The envoy sent by the Ming Empire was, of course, a man from the White Army. He is Bai Siwen.

With the continuous expansion of the White Army, the continuous strengthening of strength, and the improvement of various institutions, Bai Siwen, who was poor in the past, has also become the high-level of the White Army and an important backbone of the Foreign Affairs Department of the White Army. Bai Siwen's current official position is the deputy director of the Foreign Affairs Department of the White Clothes Army. The Foreign Affairs Department of the White Army has never had a director. In other words, the current Bai Siwen is one of the heads of the Foreign Affairs Department of the White Clothes Army.

The reason why I say this is because Bai Siwen is not the only deputy director of the Foreign Affairs Department of the White Army. The Foreign Affairs Department of the White Coats currently has a total of five directors, who are responsible for foreign affairs in different regions. With the continuous expansion of the territory controlled by the White Army, more and more foreign forces have been contacted, and the number of deputy directors has a tendency to continue to increase.

This visit to Manila was requested by Bai Siwen on his own initiative. To be honest, it wasn't a pleasant trip. For many people, the experience of being adrift on the sea is simply unforgettable. Most people have a natural fear of the rough sea. They always feel that the sea is the most dangerous. If you are not careful, you may be buried in the belly of the fish, and the bones will not remain. Especially officials from the literati.

In fact, within the White Army, there are indeed many people who are afraid of the sea. When the navy of the White Army was formed, it was necessary to transfer some backbones from the army to build the basic structure of the navy, and as a result, those fearless warriors who were born and died on the land battlefield were worried about going to the navy. In the end, only a handful of people are willing to go.

The current white-coated army and navy are much more than the army in terms of basic welfare benefits. However, there were basically no complaints from the army side. Even Zhang Quanfu, who has always been stingy, didn't say anything. Because, if anyone feels that they have complaints, they can take the initiative to apply for transfer to the Navy at any time and enjoy high welfare and high treatment. It's just a pity that no one wants to.

Bai Sven is an exception. He is one of the very few officials in the White Army who is willing to take the initiative to go to sea. He couldn't help but go to sea to see what the world was like, whether it was as magical as Xu Xingxia described. So, naturally, all the foreign affairs related to overseas fell on his head. Before coming to Manila, he had already run North Korea several times by sea.

"This ...... It's not easy to arrange......"

Alonsoden frowned and said to himself.

After vigorously strengthening intelligence reconnaissance, the Spaniards also had a relatively clear understanding of the situation in the Ming Empire. Obviously, for the Spaniards, the arrival of Bai Sven was somewhat abrupt. Before that, the Spaniards had not received any news. It's not that the White Coats have any conspiracy against Spain, against Manila, but the Spaniards themselves, who don't know what kind of attitude to use to welcome the White Army's emissaries.

Well, to be precise, it was Alonsoden who didn't know how to face the whites. Is it in the name of a partner or an ally? Or in the name of the enemy? Or maybe just soy sauce? Don't ask anything? Just as the messenger of the White Army is transparent? However, no matter which attitude is adopted, there are pros and cons for the Spaniards, and it is difficult to measure in the short term. Alonsoden had a big head for a while, and he didn't know what to do.

It's no wonder that Alonsoden has a headache. This Bai Siwen, nominally the envoy of the Ming Empire, is actually the backbone of the white-clothed army. He is playing the banner of the Ming Empire, but in fact he is seeking benefits for the white-clothed army. The white-clothed army always carries the banner of the Ming Empire, which makes people a little unhappy. This Xu Xingxia is also really, why not just replace it?

However, these are the internal affairs of the White Army, and they have nothing to do with anyone else. Alonsoden's hand is not so long, and he cannot interfere in the internal affairs of the White Army. Why Xu Xingxia did not replace the Ming Empire and become the emperor himself, it is estimated that only Xu Xingxia is clear. In fact, Alonsoden also has no interest in interfering with the White Army.

"Let's just say that I went to the field to inspect and will not be back until a few days."

