Late Ming sea owl

Chapter 31 Occupation
Although the Portuguese in Macau were nominally loyal to the Portuguese king, this was only to obtain military support and trade convenience from Goa and Manila.Because it monopolized the channels and skills for dealing with the Ming government, it was the Macau Council that really had the final say here.

Of course, in order to obtain the right to vote and be elected in the Council, in addition to being a Portuguese Catholic, one must also have the status of "Kazado", that is, a married property holder.Macau was essentially an autonomous trading city of Cazadu. It not only declared its allegiance to Portugal, but also spared no effort to please the Ming Empire.

Miguel lived a pirate life for two years and liked Macau very much, a place where heaven and earth do not accept anything.In order to become Kazadu, he bought a beautiful Ming Dynasty girl on a flower boat at the Pearl River estuary and named her Alice, after his crush as a boy - a noble lady from Goa. name.

Although this Alice from the Ming Dynasty was a prostitute, she was a virgin. More importantly, her eyebrows were somewhat similar to Alice from Goa.In this way, Miguel took her to the church to be baptized, and started a family with her under the witness of the priest. They had their own son a year later.

During the first seven or eight years in Macau, Miguel had always had good luck and accumulated a lot of wealth in overseas trade.From initially relying on loans from the House of Mercy and other investments from Khazadu, he later owned a fleet of three large ships.

But God never seemed willing to let him have smooth sailing. Last year, he encountered the Dutch fleet at sea and eventually lost two ships. The remaining ship was filled with porcelain and was almost completely lost in the gunfire.

This encounter caused him to lose most of his capital, but he was not discouraged.With his excellent navigation skills, rich business experience and good reputation, he borrowed a huge sum of money from the House of Mercy in an attempt to make money on his next voyage.

Sure enough, just a few days ago, he returned to the Pearl River Estuary laden with silver and distant goods.However, just a dozen nautical miles away from the inner harbor, due to the pilot's error, his last boat ran aground and sank.

This is the life experience of Miguel de Pereira for more than 30 years.Facing the dazzling sunshine, Miguel burst into strange laughter: "God will not give up any lost lamb, haha, God will not give up any lost lamb, hahahaha..."

Miguel burst into tears as he laughed, thinking of his mother, the Ming Dynasty woman who converted to God.Whenever he was bullied by his brothers when he was a child, his mother would always comfort him like this.

However, the year he returned to Goa, his mother was reported to have kowtowed to a Buddha statue in her room and was eventually sentenced to be burned at the stake by the Goa Inquisition.She actually didn't believe in God, but she used those words to comfort her son.

Miguel laughed so much that he rolled on the bed and slapped the mattress with his hands.At this time, a servant's voice came from outside the door: "Master Marquis, are you awake? My wife is back and brought a businessman from the Ming Dynasty to pay a visit to Master Marquis."

Yes, Miguel claims to be from a Portuguese noble family. Almost every Cazadu in Macau will make up an origin, so everyone can call each other "Sir" when they meet.As for whether it is true or not, no one is investigating. Those who risk their lives to come to the far east, even if they are really nobles, are probably illegitimate children like him.

Madam...come back...Ming Dynasty businessman?
Miguel narrowed his eyes. He vaguely remembered that he was very drunk last night and seemed to be holding a knife to kill his wife. Then he seemed to be knocked to the ground by an agile Mingguo man.So if Alice didn't come back last night, why did the Mingguo man save her?

Miguel jumped up from the bed, touched the Damascus knife beside him, kicked open the door and shouted: "Alice, are you going to betray me too?"

He Xiang was startled by her husband's roar in the hall on the first floor, and instinctively wanted to run away with her son.She reached out for her son Martin, but her grasp was empty.

When little Martin heard his father's voice, he ran towards the stairs excitedly and shouted: "Dad, Dad, I stayed on the big ship last night."

Miguel was rushing down the stairs in a rage. When he saw his son, the gloom on his face lightened up. He calmed down and asked: "Martin, were you with your mother last night?" Little Martin didn't know what was going on and said with excitement: "Yes, we were together all night. I have never lived on a boat and I was so excited that I couldn't sleep. When will daddy take me to the sea?"

Miguel knew that he had misunderstood his wife, but his son's sweet words made him feel depressed. Next time he goes sailing on the sea, might he have to be an ordinary sailor?

In fact, he returned to Macau a few days ago, but he did not go home.In the past few days, he has been running around, looking for loans from the House of Mercy, and raising funds from Kazadu, whom he knows well...

"Dear Mr. Pereira, according to the regulations of the House of Mercy, we have assessed that you do not meet the loan conditions. In addition, I need to remind you that your loan last year is about to expire. Please don't forget to repay it in time."

"Marquis, I know we have cooperated for many years. Even after you encountered the Dutch, I still invested in your voyage... No, no, dear Marquis, I didn't mean that. I still absolutely believe in you. Ability and experience. But with all due respect, I no longer believe in your luck, sorry."

"Hey, Miguel, my old friend, I'm sorry for what happened to you, but I really can't help you anymore. Listen, did you make any enemies? I suspect that someone In a dark corner, there is a witch casting a spell on you."

The above is the result of his running around these days, and finally returned home with nothing.This shipwreck directly sent him to hell. Although he brought some gold and silver with him when he escaped, it was not even enough to pay off the loan from the Mercy Hall.

On the escape boat, he roughly calculated that he could barely pay off the loan only by selling all the jewelry, furniture, and servants in the family, and even the house itself.From now on, he will be penniless, lose his Qazado status, and rely on the most menial job to make a living.

There is no shortage of such bankrupts in Macau. After a hangover, Miguel has accepted the reality.

"Listen, Martin, the sea is not as fun as you think. You have to study Latin, theology, law and rhetoric well, and be an excellent judge in the future. Son, this is what dad expects from you."

Miguel touched Little Martin's head and spoke fluent Cantonese to Lin Hai beside He Xiang: "Dear Sir, thank you for stopping my violence last night."

He thanked Lin Hai from the bottom of his heart. If he killed his wife in public, severe legal sanctions would be waiting for him.After all, Macau is not Sundib Island, not to mention that his wife is a Catholic.

"It's easy to talk about." Lin Hai said with a happy face, "I am planning to go to sea and visit the Japanese country. I wonder if the Marquis would like to go with me?"

　The end-of-chapter notes have been moved to the work-related section. Those who are interested in textual research can read it, and those who are not interested can just ignore it.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)