My Daming New Empire

Chapter 63 The Hustle Is Over

(The plot in Europe is indeed a bit difficult to write, especially for religion, and I dare not write in depth, which leads to the inability to explode. But the old demon has too many book seals, so I can only choose to be honest. Originally I want to write about a storm caused by the Ming Dynasty in Rome, and a friend of the author reminded me. So I also accept everyone’s advice, and finish writing the trip to Europe as soon as possible, and then return to China.)

For ordinary citizens in Rome, the appearance of the Ming army only added countless talking points and unforgettable tragedies.

Daming brought countless exquisite porcelain, soft silk, fragrant tea, and all kinds of spices.

But they can't afford either.

The only benefit Daming brought them was the kind of tea bricks that cost dozens of coppers and small pieces.This kind of tea brick is also sold in Europe, but the price is three or four times higher.

They buy a piece and use it to make tea, cook soup, and even put it in black bread to add some flavor to the food.

The citizens who died in the Vatican had nothing to do with them, because those people were not ordinary citizens.Ordinary citizens mostly watch the excitement when they meet the Ming army. They have to work non-stop. If they don't work for one day, they will have nothing to eat the next day.

Those people are the dogs of the big family, and they are even more hateful than the members of the big family.

Because members of big families, those real nobles still want some face, and they will not bully ordinary citizens at will.

But these bastards rely on the power of the big family to oppress ordinary people at will, rob them of their property, and bully their women.

Their mass death will only make ordinary people feel happy, and even wish to die more.

Different from the indifference of ordinary people, the nobles of Rome regard the arrival of Ming Dynasty as a feast.

Whether it is spices, silk, porcelain, tea, sugar, iron pots, these are the essential necessities of life for every nobleman.

For a silk hat and a silk dress for women, the little nobles can even save money on meals for the next period.

For a set of exquisite porcelain, they can send their wives and daughters to the bed of a great man.

As for spices and sugar, it is an indispensable sacrificial item for everyone from birth to death, and it is a necessity in life.

When the high price in the past dropped by half, it would make everyone crazy. Although most people couldn't afford it, apart from the Mediterranean coast, there were still many nobles in inland areas who needed these things.

Countless people go bankrupt and want to invest. They don't worry about not being able to buy goods, they only worry that they don't have enough money.

Because the Ming Fleet has arrived in almost every coastal city, no country can monopolize these goods, and they can't even form a price alliance.

The Romans wanted to bargain, they would sell to Florence, they would sell to Aragon, they would even sell to Ottoman, and let the heretics make their money.

This is not a fair deal, Daming's strength is too strong, so powerful that they are not qualified to negotiate at all.

Of course, this is also because the prices of Daming's goods are already very "fair".

On the coast of Ostia, the seaport of Rome, every day, countless nobles took the vouchers issued by Ming Dynasty and picked up various goods.

Every day, there are always ships carrying all kinds of gold and silver coins down the river, turning the wealth gathered by the Pope into the capital of Ming Dynasty.

Apart from these gold and silver coins, the goods most recognized by the Ming people are not horses or wool, but craftsmen and engineers.

A well-known engineer, Daming is willing to offer spices equivalent to three times his body weight as settlement money.

An ordinary craftsman, Da Ming was also willing to pay the nobles who owned them spices that weighed as much as his body. At the same time, he was also willing to make him a freeman and pay a salary that was enough for his family to live on.

Although some nobles were unwilling to exchange craftsmen as goods, most nobles surrendered in the face of "huge profits".

If you have hundreds of craftsmen, even if you sell some to Daming, it won't affect your strength.

Daming is too "generous". Although the price of spices has "slumped", more than 100 catties of spices are still a huge fortune.And these craftsmen, they don't seem to spend too much cost to cultivate.

And these craftsmen, except for a small number of low-level craftsmen with families who will be arranged in Ceuta and Crete as fortification builders, most of them will return to Daming with the Ming fleet.

From the end of November, Zhu Zhanji came to Rome. Originally, he was planning to go to Venice, but Venice encountered a plague, so he stayed in Rome.

But negotiations with Venice, and trade in goods with the Ottoman and Mamluk dynasties, continued uninterrupted.

Venice is not a country of merchants. They have greater economic strength than Zhu Zhanji expected. They alone bought nearly [-] ships of goods from Daming, which is almost a quarter of the goods carried by Daming. .

Of course, the goods of five ships were used to pay for Ming's purchase of Crete's sovereignty from Venice.

Although the Venetians occupied Crete, most of the local residents here were migrated from Greece, and they only recognized the rule of the Byzantine Empire.

Before the Venetians, this was the territory of Ottomans, and there were many residents of Ottoman descent on the island.

In the east of Crete, the Knights Hospitaller also occupied Rhode Island and surrounding islands.

The island is not peaceful, and the outside of the island is facing the threat of the Ottomans, so their rule over the island is not stable.

Zhu Zhanji didn't think about wanting this small island at first, although the area of ​​the island is more than 8000 square kilometers, and the island is rich in olive oil and soybeans.

The Venetians developed the farming industry on this island, raising goats and sheep, and growing grapes, citrus and olives.

Although there are some economic gains, what they value more is that the island is located in the center of the Mediterranean Sea and has a navy stationed there.

During the negotiation with Daming, through the secret line of the Medici family, Daming accurately grasped the bottom line of the Venetian, and proposed a purchase plan that separates sovereignty and management rights.

That is to say, Daming bought the island of Crete from the Venetians. This island belongs to Daming, but because Daming only has one fleet and business groups stationed there, the management of the island is still entrusted to Venice.

At the same time, the Ming Fleet also allowed the Venetian fleet to replenish supplies and fresh water here, leaving a port exclusively for the Venetians.

Under such conditions, the Venetians simply sold Crete to Daming, but did not allow Daming to migrate the Ottomans to the island.

They treated the Ottomans like a flood, but they didn't care about the Mamluks, so when Ming insisted on introducing the Mamluks to balance the situation on the island, they gave in.

Zhu Zhanji also knew that he had created a freak.

Crete was contested by various countries in later generations, and Greece relied on the support of Europe to obtain sovereignty in the [-]th century.

Now, while he is introducing Greeks to the island, he is also introducing Egyptians. The competition for this island will become more intense in the future.

But Zhu Zhanji doesn't care, as long as he is alive, Crete belongs to Daming and can play a positive role, that's enough.

It's good that Ming has been ruling Crete. If they have to give up in the future, they will also leave a crater for them.

But there are too many issues involved in this island. So far, Wang Jinghong has been negotiating with them in the later stage of management. In addition to negotiating with the Venetians, he also has to negotiate with the Ottomans and Mamluks.

Ottomans have never given up their attempts on Crete. In the original history, they drove away the Venetians, ruled here for 500 years, and were not driven away until the [-]th century.

The negotiations between Ming Dynasty and them mainly revolved around the sovereignty of the island and the berthing and supply of the fleet.Although the Ottomans cannot be allowed to emigrate, Daming welcomes the Ottomans to do business.

The Ottomans also hope to establish a long-term trade relationship with Ming, so they have no objection to Ming's taking over Crete.

Crete in the hands of the Venetians is in the hands of the enemy, and now it has become a neutral place, and they can still trade with each other and supply their fleets. How can they object?

As for the Mamluks, they didn't have any plans for this island, and it was for this reason that Da Ming confidently immigrated from them to maintain the island's balance.

But how many people immigrated and what price to pay, all need to go through cumbersome negotiations, not to mention there is also a negotiation about the Suez garrison.