unclear

Chapter 569 Bystanders Clear 3
"Did you come up with this yourself?"

There is indeed a large mangrove and sandy beach not far after entering the river mouth, but even the Spanish army does not know what the channel below looks like. Only senior sailors who often come and go and are familiar with the Spanish can know such details.

But Wang Datou was still not satisfied. The Spaniards would not easily disclose such military secrets to a Portuguese captain. Understanding the source of the information was the key to determining the authenticity.

"How is it possible? I'm not the governor. But I know the indigenous people here. They are transporting stones to the north bank of the river mouth. There is nothing there except woods and beaches. Unless the Spaniards want to build a fort within a few months, otherwise Stones can only be used as ballast.

In addition, many young indigenous people here were armed. It was the mobilization initiated by Bishop Joseph, saying that they wanted to resist the pagans. Their boats were also commandeered, and they all headed upstream to the great lake.

This is your first time in Manila Port, right? There is a very huge lake 10 miles up the river from here. There are many indigenous people living around it. There may be tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands. Only God can figure it out.

Most of them are Christians. If the port of Manila is attacked, they can quickly reach the port area in small boats along the current. In my experience, indigenous bows and arrows and daggers often carry poison, which is very difficult to deal with especially at night.

Right, I get it! The Spanish sealed the mouth of the river with sunken ships and trapped the warships of the Ming Navy in the river. At night, the natives would come in small boats to attack them. Warships don't need to be afraid of small boats in the sea, but they can only become floating targets in narrow rivers. "

As for the source of the news, Captain Alfonso could not provide a very specific person. He did not listen to what one person said, but summarized it through the speech and behavior of many people, and also added personal analysis.

"...If I want to leave the port now, is there anything you can do?" Wang Datou's heart grew colder as he listened. After arriving in Manila, although he could not enter the city, he roughly figured out the terrain here by chatting with the crew.

If you want to attack Manila City and the port area from the sea, you can only pass through this river. But once you enter the river mouth, you are in a trap. No matter whether the information is true or false, it must be sent out immediately.

"I'm sorry, after the alarm bell rings, any ship that moves will be attacked by forts and castles. Although I really want to serve His Majesty the Emperor, I must first save myself and the lives of the crew. There is no need to worry about the natives and Chinese merchants on the north coast. , we can still live on the boat, they can't even get close to the dock."

Captain Alfonso helplessly spread his arms and explained the situation in detail. Seeing Wang Datou turn his eyes to the other side, he immediately understood the meaning, but he was still powerless.

"I'm also sorry. If you can't leave the port, the information you provided will be worthless!"

Wang Datou knew that Captain Alfonso was not an alarmist. Even though he was extremely anxious, he was helpless and could only express his dissatisfaction verbally. This is something we asked for. If we could have said it a day in advance, no, an hour in advance, the situation would have been completely different.

"King, can you sail a boat? Not a big boat like this, but a little guy like a barracuda?"

Seeing that Wang Datou was in a low mood, Captain Alfonso smiled slyly and pointed to the dock on the north bank. Under the bright moonlight, a low black shadow could be vaguely seen. It was the indigenous boat. "Can you get the indigenous boat?" Wang Datou immediately understood.

"As long as there is silver here, the governor's wife will condescend to drink tea with you. However, these barracuda boats are very simple and cannot carry much food and water, and they may not be able to avoid attacks from forts and castles. I suggest you wait. One day, maybe the moon will not be so bright tomorrow.”

Captain Alfonso patted the money bag on his waist boldly and had no embarrassment about getting a side frame boat. But then specific difficulties were raised, including the safety of navigation and the dangers of leaving port.

"...Here, if I don't go to Hao Jing'ao to find you after the war, please transfer it to Manager Zhu of Snow Sugar Factory, and he will pay double the cocoa powder. Now please help me find a side frame boat and enough Food and water, and even better a compass and a chart.”

Wang Datou held the side of the ship and was silent for a while, then reached out and took out a small book from his arms, wrote a few words in it and handed it to Captain Alfonso, and walked towards the stern of the ship without looking back.

"...These young people really have the potential to make the Ming Empire stronger! Wang, please wait a moment, I will go to the cabin to get something. The natives are more greedy than the Spanish!"

Captain Alfonso opened the small book, looked at it in the moonlight, and then closed it again. It was filled with words, but I didn’t recognize any of them. Looking at Wang Datou's weak back, I am very moved.

He has witnessed with his own eyes the changes that have taken place in the Ming Empire over the years, and what impressed him most was the people. Many young people appeared among the officials in Guangzhou, and there were also many young people on the black sailboat, plus the young man in front of him who couldn't even figure out his last name.

Although they have different positions and different jobs, they are surprisingly similar in temperament. They are very confident and brave, which is in sharp contrast to the officials of the Ming Dynasty they have come into contact with before.

Ask yourself, he doesn't like these young people. It was precisely because of their appearance that the Portuguese businessmen in Haojingao lost a lot of freedom and huge profits. But when I think about it from another position, I think it's cute. It's because of their existence that Ming becomes more and more disciplined.

In fact, most businessmen are willing to abide by the rules. The clearer the rules are, the more successful the business will be in the long run. Only adventurers and gamblers like huge profits and loopholes. In that environment, long-term planning is impossible and business is short-lived.

"Kalinka, come and see what these words are?" About an hour later, light blue appeared on the horizon, and Captain Alfonso climbed onto the deck along the rope net. There was no one behind him. Kameda or a young man named Wang had already driven away in a side frame boat that he had exchanged for five Spanish silver coins.

Listening to the sound should go smoothly, and it's God's blessing. Not only is it the dark period before dawn, the moon is also covered by a dark cloud. Except for occasional reflections, the river is pitch black. It's difficult to see clearly from a hundred meters away. A low sailboat depends on luck.

However, although the person left, the notebook remained. Captain Alfonso wondered what kind of content could be worth hundreds of cans of cocoa powder. It's obviously not Latin and Chinese characters, and it doesn't look like Japanese either. At this time, the oldest boatswain on the ship became the consultant. This guy even knew Greek and Arabic.

(End of this chapter)