Chapter 954 Messenger
After Hassan came out of Sanchez's office, he couldn't help but smile proudly. The entourage waiting outside asked in a joking manner what had happened. Hassan smiled and showed him the approval document in his hand: "Look, this time we got permission to buy copper ingots. We can buy as many as we can carry on the ship." How much! Sanchez, this iron cock, finally got his feet hurt this time!”
Hassan was very proud of the results he had achieved by relying on his eloquent words, but he also knew that this kind of attempt would not be successful every time. This time it was a coincidence that he met the Spaniard who wanted to ask for something from him. I will talk to you next time. Sanchez's tricks may not work. As a businessman who travels to major trading ports in the South China Sea all year round, Hassan has actually decoded some deeper information from the information he has and the Spanish reactions. He can somewhat understand why Sanchez is so anxious and needs to run away by himself. Trip to Sanya.
What Hassan saw and heard in Java Island and Borneo in the south was far more detailed than what the Spaniards heard in Manila. Aragones and others could only guess at the true intentions of the Haihan people, but Hassan But they knew that the Haihan people's invitation to send people from various countries to the meeting was not for the purpose of forming a military alliance, but was related to the transnational maritime trade in this region. This is because the Haihan fleet held talks with the local governor Apondu after arriving at the Port of Surabaya in East Java, and Hassan happened to have a good relationship with one of Apondu's men and privately learned some of the inside story of the talks between the two parties.
However, out of the unique cunningness of a businessman, Hassan deliberately did not tell Sanchez about this after arriving in Manila, hoping to disrupt the Spanish position and gain more benefits for himself. Sure enough, the Spaniard really guessed and frightened himself, giving him the opportunity to make a small fortune.
However, Hassan did not look down on the Spaniards because of this. He knew that if Sanchez himself went to Sanya to see the local situation, he would probably be even more panicked than he is now. Putting aside military strength, in terms of achievements in infrastructure and international trade alone, Hassan believes that Haihan is far superior to his predecessor, Spain. The rows of merchant ships from various countries docked in Victory Port and Sanya Port are the best proof. . Many foreign businessmen like Hassan have given up purchasing in places such as Guangzhou, Zhangzhou and even Jiangsu and Zhejiang, and directly choose to go to Sanya - where they can purchase almost all kinds of goods that foreign businessmen can buy in Ming Dynasty in one stop. Some of them Because of tariff issues, the price in Sanya is even cheaper than in the country of origin.
The Spaniards thought that Manila's decline was due to the gradual monopoly of Ming Dynasty's maritime trade by Haihan. Hassan believed that this was entirely because the Spaniards did not understand the relationship between Haihan and Ming Dynasty. Not to mention anything else, just talking about race, Haihan is easier for Ming people to feel close to than Westerners with deep eyes and high noses. There is no language barrier. Ming businessmen are naturally willing to work with people who can afford money and are trustworthy. The Haihan people do business.
Although the Haihan people invaded the Ming Dynasty's territory, almost all the Ming Dynasty officials who managed these places had defected to the Haihan people, so there would be no conflict as the Spaniards had expected. On the contrary, Hassan knew that many local officials in the southeastern region of the Ming Dynasty hoped that the Haihan people would go to enclose the land and open a port, because the Haihan people were now like gods of wealth, bringing wealth with them wherever they went, even if it was a barren mountain. Yeling, an isolated island in the sea, Haihan people can also turn it into a prosperous town port, giving local officials a large amount of stable income.
Of course, not all officials will fall for Haihan's sugar-coated bullets, but as far as Hasan knows, those so-called "backbone" officials mostly end up being transferred or simply losing their jobs in the end. As time goes by, naturally, Not many local officials are willing to openly confront Haihan. Simply take the money and turn a blind eye and get through it. Anyway, the Haihan people will not do anything to disturb the local area, but they will help maintain local security and receive some benefits and provide some convenience, so why not do it?
