Mo Lie's eel has been quite free in the Port of Goa these days. He can go wherever he wants. The Portuguese did not stop him at all. He watched the noble residential areas, dock commercial areas, government administrative areas and even industrial areas located in the suburbs of the city. Not only did he watch it, but the Portuguese aristocrat named Sandro also explained the whole process, which was full of sincerity.

"This is an industrial zone, connected to the port dock, producing all kinds of rigs, from iron nails to canvas. Every year, ships that set out to Lisbon will undergo their last maintenance and then set off. It can be said that this is the foundation of Eastern trade, which is yes." Sandro pointed to the so-called industrial zone with a slightly messy layout and introduced: "Of course there are also many craftsmen who produce various daily necessities, such as coopers, cured meat, water pipes, etc., just like the ports of most countries we have seen."

Mo Liei nodded while listening, and then strolled on a not-so-wide gravel road beside the pier. On the left side of the road was a vast wasteland, which could be seen from the dense crosses on the wasteland. There was a cemetery. Sandro paid attention to Mo Liei's every move at any time. Seeing him staring at the cemetery, he explained softly in a slightly melancholy tone: "There are mostly the nobles of the city and previous governors. When I was a child, I was fortunate to help my father sort out a piece of it.

Some archives about Goa were still in 1656. I saw that among the fifty governors in the past, 22 people died during their tenure or on their way back to China after their term of office. One person died with King Sebastian in the Battle of El-Cebir, with a death rate of almost half. If these dead governors were not buried in the sea, they would be buried in this area. The Royal Hospital of Goa made great efforts during their lifetime, but unfortunately they could not save their lives."

"Tropical cities are like this and make misfortunes. We should have been accustomed to them." Mo Liei sighed and said, "But the tropics are so rich and fascinating, constantly attracting new adventurers to come here to seize wealth, titles and reputations. Not only did they do this before, but even if they are now?"

"Your frankness is really amazing." Perhaps it was unexpected that Molie's eel spoke, Sandro chuckled and said, "Yes, you are right, Mr. Lieutenant Colonel. We are all for the pursuit of wealth and reputation, but there are differences. I was born in Lisbon and I was very lucky that this gave me a relatively high status in Goa, but now my wife and I were born in Porto, a well-educated businessman family, who has lived in Goa for many years and have no intention of returning to Lisbon. This is also what my father meant. He took me across the ocean to Goa. We had different ideas from those who just came from Lisbon and left with a vote. They did not firmly defend Goa's strong determination, and we have!"

"Local Portuguese aristocrats." Molie's heart murmured. Molie's knowledge of this group of colonists that occupied the largest number in Goa. Simply put, they are all descendants of the first generation of colonists, some are pure-blooded descendants, just like Creole native whites in South America, and some are mixed Indian-Portuguese. It is worth mentioning that native whites do not necessarily mean being aristocrats or occupy a higher status, and the Indian-Portuguese may not necessarily not be aristocrats, but there is no doubt that they are not as good as the Portuguese who came from Lisbon.

The duel time in 1563 clearly illustrates this point. A Portuguese nobleman from Lisbon injured a native native white man from Goa, and was arrested by the governor, but was soon acquitted. What happened next was interesting. Luis da Francesco Barreto, the son of an Indian-Portugal man and former governor of Goa (the governor from 1547 to 1559), stood up to the injured native white man and demanded a duel with the Lisbon nobleman, but died in the duel. But the nobleman only expressed his regret in public, apologized a little, and was forgiven by the governor, which intuitively illustrates the low status of the native white man, and the Portuguese did even much more than the Spanish in South America.

But ironically, in the battles with foreign enemies sometimes Dutch, sometimes Indian, and sometimes Moors, native whites or Indians were the bravest and most morale groups. They were able to defend Goa's interests better than those who came from the mainland of Portugal. Every time they shouted the slogan of "Santiago" to fight with the enemy, they were also these native whites or Indians. They took India as their foundation and had no way out and could not compromise, and could only fight to the end.

I heard that the sons of the Pedro Portugal Governor have married and had children in Goa. It seems that they will be based on India in the future, and they are of the same nature as Mr. Sandro who is next to Moliee. In this way, the inside story is worthy of fun. To strengthen trade cooperation with the East Coast people and even further relations, I don’t know whether it is the intention of Lisbon or the collective will of the local officials and nobles of Goa. If it is the latter, then it would be interesting.

But no matter what, since the Portuguese in Goa intends to post it, it is naturally not convenient for the East Coast to keep people from thousands of miles away, right? What's more, the local government has long had a guiding idea for this, that is, to maintain a "moderate relationship" with Goa, thinking that it will plan in the future.

This sounds a bit obscure. Let's just put it bluntly that it is okay to do business with the Portuguese in Goa to increase their relationship, but you must grasp the standards and do not develop into a military or political alliance for the time being. If the East Coast is in a bad relationship with the Dutch East India Company in the future and the relationship is irreversible, then it is appropriate to quickly "collude" with the Portuguese through the foundation laid before and counterattack against the Dutch. To put it bluntly, it is to hang the Portuguese and use them as a spare tire just in case.

Of course, the Portuguese wanted more than that. They were more willing to form an alliance with the East Coast people, preferably a military alliance that fulfilled their military obligations to fight against a dominant Dutch East India Company here. For this reason, it was also easy to transfer some commercial interests. For example, the Governor of Goa, Portugal, had vaguely proposed to Molie's eel at a previous banquet that the East Coast people could be allowed to set up a commercial station in Goa and Diu (the station must not be more than one hundred soldiers) to purchase a certain amount of Indian local goods.

