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In the first round of talks, the initiative was almost entirely in the hands of Zhang Haoran. He unceremoniously took over the port of Safi in West Africa. This was a gift from Portugal to Daqin as a dowry for Princess Catalina, and he would not refuse it.
After the first round of talks, Brewster hurriedly asked to meet with John IV, who summoned all the important Portuguese officials and urgently launched a round of internal negotiations.
Earl Brewster first reported the results of the first round of talks: "Qin has agreed to our request for an alliance, and both sides have established embassies. In addition, Qin has agreed to provide military protection for our territories east of South Africa, and to provide freedom of navigation to Qin. Our ships can dock and trade at any trading port in Qin.
They could also set up trading companies in Ceylon, Temasek, Guangzhou, Quanzhou, Ningbo, Tianjin, Lushun, and the Qin capital of Nanjing, and enjoy the same tax rates as Qin merchants.
I want to emphasize that this is very important. The Qin State currently charges relatively high tariffs on merchants from other countries. If we can enjoy the same tax rate as Qin merchants, it will be equivalent to enjoying the treatment of its citizens. We will have a great advantage over other countries in trade and can even compete on an equal footing with Qin merchants.
In addition, the Qin State will station a powerful fleet on Ceylon for a long time to control the entire Indian Ocean fleet. With the military protection provided by the Qin State, our territories in South Africa and India will no longer be worried about being invaded by other countries.
Of course, correspondingly, all ports along the coast of West Africa must allow Qin ships to dock freely for trade, and my country will provide corresponding security protection and supply needs.
Our native Lisbon and Porto should also allow Qin's ships to freely dock and trade, set up trading companies, and give Qin merchants national treatment. In addition, in order to strengthen exchanges between the two countries, the two countries should not prohibit the free travel of their citizens. "
What Earl Brewster said seemed to be a win for Portugal, and King John IV and the ministers present were very happy to hear it.
With the strength of Qin State, as long as Qin State wanted, it could seize Portugal's territories in South Africa and India at any time. Now Qin State not only did not seize them by force, but also promised to provide military protection for these territories. This was definitely a big surprise.
In addition, Portuguese merchants and Qin merchants enjoy the same tax rate treatment, which will give Portuguese merchants an advantage in competition with merchants from other countries.
Trade with the Far East is indispensable to Europe.
It was the Ottoman Empire that cut off the land trade route between Europe and the East that forced European countries to find another way by sea. The search for a sea trade route with the East marked the beginning of the great voyages of discovery.
In other words, whoever gains the initiative in trade with the East will undoubtedly gain commercial advantages in Europe.
Of course, apart from all this, John IV was more concerned about the imminent issue of survival.
He knew very well that gaining trade advantages with Daqin would have both advantages and disadvantages for Portugal, and would make European countries jealous.
A man is innocent unless he is in possession of a treasure.
Portugal is now struggling to survive in the cracks between European countries, and has a monopoly on trade with Qin. This will surely make European countries even more jealous, and in the end Portugal may be treated as a piece of fat meat and torn into pieces by European countries.
He asked anxiously: "Will Qin agree to provide us with advanced warships and weapons? Or will it send troops to help us if we are invaded by other countries?"
Portugal's war of independence lasted for 11 years. Although the Spanish army was defeated in 1644 under the command of Leon IV, the situation was temporarily stabilized. However, the war has never been completely settled. Portugal is a small country with a weak population. After years of war, people's livelihood has declined.
In addition to being accepted by countries such as Britain and France, countries like the Netherlands were constantly encroaching on Portugal's overseas colonies.
Portugal is like a helpless orphan in Europe.
The people are becoming increasingly war-weary.
What Portugal was most anxious about was to obtain Qin's advanced weapons so that it could defeat Spain again, or at least force Spain to recognize Portugal's independence and the two countries to stop fighting.
