Just as Salamanca was on the move, another heavyweight visited. Pen "Fun" Pavilion www.biquge.info

The servant elongated his tone and announced: "Li Yifan, president of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce, asks to see!" ”

Salamanca and Isabella looked at each other, why did he come too?

A capable middle-aged man walked into the living room with his head held high, and saluted the two of them with Chinese etiquette: "Your Excellency, Mr. Mayor, ...... Mayor"

Isabella paused her conversation with the governor for the time being, and stood quietly aside. Salamanca cleared her throat and asked slowly, "What is the wind that blows a distinguished guest like Mr. Li here?" ”

After the massacre of 10,000 years, the Chinese in Manila have become more sensitive, suspicious, and mixed with some inferiority complex and insecurity. In such an environment, the Chinese Chamber of Commerce, as a group that unites the Chinese people, has gradually grown, gathering more than seventy or eighty percent of the wealth of the Chinese circle, and has become a decisive force in Manila. And Li Yifan, the president of the Chamber of Commerce, naturally became the guest of honor of the governor and mayor and other high-ranking officials.

Li Yifan went straight to the point and explained his intention: "I heard that the fleet blocking the port is from the Ming Dynasty, there are no warships in the port to stop them, and the forts on the city wall can't help it, and now they don't know what spell they cast, they can throw flowering shells into the city, and people are panicking." Li Mou is not talented, entrusted by colleagues in the Chamber of Commerce, willing to share the worries of the governor, sacrifice 10,000 taels of silver, go out of the city to work the army, and persuade the other party to leave on his own. ”

Salamanca didn't expect Li Yifan to make such a suggestion, and while he was surprised, he began to think in his mind, what was he trying to do?

Li Yifan waited for the governor's reply without humility or arrogance, and was very sure in his heart that this kind of proposal, which would be beneficial to the governor, would be adopted. It's not that he has too much money to be idle and wants to be nosy, but after careful consideration.

This fleet, which is said to have come from the Ming Dynasty, has been blockading the port for less than a whole day, but it has already made dozens of merchant ships dare not enter the port, wandering in the open sea, and every minute of delay, the governor's palace is losing merchant taxes, and the Chinese merchants will also suffer losses - most of the goods on board are theirs. Originally, Li Yifan thought that the sailors who lacked the cooperation of the land division could not move the strong and abnormal castle, and it would not take long for them to evacuate because they could not replenish it, but he didn't expect that they would be able to shoot the flowering bombs into the city and explode!

At this time, Li Yifan couldn't sit still, many businesses in the Chinese Chamber of Commerce set up warehouses near the wharf, and the flowering bombs smashed in, and they were the first to bear the brunt of the bad luck. The shopkeepers of other businesses came to Li Yifan and asked him to see the governor, asking the governor to negotiate peace with the other party, and the two sides would cease fire, so as not to cause fire at the city gate and affect the pond fish.

Li Yifan gladly accepted the commission of his peers and went straight to the governor. If the governor agrees to his proposal, then he goes out of the city to negotiate with the other party, and after letting the other party leave, he not only sells in front of the governor, but also breaks the good relationship with this fleet from the Ming Dynasty, and curries favor with both ends, why not?

Salamanca motioned for him to wait for a moment, then called Mayor Isabella into his study.

"Mr. Mayor, what do you think about this?"

Isabella replied: "Leaving aside the self-recommendation of the Chinese, it is necessary to talk about the stronghold of the great man without reservation. Rather than spending tens of thousands of pesos a year to maintain our stronghold on this inhospitable island, it would be better to exchange a decent retreat for porcelain and tea from the Ming Kingdom. We have lost the Japanese market, and we have not been able to obtain a stable supply of goods, and Manila's fiscal revenue has been declining year after year, and everyone is having a hard time......

Salamanca frowned, the mayor was very direct and true. In order to keep his revenues from falling off a cliff, he even signed an order allowing the Chinese to open cockfighting casinos, which contributed 80,000 pesos a year in gambling taxes, for which he was attacked by the city's magnates, who saw it as a criminal act by the Chinese to deceive the pious natives with their gambling vices. The fact that the governor did not even let go of such a tax was a disgrace to the Iberians.

He muttered, "You mean ......"

"Agree to the other party's terms, but sign an agreement that they will guarantee that they will supply us with enough porcelain, tea, and silk every year, and that Manila's revenues will be restored to the best possible state at once as long as they are shipped back to the European mainland. As for the 10,000 taels of silver from the Chinese Chamber of Commerce......" Isabella smiled slyly, "We can transfer ......"

Salamanca understood what he meant, "As long as we agree to the other party's conditions, if there is no such ten thousand taels of silver, the other party will withdraw the army?" This means that the money can be put in his pocket.

The mayor smiled knowingly: "The Chinese are very rich, and this is even their filial piety to His Excellency the Governor." ”

Salamanca had a smile on his face, and he decided to swallow the ten thousand taels of silver according to the mayor's proposal, and then give a part to the mayor as his reward for his ideas.

The two returned to the meeting room, and Salamanca said in an official tone: "I will consider your request, maybe we will sit down and negotiate." However, for your safety, your 10,000 taels of silver will be handed over by the Governor's Palace Guard. ”

Li Yifan was a little vigilant, this 10,000 taels of silver was a gift for himself to make friends with this powerful army of the Ming Kingdom, and let the governor hand it over, wouldn't he make a wedding dress for others, who would still think of his own good? He politely refused: "Your Excellency Governor Xie cares. However, it is better for this silver to be given by the Chinese Chamber of Commerce in person, after all, they are all people of the Ming Kingdom, and they are connected by blood, and they will always give our Chinese Chamber of Commerce a little bit of thin noodles. Since the Governor was willing to negotiate peace with the other party, the little one thanked him first and took his leave. ”

Salamanca's face immediately fell, and after Li Yifan left, he spat viciously: "I don't know what to do." ”

Isabella also said with a calm face: "Your Excellency, these yellow-skinned pigs have forgotten the turmoil thirty years ago. He was so enthusiastic about getting on the line with the fleet outside the city, and he kept saying that he was connected by blood...... It can't be some conspiracy, right? ”

Salamanca's face was gloomy and could drip water: "If that's the case, I don't mind letting the scene of thirty years ago repeat itself......" Thirty years ago, that is, in 1603, the colonial government instigated the natives, joined forces to massacre more than 20,000 Chinese, robbed them of their wealth, and made a lot of money, and the Chinese did not resist after that, they still did business honestly, re-accumulated a huge amount of wealth, and once again became a fat pig in the eyes of the colonial authorities and the local natives.