The Rise of the European Emperor

After Columbus's fleet returned to East Friesland, Marin soon signed an exchange agreement to exchange a fertile baronial fief from Columbus for the island of Cuba. Moreover, the title of baron was directly placed on the head of Fernando, the second son of Columbus.

After learning that her own son, Fernando, had obtained the title of hereditary baron, Columbus's current wife, Beatrice, was very excited and gave Columbus a full set of health care that night, which was very gentle.

You know, the title of Columbus must be inherited by the eldest son Diego of his ex-wife. Therefore, under normal circumstances, the future of Fernando, the youngest son born by Beatrice, is not guaranteed. Now, the husband has given the younger son a baronial title and fief, which is no worse than the eldest son will inherit in the future, which makes Beatrice very excited.

You know, Columbus is 16 years older than his second wife, Beatrice, and has a very high possibility of dying in front of Beatrice. Moreover, the relationship between Beatrice and the eldest son Diego is not so good. Beatrice is afraid that after Columbus's death, Diego will be bad for her and her son Fernando. Therefore, she has been urging Columbus to do more meritorious deeds in order to get a title for her own son Fernando. Originally, she thought it would be good to have a hereditary knight. Unexpectedly, the husband overfulfilled the task and directly brought a baron back.

Now, Beatrice is obedient to Columbus. Even Columbus, instigated by his friends, wanted to go to Las Vegas to find Mao Mei for a full set of health care, but Beatrice did not object.

...

Marin's side, after signing the exchange document, the title and territory of Columbus's second son will be confirmed immediately. However, the title of Baron of Marine Cuba still needs to be reported to Toledo, the capital of Spain, and signed by Queen Isabella I to take effect.

Marin isn't worried about that, though. Because, now the American continent has been upgraded from the "wild continent" to the "syphilis continent". According to Columbus, the Spanish government and opposition are now in a panic. At this time, I asked to be a baron of Cuba, and I guess no one objected. Therefore, there is no rush to report the matter to Spain.

Marin is now worried about something else.

This is how to get Spain and Portugal to completely give up their peeping on the Americas and focus on the Eastern Hemisphere.

Marin was hesitant to look at the world map he drew by himself...

An Indian trade, of course, makes Spain and Portugal flock to it. But the problem is that Indian trade alone does not capture the full attention of both countries.

Although it is said that because of the competition for India's trade interests, the Portuguese did not send a fleet to occupy Brazil in 1500 because of the butterfly effect. However, that was because Portugal was understaffed,

Moreover, it penetrated the west coast of Africa in a large area, consuming a lot of manpower and material resources. Moreover, they also need to deal with the challenge of the Spaniards.

But the Spaniards are different. They are mainly involved in the spice trade in India, and only the island of Hispaniola is left in the Americas.

It can be said that the Spaniards still have a lot of energy, manpower and material resources left to do other things.

Seeing that after the new year, Spain and Portugal will definitely ask the new Pope Julius II to revise the Treaty of Tordesillas. Marin must find a way to spend Spain's energy on other things in the shortest possible time. place to go. In this way, they have no time to toss in the Americas.

Even Marin's plan was to let Spain give up America and lead them to the east when the new treaty was revised. At the same time, Portugal was not placed in the Americas.

Therefore, Marin needs a point of interest that is enough to attract the attention of the Spaniards and let them put their human and material resources into the past. In this way, they will not have time to come to America.

Initially, Marin planned to throw out Daming's trade to attract two teeth. However, after thinking twice, Marin gave up. Because the trade with the Ming Dynasty is too profitable, and I am reluctant to give it two teeth.

Similarly, there are so many gold and silver mines in Japan, and Marin is reluctant to throw them out to attract two teeth.

So, what else can you come up with to lure Spain and Portugal?

Spice Islands? Seems to be a very good choice. But the problem is that the Spice Islands have crossed the Strait of Malacca. As long as you get here, you have already entered the sphere of influence of the Ming Dynasty. With the sense of smell of the Spanish and Portuguese colonists, they will definitely not miss the opportunity to go north to Daming for trade.

Therefore, after thinking about it, Marin gave up this method.

Then, the best option is to attract Spain and Portugal to the African continent...

But what is it about the African continent that attracts Spain and Portugal?

South African gold? Marlin rejected it outright. That is the meat in one's own bowl, and must not be given to others. South Africa's gold reserves are too terrifying. If it weren't for Marin's lack of strength now, he would have sent people to mine for fear of snatch and snatch from all over Europe.

