574 Happy to miss Shu

No matter how poor the reasons the East India Company came up with, they were eventually accepted by the Zheng family - this was something that was planned in advance. If he didn't accept it, Zheng Zhilong wouldn't have come here at all. Moreover, the real culprit was already at the mouth of the Tamsui River.

Almost destroyed, the Zheng family has already vented their anger, and they are just showing off here to gain more benefits.

Of course, if the Netherlands wants to settle this matter, just relying on the excuse of "temporary workers" will definitely not be enough. The ships and weapons captured in the Battle of Tamsui River are trophies and cannot be considered compensation. They want the Zheng family and those behind the

The Fujian officials were generous and allowed them to pass, but they had to come up with something in real money.

As for the specific compensation, Pang Yu and others did not interfere. Zheng Zhilong is also a hero after all, and he can afford it and let it go. He must have made a plan in this regard. They just intentionally or unintentionally, through chatting with Zheng Zhihu

The method was to reveal some of the strength of the Dutch East India Company during this period to the Zheng family as recorded in their "Goldfinger Reference Book". This would allow the Zheng family to know the wealth of their opponents and not be too outrageous when asking for things.

.

In the negotiations that followed in the next few days, Zheng Zhilong and the others made good use of this information and gave the Dutch a hard blow - it could be seen from the faces of Old Gorman and others. Soon after, Diego came from

Insider reports confirmed this - the Zheng family extorted five ships from the Dutch

"The Zheng family has made a profit this time."

Just hearing this number, Pang Yu and others seemed to be able to see the faces of the Zheng family at the negotiation table - they must be telling the Dutch: Since you sent ten ships to attack us, you must come up with ten more.

It's not difficult, just compensate according to this scale. Old Gorman and others must have complained loudly... The two parties bargained and finally determined the amount of compensation for the five ships.

At first glance, five ships may not seem like a lot, but what the Zheng family is interested in is definitely not a small ship that they can build themselves, but a large sailing ship that can sail on the ocean. During this period, the Dutch East India Company was on the rise, but

According to historical records, even in their heyday, the company only owned 150 merchant ships and 40 warships, including the number of European headquarters.

And here in Asia, Putmans waited for more than a year after being driven out of Taiwan Island before ten ships came from Europe to avenge him. The rarity of these ocean-going sailing ships is evident. And Pang Yu

Others are also very surprised - according to their understanding, the Dutch East India Company adopts the principle of ship shareholding, that is, merchant ship owners use their own ships as capital to join the company and operate it personally within the company's framework, or hire other captains to run the company.

The merchants make money, but the ship itself still belongs to the shipowner. I wonder how Old Goman and the others dared to agree to compensate the Zheng family for the ship?

But no matter what, since the Dutch are willing to be slaughtered, then the Zheng family has passed this test for them. After going through many hardships, Old Gorman and others can finally start the mission of this trip - and

Qiong Haijun conducts business negotiations.

…………

"Your Excellency, please."

"No, no, no, noble madam, of course you invite me first..."

——While the Dutch were working hard to overcome obstacles and achieve their goals, the Spaniards "invited" by Adelaide were at home on Hainan Island, and were accompanied by people every day to visit and play around the island.

Hainan Island was regarded as a major tourist province in later generations. The natural scenery is still good, but in terms of natural scenery, it may not be much better than the previous Cebu Island. But at this time, Carlos looked intoxicated, as if

In heaven.

The reason is very simple - not far from him at this moment, there is a peerless beauty smiling at him: Anastasia de' Medici, this southern European beauty has first-class talents, and in recent years she has become more and more famous.

I learned a complete set of modern makeup techniques from girls such as Wang Jiaojiao, including matching clothes, which are also very mature concepts for later generations. I don’t know how many times better than people of this era.

Normally, she lives among a group of "well-informed" modern people, and no one finds it surprising. But when she suddenly appears in the eyes of a group of Europeans from this time and space, the shocking effect is indescribable - when Anna and Jack

When the couple was introduced to Carlos and others for the first time, Zhao Lide had already finished talking for a long time. None of the dozen or so people on Carlos' side had any reaction. They all stood there blankly, just looking at each other.

, I was "shocked" and fainted on the spot.

In addition to her appearance, Anna's identity also shocked these Spaniards: a descendant of the Grand Duke of Tuscany and a direct bloodline of the Medici family in Florence. These Spanish nobles are qualified to look down on the Dutch, but for members of the Italian papal family

, which must be shown with 120% respect. Not to mention that Anna's talent, appearance, and conversation were so outstanding that these Spaniards were completely smitten almost as soon as they met.

