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Chapter 557 Actively Prepare for War
"On behalf of myself and the King of Spain, please express my gratitude to Father Pantoga and the Jesuits. God is with us."

Manila Port, Governor's Palace, the bloated Governor Aguna stood up from behind his desk with difficulty, squeezed out a kind smile to a bearded man shrouded in a gray robe, and at the same time scratched his chest with his right hand. cross.

"Please ask Colonel Garcia and Bishop Joseph to come to my place immediately, remember, right away!" After the bearded man put on his hood and exited the door, with a smile full of flesh on his face, he pulled the bell and summoned looking at the guards in the corridor.

"Roxas, Albrecht, you all should go to hell!" After almost roaring the order to the soldiers, Governor Aguna threw his butt in the chair, picked up two pieces of paper, and looked at the left and the right. , and not long after, he roared again, and his heavy palms slapped on the hardwood table with a clanking sound.

The bearded man who had just left was a Jesuit missionary. Following the secret order of Bishop Pang Diyi of Haojing'ao, he traveled all the way from Guangzhou Port to Manila Port on a Daming Maritime Merchant ship and delivered a letter and a newspaper. .

The newspaper is called Commercial Daily. It is a Chinese-language reading material that contains a lot of goods prices and buying and selling information. It was founded by the late Governor of Guangdong and Guangxi Li Zhi and local businessmen in Guangzhou. Although Governor Aguna could not understand Chinese, he had heard a little about it. Almost every Ming businessman who came to Manila Port to trade had a piece of it.

The letter was written in Spanish, the content was simple, the handwriting was sloppy, but the content was astonishing. The Ming Emperor suddenly issued an imperial edict to dispatch the navy to avenge the Chinese businessmen who died in Manila Port.

Why is this happening? Governor Aguna knew it two months ago. The Spanish galleon that came and went every year brought a personal letter from the Duke of Lemar, informing the Governor of the Philippines that Spain did not intend to conduct military cooperation with the Ming Empire for the time being.

If the Ming Emperor insists on attacking Dutch merchant ships, the Governor of the Philippines can provide some necessary supplies and relevant intelligence. Of course, it is also secret. On the surface, the rate is not neutral.

There was also a letter from home that came with the ship. The old count told his son that the decision made by the King of Spain was entirely the idea of ​​Duke Lemar and Albrecht VII.

As Governor of the Netherlands, Albert VII was most eager to suppress the Dutch's demands for independence, but he was also least willing to engage in a long-term war with the Dutch. Because the location of the battle is within his jurisdiction, no matter who wins, if it lasts too long, it will cause huge losses to his family.

But things didn't go as planned. With the support of a large group of businessmen, the two sides continued to fight for decades, and still couldn't decide the outcome. Although the Dutch suffered a slight loss, they did not allow Spain to take advantage of them too much. In the past few years, both sides were a little exhausted and had to sign an armistice agreement for 12 years.

In this armistice, Spain promised to lift the trade embargo between the United Provinces and Europe and allow the Netherlands to trade freely in the West Indies. Although the East Indies are not included, once the Dutch merchant ships are attacked by Spain on a large scale, the armistice agreement is expected to be invalidated.

At this time, Spain's domestic economy was very poor and it was on the verge of bankruptcy. It finally stopped the war and was unwilling to start another war because of the interests of the East Indies. After all, the American continent was the foundation.

Originally, the King of Spain and the Duke of Lemar expected the Ming Dynasty to take the lead and serve as the vanguard to drive away the Dutch. Spain is helping secretly, such as providing military intelligence, guns and artillery. In this case, no matter who loses or wins, Spain will be the winner. Hence the drama of Albrecht VII traveling across the ocean to have secret talks with the Ming Empire. Unfortunately, the Ming Emperor was not confused at all and insisted on dragging Spain along with him.

Albrecht VII knew that it was impossible for the two countries to cooperate when he left the capital, and his talk of optimism was just diplomatic rhetoric. The decision was made quickly after returning to China. As for whether the Ming Emperor was happy or not, they didn't care.

So what if I'm not happy? A few hundred Spanish soldiers can occupy the Philippine Islands, a ship of Portuguese sailors can occupy Goa, and even the Dutch can easily turn Batavia into an East India Company trading post. Even if the Ming Empire has a larger territory and a larger population, It's not a powerful country. As long as you have the silver from South America, are you still worried about not being able to buy anything?
In fact, the Spanish kings, including Duke Lemar and Albrecht VII, and most European nobles basically thought so. Only missionaries like Pang Di, who have truly penetrated the land of the Ming Dynasty, know the consequences of offending the Ming Emperor.

It's a pity that his words are only effective in Haojing'ao, and they can't cover the sky with one hand. The actual local manager, Emperor Ming, appointed Gabriel, a captain from Portugal.

When he heard that the Ming Emperor was going to attack Manila Port, Gabriel immediately convened a captain's meeting. An administrative decree was passed at an extremely high rate, prohibiting any ship docking at Haojingao from participating in the war in any form.

Those who disobey will become persona non grata from now on and will be prohibited from living in Haojing'ao, stopping to load and unload goods, or purchasing any supplies. Xiangshan County will also be notified, asking Ming officials to arrest them.

What? Portugal and Spain have a common king, are they brothers? This idea is difficult for most Portuguese people to accept, and may even be incomprehensible.

In their eyes, the Spaniards are more hateful than the Dutch, British, and French. They are robbers who usurped the throne of the Portuguese king through illegal means. They are very restrained if they don't fight with each other. It is absolutely delusional to help the Spaniards fight.

Of course, it is best not to help the Ming Dynasty attack the Spaniards. No matter what, he will return to Portugal sooner or later. It will be very troublesome to become a traitor by then. This time Pang Di and I secretly sent someone to Manila Port to report the news, which was a huge risk. Once the news leaked out, he might have no place in the Ming Dynasty.

Governor Aguna is very grateful to Bishop Pondy for his righteous deed. After this matter is resolved, he will definitely write a letter to the church to praise him. As for whether Manila Port can be defended in the face of the Ming Emperor's wrath, of course there is some concern, but there is no need to panic.

In recent years, the Ming Dynasty's navy has indeed become much stronger than before, but as Spain's overseas governor, he still has a certain degree of confidence in his heart. Even if the powerful Spanish army has declined slightly, it is still an insurmountable ocean for the eastern powers, especially in naval battles.

(End of this chapter)