Late Ming sea owl

Chapter 169 The Priest
  The rumble of cannons sounded, and in a temporary conference room on Sheliao Island, the Spaniards who were discussing countermeasures suddenly fell into silence. Everyone looked at each other, with only despair on their faces. Only Father Martinez looked calmer.

They have lost all their ships, and the other party only needs to trap them on this isolated island, and there is only death waiting for them.

It is impossible to wait for support from Manila. According to the new governor's plan, their supply ship will only have one supply ship per year, and the next supply ship will arrive in the summer of next year.

Moreover, after the Second Fleet landed in Keelung, it immediately sent a ship back to report the news. Normally, their governor would not be surprised if they did not contact Manila again for the next year.

Of course, news at sea will spread through various channels, and Manila will definitely know that Keelung has fallen after a while. But obviously, they can't wait until that time.

"I have decided to surrender. All responsibilities will be borne by me alone." Valdez, the new Keelung governor, spoke slowly. He understood that his official career had come to an end, and he was completely disheartened.

After hearing Valdez's words, Karen let out a long breath. In fact, everyone knew that surrender was the only option at the moment. The people in this room had not seen the old lock-boat fleet with their own eyes, and until now they thought their opponents were the Dutchmen, who were in charge.

European colonists in this era were still kind to each other. Generally speaking, they would not kill each other and capture prisoners. At most, they would only ask for ransom from their opponents. However, they were not so kind to pirates or eastern natives.

"Sir, our opponents are calling us to surrender unconditionally before noon today, otherwise they will use cannons to flatten the island."

A junior officer came in to report, and he went on to say: "Also, distinguished gentlemen, it was not the high-ranking Dutch who attacked us."

"What? Not Dutch?" Karen exclaimed, "Who is that?"

The junior officer replied: "The speaker was a Portuguese, and he claimed that he was working for a Ming general. Moreover, the enemy's fleet did not look like it belonged to the Dutch. They had more than [-] old ships. The total number of lock ships and artillery should be more than two hundred."

The conference room fell into deathly silence again. At this time, they would rather come to their arch-enemy the Dutch. After all, no one knew what fate awaited them next if they surrendered to this Ming Dynasty general.

"Damn it, why did the people of the Ming Dynasty have so many old lock ships and so many artillery pieces?" Karen screamed out of control. The old lock ships were usually used by the Haojing Portuguese. He even had some doubts about this time. Behind the action is the Portuguese Council in Haojing.

He was not the only one who had this idea. Even Father Martinez had the same suspicion. It's just that his city is far above Karen, so there is still no expression on his face.

After all, Spain's invasion of Keelung was likely to be regarded by the Haojing Portuguese as an attempt to interfere in Ming Dynasty trade. In fact, this was indeed one of Manila's main intentions.

At the same time, the Jesuits, who were powerful in Haojing, were also very hostile to the Dominicans because the Dominicans had been trying to enter the Ming Dynasty to preach, which was absolutely unacceptable to the Jesuits.

"What else did the Portuguese say?" Valdes then asked.

"He said he swore to God that if we surrendered, the Ming general would never kill the prisoners indiscriminately." The junior officer continued, "In addition, they only fired one cannon on each ship just now, and they were aimed at It’s all empty space.”

"This seems to be releasing goodwill towards us." said a Spanish infantry company commander.

"Hell, God knows if the so-called Ming Dynasty general is playing some conspiracy. Maybe he just wants to trick us into surrendering, and then kill us all like livestock." Karen said to the company commander, "You have to know that physiological people never keep their word."

Physiological man is the name given to local overseas Chinese by the natives of Luzon and the Spaniards. It is actually the transliteration of "businessman" because the Chinese who went to Southeast Asia were basically businessmen. This is somewhat similar to the origin of the word merchant in Chinese. Its origin is just because the ancestors of the Yin Shang Dynasty were good at doing business. In the end, the name of the tribe became the name of an industry.

In fact, it's not that Chinese businessmen are untrustworthy, they just don't pay attention to contracts. Whether they are merchants from Shanxi or Huizhou, reputation is their life, but if you want to sign a contract with him, he will definitely be very angry. Can't you trust me?

Therefore, in the East of this era, doing large-scale business requires familiarity, friendship and reputation are very important.

"Okay, don't make any guesses here." Father Martinez, who had been silent, finally spoke, "To a certain extent, you are all here because of me, so let me go and see you. Let’s meet that Ming general.”

Martinez walked out of the conference room and was led by the junior officer to the shore of Sheliao Island.

