Lin Gao Qiming

Chapter 1475 Banquet
The corner of the earl's mouth curled down in a sneer, and he turned around and gave some instructions to a sailor who seemed to be the leader.Then there was a rapid whistle on the deck.Under the dumbfounded gaze of the financial officer, a dozen sailors quickly took their positions. The Caron gun on the deck was uncoated and quickly turned to the starboard side. The iron shot flew over the Galen's bow, passed over the head of the gilded statue of Neptune, and fell into the sea on the other side of the ship, splashing water almost as high as the mast.The second shot hit between the yacht and the Galen's ship, and the water column fell down and splashed on the deck of the Galen's ship.The deterrent effect of the fork shot appeared in front of the treasurer and the earl through the gun smoke and splashing water, and a large group of East Indian sailors ran around on the deck of the Galen ship, panicking.The gun door on one side of the ship was slowly opened, but there was too much cargo on board, and the gun door was closer to the waterline than usual. Closed again.The result was that when the Esmeralda had sailed away with the wind, the Galenic ship failed to return a single shot from beginning to end.

"Are you crazy? What are you doing?" Andrade finally recovered from his stunned state, "Just one of your cannonballs hit the cabin and it's over. Sanabria has transported it for the colony The royal charter for saltpeter, the hold of that ship coming back from India must have been full of saltpeter. For God's sake, if the supply of saltpeter to the whole colony is reimbursed, what will you ask His Royal Highness to do?"

"Don't worry, my dear Sebastian," said the count, still smiling, "I'm just showing my friendship to Don Sanabria. And he's not the only one who can work for the good of the royal colony , I can do it too. The respected Lord Salamanca should know this."

At the time of sunset in Manila, it was as muggy as usual in this season, but the sun had already fallen into the clouds gradually rising from the sea level, and the golden light shining through the gaps in the clouds reflected a splendid scene on the tranquil water of Pasig River. brilliance.A golden carriage drove to the river and stopped in front of the gate of a villa.It was a white garden house known throughout the Colony for its elegance.It adorned the groves by the river like jewels set in the greenery, and was at odds with the grandeur of the gilded carriage, but the four strong horses hitched to the shafts were still Won the unanimous appreciation of the onlookers.Unfortunately, as long as you distinguish carefully, you will find that not only the breeds of the four horses are different, but even the coat color is not exactly the same.To cover up this deficiency, the coachman tied towering rosettes on the foreheads of each horse, and the result was all the more vulgar.

A Spanish gentleman in his fifties strode out of the carriage, took off his gorgeous hat with feathers, and threw it together with his cane to the East Indian attendant, revealing a few strands that were very well combed on his oily and sweaty scalp. well-groomed hair.He slightly tidied up the white silk wrinkle embroidered with gold thread, and he was very satisfied that the black jacket and leggings made of Nanjing satin on his body were crisp and shiny, and the gold medal was hung on the front with a ribbon, which had been wiped After many times, it is bright and transparent.He looked around with a look of contempt, and then shouted at the servant standing on the steps: "Where is Madame? Go and inform your master of Don Esteban Sanabria's visit!"

In the house, which is painted white with shell powder and lime, the entrance hall is deep and the corridors are winding.A sturdy nigger led them around in a circle.Mr. Sanavria was annoyed to find that the nigger in front of him was a head taller than himself, and this displeasure affected his personal attendant who followed closely behind.The poor Indian manservant, already short in stature, would shrink even more into a ball, walking on tiptoe, not even daring to breathe.

Livery servants busied themselves in every room they passed, adorning the walls and porches with bouquets of ribbons; climbing up and down, cleaning French windows of bright Australian glass; All kinds of food and wine - no shortage of imports from Lingao.Imported food imported by Chinese merchants was originally an important source of colonial tables, and now novelty food was brought in from Lingao, especially all kinds of delicious candy, wine and beverages.There were even ice cubes that someone was going to bring in, and the Spaniards were skeptical about this--as we all know, Lingao's latitude is lower than that of Guangzhou, and it is impossible to find ice and snow there.

On huge silver plates on the table, towers of lemons are stacked, as the Italians do.Exudes a charming aroma.It seems that the richest and most beautiful white widow in the Philippine colony, Baroness Lucrezia Charlo, has put a lot of thought and money into planning her name day celebration.

