Ming Jiajing: Starting from Immortality

Chapter 301 If you don’t close the net now, you will ascend the throne!
"Good morning, Duke Alfonso."

"Hello, Count Bernard."

The two European nobles tacitly did not greet each other according to their status etiquette, but instead adopted the Eastern bow.

We confirmed that each other was the person we expected.

The people on the shore did not understand the "strange etiquette" of Alfonso the Younger and Count of the Golden Flower, but when they spoke, it was in Portuguese, so the people nearby could understand it.

Alfonso came out.

There was a burst of exclamations on the shore, and both the old and the young seemed very excited.

Although the era of the Alfonso family has ended for decades, the name of Alfonso Sr., the founder of that golden age, will always be engraved in the hearts of those who lived through that era.

But young people are different. At this age when they want to take risks and are brave enough to take risks, it is natural for them to yearn for the stars and the sea.

The mystery of the sea and the mystery of the East always linger in the hearts of young people.

Current affairs and politics are topics that young and ignorant people often talk about.

The darkness and boredom in it are something that young people cannot understand.

So, regarding the Eastern War, everyone from the Portuguese old men to the Portuguese teenagers knew something. Even if they didn't know the details, some key figures knew about it.

For example, Sheffield, the Governor-General of India, who died together with the commander-in-chief of the navy of the Eastern great power Ming Dynasty, and was posthumously awarded the title of Duke.

For example, Alfonso the Younger, who represented Portugal to negotiate with the Ming Dynasty, did not achieve anything.

and many more.

During this period, in Portugal, the most mentioned things, besides tulips, were Sheffield and Alfonso the Younger.

When it comes to Sheffield, there are mixed reviews, but when it comes to Alfonso Jr., there are basically only curses.

His father, who came from such a glorious family and was known as the "Caesar of the East", played no role at all in the war between the two countries.

As the Portuguese ambassador plenipotentiary, Alfonso the Younger was in the capital of the Ming Dynasty, but he had no influence on the war situation at all. In fact, the breakdown of negotiations between the two countries and the outbreak of war were all Alfonso the Younger's fault.

The blind and ignorant Portuguese had no idea that the glory of the Alfonso family was gone. Young Alfonso was controlled by the Governor Sheffield in India. Even when he was sent as an ambassador plenipotentiary, he was still controlled by Pedro, the deputy ambassador arranged by Sheffield.

However, no Portuguese cared, or cared about the calls by two generations of Dukes, Alfonso the Elder and Alfonso the Younger, to stop the further expansion to the eastwards in order not to awaken the sleeping behemoth - the Ming Dynasty.

No Portuguese cared that Afonso the Younger agreed to the equal trade plan proposed by the Ming Dynasty, but the opposition of the deputy envoy Pedro led to the breakdown of the first Ming-Portuguese negotiation, which in turn led to the Ming Dynasty navy's recapture of Malacca and attack on the Indian ports.

In short, the collapse of the Portuguese Empire was attributed by some people to Alfonso the Younger.

Watching the changes in the eyes of the people around him, that look of disgust, contempt, and disdain, listening to the fierce arguments of the people around him and the criticisms of him and his family, little Alfonso had no emotional reaction.

As a loser in a power struggle, Alfonso the Younger was well aware that there were many people who were inciting the people to be discontent with the Alfonso family, including the royal family, the parliament, the church...

He will not blame the ignorant people. What he wants to do is to become the savior of the whole of Portugal.

For this, he can endure insults, abuse, and even attacks... Those who can come to the port are either passengers or boatmen. The real life on the ship is depressing, especially for those teenagers and young boatmen who yearn for the sea. It is completely different from their imagination. Life makes people distorted, and Portugal's status as the hegemon of the sea may be the last bit of spiritual comfort for these people who recognize the essence of life but still do not give up.

As the saying that has been circulating in Europe for a long time, "When talking about the greatness of the Roman Empire, even slaves will smile with pride."

