Chapter 138 As long as the price is right, the soul can be sold to the devil
Before Deng Zilong docked and landed, Luo Lian returned to her original dress, with a black scarf pulling up her forehead hair, a white shawl collar, and this shawl collar You can even cover your ears and nose, put on a cross, and finally put on a thick, wide, no exposed skin, extremely conservative and rigorous nun's uniform. Luo Lian explained to Deng Zilong the reason for the design of this kind of clothing, moral defense, to prevent Fallen.
This appearance of Luo Lian looks a bit eerie and terrifying.
Deng Zilong finally understood why Luo Lian disliked wearing pants so much in private. She wanted to break free from the shackles but couldn't. She was rebellious.
“It’s very hot.” Deng Zilong expressed his concerns about Luo Lian.
Lolian smiled and said: "Get used to it, let's go."
When they got off the boat, a young sailor with blond hair patted the nun's hand very casually and naturally. Deng Zilong grabbed the sailor's hand and squeezed it hard. Screams immediately rang out on the entire Boracay pier. The red-haired fans, who were already very nervous, immediately picked up the weapons in their hands, and there was a big bang. The attitude of starting a fight if they disagree.
Not only did Deng Zilong not stop, he kicked the person off the trestle and said sternly: "Put your claws clean, and I will kill you next time."
Deng Zilong's words The words were in very authentic classical Latin. After in-depth exchanges with Luo Lian, Deng Zilong learned foreign languages extremely well.
In the great travel activities in Thailand and Spain, whoever speaks fluent Latin is a symbol of noble status. There is a popular trend in Thailand and Spain of "going back to the source". Many scholars advocate giving up the Latin derivatives of various countries. Words, in the pure classical Latin of the Roman Empire as a fashion.
This was due to the use of Latin in the Greek academies, which told stories all day long to promote the beauty and culture of Rome.
Deng Zilong roughly understands it this way. Pure and classical Latin is actually equivalent to the Mandarin of the Ming Dynasty, and Frankish, German, English, and Castilian are all dialects. At a poetry gathering where the poems are written correctly, speaking in a dialect will naturally make it difficult for others to respect you.
"Thank you." Luo Lian's tone was extremely sincere, sincere, and even pious, even more pious than when she prayed.
Deng Zilong clapped his hands and asked with some confusion: "I don't quite understand. Although you haven't said it, I guess you should be a noble in Taixi. You have received a good education since childhood and are knowledgeable and knowledgeable. He has a clear understanding of the problem and is able to travel all the way to Luzon. No matter how you look at it, how dare he take advantage of someone so openly? "
" Because of his hair," Luo Lian said helplessly. He said with a lot of briskness.
"Hair?"
Deng Zilong looked at the little bit of red hair exposed by Luo Lian and said inexplicably: "Hair?"
"Yes hair." Luo Lianne thought for a while and said: "Black hair represents nobility, holiness, and authority. It is the most noble in the West, while blond hair originated from the barbarians in Northern Europe, but they occupied a lot of territory and were powerful. It represents brutality, tyranny, and intimidation.”
“Red hair represents nudity, depravity, and betrayal.”
“I am a nun, a lifelong nun. Marrying means giving up my status as a noble, that’s why they are so rude.”
To explain the reason for this contempt, we need to talk about it from many aspects. For example, in "The Last Supper", Judas who betrayed God is a redhead; in religious culture, redheads are usually the incarnation of the devil, a witch. Needs to be burned to death for purification; in universal culture, red is the color of life, that is, the color of blood, and red hair represents uncleanness, instinct, and debauchery. In the era when Luo Lian lived, the naked woman in the painting , most of them are redheads.
Of course, black people are slaves. On the plantation, they will not be whipped less just because they have black hair.
This kind of discrimination is also another reason why Spain and Portugal are excluded from the Grand Tour cultural activities. Even though they have defeated the French five times, they still cannot gain recognition and respect.
Deng Zilong suddenly thought of the most unethical thing, which is to beat the blind and scold the mute. To be honest, the Ming Dynasty also had this kind of discrimination in the field of hair. For example, the Japanese country made a handful of bald people, and the Jurchens made money. Rat tail braid, this kind of discrimination does exist, but they all shaved their hair into that shape by themselves. The red hair color is natural.
The existence of this kind of discrimination is also the reason why people who come across the ocean to the Ming Dynasty are derided as red-haired fans. They are all lowly people.
