Lu Ming

So when the two ships returned to Manila in late June, all the Spanish merchants were burdened with varying amounts of loans.Expensive bleaching powder, raw silk, scarce kerosene lamps, and all kinds of industrialized daily necessities took away all the silver coins they brought.

In order to maximize the acquisition of these scarce supplies, the merchants had to unite to mortgage Baron Juan and the soldiers and cannons of the Taipei Castle to Da Yuan in exchange for a certain amount of export credit.

Of course, this debt was short-lived: soon after the ship returned to Manila, everything on board was sold out, and the merchants who returned with the ship all made a fortune.

And when Governor Juan read the documents of the trade agreement and the personal letter of Mr. Special Envoy, he finally made up his mind and began to comprehensively adjust Manila's internal and external policies.

First of all, the city hall raised the tax rate in the Visayan villages outside the city. Anyone who fails to pay the tax or resists the tax will be captured and sold by the tax officer, and women and children will not be spared.

Secondly, on several pieces of land suitable for growing rice, the aborigines were all "migrated" to a certain mysterious place under the guns of a large number of soldiers: the land was contracted to the Ming people who were good at farming, and they had to provide a large amount of land in the days to come. The rice is used to fulfill the quota stipulated by the senior officials.

Then came the highlight: the fleet jointly funded by all nobles, merchants and churches who planned to take a share in the slave trade attacked a large indigenous tribe on Mingduluo Island half a month later.

This tribe is located in the middle of Mingduluo Island, and is a powerful tribe composed of Moro people.The Moro people in the Philippines are a hodgepodge of Islam including many scattered ethnic groups. "Moro" is a Spanish transliteration, meaning the Moors who believe in Islam.

From the name, it can be seen how much the big pie faces don't like the Moro people: it took the Spaniards centuries to drive the Moro people from their homeland in North Africa, and there is a deep hatred among them Like the sea.

And the so-called Moro people are not ashamed of the name: the aborigines who belong to the Malay branch in essence are extremely hostile to the white skins. The tribal people here have not only served as outposts and gathering places for Malay pirates many times, but also set out to rob together. and attacked Spanish ships and strongholds.

The Manila regime, which has always been facing huge strategic pressure from the lowland bandits (the Dutch), has in fact nothing to do with these plentiful pirates and hostile tribes—the municipal tax revenue is already stretched to feed the officials and strengthen the city defense of Manila, let alone Send troops to attack everywhere in the country of Thousand Islands.

But this time is different.

When the richest sector in the 17th century: the Church, everything changed.

Adventurers, nobles, and merchants quickly acted under the glue of the bishop.The rich, who complain every day that Manila's greedy tax system has sucked everyone out, are quick to shell out piles of silver coins.

There are not only the funds of the holy treasury of the church, but also the furniture of the tax collector himself. In addition, it is believed that the governor and the mayor also invested in the shares, but they were invested by cronies.

Once the most important financial issues are resolved, the rest will be easy to handle.

A fleet with the armed merchant ship "Miss Rose" as its flagship was formed immediately.As the main force, Miss Rose has a displacement of 550 tons. After being temporarily equipped with multiple long-barreled artillery, this ship will be responsible for dealing with all enemies on the sea in the future.

The other two smaller armed merchant ships were mainly responsible for loading supplies and "cargo".The most important part of the fleet is actually 10 medium-sized boats and 20 small rowboats - the target tribe only has a small dock for canoes, and armed merchant ships are not very useful, so they can only use small boats to transfer personnel and supplies in the open sea .

The taverns in the city of Manila were swept away overnight, and a large number of sailors, drunks, vagabonds, thugs, and scum were all incorporated into the small boat landing force after receiving a few silver coins.

And 100 regular soldiers under the command of Lieutenant Diego Sandoval, the red man, also boarded the deck of the Miss Rose... Manila's city hall finally spent the tax revenue where it should be used this time.

