Dominate the Country

Li Weidong secretly took the few gold coins placed in his hand by the Portuguese sailor, and then slowly led the inspection team behind him to board the Portuguese merchant ship Avila, which had just anchored at the port of Runzhou [Houston], and began to inspect the cargo loaded in the cabin.

The Sino-Western conflict is now intensifying, and the entire Americas is shrouded in the shadow of war, but unlike the headache of the Spaniards, the Portuguese in Brazil are very happy to see the Sino-Western war break out again.

The frequent trade between China and Portugal is an obvious example.

When the smuggling business between China and the Spanish American colonies became more and more difficult, Brazil took the initiative to open a crack to China.

With Runzhou [Houston] and Xintai [New Orleans] on the east coast as the two major centers, the trade between China and Portugal has developed rapidly.

Portugal's colonies in the Americas are mainly Brazil. Brazil is a colony with a tradition of agriculture and animal husbandry. While the grain, dairy products and meat here are supplied to Europe in large quantities, they also provide a lot of income for the Portuguese.

At the same time, the Portuguese also transported a large number of handicraft products and utensils from Europe. The colony of Brazil has always been this kind of "simple" trade cycle.

But in this simple trade turnover, Brazil has accumulated huge wealth.

With the attack of Britain and Portugal on the Portuguese colonial empire, the large-scale loss of the Far East colonies made Brazil's position in the Portuguese internal system more and more important. Today, it has become the center of the Portuguese colonial empire. Just like the East Indies to the Netherlands before, Brazil has accumulated a large amount of gold, gems, sugar cane, coffee and grains from Portugal. Portugal also traded black slaves here, contributing a lot of mixed-race children to Brazil, and greatly accelerated the development of Brazil.

It is like a huge dairy cow, constantly providing precious ** for the Kingdom of Portugal.

It's just that the Portuguese at this time can't feel the threat from China. At least before China seizes Mexico, the Portuguese will not face the threat from China. Although China has taken back Japan, it has almost taken away their colony in the East Indies-East Timor by force.

Now Portugal has a lot of energy left in Europe. The old rival of the Kingdom of Spain has actually allied with the long-time enemy Great Britain. Such a change makes the Portuguese very vigilant.

In order to reduce this pressure, the Portuguese are looking forward to the outbreak of the Sino-Western War again. Then, the Spaniards will no longer be a threat.

Just a few years ago, an uprising broke out in Brazil. It is difficult to say whether this uprising was influenced by France or the Lighthouse Country. Although the uprising was suppressed and the leaders were sent to the gallows, the ruling class of Portugal was still shocked.

You know, with the loss of Eastern colonial interests, the focus of the Portuguese colony has shifted to Brazil. Brazil's superior living environment has also attracted a large number of Portuguese to settle there. At the beginning of this century, in order to prevent the continuous loss of the local population, John V ordered a ban on Portuguese immigration.

With such a deep foundation, Brazil still broke out in an uprising, which had to alert the upper ruling class of Portugal. So they all hoped that war would break out in the surrounding areas, so that the external threats and pressure on Portugal would inevitably be greatly reduced, and they could also take the opportunity to examine themselves.

"The best copper blocks, lead blocks and tin materials are all tax-free strategic materials. Well, Mr. Valdes, please go to the management office to handle the formalities, and then wait for unloading at the dock. I have to congratulate you on making a good deal. Now the market for these materials is very good. You made a lot of money this time." After randomly checking some boxes, the people in Li Weidong's team immediately smiled and said to a Portuguese businessman in his forties.

Strong execution is the greatest reliance for guaranteeing and following the requirements of the system.

In Chenhan's native land, such a situation of bribery is impossible, but in America, in Runzhou, this situation not only happened, but also quite common.

In a word, Li Weidong not only got involved himself, but also dragged the inspection team he reached out to into the water.

In Chenhan's native land, because the customs has sufficient staff, the personnel configuration of the inspection team is uncertain. Today you are in a group with Zhang San and Li Si, and tomorrow you will be in a group with Wang Wu and Zhao Liu, which largely restricts the possibility of bribery and corruption.

But it's different in America. First of all, the customs here are not staffed enough.

If there are not enough staff, the system can only be simplified, and there will be many loopholes, and there will be many loopholes for maneuvering. Of course, this is not the main reason. The main reason is that the upper management is not strict.