The Spaniards' knowledge of the conditions under Haihan's rule came almost from word of mouth from merchants and sailors, as well as reports sent back once a month or so by their individual men lurking in Sanya. Although this kind of fragmented information can piece together part of the facts, it cannot achieve an intuitive effect. Hassan also believes that the Spaniards’ espionage methods are purely fickle-if the reports sent back are objective and comprehensive, then the Spaniards It would have been wise to give up fighting the Haihan people long ago.
Fearing that things might change, Hassan immediately took people to a warehouse outside Manila to pick up the goods. At the same time, he ordered people to go back to the dock to deliver the order to remove all the ballast on the ship to make room for the shipment of copper ingots. He was not worried that he would encounter trouble in sales after transporting it. The Haihan people had already announced that they would charge as much copper as they wanted. This trip would definitely make more money than transporting cattle and sheepskins.
Early the next morning, Sanchez personally brought a letter sealed with paint to the dock and handed it to Hassan, who was about to leave the port: "Don't forget to bring his reply to Manila!"
"Okay, when I come back, don't forget to pay me another fifty silver coins for the delivery fee." Hassan took the letter and put it into his arms: "Goodbye, Mr. Sanchez."
Sanchez snorted, but did not say any farewell words such as "Bon voyage". It was obvious that his dissatisfaction with Hassan had accumulated to a certain extent, but it was not convenient for him to express it for the time being. However, he was sure that this was the last time he saw Hassan, because in this secret letter to Hassan, he had ordered local lurkers to try to get rid of Hassan as a hidden danger of instability.
The Arab businessman Hassan is not an intelligence agent compiled by the Manila authorities, he is just a messenger who collects money to do things. However, this courier knows too much, and his current position is obviously not stable enough, which has caused certain risks to Spain's intelligence system. Sanchez was really not sure when this guy would sell his subordinates for money, and the most complete solution he could think of was to make Hassan disappear from the world.
Of course, doing so will put the local lurking personnel in Sanya at risk of exposing their identities, but Sanchez believes that this is better than letting the Haihan people take the blame after being betrayed by Hassan. As long as Hassan can be eliminated cleanly, then Spain The local intelligence system can at least maintain normal operations for a period of time in the future. As for who will be entrusted with the role of messenger in the future, Sanchez believes that this is not an immediate priority and can be solved slowly. You must know that there are tens of thousands of Chinese in Manila, including many diehards who have worked hard for Spain for generations. It should not be particularly difficult to select some people to re-establish intelligence channels.
Hassan's ship is a sloop he purchased from the Spanish in Manila in his early years. It has a displacement of only about a hundred tons. There are more than 20 sailors on board, most of whom are from his hometown of Persia. However, because he wanted to do business with various forces in the Far East, Hassan also successively recruited several Han Chinese and South Asian natives, and even took in two Europeans who could not survive in Manila. This basically ensures that his caravan will not encounter language or writing barriers when traveling between major trading ports in the Far East. Generally speaking, Hassan will mainly determine the destination of the next stop based on the season and ocean currents, as well as the various goods that need to be purchased at the current port for this purpose. Originally, he should have continued to sail west to Annan after anchoring in Sanya, but this time However, Sanchez requested that he send information about local lurkers back to Manila as soon as possible. This meant that Hassan's sailboat had to go against the ocean current on its return journey. To do this, it had to make an extra circle in the South China Sea to avoid the westward ocean current, which meant that the voyage would be extended by three to four days. But Hassan did not intend to obey Sanchez's instructions obediently. He had other plans for this operation.
Hassan was not willing to deliver information to the Spaniards, mainly because he wanted to preserve his trading qualifications in Manila. Relying on this relationship, he was able to buy more in-demand goods such as leather and copper ingots. As for the dozens of silver coins collected from Sanchez, it was just compensation that was better than nothing. Hassan would not feel that the risk he took was worth that little bit. However, as Manila's trade situation declined day by day, Hassan believed that there was little point in continuing to rely on the Spanish. Smart people should make plans early and take decisive measures when it is time to change the family.