"Father, go this way, the Portuguese man who shouted to us is over there."

Martinez looked in the direction pointed by the junior officer and saw a familiar figure standing on the sampan on the shore. The man smiled at him and said, "Father, it turns out you are here too. This is really great." What a coincidence."

"Miguel de Pereira..." Martinez whispered the man's name. Seven years ago, he passed through Baodao twice on his way to and from Haojing and Manila, and then drew the map. , inciting the Governor of the Philippines to invade and occupy Keelung.

Martinez walked forward, put on a smile and said: "Dear Marquis, I didn't expect to meet you here. So, is it really your council that launched this attack? Maybe there is Jesus behind it. Would you like to promote it?”

"No, no, no, Father, you misunderstood. I am now working for a Ming Dynasty general. He is a very wise man. To be honest, I think he is better than anyone I have ever met." Miguel smiled. replied.

"Okay, my respected Lord Marquis." Martinez was dubious about Miguel's words, "Then, why did this wise Ming general attack us suddenly?"

"Sorry, my employer does not authorize me to answer this question." Miguel continued, "Father, are you here to negotiate? With all due respect, you are not qualified to negotiate in the current situation. Unconditional surrender is Your only choice."

"Master Marquis, I am very aware of the current situation, but don't underestimate the Spaniards' determination to serve the king." Martinez tentatively said a cruel word, and Miguel smiled in response.

"Okay, we can surrender. But I want to meet the general you mentioned first and hear from him what he will do to us. Isn't this request too much?" Martinez continued.

"That's very reasonable. Please come with me." Miguel asked Martinez to board the sampan and took him to the Immaculate Virgin.

"Please wait here, I'll go in and report first." Miguel threw Martinez on the deck and went to see Lin Hai in the captain's cabin.

"General, you just asked me why the church wants to get involved in shipbuilding. I think I know the reason now." Miguel said to Lin Hai.

"Sit down and talk." Lin Hai asked Miguel to sit down. Anyway, there were still more than two hours before noon, so he had plenty of time. "Because the church played a big role in the Spanish occupation of Keelung, or at least they were very enthusiastic about this operation. The reason why they sent overseers to the Cavite Shipyard was to ensure that there would be no incidents in this operation. Accident."

Miguel continued: "Do you know who I saw? Father Bartolomeo Martinez, the provincial director of the Dominican Order of Holy Rosary, he actually came to the chicken coop in person!"

Lin Hai was confused. He didn't know much about the various Catholic churches. Hearing this, he asked, "Who is this person you are talking about? Does he have a high status in Manila?"

"Let me put it this way, he is at least the top five big shots in Manila, and may even be the third, after the Governor of the Philippines and the Archbishop of Manila." Miguel stretched out his hand and gestured, "You have to know , the Dominican Church is the most powerful church in the Philippines, and the so-called Holy Rose Province includes almost the entire Far East."

"You mean that the Dominicans pushed the Spanish to send troops to Keelung?" Lin Hai frowned and said, "Then what is their purpose? To preach to the natives?"

Miguel shook his head and said: "No, no, no, for this purpose alone, it is impossible for Father Martinez to come to Keelung in person. Their ultimate goal is to enter the Ming Dynasty to preach."

"I remember there were many Catholic missionaries in the Ming Dynasty, right? Wasn't that the same one named Matteo Ricci?" Lin Hai still didn't quite understand.

"You are right, but they are all Jesuit missionaries. The Jesuits are the most powerful religious order in Haojing, and Portugal has the right to protect the Church in the Far East, so theoretically, the Dominicans are not qualified to come. Ming Dynasty went to preach. But as far as I know, they have always wanted to break the Jesuit monopoly, especially Father Martinez, who devoted a lot of effort to this end."

In fact, Martinez went to Haojing seven years ago to negotiate with the Jesuits on behalf of the Dominicans and to intervene in the missionary affairs of the Ming Dynasty. Naturally, he returned without success. Judging from his two actions of surveying and mapping the coastline of Baodao, it is obvious that he has made two plans. If the soft one is not enough, then the hard one will be used.

Now Lin Hai finally understood. It turned out that the various Catholic religious orders were also fighting fiercely overtly and covertly. He pondered for a moment and then said: "What you mean is that we can use the Dominicans to ask the priest you mentioned to help. Forge an alliance with Manila?”

