The Manchurian Palace had now become a place for the Frankenstein people.
Today was a formal European-style banquet, so most of the food used was made by the Europeans themselves. However, the tableware was not the commonly used copper utensils, but the magnificent gold and silver utensils of the Manchurian Royal Family and Chinese porcelain.
The staple food of the Europeans was, of course, bread. However, the wheat used to make high-quality bread was the lowest among all the major crops. Therefore, white bread was a food that only the rich, nobles, and the church could enjoy. They added milk to flour and used brewer's yeast to make delicious white bread called Queen's Bread. It was now placed at the very end of the long dining table.
Sitting at the very end, Inuo Masaichi picked up a piece of hard black bread made of rye and oats and threw it back on the plate. He muttered to Koda Ono, who was beside him, with dissatisfaction, "What a ridiculous banquet. The golden plate is filled with this kind of thing. I can use it to smash your head open."
Koda Ono turned his body and said in a low voice, "Don't complain. How can you not lower your head when you're under someone else's roof? We have to rely on them to survive. I heard that the people who stayed in Ming Destiny were almost all killed. Those who escaped to the mountains ate wild vegetables until their faces were bruised and some even died from bloating. At least we still have food to eat and wine to drink. "
He took a sip of the cheap whiskey and couldn't help but frown, "Why don't we use the local wine? It's almost like vinegar. "
"Shh, he's going to speak." Pig Claw Handsome grabbed his samurai bun and said hurriedly.
As expected, Azeroth stood up and bowed politely to everyone with a smile, "Gentlemen, welcome to the banquet at noon."
He was dressed in a short, tight-fitting suit made of Oriental silk, and his expensive cape was embroidered with a Portuguese love poem made of tiny, round pearls. Under the candlelight, it shone brightly, giving him an air of dignity.
"Gentlemen," Azeroth smiled and nodded to everyone, "Tonight's banquet, please drink to your heart's content. At the same time, I need to seek your opinions on some matters. "
He looked around at the guests seated around the long buffet table as he spoke.
It was a large and diverse group. There were the officers of the Portuguese fleet led by him, the Spanish pirate Captain Pedro and his subordinates, Miyamoto Hiroshi and his Oriental warriors, the native chiefs who sought refuge with him, and the mercenary leaders who were recruited during the journey east. The factions were complex, and the people were of different races and styles.
All kinds of dishes were served by the servants of the Manchu Cijia Palace. Of course, the most exquisite food was placed on the side of the leaders. In addition to fish and vegetables, pork was also the main meat.
The Europeans of the Middle Ages were not as averse to animal innards as the Europeans of today. In fact, they would eat every inch of edible parts, including the uterus and bladder of pigs. However, regardless of whether it was drinks, bread, or dishes, they all had to be dyed. The dark red oily color looked very appetizing.
Due to their different eating habits, some of these people used knives and forks, some used chopsticks, and some used their bare hands to eat. It made this grand, palace-style banquet look strange.
Azeroth took a sip of brandy made from white wine and wiped his mouth with a napkin with a smile. "Everyone, I've invited everyone here today not only for lunch, but also for our way out. Whether we can gain a foothold in the Manchu Cijia concerns everyone's future. "
This sentence immediately attracted the attention of all the factions. Everyone put down their knives and chopsticks and listened attentively to him.
"To be honest, I didn't expect Ming Destiny's army to be so good at fighting. From the information Captain Pedro told me, we underestimated the Ming navy. No, not underestimated, but completely miscalculated. Now that the Ming army has taken care of the East Sea, their target will soon be here. From the information Miyamoto Hiroshi left in the Ming Dynasty's borders, the signs of the Ming army's movements also confirm this. "
He spread his hands and shrugged. "Then here comes the question. Should we fight, retreat, or … find a way to reconcile with Ming Destiny? Everyone, please express your opinions. "
The banquet hall immediately became noisy. People from all factions began to whisper to each other. Azeroth held onto the table and quietly observed everyone's reactions. Then he looked deeply at Archbishop Lamario.
