"A group of hateful bastards!" General Andrade cursed angrily. Although the Battle of the South China Sea suffered heavy losses, the power of the Portuguese fleet was particularly strong. The reason why he took the initiative to withdraw from the battle was that the battle was too fierce at that time was to avoid greater losses from the Portuguese fleet. Secondly, he was considering preserving his strength and adding bargaining chips for future negotiations to ensure Portugal's rule in Macau.

Who would have thought that when I went to Macau, when I learned that the Imperial Fleet was defeated, the Portuguese merchant in Macau suddenly turned aside. Now he not only wanted to expel Governor Jia Shidu, but also directly held him accountable in Macau.

General Andrad was an honorable soldier and the commander of the entire fleet. He was prepared for what he would do as a commander after the Battle of the South China Sea, but this did not mean that the group of merchants in Macau and the clerk composed of merchants had the right to point fingers at him.

"This is the businessman!" Jia Shidu pointed out the essence of these people incisively, but due to the failure of the naval battle, his power was greatly reduced, and it is difficult to even protect himself now, let alone help General Andrad?

"Then let them act privately? Governor's Pavilion, you know that if you let that, the empire's rights in the Far East will be lost! Even unimaginable!" General Andrad said anxiously.

Jia Shidu shook his head and sighed: "The current situation is no longer something we can control. I heard that the Council is ready to transfer everything that happened in the Far East back to China. Once such a decision is made, from a legal perspective, it should be clear what kind of results you and I will have."

"But you are the Governor! Your Excellency!"

"My dear general, do you think they will still obey the orders of me, the governor?" Jia Shidu asked back.

General Andrad was speechless, and the room was quiet, and neither of them spoke, and the atmosphere seemed extremely solemn.

"General, how is your fleet now?" Jia Shidu asked after a while.

General Andrad sighed and shook his head, "Morning is very poor, and more importantly, the Council has interrupted the fleet's supply, which is the most deadly."

As soon as this sentence was finished, General Andrad angrily punched the table: "If I had known this, I would not have withdrawn from Macau. At that time, I only wanted to preserve my strength and then solve the problem by politics. However, these short-sighted guys, the Imperial fleet was not defeated by the enemy on the battlefield, but lost the power to fight again in their own hands. Now, the Imperial fleet lacking supplies should not be said to fight. I am afraid that the enemy would even escape when they fight. These despicable and shameless merchants! These traitors who should be on the guillotine!"

"It's useless to say that these are useless, let's think of a way to get through this level." Jia Shidu sighed. In fact, he also had a lot of complaints about Andrad. If Andrad hadn't lost this war, how could he be in his current situation?

Before coming to the Far East, Joao V summoned Jia Shidu and had a deep conversation with him. In addition to expanding the interests of the empire in the Far East, he wanted to take Macau's rule from the group of merchants according to Joao V's instructions, so that Macau can truly belong to the empire.

Everything was going very smoothly, but now it has become a bubble. These days, Jia Shidu is simply overwhelmed and is even more worried about his future. Once he is directly expelled from Macau, it will be all over.

Originally, after the defeat of the South China Sea, Jia Shidu planned to let the Qing officials in Guangdong fulfill some of their pre-war promises and use these interests to appease the Macau Council and merchants. Who would have thought that when they learned of the defeat of the Portuguese fleet, the Qing officials immediately turned against each other. Not only did they refuse to fulfill those promises, they even refused to pay the military expenses they had already agreed to. This made Jia Shidu extremely angry and helpless.

"There is only one way now." Jia Shidu said after a long time of silence.

General Andrad suddenly looked up with an anxious expression. Jia Shidu said: "Looking for a way to truce the Ming Dynasty, and at the same time telling the Ming Dynasty that we were deceived by the Qing Empire. In order to show sincerity, we will assist the Ming Dynasty in attacking Guangdong. As long as the Ming Dynasty agrees to our request, we will have the capital to bargain with the Council."

"What!" Jia Shidu was preparing to negotiate with the Ming Dynasty. General Andrad understood this and had this meaning for him. Now he could not fight, and there was no other way except to end the war with a decent amount. If he continued to fight, he could not guarantee whether he could bring the remaining warships back to Europe in the end, and at the same time he could not guarantee the safety of Macau.

