We have fought to the Arctic Circle, and you want me to inherit the throne?

The subsequent finishing work was presided over by Fu Liang and Li Sheng, which mainly involved clearing the docks and arresting the Portuguese soldiers hiding everywhere one by one.

A team of soldiers was sent to occupy the admiral's residence to completely control the "leased land" enclosed by the cowhide.

Li Che also asked people to find some local natives to prepare to contact the King of Luzon.

The land of Luzon is very special. As the largest piece of land in the Philippines in the previous life, it is also home to many Xia people who migrated here to escape the war.

The presence of these overseas compatriots enables Fengguo to better control Luzon, provided that it obtains their support.

As for the two missing sailboats, they ultimately failed to escape Li Che's clutches.

The so-called Portuguese admiral was nothing but a paper tiger with a strong exterior but a weak interior. The 'Ministers of Justice' used a little trick to scare him and he immediately revealed all his secrets.

These included the location of his hidden gold, treasures, weapons, the location of the two sailing ships, the time of the next arrival of the Portuguese fleet, etc.

The navy immediately launched an attack and soon intercepted one of the Portuguese sailboats in the nearby waters.

The other sailboat was hidden in a secret harbor on the other side of Luzon Island, and Li Che sent a team to receive it.

At this point, there was no more Portuguese resistance on Luzon Island.

One day later, at the Luzon Governor's residence.

Traces of the Portuguese still remain in the meeting hall, and the interior decoration shows that the owner of this place a day ago was a civilization from far away Europe.

Li Che's fingers slid across the carved long table, the dark red lacquer surface reflecting the swaying shadows of the palm trees outside the window.

Three days ago, the places where the statues of the Virgin Mary were placed on both sides of the meeting hall have now been replaced with statues of Mazu, who is looking kindly at her most outstanding people.

"Your Highness, King Luzon has arrived." Fu Liang's voice came from outside the door.

Li Che tapped the table with his fingers: "Come in."

The moment the door knocker rang, all the guards pressed down the hilts of their swords, and the tiger who was dozing in the corner also raised his big head.

Li Che raised his hand to stop the guards' movements and looked towards the main gate. A skinny old man wrapped in a gold-thread robe almost rolled in. His pearl crown was stuck crookedly on his ear, revealing half of his gray temples.

"I, a sinner from my country, kowtow to the Prince of the Celestial Empire." When King Sulu of Luzon touched the ground with his forehead, the jade belt buckle on his waist hit the ground.

The flattering voice made the Luzon officials following behind unable to bear to look at it.

"You come in by yourself, the others wait outside!" Li Che said lightly.

The court officials were about to retort, but were stopped by the guards with guns, and they dared not say a word.

Seeing this scene, Li Che just picked up the teacup and took a sip.

It's just a show of force, otherwise these court officials would really think I'm a good guy.

Sulu forced a smile and walked into the hall with a bent back.

Li Che looked up curiously. The old king in front of him had a typical Southeast Asian appearance. His skin was darker than that of the Qing people, and his facial features were very different from those of the Qing people.

Especially when the other person shows a flattering smile, the nose and eyes are almost squeezed together.

Li Che could also smell the strong clove oil on the other person, which was the favorite spice of Portuguese merchants.

This is an incompetent king. Even the most useless vassal king in Daqing is much more powerful than him.

Even the original owner still had the courage to commit suicide by hitting his head against the pillar in front of the palace.

"Your Excellency, please stand up and take a seat."

The interpreter on the side translated in standard local dialect, and the old king mumbled his thanks hurriedly, but Li Che didn't even raise his eyelids.

The guards brought a wooden chair. Sulu waved his hands in thanks as if he was on fire, but in the end he only dared to sit on half of the chair.

Li Che noticed the wound on his right little finger, which was cut off last year by the Portuguese governor when he was trying to establish his authority by collecting spice taxes.

"The divine might of the heavenly soldiers will purge the evil." Sulu's Adam's apple rolled up and down, and dark sweat seeped out of the collar of his silk clothes. "Luzon is willing to be our vassal forever and pay tribute annually..."

"This prince doesn't want tribute." Li Che suddenly said, "It seems that Your Excellency knows us Daqing very well. Annual tribute is indeed a custom in Daqing, but it is not a custom of this prince."

The old king looked at the young prince in front of him in astonishment, not knowing what he meant.

Li Che smiled faintly, stood up and walked towards the wall behind him, stopped in front of the window, and suddenly pulled open the red curtains.

The setting sun was like blood, pouring down on the broken gun platform at the dock outside the window.

A dozen Fujian ships plus the captured Portuguese sailboats, a total of more than 30 warships, were quietly docked in the port.

There was also the Dingyuan, which was larger than the Admiral's Mansion. The shadow cast by this behemoth covered one-third of the port.

The old king's gasp was heard behind him. Such a powerful fleet was something the Portuguese did not have even at their most powerful time.

Li Che stood with his hands behind his back, watching the craftsmen throw the Portuguese black iron cross into the furnace, and then slowly said:

"Manila Harbor is now under the garrison of the Fengtian Navy, and the former Governor's Office has been converted into the Maritime Customs Office. As for you, Your Excellency..."

When Li Che turned around, his sword hit the candlestick, and the clang made Sulu so scared that he almost fell down.

"The people of Luzon are still your subjects. I will not collect taxes from you, nor do I require you to pay tribute. I only want Luzon and Fengguo to establish a stable trade route."

"But... the Portuguese made the same promise back then." Sulu suddenly grabbed the handrail, his cracked lips trembling. "They said they only wanted the dock, but later they started to go deep inland..."

Li Che chuckled, took off the sword from his waist and slammed it on the table.

The silver hilt shone coldly in the twilight. Sulu's pupils shrank sharply as he recognized that the sword was the sword of the former Luzon Admiral.

"Yesterday, Luzon Admiral Alvaro used this sword to confront the Fengtian Navy." He suddenly lowered his voice. "Do you think he shouted to God or Mazu before the Portuguese army was defeated?"

As soon as these words came out, Sulu subconsciously looked at the statue of Mazu enshrined nearby, and felt that the smile on the face of this kind and holy goddess seemed to become even brighter.

God and the Virgin Mary no longer have any control over Luzon Island. This place is now Mazu’s territory!

You picked it, idol!

As if he had thought of something, Sulu's face suddenly turned paler than his robe.

Li Che took advantage of the situation and pressed down on his withered wrist, feeling his pulse throbbing beneath his palm. "The Maritime Customs will open tomorrow. Your Majesty, please send a prince to learn Daqing Mandarin. I heard that your country's second prince is proficient in mathematics? It would be a good opportunity to train him with the fleet's accountant."

Suddenly, there was the sound of orderly footsteps outside the hall, and a team of sailors carrying wooden boxes came in one after another.

When the lid of the box was opened, Sulu screamed and shrank back...

It was filled with Portuguese wide-brimmed hats and Bibles, and on top was the sash of the Governor of Luzon.

"Send these things to the palace storehouse." Li Che took out a ribbon and wrapped it around the old man's neck, his movements as gentle as if he were tying a scarf on a child. "It won't be too late to wear it when the Portuguese come back."

"No! I dare not!" Sulu frantically pulled at the silk ribbon, and the pearl crown rolled to the ground. "I am willing to surrender, Luzon is willing to surrender!"

When he finally broke free, he met Li Che's smiling eyes. The smile was so brilliant, but it made him feel like he was falling into an icy cave.