Lin Gao Qiming

Chapter 1422 Esmeralda
Count Van Nanovo had already taken off his hat and bowed slightly as a salute. "Dear gentlemen, you are here. It is a great honor for me." The count took off his cavalry uniform for playing ball and put on a gorgeous hunting suit. A sailor standing behind him may be the captain. Tall and powerful like a Nordic man, his dark brown skin is obviously the result of long-term burns by the tropical sun and sea breeze.He wore a wig, a long skirt with golden double-breasted buttons, and a three-cornered hat decorated with iron anchors and oak leaves was clipped under the crook of his arms, his feet were separated, and his body was as straight as a mast.The way he looked at others gave the Spaniard the illusion that he was a young sailor who had made a mistake, and was waiting to be punished in front of the captain in fear.

"Your Excellency, is this your ship?" A harbor clerk asked stupidly, probably dangling on the sampan.Don Basilio stared at him hard.The earl didn't care, and pointed to the top of the mast, where the flying flag was embroidered with Lando's family coat of arms, which was the same as that inlaid on the famous red-flag carriage in Manila.

The wind was getting stronger and stronger, and the waves leaped high with the dazzling sunlight, smashing into bright pieces on the beach and reefs.The Esmeralda dropped its single anchor, and all the sails were lowered, but it was still bumping with the beating of the waves.Weiss walks on the rocking deck as easily as he walks on the stern porch of a yacht.The patrol captain became more and more curious about the earl. He thought he was just a knight, but he walked on the ship like an old seaman.The harbor master and clerk, by contrast, had fallen behind, and had to hold on to the bulwarks to barely maintain their balance.What kind of person is this European nobleman who came from afar?

Not much to see on a yacht.Compared to the graceful lines of the hull, above decks there is an astonishing simplicity and cleanliness from start to stern.It seems that its only mission is to sail fast and deftly avoid the attack of enemy ships.It seems that this is not a yacht, but an armed speedboat ready to go into battle at any time.After watching the cannon on the deck, the patrol captain strengthened his opinion.

"Are there only two guns on your ship?" the patrol captain asked. When the earl ordered the gun coats to be removed according to his request, the black shiny cannons made his eyelids twitch sharply.Throughout the Far East, he only knew that the Portuguese technician Bokaro in Macau could cast heavy artillery with iron.Of course, the Chinese also use cast iron cannons, but it’s hard to call them cannons. For any standard and processing, it seems to be a random clay mold and then cast with molten iron.It is impossible to compare with the well-cast cannons that are tied to the ship's side by ropes carelessly.

"Without swivel guns and kestrel guns, how do you deal with the Ladsron pirates? Their fireboats and speedboats will come flooding in."

The count turned his head and said something, and the captain of the yacht wearing a wig gave a few orders loudly in an unintelligible language.In a blink of an eye, four sailors rushed to the gun position, untied the mooring cables, and turned several screw turntables under the gun body.Wherever the earl swung his riding whip, the muzzle of the cannon turned accordingly, raised and lowered, as if it were not a heavy cannon, but a lance that could be grasped with one hand.The demonstration was carried out twice, proving that the short guns on the bow deck and the cannons at the stern are authentic "rotary guns", but instead of firing small 2-pound iron balls or shotgun shells, they fired devastating 24-pound and 68-pound bomb.

"Whether it is Radslon or Malay pirates, I have prepared the best gifts for them here." The earl pointed the silver-encrusted whip to the ammunition slot next to the 68-pound Caron gun, and the formidable grape bullets were neatly arranged. code in there.

"Your Excellency, your warships are so sophisticated, even in various parts of Europe, Seville and Genoa, which are the most abundant in fast boats, may be difficult to create." Even if the drill of naval gun aiming deliberately avoided patrol ships, the Spaniards suffered a lot. The shock and awe is still not small.Anyone with a little common sense in naval warfare can see that only two or three cannon-loaded fast ships like the Esmedala can outflank and capture a large sailing ship from the weak stern.And Weiss' guests hadn't seen the horrors of 68-pound bloomers and incendiary bombs.

"You are right. The Esmedala is my ship, and I am a soldier. My ship is as much a weapon in the service of God as my sword. I would love to hear you call it a warship." The earl said proudly: "My warship must be able to tackle the wind quickly and chase the pirate ships of the Malay pirates; it must have a draft shallow enough to go deep into the bandit's lair densely packed in the dark beach and rescue the Christians who were plundered as slaves. Any kind of local ship is not to my liking, so I ordered the Esmeralda in Hong Kong's dockyard, and another local factory made mining machines for me. I designed a flexible gun mount and ordered them It was made. As for the cannon, it was ordered in Mr. Bokaro’s foundry in Macau. All these expenses come from my personal income.”