People live on land. No matter what era, people who go to the sea to punt are very miserable.
Deng Zilong looked around. Although these sailors picked up weapons, they did not come forward immediately. Instead, they rescued the golden retriever with all their skills.
Deng Zilong was testing the bottom line of this negotiation. He insulted a sailor, but it did not cause any adverse consequences.
"A bold man, we seem to be at war, actually came here with the flag of the Ming Dynasty. I admire your courage." Antonio walked out of the crowd, looked at Deng Zilong and said: " Can you come under my command? I think I need a warrior very much."
The flag of the Ming Dynasty is the Big Dipper flag, and the flag of the Hongmao Fan is the red cross.
Antonio was the captain, not the shipowner. His shipowner was King Felipe II of Spain. Antonio was qualified to be the heir to the Portuguese throne, but the old king didn't like him and kicked him out.
Of course Antonio wants to be king, so he needs to recruit warriors.
"Why don't we talk about the business." Deng Zilong refused. He was a good Ming general and acted as a lackey for Antonio?
Antonio did not pester, but said with a smile: "Well, the emperor you are loyal to is indeed more noble."
The last time Antonio came to Beijing as Legaz's deputy to attend the court The battle with the Ming Emperor was really eye-opening for Antonio. When he first arrived in the Far East, Antonio thought that the Ming Emperor was a secular agent. Later, on the way to Beijing, he thought the emperor was the pope. After entering Beijing again, he was convinced that the Ming Emperor was a secular agent. The power of the emperor in the Ming Dynasty was the trinity of gods who came to earth.
Everything in the empire revolves around the Ming Emperor, just like the natural stars revolve around the North Pole.
Zhu Yijun was unlucky because he didn't know what Antonio was thinking. If he knew, he would have scoffed at it. He just wanted to be a Ming king who cultivated good land, and all the gods and ghosts were heretics.
Deng Zilong has been speaking in Mandarin. He can speak classical Latin so as not to be deceived, but he no longer speaks foreign languages in formal situations. He just warned the Golden Retriever because the Golden Retriever provoked his woman. But now that he is the envoy of the Luzon Governor-General of the Ming Dynasty, he can only speak Mandarin.
And Luo Lian is the translator.
The first negotiation began.
"The Ming Dynasty rashly attacked our camp. We didn't even know the reason, but we were attacked by you. Our home was destroyed, and everyone in Luzon was captured by you." Antonio first said that it was the Ming Dynasty that started the war. .
Deng Zilong said: "In the third year of Jiajing, Emperor Sejong issued an edict to the Portuguese, asking them to return the occupied Srivijaya territory, but they never did so. In the fifth year of Longqing, you killed Lu The late King of Song Dynasty, the late Emperor issued an edict, ordering you to return the land to the King of Lu Song Dynasty, and not to start the war lightly, but you did not do it."
"The document is still there, and your Governor Francisco is in the notes. Wrote: A country that can be destroyed with only forty-two soldiers dares to give me an order. It is a dream."
"So, Francisco was captured by us."
Antonio heard this and said with a little anger: "Damn idiot Francisco!"
Francisco was selling his arrogant war ideas everywhere, and the budget was increased from forty-two soldiers to twenty thousand soldiers. , Projecting 20,000 elite troops in the far east is just a dream. If there was such a projection ability, the damn British would have been wiped out long ago.
Antonio thought for a while and said: "I can mobilize the Portuguese from the Strait of Malacca and India to help us regain the territory that belongs to us. As you know, I am one of the heirs to the throne of Portugal, and I have this call. Ability."
Deng Zilong said calmly: "Are you talking about those desperadoes who go to sea only to seek wealth? Do you think they have that kind of strength and courage? Fight against the professional soldiers of the Ming Dynasty? If they can do it, will the Portuguese only occupy one port in Haojing and be driven into the sea? "
"The three-masted plywood giant you are proud of? We also have two ships. To be honest, the huge plywood ships that are so popular are still a bit disappointing.”
“If you insist on fighting, then let’s fight.”
After Deng Zilong finished speaking, he stood up, looked at Luo Lian and said, "Do you want to stay or go back with me?"
"Go back with you." Luo Lian immediately stood up and planned to follow Deng Zilong back to Luzon. In addition to gaining freedom from Deng Zilong, she also gained dignity, which she could never get in Taixi.
Deng Zilong shook his head and said: "Yin Butang is right, we still have to fight hard to get results."
