Located at the southernmost tip of the Pearl River Estuary, there is a small island, the Pearl River flows day and night, bringing a lot of sediment and finally connecting the island and the mainland to form a narrow peninsula, and there are two small islands on the outer side of the Pearl River Estuary to block the sea breeze, making the Pearl River O a haven from the wind.

During the Zhengde period of the Ming Dynasty, the Portuguese came to the coastal area of the Ming Dynasty, robbed the maritime merchants, robbed the coastal fishing villages, and tried to establish colonies like in Africa and India, but they were naturally attacked head-on by the Ming army. In the Battle of Tuen Mun and the Battle of Sai Cao Wan, the Ming army defeated the Portuguese fleet twice, forcing the Portuguese not to dare to approach the Ming coast.

Later, in order to gain a foothold in the coastal area of the Ming Dynasty, the Portuguese did not hesitate to pay bribes to local officials in the Ming Dynasty, so as to obtain the right of residence in Haojingao. Note that just for living, you have to pay the rent of 500 taels of silver to the Ming government every year.

The land in Haojingao is barren, lacks fresh water, and cannot be cultivated at all, and there are not many people living again on weekdays, and the Ming court is not distressed about renting such a useless projectile land to the Portuguese. What's more, it is only a lease, and the governance of Hao Jingao is still in the hands of the Mingxiangshan County government.

Thus, relying on this means, the Portuguese obtained the right to reside in Daming and began the centuries-long oriental trade. Merchant ships flying the Portuguese flag traveled between the Ming Dynasty, Manila, and the Wa Kingdom, earning millions of taels of silver every year.

Of course, during this period, the Dutch and the English also attacked Macao, trying to replace the interests of the Portuguese in Daming, but they were all thwarted by the Portuguese. In order to consolidate their interests in Macao, the Portuguese built fortifications, built forts, and set up an arsenal on the island of Macao to produce guns and artillery. In the war between the late Ming Dynasty and the Manchu Qing Dynasty, a large number of red-coated cannons cast by the Portuguese were used, and even the Portuguese were even invited to train mercenaries in firearms.

The Grape People have lived in Ho Kiang O for nearly 100 years, and the bustling trade has made this once desolate seaport much more lively, and a large number of Ming people have also moved to Macau to engage in various service industries and earn silver taels from the Grape People to support their families.

After all, Macao is narrow and crowded, in addition to five or six hundred Portuguese soldiers, one or two thousand Portuguese merchants and their families, there are also two or three thousand Ming people living here. The vegetables, rice, oil, salt, and even fresh water consumed by so many people every day need to be purchased and transported from Xiangshan County in the north, and they are all transported from the checkpoint.

Next to the checkpoint, several black mercenaries were on duty with muskets, and they didn't notice that the Ming people who were transporting vegetables to the island today were no longer the same people as they used to be. Just as it is not easy for Chinese people to distinguish who is who in black Africans, black people look at yellow people similarly.

After checking the contents of the vegetable cart and rice cart a little, and taking the copper coin from the vegetable vendor and stuffing it into his arms, the black mercenary waved his hand and let people in. Except that they have never been on duty again for many years, they have long lost their vigilance.

Dozens of vendors entered Macau through the checkpoint and disappeared into the island.

At sea, seven or eight Chinese-style sailing ships sailed into the bay one after another, and the Portuguese ships guarding the bay went to intercept and inquire, only to learn that the Ming merchants who came from Chaozhou checked the ship, but it was full of raw silk, cotton cloth, tea and other goods that sold overseas.

The Portuguese were engaged in the maritime trade business, buying raw silk and other goods from Ming Dynasty merchants, and then transporting these goods to Nagasaki or Luzon Manila by sea ships to trade, making several times the profit. The Portuguese naturally welcomed the arrival of the Ming merchants, and welcomed all these ships into the bay and anchored.

The owners of the merchant ships were talking about business with the Portuguese, and the sailors on board went ashore in small boats, and the crew of the ships had to go ashore for many days to drink and rest, and the Portuguese could fully understand and not feel any surprises. After checking that the sailors were not armed, they were let ashore.

Some of the inhabitants of the island used it by sailors, selling all kinds of things to the sailors, and even the prostitutes with flowery handkerchiefs threw flattering eyes at the sailors. The sailors, however, were very honest at first glance, and did not turn a blind eye to the flattery, and did not wander around, but entered a few places near the central battery.

In order to defend against attacks from the sea, walls were built along the coast, and a battery was built in the center of the island, on which more than 20 cannon guns were placed. Macau's already big fart can be turned around in a quarter of an hour, and the central fort is very close to the residential area.

An hour later, the hundred and ten sailors who were full of wine and food sat comfortably in the meal and bragged and fart, the Portuguese and the Ming boat owners also talked about the voice, the sailing ship approached the dock, the Portuguese ship owners organized laborers to unload the goods on the ship, the Ming boat owners scolded, and a group of sailors hurriedly ran back to help unload the goods. But fifty or sixty sailors remained in the restaurant.

"Oh, God! What is that! A Portuguese shipowner, busy counting his cargo, looked up and saw a huge fleet of ships heading towards the sea in the distance.

"Daming's fleet, Mr. Francis need not panic." The Ming boat owner explained in half-baked Portuguese.

Francis looked at it and found that it was indeed a sailboat with the Ming flag, and the style of the sailboat was also a Daming blessing ship, so he breathed a sigh of relief.

For 100 years, the Portuguese and the Ming court were accustomed to peace and quiet, and the relationship between the two sides was much better than when the Portuguese first came, and they never thought that the Ming army would attack them, because the Portuguese lived in Macao with the permission of the Ming court, and the two sides were not enemies at all.

Therefore, Francis and other Portuguese shipowners did not care about this Ming fleet heading this way, thinking that it was just a passing patrol ship.

However, who knew that the Ming army fleet was not passing by, and after approaching, it actually sailed straight towards Haojing Ao.

Dozens of ships suddenly approached the island, and the troops on it numbered at least a few thousand, which was no longer passing by, and this peculiarity immediately caused panic among the Portuguese on the island.

The Portuguese officers shouted loudly and gathered their soldiers to assemble and prepare to meet the enemy, while the Ming people on the island were dumbfounded, not knowing what was happening. I had never heard of a conflict between the Portuguese and the imperial court, why such a thing had happened.

While there was a panic on the island, the sailors who were resting on their meals rushed into the street, drew their knives and guns from several vegetable carts on the side of the street, and rushed towards the central battery, which was close at a short distance.

At this time, the sailors who had helped carry the ship's cargo also left their cargo, took out swords and firearms from the ship's hold, and killed the Portuguese on the dock.

ps: In the evening, a relative called me to talk about things, and we talked until nine o'clock, so there was only one chapter. The new book "The Head is Handsome" asks for collection and recommendation, and everyone supports it.