Luzon was the ancient name of the later Republic of the Philippines, but when the country still existed, its territory was limited to Manila and its surrounding areas.

Like other countries in East and Southeast Asia, Luzon was once a vassal state of China. It was not until Magellan's circumnavigation of the world in 1521 that Europeans finally discovered this land. 40 years later, Spanish colonist Le Gaspi landed in Manila Bay.

, defeated the Luzon Kingdom, which was considered quite powerful in the surrounding areas at the time, built castles and forts on the south bank of the Pasig River, and began its colonial rule over the Philippines from this center.

At this time, Manila and its surrounding areas had been ruled by the Spanish for nearly a hundred years. However, the history of Chinese arrival here is much longer, and many Chinese did settle and do business here.

The member named Tang Xingyuan took Chen Yuanliang's boat all the way south and crossed the rough sea. When he arrived at Manila Bay, what he saw was the promontory at the entrance. The rocks were high and shaped like wooden pestles. It was quite a scene.

It opened his eyes.

"Here, the locals call it losung, which is why the country of Luzon got its name."

"I see."

It's not that Tang Xingyuan has never left Qiongzhou, Guangdong, Fujian and Annan. The family behind him and the family's trading company all have stable business relationships, and he has traveled to various places many times. But this Luzon is still the first

First step.

The ship slowly sailed into Manila Bay. This natural excellent anchorage has a natural barrier formed by the mountains of the Bataan Peninsula and the Central Cordillera. The geographical environment is very favorable for the construction of the port. The two people stood on the ship

Heading up, what you see is no longer just rocks, shrubs, beaches, and sea water. There are constant traffic in the bay, some big and some small, and the shapes are also incomplete.

Among them, the most abundant ones are Chinese-style ships, such as Fu Ship and Guangzhou Ship, most of which are owned by Chinese maritime merchants. Some docked here because they settled here, and some came here to trade. There are even members of the Zheng Group.

The flag flutters in the sea breeze.

"Brother Tang, please look, those are the ships built by the Fo Langji people."

Looking far into the distance, in the bay, some ships have towering bows and stern decks, some have huge curved sterns, and some have very high poops with four vertical masts, and the sides can still be vaguely seen.

The densely packed windows have not yet been opened. Perhaps when they are opened, all they will see are black artillery pieces.

There is no need for Chen Yuanliang to point out that he was doing business in Qiongzhou and had seen many European ships. As long as he looked at the shape, especially the sails, he could immediately distinguish them from Chinese ships. But today, he was in a foreign country.

Looking at these behemoths, which were obviously more spectacular than the nearby Fu Chuan and Guang Chuan, the impact was naturally more intense.

"No wonder the Taixi people can come to the Ming Dynasty to do business by boat from such a far away place. This ship is probably as good as the treasure ship of Sanbao Eunuch."

Tang Xingyuan has never seen a treasure ship, but he couldn't find a suitable reference object for a while. At this point, he was even more grateful for the proposal to build a European-style ship that he had advocated in the conference hall, and he was also impressed by Chen Kai's views on this

The supportive attitude seems to have some clues.

"Perhaps Chen Fujun also hoped that in the future, Ming merchants would be able to travel across the ocean like these Westerners."

He sighed silently in his heart, but did not say it out loud, but immediately asked Chen Yuanliang: "Yinglong, does Mr. Pan live here?"

It is said that Chen Yuanliang originally went to Qiongzhou Prefecture to do cotton business, and he met this person because of business. Some time ago, during a banquet, he asked a question about shipbuilding in a subtle way. He actually knew someone, or

But he had the answer, so he boldly raised it. At first, Chen Yuanliang's plan was to bring it up to get closer to each other. He would ask here when he returned to Qiongzhou, and wait until the next time he goes to Qiongzhou or writes a letter to Qiongzhou.

Explanation, nothing more. Who knows, once this person heard that there were Nanyang Chinese who knew how to build European-style ships, he kept him after the banquet. After confirming Chen Kai's attitude, he rushed here with him.