Rome was destroyed, and so was the Portuguese empire. Those who still had hot blood in their veins were bound to behave drastically when they saw the murderer who thought he was everything.

Three Portuguese boys came over with ten-inch long, rough, heavy, wide-bladed, single-edge swords.

This is the dagger that the boatman uses to cut meat on the boat. Now, the hot-blooded boy is going to use it to kill people.

However, this amount of power is too ridiculous. It is impossible to get close to a noble noble in the European continent.

When Alfonso Junior and Count Jinhua looked over, the three young men were all captured by the guards brought by Count Jinhua.

The boys were pinned to the ground and their daggers were kicked into the sea, but they all turned their heads and cursed Alfonso Jr.

The Count of Golden Flower looked at Little Alfonso with a smile and asked, "Duke Alfonso, how should we deal with them?"

According to Portuguese law, any knife or sword extended from the lower class to the upper class is an unforgivable sin, and the upper class has absolute power to dispose of the lower class.

The lives and deaths of these three assassins were all decided by Alfonso the Younger, which was just and legal.

The aristocracy was deeply rooted in every aspect of Portugal, and many people nearby who had witnessed the cruelty and tyranny of the aristocracy could not help but close their eyes, unable to bear to see the death of the young men.

"Let him go," said Alfonso Jr.

The sound was not loud, but it shocked countless people, and even the people on the shore fell silent.

A duke was offended and let off so lightly.

"The country's mistakes should not be borne by these young children," Alfonso Jr. continued.

After saying this, leaving the onlookers thoughtful, Alfonso Jr. and Count of Golden Flower got into a carriage and left.

The three young men who attempted to assassinate the Duke were released.

And this scene.

It was all seen and recorded by painters and bards on the shore.

Duke Alfonso turned and left, exposing his defenseless back to the three assassinating boys. The boy struggled to get up from the ground, but stared blankly at Duke Alfonso's back, motionless.

This little episode caused the news of Duke Alfonso's return to spread quickly throughout the capital Lisbon, and Alfonso's broad mind and words, along with the paintings and poems of painters and bards, quickly reversed Alfonso's reputation. Then, the reason for Alfonso's return spread, which was to redeem the captured soldiers who failed in the war in the East, pushing the reputation of Alfonso the Younger and Afonso to an unprecedented height.

The carriage slowly went towards the Portuguese royal palace. Little Alfonso heard and witnessed the change in public opinion, and for a moment, he didn't know what to say.

Turning the street, there was the royal palace, with palace guards standing on both sides. Among the welcoming crowd, little Alfonso seemed to see the Duke of Évora, the great-uncle of Celestiao I, the bishop of the church, and the man with many titles, the annoying Enrique.

"Governor Alfonso, this is the first gift. I hope you can live up to the expectations of our dynasty." Count Jinhua felt the gaze of little Alfonso, spread his hands, and smiled back.

No one knows how to change public opinion better than the civil servants and literati of the Ming Dynasty!
Little Alfonso was silent.

The Earl of Golden Flower was named after the promise made to him by His Majesty the Emperor.

There are too many mysteries in the East, as if all people are shrouded in a veil, making it difficult to see clearly.

He had never met the honorable Emperor until he submitted his resignation, and the rising aristocratic star Earl Jinhua beside him... all these mysteries gave rise to countless associations.

When Alfonso Jr. and Count D'Or got out of the car, they saw the Duke of Évora coming forward, passing by Alfonso Jr. who was supposed to be the protagonist, and as a member of the royal family and a duke, he extended a warm hug to Count D'Or.

Little Alfonso's body stiffened. The greatness and means of the ancient Eastern civilization always exceeded his expectations.

"Dear Bernard, you are so similar to old Bernard and young Bernard. No matter how much time has passed, your kindness will never be forgotten." The Duke of Évora, who also had a tulip pinned on his dress, praised the Count of Gold Flower.