Antonio said quickly: "Wait a minute, wait a minute, we are here Three large sailing ships came here this time. Can they enter the port smoothly and then enter Songjiang Mansion for business? "
Both parties obviously need a consensus. Deng Zilong clearly knows what that consensus is, but he just doesn't say it and waits for Antonio. To put it bluntly, the consensus is that the Ming Dynasty needed silver, and the Spanish needed Ming Dynasty's goods.
Deng Zilong turned around and said: "Of course it is possible."
Antonio saw that Deng Zilong finally sat down again, and then he said: "The king appointed Legas as the special envoy. Only he can Decided to mobilize the resources of the Luzon Governor-General. I am just a captain and a businessman. I only want to do business. If you want to fight or negotiate a peace, you can negotiate with Legaz, not me. My task is just to bring the three A four-masted galleon, complete the trade, bring the goods back, and earn the money I deserve.”
Antonio is a businessman, and he hates war. Although war can hoard goods and obtain extremely high profits. , but the war represents a huge risk. In Antonio's view, this war is completely unnecessary, because this war taking place in the far east has no room for profit at all.
The Governor's Mansion of the Ming Dynasty was occupied by the Spaniards. Now that the Ming Dynasty has taken back its own Governor's Mansion, the matter seems to be that simple.
Deng Zilong said strangely: "I can release you on behalf of the Luzon Governor's Palace, but if you do this, Legaz will be very passive. These four-masted sailing ships are an important bargaining chip for Legaz. ”
Antonio smiled and said: "My mission is my mission, his mission is his mission, it has nothing to do with me."
Deng Zilong frowned slightly and then said: "I understand, everyone Don't worry about the frost on other people's roofs. Your merchant ship has been delayed for a long time and can set off."
"Is the tax rate still the same as before?" Antonio. Said quite urgently.
Deng Zilong and Antonio communicated many details about entering the port, including details such as not being allowed to disembark, and armed merchant ships not being allowed to fire cannons and bows.
When Deng Zilong boarded his hydrofoil sailboat and returned to Manila, he said in amazement: "Are you people in the West so profit-seeking? You just have money in your eyes. As long as you can make money, everything doesn't matter. "
Luo Lian changed out of her heavy clothes, and after hearing Deng Zilong's inquiry, she smiled and said: "Money has a magical power that can corrupt people's hearts. The Antonio you see is not a minority. Most people seem to have everything as long as they have money. This is the case in the West. This is also one of the troubles caused by gold and silver."
"Antonio doesn't care about Manila being captured by the Ming Dynasty. The Spanish and Portuguese captured by the Ming Dynasty did not even care about Legas. He only cared about profit. "As long as the price is right, his soul can be sold to the devil."
Deng Zilong. He nodded and said: "I understand, sit tight and hold on, the wind is blowing."
On the way back, Deng Zilong adjusted the angle between the sail and the wind, and the speed suddenly increased, and then the bow of the boat was under a gust of wind. , nodded his head twice, and began to float continuously on the water. As the speed gradually increased, the boat began to float stably on the water, drew a waterline, and galloped out.
Luo Lian held on to the side of the ship tightly and watched in disbelief as the ship floated on the water. She was dumbfounded and even a little panicked and said: "How did this happen?! It's so amazing. Is it magic?"
Deng Zilong shook his head and said: "I am just a boat operator. I don't know why it flies."
Luo Lian opened her arms and enjoyed the sharp feeling of the wind blowing across her cheeks. This is a miracle. And a mysterious country.
"Are you just sailing the boat? What about me?" Luo Lian shook her red hair.
Deng Zilong also said helplessly after hearing this: "It's not easy to learn well, but you will slip away when you learn badly. You are a nun, how can you say bad words?"
"You don't know that learning a foreign language is all about it. Did it start with swearing?" Luo Lian said with a smile: "I will do it myself."
When Deng Zilong returned to the Manila port, Luo Lian turned back into a dignified nun, but her face was rosy, like the sunset. As the sunset faded, the sky was still blushing, and my eyes were still a little confused.
"No, you just took a trip to Boracay Island and you are so tired?" When Chen Lin saw Deng Zilong's steps were a little frivolous, she asked strangely: "Can you do it?"< br>
Deng Zilong looked at the sunset on the horizon and said with a hint of melancholy: "Of course I can do it. Why did you provoke me in the first place? You can't say it, you can't say it."