Hassan has been going to Sanya to carry out trade for nearly three years. Every time he goes there, he will feel that Haihan's strength is getting stronger. This strength is not only reflected in the Haihan fleet anchored in Victory Port, but also in the Haihan fleet. There is an increasingly prosperous market, local people who wholeheartedly support Haihan, and various strategies adopted by Haihan for foreign expansion. The longer he watched, the more he understood that it was difficult to stop Haihan's trend of becoming stronger. Spain's deliberate methods would ultimately fail in the face of Haihan's development trend. If the relationship between the two parties deteriorates further in the future, Spain will send Instead of being famous, those lurking in Sanya may intensify the conflict between the two parties. As a messenger who has been delivering intelligence to the Spanish for a long time, he probably cannot escape the fate of being listed as a target of arrest by Haihan.
Hassan did not want to be regarded as an enemy or rival by the Haihan people, nor did he want to become a fugitive wanted by the Haihan people. He knew very well how terrifying the Haihan people's arrest warrant was. There were a large number of bounty hunters in the South China Sea who specialized in catching wanted Haihan criminals in various places. He will neither die from his injuries nor be able to continue escaping. After such prisoners are brought back to Haihan, they will not be sent to hard labor camps because they have lost the ability to work. Generally, after trial, they will be chained in ports, Victory Square and other crowded places for use. Warn people. Hassan would rather be beheaded than be chained outside like a dog for people to watch.
If he wants to completely clear himself, Hassan has only one feasible way, which is to surrender to the Haihan people, and at the same time, tell the whole story of the Spaniards, so that Haihan can capture the Spanish spies, so that he can prove his innocence. If we can get the understanding of the Haihan people, we can continue to rely on the trading system established by the Haihan people to make money in the future, which is much better than being a messenger who is thankless and takes huge risks.
After this trip, Hassan did not plan to go to Manila again in the future. He planned to follow Haihan's fleet to the north to see the legendary Shuangyu Port. It is said that that place and the surrounding areas have been occupied by Haihan. In a few years, another trading port similar to Sanya will rise locally. Hassan planned to try his luck. Taking advantage of the fact that the local development level was not high and there were still relatively few foreign merchants, he would go and get a seat first.
The straight-line voyage from Manila to Sanya is seven to eight hundred nautical miles. Hassan's sailing boat traveled for nearly a week and finally arrived safely off the coast of Qiongzhou Island. After bypassing the Luhuitou Peninsula from the south, Hassan, standing on the bow of the ship, could already see the exit of Sanya Port. It is as busy as ever. Under the command of the guide boat, merchant ships, fishing boats and cargo ships are constantly shuttling through the strait waters at the exit of Sanya Port.
"Lower the sails and slow down!" Hassan was not here for the first time, and he knew the rules well, so he immediately ordered to start slowing down.
Soon a small pilot boat came over and asked the people on board where they came from. After the two sides completed a simple question and answer, Hassan's ship followed the other party's arrangement and followed him into the port.
The Haihan channel traffic is the same as on land, driving on the right. In this way, ships entering the port can just see the Sanya Port fort on the coast. This fort was built almost at the same time as the Sanya Port, but after it was completed, it was not really used like the port. So far, no daring armed forces have dared to attack the Sanya Port and let the fort open.
Without a telescope on the deck, you can clearly see the black muzzle of the fort. At this distance, there is no way to avoid the firepower of the fort. Hassan didn't know and never wanted to know what it would be like to be hit by a 24-pounder or even a larger 48-pounder coastal defense artillery. According to the rumors he had heard, even if Haihan's own fleet passed here and bombarded the forts on the shore, they would not be able to take advantage at all. Those who doubt this can try it for themselves and experience the lessons of being taught by coastal defense artillery. taste.
Hassan's sailboat slowly sailed through the strait and entered the Sanya Inland Port. In fact, there was no need for a guide boat to lead the way. He himself knew where to dock. The dedicated wharf designated for Persian merchants in the port area is located on the banks of the Linchun River, and the construction level of the wharf is much better than the crooked project in Manila Port.
(End of chapter)