The Black Sails of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 53 Pearl Fishing Battle
five days ago.

The Spanish went straight to the Maritime Trade Office as soon as they disembarked.

The delegation was highly valued by the Ming Dynasty court and was invited to a banquet upon arrival. However, the dishes were somewhat monotonous, with only one main course – being turned away.

The delegation sat there from dawn until noon.

I don't know how many cups of water I drank made from those astringent and bitter leaves.

Every time the head constable was asked, he would smile and say, "The Prefect is busy with official business, please wait a moment."

After saying this, he ordered someone to pour leaf water into the delegation's cups.

Summer is hot, and drinking hot tea makes you sweat even if you're just sitting still. If you drink too much, you'll have to go to the toilet frequently, but if you don't drink, you have nothing to do.

It really tormented the Spaniards so much that they couldn't sit still.

The mission's chief envoy, Juan, led a delegation to Guangzhou on the orders of the Governor-General of Manila to discuss the issue of apprehending the pirate Lin Qian.

This shameless Ming Dynasty pirate stole the Santa Ana, causing huge losses to Manila.

If we cannot capture Lin Qian, we must retrieve the large sailboat.

The governor himself will likely face trial by the royal family.

As the governor's confidant, Juan could not stand idly by and watch this happen.

Decades ago, the Ming Dynasty court and the Spanish jointly captured the pirate Lin Feng, which can be considered a good start to cooperation.

Today, he only asks that, like last time, the two countries cooperate again to capture Lin Qian.

But right now, they can't even get through the inner gate of the Maritime Trade Office.

This made him extremely anxious, like an ant on a hot pan.

Finally, Juan could no longer tolerate it.

He shouted towards the inner gate, "I am the special envoy of the Spanish Governor-General, and I request an audience with His Excellency the Director of the Maritime Trade Office! I demand that our two countries jointly apprehend the pirate Lin Qian!"

"How can you make such a racket in this important place! Shut up!" the constable urged.

Juan shouted, "I am the special envoy of the Spanish Governor-General, and I request an audience with His Excellency the Director of the Maritime Trade Office! I demand that our two countries jointly apprehend the pirate Lin Qian!"

After he finished speaking, he grabbed the interpreter and said to him, "Translate what I said and let the officials in the room hear it!"

The interpreter was so frightened that his legs went weak, and he struggled to say, "This is the Ming Dynasty, and we must follow the rules. Your barbarian ways won't work."

Juan ignored him and just kept shouting, his voice getting louder and louder.

The constables ordered someone to gag Juan, but Juan bit him and they failed, and the scene became increasingly chaotic.

At this moment, a person emerged from the inner gate. He had no beard, fair skin, and wore a plain blue robe.

All the constables bowed respectfully and stepped aside, saying, "Eunuch Li."

Eunuch Li walked slowly to the delegation, looked around, and said in a high-pitched voice, "Eunuch Yang, the Minister, and the Provincial Governor were discussing matters inside when someone loudly interrupted them, so they sent me out to see what was going on. Is this how you do your job?"

All the constables knelt down, their heads pressed to the ground, not daring to breathe.

Juan took the opportunity to pull the interpreter forward and explain his demands.

Eunuch Li smiled and said gently, "I understand. I will report to Eunuch Yang right away. However, the Minister and the Provincial Governor are both here today, and there are important matters to discuss within the department. I'm afraid we cannot give an answer today. How about we come back in a few days?"

Juan hesitated.

The interpreter advised, "Eunuch Li is a man of the Imperial Palace. Since he has already agreed to this matter, he would never deceive you. Just go back and wait patiently. Don't be ungrateful."

This interpreter was temporarily hired by the Spanish in Guangzhou, and he didn't seem to mind speaking to the Spanish.

Upon hearing this, Juan could only express his gratitude and lead his delegation away.

The smile on Eunuch Li's face vanished, replaced by a cold, sharp glint. He said to the surrounding constables, "Go and close the gate. We will not be receiving any foreign guests today."

"Yes." The constable responded and went to close the gate.

Eunuch Li turned around and went back to the backyard, passing through several gates to reach the main hall.

Several officials were seated in the hall.

The person seated at the head of the table was none other than Xu, the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi, concurrently serving as the Governor of Guangdong and the Vice Minister of War.

Sitting to the side was Eunuch Yang, the Superintendent of Maritime Trade.

Meanwhile, the official head of the Maritime Trade Office, the Director of Maritime Trade, Lord He, could only sit to the left.

Also seated to the left was Zheng, the Guangdong Provincial Treasurer, upon seeing Eunuch Li return.

Eunuch Yang put down his teacup and asked slowly, "What happened outside?"

With a fawning smile, Eunuch Li bowed and said, "A few foreigners had their ship hijacked by pirates and came to cause trouble, but I have already dealt with them."

"Hmm," Eunuch Yang responded, then ignored him.

Eunuch Li wisely retreated to serve Eunuch Yang.

