As soon as the Pyrenees Contract was signed, Spain immediately began to mobilize troops and secretly transferred troops from the north back to the south. At the same time, Philip IV once again placed his hope on Prince Condé, hoping that he could show his record during the Thirty Years War and help Spain suppress Portugal, which could be regarded as repaying Spain for supporting Prince Condé over the years.
This Prince of Condé, whose full name is Louis II de Bourbon, is also nicknamed the Grand Condé. He is a young man who has achieved great success and is famous far and wide. It is also funny to say that his battle to become famous was to defeat his current master.
When he was twenty years old, he commanded the Battle of Rocroi and was victorious.
This was a great victory because he faced the Spanish Army, which had long dominated Europe, and his opponents were all experienced generals. This battle ended Spain's historical land dominance and marked the arrival of French land hegemony.
Later, Da Kongdai also won successive wars. This also made Spain firmly remember the French prince. He did not hesitate to provide huge help when he was in need and in trouble.
It's just a pity that Dakondai betrayed his motherland, and thus encountered a hurdle that he could never overcome in his life, namely Turenne. During the French Civil War, Turenne defeated the Grand Condé every time.
However, no matter what, we cannot deny the military talent of Kongdai. This can be seen from his title: French military strategist and politician, Prince of Condé and Duke of Angkian, the most famous representative of the Condé family. He was still one of the most outstanding commanders in Europe in the 17th century.
This time, Grand Condé’s opponent is no longer his old enemy Turena. His men were no longer rebels attacking their own country; they were soldiers with high morale who wanted to suppress the Portuguese rebellion and defend the honor of Spain.
Whether it was concluding a treaty with France or transferring troops from the north to the south, they were all done in secret. First, it would be too embarrassing for Spain to cede territory to make amends; second, the sudden nature of the war was very clear to both Condé and Philip IV.
Although João IV was on guard against Spain and had careful tactics, he was unable to obtain Spain's actions immediately. At this time, he was very happy in the royal palace in Lisbon.
"Okay, okay, okay!" I heard the excited voice of João IV ringing in his hall, "It seems that this move is really the right one. Under the alliance with the Ming Dynasty, there will be no Spain in America. Yeah, hahaha..."
"Your Highness, except for a few places in South America that are designated by the Ming Dynasty, all other places belong to Portugal." The envoy who returned the letter from America also smiled and said, "Orientals keep their promises! We won’t regret taking up more space just because they are too powerful!”
"Hahaha, that's right!" João IV was very happy to hear this and said with a smile, "It's not in vain that I married my daughter to the Far East..."
At this point, he remembered something and quickly asked the messenger: "By the way, how is Catherine?"
For a long time, he didn't ask about his daughter, and it wasn't until this moment that he remembered to ask about Catherine.
The envoy had followed Anders to the capital of the Ming Dynasty until Catherine's situation, so he immediately replied: "The princess's age does not meet the Ming Dynasty's marriage regulations, so although she is designated as the prince's concubine, the wedding has not yet been held. If If there are no accidents, I guess I should be getting married by now."
Hearing this, King Joao IV said "Yeah" and seemed a little emotional. I just don’t know whether he lamented the age limit or whether his daughter did not become the concubine of the Ming Emperor in the end.
At this time, he just sighed with emotion, and then immediately became excited again and said: "Let's go, I want to check the real thing myself."
When the envoy came back, of course he brought the wealth of America and the belongings of three large ships. At least half of them are originally from Spain. But now, it belongs to Portugal. In addition, there are also gifts from the Ming Dynasty.
So much wealth seemed to fall out of thin air, which naturally made Joao IV very happy.
Of course, everyone is happy with this kind of thing. So, John IV, surrounded by a large group of his men, left the palace and headed for the port.
Seeing the king coming out, the people of Portugal cheered loudly.
Over the years, as the exclusive agent of Far Eastern specialties, even if a little soup leaks between the fingers, ordinary people's lives will be much better than before. This improvement was a wise decision made by King John IV. Therefore, he was welcomed by most people.
Looking at the goods being moved at the port and seeing how popular John IV was, the British royalists at the port couldn't help but feel sour.
"What's so great about this? It's just that I hugged the Emperor of Ming Dynasty's lap!"
"That's right, I exchanged it for his daughter. Why are you so happy!"
