Veracruz was the first colony he ordered after Cortés began his expedition to Mexico in 1518 with six hundred Spaniards, two hundred Indians, and a number of blacks. Over the past 100 years, Veracruz has developed into one of the largest cities in New Spain. Every spring, the main port of Veracruz is the main port of the galleon fleet "Flota" (1) that departs from the port of Seville in mainland Spain.

The garrison of the galleon fleet brought about a great prosperity in the city of Veracruz, where wood from Campeche, pepper from Tabasco, tobacco from Córdoba, cochineal from Oaxaca (2), raw silk from Manila (3), silver bars from Guanajuato, local pandan fruit, indigo, sugar, cured meat, leather, etc. from Honduras were brought together to trade with the mining machinery, bricks, mercury, steel, weapons, gunpowder, clothing, wine, wax and other materials brought by the galleon fleet. The tax collectors of Veracruz received the money and received a soft hand.

In mid-to-late July, Veracruz was still hot and humid, and His Excellency Inspector General Alfonso Romero was having a dinner with the decent people of the Viceroyalty of New Spain. Because of the power represented by Romero, the important officials of the New Spain region rushed to Veracruz with their families almost without landing.

The dinner was attended by the Governor of New Spain, the President of the Court of Prosecutorship of Mexico, the President of the Court of Prosecutorship of Guadalajara, the President of the Court of Prosecutorship of Guatemala, the General of Panama, the General of New Mexico, the General of Texas, the Bishop of Mexico, the Commander of Flota's fleet, the great businessmen from the region, the governors of the provinces, the mayors of large cities, and well-known artists......

Inspector General Alfonso Romero was the second son of the Marquis de Romero the Elder, and he was sent to the court at an early age to learn etiquette, but it also gave him the opportunity to be appreciated by the king. Last year, he secured a mission from the king to follow the "Gayaanes" fleet to the "Spanish Land" (4) to inspect the kingdom's territories within the New Century.

The young king Philip IV was not apprehensive of the officials of his American Territory, so he decided to send his henchmen from the mainland to inspect the entire American Territory to ensure that the interests of the royal family would not be compromised. After a fierce battle, Alfonso Romero got his wish.

After landing in Seville to Santo Domingo, Romero headed south through Cartagena, Rio Acha, San Salvador, Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires, Asunción, Chalcas, Mendoza, Santiago, Compseción, Lima, Quito, Panama, Acapulco, Mexico City and Veracruz. Over the course of almost a year, His Excellency the Inspector General travelled throughout Brazil, Peru, New Granada and New Spain, and in the process his personal assets multiplied countless times. Today is the last night of his stay in Veracruz, and tomorrow he will leave for Havana, where he will wait for the rendezvous of the Flota and the Gayaanes fleet, and return to Seville in March of the following year.

In order to see off His Excellency the Inspector-General, the Viceroy of New Spain summoned the leading figures of the Dominion for this farewell party. The farewell party was very grand and the atmosphere was very warm. Governor Gonzalo personally addressed: "...... Mr. Alfonso Bianca de Santis Romero was an elegant, erudite, shrewd and wise gentleman. He came from an ancient family of knights, was devout to the Lord, had mercy on all beings, and adhered to the rules of knighthood, and was appreciated and favored by His Majesty the King......"

After a lengthy speech. Alfonso Romero raised his glass with a smile on his face: "His Majesty the Great King has sent me to inspect his realm in the New World. After a year of touring, I would like to say that I am impressed by the ability of the gentlemen of New Spain to govern their territory. You have faithfully fulfilled your duty, keeping the mines, workshops, plantations, pastures, ports, and so on in order, and have created an unimaginably great wealth for His Majesty. As for your achievements, I will report them to Your Majesty truthfully, and Your Majesty will be very pleased to see your achievements. Come, let's toast to His Majesty the King! ”

"Cheers to His Majesty the King!"

Next, the banquet entered the free stage. Many officials and nobles who have been stationed in the four places all the year round have also been given a rare opportunity to catch up and chat together, and take the opportunity to introduce their children and nephews into this social circle. In addition to the gentlemen getting together to talk about some marginal topics, the flamboyant ladies and ladies also got together excitedly to exchange some recent anecdotes, and from time to time they collectively let out a collective exclamation or laughter, which attracted the attention of many men at the dinner. Especially those young nobles who came with their elders and entered the social circle for the first time, their eyes lingered repeatedly on these ladies and young ladies.

