Rule the Ming Dynasty Alone

Western calendar, 1493.

In the city of Rome, in the Sistine Chapel, where the kings and nobles of Spain and Portugal gathered, a major event that would affect the world would take place.

"The Cape of Good Hope to the east is our exclusive area of ​​Spain. Are you provoking our Spanish Empire?"

"That island was discovered by us adventurers first. Don't you understand that whoever discovers it first will get it?"

"I said that if it belongs to us Spain, then it belongs to our Spanish Empire. Do you, Portugal, want to start a war?"

…

Although the royal families of the two parties frequently get married, when it comes to the core interests of the two countries and the nobility, both parties seem to refuse to give in. The smell of gunpowder filled the air as soon as they sat down together.

The two sides have a long history of grievances. Due to the intervention of King Afonso V of Portugal in the Castilian Succession War, the two sides fought back and forth for four years. The war was not ended until the two sides signed the Treaty of Alcacovas.

"According to you, does the Golden Kingdom of the East also belong to you, and we Portugal can't touch it?"

…

With the opening of new sea routes, Spain and Portugal were the first countries in Europe to carry out overseas colonial expansion. These two neighbors on the Iberian Peninsula eventually clashed over their colonies.

Spain naturally does not want Portugal, a latecomer, to get involved, but Portugal has also seen the benefits contained in overseas colonization, so it is naturally impossible for Portugal to let go foolishly.

This is not only the interest of the royal families of the two countries, but also more and more big nobles are involved, so the noble groups of both sides are not ready to give in.

In particular, Marco Polo has become deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. Everyone yearns for the mysterious ancient country in the East full of gold, and there is an irreconcilable contradiction in the ownership of this golden country.

"Whoever conquers the ancient golden kingdom of the East will naturally own it!"

"Even if you are given a chance, will you be able to seize it?"

"If you really don't have enough heart to swallow the elephant, the golden ancient country in the East will definitely belong to my Spanish Empire!"

…

In this dispute over interests, the Spanish aristocratic groups were more aggressive, revealing that they were determined to win the ancient golden country of the East.

Although Spain's military power was stronger, after the completion of the movement to recover the lost territory, the royal family's financial resources were almost exhausted, and they were in urgent need of supplies from overseas, and they were even more eager for the mysterious ancient golden country of the East.

Regardless of the opposition of Spanish King Fernando II and some nobles, Isabella I signed an agreement with Columbus and allocated funds to make Columbus's voyage possible.

Because of this, the accusations and disputes between the interest groups of the two countries continue to escalate, and may even trigger military conflicts between the two countries again. Therefore, as Catholics, the two sides took this lawsuit to the Pope in Rome today.

Pope Alexander VI, wearing a triple tiara and papal robes, is sitting on a gorgeous throne.

The mural behind him depicts scenes from the Bible. The golden halo and complex patterns are intertwined to create a sacrosanct atmosphere.

His eyes are deep and majestic, and he can naturally see the root of the conflict between the two sides. This is also the biggest political test he has encountered since he came to power last year.

No matter which side is favored in this matter, the other side will be greatly questioned, so the safest way is to level the bowl of water.

What's more, both of them know that they are greedy for money and have already sent people to secretly stuff themselves with money, so it is even worse to favor either party.

At this moment, after hearing a cough, the whole church hall could hear the drop of a needle.

King Ferdinand II of Spain, son of King Juan II of Aragon, married the famous Isabella I of Castile and declared Ferdinand her co-reigner.

When Isabella ascended the throne, feudal strife in Castile was raging until the couple defeated Juana's husband, King Alfonso V of Portugal, to end the civil war.

After that, the couple conquered Granada, and the crowns of Castile, Aragon, and many other independent Spanish territories formed a family alliance. This was the first unified political entity in Spain since the eighth century AD.

King Ferdinand II of Spain was already in his forties and had eyes like an eagle. He was silent in this venue, like a bird of prey waiting for an opportunity to prey.

King Joao II of Portugal was similar in age to Ferdinand II. Because his father, Afonso V, retired to a monastery, Joao II became the true ruler of the country at the age of twenty-two.

