Chen Mu always thought it would be much easier to ask for a small place in Panama than the saltpeter desert he wanted.

In fact, this is exactly the most difficult place. Except for the Spanish north of Mexico that promised it very readily, the other two places are not that easy.

Fortunately, Zhao Shizhen did not point out straightforwardly what Chen Mu really wanted. It was very comfortable to be the negotiator on Chen Mu's side. In Zhao Shizhen's words, 'I told them at the negotiating table that we all want the West Coast. You can leave a port and we build a port on the East Coast. That's it.'

Try to avoid letting the Spaniards know Chen Mu’s true intentions.

However, monk Acosta is also smart. He gave his negotiating team an order: When dealing with us, Chen Mu of Ming Kingdom will never suffer any losses, so we have to make him pay enough money wherever he wants.

"That desert, the Spanish will sell it to us at a price of 30,000 taels of silver per year... Dashuai, don't you really like deserts, right? There are so many deserts north of Mexico, so you don't have money."

Zhao Shizhen said, showing an embarrassing look on his face. He had been talking to the Spanish for so long, but he actually had to spend money to buy it, which made the mechanics unit a little embarrassed.

He added: "But Acosta said that if we want, the desert and coastal areas can be given to us, including a gold mine. Acosta said that the Spaniards believe that copper is associated with the underground and gold mines is profitable."

"Fifty thousand taels a year." Chen Mu sneered: "Is Panama more expensive? They want to use this land to offset the profits of Chen's coins, and then trade with them every year?"

Zhao Shizhen smiled and said, "They learned from Dashen and imitated renting, but this time they rented and bought it. The students thought that 50,000 taels a year were not expensive, but they had to have a time limit and it was impossible to buy it endlessly. Five years or ten years? Pay the money and from the day the land deed was set, the land had no connection with the Westerners."

"Students thought... hiccup!"

The mechanics unit burped and pursed his lips and said, "Students thought that the agreed contract between trade and the northern border can be sent back to Mexico now, and the matter on the western coast border can be discussed slowly."

"It just so happened that Lao A was a very knowledgeable person. The student intended to leave him in Majiagang for a while. He also intended to stay and learn Chinese. Perhaps after he knew the power of the Eastern Military Palace, he was more willing to introduce a more just Ming Empire to the Western Kingdom."

Chen Mu looked at Zhao Shizhen. The long-term trade exchanges and border negotiations made Zhao Shizhen soon become friends with Acosta. Listen to this title, Lao Ah?

Why don’t you call him Lao He?

Chen Mu sneered at this and said, "Learn Chinese, know the power of the Eastern Military Palace? You are not a monk who doesn't know Hao Jing. Do you know what kind of virtues these people are?"

"If you are weak, they are too lazy to pretend, they will act like killing people, robbers, and they will kill and release them after they robbed them. They will still enslave you; if you are strong, they will be like individuals in person, study you secretly, and put him in the East Military Palace. He will not think that he is a guest at the East Military Palace, but instead study the living habits of these monkeys on Monkey Mountain."

"Do you like being a monkey?"

Chen Mu stood up, his military boots slowly stepped out on the wooden floor and his fingers walked along the table for a half-circle. He looked up at Zhao Shizhen and said, "If he wants to learn Chinese, let him go to Zhuangyuan Bridge to follow Zheng Tuxue. Don't be in Majiagang, this is our military important place."

"Apart from the desert, what do you say?"

Zhao Shizhen was frustrated and realized that he might have been too close to Acosta to make Chen Mu unhappy. He said: "They call Panama the isthmus, which connects Asia, and has several ports on both sides of the east and west sides. They build flat roads on land. They don't sell this place."

"Master, we have miscalculated the importance of Panama. All the harvests of Westerners on the west coast, hardware, grain and cotton are taken two ways. The straits in the south are called Magellan. It seems that they pass by the name of the person, and they are transported by Panama by land."

"And because the Strait of Magellan is narrow and the weather is changing, most of the goods are transported east from Panama, and they will at most agree to us using Panama co-governance, which is too important to them."

Chen Mu pondered for a moment, but did not follow the topic and said, "Do you know that their New Spain Governor ran into the Dividing Peninsula after heading north in Acosta, which shows that negotiations in his mind are reachable."

"You have to make it clear to them that since the Eastern Military Palace, the west coast has no use for New Spain. Whether it is transportation or production, the Ming Dynasty's baggage fleet Acosta can see that the Ming ships will be traversing on the west coast in the future. Soon, Spain will lose control on the west coast, which is not something they want."

"Now the transfer of land in the form of a contract can also give New Spain some preferential treatment. If the Ming Dynasty has the advantage here in the future, why would I have to spend money to buy it from them?"

"Do as I say, Panama and the desert, including the coast, have 500,000 taels of silver, paid in twenty years, and there will be a port on the east side of Panama that allows Western ships to dock and load..."

Twist!

Chen Mu was just talking, when the door was knocked, the voice of the personal soldiers came from outside the house: "Master, General Shao, I'm sorry."

"Pick it in!"

Chen Mu's words were suddenly interrupted. He was a little unwilling to do so, but when he heard Shao Tingda's urgent letter, he suddenly hung his heart, looked at Zhao Shizhen and frowned.

Both of them had only one look at each other, but they couldn’t be a war?

Chen Mu didn't expect that the war would really start. He made an estimate with the officers of the Eastern Military Office. After the war started, the war at sea would start first, blocking the Magellan Strait and destroying all colonies along the way. Everything would be decided in a few naval battles within six months.

But the subsequent land war will be very troublesome. The Spaniards will continue to attack from Central Asia to various places. When the Eastern Military Office changes from offensive to defensive, the war will be delayed for two to three years, which is not the most terrifying.

Chen Mu was not afraid of spending a few years. What he was afraid of was that in two to three years, the Eastern Military Office would have supplies from the Southern Military Office, but Spain would collapse quickly without Asia.

If such a giant collapses rapidly at this time point, the power of the Ming Dynasty has not yet extended to Europe. A feast of gluttons, the Ming Dynasty cannot catch up with the hot food even if it eats shit.

In the end, it will inevitably be cheaper in England. Even if France wins the war, the consequences will not be what he is willing to see.

It would be better to let the feudal empire Spain continue to flourish.

After seeing the letter, Chen Mu breathed a sigh of relief. He raised his eyes to Zhao Shizhen with a smile, "Things are developing in a better direction. According to the Governor of New Spain, an English fleet broke into the west coast and attacked almost all ports along South Asia. He destroyed countless transport ships with several ships, and rushed into the Port of Vallarta, southeast of the Dividing Peninsula, and fled after a war."

"By the way, the Spanish said they were pirates, wait..." Chen Mu's smile froze on his face: "Pirates of England?"
Chapter completed!