Miss Juana, the daughter of the governor of Gonzalo, was a natural leader of the circle, with her beautiful face and slender figure, and she was listening with interest to a noble lady from Panama who recounted some gossip from the south.

"A few months ago, when I went to stay with my aunt's house in Santiago, I heard that some areas in southern Chile had been attacked by Tatar pirates. These Tatars had more than a dozen boats, and each time they went ashore in small boats at night and then sacked every village or town they came across. God, they are so cruel that they do not spare even God's property in the church or in the monastery. Miss Diana, whose face was full of freckles, kept making crosses on her chest as she spoke in an exaggerated tone.

Her news was unequivocally elicited an exclamation from these empty and bored young ladies, which made her feel a little satisfied.

"Tatars? Miss Diana, how can there be Tatars in the Peruvian region? As far as I know, the Tatars, who lived next to the vulgar Russians and the evil Turks, how did they come across the ocean to the New Age? "Juana was not an uneducated aristocratic lady, but on the contrary, she was a versatile woman who received a systematic and good education, thanks to the favor of her father, the Doge Gonzalo.

"I don't know what to ......say," said Miss Diana, whose face turned a little red, and she hastened to explain, eager to be approved by Miss Juana, "It's true! When I was staying at my aunt's house, news of the Tatar attack had spread throughout the city of Santiago, and many men had been drafted into the army. My brother served in the fleet of Callao, and the governor of Lima, Gutiérrez, had ordered his fleet to set out to exterminate these Tatar pirates. It is said that because these Tatars had threatened the silver mining lines of Valdivia, the governor ordered that they must be eliminated as soon as possible. ”

Miss Juana listened thoughtfully, and then she quickly changed the subject: "Hehe, dear Diana, it seems that you have had an unusual adventure. Stop talking about these disappointing topics, let's talk about something else. Soon, she and the ladies of the nobility began to talk about the sweet cocoa produced in New Granada.

While the ladies were gossiping about some anecdotes that had taken place in the far south, some of the biggest names from New Spain were talking softly.

"I heard that Gutiérrez's men suffered a big loss in the area of La Plata." A middle-aged man in an army uniform held a wine glass and said, "Poor Viscount Fernández has been confirmed dead off the coast of the Strait of Magellan, along with two warships of the Peruvian fleet and 150 musketeers. According to the information from the Chilean side, it is likely that the Tatar fleet currently circulating along the coast of Chile did it. ”

"Yes, I've heard that too. It's a sad story. Another middle-aged man in a navy dress took a sip of wine and said, "I was amazed by the Tatars' performance, especially their cunning and tenacity. Chiloe Island, Chacao Strait, Cornell, Valdivia River... All of these places have been or are being ransacked by them. The Peruvian fleet in Callao had already departed, and the Tatars were playing hide-and-seek with them at sea, and everything looked difficult. ”

"Yes, Raul, everything is tough." The middle-aged army sighed, "The Araucans in the south-central region of Chile are also uneasy when they hear about it. On the island of Chiloe in particular, the damned Tatars sacked the port of Castro and handed over a large number of weapons to the lowly Araucans before leaving. These Araucan slaves used these weapons to slaughter many of the kingdom's immigrants, and they even sailed to the mainland, raiding land colonies, assassinating local officials of the kingdom, and inciting miners' riots. ”

"Chile is not very strong right now. The number of riots by the Araukan has surged by more than 30 per cent in the last month, and the level of blood is not the same as before. They began to have some arquebuses, which caused a lot of trouble for the counterinsurgency army. The Viceroy of Peru is now beginning to feel uneasy, with large numbers of troops in La Plata and Chile, and small numbers of civilians now being conscripted in Ecuador and Alta Peru. The Viceroy of Gutiérrez wants to quickly calm the situation or end the war, Chile I am not worried, but I am not sure that the generals of the Viceroy in the area of La Plata will be able to do so. I know Major Antonio Carlos, who is a cautious man but lacks initiative, and perhaps sending him to La Plata to command the Army was not a fitting decision. ”

(1) Flota and Gaialanes: The Spanish galleon fleet departs from Seville in the spring and summer of each year, docks in the Caribbean Sea to trade with the colonies of the New World, and returns the following year.

(2) Cochineal: An insect that contains a substance capable of dyeing in its body.

(3) Raw silk was transported from Manila to Acapulco by the Manila galleon fleet along the North Pacific Ocean via the coast of California.

(4) The Spanish mainland refers to the region of New Granada, which roughly includes the regions of present-day Colombia and Venezuela.

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