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Chapter 332 Manila

There is a country in the South China Sea, not far from Zhangzhou. It is hot and humid, has many trees, and is rich in gold. In the first month of the fifth year of Hongwu, he sent envoys to pay tribute. In October of the third year of Yongle, he sent officials to appease his country. In the eighth year, he and Feng Jia Shilan paid tribute, but they stopped paying tribute for a long time. In the fourth year of Wanli, the army pursued the pirate Lin Daoqian to his country.

Lu Zili, the son of Lu Xiufu, the left prime minister of the Song Dynasty, led the remnants of the army to build a navy and move southward. They stopped at Mayi State in Nanyang to rest and recuperate in order to restore the country. Later generations took the Lu family as their king, and the dress, etiquette, and customs were the same as those of the Song Dynasty. The Lu family even changed her name to the Fu Song Dynasty. Since the Song and Yuan Dynasties, Chinese merchant ships often came here for trade, and it was called Luzon.

The above is the Ming Dynasty's official overview of the Luzon Kingdom. It has neither distance nor direction nor customs and customs. It is summarized in just a few sentences. Its level of detail is not even as detailed as that of smugglers along the coasts of Fujian and Guangdong.

At that time, Folangji was strong and traded with Luzon. After a long time, he saw that his country was weak and he wanted to take advantage of it, so he bribed the king generously and begged for land as big as an oxhide to build a house for himself. The king was not aware of the deceit and agreed to it. The men split the cowhide and joined forces to thousands of feet, surrounded the land of Luzon, and begged as promised. The king was horrified, but he had already promised and had no choice but to listen and levy a small tax as per the national law.

Once the people obtained the land, they immediately built a camp and a city, lined up firearms, and set up garrison gear to wait for opportunities. Already, he took advantage of his unpreparedness, attacked and killed his king, drove away his people, and took over his country. His name was still Luzon, which was a real plan.

This section is a record of the changes in the political power of the Luzon Kingdom. It is said that the Flemish people used the trick of layering cowhide to defraud the land of Luzon. The writing feels a bit like The Classic of Mountains and Seas, which is wonderful to read as a story, but not enough when used in serious situations.

However, among the people in Guangdong and Fujian, they clearly distinguish between the Nanyang, Western and Atlantic countries. Many local officials also understand that they can hide it from the Beijing court for decades or even hundreds of years. It can be seen that the internal problems of Daming's machine are huge. It has reached a state where it is unable to move up and down and is hemiplegic.

At this time, in the Governor's Palace of Manila City, there were several people sitting around a long table looking at maps, checking information, and carefully analyzing every move of the Ming Dynasty. Most of these people's eyes and hair are not black, their tops are richly decorated with lace, and their trousers are either tightly stretched around their legs or baggy like pockets.

"Dear Governor, why don't the men on the dock have enough raw silk to sell, and they no longer accept direct purchase with silver, but instead have to exchange it with gold, copper ore, rice, and wood?

If you continue not to interfere, my fleet and I will have to return to Spain with half the cabin empty, and I can only tell the Duke truthfully what happened here. "

The speaker is of middle age, with darker hair and beard, neatly combed. The sleeves of the top and trouser legs are not only very wide, but are also made of red and yellow satin stitched together. The cuffs and trouser cuffs are tightened, plus a circle of lace around the collar, making it look like the clown in Solitaire.

But his expression and tone were not funny at all. His brown-black eyes were full of anger. He addressed the respected governor, but his chin was raised high, and his words were full of threats.

The man sitting at the end of the long table has a relatively large cross-section. Although he is dressed in black clothes, it still does not have a restraining effect. Instead, he becomes more bloated against the slightly pale skin.

Although he looks unattractive and even a bit wretched, he comes from a truly noble family in Spain and inherited the title. His full name is Count Don Pedro de Aguna. He is also the governor of the Philippines sent by the King of Spain.

"Mr. Gomez, as the Governor of the Philippines, I cannot designate what merchant ships will sell and buy. Although there is less raw silk, there is a lot of sugar and the price is very good. We can also load dozens of barrels of sugar cane wine, Your Majesty the Duke. You won’t be disappointed.”

Governor Aguna's temper was as soft as his fat body. In the face of very rude and slightly threatening questions, he still gave very pertinent suggestions with a smile. "No, no, no, Mr. Governor, you may not understand what I mean. It's not just a matter of raw silk, but physiological people no longer like silver. The silver brought by Spanish galleons from the New World is no longer available in the Philippines under your jurisdiction. It is a hot commodity and cannot be exchanged for high-quality goods to be shipped back to Seville.”

The man known as Gomez was not moved by the Governor's approachability. Instead, he became even more excited. He stood up and loudly reiterated the key points he wanted to express. The wide trouser legs bulged at the knees, one red and one yellow, like wearing two pumpkins.

"Then what do you want to do?" Aguna still had a smile on his fat face, shrugged, spread his hands, and asked sincerely.

"...As His Majesty the King's Governor, don't you do anything about this bad situation?" This question really stopped Gomez in his tracks. He held the back of the chair with both hands and his chest kept rising and falling for a long time. I can only ask back.

"As the Governor of the Philippines, I only have two armed two-masted merchant ships and less than 1000 soldiers. But they have to guard more than a dozen towns and fortresses, including Manila and Mindoro. Even so, they still cannot meet the deadline. Get a salary of less than 100 pesos per year.

If I use these soldiers to forcibly interfere with the physiological merchants, they will immediately abandon Manila and sail south to trade with the Flanders. By then you may not even be able to buy half the cargo, even if you are willing to pay gold. "

As the governor of the Philippines appointed by the King of Spain, Aguna did not want to use his power to influence Ming merchants. This trick has been used before, and it worked well. The hard-working and cowardly Chinese could not get support from the Ming court, and they could only swallow their anger in the face of the Spanish soldiers with live ammunition.

Even so, the Chinese will still be regarded as the most dangerous group, living side by side with another dangerous group, businessmen and settlers from Japan, in the suburbs. They are strictly controlled by the Manila authorities and cannot move freely and pay high taxes.

However, this situation has changed significantly in recent years. Not only have there been fewer and fewer merchant ships from the Ming Dynasty, but many Chinese who originally lived in Manila have also left one after another and disappeared without a trace. In two years, there have been fewer Nearly a third.

Some people said that they ran to Batavia because the Dutch East India Company there offered better treatment. Not only could they buy houses in the city, but they also paid less taxes. Some people also say that he received a summons from the Ming Emperor and returned to his hometown in Zhangzhou.

In the end, it was the Portuguese merchant sailors from Haojing who gave the accurate answer. These people from Zhangzhou, Fujian who had been living in Manila for a long time had indeed returned to their hometown. But it was not the Emperor of Ming Dynasty who called him back, but his fellow countrymen.

Why go back? Because there is a better business to do at home, and it is no less profitable than in Manila. In this case, who would be willing to live in a foreign country with a low profile, even if they earn less, they are still willing to return to their roots.

(End of this chapter)