After everything was ready, after the bishop personally finished the pre-battle mass and shouted the sacred slogan "He who spreads glory for the Lord will bathe in the holy light", the slave catcher fleet with morale +3 and negative status check +2 set off.

Mingduluo Island is just south of Manila, and the 200-kilometer sea route will not delay much time, and the tribe of the Moro people is near the later tourist town of Sublayan.

An indigenous tribe with tens of thousands of people, if quality is not considered, at least 2000 fighters can be assembled.

Therefore, the Spaniards who deliberately went around the lower reaches of the estuary, after the first day of dangerous landing period, began to go up the river on the second day... and then encountered a large army of natives head-on.

Fighting on land at this time, the defenders who have lost their only chance to block the beachhead can see the fate: nearly 1500 indigenous fighters were quickly defeated under the attack of 100 regular soldiers + 300 scumbags + small artillery.

Devils have entered the village.

Chapter 275 Pig Raising

After losing their main force, the devils quickly entered the village.

It is naturally impossible for the natives of tropical islands to build a city with green bricks in a kiln, so the devils easily broke through the wooden village.

The next moment, the women and children were searched out of the hut while crying. The corpse of their husband was lying on the door, and the dead man was still holding a spear.

Those who resist will be whipped, and the high-level tribes will line up to be hanged on the newly established gallows, including the chief family and all the elders and theologians.The chaplains in black robes were excitedly presiding over the ceremony of purifying the heretics before the gallows, just like when their colleagues in the Holy See were grilling heretics.

More than 6500 natives were captured by the Spanish.In fact, the thousands of indigenous people who died in this war are nothing to Catholics: whether it was Legaspi's conquest of the Philippines or the subsequent massacre of Chinese, the death toll far exceeded that of this war. tribal warfare.

All Aboriginals were held, screened, and prime-aged males were "packaged" first.

The slave traders also kept pace with the times.When they discovered that all the low-level people who entered the big staff would be shaved, this advanced packaging method was immediately used by traffickers for counterfeiting and shoddy products.

All the captives who have been shaved will create a misleading effect: some semi-old men with gray hair can now sell for a "genuine" price... After all, people in this era have wrinkled faces and worn teeth at the age of 30. It is not easy to tell the exact age.

After the surviving middle-aged men were "packed", they were tied up in groups of 10 and transported away one after another.

The two armed merchant ships that had already unloaded their supplies, loaded a total of more than 1100 slaves, and soon headed straight for the officers.It is summer now, and if the slave ship goes northward with the wind, it will reach its destination in 5-7 days with good luck, so the traffickers try to fill the cabin with as many people as possible.

Among the remaining prisoners, all the wounded and slow-moving old people were picked out, and then they were driven to the river, all hacked to death with long knives, and their bodies were washed into the sea... Shooting is impossible, black powder and Lead bullets are a valuable asset in this day and age.

Two days later, four other armed merchant ships also arrived. The first ones who landed this time were a group of Tagalogs.The duties of the coaters are guards and cannon fodder - there are also some large and small Moro tribes on the island. After the masters broke the situation with the death of more than 40 people, the future wars will depend on the coaters.

You know, this is the era of Bai Minggui.

The four ships also unloaded some red bricks produced by kilns run by Ming people outside Manila.Some male slaves will build a small castle and wharf in the estuary. These buildings, together with the original tribal camp, are a good slave camp.

Another 1800 women were taken away after this.

By this time, the Moro tribe would have been completely extinct.After adult men and women disappear, the old, weak, sick and disabled will soon be exhausted in heavy physical labor.

……

When the two slave ships that set off first returned to Manila in mid-August, they brought back not only a large cargo, but also Baron Juan and the castle soldiers from Taipei.

After Mr. Baron returned with honors, he immediately met with the governor, and took out a special document brought by the senior officer.This is what Transcendence promised at the beginning: an investigation report on the mineral resources in the Baguio area.

The document not only clearly indicated the detailed coordinates and approximate reserves of several gold, silver and copper mines in the Baguio area, but also included an accurate map of Baguio.

