Chapter 24, Twenty-seven moments in the four years of Chongzhen (twenty-four)
Moment 24: Internationalist Fighters in Manila
December 1631 AD, Manila, Philippines
For those who live in the city of Manila, the most terrifying time of the day is noon. In the morning, the breeze knocks open the windows and seeps into the house, refreshing the mind. However, the good times did not last long. As soon as the morning breeze washed away people's sleepiness and cheered them up, the scorching heat came from the window. Even if you lean against the window and look at the sea, you can't see far away, because the flash of the waves is like a raging coal fire, the walls of the house emit a dazzling white light, and the sky is like a sea of fire, which makes people unable to open their eyes. Next, before noon, leaving the house has become a torment that is like being plunged into purgatory, while continuing to stay in the house is equally depressing. The irresistible Sandman attacks again, forcing people into the gauze. In a sweltering prison built with pillows and mats - as long as it doesn't rain, the weather near noon will force people to hide inside and spend this terrible time in the gauze tent or on the bed. It wasn't until late in the evening that people woke up from their drowsiness and felt a little better.
Even though the Spaniards who came across the ocean conquered the Philippines, they themselves were subsequently conquered by the weather in the Philippines and had to change their living habits and arrange the most important activities of the day in the evening or evening.
However, in recent days, even in broad daylight under the scorching sun, the streets of Manila have been bustling and extremely lively. Because the Philippine colonial army had just achieved a glorious victory - they successfully swept through the vast land from Lingayen, Agno Valley to Mount Godilila, and easily wiped out hundreds of thousands of people. The Ilocos burned the villages of these fierce pirate descendants to ashes. This was followed by the capture of the fertile Baguio Valley and its coveted gold mines, with surprisingly few casualties in the battle.
When the successful news of the expeditionary force was returned to Manila, Governor Juan Salamanca was overjoyed and immediately ordered parades and various celebrations - the Spaniards are most enthusiastic about these things, parades, plays, dances, banquets, Bullfighting, cockfighting... at least it will take about a week.
Among them, those upper-class white people can certainly enjoy relatively "elegant" dramas and bullfights, and participate in various luxurious dances and banquets. The vast majority of lower-class white people, overseas Chinese and indigenous people, apart from participating in noisy street parades, can only go to watch relatively cheap cockfights.
In Parian District, a Chinese settlement outside Manila, among a large number of low-rise buildings with bamboo and wood roofs, the cockfighting ring is the most eye-catching. Further north in Binondo District, there is a cockfighting ring mainly used by Tagalogs, but it is much smaller and simpler than the one here - this also reflects the financial or crude differences between the two parties. Talking about the difference in spending power: From ancient times to the present, the Chinese in the Philippines have always been wealthier than the indigenous people.
At first glance, this architecturally distinctive Parian cockfighting ring looks like a large bamboo cage used by wealthy and idle people in the East to raise parrots. There are holes all around, and you can roughly see what's going on inside even from the outside. The venue is surrounded by wooden planks to form three-story seats, with a circular cockfighting ring in the center. The conical ceiling is also made of bamboo, with several skylights on it for lighting and ventilation. Whenever a tropical rainstorm suddenly falls and there is no time to close the skylight, the fighting cocks in the ring and the audience in the balcony become drowned. Despite this, whenever a cockfighting competition is held, this large birdcage is still hard to find. Each spectator is required to pay an admission fee of one copper. The entire cockfighting ring, which can accommodate up to more than 500 people, is always full, and there are also people standing outside that cannot be squeezed in - large groups of indigenous people, Chinese, mixed-race and white Europeans made the place bustling with people; coupled with the roosters filling the pits, the noisy crows were heard one after another, resounding inside and outside the venue.
Amidst this commotion, there was only no movement in the cockfighting ring. A Chinese man in a silk shirt, the referee of the cockfighting game, walked around the ring collecting bets from the spectators. Seemingly inspired by the atmosphere, the audience threw out a large number of silver coins, whole pieces of Chinese silver ingots, and even occasionally bags of placer gold in small cloth bags. The referee placed these bets in piles on the sandy ground of the cockfighting ring, while the spectators enthusiastically discussed the winner of the previous game and made bets as to whose cock would win this time.
