The port of Manila is still thriving today, and although the royal city of the Spaniards was washed in blood last year, it did not stop the enthusiasm of merchants from all over the world. ~ Every day, the port is still bustling and very lively, and merchants from all over the world gather here. Nowadays, Manila is the Chinese who say the word, so there are more Chinese businessmen coming here now than in previous years.

A Western-style sailboat slowly approached the port of Manila, and a burly middle-aged Western man stepped off the ship. He stood on the dock and glanced in the direction of the Spanish royal city, then turned and left the dock.

Western men arrive at a Dutch merchant house in Intramuros, the Manila business establishment of the Dutch East India Company. It has been in Manila for more than ten years.

He walked into the merchant house and politely said to the people in the merchant house, "Is Mr. Marco here?" ”

After a while, he was led into a room by the people of the merchant house, and a thin old man greeted him and smiled: "Welcome to you, my friend, you haven't been here for a long time." ”

The middle-aged man smiled bitterly: "If I hadn't returned to the kingdom, I might never see you again." ”

Marco sighed and said, "Sures, I am also very indignant at the atrocities of those people, but you know, I am only a businessman. Your kingdom's armies must be coming soon, and they will be punished. ”

Surez nodded heavily and said, "Yes, God will not forgive them. Marco, I've just come from Batavia, and this time I'm representing the kingdom, Petersson. Governor Kun also received me alone. I'm here to get your help. ”

"Your Excellency the Governor has written to me to provide you with the necessary assistance. Sures. We are friends and I will do everything I can to help you. ”

The two talked secretly for a long time, and Marco told Surez about the situation in Manila in great detail. After hearing this, Surez nodded and said, "Are you saying that those people have been gone for nearly a year and have never returned?" ”

"Although they are very secretive, I have learned about it through some channels, so it should be very accurate. Now it is guarded by a group of Chinese pirates, only a few old sailboats, and the rest are some relatively small junks. There were more than 3,000 people in total.

And I also learned that the Chinese merchants who ran Manila were not in harmony with the pirates. Initially, they had a violent argument. Now the two sides almost never interact. The Chinese merchants did not have the support of the pirates, so they had no control over Luzon at all, and much of the land they had taken from your kingdom was now occupied by the locals. ”

Sures' eyes lit up. Said excitedly: "Have they never come back?" ”

Marco nodded. He smiled and said, "Maybe I'll never come back." Ha ha...... Just by the pirates. There is no way to defend against the attacks of your kingdom. And the Chinese merchants in Manila, with only 2,000 docile Chinese soldiers in their hands, could not even maintain the rule of Luzon. A lot of local indigenous people. Now they are coveting the lands left behind by your kingdom.

Some of the land has been occupied by them, and those Chinese businessmen have talked to the natives about renting land, but they have not received the rent so far. I don't know what they think, they actually negotiated with those lowly natives. Hehe......"

Surez lowered his head and thought for a moment, then raised his head and said sincerely: "Thank you Marko, you are my best friend." I know you're familiar with the indigenous leaders, so can you introduce me? ”

Marco thought for a moment and said, "With all due respect, the strength of that Far Eastern Company is very strong, although the fall of the royal city was due to the traitors, but they were able to capture the castle of Santiago in one night, which I have always found incredible. No one knows when they will return.

The 2,000 Chinese soldiers are not a cause for concern, but they are very well equipped, and they can resist your attack with the help of the royal city and the castle of Santiago, so I don't need to say how fierce those Chinese pirates are. Sures, how many soldiers did your kingdom send from the mainland this time? ”

Surez thought for a moment and said: "The Manila tragedy caused a huge sensation in the kingdom, and almost everyone supported the king to send troops to teach those pirates a lesson. Even many powerful people in the New World gave their support. Six thousand troops sent by the kingdom from the mainland, as well as several thousand mercenaries from Poland and other places. The Governor of Mexico will also send two thousand men. In addition, there are two dozen warships.

Thanks to the support of all sides, the army was assembled quickly, and the fleet arrived in Mexico in September, having already departed from Acapulco last month. On behalf of the Kingdom, I have discussed in detail with Governor Basidu, and the Kingdom attaches great importance to the reconquest of Manila this time, and is willing to carry out more in-depth cooperation with your company in the future. ”

Koeman was also shocked when he heard this, the Spaniards had sent so many troops, and they had come so quickly. It seems that the Spaniards are bound to win this time. The army of the Spanish mainland, which was not comparable to the colonial soldiers, and there were more than two dozen Spanish galleons, and the Spaniards would definitely be able to return to Manila this time.