His army was not pirates, but the regular Portuguese navy. It belonged to the Indian governor Albuquerque, who had the reputation of the Portuguese God of War. This governor was a devout and crazy believer and profit-seeker. Ever since he gained a foothold in India, his ambition began to overlook the entire Far East.
According to Albuquerque's observation, he believed that Manchu Cijia was the chokepoint that controlled the trade between the Indian Ocean and the Far East. If he occupied this place, he could establish Portugal's position as the maritime trading empire in the East. With this as a foothold, he could also seize Colombo, Java, Kalimantan, Sulawesi, and the Maluku Islands.
When he first went to India, he threw himself into the cause of conquering the East like a storm. Not only did he attack the Arab cities one after another, destroying and burning them, he even sank some of the Arab ships. He occupied Goa and Malacca, wiped out all the Arab ships in the Indian Ocean, and established his maritime supremacy. He also obtained enough power from the King of India to become the governor of India.
However, this crazy believer and wise general did not have strong confidence that he could make the God he believed in the East. He had always been wary of the strongest country in the Far East, the Ming Destiny Dynasty.
Azeroth's fleet was his first attempt. He wanted to occupy Manchu Cijia and test the Ming Dynasty's reaction before deciding on his next deployment in the Far East.
Now, it seemed that the Ming Dynasty was unwilling to lose Manchu Cijia and was prepared to use force. As the commander of the expeditionary army, Azeroth realized that he had underestimated the Ming Dynasty's strength. Before he could receive further instructions from Albukirk, he could only discuss countermeasures with his collaborators.
Lamario came to Manchu Cijia on the orders of the Portuguese king, who was opposed to using force against Ming Destiny. In his opinion, it would be better for Portugal to ally with the strongest country in the Far East. However, after experiencing the rebellion of Yali Adni's uncle and other radical naval officers three years ago, he had no choice but to take the opinion of the navy seriously.
Albukirk was known as the "God of War" and had an outstanding reputation in the navy. His opinion could not be ignored. Thus, Archbishop Lamario came to Manchu Cijia personally after learning of his plan. He wanted to give his opinion to the king after a field trip. Since he was a member of the peace faction, Azeroth was actually quite hostile to him on the surface.
Sure enough, Lamario coughed and began to speak. He looked around at the crowd and said, "Everyone, I'm sure you all know that as early as a hundred years ago, Zheng He, a naval admiral of the Ming Dynasty, went to the Western Ocean seven times. He went to the Persian Gulf, Aden, and the Red Sea. The fleet he sent even reached the east coast of Africa.
"Also … the size, number, and crew of the Ming Dynasty's ships are the sum of our current naval fleet. There is no doubt that the Ming Dynasty has a powerful long-distance attack capability. Now, Captain Pedro has confirmed that the Ming Dynasty's cannons are not inferior to ours. I believe that His Majesty's opinion is correct. We should become allies with this powerful nation and not become enemies. That would be a nightmare for us. "
Azeroth's deputy, Sander, immediately retorted, "Your Eminence, I think you are exaggerating. Mr. Miyamoto Hiroshi has fought against the Ming Dynasty for many years. From what he knows, the Ming Dynasty does not have the powerful cannons that Captain Pedro mentioned."
He looked at Pedro in disdain and added, "Captain Pedro, the failure of the two warships might be due to poor command. Or perhaps the Ming Army relied on the terrain and the number of warships to make up for their shortcomings. As for the bullet marks on the ships, hehehe, there's nothing too deceitful in war. Give me two ships, and I'll tear them apart to prove the power of my artillery."
He stood up and said proudly, "As a colonel of the Spanish Royal Navy, I swear to the Almighty: Give me ten warships, and I will destroy all the Ming Dynasty's navy in the South Sea. I will fight for the glory of the Portuguese royal family and the Royal Navy. I will let His Majesty's power and the Pope's grace spread throughout the East!"
