Although the license was obtained, it was not that simple to develop the Cape of Good Hope. First of all, with the strength of Baron Ferreira, not to mention developing the Cape of Good Hope, you can't even afford an ocean-going merchant ship. If Baron Ferreira suddenly had a fleet to develop the Cape of Good Hope, it would be strange if he didn't arouse others' suspicion.
Therefore, other arrangements must be made to make it reasonable for Baron Ferreira to develop the Cape of Good Hope area so that the Portuguese side will doubt Marin.
Originally, Marin planned to ask Baron Ferreira to find an Italian businessman to "cooperate" in the name of "tender". This method is reasonable. After all, investment cooperation is very common in Europe, where the business atmosphere is strong.
In ancient Europe, the aristocratic class controlled privileges and resources. The merchants controlled capital. But capital alone was useless, and they needed authorization and sufficient resources. Therefore, power rent-seeking was a very common thing in Europe in this era. Just like the money-short Habsburg family mortgaged the silver mines to the Fugers family to develop, it was a classic cooperation between officials and businessmen. Later, the reason why the first leader of the Rothschild family, Meyer, was able to rise by helping the Hessian lord William to manage funds. The source of funds for the Hessian lord William was also very strange - he made a fortune by renting out Hessian mercenaries to Britain and participating in the suppression of North American independence. This money was eventually used by Meyer Rothschild to "borrow chickens and lay eggs", and finally created the famous Rothschild family.
However, there is also a big problem here. That is, based on others' understanding of Baron Ferreira, this honest and stubborn Baron would never come up with the idea of ​​cooperating with merchants to develop South African resources. Therefore, if you want to avoid being suspected, you need more cover.
At this time, Kohler's spies found a very important information in England, providing Marin with a new idea - it seems that Baron Ferreira also had relatives in England...
To be precise, Baron Ferreira once had a relative in England. Baron Ferreira once had an aunt who married England, married an English nobleman, or a baron.
This is a past decades ago. When Ferrera was a child, his aunt, Mary, was spotted by Johnson, a son of an English baron who traveled to Portugal, and married back to England to become the lord's wife.
However, Baron Ferreira's aunt Mary was very unfortunate. Because, shortly after she married into England, the final stage of the "War of Red and White Roses" broke out in England - the Battle of Bosworth.
Tragically, the Green family where Mary Lavra's husband Johnson was located was on Richard III's side. In that great battle, Mary Lavra's husband Johnson and father-in-law Richard Green all died in the Bosworth wasteland. Then, Baron Green was also robbed by the army of the victor Henry VII. Baron Ferreira's aunt Mary, including his cousin Edward, all died under the sword of the rebels.
However, Baron Ferreira's side was not very clear about the details of the destruction of the Green family. After all, he could not confirm the death of Aunt Mary and Edward's cousin. Because after robbing Baron Green, Henry VII's subordinates buried the bodies of Mary Lavra and his son Edward Green on the spot, and burned the castle of Baron Green to destroy the evidence of crime. After all, killing members of the noble family was a taboo in Europe in this era. Even though the Green and his son stood opposite Henry VII in the Battle of Bosworth, they were only loyal and there was nothing wrong. Henry VII's subordinates ransacked him.
The Green Baron was purely because he was jealous of the wealth of the Green family. Because the Green family not only owned three thousand acres of manors along the southern coast of England, but also had several merchant ships in the port of Southampton, and the family accumulated a lot of wealth. The reason why Johnson had the conditions to travel to Portugal was because the Green family had the rich profits of maritime trade, which was enough to make Johnson Green go abroad to wander. If it were the poor Baron Lafra, Ferreira, the heir, had no conditions to go abroad before he ascended the throne. After all, a Baron who only relied on farming and a Baron who did business, had no financial resources.
But it is precisely because of the jealous wealth that Henry VII's subordinates took control of England and became determined to find money, murdered the only orphan and widowed mother of the Green family, and plundered the huge wealth of the Green family. Therefore, "good luck is the basis of misfortune". If the family does not have a pillar to protect it, too much wealth will be a disaster.
In other words, Baron Ferreira's Lavra family only knew that Mary was missing during the war, and guessed that she had died, but was not sure of the details. After all, Henry VII's men also took some measures to cover up their crimes.
The reason why Kohler's subordinates were found was that a servant of the Green family survived by chance and was found by Kohler's subordinates, and they found the secret of that year. The reason why Kohler's subordinates could find the surviving servant of the Green family was because the fief of the Green family happened to be near Southampton Harbor, on the other side of the Isle of Wight, the fief of Marin. The surviving servant jumped into the sea to escape because of his good water nature, and then lived in seclusion on the Isle of Wight, and then met Kohler's spies...
Originally, this was just anecdote, recorded in the investigation file on the Isle of Wight. But there was a person under Kohler who had a great memory. He heard Kohler mention the Lavra family where Baron Ferreira was, and then he remembered this anecdote, providing Marin with a reference for decision-making...
"Okay, we will send someone to participate in the investment and development of the Cape of Hope colony as descendants of the Green family. It is reasonable for relatives to help!"
Then, Marin asked someone to find an English subordinate, who pretended to be Baron Ferreira's dead cousin Edward. Such people are easy to find. After all, Marin owns two major territories in England, Northumberland and Isle of Wight, and there are many English subordinates under his command. As for the identity of "Edward", Marin thought about it and decided to secretly write a letter to King Edward of England, and was willing to take out some money to redeem the 3,000 acres of territory of the Green family and purchase the title of Baron Green as cover. Then, he randomly allocated several merchant ships, pretending to be the Green family, so that the Portuguese could not find anything. After all, the most important thing is actually the official identity of this fake "Edward Green". As long as King Edward of England ordered the official recognition of his identity, the Portuguese could not find anything.
Through the Fei Ge's letter, King Edward of England quickly agreed to Marin's request, but the offer was 20,000 gold coins, which was a bit of a lion's mouth. But Marin still agreed, because compared with the income from developing the Cape of Hope colony, this little money was nothing.
Marin soon sent a letter through Fei Ge, instructing his subordinates of the London branch of the North Sea Chamber of Commerce to take 20,000 gold coins to the London Palace. King Edward of England also happily issued an official document proving the identity of "Edward Green"...
Chapter completed!