Miguel nodded: "It is not difficult to make the Spaniards in the chicken coop surrender. They have no choice now, but it is not that simple to make the Governor of Manila admit this humiliating loss and form an alliance with us. ”

"If he is a wise man, he should do this after realizing our strength. After all, they have been suppressed by the Dutch. Besides, I can also sell raw silk to Manila. In terms of maritime trade, we The two sides are completely complementary."

Lin Hai said this, but he actually knew that there was a lot of uncertainty in this matter. If the opponent was a pure businessman like VOC, then they would definitely be happy to accept failure, and then happily make big money with their former opponent.

But the Governor of Manila is a politician. He needs to take into account the king's face and many other factors. In many cases, he may not make decisions based on actual interests.

Miguel knew this better than Lin Hai. He shook his head and said: "For the Governor of Manila, accepting failure and forming an alliance with us may not necessarily be a wise choice. This may become a stain on his political career. It may put him in a position of eternal damnation. You have to know that the Philippine governor has a review system for leaving office, and the new governor is likely to torture the former governor to death."

"Exit review? What kind of system is this?" Lin Hai didn't know much about the operating mechanism of the Manila authorities.

"To put it simply, the successor governor will review the behavior of the previous governor during his term of office..." Miguel briefly introduced the system.

In fact, the main reason why this system was designed was that the sky in the Philippines was high and the emperor was far away, and the governor-general had military, political, financial, and legal powers. Therefore, the Indy House of Spain, which was in charge of overseas colonies, tried every means to carry out checks and balances.

For example, the term of the Governor-General of the Philippines was originally eight years, but in reality it is getting shorter and shorter. Mexico may send a new Governor-General at any time. For example, the former Governor Silva was suddenly replaced by the new Governor less than a month after sending the First Fleet to Keelung.

Despite all measures, corruption was rampant in the Philippine colonies, and every governor made a fortune during his tenure. The most powerful check and balance among these is the out-of-office review system. If one is not careful, the former governor will become a prisoner.

After hearing Miguel's words, Lin Hai's expression became serious. If the Governor of Manila decided to come to Keelung to gamble again for his own safety, it would be enough for him to drink.

"So what's your suggestion?" Lin Hai asked Miguel.

"Let Father Martinez go back and agree to help him enter the Ming Dynasty to preach, on the condition that the Dominicans will promote an alliance between the company and Manila." Miguel replied.

"Does Domingo have this energy?" Lin Hai then asked.

"It must have happened. The governor of Manila's term was short, but the church continued to operate in the Philippines. Their wealth was extremely huge and their power was everywhere."

Lin Hai had also heard about the power of the church in the Philippines. In fact, when Legazpi began to colonize the Philippines, Father Urdaneta of the Austin Order was the second-ranked figure in his expedition fleet, and it was this priest. The Kuroshio route was discovered.

The missionaries of this era were considered a group with a relatively high level of knowledge. The spread of Western learning to the east in the late Ming Dynasty was largely due to the Jesuit missionaries.

Of course, they also engaged in a lot of espionage work, such as mapping maps like Martinez, or collecting intelligence. In fact, those who advocated attacking the Ming Dynasty in Manila during the Wanli period were basically missionaries, but politicians were far better than missionaries in this regard. Scholars should be sober.

"Perhaps we can help the Dominicans build a church in Xiamen?" Lin Hai thought silently in his heart. Anyway, Xiamen is also the land of the Ming Dynasty, but it is on an island. It should not cause much harm. On the contrary, it may also obtain some scientific and technological talents from the church.

What he didn't know was that in the original history, the Dominicans did successfully invade Fujian because their missionaries had a relationship with the Zheng family.

As for Dongfan, no Western missionaries will be allowed to preach here.

"Go and call that Father Martinez over. Don't tell him about our goal yet." Lin Hai said to Miguel, while thinking to himself that just helping him promote an alliance is not enough. The Dominicans I have to do something for him.

Miguel walked out of the official hall, and Martinez waited on the deck for a long time, with an old fox-like smile on his lips. After all, if I was of no use to that Ming general, then killing or releasing him would be just a matter of words, and there would be no need to discuss it for so long.

"Perhaps, I am still qualified to negotiate with that Ming Dynasty general." Martinez secretly thought in his heart. As a veteran priest, what he is best at is knowing the subtleties.

　For details about the corruption of West Philippine authorities mentioned in this chapter, as well as the administrative mechanism and the huge power of the church in the Philippines, please see "History of the Philippines" published by Henan University Press. If you want the e-book, you can also find it in my book club. I want.

　　
  　
  (End of this chapter)