"It seems that the Speaker's errand is doing very well, so I'll congratulate you in advance." Wang Dong immediately smiled and raised the tea cup in his hand with tea instead of wine.

"Where are, this is all for His Majesty the Emperor, it is the duty of being a subject." Fernando is now becoming more and more like a Chinese. Not only does he speak fluent Chinese, but he also acts similar to that of China.

The two looked at each other and touched the teacup gently, then drank it all, and laughed at the same time.

"Marson, can I take your boat to Nanjing directly after I arrive in Ningbo?" Fernando asked suddenly.

"Why is this?" Although Wang Dong was going to Nanjing when he came back this time, didn't Fernando have a ship? Why didn't he take his own ship? Moreover, although Nanjing can only dock merchant ships except the Ming naval warships, Fernando's defense ship is not included. He only needs to be guarded by the naval forces to enter the port directly. After all, Macau is now the territory of the Ming Dynasty.

"In addition to the people whom I have solicited for His Majesty, there is a special guest on my ship." Fernando stretched out his finger and pointed out: "A messenger sent from the Kingdom of Portugal, the king's confidant, Earl of Diogo de Vasconcelo."

"A Count? Portuguese?" Wang Dong had a slight difference, but he quickly realized that he was afraid that this Count came to the Ming Dynasty because of the Portuguese Far East Fleet and Macau.

Fernando nodded slightly and immediately told Wang Dong about the situation of Count Vasconcelo that this matter did not need to be kept confidential in front of Wang Dong.

It is basically consistent with Wang Dong's speculation that the reason why Earl Vasconcelo came to the Far East was because of the previous Battle of the South China Sea and the return of Macau to the Ming Dynasty.

Because the previous Macau Governor Jasdu and General Andrade, the Supreme Commander of the Far East Fleet, started the war without authorization, the Far East Fleet was wiped out, and then Macau was directly taken back by the Ming Dynasty. When the news was received, the Portuguese King Joao V was frightened and angry. You should know that Macau is an important colony of Portugal in the Far East and the main base for the Portuguese Kingdom to trade in the Far East.

Compared with other European countries, only Portugal occupies such a piece of land on China's land. Whether it is political, economic, or even military, the importance of Macau is beyond refutation.

It can be said that Macau is a pearl on the crown of the King of Portugal and the pride of the kings of all dynasties of Portugal. But now, this pearl has been lost. Without Macau, Portugal's influence in the Far East will be sharply reduced.

In addition, there is the powerful Far East fleet of the kingdom. A fleet of such a large scale is a precious asset of the Kingdom of Portugal. Now this fleet has been destroyed with Macau, and the blow to the Kingdom of Portugal is dual.

Joao V was a talented and wise ruler, and he also wanted to revive the most glorious era of the Portuguese Kingdom. In real history, Joao V did do this. During his tenure as King of Portugal, Portugal's national strength was booming, and it was second to none in Europe, both economic, political and military.

With the efforts of Joao V, Portugal was a strong man, and even the newly-rise Britain and Spain, which were old maritime power, could directly compete.

But now, Joao V, who had just begun to show off his skills, encountered such a heavy blow, which made him extremely angry. He shouted Jasdu and Andrad in the palace, waved his hands and gritted his teeth and vowed to hang the two bastards by themselves.

Of course, Joao V could not do this. As war criminals, Jia Shidu and Andrad had long been punished by the Ming Dynasty's stern and sovereignty. Their heads were also sacrificed to sacrifice to the soldiers who died in the Battle of the South China Sea and their bodies were directly crushed and ashes.

In a rage, Ruo Ao V even smashed the most precious piece of porcelain in the palace, but he couldn't do anything other than that. In desperation, Ruo Ao V, who gradually calmed down, could only seek to recover the losses from other aspects.

It is absolutely impossible to send a fleet to the Far East again. The lost Far East fleet is already nearly half of the naval force of the Kingdom of Portugal. If the fleet is sent to fight a war with the Ming Dynasty, if the war is lost, the Kingdom of Portugal will completely fall, and Joao V will never be able to afford this price.

To settle for the second time, Joao V could only solve this problem with politics, so he sent his most trusted person, Count Diogo de Vasconcelo, as his envoy, to the Far East, trying to contact the Ming Dynasty and restore Portugal's dominance in Macau. This was also the real purpose of the Earl's visit to the Far East. Fernando could understand Joao V's idea. If he was in the case of His Majesty the King, he might have made a similar choice, but compared with Joao V, Fernando knew in his heart that this was just a fantasy of Joao V.

Fernando, who had met Zhu Yicheng personally, understood that after Macau was taken back by the Ming Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty would definitely not give up Macau. In fact, it was not only the Ming Dynasty, but also the Macau Council and the Town Hall, and even all Macau businessmen, who were unwilling to return to Portugal, because Macau is the real paradise in their eyes today.