Azeroth patted his shoulder excitedly and said, "Mancica must be in our hands. With this trading port, our merchant ships will be filled with the wealth of the Ming Dynasty, and their goods will be filled to the mast."
Clap! Clap! Clap! Lamario applauded in a cultured and refined manner and retorted sarcastically, "Very beautiful, Your Excellency. But don't forget, this is right under the feet of Ming Destiny. He is as huge as a giant elephant, and he can crush this place with just one foot. We only have ten warships. Of course, if you include Captain Pedro and Mr. Miyamoto Hiroshi's ships, there will be more. Where are our supplies and soldiers? And the Ming Dynasty can mobilize 100,000 soldiers in a day and night. "
"Your Eminence," Miyamoto Hiroshi stammered, "as far as we know, the Ming Dynasty does not like to fight or use weapons. Two hundred of us can loot a city of 30,000 people. Fifty of us can chase after a Ming Dynasty troop of 1,000. "
Lamario shrugged his shoulders and said, "Then I'm curious, Your Eminence, why don't you lead your two thousand people to occupy ten rich cities, but squeeze with us in this small Mancica?"
Miyamoto Hiroshi's face turned red. He suppressed his anger and said, "This … the Ming Dynasty's officials are corrupt and the military is weak. This is known by everyone. It's not just the army. Captain Pedro has been in the Ming Dynasty for three years. He should know the Ming Dynasty's navy very well.
Our defeat this time is mainly because we lost our home base, and we were forced to bring our families with us, which greatly affected our ability to fight. At the same time, the Ming Dynasty's general, Yang Ling, is very resourceful. He is not only good at fighting, but also very good at boosting the morale of the army. But the Ming Dynasty's officials have a very bad habit … "
He smiled slyly and took a sip of wine. Then he frowned and grinned. "They like to vent their anger on others, and like to take credit for their mistakes. Generals who have made great contributions will be a taboo to the monarch, and will eventually bring disaster upon themselves. Generals who have lost a battle will also become the monarch's scapegoat, even if they have won hundreds of battles.
Now that Yang Ling has violated the first rule, it has caused some officials to feel uneasy. If he violates the second rule, he will immediately be attacked by others. If he is forced to leave this position, the army of tigers and wolves led by a lion will immediately collapse into a herd of sheep waiting to be slaughtered. "
Sander laughed. "This is the reason why I requested to fight with all our strength. As for supplies and soldiers, my specific plan is to first recruit 4,000 to 6,000 soldiers from the Viceroy of India, occupy Guangdong Province as a base, and wipe out the Ming Navy to gain control of the sea. Then, we will gradually infiltrate into the interior.
As for the subsequent issue of soldiers, he could recruit another 10,000 to 15,000 soldiers from the mainland and recruit another 10,000 or so mercenaries from Japan and Luzon. When we gain control of the sea, the cannons on the warships can be unloaded and used as field cannons. We can transport up to 1,000 cannons. With such firepower, we will not encounter any large-scale resistance. "
Pedro was a Spaniard, but he had no choice but to temporarily seek safety in Manji. He knew the strength of the two warships destroyed on Lone Dragon Island and Fernando's commanding ability, so he firmly believed that the Ming Army had powerful cannons. That was why he was very unwilling to take the initiative to attract the Ming warships to this place.
But because of his special status, he didn't want to express his opinion. But when he heard Sander's whimsical words, he couldn't help it. He shrugged his beard and said calmly, "Colonel Sander, I have no doubt about the fighting power of 6,000 regular Portuguese soldiers. But the Ming Dynasty can send 30,000 sailors to the Western Ocean. Whether it is Portugal or Spain, who can support the supply of 10,000 navy?