Chen Yuanliang had asked someone to bring the letter here in advance. As for whether it was delivered to the person, they were still talking about it. When the impatient guy asked about it, he repeated what he had said before. It was nothing more than

People have indeed settled here, but he cannot guarantee whether they are there or not.

"Brother Tang, from now on, remember not to make anything public."

"Well, that's all Yi Yinglong will do."

Chen Yuanliang had said this when he set out, and it was an old matter that he brought up again. He was just asking for help, and Tang Xingyuan was also "a guest doing as he pleases", so he agreed.

Soon, a ship under the Spanish flag approached. After setting up a trestle, a man wearing a European-style jacket and tight pants held a quill and a book, and a group of guards wearing helmets and half-body armor.

The escort was waiting to board the boat, his nose raised high. In addition, there was a man dressed as a Han accompanying him, following closely beside the man.

This is a routine inspection. Chen Yuanliang is a businessman who has been traveling to Southeast Asia for a long time, and even settled in Nanyang, but not here. He understands the situation here very well, and there is nothing inappropriate in his response.

Here, Chen Yuanliang was dealing with the interrogators at the port, and Tang Xingyuan was also looking at the people coming. He saw that these guys all had black hair, black eyes, and deep eye sockets. Their facial features were as three-dimensional as knives and axes, and their skin color was also better than what he had seen before.

The Dutch and the British are a little darker, considered wheat-colored, but maybe they were exposed to too much sun in the harbor, making them appear darker.

There is no doubt that he is from Fo Langji, so he thought in his mind. When the person who came asked him about the purpose of his trip through the general manager, he also followed what Chen Yuanliang taught him before and said that he was here to purchase spices. That was all.

That's all.

The Spanish soldiers who entered the cabin for inspection returned to the deck after a while. After chatting with the man, the man left Chen Yuanliang's ship proudly. Before leaving, he did not forget

He gave two instructions. Chen Yuanliang could understand them without the need for an expert to translate them, and he immediately complied.

"You can enter the port."

The cabin had obviously been turned into a mess, which could be seen clearly from the expressions of Tang Xingyuan's entourage. Chen Yuanliang was obviously not surprised by this, and just said that they were checking for prohibited items and dismissed the matter.

It's over.

Their ship slowly sailed into the port, and as soon as the rope was tied, another team of Spanish port staff boarded the ship. This time, the members did not pay attention to the appearance and clothing of these people, because among the chattering people, especially

After being translated by Tongshi, he felt that it sounded extremely familiar, and it took him only a moment to figure out where it came from.

"Didn't you just check it again? Why check it again?"

This was what he was thinking in his mind, but he also knew that such nonsense should never be uttered out of his mouth when he was away from home, especially on other people's property, just like Chen Yuanliang, who was completely accustomed to it.

As the owner of the ship, Chen Yuanliang dealt with the arrival of people, including where the trip started, where it docked, how long it stayed, what kind of goods were purchased, how much of each item, and even the crew on the ship, the place of origin of the merchants, and the purpose.

He read it once. Judging from his proficiency, it was obvious that he had recited it specially before. When it came to him, he was not to be outdone, and poured out the purpose of his trip to buy spices.

"Take your account books, and this, to the Port Authority."

The second search still found no prohibited items. Finally, the Spanish leader said this and immediately took the lead to get off the boat without waiting for Chen Yuanliang's reaction.

Chen Yuanliang's face darkened at this, but he didn't say anything. He got off the ship with his own account books and inspection orders, and other merchants on the ship, and walked to the Spanish building that was queuing up at the gate in the distance.

Go.

There were others around, so Tang Xingyuan didn't dare to say anything. He just looked at the faces of other maritime merchants who didn't seem to be very good-looking. When they walked to the port authority, at a glance, most of the people lining up in front were dressed in Han family clothes. Only

There are a few Europeans and Southeast Asian natives. In sharp contrast to the relaxed expressions of these minorities, most of these Han people have calm faces, just like their fellow members.

The people queuing up were all merchants coming and going, and they all came here to have a look. Tang Xingyuan stood there, watching carefully, and soon noticed the Europeans, Southeast Asian indigenous people, and Han merchants.

However, before he could continue to observe, several Han merchants came out with angry faces and lowered their voices in Minnan dialect, and left the place immediately.