The Duke of Évora is addressed by his real name, Bernard, which represents the heartfelt recognition of the whole of Portugal for this nobleman with oriental face and western eyes.

When Earl of Golden Flower inherited the title of Bernard's family, he visited all those who had helped the Bernard family according to the notes left by Bernard Jr. In the early days when tulips were popular, he presented them with rare tulips that had helped them a hundred or a thousand times in the past.

Even if someone who had helped the Bernard family had become a pauper or even lived on the streets for various reasons like the Bernard family, the Count of Golden Flower would always find that person and present him with a tulip to change his life.

“A drop of kindness is repaid with a spring of water”, such stories are accepted by all societies, whether in the East or the West, as long as they encourage people to be good.

Countless royal family members, nobles, and clergymen expressed their appreciation for Earl of Gold Flower's behavior and were willing to talk to him or get close to him. Earl of Gold Flower was liked by everyone who met him.

To the current Portuguese upper class, gold and silver do not have much meaning. The supreme financial resources and connections of the Count of Gold Flower, who was able to obtain a rare tulip, make people take it seriously.

In the eyes of the royal family, parliament and church, Count of Golden Flower’s trip to the port today to welcome the return of Alfonso the Younger is a continued expression of gratitude.

The Bernard family was born because of Alfonso the Elder.

No one doubted that Count Jinhua was waiting at the port. They just thought that Alfonso the Younger had informed Count Jinhua in advance, or that Count Jinhua had known about Alfonso the Younger's return in advance through some channel.

What happened at the port was just considered an accident. The restoration of the reputation of Alfonso the Younger and the Alfonso family made many royal family members, parliament members, and church members dissatisfied. The words that Alfonso the Younger said when he let the assassin go made many people ashamed and angry.

Alfonso the Younger actually shifted the blame for Portugal's defeat in the Eastern Front away from the lower-class civilians.

If this group of lower-class civilians were not unwilling to join the army, how could Portugal's naval power have changed in fifty years? If Portugal's naval power was strong, how could it have failed in the Eastern battlefield and lost its position as the overlord of the sea?
All this is the fault of the common people and has nothing to do with the royal family, parliament, or the church.

Therefore, in order to deliberately embarrass Alfonso, the Duke of Évora showed great enthusiasm to the Count of Jinhua. However, he, the royal family, the parliament, and the church did need the Count of Jinhua. The reason for Alfonso's sudden return from the Ming Dynasty must be related to the Portuguese soldiers who were defeated and captured on the battlefield.

Young Alfonso dared to return directly. Combined with the rumors in Lisbon, Young Alfonso may have reached a ransom condition with the Ming court, which must have been a huge sum of money.

Portugal is very rich. The royal family, nobles, and clergy are all very rich, but all this money has owners, and these owners are not willing to use their money to exchange for those "losers in the war."

The owners of these fortunes were all crazily pursuing tulips and tulip bulbs, waiting to be converted into several or even dozens of times the family's previous wealth. No one was willing to sacrifice the wealth that was about to be obtained for the sake of the country.

The same is true for the Duke of Évora, the great-uncle of the King of Portugal and one of the real controllers of the royal family.

"A poor man with evil plans", the Count of Golden Flower appeared in the Duke of Évora's ears together with the name of Alfonso the Younger. The Duke of Évora had to set his sights on the Count of Golden Flower.

There are many speculations about the identity of the Count of Gold Flower among the royal family, parliament and church, but there is no way to verify them. However, the more unified speculation is that the Count of Gold Flower inherited a mysterious family in the East where gold is everywhere, and then came to Portugal to take over the empty-shell Bernard Family.

Very rich!
There is endless money to spend!
Regarding the ransom of the Portuguese soldiers, the Duke of Évora placed his hopes on the Count of Golden Flower.

Young Alfonso had no grudge against the Duke of Evora's disregard, and his estimate of the power of the East quietly rose to a higher level.

