Author: Linjiangjun

On the deck of a huge sailboat, the Grand Vizier (Prime Minister) of the Ottoman Empire, Koprulu Fazo Mustafa Pasha from the Koprulu family.

Mustafa Pasha was looking at the port in front of him, feeling confused.

The Zhuhai Port in front of us can be divided into two parts with the naked eye. One part is a military port belonging to the Guangdong Fleet of the Ming Dynasty. There are large sail warships parked in it.

The huge number of naval guns makes people sweat!

The Ottoman Prime Minister swore: The Spanish Armada is not so terrifying.

The other part is a free trade commercial port, where ships from any country can berth, supply and trade freely.

You only need to pay a very low tariff, conscience!

Currently, there are only three free trade zones in Daming: Zhuhai Town, Pudong Town, and Dagu Town.

After nearly a year of development, the three regions have become increasingly prosperous.

If ranked according to the degree of development, the first is Pudong, the second is Zhuhai, and the third is Daku.

Zhuhai Port is really busy now. The port has been expanded repeatedly and is huge in scale. The piers are very spacious and flat, and are filled with goods waiting to be loaded and unloaded.

Merchant ships from all over the world docked one after another, with the flags of various countries hanging on them flapping in the wind.

There are ships from Poland and Lithuania in Eastern Europe, as well as ships from the Holy Roman Empire, Spain, France, Portugal, Genoa, Venice and other countries in Western Europe.

The excitement and hustle and bustle of Zhuhai Port are almost filled with ships and merchants from all over Europe.

There were even ships from Morocco in North Africa and Mongolia in the Qing Dynasty.

Mustafa Pasha took a deep breath, it was so prosperous!

Even standing on the deck, you can see businessmen from various countries constantly bargaining at the port.

Merchants from various countries brought cotton, minerals, grain and other raw materials to the Ming Dynasty, as well as various specialty treasures.

The Persians brought blankets, lapis lazuli, and precious medicinal materials, while the Mongols of the Qing Dynasty brought spices and cheap slaves from Tianzhu.

Their target was silk, porcelain, cigarettes, soap, perfume, rum, matches, glass products, high-end clothing and other luxury and industrial products from the Ming Empire.

Here, merchants from all over the world can buy almost all the goods they want to buy, and the four-story bamboo-reinforced concrete high-rise buildings surrounding the harbor have the signs of Ming Dynasty trading houses hanging on them. All the people coming in and out are from

Businessmen around the world.

Mustafa Pasha couldn't help but sigh: "Looking from this port, the Ming Empire is really extraordinary!"

It reminded him of his own country, the Ottoman Empire.

Because of the defeat in the Battle of Vienna, the life of his Koprulu family was hanging by a thread. It also caused internal turmoil in the Ottoman Empire and slowed economic development.

The Zhuhai Port here integrated the trade and culture of merchants from various countries and became a platform for exchanges. It also brought great wealth and prosperity to the Ming Empire.

Mustafa Pasha suddenly had an idea. It would be better to cross the river by following the Ming Dynasty. If a free trade zone like Zhuhai Port was established in the Ottoman Empire, would it be as prosperous?

If it can attract merchants, various goods and technologies from all over the world, it will greatly promote the economic development of the Ottoman Empire, and at the same time, it can also help the empire get out of the situation of being blocked by European countries.

Mustafa Pasha decided to make this suggestion to Suleiman II after returning home.

"Sir, your idea is right!"

Beside Mustafa Pasha, the Ottoman Empire's Finance Minister Schein nodded and said.

He is a Jew who used to be responsible for helping the Ottoman Empire deal with captives and slaves, specializing in selling captives and slaves to the Ming Dynasty.

The relationship between the Jews and the Ottomans was irreversible.

After the destruction of the Jewish centers in the Iberian Peninsula, the Sephardic Jewish community in the Ottoman Empire became the new center of the Jewish diaspora.

Under the Ottoman Empire, Jews played an important role in the social and economic life of the Middle East and the Balkans.

For a long time, the Ottomans and the Jews cooperated and coexisted. The Jews were loyal to the Ottoman Empire, and Jewish immigrants contributed to the expansion and economic development of the Ottoman Empire.

The Jews were persecuted and deported in Spain and other European countries, but the Ottomans and the Jews regarded each other as allies.

A large number of Sephardic Jews expelled by Spain and other countries came to the Ottoman Empire and were distributed in various towns in the empire.

Larger Jewish centers formed in the capital Istanbul, Edirne in East Thrace, the Aegean Sea city Salonika, Safed and the Holy Land Jerusalem.

At the end of the 16th century, the Jewish population in the Ottoman Empire was approximately 100,000 to 250,000, and the Jewish community in the Ottoman Empire became the largest and most prosperous Jewish community in the world at that time.

Because the Jews were loyal to the Ottoman Empire and had expertise in business and language, the Ottoman government relied on the Jews in trade, diplomacy, and other aspects.

This is also the reason why Schein, as a Jew, became the Minister of Finance of the Ottoman Empire.

"Shain, that's what I have in mind. Please keep this in mind and remind me to report to the Sultan when the time comes."

After speaking, Mustafa Pasha looked at the Ming Dynasty dragon flag (military flag) flying high in the military camp of the Ming Dynasty Defense Force in the distance. His eyes were full of curiosity, and he wanted to enter it to find out.

I heard that the weapons of the Ming Dynasty were very powerful. The Ottoman businessman Akyol got the opportunity to meet the Ming Emperor in Tianzhu a few months ago and brought good news to the Ottoman Empire.

That is why the Ming Emperor wanted to be good friends with the Ottoman Sultan!

This is great news. Although Suleiman II was not very ambitious, he still wanted to avoid the humiliation of the Battle of Vienna!

But Europeans are not vegetarians, especially Spain and France, which are extremely powerful. Once the Ottomans want to attack Vienna again, they will definitely be beaten by the Europeans again.

In addition, the Battle of Vienna also has a strong symbolic significance in European history. In this battle, European countries united to fight against the invasion of the Ottoman Empire, demonstrating the spirit of European unity against the enemy.

This war also promoted the process of European integration and laid the foundation for European unity and development.

But if the Ming Dynasty and the Ottomans become allies, and the British are the troublemakers in Europe, then they will have a chance to fight against the entire European continent!

Under the guidance of the pilot, the Ottoman ship slowly anchored at a pier in Zhuhai Port. With an extremely happy mood, Mustafa Pasha got off the ship and stepped onto the cement-paved pier.
Chapter completed!