Then, finally, two Tagalog “chicken boys” came on the scene. It was obvious that they were both veterans of the cockfighting business. After a few teases, the two roosters' feathers stood upright, their combs turned purple, and they became furious, as if they were ready to fight to the death. The audience immediately became noisy and excited.
"...Bet another hundred pesos, bet on the yellow one!" shouted a white European wearing a captain's uniform. The sound was like a huge rock falling on the shore, stirring up countless waves - people started to commotion, shouting at each other, reaching out to each other or patting each other on the shoulder, indicating that they wanted to increase their bets.
Facing the waves of noise, the "chickens" who had already turned a blind eye to it, just calmly took off the leather sheaths from the chicken feet, revealing the sharp blades installed on the back of the legs. Seeing this, the whole audience was shocked. All of a sudden it became silent.
Then, with the sound of a gong, the referee made a gesture, and the "chickens" of both sides released their roosters at the same time.
The two little fighters spread their neck hair, lowered their heads, and stared at each other for a long time. Suddenly they jumped up and flew toward each other. The captain who had placed a heavy bet let out a cheer like the howling of wild beasts... After a moment, the two roosters turned around, stood facing each other with their heads bowed, and then slammed into each other, fighting like this for three seconds. After four rounds, pieces of chicken feathers flew everywhere. The yellow chicken flew over the opponent's head and grabbed it hard with its claws; the white chicken that was fighting with it did not show any weakness and counterattacked, knocking the opponent off his feet with one kick.
Seeing that the yellow chicken he had bet on seemed not very good, the white captain immediately began to curse angrily. It was not until the yellow chicken stood up again and pounced on the enemy with redoubled ferocity that the captain stood up again, waved his arms and shouted. , the audience who bet on the yellow chicken with him also cheered in unison. But at this time, nothing could be distinguished. The battle entered the melee stage. The fighters bit the cockcomb and twisted into a ball. Suddenly one fell down and another was thrown to the ground. There were chicken feathers stained with blood everywhere, mixed with a mixture of chicken feathers. Clouds of sand and dust rose into the sky.
At the same time, on the top step of the cockfighting ring, there was a thin man sitting there quietly. He was wrapped in a black cloak, dressed like a monk, and did not match anyone. People bet that there was a muscular Filipino servant standing next to him. In short, the black monk and his servants did not pay much attention to the situation in the cockfighting ring, but they seemed to be quite interested in the fanatical white captain.
I saw the white captain raising his convulsing fist above his head and letting out a blood-curdling scream - the yellow-feathered fighting cock he had placed a heavy bet on had fallen sideways to the ground, although he finally struggled to stand up again. He limped away, but fell down again after a few steps. He could only drag his wings and crawl slowly on the sand, leaving a long trail of blood on the ground, like a defeated ancient Roman gladiator.
Seeing that the winner was decided in the cockfighting ring, the crowd of onlookers became noisy again. Some were smiling, and some were pale, but they could only silently hand over their bets to the winner. The owner of the defeated side lowered his head and picked up his yellow rooster, "...make it into a salad! This bastard cheated me of three hundred pesos," the white captain who lost three hundred pesos said to the dying bird. The fighting cock roared and shook its fists furiously.
It wasn't until the next pair of cock warriors appeared that his mania calmed down a little. The other spectators were even more excited because the two new fighting cocks were taller and stronger than the previous pairs. As two Tagalog "chicken boys" bladed the fighting cocks, the audience roared with excitement and gamblers took out their bets. "...Three hundred pesos!" The captain, who was stunned by the loss, raised a bag high, "...bet all on the red one, it will definitely kill the gray one!" The shouts of the audience became louder. It was noisy, and soon piles of betting money of varying heights were piled up around the ring.