Recruit 4,000 soldiers from India. I think India will no longer belong to you. General Albuquerque won't agree to this plan. A fleet of 10,000 people will sail south from the Iberian Peninsula, around the Cape of Good Hope to India. No country will be able to support such a large army. Besides, what about the maintenance of the ships and the prevention of diseases? "
Lamario also said mockingly, "That's not the most important thing. You should know that war can't always be smooth. If things go wrong, how can such a large army retreat? You said we need to recruit 10,000 mercenaries. How can we recruit so many people? How can we train them? How can we cooperate? Once the army goes east, the country will be empty. If other countries take the opportunity to fight us, how can we deal with it? "
The series of "how" made Sander speechless. He said angrily, "Even if we don't attack the Ming Dynasty, at least we have to protect the safety of Manji. Can't we do that? Why should we sue for peace? This is the only route for the flow of spices, porcelain, silk, and tea from the East. As long as we have absolute trade rights here, Cairo and Mecca will be completely bankrupt, and Venice won't be able to get the spices and silk it needs unless it sends its merchants to Portugal to buy them with a lot of gold coins. "
Miyamoto Hiroshi, who was eager for revenge, didn't mind that the Portuguese had sunk a few of their warships, but he was still brooding over their failure on land in Ming Destiny. He tried his best to encourage Azeger and Sander to go to war against the Ming Dynasty, while Lamario and Pedro were against it. The two sides argued endlessly. The leader of the mercenaries, Alonso, looked down at his nose, like an old monk in meditation.
Just as the two sides were arguing, an Easterner hurried in and whispered a few words to the waiter. The waiter hurriedly led him to Miyamoto Hiroshi's side. Miyamoto Hiroshi heard a few words and his face suddenly became extremely ugly.
Both sides stopped arguing. Azeger asked curiously, "Mr. Miyamoto, what happened?"
Miyamoto Hiroshi placed his hands on his knees and said word by word, "Sir, I just received news that the Frang Ji people of Haojing were forced to flee to Yu Zhou because they killed Messenger Hai, who asked for a bribe. They … have already been defeated by the Ming army. My men saw with their own eyes thousands of Frang Ji people being escorted by on the streets of Fuzhou."
Azeger was shocked. "How can that be? I know those people. Although they are smugglers, they are not weak. Their four main warships have firepower that is not much weaker than our warships. I was about to send someone to contact them, hoping to join forces with them. How many warships did the Ming army send out? How long has the battle been going on? "
Miyamoto Hiroshi hesitated for a moment before saying, "The large warships from Fuzhou Harbor did not go out to sea, so my men can't figure out how many ships they have sent out. However, we know that the military camp has sent out troops to sea. They set out at dawn and returned at dusk. It only took them one day to go back and forth."
The noise in the hall completely disappeared. It was so quiet that one could hear a pin drop. After a long time, Ramario straightened his clothes and stood up. In a loud voice, he said, "Generals, gentlemen, we must make a decision immediately. We cannot wait until the Ming warships are right under our noses before we negotiate. I think the best thing to do is to immediately contact the Ming court and solve the problem of Manchuria through negotiations."
He pointed at the door and said loudly, "The combat power of the Ming navy is already very clear. They are trying to capture our immigrants instead of killing them. This shows that they are sincere in negotiating. The opportunity is fleeting. We cannot wait any longer, gentlemen. I do not wish for soldiers in Ming armor to charge in at the end of our banquet and take us from the table to the prison. Follow the orders of His Majesty and negotiate with them! "
Azeg and Sander looked at each other. After a long time, Azeg sat down dejectedly and said, "… Okay, Sander, send someone to get in touch with Yang Ling. We will negotiate. We are willing to follow the old practice of the Ming vassal states and pay tribute to them in exchange for freedom of trade and ownership of Manchuria. "
He then looked up at Sander and said, "Immediately send someone to inform Governor Albuquerque to transfer as many warships and troops as possible. We must reinforce Manchuria as soon as possible just in case."
* * *
Yang Ling was extremely satisfied with the decision made by the military team of He Zongbing, Cheng Qiyun, and Adeni. He was even more satisfied with the results of the battle. However, the fact that Adeni had also personally gone to the island to fight still made him very scared.