But he never expected that Jia Shidu would propose to change his ranks and join forces with the Ming Dynasty to attack the Qing Empire. As a soldier, he did not understand the thinking of these politicians at all.

Faced with General Andrad's doubts, Jia Shidu explained: "When negotiating with the Ming Dynasty, ending this war is to avoid further deterioration, but this cannot change the result of our previous defeat. Moreover, this defeat caused such losses to the Imperial fleet, which cannot be concealed. Now the Council of Macau is also focusing on this matter. If this problem cannot be solved, everything will still change in a bad direction."

"Do you think that joining forces with the Ming Dynasty can reverse this situation?"

"Yes!" Jia Shidu made a decisive decision: "Dear General, you are a soldier, but you are not a qualified politician. Politicians will consider issues from all aspects, especially in my position and the current situation."

After a pause, Jia Shidu continued: "From your military point of view, who will ultimately win the war that is about to break out in Guangdong?"

General Andrade opened his mouth but didn't say anything because the answers of the two of them were the same. If the Qing Empire could win this war, it would not have joined forces with the Portuguese fleet in Macau at the beginning. Now that the Battle of the South China Sea was defeated, the Ming Dynasty will launch a fierce attack on Guangdong next, and the result can be imagined.

"The winner will only be the Ming Dynasty!" Jia Shidu said: "After the Ming Dynasty took over the entire Guangdong, they will replace the Qing Empire and Macau before. But because of the naval battle in the South China Sea, what do you think the Ming Dynasty will be towards us? Of course, you will say that we will sign an agreement with the counterparty to end the war, but don't forget that this is the Far East! What if the Ming Dynasty, who suffered such huge losses, signed an agreement with us to ensure victory in the Guangdong battlefield? They will not reduce our hatred. Perhaps in a few years, Macau will be lost from the hands of the empire forever. If that is the case, we will become the sinners of the empire!"

Jia Shidu looked extremely solemn. He pointed his finger at his head and said, "So we must find a way to solve the problem properly. Besides, standing on the side of the winner is always the right choice. Use our attitude to express our sincerity to the Ming Dynasty and obtain changes in their views on us. Only in this way can the interests of the empire be truly guaranteed!"

After saying that, Jia Shidu smiled meaningfully again: "And there are two other benefits to doing this. As long as we join forces with the Ming Dynasty, then as the governor of Macau, you, the fleet commander, are an indispensable part of this plan. In view of this situation, the Council will never bite us. These merchants are not fools. If we force us away, what capital will they use to negotiate with the Ming Dynasty? What capital will they join forces with the Ming Dynasty to deal with the Qing Empire's military force in Guangdong?"

"I understand!" General Andrad suddenly realized and said excitedly: "After this matter is successful, the fleet's losses can also be reported to the Empire and His Majesty openly. After all, we are the troops sent by the Empire in order to ensure the interests of the Far East. As the future ruler of the Far East, the Empire should pay some price."

"Oh! My dear general, it seems that I have to take back what I said just now. You have the potential to become a qualified politician." Jia Shidu said in a pretentious look, and then laughed at the same time with General Andrad.

Jia Shidu's suggestions were good. No matter which aspect it was considered, it was the best plan. General Andrad immediately discussed it carefully with Jia Shidu. The two exchanged opinions and completed the details. Even if the plan was confirmed, there was another question, that is, who was responsible for contacting the Ming Dynasty. This candidate was very important, and neither of them had the right person for a while.

It is not appropriate to come forward directly from the identity and status of the two of them. As for selecting people from the Macau Council, the bastards are eager for them to be unlucky, so how could they do these things for them? After thinking hard, General Andrad suddenly had a bright light and thought of a candidate.

"Fernando?"

"Yes! It's Fernando, an imperial merchant, but he is not a member of the Macau Council, and this man is quite talented. If he hadn't reminded him in time during the naval war, our fleet would have suffered greater losses. In addition, I have seen him after the war and talked to him, and I thought this was a very thoughtful young man. More importantly, Your Excellency, Fernando is a nobleman and he has the title of baron!"

"Well, General, please tell me about this person carefully." Jia Shidu's eyes lit up, and he immediately became interested in Fernando. After General Andrade carefully introduced Fernando to him, Jia Shidu felt that this was indeed a very suitable candidate.
Chapter completed!