Unfortunately, the captain made the wrong bet again - after a fierce fight, the Silver Chicken kicked the blade deeply into the heart of the Fire Red Chicken, causing the latter to fall down immediately and become A slightly squirming ball of dirty hair, with blood coming out of the mouth...
The exciting game came to an end, and no one noticed when the man in black on the third floor left. The crowd was immersed in a frenzied uproar, and a minor riot ensued. The white captain was so excited that he broke the seat plank and rolled down from the balcony. Fortunately, he was not physically injured, but he lay straight on the ground, moaning in pain together with those who were crushed by him.
An hour later, the captain, who had lost his last silver coin, staggered into a tavern in the dock area of the Pasig River, took out some coins and ordered a large glass of Tuba wine made from coconut milk - which was almost the same. It is the cheapest alcoholic drink in the Philippines, and you can drink it while cursing the ruthlessness of fate.
"...Captain Fernando, I didn't expect that we would meet again so soon. Come and have a drink!"
Just as the unlucky captain was cursing, a Filipino native dressed as a servant sat next to him and deliberately pushed his clay wine glass in front of Captain Fernando. Captain Fernando immediately couldn't help but stare wide-eyed, nose twitching, greedily absorbing the aroma of this glass of Castilian wine, and at the same time, his face looked a little strange: a low-class Filipino native with an unspectacular appearance could actually afford to drink this glass of wine. A red wine produced in Spain that has been trafficked halfway around the world and sold for a high price in Manila? !
Then, he finally vaguely recognized that this Filipino indigenous servant seemed to be a confidant of his most recent employer.
Sure enough, just as he expected, the generous Filipino native servant continued speaking slowly.
"... Mr. Captain, my master is very satisfied with the information about the Americans and Australians that you brought back from Batavia last time. Therefore, he has a new The business is left to you..."
The indigenous servant smiled and said in Spanish, and then placed a golden object on the table under another ordinary pottery cup, "...for an adventurer living at sea, wealth And excitement is indispensable, my friend, especially after a big gamble... My master is in the private room next door, please come with me. ”
Seeing that the other party had turned around and stood up, and seemed to be about to leave, Fernando hesitated for a moment, but finally Hai Hai stretched out his hand to hold the gold coin and slowly put it into his sleeve. "...Never mind it," the captain said to himself: "...Anyway, everything has been lost." He dropped the glass, grabbed his hat, and followed the servant towards the back of the tavern. go.
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Half an hour later, Captain Fernando, who became energetic, grabbed a bulging money bag and walked out of the tavern - as a price for obtaining the money, he must immediately gather the sailors and go to "Australia" in Lingao County, Hainan Island. I went to my hometown to do business. From time to time, he will play a guest role as a spy to confirm whether the huge multinational fleet that was previously gathered in Batavia has been transferred there and whether there are any signs of launching a war of conquest. It is best to find out whether the Americans are planning something with the Australians. Conspiracy...
A few minutes later, the mysterious black monk and his Filipino servant also walked out of the tavern and walked slowly towards the Governor's Palace. It was already sunset in Manila, and the sun began to sink into the clouds that gradually rose from the sea level. The golden light shining through the gaps in the clouds reflected the gorgeous brilliance on the quiet water of the Pasig River. The upper-class residential area near the Governor's Palace had become extremely lively at this time. The ladies preparing to attend the dinner gently waved their silk fans, swaggered through the market in carriages or sedans, competed in costumes and jewelry, and showed off their coquettishness with buns of various heights; while the Spanish gentlemen attending the dinner wore dark-colored clothes. Pulpovan coats, sweat-soaked raffia collars tightly hugged their necks, they talked to each other, as if they couldn't wait to plunge into some sea of music, wine and feasting.
"...It's really a bit too lively, what do you think? Marcos?"
Looking at the bustling street scene, the black monk suddenly stopped, turned around and said to his Filipino servant.
"...I think it's okay! Master Hale."