Eunuch Yang said to the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi, "Your Excellency, the end of the year is the Imperial Concubine's birthday. In previous years, the pearl-digging labor was only issued close to the end of the year. The weather was cold and the water was cold, so we couldn't collect good pearls. This year, I'm thinking of issuing the labor earlier."

It wasn't explicitly stated who the Imperial Concubine was, but everyone knew it referred to Consort Zheng.

Only on the birthday of Consort Zheng, who was favored by the emperor, was a large-scale pearl-digging operation launched in Guangdong. Other concubines did not receive this treatment.

Minister Xu replied calmly, “Eunuch Yang is in charge of the Maritime Trade Office. He doesn’t need to consult me ​​about pearl harvesting matters, but since I am in charge of the military and political affairs of two provinces and also have the responsibility of civil administration in Guangdong, I have to ask him.”

In recent years, the weather has become increasingly cold, and grain production in Guangdong, Guangxi, and Hunan provinces has decreased annually, while the Liaodong military tax has been increasing, causing long-standing resentment among the people. At this time of public unrest, is it inappropriate to launch a large-scale campaign?

As the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi, he could disregard Eunuch Yang's authority, but the officials in Guangdong could not.

In particular, Lord He, the Director of the Maritime Trade Office, who was directly under Eunuch Yang's supervision, stood up directly to express his loyalty, saying: "Minister, in the hot summer, there will be fewer deaths and injuries among the pearl divers. Isn't Eunuch Yang's action precisely to cherish the people's strength?"

Minister Xu emphasized, "Everyone knows that once the corvée labor for pearl diving is imposed, it won't stop until the Imperial Concubine's birthday. Whether it's imposed sooner or later, those who are destined to drown will still drown, and those who are destined to freeze will still freeze."

At this point, Eunuch Yang also turned sour: "Drowning or freezing to death is your local business. My family comes from the palace and only obeys the Emperor. The Emperor tells Guangdong to present a certain number of pearls, and that is the number. Not even an ounce less."

Such a confrontational scene was rare in the officialdom of the Ming Dynasty.

For a moment, everyone felt an unusually heavy atmosphere.

Guangdong Provincial Governor Zheng stepped in to smooth things over: "The people of Zhu are lowly households, cruel, treacherous, and ignorant. They cannot be considered ordinary people. Why should we ruin our harmony over the life or death of such lowly people?"

Minister Xu immediately retorted: "If too many people from the Pearl Household are killed or injured, then we should compensate them with free people. In the two hundred years since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, how many times have we forced free people to become Pearl Households?"

Eunuch Yang promised, "This year's pearl harvesting corvée has started early, and perhaps we can harvest about 70-80% of the pearls before autumn. This way, the pearl farmers will have to go into the water less in winter, and there will be no deaths or injuries like in previous years."

Minister Xu did not believe this.

The palace's quota is limited, but the greed of the officials is boundless.

When people go to sea to collect pearls, they always stop when the people are almost all dead; I've never heard of anyone collecting enough.

But he didn't want things to get too tense with Eunuch Yang.

As long as he doesn't provoke a popular rebellion and can report back to the cabinet, he'll let this eunuch do whatever he wants.

Having considered this, Minister Xu remained silent, which was taken as tacit agreement.

Eunuch Yang then said to Eunuch Li beside him, "Go and inform the eunuchs of each pearl pool to start their work as soon as possible, and collect enough pearls while the water is still warm in the summer."

"Yes, I understand," Eunuch Li replied softly.

……

Two days later, Hu An, who had been waiting anxiously at the post station for a long time, could no longer contain himself and went to the Maritime Trade Office to demand an explanation.

Following the same procedure as last time, the bailiff invited the person to the outer hall, served them tea and water, and used the same "please wait a moment" phrase.

Juan, having reached his limit, invoked the name of Eunuch Li.

The constable said, "Oh, you're looking for Eunuch Li? He's the eunuch of Zhuchi, not under the jurisdiction of the Maritime Trade Office. I reckon he's in Leizhou Prefecture right now."

Juan was so angry that he felt chest tightness and headache, and almost fainted. He shouted loudly again.

Not long after, another person came out; this time it was an official, not a eunuch.

Juan, furious, repeated his demands.

The official took it very seriously, but said that words were not enough and that a written document was needed to submit it to his superiors. He asked Hu An to write it down and come back later.

Juan was prepared and took out a document in both Chinese and Spanish from his pocket.

The official solemnly accepted the document and promised, "Don't worry, I will present the document to you right away. However, since it involves foreign affairs, it needs to be approved at each level. It will probably take a few days. You may return to the post station and wait. Once there is news, I will send someone to inform you."

Juan saw that the official's expression was sincere and did not seem to be fake. Moreover, the documents had been accepted and the procedures were more complete than last time, so it should have gone through the proper process.

So he agreed with some skepticism and then led his men back to the inn to wait.

(End of this chapter)