They walked through the building in winding corridors, out the back door, and down the vine-shaded path in the garden.This garden is famous in the colonies for its clever mixture of Chinese and Moorish styles.On the lawn in front of the blooming jasmine bushes, many guests who came early for fear of being late for the event had gathered.The female guests were scattered in the white gazebo entwined with fresh vines and flowers, sitting on the swings, whispering in twos and threes, and bursting into soft laughter from time to time.

Unlike the ladies who competed in costumes and jewellery, showing off their hair in various heights and heights, the Spanish gentlemen almost all wore dark purpovan coats, with sweat-soaked ruff collars tightly cinched around their necks.They gathered around a waterside pavilion near the river in the garden, and a cheerful and crisp singing voice wafted out of it accompanied by the melody of the harpsichord.Sanabria followed those admiring or jealous eyes, and his eyes froze immediately.Not only because the hostess is singing loudly, but more importantly, Sanabria's sworn enemy in Manila, the vicious mercenary leader, the so-called Count of Sardinia is sitting right next to Mrs. Lucrezia Charlov Before, playing the piano accompaniment for her.Around them stood five or six Filipinos with violins, mandolins, and bamboo flutes, the band the baroness had hired for the dance, apparently having nothing else to do at the moment.

The richest merchant in the colonies now looks at no one but his enemies.If anyone pays attention, he will think that the flames burning in his eyes are hot enough to burn the Earl's luxurious carriage, and their power is comparable to the heavy shells fired by the Esmeralda to threaten the Neptune-the empty shell incident has become The hottest topic of discussion in the upper circles of the colony is the same as the mysterious case of the diving boat being set on fire in the dock - there are rumors outside that the earl ordered people to set the fire, but most people think it is the jealous Sanabria Mr. nonsense.On the contrary, the person involved, the Japanese Paul, did not express any opinions-he rarely appeared in public, so it was impossible for people to ask his opinions.

The earl ignored the enemy's "killing eyes" at all. He concentrated on the music performance, raised his face from time to time, and smiled in response to the tender glances sent by the beautiful singer.

Covering her face with a small Japanese fan, the hostess sang the proud song of the dead Lorenzo de' Medici:
How beautiful is youth,
It's a pity that it's easy to waste,
Not happy right now,
The Ming Dynasty calls Naihe!
The sudden burst of applause and bursts of cheers was like pouring a basin of cold water on Sanavria's head, sobering up his vengeful head.At the end of the song, the hostess took the count by the hand, asked him to stand up, and unexpectedly kissed him on the cheek, causing shouts, laughter, and sighs full of wonder and envy.Lucrezia's extraordinary beauty and style have always been the envy of the white women of the colony, but now it's the men's turn to be jealous.

An arty businessman wrote: "The earl stood beside the piano stand with his arm on the baroness's hand. His imposing and vigorous body and his handsome appearance were enough to imagine that Apollo of Leocares had put on clothes. look."

Indeed, Weiss' outfit today was an important reason for the commotion among the audience.After all, all they know is pumpkin pants stuffed with stuffing, tied at the hem of a similarly stuffed Pulpovan.As for the funny slits of the jacket to reveal the multicolored lining, the bird feathers in the hat, and the ruff collar like the neck feathers of a grouse, this is the dress of a Spanish man in the first half of the seventeenth century. own usual way.If he knows some new things that have just become popular in the Netherlands and France, wearing powdered wigs, lace lapels, half trousers with garter belts and bows, tassels and ribbons all over his body , Exudes a full girly taste, that is the fashion for the next century and a half.As for the gray tweed that the earl wears today, it was a suit modeled after the dress of an admiral of later ages.The European soil turtles in this time and space have never seen or heard anything, in other words, they were stunned.Such as Iker Suvisareta - the Basque captain who once boarded the earl's yacht, now bid farewell to the old and decaying galley to command a newly completed brigantine patrol ship - —Hands unconsciously tugged on the newly made coat, trying to get rid of those fancy and superfluous ornaments that hindered manliness.

And Sanabria stared at the earl's cuffs embroidered with gold thread, and the shining gems on the buttons.

"No, it must be all inlaid glass. If it was true, he could have bought everything in Manila long ago! Damn liar—" He was immersed in resentful thoughts until he heard the hostess laugh again wake up.

(End of this chapter)