"What a pity. If our king had gone to form an alliance with the Ming Kingdom first, he would not have ended up being executed by the traitors!"
"Ah, now the old king's youngest princess is married. Otherwise, if she is sent to the Far East, I wonder if the Ming Emperor will also let us form an alliance with Britain!"
"..."
Their sour words were spoken in very low voices. Today is different from the past, it is no longer the time when they just escaped to Lisbon.
At that time, they were unscrupulous. But now, after so many years, they have been taught by cruel facts and seen that Portugal is rich and getting stronger, and their confidence is gone.
If such sour words were heard by the Portuguese, there would be no good results. But if they don't say it and keep it in their hearts, they won't be able to hold it back.
Now in the eyes of John IV, these British royalists no longer exist at all. In his eyes, they were all boxes of belongings moved from the ship.
Inadvertently, John IV suddenly discovered that the British royalists were pointing fingers here. Suddenly, he felt a little unhappy. It was as if he was eating delicious food when he suddenly noticed a small flying insect.
But soon, Joao IV's interest was attracted by the wealth in front of him.
Just as he was about to go back, the British royalists suddenly blocked the way and started talking in a flurry of words.
"Congratulations to Your Highness for your abundant financial resources. You have made a fortune again!"
"Portugal will definitely be one of the most powerful countries in Europe in the future, congratulations!"
"..."
Listening to their disgusting flattery, and thinking of how arrogant they were when they first fled to Lisbon, Joao IV didn't want to pay attention to them at all. But at this time in the public square, you can't go too far. Just ask with a cold face: "What's the matter with you?"
The Portuguese people who were watching looked at these British people, and all of them had bad expressions on their faces. In the past, these British people were incredibly arrogant when they first came to Lisbon. They often got drunk and made trouble, and no one liked them.
After hearing the question, these British people looked at each other. The leader among them, named Olido, forced a smile and said to King Joao IV: "Your Highness, you can see that you can earn so much from America. Otherwise, Give us some of your money so we can recruit troops..."
When he said this, he noticed that Joao IV's face was extremely gloomy, and he quickly added: "As soon as we have the money, we will leave immediately. If we don't disturb His Highness, how about we go to recruit troops elsewhere?"
If they had made this request at the beginning, maybe John IV would have agreed. But at this time, there was a big gap in status between the two sides, and Joao IV really didn't want to deal with these beggars.
However, with so many people watching, Joao IV also wanted to lose face. He was afraid that others would say he was ungrateful, so he asked coldly: "How much do you want?"
Upon hearing this, Odoli couldn't help but be overjoyed. He looked at the other accomplices and said quickly: "Not much, not much, half is enough!"
"Half? Why don't you go and grab it?" Upon hearing this, João IV became furious and yelled at them loudly.
Seeing how angry he was, Odoli quickly explained: "We are leaving Lisbon and we will never cause trouble to His Highness again! It's just half of it. This is not too much to ask."
"Isn't it too much?" João IV heard it and repeated it. Then he took a deep breath and shouted coldly: "This money is of use to everyone. Don't tell me half of it, or you won't be able to spare any of it."
After saying that, he strode forward and ignored them.
When his guards saw it, they quickly stepped forward, pushed the British aside, made way for an empty path, and escorted their king away.
The Portuguese people who were watching had no good impression of these British people, but now they saw them opening their mouths to their king, the lion, and they were all very angry. As soon as João IV left, they all started to sneer at these British "beggars", causing them to flee in confusion.
When they returned to their residence, these British royalists were all very angry, yelling at John IV for his ingratitude and fearing the shamelessness of the Portuguese.
However, they could only curse. They had food and accommodation here, and they didn't have the strength to fight back to England, so that was all they could do.
When João IV returned to the palace, he quickly recovered from the bad mood caused by the British. Looking at the list of belongings, I started planning.
"These are to be sent to Paris. The gifts for the Queen Mother are gifts for the Bishop. The other ones are sold to them. The French like silk the most, so the price can be higher..."
"There are also these Ming Dynasty porcelains, sold to Sweden. I heard that they robbed a lot of money from Poland, and they have plenty of money. It is the time to sell them at a good price!"
"..."
Just when João IV was happily giving instructions to the Minister of Finance on the distribution of property, suddenly, rapid footsteps came from outside. A guard hurried into the hall with a horrified look on his face.