Marcos, a Filipino from the 21st century, while using a stick to drive away a few stray boys who were suspected of being pickpockets, muttered and replied, "...Compared to our time, Manila now is like... The poorest and most boring country place! ”
"...No, Marcos, I am not talking about the city of Manila, but the world...the Chinese American Republic in North America, the East Coast Republic in South America, the so-called Australians on Hainan Island, and the real Australia in the south... ...Oh, damn, I really don’t know how many modern Chinese people have traveled through time and space to come to this world! Do they want to conquer the entire earth?”
The monk in black, who also came from the 21st century, sighed and shook his head, lifted his hood, revealing an oriental face, "...even Japan now is no longer the Japan in my memory. ...Damn it, this feeling is so devastating!”
——This Mr. Hale dressed as a monk, or Brother Paul, was originally a man named Evaristo before traveling through time and space. Rosa. Okamoto, a Japanese-Brazilian student studying abroad, is a terrorist on the wanted list - although Okamoto and his father, who is suspected of being a member of the Japanese Red Army, usually claim to be "internationalist revolutionaries" and have been collaborated by many They regard him as an "anti-American fighter who brings his own food."
In 1974, 30-year-old Keiji Okamoto left his hometown with his wife and children, traveled across the ocean, and finally settled in a village on the outskirts of Sao Paulo. Although the post-war Japanese immigration boom had passed in the 1970s, no one in Brazil, which has millions of Japanese and Japanese immigrants, paid much attention to the arrival of a new Japanese immigrant. But as time went by, the local Japanese community gradually discovered that Keiji Okamoto was a difficult person to get close to, and he especially did not like to deal with immigrants from his own country. They did not know that the farmer, who claimed to be from Kumamoto, was a distant relative of Okamoto Kozo, who became famous for shooting down Tel Aviv International Airport a year ago. He immigrated to Brazil to avoid police pursuit. This point has been carefully concealed by Keiji. His son's Portuguese name was given by his stepmother - in the third year after settling in Brazil, Okamoto Keiji's Japanese wife fell ill and died. After several years of widowhood, he married a Brazilian mixed-race man who believed in Catholicism. The woman added the other person’s surname to her son’s name.
Little Okamoto grew up in this almost isolated Brazilian farm and was as silent as his father. In addition to doing farm work, he is self-taught in repairing cars and various agricultural machinery and equipment, which has won him a lot of praise among the Japanese in surrounding villages. When Evaristo was admitted to the Florida Institute of Technology and went to the United States to study, it even caused quite a shock among the local Japanese residents who had been farming for generations.
While Okamoto was studying for his degree, overall he did not show anything remarkable. Therefore, when his college professors and classmates were questioned by federal agents, most of them could only recall a medium-sized, gentle and taciturn Japanese student who studied hard and had excellent grades. In addition to studying mechanical engineering and chemistry, Majoring in engineering, he is also very interested in Eastern history. In addition to Japanese, he also taught himself Arabic. In order to raise funds for traveling to Asia, he used his vacation to work for the Union Pacific Company, responsible for refurbishing and maintaining antique steam locomotives. The enthusiasm that Okamoto devoted to those old machinery made the engineers of the railway company fascinated. Impressed.
If it hadn't been for an accidental anti-drug operation that led to the police finding detailed drawings and some made parts of a remote-controlled explosive device from his apartment, Okamoto might have continued to play the role of a good and harmless student. .
Some clues discovered by the U.S. police and intelligence agencies later gradually made some shocking facts more and more clear - this seemingly gentle and kind-hearted Japanese-Brazilian international student was actually closely related to the peripheral organizations of "Al Qaeda" Cooperate and serve as their military engineers. These bombs were originally going to be smuggled into Japan and reassembled for use in attacking the U.S. Embassy and U.S. military bases!
Although his identity was exposed, Okamoto Okamoto, who regarded himself as an "internationalist revolutionary," was not arrested, nor did he escape back to Brazil as the police expected. A year and a half later, intelligence services found him at a training camp in southern Lebanon, and he appeared briefly in Palestine and Syria over the years. The last time Okamoto's whereabouts were known to Americans was in war-torn Iraq, when he narrowly escaped a U.S. raid on a terrorist organization's underground weapons factory and disappeared from the world.