So since their first meeting, Carlos and others went to visit "Sir Mrs. Anderson" whenever they had something to do, and they showed their unabashed attentiveness to Anna during their conversations. According to their customs, the fact that Anna was married did not matter.

It does not constitute any obstacle.

Anna herself was very happy to meet a group of real "similar people" here, which allowed her to recall the atmosphere of her previous life. Although Spain and Italy are far apart, the traditional aristocratic customs of these two countries are not the same.

They are all the same, but they all belong to Europe after all, and there are still many things in common. Especially in this place far away from home, even some small differences can be ignored. For Anna, she can learn something about her hometown from these Spanish nobles.

The news, even if it was just some rumors, was enough to make her feel gratified.

Therefore, as long as she could find time, she would try her best to cooperate with those Spanish guests who apparently requested too frequent meetings. In addition to accompanying the guests on outings, she also organized several banquets at home and invited the Spaniards to visit—

-In this era, salon parties were often held in the homes of Western nobles, and it was common for the hostess to entertain the guests. Of course, Anna was very smart. Whether outside or at home, when meeting European guests, she would always be with Old Jack and talk.

Her behavior only shows the generosity and kindness of the hostess, but will not give any misunderstanding to anyone - of course her husband still comes first in her mind.

Speaking of which, although Anna was very "rebellious" in her early years, she grew up in such an environment after all. Since childhood, she had been very envious of those hostesses who were good at dancing and well-rounded in the salon. But at that time, Anna

She was still very young, and she had more contempt for the old world of her elders. But now as she gets older, especially after coming to such an environment and getting married, she was originally most interested in natural science and her interest in religion.

Skepticism... This kind of pursuit has been fully satisfied in modern people's groups, and even far beyond the scope of what she can accept. For example, old Jack once told her something about surgery, although Anna

Even though she knew that it was very useful knowledge, she still couldn't help but feel resisted and disgusted - after all, she was born in a theocratic family. Even if she doubted the existence of God, she would not be satisfied with modern medicine's method of completely decomposing the human body and conducting thorough research.

Hard to recognize.

In this environment, she gradually missed the "old-style" life of her elders. After her marriage, she often talked to Jack about how grand and gorgeous the family banquets were when she was a child, and how full of guests... Jack is a psychologist.

Experts in the field can easily tell Anna's homesickness at a glance. Therefore, he fully agrees with his wife's focus on socializing during this period, and has always been with her to entertain guests as the host.

.

The profession of doctor has always been regarded as a member of the upper class in Western society. With Old Jack's way of talking, it is not difficult to talk to those Spanish nobles. Especially this guy is also a doctor and is proficient in psychology. He often only needs a few words.

Being able to seize the initiative will naturally become the center of the party. Although Carlos and others are arrogant and scornful of Old Gorman and others, they have no doubts in front of this "Sir Anderson" who is also of unknown origin.

On the contrary, consciously or unconsciously, I am learning the other person's demeanor and behavior, feeling that it is in line with the style of a true gentleman.

...In short, this period of time on Hainan Island can be said to be a rare adventure in the lives of Carlos and others. If modern people like Qiong Haijun have anything in common with the Spanish aristocrats of the seventeenth century, it is that they both

They attach great importance to the quality of life and material enjoyment. The living conditions here managed with modern technology and concepts are definitely far better than anywhere else in this era, and the aristocratic families in Europe are no exception. As for Count Carlos and his entourage

They are all very particular people who pay special attention to the details of life. They soon fully realized the benefits of modern life - these Orientals really know how to enjoy it, not only food, clothing, housing and transportation, but also toilets and baths.

They pay great attention to the little things that are not worth paying attention to. Their house does not look very gorgeous on the outside, but it is extremely comfortable inside. His Majesty the King's palace is like a cowshed in comparison.

——This is the emotion Carlos himself expressed after enjoying the air-conditioned room in the hot summer of August.

Under such a beautiful scenery, time flew by so fast. One day, when Zhao Lide mentioned the topic of returning to Europe during the exchange, Carlos showed a look of reluctance:

"Don't be anxious, don't be anxious. We still have a lot to understand each other and there are many things we can talk about."

The Spanish count replied that he had completely forgotten that he was captured, and even more forgotten that when he was half-forced by Zhao Lide to come to Hainan, he only wanted to find an opportunity to leave as soon as possible.

"You are happy here, don't miss Shu" - if Carlos could know this ancient saying like Anna did, he would definitely shout it out without hesitation. {Piaotian Literature thanks all the book friends for their support.
Chapter completed!