"Admiral, I know that Sweden is now fighting against the Holy Roman Empire, but Portugal has not joined the Catholic war camp. What's more, the Caster Road Chamber of Commerce is just a trade chamber and I only hope to sign a trade cooperation agreement with you!" Raphael said with a chuckling.

"Thank you, Christina!" Xu Mo took the hot cocoa soaked by the red-haired beauty and handed it to the guest in front of him. He shook his coffee and began to guess Raphael's intention in his mind.

Gustav II has declared war with the Habsburg dynasty of the Holy Roman Empire. This enemy is the strongest opponent Sweden has encountered since its founding. For nearly two centuries, the Habsburg dynasty, which has been married to the royal family, has dominated Europe almost.

Austria, Hungary and Spain were the traditional territories of the Habsburg dynasty. The major states of Italy, Germany, Portugal, France and the entire Bokendi Lowland Kingdom were the inheritance rights obtained by the Habsburg dynasty through royal marriage.

In fact, from the perspective of inheritance, England is also on this list. Queen Mary, beheaded by Queen Elizabeth, is the wife of Spanish Emperor Philip II. Although Philip II never spent a night in England after getting married.

The enemy has the support of Catholics all over the world, with a vast territory and abundant resources. Although the Habsburg dynasty suffered many major blows in previous wars, such as the destruction of the Invincible Armada, the independence of Portugal and the Netherlands, the annexation of France failed, and the French dismembered the Bokendi Kingdom. Despite this, the Holy Roman Empire was still a behemoth for Sweden.

The maritime trade was extremely developed during the Age of Discovery. Even if the two countries were at war, in fact, private merchant ships would not necessarily completely cut off trade. Of course, under normal circumstances, this right to maritime trade must be authorized by the Swedish king. However, the cooperation agreement signed by a Swedish naval admiral is also partially valid.

This cooperation agreement is actually a default unspoken rule. The Chamber of Commerce provides supply and cover for neutral ports to warships of a belligerent country. In return, the belligerent country will also acknowledge the commercial behavior of the Chamber of Commerce in its own ports.

The cooperation agreement proposed by Raphael is actually this unofficial cooperation. The Caster Road Chamber of Commerce provides material supplies to the Vasa in the Mediterranean. In return, Xu Mo needs to sign a cooperation agreement for Raphael to allow the Caster Road Chamber of Commerce to conduct trade activities in ports and waters controlled by Sweden.

Sweden currently has the maritime hegemony of the North Sea and the Baltic Sea. If you want to obtain strategic resources such as iron ore and wood in Nordic, you must obtain Sweden's trade rights. Otherwise, Viking warships in the North Sea and the Baltic Sea will mercilessly sink any merchant ships of Catholic countries.

This exclusive maritime trade actually has huge profits, especially during the war period, when major powers needed iron ore and wood from Nordics. From this point of view, the eldest son of the Casterlu family, Raphael, was very good at doing business.

Xu Mo slowly shook the coffee cup in his hand. He didn't care whether Raphael was going to espionage in Sweden or simply trade. Sweden's national interests were irrelevant to him. The old leader K only cared about one thing, that is, the safety of the Vasa.

With the Spanish sailboat of the Mofeng group following the Vasa, it doesn't matter whether there is any assistance from the Caster Road Chamber of Commerce. Thinking of this, Xu Mo's eyes flashed and he wanted to refuse Raphael's proposal of cooperation.

"God of Admiral, I understand your concerns. If it were me, I would not rashly stop at the seaport of the Catholic country to receive material supplies. However, if the Caster Road Chamber of Commerce could find a supply port for you in North Africa, would you feel safer?" Seeing Xu Mo's face getting colder, Raphael's passion on his face did not diminish at all.

"North Africa's supply port?!" The coffee cup in Xu Mo's hand shook slightly, his pupils tightened, revealing a solemn look. He turned his head again and looked at the handsome boy in front of him carefully.

After looking at the boy with a calm face for a while, Xu Mo suddenly burst into laughter and shook his head lightly, "His Excellency Raphael, I'm frank, with your age, it's hard for me to believe that the Red Beard will have any friendship with you!"

"It's okay, your concerns make sense. In fact, when Heiding and I first met on the sea, it was not a pleasant memory!" Raphael nodded honestly and began to tell his adventure with the Red Bearded Pirate King.

When Raphael met Heiding in the Mediterranean North African waters, he was still a rookie who had just gone out to sea. The merchant ship under his feet was just a sloop sailboat. However, in his negotiations with the Pirate King, the Portuguese boy bravely spoke out loudly about defeating Heiding in the future.