Thinking of this, he smiled and said, "As a friend, I am willing to help you as much as I can." If you'd like to meet with the indigenous leaders, I'll arrange it in the near future. Actually, in Manila you can also think of some solutions, and I can help with this. ”

The Manila branch of Far Eastern Group now has 15 directors of Chinese businessmen, all of whom have been operating in Manila for many years and have a high reputation in the local Chinese community. Every month they get together to meet and discuss some company matters.

Sixty-five-year-old Zhang Siyuan, because he is the oldest, is temporarily the chairman of the Manila branch, responsible for coordinating the work of the directors. Now the Manila branch is very smooth in its work, and with their relationship with the Ming businessmen, they will also take great care of each other, which virtually reduces everyone's costs.

Manila's local Chinese businessmen and Daming maritime merchants will communicate before the goods go on the market, which also makes the price of Daming maritime merchants much higher. But in this way, it also made the merchants of other countries feel dissatisfied, and no one wants their profits to shrink.

Everyone finished talking about business matters, and they were in a good mood, but a Chinese businessman suddenly complained.

"Elder Zhang, He Wu, they are getting more and more disagreeable now, and they came to pay the money again yesterday. According to their method, how will we explain it when the owner comes in the future. ”

Everyone listened to his words, and the originally good mood became irritable.

"Yes, you said that a group of pirates can be trained on the shore, and firearms alone cost a lot of silver every day."

"There are thousands of them, and it costs a lot of money just to eat and drink every day, and they still run to the sea every day, and the cannons are diligent, and every cannon is silver. I don't know what the owner thought at the beginning, and let such a group of wicked people stay here. ”

"Can the pirates be trusted, if the Frankis come back, they will be gone. We can't count on them to kill us one day. ”

They are all well-behaved Chinese merchants, and they can't go with those pirates. So not long after Qiao Haipeng left, a conflict broke out between them and those islands.

could have been discussed, but neither side looked at each other unpleasantly, and they didn't speculate for more than half a sentence, and they fell out while talking. From then on, He Wu simply didn't come to Wangcheng, and went directly to the ship with the pirates, training at sea every day.

He also built a military camp near Manila according to Qiao Haipeng's instructions. Every day, he took turns to lead troops ashore for training, and he knew that the Frankians were coming, although the head said that he would come back at the end of the year, but he still didn't dare to be careless.

A group of Chinese businessmen, you say a word to me, and they keep counting down He Wu's no. At this time, a slightly chubby old man said lightly: "I don't know when the owner will come back." It's not like they're never coming back. ”

When everyone heard this, they all suddenly became silent. Although they do not have much sense of belonging to the Far Eastern Company, and do not agree with the fierce style of the Far Eastern Company. But without the protection of the powerful Far Eastern Company, those Franky people would have to be killed sooner or later.

The Far Eastern Company patted his ass and walked away after killing people. But if the Frankes come back, they will definitely vent their anger on the Chinese in Manila, and if they really come to that time, there will be no way for them to live.

The chubby old man who spoke was called Wang Xuanhe, and he had always had doubts. It is said that the Far Eastern Company has laid such a big place, why didn't anyone stay, and handed it over to them, and let it go. Even the most important work of city defense was entrusted to a group of pirates.

So he has always been uneasy in his heart, and always feels that the Far East gang may really not come back. Or it won't be arranged that way. And they pulled so many things away, probably never intended to come back in the first place.

Everyone chatted for a while and then dispersed. As soon as Wang Xuanhe returned to his house, a family member came to report that a Hongyi man had been waiting for him for a long time.

When Wang Xuan heard it, he thought it was a Hongyi merchant, and he didn't care about it, so he asked his family to bring him. He has been worrying these days, thinking about finding a way back for himself, and the Hongyi people also have strong strength in Nanyang, so Wang Xuanhe also tried to contact them intentionally or unintentionally.

After a while, a thin Hongyi man was brought to him by his family, and said to Wang Xuanhe with a smile: "My name is Marko, the person in charge of the Dutch Merchant House in Manila. ”

Wang Xuanhe stretched out his hand and said with a smile: "Fortunately, fortunately, come...... Let's talk to my study. ”

On the endless sea, more than 20 huge Spanish galleons are sailing to Malacca. Enrique, the commander of the Spanish fleet, was standing on the deck of the fleet's flagship "Brave" with his hands behind his back, and the fleet had sailed for more than half a year since leaving the mainland, and was finally about to reach its destination.

The lookout post on the mast suddenly shouted, "Sir, land has been found ahead, we have reached Malacca." ”

As soon as he finished speaking, the Spaniards on the ship cheered, and Enrique laughed at the people around him: "It's finally here, maybe even the Dutch in Batavia didn't expect us to come so quickly." (To be continued......)

ps: Thank you to ei09 and Elyse for their monthly ticket support, thank you for the blue Jiang and 00981 for their tipping support, and thank you to all the book friends R527 who subscribed to this book