The overjoyed Spaniards quickly sent an expedition ship: Baguio is at the foot of the Godililla Mountains 300 kilometers north of Manila, and it is obviously unreliable to go by land.Savages, tropical jungles, malaria and yellow fever will kill everyone.

It is much easier to start from Manila by boat: after landing in Lingayen Bay in the north, the team only needs to cross the coastal plain of more than 10 kilometers, and then they will face the Baguio Mountains.

Therefore, if the expedition team can find any gold, silver and copper mine this time, the Spaniards only need to use the trick they just used again: send troops to land in Lingayen Bay, and wantonly capture the local Igor The Lot people, then build castles, build slave camps...the routine is the same.

……

All in all, the Spaniards of this plane have greatly improved their strategic situation due to a certain force that should not have appeared in the first place: With the virtuous trade cycle of slaves-industrial products-silver, The big pie faces who were originally in a defensive state, made the slave trade flourish overnight.

This situation in turn gave birth to the expansion of the Spaniards in both directions north and south.You must know that in the original history, the Muslim Malays in the south fought with the white skins for more than 300 years, and they did not stop until the independence of the Philippines.

And in this plane, when the Spaniards found out that fighting the natives was a profitable business, the traffickers, adventurers and villains who came here would naturally be familiar with what they did in Africa... Malay People's life will not be so easy.

In addition, the situation in the Baguio area is always under the attention of the travelers.

In the most ideal state, if the Spaniards work hard, they should be able to develop several gold and silver mines in about three years.

This so-called "development" is very cruel: it is necessary to open up roads in the mountainous rainforest of Baguio, build mines, arrange guards, and then capture slaves to refine minerals with primitive techniques all year round.

Whether it is a white skin or an aborigine, the death rate will increase greatly in this environment. The aborigines in the Baguio area are simply not enough to consume, so the Spaniards will continue to madly expand the scope of slave hunting...

The behind-the-scenes men on Dayuan Island are looking forward to the future performance of the big pie faces. They can even provide some useful tools and weapons to the white mine owners to strengthen their confidence in developing nature and fighting against the sky.

In short, before the day when the giant ship and cannon hit the gate of Manila, the Transit Kingdom will spare no effort to support the Spaniards, let them let themselves go in the vast world of the Thousand Islands, strive to open up more land under the light of the Holy Light, and purify more heresies , to relieve some pioneering pressure for latecomers.

……

After coming out of the business house on Dayuan Island, when Alonso and Juan were walking along the long Taijiang coast all the way to the south, the interaction between Manila and Dayuan in the past few months was discussed. Baron Juan narrated it thus.

After hearing these stories, Alonso looked at Dayuan Island, who had already reached the end, and then at the complacent colleague beside him, and his heart was full of bitterness.

Chapter 276 Malice

"This kind of behavior that blatantly destroys and violates the interests of Portuguese businessmen is unacceptable to the gentlemen in Macau! This is an extremely dangerous behavior, and no one can monopolize Japanese trade!"

After listening to the Manila story told by Juan, even though he knew that he could no longer get help from his allies, Alonso still clearly expressed his attitude.

Juan was not surprised after hearing the statement from his peers.The highly profitable Japanese trade cannot be easily abandoned by any force. That trade line was once the coveted target of the gentlemen in Manila. Otherwise, what is the reason for the big pie faces to build a city in Taipei?

Suppressing the little gloating thoughts in his heart, Juan stretched out his hand to lead the way, while hinting with a smile: "This kind of behavior is dangerous for both parties."

……

Standing at the southernmost tip of Dayuan Island, you can see the "Er Kunshen" sandbar floating in the sea hundreds of meters away.The area of ​​this series of sandbars named after Kunshen shrinks successively. In the future, all these small islands will be silted up by sea sand and thus become integrated with the main island.

And in the plane of crossing the crowd, there is an extra sand embankment connected to the main island at the southernmost tip of Dayuan Island.This sand embankment and the sand embankment at Weidao on the northern line were built with seabed fishing to dredge the Taijiang River. Today, the Taijiang River has been completely blocked by the two sand embankments, and outsiders can only enter from the Dajiang River. The crew enters and exits the main channel.