Perhaps Heiding really looked down on Raphael's small sampan, or perhaps it was the bravery of the boy who touched Heiding. The Islamic red-bearded pirate king laughed and let Raphael go. However, what Heiding didn't expect was that Raphael did not give up trade in North Africa.

The brave young man helped a large number of Moriscos (converted Christian Spanish Muslims and their descendants) to North Africa through the Castello Chamber of Commerce in Grenada, Valencia and Andalusia, Spain. This move won the friendship between the Ottoman Empire and the vast Muslims, and Heiding generously agreed to let the Castello Chamber of Commerce conduct trade activities at the North African port.

Xu Mo sipped his coffee and fell into deep thought. After Raphael finished narration, he stopped persuading and waited quietly. His trump card had been played. Whether he could win the Nordic trade rights for the Caster Road Chamber of Commerce depends on Xu Mo's decision.

In fact, the Ottoman Empire in the Age of Discovery was a great power recognized by European countries. When the Habsburgs dominated Europe, the Ottoman Empire formed a war alliance with France and England to jointly fight against the Holy Roman Empire. However, after the deaths of Henry IV and Elizabeth III, the two heroes, each of which died, this alliance is now ineffective.

If it is a port supply in North Africa, it does have a huge effect on hiding the movements of the Vasa. This can be seen from the port information sent by the Agot Chamber of Commerce. When the port riots occurred, the information in Venice was very detailed, while the information in Tripoli and Alexander was unclear, as if it was shrouded in fog.

If you can enter Tripoli and Alexander, perhaps Xu Mo can find clues of the Temple of the Gods. In addition, it is also a blessing for the Vasa to be able to avoid the threat of Barbarossa Heiding in disguise.

Thinking of this, Xu Mo's expression relaxed and he smiled at Raphael, "Now I understand a little why the Red Bearded Pirate King looked at you differently. Your Excellency Raphael, your eloquence is really outstanding!"

"Your Excellency, what you mean..." A hint of joy flashed in Raphael's eyes. His chamber of commerce already has industrial products, luxury goods, precious metals and local specialties from North Africa. If he has iron ore and wood from Nordic, it will take less than a few years to have a merchant fleet that can sail to the New World.

"Yes, Lord Raphael, welcome you to Sweden to do business!" Xu Mo nodded with a smile, "If you are not busy going back, wait for my accountant (Selna) to come back, you can negotiate with her the specific terms of the agreement!"

"That's great!" After getting Xu Mo's intention to cooperate, Raphael happily jumped out of the chair and waved his small fist. At this time, the young President Custer Road showed the young man's character.

"His Excellency Raphael, are you going to Nordic to purchase goods next?" Before entering the Mediterranean, Xu Mo seemed in a very good mood.

"No, we just returned from Copenhagen. Now the Baltic Sea is full of Swedish privateers. We really dare not take risks. We just purchased a small amount of iron ore in Copenhagen and set off for a trip!" Raphael spread his hands helplessly and sighed in distress, "However, we met a very interesting little girl in Copenhagen."

A very interesting little girl? Xu Mo raised his eyebrows. It wasn't that coincidence. Was Raphael talking about that person?

"She is Lilu, and she is the president of the Dutch Agot Chamber of Commerce!" Raphael didn't know what he remembered, and a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth, "She forced us to sign a cooperation agreement with her, she was so young and promising!"

You are also very young and promising! Xu Mo rolled his eyes and thought to himself that it was her. There are many outstanding people in this era. When he was at Lilu and Raphael, he was probably still a high school student!

"Oh, by the way! Your Excellency Admiral, if you want to enter the Mediterranean next, can you go with us?" Raphael suddenly turned around and asked.

"What are you asking about this?" Xu Mo narrowed his eyes slightly and asked vigilantly.

"Your Excellency, please don't get me wrong!" Raphael waved his hand and said quickly, "In fact, I will also go to the Mediterranean to trade in the next season. Your warship can follow us and get familiar with the harbours of North Africa first."

"This... we are warships, the top priority is to fight, if there is no other special reason..." Xu Mo refused hesitantly, with a hint of contradiction in his heart.

In fact, following Raphael to Tripoli and Alexander is a good choice. At least you can use Raphael's connections in North Africa to find the traces of the temple faster. However, Xu Mo did not want the Vasa to be mastered by others, even if it was a plot commerce that had already confirmed its cooperative relationship.

"That's it..." Raphael frowned his delicate eyebrows and tilted his head in distress, as if he was thinking about something.

"His Excellency Raphael, have you encountered any problem?" Xu Mo's heart moved as he looked at the boy's expression.

"Okay, I can tell you..." Raphael looked at Xu Mo, took a deep breath, and seemed to have made some difficult decisions, "In fact, I once got something in Alexandria, Egypt, and this time I went to the Mediterranean..."

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Chapter completed!