The Rise of the European Emperor

The soldiers and horses have not moved, and the intelligence comes first. Although Marin is very angry, he must first figure out who is doing the trouble!

Therefore, a large number of North Sea spies were sent to Lisbon, using all means and using a lot of money to obtain information from middlemen.

After half a month of investigation, the information was finally sent to Marin. It turned out that the robbery of the Beihai State transport ship was not the intention of the Portuguese Kingdom's court, but the Portuguese Governor of the Azores, Rui Silva. Spontaneous behavior. In other words, the transport ship of the North Sea State was hijacked by the officials of the Azores...

However, the Portuguese court also knew about this. After all, even if Rui Silva did not report, the officers of the Azores Fleet under his command would also report. Because the garrison in the Azores is an army belonging to the Portuguese royal family, not Rui Silva's private army.

However, the Portuguese court took the behavior of covering up and conniving with Rui Silva's behavior, and even helped him cover it up. why? Because Rui Silva's younger sister, Stella Silva, is one of the lovers of King Manuel I of Portugal, and is a very important lover.

These days, it is common for the king to have several lovers. Rui Silva was originally a small country baron in Portugal. The surname Silva is also very common in Portugal. Silva means "forest" in Latin, probably the ancestors were hunters living in the forest or something. The ancestor of Baron Rui was awarded a baronship because of his military exploits, but it was very remote, located in the inland mountainous area of ​​Portugal.

This common surname called "Silva" may not matter in this era. But in the 21st century, he has become the top surname in Brazil, and many football gods have emerged. Of course, this surname can take root in Brazil, it must be because it is not well mixed in the local area. If the big nobles are well mixed, they must stay in the mainland.

Baron Rui's status is not high, and his territory is also very barren. The most important income of their family is probably the planting of cork trees. This is one of Portugal's traditional industries and supplies all of Europe. But the Silva family is a tree planter and a supplier of raw materials. They don't get much benefit, but they are not as good as those middlemen who handed over.

But Ruy has a very beautiful sister - Stella Silva. Stella has been very beautiful since she was a child and is very famous in the local area. There are many baron families nearby who want to marry the Silva family. After all, Stella is too beautiful.

However, Rui looked down on those poor landowner barons like him around him. He felt that he should find a big nobleman from the capital Lisbon for marriage. In this way, let that family, the La Silva family, help. Although under normal circumstances, baron families can only marry baron families. However, sometimes, the baron family can also get close to the viscount or even the earl family. The premise is that the women of this family must be very beautiful, so that the children of the big nobles will be fascinated.

Obviously, Stella has a beauty that makes people fascinated.

If it weren't for the hope that this younger sister would bring help to the rise of the family, Rui would almost have to go to the German orthopedic department...

In order to rejuvenate the family, Rui took the teenage Stella to Lisbon and frequently participated in receptions held by various nobles. Sure enough, Stella's beauty aroused Lisbon's amazement. But what makes Rui Yi embarrassed is that most of the children of the great nobles are not willing to marry Stella, but want Stella to be their lover...

This made Rui Yi upset, the identities of lover and wife are very different. The wife's family counts as in-laws, even allies. If you can pull it, you must pull it. But the lover's family... There is no guarantee... After all, the identity is not legal, and they have no obligation to help you...

However, in the end, Manuel I made a move...

Although Manuel I also wanted Stella to be his lover, he was the king and could give Rui what he wanted. Then Rui gave in. Regardless of what Stella thought, she packed up her sister and gave it to the king, and then changed to the post of governor of the Azores, which can be regarded as mixing with the middle and upper levels of Portuguese officialdom.

But when he arrived in the Azores, Rui realized that his thoughts were too good...

It is said to be the governor, but it also depends on where the governor is. The Azores is 1,600 kilometers away from the mainland of Portugal, and the transportation is very inconvenient. The population of the archipelago is not large, only a few thousand people, mainly engaged in sugarcane cultivation.

The local climate is between subtropical and tropical, and sugar cane can be grown, and it is also one of the important sugar production areas in Portugal. It stands to reason that the sugar industry is relatively profitable, and Rui Silva should be able to get a lot of benefits.

But the bad thing is that the sugar industry is a strategic industry in Portugal, controlled by the royal family and several big nobles. Most of the sugar cane plantations on the island belong to the royal family and several noble families. With 10 guts, Rui Silva did not dare to reach out to these plantations.

Instead of attacking these lucrative sugarcane plantations, Rui Silva sadly discovered that the oil and water in this archipelago are so low!

In other words, Rui Silva came to be the governor excitedly, but he could only think of a way on the freight at the dock, squeezing a little money from the ship owner and coolies at the dock.

However, this is seriously inconsistent with Rui Silva's expectations! He sent out a sister who was like a fairy, but in the end he only got a governor who didn't have much money...

Therefore, Rui Silva's heart became unbalanced, and he began to think of other ways...

But the place in the Azores is an absolute backwater, and there are no ships from other places passing by at ordinary times...

"Oh——no, it seems that a transport ship from the North Sea State passed by..." Rui Silva thought of the transport ship from the Wild Continent of the North Sea State that passed by here several times a year. It seems that those ships are fully loaded, especially those ships returning from the wild continent, I heard that they are full of supplies such as sugar and rice...

"Do you want to get a vote?" Rui Silva was caught in a tangle.

As the governor, he sent someone to investigate. Generally, a Beihai transport ship full of goods can cost tens of thousands of gold coins. If you get one...it can be as good as he has been the Governor of Azores for decades...

But the problem is that he is a little worried-will something happen if he engages in a country's transport ship?

Then, he sent someone to Lisbon to inquire - the North Sea country can't be provoked...

As a result, the arrogant Lisbon nobles told him that if it was on land, Portugal really couldn't provoke the North Sea country. But on the ocean, Portugal doesn't even care about Spain... And the North Sea Country and Portugal don't border each other, so there's no need to care what the North Sea Country thinks...

Because of the misleading news, Rui Silva finally made up his mind—to make a vote!

If successful, the tens of thousands of gold coins obtained can be used to bribe the high-level officials of the Portuguese court. Then, seek to be transferred to a more lucrative place to be the governor-general...

In this way, Rui Silva made up his mind, dispatched the Azores fleet under his control, disguised as pirates, attacked a passing North Sea transport ship, and snatched hundreds of tons of sugar and rice...

On the Portuguese side, the Lisbon side was subsequently reported. But Portugal did not take this matter to heart, just like the news that Rui Silva inquired before - Portugal generally believes that the maritime power of the North Sea State is not worth mentioning in front of Portugal...

In addition, Rui Silva's younger sister Stella is a popular person around Manuel I, and there is no need for everyone to offend such a person. Therefore, everyone helped to cover up the matter, intending to muddle through. As for the loss of the North Sea State, who cares?