Highness, look at it, Your Highness, look at the port, look... …”
"What are you looking at? What is there to see?" Joao IV roared angrily, but immediately, he felt something was wrong. If the situation was the same as before, the attendant would not be so excited!
After thinking about it, João IV's voice became lower and returned to normal. He asked with doubts: "Could it be that those British guys came back victorious?"
These royalist fleets have always been beaten by Cromwell's fleet. This is why these royalists often drink and cause trouble. But if he hadn't won the battle, why would the attendant be so excited?
"No, Your Highness!" The attendant was very excited. He quickly walked to the window near the port, quickly opened the window, and after confirming it for himself, he immediately turned around and got out of the way and said to Joao IV, "Your Highness , come and take a look, you will know it as soon as you see it!”
What the hell is this big happy event? When João IV saw it, he was suspicious and interested, so he quickly walked to the window to take a look.
I saw that there was already a sea of people on the other side of the port. But even so, there are still many people rushing towards the port. It's like there's money there, it's the kind of money you can't pick up if you don't pick it up.
Looking further ahead, there is a fleet docked on the shore, disembarking people, and soldiers are still maintaining order.
"Is the overseas fleet back?" John IV saw it and turned around to ask his attendants a little doubtfully.
Even if the overseas fleet comes back with valuables, it won't be so lively, right?
Seeing this, the attendant couldn't help it any longer, so he replied quickly and excitedly: "Your Highness, the fleet that went to the Ming Empire in the Far East has returned, and it has returned with a full load!"
"Ah..." After hearing this, João IV sighed suddenly, then immediately turned his head and looked towards the dock again.
Sure enough, at this time, he finally saw that this fleet was sent to the Ming Empire in the Far East two years ago!
After confirming, João IV finally became excited, as if he was about to draw a lottery. He was waiting for the prize to be announced. He immediately turned his head and confirmed: "Is it true that you came home with a full load?"
"Yes, Your Highness, you will definitely return with a full load!" The person who answered him was not the attendant, but the voice coming from the door of the room.
King Joao IV looked up when he heard the sound and recognized the commander of the fleet he had sent to the east. He was overjoyed and quickly walked over and received a document handed over by the commander of the fleet: "Your Highness, this is the time. The cargo list in the fleet is all specialties of the Ming Empire in the Far East. We can make several times the profit by changing hands..."
King Joao IV could no longer hear what he was saying. He focused all his attention on the document in his hand and quickly browsed page by page.
Raw silk, silk, tea, porcelain... they are all specialties of the Far East, and they are also the most famous brand specialties. The most important thing is that there are so many of them...
All of this was far beyond John IV's expectations. So much so that after he finished reading it, he started reading it from the beginning again. I watched it three times in a row, each time slower than the last. After reading it for the third time, he closed the document, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath.
He opened his eyes and touched the document with his hand, as if the document had become a special product of those Far Eastern empires.
Immediately afterwards, Joao IV immediately turned around and came to the window. When he looked at the warships docked in the port again, his eyes were wide open and shining.
But after a while, he seemed to be a lot depressed and obviously not so happy. He slowly turned around and walked to his own seat to sit down.
"Your Highness, what's wrong?" The fleet commander felt a little strange when he saw it, so he quickly asked, "But you're still not satisfied?"
As I asked this question, I thought to myself, this shouldn’t be the case! The harvest from this trip to the Far East was far greater than any previous trip. It can be said that it can greatly alleviate domestic economic needs. This should be evident from His Highness's initial performance.
Hearing the fleet commander's question, King Joao IV suddenly sighed and said: "How can I be dissatisfied with such a big harvest this time!"
At this point, seeing that the fleet commander wanted to speak, he jumped in and added: "It's just that Portugal is in a difficult situation now. So many good things have to be given to others, hoping to get their support for Portugal! "
Hearing this, everyone in the house understood what Joao IV was thinking and couldn't help but feel speechless in acquiescence.
That's how weak countries are, they can't keep the good things they want.
"I will divide it first and then send it to other countries, especially France and the United Kingdom. I have to prepare a large portion." Joao IV was already thinking as he said, "On the French side, except for the Queen Mother, Apart from Anna of Austria, Cardinal Mazarin's courtesy cannot be too thin, and..."
In order to win recognition of Portugal from other European countries, it would be best to provide support to Portugal when Spain attacks Portugal. No matter how distressed João IV is, he has no choice but to plan to send them all away.
Miaoshuwu