To be fair, the conditions promised by the Portuguese are very attractive. Everyone knows the potential of India's trade. This country has vast land, rich products and huge populations, which can create wealth, especially when the population is very large. Therefore, they are willing to let another foreign force enter India, and settle on the land they have been operating for many years is mostly a historical problem. That is, the land obtained before the Mughal dynasty was unified, and it is also difficult now, because the Mughal dynasty is actually generous. Of course, this is also related to the situation they are facing now, and they have to do so.

Of course, Mo Liei was willing to gain a foothold in India with the influence of the Portuguese, but according to the local guidance, he knew that the military alliance that the Portuguese wanted to see the most was impossible, because the Executive Committee's official plan was not involved in a meaningless conflict, and he was even less interested in stimulating the powerful Dutch East India Company, so he was destined to disappoint the Portuguese in this regard.

However, there is no need to explain this matter in detail with the Portuguese now. You can talk to them about other things first, such as opening a business station to do business. Therefore, after visiting the dock commercial area, Mo Liei returned to the Governor's palace with Sandro and others to discuss business cooperation with the Governor of Portugal.

"We need a large number of weapons, mainly muskets, swords, armor, spears and other materials. We can produce artillery ourselves. The artillery factory in Goa was established at the beginning of this century and is still in play today. Even the British East India Company sometimes comes to purchase artillery from us." The Portuguese Governor asked for military funds as soon as he spoke, and only heard him say: "The reason for this is mainly because of the abominable Dutch. Over the years, they have organized a fleet of more than ten armed merchant ships to come to the coast of Malabar almost every summer, hang a black flag, and attack the Portuguese merchant ships between Lisbon and India, the trade boats driven by the Indians and the Moorish ships coming from the west to trade, which has caused us great trouble."

After saying this, Mo Liei understood. Although the East Coast people are active in the Western Indian Ocean all year round, it does not mean that they know nothing about the East Indian Ocean, especially these things that have been very serious, not to mention that such things have lasted for more than 20 years. In these more than 20 years of confrontation, the Dutch East India Company sometimes succeeded and sometimes failed, but it certainly caused great trouble to the Portuguese in Goa, including weapons, military funds, labor tools, old mainland goods, books and letters that cannot be delivered to India in time. Even some local personnel often die in the sea or become prisoners under the attack of the Dutch people. They will work in the tropical plantations of the East Indies for many years and often die in destruction. Of course, on the other hand, the Dutch personnel captured by the Portuguese may have a worse fate, because they often accept cruel religious trials.

In such a case, the Portuguese Governor requested the East Coast to sell some necessary weapons and military funds, key machinery and equipment (used by the Goa Cannon Factory) and other commodities from the Old Mainland, which is easy to understand. To this end, they will provide various Indian specialty goods that the East Coast people are very interested in. If these things are transported back to the East Coast, they will be a big profit, and both for the New China Development Team and the Third Navy Fleet, there will be no small profit.

Of course, this kind of trade is also a considerable investment for the Portuguese, because they can sell Indian goods in batches into the East Coast Republic to make money. You should know that the East Coast Republic of China, which now has a population of three to four million, has a small gap between the rich and the poor, and has a large per capita income. After years of social development, people are more willing to consume than before, so there is still a considerable market demand for rare goods from overseas. This can be seen from the fact that the tropical specialties of New China Island are always in a hot-selling state in the local area. To be honest, the Portuguese's commercial development capabilities are a bit bad. In the past, they could only sell such tropical products and printed products to Italians, and then sell some to Spain and southwest France. It is far inferior to the Dutch East India Company, which also does this business, and even the British East India Company is far inferior.

Therefore, if you take the opportunity to join the East Coast people this time, you can not only obtain stable industrial products from the East Coast people, but also the Dutch East India Company may not openly attack the East Coast people's merchant ships at this stage, and can also open up an emerging market that has been lost for many years since the last war. It is simply a business that is stable and profitable. No wonder they have always been so enthusiastic and even respectful to Mo Lie Ying and his group. Giving gifts to others will make a request. The ancestors are really right!

"Of course we are willing to establish a good trade relationship with Goa, which has no hindrance. But I hope that our East African Transportation Company can obtain exclusive agency rights for Indian goods." Mo Liei made a decision after only a brief thought, and at the same time he also won a hen for laying golden eggs for the East African Transportation Company, which has a large stake in the New China Development Team. Of course, this company also has close ties with the Navy Third Fleet, and everything is indifferent.

Of course, the Governor of Pedro de Almeda Portugal would not rebel against Mo Lieyan's small request and happily accepted his proposal. Next, both sides found their own escorts and began to negotiate details one by one, forming text fixed. This was a long process, but it was mostly a matter for the people below. It had little to do with the Governor of Portugal and Lieutenant Colonel Mo Lieyan, so the two could get out and drink coffee.

"Mr. Mo, how are you thinking about the fact that we formed a military alliance and cleaned up pirates together every winter?" In the garden of the Governor's Mansion, the two of them sat and chatted with each other. The Portuguese Governor suddenly asked.

"I cannot give you a positive answer to this because it has exceeded my authorization, but I am happy to report it specifically to my superiors." Mo Liei avoided this question, which obviously disappointed the Portuguese Governor.
Chapter completed!