The two Catholic envoys stepped onto the wide and long sand embankment.

Finding that Alonso was looking at the bustling scenery on the other side of the Taijiang River, Juan couldn't help shaking his head slightly, and then he kicked something under his feet: "Look at what this is."

Alonso lowered his head when he heard the sound, and found a long black iron pipe half buried in the sand under his feet, leading to the opposite bank of the sand embankment.

"I think this should be some kind of water pipe?" Although he had never seen such a thigh-thick cast iron pipe, Alonso still guessed the purpose of the iron pipe.

"Yes, the owner here has brought clean water from the far opposite bank, and through this water pipe, it has been led to the bathroom of the commercial building."

Having said that, Juan took a few steps forward, then bent down and pointed to the junction of the two water pipes and continued: "The craftsmen here have superb skills. They can create many wonderful machines and buildings. You should go to Look at that 'water tower'".

After Alonso bent down and looked at the flange connected to the water pipe, he nodded in agreement: "Yes, no one will deny that. Those boats without galleys left a deep impression on me. They have some A strange machine that can move on its own."

"So, hostility is dangerous for both sides." Juan said meaningfully.

Alonso understood what he meant: if the craftsmen here can make those delicate machines, they can also make powerful weapons... In fact, there is a story about the Dutchman being sunk by the defenders' artillery at a distance of one league. The story of the ship has already spread to all the forces in East Asia along with the rum in the pirate bar.

If the above-mentioned legend is just a joke, then Erba Dagai's rifle with exaggerated range, rate of fire and accuracy is not a legend-many sailors have seen the power of this rifle, especially at the entrance of the pirate bar Those who drink and fight.

Therefore, Juan is not optimistic about Macau's use of force to resolve the dispute... In order to take care of Alonso's face, he has repeatedly reminded this point implicitly.

"These barbaric, backward Eastern pirates, the Lord's people shouldn't be oppressed by them!" Alonso said a little angrily, but also a little helplessly.

"It's not a pirate anymore. The mysterious pirate king Cao Chuan has been canonized as a general of the Ming Dynasty by the local governor." When Juan said this, the expression on his face was full of irony: "Elizabeth I and the great pirate Francis Derek The story is not new in this ancient country...a local governor can do it."

Having said that, Juan's expression couldn't help becoming bitter again: "It is worth noting that pirate leaders like Francis Drake and John Hawkins are often quite good in warfare."

Hearing this, Alonso nodded heavily: "Yes, the defeat of the Armada 40 years ago can prove it... Please forgive me, it was a tragedy."

Juan waved his hand indifferently, and then he said solemnly to Alonso: "The Ming nobles who rule this land are undoubtedly civilized people. Because no pirate can build such a beautiful and clean city... ...Mr. Envoy, you will soon feel that they are completely different from those barbaric Ming people on the mainland."

"So." Juan continued after a pause: "Believe me, don't use the old way of thinking to deal with the masters here, they are very powerful."

……

After walking for a while on the several kilometers long sand embankment, the two envoys turned back after exchanging opinions.

After that, Alonso began a long wait.And it wasn't until he traveled all around the Taijiang River that he was finally summoned by the crossing people—seven days had passed since he came to Dayuan.

It was Tang Xiaoqiao who received the Portuguese envoy.

Due to the relatively late travel time, Comrade Tang Xiaoqiao, a high-end talent who can speak three foreign languages, had no choice but to become a dirty job in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.Like going to the Dutch fleet as a hostage, receiving a Portuguese envoy, etc. are all his tasks.

So, when Alonso came to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in formal attire, he naturally saw Tang Xiaoqiao in a bad mood.

Therefore, the initial meeting between the two parties broke up unhappy.

The process was simple: Alonso first raised a series of protests, while Tang Xiaoqiao rejected all of them, and then threw out a memorandum intensified.