At the invitation of the Duke of Évora, Count of the Golden Flower, who was supposed to leave, entered the palace with Alfonso the Younger.

The magnificent Portuguese Royal Palace is not as grand as the imperial palaces of the Ming Dynasty, but it is not inferior when compared with other palaces alone.

The interior of the entire palace is built with treasures such as gold, silver, pearls, and agates, and is extremely luxurious.

It's just luxury.

Little Alfonso and Count of Golden Flower were seeing Celestion I for the first time. The child sitting on the pure gold throne was looking at them curiously.

Sitting next to him was Celestion I's grandmother, Katarina, a beautiful mature woman.

On the left side of the hall stood some cardinals of the church, and on the right side of the hall stood some high-ranking nobles of the parliament.

Little Alfonso and Count of Golden Flower only glanced at each other, then looked away and knelt on one knee to greet him.

Little Alfonso stood up and said in a calm tone, "Respected King, Her Royal Highness Catarina, and all the bishops, dukes, and counts, our army's defeat in Malacca and India resulted in tens of thousands of soldiers being captured. Although the soldiers did not suffer any abuse or insult under the rule of the Ming court, they were the most brave and fearless warriors of our country. Our country should take them back to the country. Therefore, under my earnest plea, the Ming court finally agreed to redeem them, but 300 million silver coins were required..."

Hear the words.

The cardinals, dukes, and earls on both sides were in an uproar.

Celestion I was still sitting there in a daze on the throne, but Katarina was obviously unable to sit still and stood up.

Count Jinhua tilted his head and looked at little Alfonso who was talking beside him. If he remembered correctly, the redemption price should be 288 million silver coins. Was this rounded off?

Or reverse zero.

Before the Middle Ages, the exchange rate between gold and silver in Europe was as high as 1:24.

However, with the advent of the Age of Discovery, the discovery and development of gold and silver mines, the exchange rates of gold and silver prices around the world gradually became consistent.

That is 1:10, and in some places it can reach 12 or even 13.

But even if we calculate based on the exchange rate of one gold coin for thirteen silver coins, three hundred million silver coins can be exchanged for more than twenty-three million gold coins.

Currently, the most precious tulip bulb in Europe is worth only 30,000 gold coins.

Nearly 800 precious tulip bulbs were used to redeem more than 15,000 captured soldiers. At this moment, everyone in the palace thought it was not a particularly good deal.

There are so many precious tulip bulbs that are enough for all the royal family members, nobles in the House of Lords, and bishops in the church to have a rare tulip.

However, the news of Alfonso the Younger's return and the redemption of the captured soldiers had spread throughout Lisbon and spread to the whole of Portugal at a very fast speed.

If the ransom is not paid, once Alfonso the Younger leaves the palace and spreads the news, those unruly people will probably rebel.

For a moment, countless people in the hall sighed, wondering why those captured soldiers did not die bravely and were not executed by the Ming Dynasty, and why Alfonso Jr. wanted to come back.

The bishops of the church and the nobles of the parliament all loudly stated that the Ming Dynasty's ransom was too high to express their unwillingness to pay.

Only the royal family knew that such a ransom was reasonable, at least it was in line with the royal family's previous guess about the ransom for the captured soldiers. Catalina sat back again, her eyes that could speak, staring at the Duke of Evora.

In name, Portugal belongs to the Portuguese royal family, not to her, the princess from Spain.

Compared with so many gold and silver coins, Catarina, who hoped that Spain could intervene and even annex Portugal, believed that not redeeming these captured soldiers might be a better way to achieve her wish.

Catalina's performance, the performance of the parliament and the church made the Duke of Évora the target of public criticism.

Everyone in the palace has a way out, except Celestion I and the Duke of Évora. Once civil strife breaks out, they, the two generations of the royal family of the Avesh Dynasty, will have no way out.

However, Celestion I was only eight years old and was controlled by the vicious woman Catarina. The Duke of Évora never thought that this great-nephew of the king could be relied upon.