When talking about this, Earl Bruce's expression immediately turned gloomy. He replied: "Your Majesty, the Qin envoy said that advanced ships and weapons such as clipper warships, fire bombs, and Type 69 flintlock rifles are extremely difficult to produce, and the Qin army is not well equipped.
The Qin State still had 200,000 to 300,000 troops fighting against the local indigenous troops in Indochina, and urgently needed these advanced weapons in order to speed up the quelling of the massive rebellion in Indochina.
Therefore, the emperor and ministers of Qin would not agree to sell us the few advanced weapons they have at this time. As for when our country is invaded by other countries, Qin promised to provide support within its capacity. "
"Really? How many troops did they promise to send to support our country?"
"The Qin envoy said that they will probably station four warships and two hundred marines in the port of Safi in Morocco. They are usually used to protect Qin's merchant ships traveling to and from Europe. If we are invaded by other countries and need support, the garrison in Safi will do its best to support our country."
"What? Four warships and two hundred soldiers?"
In the absence of advanced weapons support, and hearing that this was the only military support, John IV felt very disappointed.
In his opinion, Qin sent such a small number of troops to station in Safavid Port. In the event of an attack from the Netherlands or Spain, it would be a blessing that Portugal was not asked to provide support. Qin would have no ability to support Portugal in fighting on its own soil.
The other ministers were also very disappointed when they heard this, and they sighed one after another: "How can this be enough?"
"Yes, although I heard that the Qin army is very powerful, but after all, the number of people is too small."
"They are enemies of the Netherlands and Spain. With so few troops stationed in Safi Port, I think they are not only unable to provide support to our country, but also need our support."
"This is not cost-effective. We should at least ask Qin to provide us with some advanced weapons."
"... ... ... "
The ministers all had their own opinions, but none of them was optimistic about how much help the two hundred Qin troops stationed in Safavid could provide to Portugal.
Brewster said at this time: "Qin originally wanted to lease a port in our country for garrisoning and trade. But this matter has both advantages and disadvantages, and I dare not agree without authorization."
Brewster then went over the pros and cons of leasing a port.
"If we lease a port to Qin to garrison troops, will they station more troops there?"
"Yes."
"I think this is fine. We are allies after all. Anyway, the situation can't be much worse than it is now."
"Yes, if we can't resist the Spanish army, we will have nothing."
"Having Qin station troops there and using it as a trading port will allow our country to become the commercial center of Europe. We can get a lot of tax revenue from it, which will be of great help in improving the current political and financial predicament."
"The only thing we are worried about is that Qin will continue to increase its garrison here in the future. Portugal is just a small country. If that happens, we may be controlled by Qin."
"We can solve this problem by stipulating the number of Qin's garrison troops in the lease agreement."
"It would be great if Princess Catalina could give birth to a prince after she gets married and inherit the throne of Qin."
"I don't think we need to worry too much. Qin is too far away from Europe. Now that Qin is strong, it's no problem to increase its garrison in Europe, but Qin may not always be strong. When the Qin army weakens, they may withdraw their garrisons themselves, so we don't need to worry about it."
"I don't know how long it will take, but the emperor of Qin is very smart. Under his leadership, it took Qin only five or six years to seize a vast territory in the east. He is also very young, only in his twenties. If nothing unexpected happens, he can live for at least a few more decades. During his reign, Qin will probably only become stronger and stronger."
After listening to the ministers' chaotic discussions, John IV was also confused. If he agreed to lease the port to Qin, it would bring many immediate and huge benefits to Portugal in terms of military, political and economic aspects.
But on the other hand, this is like drinking poison to quench thirst, or putting a yoke around your neck.
King John IV and more than a dozen ministers were undecided about what to choose.
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ps: Dear friends, there will be double monthly tickets in the last three days of the month. Please leave a few for me, a hard-working bricklayer. I'm asking for subscriptions first. My three meals a day depend on this subscription income and expenditure. We can't talk about visions on an empty stomach. I sincerely ask for subscriptions. (To be continued..)
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