In the past, as a Portuguese colony, Macau did not actually gain any benefits. Not only did local merchants in Macau continue to compete with the kingdom for the actual rule and management of Macau, but also due to the intervention and restrictions of the Kingdom of Portugal, Macau merchants did not receive any support in the trade.

Coupled with the Chinese's defense against Macau, Macau merchants did not have the choice of free entry into China for direct trade, which further restricted Macau's development. All Macau people are very clear about these, but now it is different. With the return of Macau, Macau has officially become a part of the Ming Dynasty. In addition, the status of Macau's free ports and free cities is determined, and the benefits that Macau has gained from it is exciting.

As the speaker of the country, Fernando knew the most. In just half a year, Macau's trade volume has increased sharply, and the transaction volume has been more than twice that of previous years. Moreover, as the Ming Dynasty directly opened the mainland market to Macau, this has made Macau merchants' profits several times.

Under such circumstances, there were countless Macau merchants who took the initiative to join the Ming Dynasty. Some Portuguese even abandoned their original nationality in order to show their loyalty to the Ming Dynasty. As for Fernando's temporary retaining of his original home, this was a licensed by Zhu Yicheng. After all, Fernando is the speaker. With dual nationality, he is more convenient for managing and developing Macau, and is used to interact with European parties.

"Count Vasconcelo was a respectable nobleman. He was highly educated, proficient in literature, painting and music, and was polite. However, he was also a person who was good at fantasy." Fernando said meaningfully.

This sentence made Wang Dong stunned at first. After recalling it, he realized what Fernando meant. Wang Dong immediately laughed and scolded: "I am a soldier, and I can't understand it. Do you mean that this count is nothing more than an old and unrestrained person who knows the height of the world?"

Fernando suddenly laughed and nodded repeatedly, "Marcedes-Master is so smart, that's it. Do you know that this count has done a lot of ridiculous things along the way north, and you also know that with my current identity, some things are difficult to deal with, so I want to ask the Marshal to help you. When the ship arrives in Ningbo, find a reason to let the Earl stay in Ningbo first, and I will take the Marshal's ship to Nanjing first, can I?"

As soon as Fernando finished speaking, Wang Dong was amused and cried. After a long time of trouble, this guy was doing this. However, it was nothing to ask him to take the boat along the way. Anyway, their destination was all Nanjing, and Wang Dong also knew that Zhu Yicheng attached Fernando to Fernando. In addition, Fernando recruited these talents for the Ming Dynasty this time, so it was no problem to help him. It was nothing more than a convenient thing.

"Okay, just stay here with me. As for that count, haha, I will naturally arrange someone to take care of him."

"Then thank you, Marshal." Hearing Wang Dong's promise, Fernando smiled and raised his glass to thank Wang Dong again.

The next day, the fleet arrived in Ningbo. Under Wang Dong's arrangement, all the personnel on the three ships of Fernando were arranged by the local garrison. At the same time, Wang Dong also informed the Public Affairs Office through channels. The Public Affairs Office was in charge of foreign affairs. The Public Affairs Office of the Portuguese Kingdom was of course the target of high-level monitoring, so the Public Affairs Office immediately sent someone to receive the guests as an official of the Honglu Temple, and at the same time, the craftsmen recruited from Europe were initially deleted.

At least on the surface, the Ming Dynasty did a good job, not only set up residences for these people, but also registered their identities, etc. As for the distinguished guest of Count Vasconcelo, the General Office also specially arranged an elegant residence, sent some servants (spy) to the door, and there were additional guards from local garrisons to ensure the safety of Count Vasconcelo in the Ming Dynasty.

After making these arrangements, Wang Dong and Fernando stopped for a while in Ningbo, and then changed the boat and went straight to Nanjing.

When they arrived in Nanjing, Zhu Yicheng had received news from the Ministry of War and the General Affairs Office, and immediately summoned Wang Dong to the palace. As for Fernando's temporary request to him, Zhu Yicheng paid more attention to the results of this trial voyage and Japan trip.

Fernando has a residence in Nanjing. Zhu Yicheng gave him this residence specifically, but Fernando grew up in Macau and not in Nanjing. Although others were not there, the place was still clean and clean by servants.

He went to his residence first and took a break. Fernando had nothing to do for the time being. After walking around the yard for a few times, he planned to go out for a walk. It has been a year since he last came. Nanjing has changed a little more in this year. Compared to before, Nanjing is now more lively. Anyway, it is still early to the day when Zhu Yicheng summoned him. He ordered two servants to follow him. Fernando, who had changed his clothes, went out to wander around like an ordinary Ming Dynasty man.
Chapter completed!