The royal family has little money, and all the money is in the hands of royal family members. If they cannot find the culprit, they will have to rely on the Duke of Evora to pay the huge ransom.

Just as the Duke of Evora was thinking about how to bring up the matter of the ransom to Count Golden Flower, Celestion I, who was sitting on the pure gold throne, suddenly said, "Enrique."

In Europe, there are very few ways of addressing relatives, especially when the younger generation of a higher position meets the elder generation of a lower position, they often call them by their first names.

Celestion I's call to the Duke of Évora startled everyone. The lively noise suddenly disappeared, and everyone wanted to hear what the young king had to say.

“Can you redeem those brave warriors?” Celestion I’s tiny voice was filled with determination.

This is surprising.

Including Catarina, the Duke of Évora, the bishops of the church, and the nobles of the parliament, looked at the young king and wondered whether Celestion I understood the significance of redeeming the captured soldiers.

And why Celestion I did not make a request to his close grandmother Catarina, but chose to make a request to the Duke of Évora.

Is this a precocious king?

The Duke of Evora looked at Celestion I for a long time, then nodded solemnly and said, "Yes."

Ransom was something that had to be done, but the ransom did not have to be paid by him. In the strange atmosphere of the palace, the Duke of Evora no longer concealed himself, and looked at the Count of Golden Flower, saying, "Dear Bernard, the treasury is short of money. I wonder if I can borrow some money from you first?"

Earl Jinhua did not answer in a hurry. Of course he could afford a few hundred million silver coins. Even if it was more, he could also afford it. It was just a matter of transferring money from one hand to the other.

Moreover, the Jinyiwei obtained too much wealth in Europe through Yujinhua, and they also needed a reasonable way to transport all the wealth out of Europe and back to the Ming Dynasty.

This is a very important part of the Tulip Plan formulated by His Majesty.

The money was delivered to the door in the form of a loan. It is not difficult to guess what the Duke of Évora was thinking. He would wait until the beginning of next spring to convert the tulip bulbs into several or even dozens of times the money now to pay off the loan.

But no one thought about what would happen if there was no gold or silver to pay the loan. The Duke of Evora did not think about it, nor did the church bishops in the palace and the parliamentary nobles.

These people standing at the pinnacle of the European continent might have thought that the price of tulips and tulip bulbs would drop one day, but they definitely never thought that the tulips and tulip bulbs would fall into their own hands.

After all, the upper class on the European continent can always transfer their own risks and responsibilities to the lower class civilians.

But Count Jinhua wanted to eat the same fish not only twice, but also more. Three hundred million silver coins could not be lent out without any reason. The royal family, the church, and the parliament had to pay a reasonable "interest".

Count Jinhua's eyes swept over everyone in the palace equally. The Duke of Évora took the lead in expressing his opinion, saying, "The Bernard family is one of the founders of Portugal's Golden Age. They deserve the same treatment as the Alfonso family. The Bernard family should have a place in the King's knighthood conferment in the new year."

The Bernard family was originally an earl family, and after being granted honors and promoted to a noble title, they became dukes.

Absolute nobility.

The Speaker of the House of Lords, Cavendish, coughed twice and said, "The Vice Speaker of the House of Lords, the Duke of Russell, is old. The King has agreed that the Duke of Russell will leave office at the beginning of the New Year. The Earl of Golden Flower may be suitable."

The church, which has always been on good terms with Count Jinhua, was led by Cardinal Howard, who immediately stated: "The Holy See recently asked for the recommendation of a young man to serve as the Cardinal of Porto. Count Jinhua may be a good candidate."

Promoted to Duke.

Deputy Speaker of the House of Lords.

Cardinal of Porto, the second largest city in Portugal.

Count Jinhua smiled with satisfaction and said, "I am happy to help the royal family, parliament, and the church solve their problems."

(End of this chapter)