Luzon, Manila.

The dark tavern was lit with wall lamps, and sailors of all colors clashed violently with wooden wine glasses held high, and shouted anecdotes heard on distant routes, they said that water monsters talked about shipwrecks, and of course there would be no shortage of women.

Sailors are a pack of hungry wolves.

The plump maid wandered between the food plates, and from time to time she was not angry when she was rubbed with a handful of oil, and smiled coquettishly like a fish in water in the crowded tavern, like a butterfly fluttering among the flowers.

The noise and pungent smell of bad wine, the candlesticks are stained with oil and dust.

Li Dan sat in the window seat, he was used to smelling the saltiness of the sea breeze with his nose, just like Chen Mu always had to take one of the bird's guns and pipes to feel at ease when he was in the far north.

Beside him were his righteous brother Hua Yu and the Japanese Zhuang Gong, their most trusted brother by Li Dan's side and the best Japanese swordsman under Lin Feng.

Spanish ships at anchor not far from the shore rise and fall with the waves, local workers in torn trousers on the docks struggle to hold wooden barrels, and infantry in curved iron caps, cuirasses and muskets patrolling, their captain lighting pipes as they pass through the port checkpoint, and his guards shouting at the Japanese mercenaries who drunken and drag Luzon women.

Keep them away.

It was clearly a nobleman, and he had a black plate armor unlike anyone else, revealing tight white socks that were longer than his thighs, each part of the plate armor was trimmed with crimson piping, and a handcuff and sword stuck around his waist.

It was the largest city in Luzon and used to be a trading hub, but now it is a military center for the Spaniards. Since the Spanish gradually gained absolute superiority in the Inca War, the silver from the end of the world was transported here, and then exchanged for goods by the Ming merchants to the other end.

Li Dan's eyes retracted from the low city wall at the edge of the port, and the wood grain on the old window frames was rough, and the moisture made the wood darker and more rotten.

"Jiabidan Li Dan!"

Li Dan turned his head when he heard the call that was close at hand, and sitting opposite was the Spanish pirate Farricut, who also had another identity as a merchant in Haojing, when he robbed the Spaniards of goods at sea, he sold the goods to Haojing at a low price to sell the stolen goods.

Farikat brought a stranger, a young, proud Spanish aristocrat, who examined Li Dan with a critical gaze before reluctantly nodding to Farikat, who immediately introduced Li Dan.

"Before you is the grandson of His Excellency Regasby, the Governor of the Philippines, the colonel of the Navy who made an expedition to Manila and won, the commander of the Manila Legion, Juan Salcedo."

Li Dan raised his eyebrows, the arrogant naval colonel in front of him looked about the same age as him. At sea, Li Dan has packed several Spanish fleets in the past two years, and the colonel is already a big official, not to mention the official position of the commander of the Manila regiment in Li Dan's consciousness as the chief soldier.

He nodded, took a sip of the wine glass, even if he had been in Manila for a long time, he still couldn't get used to the strange taste of the wine, he looked at the wine glass and frowned, "What's the matter with me?" ”

"Watch your ......"

Faricat was interrupted by Salcedo's raised hand, his chin always seemed to be slightly raised, and said, "Don't be so vicious to our new friends, you used to be a pirate, but now you are the honorary captain of Spain, especially when you are also a Christian in front of you." ”

Farikat bowed his head slightly.

Salcedo was very satisfied that the pirate leader was so tame in front of him, he curled the corners of his mouth and said to Li Dan: "Farikat said, you have a way to bypass the city defense and enter Nanyang Weigang, and you are also familiar with the terrain of Guangdong, so you can be a guide, not to mention that there are three hundred warriors who are good at fighting. ”

"The Spanish Empire needs your help, if you want, when we take Guangdong, you can pick any place, and the land you see is all yours."

Li Dan shook his head and smiled disdainfully, "You can't win." ”

"I've fought with your boats, and they're not a few small boats, you call them lucky boats, right? My soldiers were hard to restrain it, and two small boats found it, and there were no guns but poor stupid guns, and it surrendered after being boarded by my sailors, and few people died. ”

"The battle lasted only the time that my ship sailed to the battlefield, and then I did not kill them, and asked the soldiers to return the goods and compensate them for their losses. I know that China is rich and the soldiers are not brave...... After conquering Guangdong, the first river you see, the land you see on both sides of the river, is all yours. ”

Li Dan thought to himself, this stupid dick, the first river Lao Tzu saw in Guangdong was called the Pearl River.

The remuneration was very considerable, and his words made Li Dan unhappy, he spread his hands and said: "Maybe you can win for a while, but how many troops do you have?" From Luzon to Guangzhou, your baggage supplies are not available, the cities along the Ming line can be used as supplies, once the war is slightly frustrated, you can only retreat to the sea, these promises do not count, the Ming will not give me land, only the knife of decapitation. ”

"You don't have to hold on for long." Salcedo was sure of victory, with the same sharpness as his age, and said: "As long as we hold out for half a year, achieve a decent victory or two, or even take a city and sack it, the empire will send a steady stream of brave warriors, and we will not lose." ”

Li Dan looked helpless, he looked at Salcedo, and said, "The commander of the Ming Nanyang is my father-in-law, let the son betray his father?" ”

This time, Salcedo turned to look at Farikat, "What exactly does he want?" ”

Farikat laughed and said, "Only silver can make a son betray his father, and a priest can betray God, Your Excellency." ”

"20,000 taels of silver, 5,000 taels will be given to you first, and before October you will recruit Filipino Han and Malays, and before the war will give you another 5,000 taels, and the remaining 10,000 taels will depend on your role in the war."

Salcedo raised his chin and looked at Li Dan: "Huh? ”

"A stepfather is not a blood relative." Li Dan quickly crossed his lips with his tongue, raised three fingers, and said, "Thirty thousand taels, give me all at once, and I will recruit at least a thousand soldiers before the war." ”

Salcedo didn't speak to Li Dan again, got up and put his hand on Farikat's shoulder, and turned to leave the tavern.

The Spaniards in the tavern sang songs about conquest, and through the old wooden windows, Salcedo's servant waited outside with his tall healthy horse, and he turned on his horse and walked away.

"You know, he asked me to get you drunk, and then kill you after getting out of the way into Weigang, and give me five thousand reais, less than five hundred taels." Farikat scrubbed his chin and said in slightly rusty Chinese: "I was thinking that it might be more cost-effective to wait for him to give you the silver and kill you and escape into the sea." ”

Li Dan ignored him, raised his hand to the captain of the guard in the harbor outside the window, and asked, "Who is that, and where will he be when the war starts?" ”

"Martín de Goiti, another grandson of the Viceroy and commander of Manila, was also a naval colonel, and he wore a suit of plate armor bought from Milan, the best armor in the world, with crimson trim as a symbol of his loyalty to Spain. Undoubtedly, you will eventually see him in Manila. ”

Li Dan nodded, glanced out the window again, and then retracted his gaze and said, "I like his armor." ”

"You're going to get it." Farikat squinted his eyes and smiled, picked up his wine glass and bumped it into Li Dan: "I want a piece of land in Manila that is enough to use, and a concession route between Manila and Haojing." ”

"To General Chen!"