In October, a large number of craftsmen of the Oriental Fleet settled in Majia Port, making the port look new.

Two new 100-household camps guard both sides of the port trestle, and not far to the north is the original Majiagang camp, which has now built a large number of wooden houses or brick houses, but the roads are still simple, and many logs are piled up and look like a construction site.

It's not that Chen Mu doesn't want to repair the port road, he not only wants to repair the road, but also wants to build three carriage tracks here for carrying goods, but it is difficult to even build wooden houses on the land in this season, let alone build roads.

Fortunately, road construction is not an urgent problem to be solved at the moment, as long as the barracks of the flag army and the craftsmen are built, other things can be prioritized, as long as it is enough to solve it before the arrival of the second phase of the flag army with baggage supplies next year.

The Toyo military government has planned for the road, and they will build three trestle bridges after the beginning of spring, connecting three carriage and wooden tracks, so that it will be easier and more efficient to load and unload goods at Majia Port.

But for now, they just need to happily welcome the arrival of the sixth year of Wanli.

Chen Mu did not appear at the negotiating table in the Majiagang camp, and within half an hour of receiving Chen Mu's order, Zhao Shizhen and Yang Tingxiang selected more than 20 officers who were familiar with military affairs, commerce, Spanish, and mining affairs throughout the army, and met with the negotiation team sent by the Western Army in the Majiagang Yamen.

Unexpectedly, it was still an acquaintance, Yang Ting and Zhao Shizhen led people into the yamen side hall with their eyes to search, and then saw Brother Acosta, he arched his hand and smiled: "Monk, I didn't expect to meet again, I said in Lima, you should send some people to learn Chinese, otherwise it will be very difficult to communicate." ”

Yang Tingxiang had seen Acosta in Lima, but he didn't really have a deep friendship, but he had only seen this monk with a strange hairstyle at the governor's side at that time.

He didn't speak Spanish, which was actually a very frustrating thing for Yang Tingxiang, who had learned most of the everyday language of Spain and Portugal very seriously during his study in the lecture hall, but after graduation he found that he had not used either of these two foreign languages once.

Because the general he followed was Chen Mu, and the missions assigned to him were to visit other countries and negotiate important matters, in which he had to speak his own Chinese, even if he was very proficient in different Chinese.

After his voice fell, Qi Jun, who was the interpreter behind him, repeated it to Acosta in professional and fluent Spanish, and when Acosta answered, the interpreter repeated it.

The long table used for negotiation is Chen Mu's military table, everything in Majiagang is simple, and the yamen is newly built after the arrival of the Oriental Military Government, which is dedicated to Chen Mu to convene the officers under his command, which is also the only long table in Majiagang that can accommodate more than 20 people.

Acosta remembered that on the day the Ming ship left the port of Lima, a Spanish officer planned to lead a fleet to pursue and intercept him, trying to sink the warship on the west coast, and he was the only Chinese official who had ever been to Spain, and he had no reason not to be impressed by him.

Acosta bowed his hand like a Ming man, and said in a gentle tone: "I am already learning, but the Ming Dynasty does not allow us to enter, and your words and words are very complicated, so it is difficult to learn, should I call you Lord Yang or General Yang?" ”

The negotiation team sent by the Oriental Military Government was too oppressive, including an interpreter, everyone wore a standard dark blue military uniform, a dark blue cotton armor skirt and a white, gray, red, and black breastplate painted on it, and a dark blue studded cotton armor coat painted on the outer leg and slightly tucked at the waist, and a standard cotton armor and neck iron hat with the same color as the cuirass.

Including Yang Tingxiang, who was dressed in a brocade official robe and showed the appearance of a civil official the last time they met, everyone took off their helmets, pulled back the seats, took a step forward to put down their helmets, and sat down in unison, with a helmet placed next to everyone's left hand on the table.

The elite officer corps from across the ocean is imposing.

But knowledge is also power, and the monastic class has a high status in Europe, not only because they serve the gods, but also because they are the closest to the top elite of science in all of Europe.

In the face of the invisible dismount, Acosta was not stage frightened, and smiled more kindly: "In the past, I thought that some generals said that military uniforms are like servants' uniforms, which will eliminate the fighting spirit and anger that a soldier originally had, but I don't think so when I see your military uniforms." ”

"Perhaps, when I return, I will persuade the church to support Duke Alva's claims."

After the interpreter repeated his words, Yang Tingxiang smiled and said: "My emperor and generals don't see it that way, Chen Shuai thinks that soldiers do the most dangerous livelihood in the world, and they should get military uniforms with better fabric texture, more exquisite workmanship and better looks, which can enhance the honor of soldiers for themselves, do people in your country think so, Alva?" ”

"Duke Alva." Acosta nodded, "When he was stationed in the Netherlands a few years ago, he wrote to the court, saying, 'When actively fighting, the general should make the whole army wear bright blue. He thought that 10,000 troops in blue uniforms looked more dangerous than 20,000 soldiers in black uniforms. ”

"Because the latter looks like a rabble, a chaotic army of burghers or shopkeepers."

As Acosta said this, his eyes couldn't help but swing between the neat and serious Ming army negotiation team on the other side of the long table and the negotiating team with his own messy uniforms, and he spread his hands and said: "But where in the world can there be a commander who can prepare military uniforms of the same color for 20,000 soldiers?" ”

"Even if they are worn before the war, no one will still wear the same clothes after the war, and in three or four years of war, they will be made to march thousands of miles, change their garrison a hundred times, march all night, sleep in the wilderness, and fight small battles."

Brother Acosta pouted, "The coat, boots, and shorts will soon spoil off, and I will never forget my eight years ago as a chaplain in the Netherlands, and in order to spread the glory of the Lord, I had only a small ball of damp flax to ward off the cold." ”

"My boots were filled with water, and my wet cloak was wrapped tightly, and I lay curled up like a hedgehog, and in the dawn I thought I looked like a half-drowned mouse."

Acosta laughed self-deprecatingly, and his entourage laughed too, and there was a joyous atmosphere everywhere, which was common sense in battle, and almost everyone experienced it.

But on the other side of the long table, the generals of the Ming army did not smile one by one, and even cast sympathetic glances at them.

Yang Tingxiang pursed his lips, put his hands crossed on the table, and waited for Acosta to laugh almost before he spoke very seriously: "Who said that no commander in the world can provide his subordinates with the same military uniform, monk, you are very lucky, I think it is good for everyone to agree on some other contracts before starting border negotiations." ”

"For example, as long as you provide cotton, iron, and an appropriate amount of gold, silver, and copper as labor expenses, the textile looms of the Ming Empire can run for the allies, and 20,000 people need three pieces of spring and autumn, scorching heat, and cold winter? A total of 60,000 brightly colored blue uniforms? It's not a problem. ”

"Even if you buy helmets and armor, it's easy, you can order them this year and you can receive brand new military uniforms this time next year, and you can get the armor in Mexico the year after next."

"If you are willing to increase the price, maybe Marshal Chen Mu, the most outstanding military uniform designer of the Ming Empire, will be happy to personally design high-quality military uniforms that meet the needs of your allies, in the words of the marshal, you get what you pay for, and you are guaranteed to get the best value for money."