The Rise of the European Emperor

In order to avoid attracting the attention of the Portuguese, Marin's troop carrier went south, instead of taking a route close to the coast of Portugal, but deliberately deviated several hundred kilometers to the west. In this way, it is difficult for the Portuguese to spot the traces of the troop transport fleet without binoculars.

When passing through the Strait of Gibraltar, because the Spanish navy general was bought in advance and chose to pass through the Strait at night, the chance of being discovered was very small.

Of course, Marin was not afraid that Spain would know the news of his troop transport. After all, there is no conflict between the North Sea State and Spain right now.

It's just that Marin sent troops this time to help the Papal State fight, and Spain and the Papal State were very unhappy because of the ownership of the Kingdom of Naples. Therefore, Marin was worried that after the Spaniards learned the news, they would deliberately disrupt the Papal State and inform Siena. In that case, the purpose of the sneak attack would not be achieved. Chances are, they will be counterattacked by their opponents and suffer heavy losses.

Fortunately, the Spanish court was very corrupt. Calkin, the current commander of the Gibraltar Fleet, is even more famous for his greed for money. Therefore, Marin planned to bribe Calkin with 10,000 gold coins to make it convenient for him. Also, it shouldn't be a big problem. After all, 10,000 gold coins is a lot of money.

It's just that, in order to transport troops, Marin took out all the merchant ships under his name, which caused the Beihai country's shipping to be tight and there was a serious shortage of ships. For this reason, Kleiman, the general manager of Beihai Shipping Company, went to Marin to protest. Of course, this is why Marin didn't tell Kleiman the purpose of the ship.

Kleiman is the younger brother of Kahn and Kohler. Kleiman was only about 12 years old when he met the Kahn family in the Black Forest. Now 14 years have passed, and Kleiman is 26 years old. Relying on the relationship between the two older brothers, Kleiman served as the general manager of the North Sea Shipping Company. It's a pity that Kleiman's talent is average, and his mouth is not strict enough, otherwise, Marin will definitely be reused.

Because Kleiman loves to brag and is not strict with his mouth, Marin dare not tell him the truth about the troop transport, but relying on telling him has important uses. But Kleiman is not happy, because after receiving some shipping orders, if the shipment cannot be delivered within the specified time, the North Sea Shipping that carries it will have to pay double the cost. In desperation, Marin just asked Kleiman to go to Hamburg to hire merchant ships from the Hanseatic League to help out for a while. After all, he now has 25,000 troops and 7,000 strong men to transport, and he really can't find any extra ships for shipping. Therefore, simply subcontract the shipping business and let the merchant ships of the Hanseatic League earn the freight. The transportation business in the UK is subcontracted to British merchant ships for transportation.

After arranging this matter, Kleiman still refused to leave, and he seemed hesitant to speak.

Marin was very curious. Kleiman relied on the power of his two older brothers to be fearless in Beihai. Even in front of Marin, he was never restrained. Because Marin is indeed very good to the Kahn family. And Kleiman's two older brothers, Kahn and Kohler, are also loyal to Marin. During the holidays, Marin often took the Kahn family to eat together in the backyard of the palace to show his favor. At present, this kind of treatment is probably only available to several old Marin families such as the Schwartz family and the Sauer family in Beihai. This is no longer a relationship between superiors and subordinates, but a friendship between families. And Kleiman, who was more naughty since he was a child, has never been restrained in front of Marin. That's why Marin was curious—is this little bastard sometimes embarrassed? Could it be that he has taken a fancy to the daughter of a noble family? No, it is said that his second brother Kohler has already helped him find a daughter of a baron...

"Boy, what else do you need?" Marin asked curiously.

Kleiman thought for a while before opening his mouth:

"It's like this, Your Highness, when I was looking at the shipping company's business report recently, I found something that is not good for us..."

"It's not good for us? Is there anyone else who dares to make an idea of ​​our fleet? Don't want to mess around?" Marin thought that some bad guys were going to rob the merchant ships of Beihai Shipping Company.

"No, we have a competitor!" Kleiman said worriedly.

"Competitors? You mean the Hanseatic League? Hasn't it always been the leader in the shipping industry?" Marin thought Kleiman was talking about the Hanseatic League. After all, in terms of shipping scale, the North Sea State really cannot compare with the Hanseatic League.

Kleiman shook his head and said:

"Not the Hanseatic League, but the Dutch!"

"Dutch? A shipping competitor?" Marin's original casual expression suddenly became a little nervous.

Marin suddenly remembered the famous "Sea Coachman" in history, the fear of 15,000 merchant ships dominating the world's seas...

"No, the great voyage of the Netherlands seems to have started to take off after independence from Spain in 1581. What the hell is jumping out now?" Marin thought in wonder.

So, he asked Kleiman:

"Find out who is competing with us? The handsome king Philip?" Marin was most worried that Philip jumped out to compete with him. Because, Philip is the son of his boss Maximilian I. Even if this guy competes with him, he can't do anything to him. After all, in name, Prince Philip is his "young master". However, didn't the Habsburg family focus on the continent, when did they become interested in sailing?

Kleiman shook his head and said:

"It's not His Royal Highness Philip, but a group of wealthy Dutch businessmen in Amsterdam!"

Marin was greatly relieved, it would be difficult for Philip. In addition to its sensitive identity, the Habsburg family's appeal is also very strong. Although the Habsburg family is poor and has no money, as long as the Habsburg family wants to do business, there are plenty of financial groups willing to lend them money. For example, the Fugger family.

"Tell me carefully!" Marin was very alert to the future "sea coachman" of the Netherlands.

"His Royal Highness Philip is not interested in sailing. He is in Ghent, and he is only interested in Flanders' wool spinning industry. However, because the British are now restricting wool exports, Flanders' wool imports are insufficient, and many wool spinning factories have stopped working. It is very troublesome for His Royal Highness Philip..."

"Lack of wool?" Marin suddenly remembered his plan to support Egypt, one of which was to buy Egyptian wool. However, it seems that Egyptian wool is relatively thick and of average quality...

"By the way, you send someone to ask His Royal Highness Philip if the Flemish Woolen Mill wants Egyptian coarse wool. If they want it, we will help transport it and charge only the cost price."

"Why?" Kleiman was a little surprised, such a thankless task is not Marin's style...

How did he know that Marin was worried that the handsome king Philip would turn his attention to the great voyage because of the decline of the Flemish wool textile industry. Therefore, it is better to keep the wool spinning industry in Flanders. Moreover, it can also support the Egyptians' finances in disguise. Besides, low-grade wool textiles are not profitable. Even if Flanders is allowed to make low-grade wool spinning on a large scale, the profit will not be much, but it will delay a lot of labor and energy.

As long as the powerful Habsburg family is held back, as for those wealthy Dutch businessmen in Amsterdam...

"Why do those wealthy businessmen in Amsterdam invest in the shipping industry?" Marin was very concerned about this. Because, according to the historical process, the Dutch should have taken the lead in the navigation industry only in the second half of the 16th century. At that time, it happened to coincide with the decline of the Hanseatic League. The Dutch, on the other hand, took the opportunity to snatch a lot of the original trade shares of the Hanseatic League, especially the Baltic Sea region, before they began to rise. But now, only in 1508, the Dutch are engaged in great voyages, decades ahead of schedule, what the hell?

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