So, where is the gold other than South Africa? Marin began to close his eyes and recall the knowledge of world history he had learned in his previous life...

A few hours later, Marin finally opened his eyes, took out a quill, and drew a circle in each of the West African region on the African continent and a place in northern South Africa...

If someone who understands world history sees these two circles, two names will immediately pop up in their minds - the West African (Mali/Songhai) Empire, and the South African Great Zimbabwe Empire...

Both countries are famous for their gold production. Among them, the Sultan of the Mali Empire, Mansa Musa, took a large amount of gold on his pilgrimage to Mecca from 1324 to 1325, and then lavished it in Cairo and Mecca, causing the price of gold in the Arab region to depreciate significantly. , it took 20 years to recover. This also earned Mansa Musa the title of "Golden Sultan".

How much gold did Mansa Musa bring with him at that time? It is said that there were 500 guards carrying sceptre (a golden honor guard), each carrying 6 pounds of gold. These guards carried a total of 3,000 pounds of gold (not counting the golden honor guard in their hands). In addition, there are 100 camels, each carrying 300 pounds of gold. This part of gold, a total of up to 30,000 pounds of gold...

That is to say, the amount of gold that Mansa Musa brought to the Middle East for consumption was as high as 33,000 pounds, equivalent to as much as 15 tons... It is no wonder that the price of gold in Cairo will drop sharply, and it will not recover in 20 years. . You know, so much gold can be made into 4.276 million Ducat gold coins...

Therefore, the gold output of the West African Empire is very considerable. Such a golden country is absolutely enough to attract Spain and Portugal.

And, it's still a big hole. Because, the West African Empire is in the hot interior of West Africa, where it is dry and hot, and the climate is extreme. Whether it is the Spanish or the Portuguese, who want to conquer the West African Empire, the biggest enemy is not the Mali Empire or the Songhai Empire, but the extreme climate there.

Therefore, if you want to conquer the West African Empire, it will inevitably consume a lot of manpower and material resources. If you fall into such a pit, don't think about having the spare energy to do other things.

As for the Great Zimbabwe Empire, although the gold production is not as much as that of the West African Empire, it is still very impressive. The Monomopata Dynasty in Zimbabwe is rich in precious materials such as gold, ivory, copper and tin. The Arab merchants in West Asia built many forts and trade points in the eastern coastal areas of Mozambique, and traded with merchants from Zimbabwe. The Arabs used cheap fabrics, glass products and other items to get gold, ivory and other valuables from Zimbabweans, and they made a lot of money. Even for trade, the Arabs also established some regimes along the coast of Mozambique and occupied this place for a long time to facilitate the gold trade with the Monomopata Kingdom of Zimbabwe.

Wanting to occupy the ancient Zimbabwe Empire is also a big pit. First of all, you have to capture the cities and regimes established by Arab merchants on the coast of Mozambique, and drive all the Arab merchants away, so that you can monopolize Zimbabwe's gold.

This alone, whether it is Spain or Portugal, has to pay a huge price.

Then, from Mozambique deep inland, to reach the Zimbabwe Empire, also separated by thousands of mountains and rivers. Moreover, the local climate is equally hot and unbearable.

Therefore, capturing the ancient Zimbabwe Empire is also not an easy task.

Although both the ancient West African empire and ancient Zimbabwe were rich in gold, controlling both places came at a high price.

Of course, if you choose trade rather than capture, the risk will definitely be much smaller. However, Marin knew that, with the urgency of the Spaniards and Portuguese, he would definitely choose to capture these two countries and then monopolize the golden interests. Therefore, they will inevitably fall into the pit, and they will not be able to come out for decades.

Therefore, after thinking for a while, Marin decided to use these two African golden countries as bait, so that Spain and Portugal could focus their attention on them.

Then, he secretly went to conquer the Aztec Empire and the Inca Empire in Mexico, and obtained the gold and silver mines there. At the same time, he also went to the east to trade with Daming, and while Japan was in the chaotic stage of the war between the village chiefs of the Warring States period, he captured Japan's Iwami Silver Mountain and Kagoshima Gold Mine and made a fortune secretly...

By the time Spain and Portugal settled the West African Empire and the ancient Zimbabwe Empire, they would have firmly controlled the trade interests of the Americas and East Asia. At that time, the full-fledged self, even in the face of the union of Spain and Portugal, need not be afraid...