These big and small figures in the customs are all diverted from the local customs bureau. Would they dare to do this in their homeland? They are scared to death. But in America, they have been infected with such habits so quickly. This is not just human greed. The customs staff in Tokyo and Hanjin have maintained their style, but Runzhou has already been bad?

A major reason is that the upper management is not strict.

The people at the top took the lead in breaking some regulations. Then the people below will naturally follow suit.

The prestige and power of the kings of the six vassal kingdoms in America were different from that of their eldest brother, Emperor Chen. Emperor Chen is the one who can decide life and death with one word, but the subordinates of these six vassal kings in America are full of various interests and relationships. And when favors and interests are mixed into the political system, it will no longer be as if the 'system' can continue as perfectly as before.

This thing of 'favor' inherently corrupts the top leaders of the feudal state, so it is not an exaggeration for the people below to do this. As long as it's not blatant, some careless things are just careless.

"I hope God can give me more good luck and allow me to make more trips to your place before the war begins." Valdez's face was full of smiles, which was a kind of 'hard work' After working hard, he finally got a smile that satisfied him.

Copper, lead, and tin are not only strategic materials for the Chinese, but also in short supply in Europe. It took a lot of effort for him to organize such a full boatload of things in Rio de Janeiro. It's just that the price offered by the Chinese is worth all the effort.

Copper, lead, and tin are strategic materials urgently needed by the Chinese in America, and they have always been on the first page of the zero-tariff trade goods catalog. After the officials from the Port Management Office weighed the materials, they readily issued a ticket for Mr. Captain Valdez to pick up the goods at the trade center.

This is a barter note. It can only be used in Runzhou Port, not Xintai not far away.

The value of the goods for the bearer is written on it, which means that Valdez's goods were eaten by the officials at Runzhou Customs. And based on the note produced by the management office, according to the amount on it, Valdez has both You can select and pick up goods - made in China - at the trade center, where you can also exchange them for gold and silver coins.

Such bills are not available to every European and American businessman who comes here to trade.

But as long as there are such bills, in the few years since Runzhou opened the port, no one has ever encountered anyone exchanging the bills into gold and silver coins. Because this is a special pass, with this kind of ticket, Valdez can buy something that cannot be bought with money.

For example, large-caliber artillery, muskets, high-end silks, woolen materials and porcelain, and magical oriental medicines that have been spread in Europe.

It is really time for traditional Chinese medicine to catch up. When modern Western medicine is still in its infancy, traditional Chinese medicine from the East, with its mature fruits of two to three thousand years, has successfully entered the world of Western monotheism. invaded the West.

Nowadays, some of the European scholars who come to China are specializing in the study of traditional Chinese medicine.

Chen Ming just doesn't know how long this leading position can continue in the future era of rapid development of modern medicine.

This kind of thing is a 'scarce commodity' just like large-caliber artillery, high-grade silk, and porcelain. Only merchants who also transported the same scarce things to Central America could purchase those goods in unlimited quantities with tickets.

But if Valdez doesn't want to waste so much effort, he can actually do it very simply, such as transporting one to two hundred tons of wheat, bacon, dairy products, etc. to Runzhou and Xintai. These things Chen Han It is also in great demand.

——Central America has just been developed. Once the war starts, the problem of food supply for the army will be a big problem. Therefore, it is necessary to purchase some grain, meat and dairy products from Europeans and Americans first.

Of course, the metal and wheat brought by Captain Mr. Valdez are not equivalent. He made three trips for wheat but did not make as much profit as one trip for metal.

In Runzhou, only the stupidest people would return to South America or Europe with a shipload of gold and silver. Mr. Valdez is certainly no fool. Therefore, he purchased a large amount of in-demand goods. At the same time, he also decided to purchase some Chinese standard metal farm tools and tools locally, and then returned to Brazil to sell them.

These metal farm implements and tools are not pipe products anywhere in the world, although they are also metal. But it is an indispensable item for farmers and craftsmen. It is a best-selling item in Brazil, Argentina, and the United States. Local farmers or ranchers are happy to pay for a pair of high-quality metal farm tools and utensils.

But what Mr. Valdes wants most is Chinese medicine. After all, in this era, whether in Paris, Madrid, or London, Chinese medicine for sores is in great need. Even if he stays in Brazil, he can sell this thing to Spain at a high price when the war between China and the West begins.