Faced with the imminent bankruptcy of the Portuguese kingdom, John II took on an extremely important role in solving the problem by creating a council composed of scholars.

After taking office, he revitalized the royal power, suppressed a group of great nobles who had excessively expanded their power during the reign of Afonso V, and deprived the nobles of their judicial rights in managing their inheritance.

John II's exploration policy has also brought huge benefits to the economy, especially in recent years, investments in overseas exploration and expansion have yielded gratifying profits.

King Joao II of Portugal has a round face and looks like he doesn't care about anything, but when others don't notice, a fierce look flashes in his eyes.

When the archbishop next to him heard the pope coughing, he also stood up to maintain order: "Quiet!"

The noble groups of the two countries had stopped arguing, and they all turned to look at Pope Alexander VI, the pope at the peak of his power.

No matter how strong they are in normal times, due to their faith, especially as they are Catholics, they can only listen to the ruling of this superior Roman Pope.

Pope Alexander VI met everyone's gaze and said with a confident smile: "In that case, the unclaimed land overseas will be divided by this Pope! From now on, none of you will be allowed to enter the other's territory. Everything will be peaceful. It’s so expensive!”

King Ferdinand II of Spain and King Joao II of Portugal looked at each other warily, but saw that the other party did not stand up to object, so they chose to acquiesce.

They brought this lawsuit to this point because they do not want the two countries to be at war with each other.

In fact, the point of conflict between the two countries is the distribution of interests. A war broke out between the two countries again because of some territorial disputes. What's more, they all have serious financial problems and are in urgent need of overseas gold to fill their financial deficit.

Pope Alexander VI left the papal throne. His papal robe was a floor-length loose robe made of silk, mainly red and gold, with exquisite religious patterns embroidered on the robe.

Even though his reputation for being greedy for money has become notorious, and he got into the papal throne by bribing the archbishop, he is now the real Pope after all.

Pope Alexander VI came to the long table, his eyes fell on the world map placed on the table, and he reached out and picked up a stick next to it.

At this moment, he felt that the ownership of the entire world depended on him, and that he was in control of the entire world on behalf of God.

Gu...

The accompanying nobles of the two countries couldn't help but swallowed when they saw the stick in the Pope's hand, and their hearts rose to their throats.

It was the noon hour, and the deep bells rang outside, adding a bit of solemn atmosphere at this moment.

The stick in the hand of Pope Alexander VI fell, and his voice sounded loud and majestic, echoing throughout the entire hall: "The meridian 100 leagues west of the Azores and Cape Verde Islands is the dividing line, and all land west of this line is divided. Spain, and all the lands east of Edom to Portugal.”

The world has since been divided into two.

The west adjacent to Europe belongs to the powerful Spanish Empire, and the east adjacent to Europe belongs to the weaker Portuguese Empire. The two countries will jointly rule the world.

When announcing the decision to carve up the world, the Pope's voice revealed an unquestionable authority, like a divine will.

King Ferdinand II of Spain and King Joao II of Portugal had already arrived in front of the map. Both sides looked at each other warily, and finally remained silent in tacit understanding.

King Ferdinand II of Spain's exploration direction was towards the east. Now that he sees that the areas he has explored have been included, he doesn't have much objection.

King Joao II of Portugal knew very well that his own strength could not challenge Spain head-on. Now that his sovereignty was clear, it would be conducive to his exploration and looting of the resources in the territory. Moreover, the mysterious ancient golden country of the East also had the opportunity to annex it.

"If there is no problem between you two, then let's formally sign the contract!" Seeing that neither party objected, Pope Alexander VI also asked people to prepare the contract.

After reading the contract, the King of Spain and the King of Portugal looked at each other warily.

At this moment, the entire palace was filled with a solemn and tense atmosphere, as if the whole world held its breath at this moment, and the nobles present looked at the two kings.

King João II of Portugal was the first to sign, followed by King Ferdinand II of Spain, both of whom had ambitions in their eyes.

When Pope Alexander VI saw both sides signing their names, the corners of his mouth slightly raised, which also officially announced the establishment of the dividing line between the two countries to carve up the world.

The vast New World has belonged to Portugal and Spain.

