The chapter number of the previous chapter should be 570, please correct it here.

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On August 19, the fleet returning from Luzon arrived at Hainan Island. A group of newly captured Spanish sailing ships, led by the Qionghai, entered the Lingao Hongpai Port Repair Center to prepare for large-scale modifications. The Qionghai itself also

She will enter her dedicated dock for major maintenance and continue her leisurely life as the "Dock Queen".

Several other sailboats owned by the Qiong Navy turned around midway and headed for Baisha Port in Qiongzhou Prefecture. Zhao Lide and others were of course on these ships. He would lead a "Spanish business delegation" to join the negotiations between the Qiong Navy and European forces -

—Originally, there was only a Dutch family, but now a Spanish family has been added to the family.

This delegation was naturally composed of the group of prisoners of war headed by Count Carlos. These people changed their identities, transformed themselves, and moved into the Qionghai Villa, which was specially used to receive distinguished guests. They lived right next to the Dutch.

In the yard - in fact, this is the main purpose of Ade pulling them over. When he reported his plan to the Hainan headquarters and the committee, he made it very clear: Even if nothing can be negotiated with these Spaniards, as long as they let

The Dutch next door know that they exist, which is a victory

——These European guys have been thinking about monopoly all day long. The Dutch delegation came to negotiate and asked for the exclusive agency of Qiong Haijun’s entire share of exporting goods to Europe. Of course, this request was immediately rejected. However, according to insider Dia

Judging from Ge's report and the reaction of Goman, the elder of the delegation, they have not given up on this idea. Therefore, a proper warning is necessary - not necessarily through words, as long as those people notice: In addition, there are

A group of Europeans are here and they are not the only business team that represents Europe and that is enough

As for the Spaniards themselves, this group of people originally came to fight and "recover lost territory", and the Spanish government did not give them commercial authorization at all. Therefore, neither Ade nor the committee expected to have serious talks with these noble men.

What terms are there? However, these people are both nobles and military officers, and they all have a good status in Spain. Let them see the prosperity and wealth of Hainan Island with their own eyes and see the huge amount of supplies that can be provided in Qionghai Market.

, I will definitely have some positive impact on Spain's China policy after I go back.

It was with this idea in mind that although Zhao Lide brought the Spaniards over in the name of "business negotiations", he did not really talk to them about anything. He talked about the mountains all the way to the south and the north, and after arriving at the end of the field, he just stayed in the villa.

They provided food and drinks, arranged visits to various places when they had time, and occasionally held one or two discussions, which were all pragmatic things. In short, they basically followed the pattern of government meetings in later generations.

It does not involve practical matters. However, this is in line with the nature of these noble gentlemen. In Count Carlos' view, all he needs to do is agree to cooperate. Those detailed and trivial business terms are not at all relevant to them.

Things that people should be concerned about.

But the Dutch didn't know this... So, two days later, in the large restaurant of Qionghai Villa.

"Sir" Goman, the commercial representative of the Dutch East India Company - this is what he calls himself, no one in Southeast Asia would be more serious than him - as usual, he is slowly picking food from the plate - here

The restaurant provides private rooms and banquet services, but Old Gorman and his companions still prefer this buffet style. It is comfortable, casual, and you can eat as much as you want...or as long as you can hold it in, you can eat as much as you want. It fits these very well.

A businessman's temperament that makes people spend their money very much.

It's just that there is such an unwritten rule in the buffet here: you must eat what you put on the plate and cannot waste it. The Dutch didn't know it at first, but when they ate the buffet for the first time, everyone couldn't wait to fill their plates...

As a result, my stomach was filled up quickly, and I could only stare at other delicacies. Although no one would care if I wasted some, the eyes of the waiters next to me were not very good - the Villa

Most of the waiters we recruit come from poor families, and some are even refugees from Tengzhou Prefecture. They are very sensitive to waste. When encountering this kind of situation, they will often show their expressions on their faces, even if it will cause displeasure to the guests.

No matter what, from this point of view, Qionghai Villa still cannot meet the service standards of later generations of high-end hotels.

...So now they have learned to be smart. No matter what good things they see, they only take a little bit at a time. When they are satisfied with the food, they will eat the second plate. Old Gorman is older and has a limited appetite, so he is more interested in food.

It's a careful selection. Although he knows that there will be a long time ahead, and no matter how talented the chef in this restaurant is, no matter how many tricks he has, he can't keep changing dishes endlessly, he will be able to enjoy them all sooner or later, but he still pays careful attention to them.

Being picky and picky is the true nature of a businessman.

But then there was a commotion at the door. The old man glanced over there, his hands suddenly trembled, and a plate of everything was dumped into the chicken soup basin below... The little waitress serving next to her suddenly raised her eyebrows.

, but Old Gorman didn't care about her at all at this time. He just stared there blankly, his whole body trembling, as if he was about to fall. When the waiter saw this, he thought he was ill.

