Daming Yuanfu

Chapter 1083 A Thousand Sails Overwhelm the Sea (Part [-])
On the southwestern sea in the Wanli Changsha waters, the Spanish "Manila Galleon" fleet is sailing southwest under the gloomy sky.

In the captain's room on the fleet's flagship "Galicia", the captain himself is not in it. Instead, there are an elderly missionary and a well-mannered middle-aged nobleman.

"President Alfaro, what do you think of my brother the governor?" The middle-aged nobleman asked the missionary with a glass of red wine while smiling. The missionary's full name was Pedro de Alfaro , then President of the Franciscan Order of Manila Acting Province.

President Alfaro also had a glass of red wine in his hand, but he never drank even a sip. With a calm expression, he said slowly: "Sir Diego, I am very surprised by your brother's ambition, but unfortunately, I personally do not Be optimistic about his plans. With all due respect, the plans of the Governor of Pena can only exist on paper. Yes, sir, I insist that if His Majesty Philip II is really persuaded by him, then we count in the East Ten years of hard work will likely collapse within one to two years."

"President Alfaro." The middle-aged noble didn't mean to be angry at all, but smiled slightly: "My half-brother is a very lucky person. He once defeated 300 people with 4000 people, so any of him Always so confident."

Alfaro saw a sneer on the face of the middle-aged nobleman, and immediately heard the nobleman continue: "Although he used 300 musketeers armed to the teeth to kill 4000 Potosi miner slaves, but you know, they People are very good at taking credit for themselves, so when the information of these 4000 people was presented to His Majesty's desk, it has become 4000 well-trained and well-equipped rebels... My brother also has the opportunity to rank among the higher positions until eventually becoming the fourth Governor-General of the Philippines."

The middle-aged nobleman said so, but Alfaro didn't answer his words, but said calmly: "Sir Diego, I have no intention of commenting on the past achievements of Your Excellency the Governor—I don't understand, and I don't need to understand."

"No, no, sir, I think it is very necessary for you to understand these things." The middle-aged nobleman shook his head and said: "As long as you still have hope in our pioneering business in the East, then understand the truth about my brother-in-law. Ability is a very important thing—it's about whether you can convince His Majesty."

But Alfaro still shook his head and said sternly: "Sir Diego, I think you misunderstood me. The reason why I don't need to know your brother's ability is because no matter whether your brother's ability is strong or weak, it can't change me. Dissuade Your Majesty from accepting Brother Ling's proposal."

"Oh?" Sir Diego seemed a little surprised, and asked, "May I ask your Excellency the reason for this?"

"Of course, I have no intention of concealing this from the beginning to the end." Alfaro said: "A few days ago, Mr. Jazz also saw the trading fleet of the Ming Empire in Manila Port. I don't know what you think of this fleet. What do you think?"

"A very good fleet." Sir Diego raised his eyebrows slightly: "I must admit that I was surprised to see such a formal fleet and well-trained crew outside of Europe."

"So, what do you think of the combat effectiveness of this fleet? I mean, if we engage them." Alfaro asked.

"You mean if there is a battle between them and our fleet?" Sir Diego thought for a moment before replying, "We can win—of course, we need to pay some price."

"I'm glad you didn't say things like 'we will win easily and dedicate a great victory to the greatest monarch in the world' like your elder brother." Alfaro showed a rare smile , but immediately became serious again, and said: "As for the fleet we saw in Manila Harbor that day, I wonder if you have done any exact statistics?"

"Exact statistics?" Sir Diego frowned, "What kind of 'exact' do you mean?"

"It seems that you haven't counted it specifically." Alfaro put down the wine glass and said, "I have counted, and there are 34 large and small sea-going ships in that fleet. Among them, there are two armed merchant ships with almost the same appearance and the same flag. Ten ships, these armed merchant ships are the main targets of our transaction - the ships of Jinghua Maritime Trade."

"Oh, they are our most important business partners in the east? It seems that our partners have good strength. Although I have not participated in these business activities, I think our merchants will be very happy to have such a powerful business partner—— It means they don't worry about the source of the goods."

"Your point of view is correct, but please allow me to correct your wording a little bit." Alfaro said lightly: "These Jinghua Maritime Trade fleets with the banner of 'Book and Sword' are just a branch of the Jinghua Maritime Trade Company. Part of an all-important squadron."

Sir Diego's face froze obviously, and his smile became a little unnatural. Finally, he was silent for a while and asked, "Are you sure the fleet I saw that day was just one of the company's unimportant squadrons?" Part of'? I know that you once specialized in literature before you became a servant of the Lord, so I hope that your words just now were not overly exaggerated, so as to cause me unnecessary misjudgment."

"Precisely because I specialized in literature when I was young, my words are very prudent, and I will never exaggerate when it should not be exaggerated-I take full responsibility for what I just said."

Sir Diego stared into President Alfaro's eyes, as if trying to find out what he hoped for, but the latter's expression did not seem to loosen at all.

Finally, Sir Diego gave up. He frowned deeply, and asked, "What is the proportion of the fleet—I mean the twenty armed merchant ships in the company?"