The contents of the memorandum made Alonso furious: the cross-travelers not only demanded the establishment of a consulate in Macau, but also set up customs on the Portuguese territory. From now on, all the ships going to and from the Pearl River Estuary will be taxed and inspected by the cross-travelers... No What happened to the Portuguese.

Alonso was dumbfounded by this ridiculous memo.You know, after the "visit and study" activities in the past few days, Alonso, who has already realized part of the power of the time-traveling country, actually no longer intends to fight with the time-traveling people on the Japanese issue.

For the Portuguese, although the loss of the Japanese trade is regrettable, it is far from the point where it hurts: the Portuguese, who have monopolized the Guangzhou trade 75 years ago, are not as dependent on the Japanese trade as other forces.

In Alonso's plan today, if he can give up Japan's trade in exchange for the trade rights of the big staff, just like the Dutch did, it would be a way to solve the problem.

However, after seeing this memo, Alonso's nose seemed to smell a smell of gunpowder.

Chapter 277 Promotion

"Mr. Alonso, it seems that you have made some mistakes in your cognition. Please note that the person sitting in front of you now represents His Excellency Cao Chuan; that is to say, you are dealing with the Ming government."

"So." Tang Xiaoqiao rubbed his chin while staring playfully at the Portuguese in front of him: "Pay attention to your wording and attitude."

... Today is the second time that Alonso has come to the official office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to negotiate.

The initial negotiations between the two sides can be said to have broken up unhappy.After seeing the memo that could be described as "brain-dead" at first glance, Comrade Alonso, who was extremely shocked, immediately expressed his indignation and inability to understand this absurd document, and then he left the stage angrily.

You know, in name the Portuguese only occupy the small area of ​​Macau, but in fact the Portuguese are the sitters outside the Pearl River Estuary.Taking advantage of the ignorance and inaction of the Ming government, they not only monopolized Guangzhou's foreign trade, but also set up checkpoints to pump water at the mouth of the Pearl River, as if they were already an independent kingdom.

It is normal for the Portuguese, who have always been used to being arrogant, to be emotionally unacceptable after discovering that a group of even more arrogant villains suddenly appeared.

But here is a senior official, and no one cares whether the Portuguese withdraws from the negotiation... So after a few days, Alonso, who finally figured out the situation, could only ask for a meeting again.

The second meeting also did not go well.Alonso, who had already made up his mind to lower his attitude and speak well, couldn't help getting angry again when talking about those outrageous terms.

In fact, he is very clear about the semi-official nature of the time-traveling forces, so Alonso originally planned to use the tricks he used to deal with officials of the Ming Dynasty——speaking humbly and lowering his posture to solve the problem.Usually those Ming officials are very fond of this, as long as they show obedience on the surface, Ming people will give in on practical issues.

But this time he was wrong again.The crossing people were not those Ming officials who gave up the foreign trade port to outsiders, so after Tang Xiaoqiao unceremoniously and sharply dissected the core rights and interests of the Portuguese in Macau, Alonso had to be angry.

Resisting the impulse, Alonso stared at Tang Xiaoqiao and said slowly: "Tang, you now have official identities. But Mr. Cao Chuan is just a low-level general in the Fujian area, and Guangzhou does not belong to his defense zone. In fact, you have no control over it." There, isn't it?"

"Haha, your news is behind, Alonso." Hearing this, Tang Xiaoqiao leaned back on the chair triumphantly, and then stretched out a finger: "Let's talk about the first point, our BOSS was just promoted not long ago. gone."

……

The Fujian branch guarding Xiamen and other places in the Ming Dynasty was named Cao Chuan as acting deputy general of coastal defense, which is the newly released official position of Cao Daguan.

Since the coalition forces captured Li Kuiqi in late August and cleared the Zhangzhou Bay, Xiong Wencan and the urgent military documents from various Tibetan government offices in Fujian went to Beijing together with the heads of Li Kuiqi and Zhong Bin who had been suppressed by limestone.