Lin Gao Qiming

Chapter 1479 The boudoir
Hale raised his hood and removed his priestly attire.He picked up the Delinger pistol and played with it carefully, quickly opened the hinged barrel, studied the chamber, then closed the chamber, pulled the hammer back, and pulled the trigger again and again, carefully Listen to the soft click of the firing pin as it pops out under ratchet control.

The baroness saw that there was still a note in the wooden box, on which Weiss had scribbled in hastily.She picked it up and read aloud: "The rose of Manila, Huicun, Baroness Charlo. A pious soldier, a gift from Vincenzo Lando Fana Nova."

"A man will face a duel in a few hours, and he still has the heart to compensate for the damage caused by your husband's armor." Hale finished studying the pistol, and began to fiddle with the bullets that came with the gun, pea-sized spherical projectiles, paper The shell is integrated with the flash cap. "A musket," he muttered, "a gaudy thing, but far more useful than your husband's armor."

"At least it's good for hunting parrots and sparrows in the fields to prevent them from stealing corn."

"Stop talking about your corn," Lucrezia stretched, not minding her alluring bosom quivering in the upturned spray, "I've written to the steward at the farm to get rid of the cloves The field with nutmeg, half of the other land is planted with corn, and the other half is planted with sweet potatoes. As for the development of new sugarcane plantations, I also told them to start preparing. I don't care about Charlo's armor, it is now a display Nothing else. Don't think about that now,"

"Did you buy the goods I asked you to buy for me in Macau?"

"Forget about getting Australian products - most of them are out of stock. Except for dried rice noodles and spirits, you can only buy a third of the amount of soap, and the other things are far worse."

"What about those instruments?"

"Some of it. They don't sell some of it. But my servants are very convincing—they got it anyway."

"You are really my lucky star."

"Stop talking about your sweet flattery—I really don't understand, what do you want these weird things for? You have to buy so much rice noodles, can't the rice in the Philippines fill the stomachs of your men? ?”

"Of course in the service of His Majesty the King and His Excellency the Governor-General."

A look of disapproval appeared on the Baroness's face.As a Portuguese noblewoman, she had little respect for the Spanish-Portuguese king.Not to mention the hostility between businessmen from both countries competing in Southeast Asia.

"This way I can serve the Baroness better." Hale said, kissing her bare shoulder.

The widow smiled and said in a low voice: "You are a devil." She said, "Tell me, who will win the duel? Vana Nova or Sanabria, which do you prefer?"

"Is this a gamble?" Hale put down the pistol and bullets, closed the wooden box, and smiled rarely seen by others, "How much is the bet?"

"A guinea," Lucrezia snapped back, her voice suddenly grim: "I bet the count kills that liar, because he's damned. I've been told Sanabria is used everywhere from Goa to Macau. Forged promissory notes from the Chamber of Commerce of Seville, no longer valid Genoese bonds defrauded them of their wealth. Those friends of my father in Lisbon have filed a complaint in Madrid, but the result will certainly not be as they hoped."

Lucrezia did not further explain the reason for her worry, just as few people know the real source of her large wealth, not because her husband obtained a grant in the Philippines and bought a large tract of land to grow spices; nor is it because she owns Several purchase and sales certificates for Manila galleons can legally transport a batch of oriental goods to Acapulco every year for sale.In fact, relying on her Portuguese background and her relationship with the Society of Jesus, the Mercy Hall she presided over in Manila was generally supported by Portuguese businessmen in the Far East; and her low interest on loans attracted many locals in just a few years. Spanish merchants and East Indian maritime merchants who converted to Catholicism.This will of course arouse the jealousy and dissatisfaction of other charitable foundation groups in Manila, especially the "Brothers of Mercy", the earliest local charitable foundation group, and Sanabria is the only non-clergy director in this group.Don Esteban Sanabria had done a lot behind the scenes to snatch the baroness's business.

"Bet on a pistole?" Hale took out a gold coin from his pocket and put it in Lucrezia's hand.With just one glance, she noticed the difference in this coin: the size, weight and texture were not different from other pistoles, and the texture was indeed gold.But its shape is surprisingly regular, with smooth edges and no burrs that are common in coins. The front and back of the gold coin are smoother and smoother than ordinary coins, and even the patterns are exceptionally clear.