"Unfortunately, Sir, I don't know a more detailed and definite answer." Alfaro shook his head and said: "But based on my understanding of many sources in the past three years—including the communication with Father Luo Mingjian and others—I think this team The fleet is no more than one-tenth of the strength of the company."

"Impossible!" Sir Diego suddenly stood up furiously, and stared, "Do you know what you're talking about? Are you saying that this company alone owns no less than two hundred such large armed merchant ships? Your Excellency, President, even though I don’t know the cost of the Dongfang man-made ship, the value of this fleet is at least more than…”

"More than 100 million taels of silver." Alfaro shrugged indifferently, and said, "If you want to express this, then I don't need your reminder, because the price is open and transparent."

"What do you mean, open and transparent?" Sir Diego was obviously taken aback.

"What I mean is that the Jinghua Shipyard of the Ming Empire has an open and transparent price for the armed merchant ships they produce and build, and everyone—including us and the Portuguese—can order , as long as you are willing to spend money, you can buy it.”

Sir Diego was stunned for a while, and said in disbelief: "I can hardly believe this is true, even though I can tell from your expression that you are not joking."

Alfaro sighed and said: "You don't have to doubt that the armed merchant ships you saw that day can indeed be ordered from Jinghua Shipyard. According to the price they announced, the price of a single ship ordered by Jinghua Maritime Trading Company itself It is 5.5 taels of silver, and the Portuguese and our order price are the same: 6 taels of silver for each ship."

"The price of a single ship seems a bit expensive. It seems that the Orientals don't intend to sell it?" Sir Diego seemed to want to continue struggling.

It's a pity that President Alfaro broke his fantasy, and regretfully said: "You are wrong again. Although their single-ship cost seems to be expensive, you need to know that their calculation method is different from ours——Seville When shipyards in other places sell ships, they do not include ship-borne artillery or personnel training, but these things are standard services when selling ships at Jinghua Shipyard-of course, if the buyer expresses that they do not need them, they will Discounts are also available. However, sir, please believe that buying the entire ship is the most cost-effective."

Sir Diego did not argue whether it was worthwhile or not, but asked after a short silence: "Your Excellency, I would like to know the annual construction capacity of the shipyard you mentioned."

"The scale of this shipyard is very large." Alfaro explained: "I only know that it has three main branch factories that are involved in the manufacture of seagoing ships. These three large branch factories have a large north-south span, and one of them is located in Daming A place called 'laizhou' in the north of the empire, another in a place called 'qinzhou' in the south of the empire, and a newly built branch factory in Annan, which they call 'jingang'.

Of these three places, the first two should be the main ones, and I only know about the one in 'Qinzhou'.As far as I know—including the testimony of Father Luo Mingjian—the branch factory can build at least 50-60 armed merchant ships of this class every year, and can also build a smaller class—that is, the model sold to the private sector—about 40-50 ships.

In addition, Father Luo Mingjian and I are convinced that this branch factory can also build one or two more specialized and large-scale warships. They call them "cruisers", but what is their construction capacity? , we don't know yet.Oh, by the way, the construction capacity of the Jinghua Shipyard I mentioned above only refers to its construction capacity under normal conditions. If there is an unexpected situation—such as the stimulation of war—it cannot be estimated due to various reasons. "

Sir Diego's silent face was livid, and after a long while, he took out a letter with a gorgeous envelope and complicated sealing paint from his arms, raised it towards Alfaro, and said: "After listening to the words of your Excellency, I am very happy now. Want to throw this letter straight into the sea."

Alfaro glanced at the letter, and saw that it was written on the envelope: "To King of Spain, Portugal and the New World: His Majesty the Great and Pious Philip II", and the signature was "Your most loyal servant, Philippine Governor Gonzalo Langelo de Pena".

Alfaro didn't speak, just looked at Sir Diego calmly, and asked: "Your brother, Your Excellency Governor Pernia thinks that only 5000 soldiers are needed to conquer the Ming Empire..."

"I've said it before." Diego said disgustedly: "You don't need to take these stupid words of his seriously—the 'orthodox' successor of the Peña family is a poor bastard with two tons of seawater in his head."

Alfaro shrugged slightly, and said: "Sir, the rifle I gave you is not only the current standard equipment of the Ming Empire, but also the standard equipment of the mercenaries under the Jinghua Company. I hope you can keep it properly until it is presented to the king. The moment His Majesty checks."

Diego nodded with a sullen face, and asked again: "By the way, President, since the ships of Jinghua Shipyard are sold together with the artillery, why don't we buy one? Besides studying their unique sail structure, why don't we buy one?" In addition, you can also verify their artillery level, which I think is very meaningful."

"Please believe me, sir, it's not that we haven't considered this point, but later when our people visited this class of armed merchant ships, we found a very serious problem, so that we haven't been able to decide whether to spend such a sum of money. Money to buy ships."

Diego was surprised: "What's the problem? Is there a serious defect in their ship?"

