"Two, you wait here for a while, and Master Hou will come back later!"

One of the housekeepers arranged Castro and Mitchell and the other three into a tent, gave a command, and then walked out of the tent.

Castro squinted his eyes and watched his family get out of the tent, then turned to the two officers next to him and said, "Mitchell, Preston, you two followed me all the way, how do you feel about this Ming army?" ”

Mitchell said with a somewhat solemn expression: "Your Excellency Colonel, this Ming army is very different from the army we have seen in the past, and even the Mongolian cavalry we saw under the city of Apari. If I had to describe them, I could only say that they were very powerful, and that we should not be enemies of such an army if it was not necessary, and that's how I see it. ”

"Preston, what about you?"

"I see the same thing as Mitchell." Another officer also smiled bitterly: "Actually, from the moment I stepped into Laoag, I felt that this Ming army was strong. Whether it is their weapons, military appearance and military discipline, they are the only ones I have seen in my life, and to put it mildly, they are more like the army of a civilized country than us. ”

After listening to the words of the two men, Castro frowned and sat in his chair in silence.

Mitchell and Preston looked at Castro with some apprehension, and although they were saying what they were saying, they were also afraid that they would anger the boss because of this.

At this time, the curtain opened, and a female soldier in a grass-green military uniform walked in, still holding a tray in her hand, and after entering, she put three cups of tea in front of the three of them, and then she was about to go out.

"Wait a minute, lady."

After seeing the appearance of the female soldier, Castro, who was originally thinking about something, suddenly shouted, and then the female soldier stopped, turned her head and looked at Castro curiously, "Do you have anything else?" ”

Mitchell and Preston were also taken aback, because Castro had just spoken in their native language, and the female soldier was speaking in Spanish.

Curious, Mitchell took a closer look, only to find that judging from her appearance, this female soldier had a fair complexion, a straight nose, and a relatively well-defined outline, and she didn't look like a yellow race, but a little like a half-breed. However, when he remembered that Spanish merchants had often traveled to and from Luzon over the years, Mitchell was relieved.

Castro stood up, bowed slightly to the female soldier, put his left hand behind his back, and put his right hand on the heart of his left chest, and after performing a standard aristocratic etiquette, he smiled and asked, "This beautiful young lady, can you tell me whether you are from Luzon or Ming?" ”

Not to mention, as Castro, who has received an aristocratic education since childhood, naturally has a rather polite appearance after making this set of interests, if the average woman sees it, he will definitely have a good impression of him, when he was young, Castro won the favor of many ladies and ladies with his handsome appearance and skillful interests.

However, Catherine, who has been dependent on her mother in Laoag since she was a child, knows what aristocratic etiquette is, and more importantly, because of her father's early death and the hard life over the years, she has no good impression of either Spain or Luzon, which also makes Castro's actions become a useless effort to flatter and throw to the blind.

Catherine said with a cold expression: "It doesn't matter what nationality I am, the important thing is that I am now a member of the Ming army, if you want to get any news from me, you may be doomed to be disappointed, because I have joined the Ming army for less than two days." ”

With that, Catherine turned and left the tent, leaving only Castro with an embarrassed expression.

Looking at the embarrassed look on Castro's face, Mitchell and Preston struggled to keep themselves from laughing.

It stands to reason that although Castro is a little older, he is also a handsome old man according to the aesthetic vision of the Caucasian race, and he used to be quite famous in the circle of Spanish noblewomen, but today he ate turtles in front of a mixed-race girl.

However, Castro's embarrassment did not last long, and someone pushed the curtain open.

The curtain was opened, and two figures appeared in the doorway, the first one was a tall young man in a green military uniform, and standing behind him was none other than Catherine, the female soldier who had just gone out.

After the young man came in, his sharp eyes were fixed on the three people in the tent, "Is that what you want to see Ben Hou?" ”

Although the visitor did not introduce himself, after seeing the visitor, whether it was Castro, Mitchell, or Preston, they all knew that the main owner was coming. Everyone is an old bird who has been immersed in the army for many years, and the momentum of the person who has been in the top position for a long time and is accustomed to giving orders cannot be concealed no matter what.

As a soldier who has integrated the distinction between class and inferiority into his bones, Castro and the three of them stood up without thinking, saluted Yang Feng and said loudly: "Your Excellency Marquis Daming, Colonel Castro of the Spanish Army respects you on behalf of His Excellency Governor Fidel, Governor of Spain in Luzon. ”

After Castro finished speaking, Captain Mitchell beside him translated his words in Chinese, but Mitchell's translation stammered very stiffly, and some words even did not reach the meaning, which made Yang Fengzhi frown.

Soon, however, another crisp voice rang out, and although the Chinese spoken by this voice was still a little stiff, it was much better than that of Mitchell.

Yang Feng understood this time, and he casually returned a military salute, "Colonel, please take a seat." ”

After seeing Yang Feng sit down first, Castro waited for the three to sit down again.

This time, without waiting for them to speak, Yang Feng took the lead in asking: "Colonel Castro, if I remember correctly, you just represented the Spanish Governor in Luzon, Governor Fidel, to come to me, is that so?" ”

After listening to Catherine's translation, Castro nodded and said, "Yes, Your Excellency the Marquis." ”

Yang Feng smiled coldly and said unceremoniously: "Luzon has always been the sphere of influence of my Ming Dynasty, what qualifications do you Spaniards have to send governors here?" Have you asked my Ming court for advice on this matter? ”

Seeing that Yang Feng bluntly challenged them as soon as he came, Castro was stunned for a moment, because in diplomatic occasions, everyone is used to stabbing a knife in the back with a smile on the surface, and it has not been many years since Yang Feng turned his face like this.

After a long time, Castro, who came back to his senses, said a little angrily: "Your Excellency Marquis, if I remember correctly, the Ming Dynasty has never sent a single soldier to Luzon for hundreds of years. According to the first-come, first-served rule of the civilized world, since we Spain entered here first, this is naturally our Spanish colony, and there is no need to report to the Ming government at all! ”