——What neither the FBI nor the CIA knew was that after escaping from Iraq in a hurry, Okamoto boarded a smuggling ship in a panic, changed his name to Hale, and began to participate in the arms smuggling business. Forget about making your own weapons. But before he could make a name for himself in the arms trade, a time-travel trip like the legendary Philadelphia Experiment befell him unexpectedly - when the dying Okamoto was washed up on the beach of a coral reef by the waves. In the end, he miraculously survived and survived for more than two months by drinking rainwater, eating shellfish and raw fish. Then, perhaps in answer to his desperate prayers, he was rescued by a Portuguese merchant ship bound for Malacca.
So, the terrorist Evaristo. Okamoto, after transforming into arms dealer Paul. Hale later changed his identity again and became the Japanese Chechitan Paul who was persecuted for his religious beliefs and was forced to go into exile. Gao Shan - The various complicated religious rituals that his stepmother instilled in him since he was a child are very beneficial to his current identity as a fanatical believer. Even the traces of faith left over from his childhood have gradually taken over his mind in a distorted form.
Perhaps after that, God suddenly became merciful and favored this fake believer. Not long after arriving in Malacca, Paul. Gao Shan became famous for making rockets that defeated the Aceh Sultanate army that once again besieged Malacca. When some Jesuits openly questioned his origin out of jealousy, he followed his great clan kinsman Takayama Shigetomo (a Japanese Catholic daimyo who was expelled from Japan by Tokugawa Ieyasu because of his religious beliefs), as he claimed. Died of illness in Manila in 1615)'s footsteps came to Manila. (At this time, Portugal and Spain were in a period of unification and were annexed by Spain into a country. However, the vast majority of Portuguese people were very resistant to this and refused to admit that they were Spanish.)
In the Philippines, he finally achieved initial success in winning the trust of the Spanish colonial government and the church by helping the governor manufacture cutting-edge ordnance, building a gunpowder factory, and personally participating in the conquest of the pagan natives. Especially the victorious expedition not long ago made Paul even more excited. Gao Shan's reputation has jumped to a new level - the new cannons and rockets he invented with all his wisdom should be the first to contribute in this war, although he will inevitably face the sound of praise with a commendable humility. But his achievements and name will definitely be reported to the Spanish House of Indy by the Governor, and will even be reported to King Philip IV. Some say that he may even be canonized as a noble. A bride who was born as an illegitimate daughter of a nobleman was already waiting for him to marry. Although she was only an dishonorable illegitimate daughter, it was already a rare honor for a foreigner like him.
However, the ambitious Hale is not interested in any of these - what are these compared to the title of liberator of mankind? If this marriage hadn't effectively consolidated his position in Manila and given him enough support from Manila officials, he wouldn't have bothered to bother with it.
He worked hard to win the confidence of the Philippine governor precisely to get the Spaniards to support his cause. According to historical records, a massive Christian revolution (the Amakusa Rebellion) will break out in Japan within a few years. As long as the Governor of the Philippines agrees to send an expeditionary fleet, within half a year, he will be able to arm Japan with an army using new firearms, completely crush the samurai army of the shogunate, and liberate Japan from the ignorant and barbaric Tokugawa shogunate. . Just like Evaristo before time travel. Okamoto, like his father, has always been committed to liberating Japan from the oppression of US imperialism...According to his idea, the Japanese people in this time and space, whether they are Christians or not, will be grateful for the gospel he has brought. And when he has completely mastered a country, the Spaniards will be beyond their reach - back then he could only hope to devote himself to his ideals; but in this time and space, he seems to have seen Japan The crown of the liberator and the throne of the ruler beckoned to him.