"It's so delicate! Did you do it?"

"The first batch of placer gold sent from Baguio made some blanks. According to the Governor's orders, I made a few for him in the workshop using a rolling mill and a screw forging machine for making brass parts. The German who worked for me It took the watchmaker a week to make the impression. Coincidentally, just yesterday when His Royal Highness the Governor himself went to the workshop to oversee the work, and he saw the Mexican minters minting a coin, our The machine has already forged 20, so I was very surprised."

"The Governor intends to open a mint in Manila? Can the king and the East India Council agree?" The baroness threw away the Pistor gold coins and picked out a bottle of roses from a pile of large and small bottles on the low table. oil, motioning for Halle to rub it on her neck and shoulders.

"My dear protector," he obeyed, whispering in her ear, "it is up to you and your friends to push this plan forward, and you will silence the colonial judges and officials who stand in the way." Yes. I assure you that not only the Governor, but Archbishop Lorenzo approves of this plan. Both His Majesty the King, the Council of the East Indies, and the Vice-Prince of New Spain, at the good thing of not having to send financial aid to the Philippines, They will all be happy to see it happen.”

Because of lack of coinage and Spanish laziness, the Philippine colony had no mint.The currency required by the colony, the precious metal currency was shipped from New Spain, and the base metal currency was supplied by Chinese merchants.The lack of products and no currency of its own made the colonial authorities in Manila economically "exploited"-the silver coins shipped from New Spain flowed into the pockets of Chinese merchants, and the Philippines has been in a state of deflation. Down.

"The mood of the king of Spain and his chancellor has nothing to do with me..."

"If you're a mint contractor."

"You are crazy, this benefit does not fall into my hands—"

"I guarantee that you will get the authorization from the governor—think about the profits. If you can undertake it, we haven't counted other benefits." His fingers slid across the delicate skin.

The rich widow let out a low gasp.The difference between the value of the currency and the value of the currency was a large profit, which was a temptation that the baroness could not resist in any case.

"How much money do I have to spend to invest in this business?"

According to the traditional practice of many countries in the medieval society, the state does not pay any fees for minting coins, and adopts the "all-inclusive" model. The contractor only needs to deliver sufficient quality and quantity of coins according to the contract, and the rest is responsible for its own profits and losses.To become a contractor of the mint, you need to invest a large amount of start-up capital out of your own pocket, including the cost of building houses, purchasing equipment, hiring workers, purchasing coins and fuel, and so on.

"Twelve thousand pesos, not counting the coins."

"It's really not cheap." The baroness fell into deep thought. Although this amount is within her ability to bear, it still takes a lot of planning to raise such a large sum of cash in the short term. In the previous stage, Baguio Company was organized to search for gold mining. It is one of the main shareholders. Exploration and mining have spent a lot of money, making the Baroness's finances somewhat stretched.

The Baroness has always been Hale's biggest benefactor, and it is because of the generosity of this amorous and wealthy widow that his career can advance so smoothly: even after he became a legend in the colony, he proposed Baguio His expedition plans were still questioned--except that the Governor provided a small company of soldiers and two boats in exchange for one-fifth of the profits, the whole of Manila laughed at his plan as "whimsical."It was only thanks to the patronage of the Baroness that the venture was made possible.

"If all goes well, you get your entire investment back in the first year."

"And for the governor and his friends?"

"It's all counted."

"You are a devil," the lady's voice was affectionate, "do you know how much I have spent for you since you came to Manila? You want me to invest in building a water mill, then a sugar mill, and then mining Gold, and now you want me to plant corn and yams, to act as minting contractor..."

"It's worth it every time, isn't it?"

Halle's fingers were rough and flexible, and his vigorous massage and rubbing left flush marks on the baroness's fair skin.Lucrezia's gasps grew louder as his hands moved down over his shoulders, "What else?" She struggled to keep her head clear.

"There is also the second matter, please introduce Count Van Nova, I hope to meet him, if he can survive the duel--I am very confident in this. As for the third matter, that is-- "Hale bent down suddenly, and carried the hostess out of the bathtub.Lucrezia groaned softly, tightly hooked the man's neck, and let him carry her to the big bed at the other end of the bedroom.

(End of this chapter)