"I have seen these people, they are subordinates of the Zheng family."

A companion said this, and everyone was silent. The team moved forward slowly, some ended quickly, and some took a long time. When they arrived, everyone was led into a room, and several

A Spaniard was sitting there, with a general interpreter by his side. He could not bear to look directly at what he was talking about.

"They want the cotton, silk, porcelain and betel nut on your ship. In addition, there is a batch of spices to sell to you. This is the price. Go back and unload it."

There was absolutely no room for negotiation. To be honest, of course he was not the one to make the decision, he was just the translator. The scene of forced buying and selling really made Tang Xingyuan look at him for a moment, but before his shock was over, Xin Xingyuan

The shock became more vivid before his eyes as the companion who recognized the Zheng family's men complained.

"At this price, not only will you not make money by taking this trip, you will also lose money."

Some people took the lead in complaining, and others followed suit. The member turned to look at Chen Yuanliang. Although he was speaking out, his expression was obviously the same as the others. On the other hand, he only brought a small amount of money for the goods, and he was obviously going to be bought.

When the spice shop owner was still hesitating whether to follow the crowd, he listened to the earnest advice from the general manager: "There are still people to buy and sell, just be content."

What a word!

Tang Xingyuan was angry, and just wanted to ask, "What do you call buying and selling, and what do you call no buying and selling?" Unexpectedly, after hearing this, his companions fell silent instantly, and only wanted to discuss it.

, and was led to the next room by the attendant. What was being discussed was the proportion of the spices to be shared, not whether to continue to fight!

"Is this a compromise?"

"What else can we do? These Fo Langji people have always been extremely harsh on our Ming Dynasty merchants. There have never been cases of forced buying and selling. Sometimes they even robbed us without even giving a penny..."

"Is this okay?"

"Why not? This is someone else's territory."

"Then why do you still come here to trade? Aren't you afraid of being robbed?"

"Brother Tang, you are new to this sea trade. I don't know. The geographical location of Manila is excellent. Many maritime merchants from the West, Southeast Asia and the Ming Dynasty will come here. And these Francois are not like this every time, but

Occasionally. If you encounter it, accept it as bad luck, otherwise what else can you do? We don’t have a very reasonable relationship elsewhere."

In the words of the companion, it is true that sea trade has astonishing profits, but the risks are equally huge. Simply taking Nanyang as an example, the commercial ports of the indigenous Nanyang people depend on their appearance, but they are generally friendly to Chinese businessmen, but only limited to

The country's productivity and cargo-absorbing capacity are limited, so most of them are only done by Chinese businessmen with solid relationships. The rest have to be traded in ports established by European colonists such as Manila and Batavia, where there is sufficient supply.

of funds and goods, but the Spaniards and the Dutch are generally not very friendly to Chinese businessmen.

"They are afraid that if there are too many Han people, they will crowd them out."

The forced purchase and sale deal was finally done, and everyone shared the share of the spices. To put it bluntly, they shared the losses and risks. They left the port authority and headed towards the area where the Chinese people in the city lived. Just facing

When leaving the port, there was another round of interrogation, this time more direct, searching them thoroughly and making sure they were not carrying weapons before letting them go.

When they got here, most people went to visit business partners, and some also went to book inns. The remaining Chen Yuanliang and Tang Xingyuan walked together in the direction of the familiar home. When talking about this, Chen Yuanliang could not help but sigh.

Simply, not long after, they arrived at the door of the familiar house. They knocked on the courtyard door, but there was a man dressed as a servant. He informed the master that he was at home and made an announcement. Soon there was a middle-aged man.

The young man came out.

"This is Mr. Tang Xingyuan from Qiongzhou, and this is Mr. Pan Xuezhong."

After the introduction and greetings, Pan Xuezhong naturally knew what the visitors were doing, so he simply led them to the study room at the back. After arriving in the study room, he sat down on both sides of the room and made sure there was no one around. Pan Xuezhong's eyes widened, and he could only see how the two of them were doing.

It's a creepy one.

"Are you coming from Qiongzhou to build Galenic ships?"
Chapter completed!