"Hong Kong, are you talking about the small island off Guangzhou that is now in the hands of those Australians?"

"Exactly, the Australians have established very good shipyards and cannon foundries on the island. They are very good at making machinery, and the cannons are especially excellent-it's a pity that they will not sell them for more money."

"You have a very close relationship with Australians!" the tax official said maliciously.

"Of course," Lando stroked his beard proudly, "I am such a noble lord, a loyal servant of God, I will be welcomed wherever I go, not to mention that Australians are a group of money worshipers!"

As he spoke, he patted the velvet purse on his waist, and there was a crisp jingle sound inside.Immediately there was laughter on the deck.

Lando went on: "The Jesuit priests of Macau have offered to raise money for the construction of this boat, which will patrol the waters off Macau to catch pirates. I wish the gentlemen in Manila could raise the money— ——If it can be recruited. As long as there are two or three more Esmedalas, form a small fleet and hand it over to me, the fierce and cunning Moro rowing team will be completely destroyed and harass Cebu and Mi The pagan bandits in Shaya can only be caught without a fight. At that time, the glory of God, the glory of His Majesty will shine on the entire Eastern Islands from Malacca to Maluku.”

Don Basilio looked at the count with an expression half astonished, half suspicious.The patrol captain held his sword tightly excitedly, "Ah, the Mercury is also a well-equipped and good ship, but Mr. Sanavria's mind would never have produced such a noble and great ship as you. idea."

"What this noble gentleman is referring to," said the count to Don Basilio, "must be the palace at sea of ​​your dear friend Don Sanabria?" He turned back to listen to the captain of the patrol, and threw The tax official with a face full of embarrassment turned his head back.

"...There is no faster and more magnificent three-masted sailing ship in the royal colonial fleet of the East India. Mr. Sanavria spent a lot of money to hire Dia, the first-class shipbuilder in Goa. It was built under the supervision of Golouis himself. Its rigging and sails are also of the best quality, and it can go two to two and a half leagues an hour in good wind..."

"But a stronger crosswind can overturn it." The wig-wearing yacht captain interrupted suddenly, speaking in a strange but intelligible Spanish voice. Horribly large statues of Apollo, Minerva, Neptune, etc., just add useless weight, slow down speed, and make sailing less stable."

"Oh, Mario, my good captain," said the count, "you have actually seen Don Sanabria's Ocean Express? For the sake of the Merciful Mother, you have not offended his ship?"

"Your Excellency, when we entered the bay, the three-masted ship followed us as soon as we passed May Island and Nun Island." Captain Mario touched the wig on his head from time to time, as if afraid that it would be blown off by the wind. "I'm sure it's the boat you're talking about. It's full of gilded statues at the bow and stern, like those Chinese women who show off their wealth, with golden jewelry in their hair, but they can't even walk steadily. Its captain may have We acted as pirates, with full sails and desperately chasing after them."

"Then what have you done?"

"I ordered the three-masted ship to turn around, so that the eyeless captain could see your flag better. It tried to catch us anyway, and even the ailerons were all out, and of course it was caught. Get rid of it. How can a buffalo outrun a horse?"

"Okay, look at you, you are frightening the guests. My dear Mario, if His Excellency Don Sanabria hears you describe his treasure ship like this, I am afraid he will use Jupiter's weapon to kill you. I shattered to pieces." The Count paced until he reached the open hatch at the rear of the deck.He untied a heavy silk sack from his waist and patted it, making a crisp and sweet sound of gold coins: "Your Excellency the Tax Collector, I assure you on my honor that this 180-ton boat is not loaded with any Goods for sale. But I am still going to obey the decree of His Excellency the Governor and pay a mooring tax of 12 silver pesos per ton. You and your colleagues can inspect every cabin and every corner to check whether there is any falsehood in my statement. "

Don Basilio was so embarrassed that his hat was almost crumbled in his hands. He could only bow his head and praise the count's virtue of forgiveness, repeatedly expressing his apologies and declaring: The ship berthed in Manila without inspection and without paying all taxes and fees for merchant ships.

(End of this chapter)