At this moment, the wheel of history is slowly turning, and a new era is about to begin.

Just as Spain and Portugal were opening their curtains, little did they know that the new world was no longer silent, especially the distant seas were no longer calm.

Two monkeys broke into Huaguo Mountain. Just when they were arguing about how to divide the mountain in front of them, it turned out that a tiger had already eaten and was taking a nap on the top of the mountain.

The rising sun is rising in the east, and the golden sunshine fills the golden sea level, reflecting a majestic three-masted sailboat, like a three-masted golden ship.

This giant ship bathed in gold plowed through the waves, and the canvas on the mast rustled in the sea breeze, like a flag of victory waving.

In the history of mankind, the scene of crossing the Pacific appeared again. A voyage that took several months can be called a miracle in this era.

But the golden morning sun fell on that deck, where people with black hair and yellow skin were already standing, and their eyes were already full of tears.

"We're finally back!"

"This is our Nanyang!"

"Your Majesty, we have returned with treasure seeds!"

…

When they saw Luzon Island, the sailors on the deck shouted excitedly, and the American governor Liu Zhang who led the team this time was already crying.

Especially when they shouted the last sentence, they could no longer suppress their emotions, including joy, sadness, and even small grievances. Naturally, they also had a sense of pride.

"Your Majesty, I am glad that I have fulfilled my mission!"

The boulder Liu Zhang was hanging on fell down. After wiping away his excited tears, he bowed toward the north.

Although he knew that this mission would be difficult, he did not expect it to be this difficult.

This time, it not only took several months to cross the vast East China Sea, but also experienced various risks on the American continent. He almost died several times, and half of the people he brought died.

Initially, their trip was only expected to take half a year, but now it lasted two full years, a length of time that was impossible to imagine in advance.

Fortunately, they did not die in the royal city of the Inca Empire.

Not only did they withstand the Inca Empire's armies, but they also won their submission and are now bringing back high-yielding crops such as corn, potatoes, and sweet potatoes.

Luzon Island, Daming City.

Since the Ming Dynasty mined gold here, it has not only been a transit point for Ming merchants heading to Southeast Asia, but also a new territory for Ming Dynasty.

At first, construction workers and prospectors came, but later they brought their families, and then a group of Guangdong and Fujian people came to make a living here. The permanent population of the city has exceeded 10,000.

"What? The treasure ship is back?" Zhang Sui, the governor of Luzon, who was wearing a fourth-grade official uniform, heard the news and couldn't believe his ears.

Qian Hu, who came to report, nodded solemnly and said: "Yes! Master Liu Zhang sailed from here two years ago. I saw Master Liu Zhang and the Mingyuan treasure ship at that time!"

"Sir Governor, did you hear that Mr. Liu Zhang is back?" Yu Yuanzan and Lin Yuanyang hurried to the door and met Zhang Sui who was about to go out, and asked excitedly.

"We will go to the pier immediately to meet you!" Zhang Sui said solemnly without further explanation.

When Liu Zhang saw Daming City again after two years, he was filled with emotions.

Due to the need for supplies, the Mingyuan treasure ship he led did not return directly to Daming. Instead, it had to go to Daming City on Luzon Island for supplies.

When Zhang Sui and the other three saw Liu Zhang for the first time, they knew that the other party had gone through many hardships. After hurriedly coming forward to greet him, they warmly welcomed him into the Luzon Governor's Yamen.

Knowing that Liu Zhang successfully brought back the treasure this time, he felt very happy.

Yu Yuanzan had a good relationship with Su Can. Su Can was one of the ship owners who escorted gold back then, so he asked, "Where is Su Can?"

"He...he has died in the New World!" Liu Zhang's eyes were wandering, but he deliberately avoided Yu Yuanzan's gaze.

Huh?

Lin Yuanyang, Yu Yuanzan and Zhang Sui had already formed a tacit understanding, and now seeing Liu Zhang reacting like this, they had a vague feeling that this person was unusual.

It's just that the treasure species is of great importance, and it was something that His Majesty wanted to achieve at the cost of millions of dollars. He didn't hesitate to ask more questions, so he arranged a fleet to sail the next day. (End of chapter)