Xiao Ruxun still remembered that eight years later, after the massacre of the Chinese by the Spaniards, Zhu Yijun was furious and wanted to send troops to the Philippines, but was stopped by the literati group. The reason was that after the three major expeditions, the treasury was empty, the national strength was weak, and it could not support more wars. The legacy left by Zhang Juzheng was squandered, and the Daming had no power to fight abroad.
Furthermore, these scholars pointed out that the overseas Chinese were not citizens of the Great Ming Dynasty at all, because they were merchants along the coast. They were originally lowly commoners. Scholars, farmers, merchants, and merchants, it was easy to imagine the low status of these people.
More importantly, they fled abroad and did not pay taxes to the Daming at all. What reason did the Daming have to send troops for them? Then they took this opportunity to attack Zhu Yijun, asking him to make him the crown prince, and Zhu Yijun gave up.
The literati confidently said that the evils caused by God could be forgiven, but the evils caused by oneself could not be forgiven! They cut themselves off from the Daming, and now that they were killed by the Xiyi, they asked for help from the Daming. But when did they ever contribute taxes and people to the Daming?
In this case, they were no longer the people of the Daming. Of course, these Xiyi unscrupulously slaughtered them, but they also did not give the Daming face. The Daming sent someone to read the edict of reprimand, severely reprimanding these Xiyi, telling them to be careful!
Just like that, the matter was over.
Later, it led to a greater tragedy. The overseas Chinese in the Philippines became the most tragic chapter in the history of China's overseas Chinese in modern history.
Of course, Xiao Ruxun would not allow such a thing to happen again, so he actively sent people to the Philippines, ready to send troops at any time. However, at the moment, the Spaniards in the Philippines were highly nervous.
In order not to further stimulate them, Xiao Ruxun did not carry out any military preparations, and it happened that at this time, Ricci and the bishop were on their way to Manila. Their arrival might give these Spaniards a reassurance.
"Silang, there are some words that I don't know if I should say."
Zhang Wu looked at Xiao Ruxun and said hesitantly.
"Say it."
Xiao Ruxun nodded.
"The expatriates of our country on Luzon Island are indeed having a hard time. They are being bullied by the local Xiyi and some big merchants. Their current situation is even worse than those Luzon refugees. I think they are forced to go overseas by those landlords to seek a way to survive. Living people can't be suffocated to death. They will die even if they stay in the country. Only by running away can they survive.
The words of those big men were really easy to say. If the world was taken away by them, what would they eat? As long as there was food to eat and a way to make a living, who would be willing to leave their hometown and run to an unfamiliar place? According to the old saying, even if they died, they wouldn't be able to return to their roots. They would always be wandering ghosts, and they wouldn't be willing to leave their hometown!
When I talked to those elderly people, they all told me with red eyes that they missed home and wanted to go back, but they didn't earn enough money. They couldn't buy land when they went back, they couldn't grow food, and they couldn't survive. They had to escape to make a living. What's the point of this? "
Looking at Zhang Wu's deeply moved expression, Xiao Ruxun was not necessarily without feelings. In this era, the large-scale Chinese going to Southeast Asia was based on the large-scale enclosure of land by the landlords of Jiangnan. All the land had been annexed.
It was precisely because the land was gone that they had no choice but to flee abroad to survive. What could you blame them for? Wanting to eat one's fill was the basic need of human beings. If they didn't eat their fill, they would die. The first need of the commoners was of course to survive.
Those rich and powerful people lived a luxurious life. Of course, they wouldn't understand the sorrow of the Fujian and Cantonese people going to Southeast Asia.
"Alright, let's not talk about this. Take some people to keep an eye on Luzon. If there's any movement, immediately tell me. Don't hesitate. Human lives are at stake. It's best for the people you bring to secretly bring a few muskets and some weapons for self-defense. If their identity is exposed, they won't be able to escape or fight back. I know your men are skilled, but a dagger is useless on the battlefield."
After Xiao Ruxun gave the order, Zhang Wu nodded his head and went back to instruct his men to bring a hundred muskets and hide them in the merchant ship. Using the name of the merchant ship, they were to bring these muskets to the Philippines to be hidden in case of emergencies. After all, they had set up a long-term stronghold in the Philippines. Without weapons to defend themselves, relying on a few daggers was not enough.
Zhang Wu also felt a little worried. The Chinese in the Philippines really didn't have any weapons, not to mention firearms. The Spanish did not allow anyone other than themselves to have firearms. Even cold weapons such as knives, guns, and crossbows were strictly controlled. Only some people who assisted in the management were allowed to have them.
Most of these Chinese were unarmed. If the Spanish really wanted to harm them, it would be really difficult to resist.
I have to go back and talk to them.
This was what Zhang Wu thought.
At the same time that Zhang Wu drove the ship, Ricci and the bishop arrived in Manila, the capital of the Philippines. They were warmly welcomed by the governor of the Philippines. Especially when he heard that they came from Myanmar and were asked to come by General Xiao Ruxun, Marquis Zhennan, the governor of the Philippines was extremely excited and happy. He put on a show and warmly welcomed Ricci and Bishop Alexander.
Bishop Alexander was naturally very happy with the courtesy of the governor of the Philippines. After all, the reason why the Spanish could establish a stable rule in the Philippines was because of the Catholic Church's control of the people and land in the Philippines.
Therefore, the colonial rule of the Spanish was relatively stable. Bishop Alexander naturally thought that this was because of the outstanding contributions of the Catholic Church.
Of course, he didn't know that if they hadn't come from Myanmar and hadn't come with Xiao Ruxun's greetings, they probably wouldn't have been personally welcomed by the governor. The governor was now anxiously waiting for news. In the end, he didn't receive any news, but he received an unexpected surprise.
Of course, the arrival of Ricci and Bishop Alexander was an unexpected surprise. For him, it was not too surprising. He came up and gave Bishop Alexander a warm bear hug, then held the bishop's hand tightly. He was so excited that his eyes turned red.
"What did General Xiao say?"
Bishop Alexander frowned.
That's not right. Shouldn't he say some blessings like wishing the Lord, then exchange greetings with me, tell me about the journey, and then invite me to his governor's mansion to eat and drink well. Then, at the dinner table, after everyone prayed, they would talk about these things?
The bishop felt very strange.
"General Xiao, General Xiao from Myanmar. What did he ask you to come over to talk to me about? Is China planning to attack the Philippines? Are they planning to attack us? What's the reason? They need a reason to attack us, right? Is it because we hid those China people? We can explain, we can negotiate, in short, war must be avoided! "
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