"For us, that's true." Alfaro sighed: "We found that their sail structure is relatively fixed. After we use the sails they provide, it will be difficult to change back to our own when needed." Soft sails, while their sail configuration is only good in the Pacific and Indian Oceans, it becomes neither reliable nor practical once it enters the Atlantic."

Alfaro shook his head and said: "Spain is a global monarchy, and its homeland is located in Europe. It is impossible for us to use a ship that is not suitable for sailing in the Atlantic Ocean. And if it is only for research purposes, to buy this class of armed merchant ships, this sum Who will get the money? It is impossible for the Franciscans to come up with this money, otherwise we will not be able to account for it.”

"Well, I understand what your Excellency means. When I return to Madrid, I will persuade His Majesty the King to pay this very necessary expense."

Diego paused for a while after finishing this sentence, and then said: "I remember you told me before that 'jinghua' is the largest comprehensive commercial company in the Ming Empire, may I understand it as the company The actual controller—that person named Gao Pragmatism, whose status in the business world of the Ming Empire is equivalent to that of the Medici back then, Fugger today, or Spinola, Doria, Centurion, Gerry Families like Limarti and Lomerini?"

Alfaro was silent for a while, and said lightly: "Perhaps you should add up all these families, and then compare with this highly pragmatic gentleman."

Sir Diego gasped: "Are you sure?"

"Yes, Sir, I'm sure." Alfaro said: "I can't describe his wealth, but you can imagine that in a country that is said to have a population of [-] million, he has the power to almost monopolize ocean trade and land border trade. Also owns an industrial company like Jinghua Shipyard, what kind of wealth and power is this?
What's more, as far as I know, the annual steel and iron output of the Ming Empire is close to 500 million kilograms (converted), of which nearly 500 million kilograms are produced in Jinghua's iron factory—that is, Jinghua The iron and steel production of the iron factory under the company's name even far exceeds that of the whole of Spain (Note: In fact, the iron production in Spain itself is not high. Gold and Silver of America"). "

Sir Diego was silent again, and after a while, he asked: "I heard that Mr. Gao Pragmatic once proposed to trade directly with us, and opened Annan's Golden Port as a free port. I don't know why our businessmen have only Will wait in Manila."

Alfaro shrugged slightly: "Regarding this issue, I suggest that you consult His Excellency the Governor of Pernia. It is he who issued the ban. It is said—of course I only heard—that he is in order to avoid conflicts with the Portuguese at this special moment. Conflict, because it is very important for His Majesty to secure the smooth rule of Portugal."

"Aha! Yes, for a Portugal, he intends to attack the most populous empire in the world, and he also said that only 5000 soldiers are needed! Our Excellency the Governor of Pernia is really the bravest warrior God has given to Spain, and I respect him Full of respect."

Unsuppressed sarcasm welled up on Diego's face, and he continued: "If it wasn't for the worry that our trade plan would be affected by him, I even hope that His Majesty the King will kindly agree to his request and let him experience it for himself. The feeling of ten thousand rifles pointed at the head!"

Alfaro smiled silently, but said nothing.

"Well, Your Excellency, President, as His Majesty's special envoy, I think I have fully understood your point of view, and I have fully realized the economic and military strength of the Ming Empire—especially the high-practice Your Excellency. With the blue blood of the Pernia family, you agree with Governor Pernia's stupid plan."

(Note: "Blue blood" is not really blue blood. At that time, European nobles were known as "blue blood nobles". Friends who don't know the reason can Baidu it themselves).

"Oh, by the way, is this High Pragmatic Excellency a nobleman?" Sir Diego suddenly added a question.

"Sorry, Sir, I'm not very clear whether His Excellency Gao Yushi has a noble title. But as far as I know, several generations of his ancestors are imperial officials, especially his uncle, who was the chief minister of the Ming Empire and has obtained The highest honorary title of the empire, they call it 'wenzheng' - I don't know the actual meaning of this title, but judging from the expressions of others when it is mentioned, it may be equivalent to a saint."

Sir Diego was in awe, sat up straight, and drew a cross on his chest: "Ah, what a great man, I hope that in the future I will have the opportunity to communicate with the nephew of this saint face to face." He said After a short pause here, he has already relaxed, and said with a smile: "After all, a person who can own such a huge fleet should be respected anywhere in the world, don't you think so?"

Alfaro nodded seriously, and said: "Yes, Sir, I completely agree with you. To put it in the words of a wise man, the fleet of Your Excellency Gao Yushi is powerful enough to cover the sea with thousands of sails and cover thousands of miles of waves." Power. No matter who it is, he should be given respect enough to match this power."
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Thanks to book friends "Cao Mianzi" and "Shan Qi Zhao Bi Xin" for their support, thank you!Thank you book friend "Yue Xiaoyao" for your monthly ticket support, thank you!
PS: The Governor of Peña that appeared in this chapter is a historical figure, whose full name is "Gonzalo Ronquillo de Pealoza". This person did propose to Philip II the plan or proposal of "conquering Ming with 5000 soldiers", but Philip II ignored it.In addition, Alfaro is also a historical figure.

(End of this chapter)