China's gold sore medicine cannot absolutely prevent wound inflammation, but when used on a large scale, it can indeed reduce the chance of postoperative inflammation in injured and sick patients to a certain extent. At the same time, influenced by Chinese hospitals, the hygiene level of Western military hospitals and civilian hospitals has been greatly improved, which in itself reduces the chance of post-operative inflammation for the sick and wounded to a certain extent.

As for the role played by Jinshuang Medicine during this period, it is really difficult to say clearly how big a role it played.

However, the medical ‘achievements’ represented by cowpox and hospitals have proven the achievements of Chinese medicine with ‘facts’. Compared with the poor budding modern medicine in the West, the achievements of traditional Chinese medicine are so brilliant.

The golden sore medicine is the crystallization of the achievements of Chinese medicine in treating sword injuries for thousands of years. It has certain curative effects in stopping bleeding and healing wounds.

After all, Panax notoginseng [the ancient name of Panax notoginseng] is found only in the deep mountains and old forests of Yunnan and Guangxi in the world. Before large-scale artificial planting, this thing was still quite precious.

The main ingredient in Yunnan Baiyao, which is famous in later generations, is Tianqi, and the main ingredient in Pien Tze Huang is also Tianqi.

Whether there are feudal superstitions and wrong records in the famous "Compendium of Materia Medica", the records of Panax notoginseng in the book by Dr. Li can be seen by later generations. The book records that Panax notoginseng [Panax notoginseng] is produced in the deep mountains of the south, which is both rare and expensive. Moreover, this medicine (Panax notoginseng) has only recently appeared, and the southern army uses it as a medicine for wounds...

At first glance, the amount of medicine used in the army's wound medicine must be quite a lot, and it may not be supplied by wild plants. But in the middle and late Ming Dynasty, or in the southern army, were the Ming soldiers still considered human beings at that time?

This kind of wound medicine made of Panax notoginseng is probably only qualified for officers.

Li Shizhen's time was already in the middle and late Ming Dynasty, and it was only two hundred years before the Chengtian period. The history of Panax notoginseng cultivation in Wenshan, Yunnan, the main production area of ​​Panax notoginseng, was not recorded before the Ming Dynasty.

This shows how rare this thing is.

When Chen Ming unified the country, although Emperor Chen did not know the formula of Yunnan Baiyao, he found the formula of Pian Zai Huang from the Imperial Hospital of the Qing Dynasty, and he also knew the name and function of the medicinal material Panax notoginseng.

When he started the army, he specifically asked for Panax notoginseng among the military supplies, so he knew that the main place of origin of Panax notoginseng was Wenshan County, Yunnan, and that there was no Panax notoginseng in other places except Guangxi.

Therefore, after the Fu Han Army swept Yunnan, Chen Ming ordered to vigorously promote the artificial cultivation of Panax notoginseng. However, 90% of the production of Panax notoginseng in China is still in Wenshan.

Now the seeds of Panax notoginseng and tea seeds are kept secret in Chen Han.

Europeans can grow rhubarb in Europe, but they can't grow Panax notoginseng.

However, some of the golden wound medicines produced in China are indeed effective for gunshot wounds, knife wounds and other external injuries, which makes the golden wound medicines popular and precious in the foreign trade market. Especially during the war in Europe!

When Valdés came to Runzhou Port, in addition to a full ship of goods, he also loaded two boxes of gold and silver coins, because he knew very well that the value of his goods would not fill the ship, or even half of it, if he used them to buy high-end silk, porcelain and popular Chinese medicine. So he prepared two extra boxes of gold and silver coins, which could be used to buy cloth. Metal utensils, farm tools, etc.

Even if Brazil could not sell these things at a high price, it could still make a small profit by selling them to merchant ships going to Europe.

"Food, dairy products? I don't want to be on the government's blacklist. You have to know that except for those crude Americans in the north, no one is willing to sell food to you openly. Otherwise, the Spanish will go crazy."

"They are no longer allies of the French, but powerful assistants of London."

Valdés rejected Li Weidong's proposal without hesitation. He is a Portuguese who loves his motherland very much. Lisbon is also unwilling to let the Chinese store enough food, or everyone believes that when the Sino-Spanish War begins, the Chinese will buy wheat and meat and milk at a higher price. Now is not a good time to take action!

But no one expected that the war would come so quickly. Before Valdez left Runzhou, the ship sent from Europe to America brought the news that the Spanish Navy attacked the Chinese fleet.

Another Sino-Western war in America began.