After thinking seriously for a moment, Alonsoden said slowly. He felt that it was still necessary to think carefully for a few days and solicit the opinions of more people before making a decision. Perhaps in the past few days, he will be able to find the right angle to deal with the White Army.

Bai Sven was not angry about the Spaniard's response, smiled slightly, and ignored it. Then, with a few entourages, he began to wander around the streets of Manila. The Spanish side, of course, could not let him go around, so they had to send a few low-level officials to follow secretly. Bai Siwen pretended not to see it and continued to wander around.

For the top brass of the White Army, Manila is truly a new world. Everything here is very different from Chinese mainland. However, it would be a mistake to say that Manila has no connection with China at all. In fact, of all the ports in the South Seas, Manila is the most special and the most Chinese.

A large number of merchant ships from China, a large number of merchants from China, and a large number of laborers from China constitute the main body of the port of Manila. Here, with the exception of the army and high-ranking officials who are Spaniards, everything else has a very strong Chinese style. Even if you don't know a foreign language, there is no language barrier here.

"Luzon ......"

Bai Siwen stood at the port and nodded silently.

Before he came to Manila, he had heard Xu Xingxia say on a certain occasion that the area where Manila was located should belong to the Luzon political envoy of the Ming Empire. Xu Xingxia felt that the name of the political envoy was too awkward, and decided to change the name of all the political envoys to the province, and the original political secretary was renamed the governor.

The Ming Empire originally had thirteen political envoys, that is, thirteen provinces. In addition, there are some Xingdu Divisions. Later, Xu Xingxia decided to rename all the Xingdu Divisions as provinces, which was alongside the status of the original political envoys. Later, he decided to divide the political envoys in Nanzhili, Huguang, Liaodong and other jurisdictional areas that were too large into two. As a result, the number of provinces increased greatly. After the white-clothed army recovered Hamiwei, Yarkand and other places, several provinces were set up. As a result, the number of provinces under the jurisdiction of the Ming Empire has increased to twenty-nine.

In addition, Xu Xingxia also decided to divide the province into four provinces and set up a new province in Taiwan, so as to increase the area of several provinces. However, these are not the final results. As the White Army expands, there will certainly be new provinces. Bai Siwen optimistically estimated that in the future, the number of provinces under the jurisdiction of the White Army may exceed a hundred. Even, two hundred, three hundred are possible.

At least, in the Nanyang region, several provinces can be set up. Judging from the map drawn by Xu Xingxia, there are at least eight or more relatively large islands in the South Seas. As a result, at least eight provincial-level administrative regions can be set up. Luzon is just one of them. Of course, these secrets cannot be known to the Spaniards for the time being.

…… Five days later, Alonsoden had to meet with Blasven.

Because, the news of preparations came, saying that Bai Siwen had packed his things and was ready to go to Malacca. What is Malacca? It was the stronghold of the Portuguese. The official residence of the Portuguese Viceroy in the Far East is in Malacca. What did Bai Siwen do when he went to Malacca? Of course, it was official contact with the Portuguese. Could it be that Bai Swen went to Malacca purely for sightseeing? He is one of the deputy directors of the Foreign Affairs Department of the White Army!

In fact, this time, Alonsoden did misunderstand. Bai Siwen made his own opinion, if he wanted to go to Malacca, he was really going for sightseeing. Anyway, the Spaniard did not reply, and he was not in a hurry. What he has is time. It is said that each port in the South Seas has a different style. Bai Siwen wanted to hurry up and walk around as much as possible. Unexpectedly, just when I was about to go to Malacca, I shocked the Spaniards. It's also a good thing, though.

It's no wonder that Alonso is nervous, in fact, after the White Navy easily defeated the Dutch pirates twice in a row, no force in the South Seas dared to underestimate the White Army and Navy. Every subtle action of the white army, they must be vigilant and carefully and repeatedly weigh the meaning behind it. Otherwise, you may suffer a big loss.