Unfortunately, the cruel reality soon slapped him hard - in the spring of this year, through the mouth of a group of Japanese Christians who came to Manila to prepare for a pilgrimage to Rome, Evaristo. Okamoto was surprised to learn that since at least five years ago, the domestic situation in Japan had been completely different from the history he knew: the March War that broke out in 1627, and the Tokugawa Shogunate that fell into turmoil more than two hundred years in advance. , the collective conversion to Catholicism raised the flag of overthrow The Mori family of the Choshu Domain... filled his mind with the absurd sense of time and space confusion. He could hardly figure out whether he had arrived in the Age of Discovery in the 17th century, or in the 19th century when the Shinsengumi were active. And the turmoil at the end of the Tokugawa period when people were killed by Heaven...
In short, according to the information collected so far, it seems that there is no need to trouble Mr. Okamoto to lead the great cause of liberating the Japanese nation and welcoming the new era. There has already been a more successful promoter of spreading the "gospel of the Lord" in Japan - the conversion of the Choshu clan, which opened at least one-fifth of Japan's territory to Christianity. As for the potential of the Amakusa and Shimabara areas, The Christian rebels had long followed the lead of the Choshu clan. Even the Jesuits themselves have great respect and support for the "Christian prince" of the Choshu clan, and they are looking forward to the Maori family's "Eastern Crusade" to sweep across the Japanese archipelago and let this "Land of the Rising Sun" bathe in the glory of the Lord. ...It seems that there is no room for latecomers to intervene.
What shocked him even more was that the power of modern Chinese travelers seemed to be spread in every corner of the earth: from North America to South America, from South Africa to Australia, and even the southernmost tip of modern China very close to Manila—— Hainan Island...the various activities of these Chinese travelers are gradually causing the history of the entire world to deviate from its original track. Even the current situation in Japan, which has become unfamiliar now, has something to do with them.
For example, the "Changzhou Su Lao" Shou Sui Xinji, who was unknown in the original history but famous in this time and space in Japan, seems to have a lot of connections with the modern Chinese people in Hainan Island. But Evaristo. Okamoto still cannot confirm the identity of this guy: is he a Japanese time traveler from the future? An indigenous agent that the Chinese would set up as puppets to rule Japan in the future? Or is he simply a future Chinese who has learned Japanese and pretended to be Japanese? There is no way, there is really not much difference in body shape and appearance between Chinese and Japanese.
Faced with such a complicated and confusing situation, terrorist Hale was confused for a while, but he couldn't decide whether to quickly organize a crusade in Manila to participate in the imminent war on the Japanese archipelago. With the end of the civil war, we should continue to hide our identity, accumulate strength, and wait for the so-called good time... In the end, we can only try to gather information while slowly calculating the next plan.
——What he didn’t know was that it was precisely because of the existence of so many time-travelers that it had greatly interfered with the original historical process and changed many historical events beyond recognition. Therefore, his series of actions in Malacca and the Philippines, It didn’t attract the attention of any time traveler at all...
On the other side, Marcos, a Filipino sailor who traveled to this time and space with him on the same unlucky smuggling ship, didn't have so much thoughts about changing the world and saving the country - this guy almost just thought about how to make himself comfortable. One o'clock, it's over.
In another time and space, after Marcos dropped out of school, his career as a sailor on various ships engaged in illegal business lasted for more than 20 years. He once thought that he was a naturally lucky man. Whether the smuggling boat he was driving was seized and detained by the South Korean Coast Guard, and his anus was repeatedly exploded by the cell leader when he entered the cell; or the smuggling boat he was on encountered an armed patrol ship of the Russian border guard and was hit by a machine gun, causing it to burst into flames and smoke. After meeting the Sea Dragon King, at least he saved his life until the end. But Marcos never dreamed that fate would play a big joke in such a unique way, throwing him and everyone on the Mackerel smuggling ship into such a strange world that he still hasn't fully understood. I remember that on that nightmare day, when the lifeboat they were in was overturned by wind and waves and fell into the sea, Marcos almost thought he was going to die.