"Oh." Chen Lin looked at Luo Lian's appearance and knew that something had happened. Then her expression suddenly changed. She grabbed Deng Zilong's collar and said sternly: "My boat! You soiled my boat! I'm not done with you!"
When Chen Lin realized what had happened, he immediately became furious and threatened to kill someone. This was his boat, and two people were using his boat to do so.
Chen Lin was furious. No wonder Yin Zhengmao had four words written all over his face when he talked about this moment, and it was hard to say a word.
Really damn it.
"Do you want to fight privately? The Ming Dynasty army strictly prohibits private fighting." Deng Zilong looked like he was not stingy. According to the Ming army's rules, a private fighter has a hundred sticks and is sent to a smog-filled place.
Chen Lin finally let go of Deng Zilong and said fiercely: "My boat!"
On this day, Chen Lin spent the whole day painting the boat, and it was his most precious boat. , dirty.
The four-masted sailing ship from the West began to slowly enter the port. Because it was not doing business in Manila, it was parked for half a day. After receiving the customs clearance document, Antonio took the ship north again and arrived at Songjiang Prefecture. It's the end of July.
Antonio arrived in the capital after another fifteen days and met the special envoy Legas.
Antonio looked at Legas, who looked indifferent, and asked strangely: "Did you know that Manila was captured by the Ming army?"
Legas sighed and said: " You know, in fact, the war in Manila has been going on. We organized three counterattacks, but none of them achieved results. Later, we could no longer organize an offensive, so we could only acquiesce in Ming's sovereignty over Luzon."
"Our strength in the Far East is too weak. Their Governor Yin has 3,000 elites with rich combat experience, and more than 5,600 pirate troops. Our strength in the Far East is basically It cannot support us in retaking Luzon."
Antonio said with a look of surprise: "How do you know? The Ming Dynasty has extremely strict management of Yi Chuan. How do you know what happened in Manila?"
< br>"The people of the Ming Dynasty also had a civil information bureau to deliver letters, so they can naturally deliver letters." Legas did not hide anything and explained the matter clearly.
The Civil Information Bureau was founded by Ningbo merchants around the Yongle period. The Civil Information Bureau is a privately run profit-making organization. Its business includes sending letters, items, and handling exchanges. Legaz also dispatched some troops through the Civil Information Bureau to fight back, but with little effect.
After being silent for a moment, Legas continued: "Of course, after Ming Dynasty received the good news, they informed me that they took back the power to govern Luzon and were defeated again and again. Is it like Francisco? Are you like an idiot to convince the king to send heavy troops to take back Luzon? Don’t you think the king is in trouble enough? Damn the British!”
The Spanish Armada had a fierce exchange with England at sea. The exchange forced the Armada to stay in the Mediterranean to guard against the intrusion of British privateers. The main battleship of the Armada, the Galese battleship, was not suitable for long voyages, and its lack of flexibility was gradually being exposed.
The British are just like a frame, and anything can be put into it.
Even without the British, the Spanish Armada would not be able to deploy to Luzon, because the main warships cannot go far across the ocean at all, and the oarsmen cannot cross the ocean at all.
"The Ming Dynasty did not conduct conquests in the archipelago areas such as Boracay Island and Cebu Island, and it seems that it does not intend to further escalate the conflict." Legaz said with a little uncertainty.
Antonio said extremely worriedly: "You have to think clearly, if we give up Luzon Island now, in the future, Ming Dynasty will definitely do it again like it does now, constantly eroding our influence in the Far East. , and finally brought this sea area completely under his control.”
"A greedy poisonous snake will never be satisfied with just one hunting success."
Legas stood up, looked at Antonio and said loudly: "Do you think I want to do this? I can't beat him, you can Do you understand? I can't beat him!"
"Okay, you're right." After hearing this, Antonio could only nod. He stayed in Manila for a day and had no intention of finding out the truth, but the Ming army The forts they built were also extremely difficult to break. The Ming Dynasty was heavily defended and it was indeed extremely difficult to defeat them.
Antonio tilted his head and said with a confused face: "When I was in Manila, I saw the Ming people operating a flying ship. Do you know what it is?"
"Flying ship, Antonio, listen to what you are talking about? How can there be a flying ship?" Legas asked with a puzzled look on his face.
Antonio said with certainty: "It's that kind of flying ship, I saw it! It's amazing. If you don't believe it, you can ask the crew on my ship. They all saw it. Those Didn’t the damn privateers take the initiative because of their small size and speed? If we had that kind of ship, could the British be so arrogant?”
