I'm a pirate at the end of Ming Dynasty

When we went upstairs, the red-haired devil was eating happily.

Although the dishes have not been served yet, there are always tea fruits, which are nothing more than some fruits such as oranges and grapes, nuts such as walnuts and pine nuts, and a few pieces of sweet-scented osmanthus cake. At this time, most of the plate has been dried. .

Seeing Zheng Zhipeng coming up, the red-haired ghost quickly swallowed a big mouthful of sweet-scented osmanthus cake in his mouth, then imitated the Central Plains understanding of clasping his fists and cupping his hands, and said with a thick European accent: "You must be Fourth Master Zheng, I'm Contre. "

Seeing Zheng Zhipeng's eyes lingering on the cold dishes for a moment, he said sheepishly: "The Fourth Master is laughing at me. He spends the whole day on the sea in the wind and sun, and can't eat anything good. He can't help it as soon as he gets ashore. Besides, the things from the Ming Dynasty are not good." It’s so delicious, haha.”

Zheng Zhipeng had no choice but to pick up a piece of sweet-scented osmanthus cake, break off a small piece, put it in his mouth, and said with a smile: "It's okay, this will show the general's true temperament."

After a while, the waiter started to serve the food. Although it was not all served, the red-haired ghost stared straight at him. Zheng Zhipeng said funnyly: "General, please, let's eat first, and then we can talk about business after eating. It's heaven and earth." It’s better for us to eat the most.”

The red-haired ghost was overjoyed: "What the fourth master said is true, then I'm welcome."

After saying that, he went straight to it and picked up a roasted lamb neck on the table. He took one bite and took two or three bites before he realized something was wrong. Then he held up the lamb neck and looked at Zheng Zhipeng, who was still in a daze, innocently.

"Fourth Master, I...I'm sorry, I forgot..."

What else can Zheng Zhipeng say?He could only smile and say: "It's okay. It just so happens that I don't like to eat sheep necks either. General, please help yourself. In comparison, I still prefer eating river fresh food."

After that, Zheng Zhipeng picked up a pair of shrimps with chopsticks and started eating them. He thought to himself, have these Portuguese people never eaten anything decent after coming to Macau for so long?When all the dishes were served, the red-haired lamb neck was almost eaten. Looking at the table full of delicacies, I was very greedy, but my stomach was already ninety percent full, and I didn't regret it for a while.

"General, have a drink. This is my Jiangnan unique aged flower carvings. It shouldn't be easy to buy in Macau. It depends on whether you are used to drinking it. If not, you can change it to wine or brandy." After that, Zheng Zhipeng poured it for him personally. liquor.

"I'm used to drinking. Thank you Fourth Master for the hospitality. Just say whatever you want us to do."

Zheng Zhipeng smiled and said: "I'll get straight to the point, let's make it clear. My eldest brother is fighting with the Dutch and I want you to help him."

"Fourth Master, as far as I know, what the Dutch and your Zheng family are fighting for is the trade with Japan and the jurisdiction of the Treasure Island Strait. With all due respect, these two areas are not closely related to our interests. If we want to form an alliance, If so, there doesn’t seem to be enough common interest.”

"General, you have misunderstood me. I am not talking about alliance, but... employment."

"Hire?"

Hongmao seemed a little angry when he heard this: "Fourth Master, are you kidding me? Are we employed by you? With all due respect, we are our country's regular Far East Navy, and you seem to be just a group of relatively powerful ones. Just a pirate. Maybe I didn't understand what Fourth Master just said? My Ming dialect is not particularly good."

"General, you heard me right. What I said is what you think. But as far as I know, your life in Portugal is not easy right now. You guys who are alone overseas are more like ghosts. Your Country? Are you referring to Portugal or Spain? Have you already acquiesced that you are the Spanish Far East Navy? If so, just pretend I didn’t say it.”

The red-haired devil was stunned again when he heard this. He put down his chopsticks and wiped his hands with a white cloth, and began to look at Zheng Zhipeng seriously and seriously.

"Fourth Master Zheng seems to know a lot about our motherland."

"Okay."

Portugal at this time, how should I put it, is really a miserable word.

Although they were the founders of the Age of Discovery 200 years ago and once owned countless colonies, Portugal at this time had been annexed by Spain.

What's even worse is that after the Dutch passed through the Far East, they fought many battles with the Portuguese, all of which ended in a great victory for the Netherlands. In fact, in the entire Southeast Asia at this time, Portugal only had Macau. To the north, the Japanese trade was Zheng Zhilong's base. If the ambitious Dutch wanted to get in, they had to fight first. To the south, everything was blocked by the Dutch. In addition, their navy had been fighting for many years. During the war, the Spaniards had such deep hatred for each other that they were unwilling to return to their homeland and were completely reduced to wandering ghosts.

Besides, the Spaniards themselves in this era are quite aggressive. They have remained that way since the First World War in the English Channel. The current mainstream on the sea is actually still the Anglo-Dutch struggle for hegemony.

Originally, at this stage in history, the Portuguese were easily choked by Zheng Chenggong more than ten years later, and they were asked to do whatever they wanted. They even left a Portuguese mercenary to defeat the Manchu and Qing cavalry. I don’t know whether it is true or not. historical data.

"General, you must know that no matter whether my eldest brother wins this battle or the Dutch win, the future of you Portuguese will be blocked. We, at least, have no hatred towards you Portuguese. The Dutch and you are like ...Haha, I heard that the earliest nautical charts of the Dutch were stolen from Portugal by spies. At present, the master is about to be killed. You should know what the Dutch did in the Spice Islands, right? Within five years, the Dutch will definitely attack Malacca. If you are really a Portuguese general with a certain status, you should understand the situation clearly. Tell me, who will win or lose, the Dutch or the Spanish? If the Dutch take Malacca again, Then...even if you are willing to admit that you are Spanish, I am afraid you will not be able to go back."

The red-haired ghost closed his eyes, let out a long sigh and said: "People in the Ming Dynasty have never been able to tell the difference between us and the Portuguese. Most people can't even tell the difference between us and the Dutch. Unexpectedly, they can still There is someone like Fourth Master who knows our situation in Europe so well. I underestimated Fourth Master."

"You're welcome. General, you are good at pretending to be a pig and eating a tiger, and you also understand the essence of my Chinese culture."

"I'm ashamed. Fourth Master, please make some conditions. Based on your understanding of us, I believe you won't raise random prices."

"Quick, first of all, it's money. As long as you are willing to send troops to help, no matter whether we win or lose, I will make the decision for my brother and give you 300 million taels of silver. How about it."

Hongmao was noncommittal. Three million taels of silver is indeed a lot of money, and Chongzhen may not be able to get it even if he sells it, but if it is just pure money, there is really no need to continue talking at all.