Fortunately, when he soaked in the sea water for most of the day and was about to lose consciousness and sink to the bottom of the sea like the others, he was finally rescued by a Spanish merchant ship bound for the Philippines. Unfortunately, the unlucky Marcos immediately aroused the hostility of the Spanish captain because of his strange clothes and strange words. He believed that this Filipino native who could not even explain his origin was probably a spy for the Dutch or Chinese pirates. , the result is that in merchant ships After arriving in Manila, Marcos was thrown into a black cell. After being subjected to various tortures in turn, the Spaniards were convinced that he was just a half-mad man who talked nonsense and posed no harm and was of no use, so he put him in jail. He threw it casually into the slave market and sold it.
——If Marcos had heard about the "dragon-slaying skill", he would understand empathically that this Chinese allusion was definitely a vivid portrayal of his situation at that time. These days, there is no GPS or satellite navigation platform for him to use, and there is no diesel engine or other power equipment that requires his care and maintenance. They know nothing about the work on the wooden sailing ships of the seventeenth century, and they are not even qualified as sailors. Marcos, the hapless guy who had almost no use value to his Spanish masters, was eventually forced to become the lowest and most humble slave labor, doing hard labor under the whip of the overseer. After years of enduring all kinds of torture, he soon became weaker and weaker. If it hadn't been for the accidental discovery and ransom by Hale, Marcos would have died in a short period of time due to one or another reason. His body was tied with a stone and thrown into the sea, where it was slowly gnawed into bones by fish and shrimps.
Arrive at Evaristo. With Okamoto, an old acquaintance, Marcos' life suddenly became much easier: Although as a terrorist on an international wanted order, Hale, or Evaristo. Okamoto has never been a kind and kind person, but Marcos, the "similar person" in the 21st century who was finally found, is really very useful to him - although this Filipino sailor has not graduated from high school, at least he is People in the 21st century have enough education in the past to be proud of the most knowledgeable scholars in Spain today. No matter what, Marcos could read, write, and calculate, understood the principles of cost and efficiency, knew statistical data, and could understand the formulas and process flow charts Okamoto wrote to him.
In this case, Hale, who was almost driven crazy by this cultural desert, as soon as he found Marcos, he hurriedly introduced him as his right-hand man, and his treatment was absolutely generous, because other than that, he was simply I don’t know who else to ask for help - the native Filipinos in the 17th century were basically still blinded by religious superstition. When they saw a machine, they regarded it as a devil and would only kneel on the ground and pray that they would not be eaten. As for the Spaniards in Manila, they are either fanatics who only know how to read the Bible and take communion and shout about executing heretics all day long, or they are slackers and idiots who are only interested in making money and creating mixed-race illegitimate children. Even the few apprentices that Hale took in in this time and space, although they seem to be very well-behaved and smart, and study very hard, but their foundation is too poor - although they are literate, they have almost no basis in mathematics and physics. common sense! Poor Mr. Okamoto had to play a guest role as a primary school teacher, teaching them bit by bit starting from the decimal point and the principle of leverage, which made him feel that this was more difficult than building Rome!
On the other hand, Marcos, who had been tortured to death by hard labor, was naturally grateful to Hale or Mr. Okamoto for saving him from the sea of misery, and he worked very hard. But for Okamoto's ambition to "rewrite history and make a great cause", most of them are somewhat disapproving, and even fearful - the strength of the Chinese Traveler Group on Hainan Island alone is enough to make these two A "self-employed person" feels desperate, not to mention the existence of more powerful countries established by modern Chinese travelers in distant North and South America...
However, as Mr. Okamoto said, there are some things that you cannot avoid just by being a shrinking ostrich - when you learn that the forces of Chinese travelers from all over the world have gathered in Bada with a total of three hundred armed ships. When arriving in Via, Marcos couldn’t help but be very worried:
"...So many Chinese from the future have indeed made the world a little too lively. What's even more terrible is that now they have gathered from all corners of the earth to East Asia. The next step will definitely be to try to rule their motherland. Well! I wonder if they can succeed?”
Marcos said with some restraint, "...What worries me even more is that in addition to occupying China, will they invade other countries, such as the Philippines? Although the Philippines is now also occupied by the Spanish, I feel those people are scarier than the Spanish..."