Yang Ling, who still had a lingering fear, used the family rules on Adeni as soon as he returned to his room. Her tight and bouncy butt was slapped a few times, and in exchange, she looked pitiful and pitiful, but she refused to open her mouth to beg for mercy and admit her wrongs.
Yang Ling was at his wit's end and turned to punish Cheng Qiyun instead. The same slap fell, but her eyebrows were charming and her body as limp as a snake. Cheng Qiyun, whose face was filled with lust, was like a vine wrapped around Yang Ling's body. Yang Ling was made to the point that he had nothing else to do. Originally, he had wanted to show his dominance, but in the end, it had turned into a huge battle. Cheng Qiyun was finally beaten to the point of … begging for mercy.
But this incident that did not leave any future trouble still gave Yang Ling a warning: family matters, state matters, and world matters, there were light and heavy, slow and urgent. Sometimes family matters had to be let go, and romantic feelings had to be let go.
If his subordinates had made the wrong decision when he was not present and used cruel killing to draw in the Manchurian Thorn Pirates to attack ahead of time, then the Ming army, which was not fully prepared, could have fallen into a passive position. At the very least, they would have had to pay more casualties. Because of his selfishness, he had harmed countless innocent lives.
The appearance of black slaves in the arrested smuggling team surprised him. After interrogating Yang Ling, he learned that the West had already begun to trade in black slaves. There were already pirate ships that specialized in capturing people from foreign lands and selling them for profit. The black slaves in this smuggling team were purchased from the Western pirate ships.
At the same time, because they lived in Macau, although they rarely sold people from Macau, they also did the dirty business of kidnapping people from the West to the East, and then kidnapping women and children from the East to the West. In this way, Yang Ling naturally would not be lenient with the main culprits. In addition to making arrangements for the women, children, and black slaves to prevent others from disturbing them, those who committed the most heinous crimes were all handed over to the Inspector for interrogation and dealt with according to the laws of Ming Destiny.
That morning, a Fujian merchant came to the governor's manor and asked to see Mr. Yang, Yang Ling. The governor's manor was already used to people with questionable backgrounds coming to see the governor. They also knew that most of these cats and dogs had powerful backgrounds, so they did not dare to slight him. They hurriedly welcomed him into the living room and went to report to Yang Ling.
Hearing the news, Yang Ling rushed to the living room. When the merchant saw Yang Ling, he politely greeted, "This commoner, Jia Qingyou, pays his respects to the governor."
Yang Ling smiled and said, "Mr. Jia, there is no need to be so polite. You are …?"
Jia Qingyou did not dare to sit down. He smiled apologetically and said, "This commoner is a businessman. I often travel to Southeast Asia and do some medicine business."
When Yang Ling heard that Jia Qingyou was a real businessman, his curiosity was gone. He could not help but slack a little. He lazily sat on the chair and lightly said, "Oh, there is no need to be so polite. Sit down and reply. What do you want to see this governor for?"
Jia Qingyou still did not dare to sit. He wiped his sweat and stood there obediently. He said, "This commoner is a businessman. When my ship passed by Manchu Ci Jia, it was hijacked by a group of foreign ghost pirates. They seized this commoner's ship and asked this commoner to deliver a message to you. Only when the message is delivered will they be willing to return the ship."
"Hmm?" Yang Ling suddenly leaned forward. He stared at him and said, "Manchu Ci Jia? Franji pirates? What message did they want you to deliver? "
Jia Qingyou stammered, "They said that Franji defeated Manchu Ci Jia and ruled that place. Now they know that Emperor Ming Destiny is very dissatisfied with this, so they are very frightened. Franji is not willing to start a war with Ming Destiny over this matter. Therefore, they want to negotiate with Ming Destiny about Manchu Ci Jia. If you agree, please sign a written order for this commoner to bring back Manchu Ci Jia. They are willing to send a diplomatic mission to negotiate with you at Xiamen on a date. "
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