Tea leaves, silk, porcelain, and iron pots were the four most popular luxury consumables in Europe. The French and Genoese were demanding an exorbitant price. Tea leaves were worth tens of thousands of kilograms, silk was worth a hundred thousand bolts, and porcelain and iron pots were worth at least fifty thousand. He still had to check if he could supply so many goods. These were all heavy silver, and after trading in Europe, he would be able to cover the expenses of Myanmar for a year.
This was a big deal. He had to choose the person in charge of the ocean-going caravan, the escort team, the gunners, the sailors, the clerks, the people he trusted, the translators, the cooks, the construction engineers, and so on.
When he went to Europe this time, he wanted to set up a Chinese restaurant in Genoa and Paris respectively. He wanted to spread Chinese cuisine to Europe before the Europeans did. He wanted to satisfy those country bumpkins.
Another thing was that Xiao Ruxun was also a little hungry. Chen Longzheng had brought back two Italian chefs from Genoa. It was said that they knew how to make exquisite pizza, and this piqued Xiao Ruxun's interest.
He also liked to eat pizza, but after the end of the world and after he came to the Great Ming Dynasty, he hadn't eaten pizza. It had been more than ten years since he had tasted pizza. Now that he could eat the most authentic pizza, he was a little excited.
Here, Xiao Ruxun was sharing the pizza with her beloved wife and children, enjoying the rare tranquility and peace. Meanwhile, at the Philippine Governor-General's Office, it was in full swing. It was so noisy that the heads of the attendees were about to explode.
"I told you! These Chinese have no good intentions! They must be preparing to attack us! Because we are hiding those damn Chinese! That must be it! We must get ready immediately! Ask for help from our country! Get ready for battle! The Philippines is the empire's most important stronghold in the east! We must not lose it! "
A Spanish officer said with conviction.
"It's all because of you! You are only thinking about fighting the Chinese! I told you! Don't provoke the Chinese! Don't give the Chinese an excuse to attack us! It won't be a big loss for us if we let the Chinese go. As for those who don't want to leave, can the Chinese government force them to leave?
Didn't you see how the Chinese dealt with the Burmese? Didn't you see how they destroyed those big pirates at sea? When we encountered those pirates, we had to be careful. The Chinese fought dozens of battles at sea and killed all of them! Their navy is no weaker than ours! Their army also outnumbers us. How are we going to fight this war? "
A man who looked like a civil official angrily rebuked the officer.
"A soldier's duty is to protect the country's territory! The Philippines is our territory! If China dares to invade, I will make them all sink into the sea! We are more familiar with the islands and the surrounding hydrology. We are more familiar with the terrain here. So what if China has a lot of people? We can pin them down at sea! We can ambush them near the coast. We sailed here from Europe. Those China people haven't left here yet! "
The officer spoke with conviction, not backing down even a single step.
"Their country is here. How are you going to fight against such a big country like China? We only have a thousand soldiers and dozens of ships, but the Chinese warships can almost cover the entire ocean. It's true that we have guns and cannons, but the Chinese have guns and cannons too! "
"So what? Are we going to surrender when they come? Are we going to stand here and wait for them to kill us when they come? Don't you know how important the Philippines is to the Empire? With so many spices, how much money can the Empire earn here? The Empire is at war with the British and the despicable Netherlands. They need spices from the East! This is our duty! "
"Before we discuss our duty, let's see if we have the strength to uphold this duty! The Empire is at war with the British and Netherlands. If we also start a war with the Chinese, will the Empire have enough warships and troops to support us? They will need half a year to come here! In half a year, our corpses will have rotted into the mud! Are we waiting for the Empire's reinforcements?! "
"You …"
"Enough!"
The Philippine Governor-General slammed his desk, ending the argument between the officer and the civilian.
"Governor-General, you must think of a way. Make up your mind. We can't sit here and wait for the Chinese to attack. Our strength is not enough."
"Governor-General! Don't listen to him! I'm ready for battle! How many Chinese people will come! I will kill as many as they want! "
The civilian and military officials once again confronted each other, neither giving way. Their words were filled with the smell of gunpowder.
The Governor-General clutched his head, deeply troubled.
Three years ago, like the other officers, he felt that the Chinese could be easily conquered. He even thought the same as the former Governor-General, that they could conquer China with just four thousand soldiers. He was very dissatisfied with the King's decision to reject the invasion plan of China.
But there was nothing he could do. Without the support of the Empire, there was nothing he could do with his one thousand soldiers. But after the battle in Myanmar, he saw the strength of the Chinese.
The information from the spies in the Myanmar battlefield showed that the spies all maintained a cautious and fearful attitude towards the Chinese. They advised the Empire not to be hostile to China, and to change their view and attitude towards China, and try to be friendly with China. The Chinese army was very strong. Their firearms and cannons were no less elite than the Spanish, and they had more warships.
More importantly, after the war, the small independent kingdoms in Southeast Asia all drew closer to the Daming. They all sent envoys to pay tribute, and the Ming court also sent people to pay tribute. This could be considered as strengthening the diplomatic relationship.
Since then, the plan of the Philippine Governor-General to encroach on those small kingdoms was forced to be put on hold, because all the small kingdoms expressed their loyalty to the Ming court. If they encountered any problems, they would run to Marquis Zhennan in Myanmar for help.
Just like that, the pirates were wiped out by the Burmese Ming army. The Ming army's prestige in Southeast Asia was unparalleled, and the Spaniards were hindered everywhere. More importantly, everyone went to Burma to do business with the Burmese Han people.
In the past, the merchants who came to Luzon to do the spice business also went to Myanmar to buy cheaper spices produced in other countries, and Luzon spices were squeezed out of the market.
They all lived on the profits from these businesses. Spain had no funds for them, and in turn, they had to provide funds for Spain to fight the war. In this way, money was tight, life was even more difficult, and the situation was even worse.
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