Hale laughed: "...Hahaha, this is an interesting question, Marcos, yes, what you are worried about is indeed very likely to happen. Once they successfully conquer East Asia, the Filipino people will live a better life." Even worse than under Spain. Whichever force the Chinese establish in the future will implement cruel slavery as a national system. In the worst case scenario, your companions will be shackled without mercy and taken to fill the mines. Make room for the Chinese!
The Filipino smuggling ship sailor seemed frightened: "...Oh - this, this is really terrible..." he stuttered.
"...But don't despair, Marcos. Our future is not dark." Hale raised his head and looked at the mottled twilight shining through the shade of the trees, his eyes filled with the bright light of faith. , "...you are not familiar with the history of East Asia. China has been struggling in the cycle between unity and division since ancient times. And the Chinese people are born with division and internalization. They have the gene for fighting. When they are in dire straits, it may be possible to be surprisingly united - of course, it is just possible. But when they are in good times, they are almost destined to fall into internal strife and fighting. . There have been few exceptions from ancient times to the present, which is the so-called "we can only share hardships, but not wealth"!
Indeed, the power of these later Chinese people is far stronger than ours, leaving aside the two groups that have established countries in North and South America - I heard that the Chinese in South America defeated the Kingdom of Spain twice in wars. Even the so-called ‘Australians’ on Hainan Island, the island closest to us, came to this world with industrial equipment crammed into a large cargo ship, while I only brought a head and a pair of hands.
However, the two powers in the Americas are too far away from East Asia, and no one can launch a long-term war of aggression across half the world. Even the United States in the 20th century failed to intervene in the war in Vietnam, let alone these Chinese people who traveled through time and space and were weak.
As for the Australians on Hainan Island... Haha, if the Australians had activated all their equipment to make cannons and warships, the Philippines would have belonged to them long ago. But a few years have passed, and Australians have been huddled on the island and busy making vanity mirrors, enamel bathtubs and flush toilets. They have been too deeply poisoned by the capitalist principles of hedonism and market supremacy, and will only run counter to their goals - in this chaotic and topsy-turvy era, only by mastering force can it be possible to restore the world. Cannons are butter and the army is everything! And they just forgot this!
More importantly, it is destined to be difficult for these different Chinese groups to unite and cooperate. The intrigues and even armed conflicts between various groups will inevitably consume a lot of their energy - precisely because they have the ability to look down upon this time and space. Advanced technology and political ideas make it difficult to maintain unity and harmony between each other, and they are likely to fight in order to distinguish one from the other.
Moreover, even if their internal fighting is not as fierce as expected, we have come to an era when mainland China is facing the change of two dynasties and is about to be involved in a huge turmoil that will last more than half a century and affect hundreds of millions of people. The Chinese from the future will encounter enough opponents that they will have to throw all their strength into this vortex. This gives us enough time and opportunity to liberate those remote corners of the Asian continent, such as my motherland, Japan, and your motherland, the Philippines, and then use this as a bargaining chip to deal with them..."
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Having said this, Hale couldn't help but sigh, "... Of course, the first step to liberate the target is Japan. Only in Japan can we establish a truly revolutionary base of our own! At present, the Catholic army of the Choshu Domain The Shimazu family, which has united with the Australians and conquered Satsuma, has initially completed the plan for a decisive battle against the shogunate. The countdown to the final war that will determine the fate of Japan has begun!
If we want to take advantage of the chaos, the most suitable opportunity is now! Marcos, I have decided that after confirming that the Chinese expedition fleet from the Americas has no intention to invade the Philippines and Japan for the time being, I will organize Japanese expats and Christian volunteers in Manila to launch a crusade against Japan. Military expedition! Join this war! Are you willing to go to Japan with me to fight? ”
Marcos immediately lowered his head without hesitation, "...My life belongs to you, Your Excellency! I am willing to fight for you in any corner of the world!" "...Very good! Marcos! You will become the Filipino nation. The greatest man in history!" Hale patted the Filipino smuggling ship sailor on the shoulder with appreciation, "... As long as we can persist in carrying out the revolution to the end! The final victory will eventually belong to us!"