Not being able to show off anymore, he quickly came over and helped him sit down on the chair next to him.

After a while, several other Dutch business representatives also gathered over. Although those young people were not as panicked as Old Gorman, their faces were also very ugly. There was no other reason - a few more people walked in from the door with arrogance.

The white Europeans were all dressed formally, either in formal attire or military uniforms. Their attitude was also very arrogant. After entering the door, I glanced at several white people here - these days, unlike later generations, there are frequent exchanges between the East and the West. In East Asia, we can

It's not easy to see white people who are also from Europe. Logically speaking, even if it's not "a fellow countryman meets a fellow countryman, tears well up in my eyes", it is inevitable to come over and chat for a few words.

But those few people just glanced sideways, with a look of disgust on their faces, and immediately turned their heads away, not even willing to look here again - they obviously already knew that these were Dutch people, and with the current Spanish

In relations with the Netherlands, it is normal for these orthodox Spanish officers to adopt such an attitude.

Old Gorman and others didn't think there was anything wrong with this. They could tell the other party's nationality and identity just from the other party's clothes - after all, the Netherlands was once a vassal of Spain. And frankly speaking, although according to later history,

According to the evaluation, the Netherlands is now in a period of vigorous growth, while Spain is on the decline. However, during this period, the Dutch are actually a little afraid when they see the Spanish aristocrats - it's like

The turned-over tenants felt the same as when they saw their old boss. Moreover, at this time, Spain had not yet sunk to the bottom, and the majesty of the old empire was still there. Later generations called the Dutch "sea coachmen", but among the Spanish people of this era, the Dutch

Merchants have always been called "sea beggars" by them.

The situation was urgent, and a group of people immediately gathered together to discuss...

"what to do?"

"I didn't expect that they could really bring the Spaniards here... Didn't they say there is still a war in Luzon?"

——Old Gorman and others previously proposed to monopolize the Qiong Navy’s export trade routes to Europe, but they were rejected by the other party. The reason was that the Netherlands is not the only one in Southeast Asia. Spain, Portugal, the United Kingdom... casually

A long list was reported. Although Old Gorman and others knew that this group of Chinese who called themselves "Qiong Haijun" were very familiar with the situation in Europe and were by no means as easy to trick as other local forces, they did not expect that they would be so smart.

, being blocked, he lost his temper at all.

But looking back, although there are many forces involved in Southeast Asia, not many are actually qualified to trade with Qiong Haijun. The Portuguese merchants are not large in scale, and they have Macau Port in hand, so they have no interest in exploring other places; the British

The focus is mainly on India, and we haven’t had time to go deeper into the local area; as for Spain... Great God, will people with Habsburg blood do business honestly? Use the Halberd Legion to spread the glory of God everywhere

, and plundering gold and silver was the Spanish Empire's favorite thing to do.

Therefore, after analysis, the Dutch feel that Qiong Haijun is just bluffing. They cannot be deceived by the other party and should continue to implement the original strategy-insisting on obtaining exclusive trading rights. Therefore, during this period, Old Gorman was at the negotiating table.

His attitude was very firm, and of course the other party didn't let go. The two sides just dragged on like this. But Old Gorman always felt that the other party seemed to be waiting for something...

Now he finally understood why the other party was so determined. It turned out that there really were other options. As a result, their negotiation strategy would inevitably have to make major adjustments... Not even bothering to eat, Old Gorman hurriedly led the other negotiators to leave.

After leaving the big restaurant, I went back to my room to discuss countermeasures.

At a nearby dining table, Zhao Lide, Tang Jian, Bei Wei and Ling Ning, who were leisurely sipping coffee, saw this scene and couldn't help but smile at each other - they had finished their meals long ago and made a special trip to sit down.

I have been waiting here for a long time just to watch this wonderful show.

"I have been busy for so long, but my efforts are finally not in vain."

Tang Jian relaxed slightly and said, while Zhao Lide took his time and stirred the sugar cubes in the cup with a small silver spoon.

"This is just the expected basic harvest. I think there should be some unexpected surprises in addition - after visiting our big market and receiving those goods samples as gifts, Count Carlos and his gang cannot remain indifferent.

of……"

"Well, they're definitely going to want more...whether it's out of greed or ambition."

Ling Ning nodded and Beiwei chuckled:

"Whether it's greed or ambition, we can't rob it by force anyway, so we can only use trade...After this time, I hope that our trade and communication channels with European countries can be truly established."

Zhao Lide also breathed a sigh of relief and nodded.

"This is a must... Since we are in the seventeenth century, we must board the sailing ship of the 'Age of Discovery' and benefit from the exchanges between the East and the West. This is what our staff group has long ago planned for the entire continent.

The development route formulated collectively has finally yielded some results to this day."
Chapter completed!