To be honest, the relationship between the Spaniards and the Portuguese is not very good. After all, the two sides have borders, and there have been many wars in history because of land and religion. Especially on the issue of the right to inherit the throne, the two countries often interfere with each other, and the contradictions are deep. Spain has a large territory, a large population, and strong strength, so it is natural to bully the Portuguese from time to time. After a long time, the Portuguese naturally hated the Spaniards.

What are the advantages of the Portuguese? Their advantage is that they were the first voyagers and the first to come to the East. Don't look at the naval power of Portugal, it is not very strong, in fact, everywhere in the East, there are their footprints. The Portuguese are very familiar with everything in the South Seas. If the Portuguese and the White Army work closely together and advance and retreat together, God knows what will happen?

For the White Army, Portugal has a small territory, a small population, and weak strength, so there is almost no threat, and there is no problem of raising tigers. It is estimated that the Portuguese, on the other hand, would not dare to have such crazy and unrealistic thoughts. Therefore, the cooperation between the White Coats and the Portuguese can be carried out quite closely. The Portuguese have intelligence, the white army and navy have strength, and the combination of the two is simply the most perfect combination punch.

At this stage, the main target of the White Army Navy is obviously the Dutch. But what about after the defeat of the Dutch? Will it be the turn of the Spaniards? Even if the white-coated navy doesn't want to get along with the Spaniards, the Portuguese and the Spaniards can't get along! At the instigation of the Portuguese, the white-coated navy may also do something to the Spaniards!

Such serious consequences are beyond the reach of Alonsoden. He must buy time and try his best to get along with the White Army. Even if the two sides want to turn their faces, they can't be at the moment. He must give the top level in the country enough time to think and prepare. It will take time to send additional troops from the country to the Far East. As long as his preliminary work is done properly, no matter what happens in the future, he will not have much responsibility.

"Your Excellency the Governor, please."

"Sir, please!"

Alonsoden looked very polite, as if he was a good friend of the White Army.

Bai Siwen knew what was going on, and secretly despised Alonsoden, but on the surface, he was smiling, and he was even more affectionate than Alonsoden. The two hugged each other tightly, shushing the cold and asking for warmth. If people who don't know the details still think that the two sides are old friends who haven't seen each other for decades, they almost cry bitterly and burst into tears.

After a warm hug, the two sides began to hold a formal meeting.

In fact, the negotiation between the two sides did not have any substantive content. This kind of meeting will certainly not have any substantive surname. As for the white army, they know the Spaniards quite well. However, the Spaniards did not have a precise understanding of the White Army. The intelligence of the Spaniards has not yet touched the core of the White Army. Since he didn't know the details of the other party, it was certainly impossible for Alonsoden to make any substantive promises.

The so-called substantive content is nothing more than the redistribution of interests. Either dig a piece of meat from your body and give it to me, or dig a piece of meat from mine and give it to you. Or, the two sides join forces to dig a piece of meat from someone else's body. Obviously, there was no need for the whitecoats to cut the flesh from the Spaniards before the Dutch were completely overthrown.

After two days of meetings, the White Clothes reached a friendly agreement with the Spaniards in the name of the Ming Empire. The main content of the agreement is that the two sides will enjoy the interests of the Nanyang region in a friendly manner. Specifically, the merchant ships of both sides have an equal status in the ports of both sides. No party should take the opportunity to make things difficult.

"Damn the white-clad army! It's so cunning! ”

After the meeting, Alonsoden muttered to himself in frustration.

Obviously, this agreement is very beneficial to the white army. This was tantamount to the Spaniards' official recognition of the presence of the White Coats in the South Seas. In the future, the status of merchant ships from the Ming Empire in the port of Manila will be greatly improved. Sure enough, after the content of the agreement was made public, it was immediately warmly supported by the majority of merchant ship owners of the Ming Empire.

And for the Spaniards, there are obviously many hidden dangers of this agreement. Alonso Deng considered himself a shrewd man, not to mention in the Far East, even in Spain, and there were few people who beat him. However, in front of Bai Siwen, he was still ashamed of himself and bowed to the wind. Of course, these hidden dangers are not military, but commercial.

(To be continued)