Legasi still didn’t believe it and shook his head. Said: "It is normal to have hallucinations after a long voyage."
A general from Huitongyi came in and said: "Two special envoys, Chen Xuexue, the minister of Honglu Temple, has arrived."
Chen Xuexue walked in, looked at Antonio, and showed a smile. The Ming Dynasty conquered Luzon, but it wanted the silver from the galleons. This obviously wanted both. The Ming Dynasty could do it because the Ming Dynasty had Absolute commodity advantage, Spain's demand for Ming Dynasty goods was greater than Ming Dynasty's demand for Thai and Spanish silver coins, this is the fundamental reason.
At worst, Ming Dynasty went to the Japanese country to bully the Japanese people to ensure the supply of silver.
"Is Diplomat Chen coming here for the Luzon matter?" Li Yazhi said with a solemn expression.
Chen Xuexue shook his head and said: "No, Yuan Fu's theory of contradictions said: The struggle between contradictions is complicated and long-term. The conflict and balance formed by conflicts that have not been fully fought are short-lived, and the conflict and balance formed by them are short-lived and short-lived. We cannot remain hypocritical for a long time, so we must continue to fight. Only after a full struggle can we achieve balance and peace."
"In other words, if we haven't fought enough, we will continue to fight."
"I came here this time to collect taxes. The tax collection office of Fusi Yamen in Beizhen sent us a collection note. Your three ships have a total of 320,000 taels of silver hidden in them. You have to collect 19,200 taels of gold and silver according to the regulations. The big ship If you leave Hong Kong at the end of August, if the payment has not been paid, you will not be able to leave Hong Kong and will be fined 20% of the tax. If you are resisting the tax, the punitive tariff will be 20% from now on. The sky is clear and will not be missed, so don't take any chances. "
"This is just a reminder that if something like this happens in the future, we will all be punished."
After three four-masted sailing ships entered the port, the three ships carried a total of three hundred thousand taels. The silver, which had not been declared to customs, was caught by Tiqi from the Imperial Society's tax office in Songjiang Prefecture during the trade. The tax payment stamp certificate did not match the actual trade quantity. After accounting, the tax office found out clearly. With the amount of silver entrained, the demand note was sent to the capital.
Honglu Temple is responsible for the first and second notifications, and for the third time, they will have to board the ship to make payment.
“Damn it, I’ve told them repeatedly, don’t hide it, are you even trying to evade the 6% tax?” Antonio looked at the demand note, and it turned out to be written in both Chinese and Latin languages. , he can understand it completely.
His boat carried less than 1,000 taels of silver, and the other two boats actually contained more than 300,000 taels of silver, and they were caught by the Ming court!
"Okay, you two, please pay as soon as possible. We will not charge one cent more tax, nor will we charge one cent less tax." Chen Xuexue stood up and was about to leave.
"Diplomat, do you really not have a flying ship in Ming Dynasty?" Antonio collected the reminder and asked eagerly about the flying ship he saw.
Chen Xuexue said in surprise: "Captain, do you want to listen to what you are saying? How can the ship fly? Of course not."
"Okay." Antonio was a little uncomfortable. He said with conviction: "Am I wrong?"
In fact, Antonio didn't see clearly what the ship shrouded in the waterline looked like. Legas said it was an illusion, but Ming officials denied it, leaving Antonio He had doubts about himself.
Antonio shook his head and said more eagerly: "Diplomat, I have some gifts for the emperor. I think the supreme and noble emperor will definitely like these treasures."
"I'm very sure."
"Oh? What is it?" Chen Xuexue sat down again and saw Antonio taking out a list of gifts that Antonio wanted to give.
After reading the list, Chen Xuexue nodded and said: "Indeed, His Majesty the Emperor will like it very much. So, Captain Antonio, what do you need to get? I know you are a businessman, and in business, the conditions are not excessive. If so, we can discuss it."
Antonio said with great anticipation: "I want a franchise."
"Do you think it's possible?" Chen Xuexue shook his head.
Antonio waved his hands repeatedly and said: "No, no, no, the franchise you understand is different from the franchise I am talking about. What I mean is that the sales in Portugal are my responsibility, and I am not specializing in certain goods from the Ming Dynasty."
< br> Only death and taxes are inevitable. Please give me a monthly ticket, wow! ! ! ! !
(End of this chapter)