The second Governor of Hong Kong, Jiang Liang, stands at the Government House on the hillside overlooking the beautiful harbor in front of him. The neatly planned and beautiful new district, with spacious avenues winding to the end of the field of view, connects other important places in Hong Kong.
place.
In the huge harbor area, large ships are moored quietly, and on the high lighthouse, the dragon flag of the Ming Dynasty is constantly fluttering, declaring the ownership of this land.
Looking further to the sea, the Atlantic Ocean in winter appears to be turbulent, with billowing white air steaming on the sea surface, smoky smoke, and vast smoke waves. The heat of the Atlantic warm current is constantly nourishing this ancient land.
“What a beautiful place!”
Jiang Liang couldn't help but admire softly.
He traveled all over the country and visited too many places, including Japan and Korea, Siam and Sulu in Southeast Asia, Tianzhu, and Golden Island.
Eventually he came to Europe, traveled in Europe, became the Ming Dynasty's embassy in Europe, and now became the Ming Dynasty's governor of Hong Kong, and will be permanently stationed in Hong Kong from now on.
I have been to many, many places. To be honest, the island of England is not the most beautiful, and the climate is not the best either.
It is far less peaceful than Golden Continent, which is like a paradise, and it is not as hot as the Mediterranean, but it also has its own beauty. The climate is humid all year round, warm as spring, accompanied by continuous drizzle, always with a trace of nostalgia.
People can't help but think back to their hometown of Daming.
"This place is still too far away from our Ming Dynasty!"
Jiang Liang sighed.
He really wants to go back to the Ming Dynasty to have a look, see the prosperity of the Ming Dynasty, feel the vastness of the Ming Dynasty, see his relatives and friends in the past, drink and chat, and for him now, this is also a luxury wish, his hometown
Everything has become a bit blurry.
"Dong dong~"
While Jiang Liang was deep in thought, there was a knock on the door of his office.
"Please come in~"
Jiang Liang came back to his senses and shouted.
"My Lord Governor, these are the imperial decrees and newspapers from the Ming Dynasty that just arrived today."
The visitor is Xie Yi, the Viceroy's Assistant Minister at the Governor's Mansion.
Because Hong Kong is far away from the Ming Dynasty, travel is extremely inconvenient, and information transmission takes a long time. In order to fully protect the interests of the Ming Dynasty, the governor has very powerful powers.
In the past, when Tian Erniu was the governor of Hong Kong, he controlled the military, administrative, taxation and personnel appointment rights in Hong Kong. He was almost the same as the local emperor here, holding all the power in his hands.
During the war with the Ottoman Empire, Tian Erniu led a fleet to attack the Ottoman Empire. The fleet behind it directly became the Ming Dynasty's Black Sea Fleet. Tian Erniu also returned to the Ming Dynasty from Nanyun Province, Hezhong, and the Western Regions, and resigned as the governor of Hong Kong.
After Jiang Liang became the second Governor of Hong Kong, his power was much smaller. First of all, in terms of military power, the Ming Dynasty sent a navy and an army to Hong Kong to take charge of maritime and land military affairs respectively. The Governor no longer
Has military command authority.
Secondly, there is the power of taxation. The Ministry of Household Affairs of the Ming Dynasty sent taxation officials to establish the Hong Kong Taxation Office in Hong Kong, which was specifically responsible for collecting taxation. The governor also had no right to interfere with taxation matters.
But even so, the power held by the Governor is still very huge. He controls the administrative power here and the power of personnel appointment in Hong Kong. At the same time, he can almost make decisions on many affairs in Hong Kong with one word.
The Governor of Hong Kong's rank in the Ming Dynasty was the third rank, which was almost equivalent to the feudal officials of the Ming Dynasty. In addition, the imperial court also placed the diplomatic affairs of Ming Dynasty and Europe on the Governor of Hong Kong.
Therefore, the Governor of Hong Kong also has many official positions. The Governor's Assistant is a new official position, which is equivalent to the Governor's deputy and is responsible for assisting the Governor in handling affairs in Hong Kong and Europe.
"Hmm~"
Jiang Guangming nodded, picked up the decree sent from the court and read it.
After reading it carefully, Jiang Liang couldn't help but ponder, and after thinking for a while, he asked: "Xie Yi, what do you think of the decree issued here?"
"The higher-ups should be worried that the Holy See will be unfavorable to us in Hong Kong. After all, our Ming Dynasty slapped the Holy See severely."
Xie Yi thought about it carefully and said.
"The above concerns are justified. Judging from the recent news received, the Holy See is very close to the King of England. The Holy See even directly sent personnel to England to help train the English army, and
It is said that the Holy See agreed to lend money to Henry VII."
Jiang Liang was originally the Ming Dynasty's diplomatic envoy to Europe, so he was very familiar with the situation in Europe. At the same time, he also had many high-society friends in Europe and was very well-informed. Recently, the Holy See and England have become very close.
Naturally, the news could not be hidden from Jiang Liang.
"Everyone in Europe knows that the Holy See has always disliked England, because England is promoting Protestantism and poaching the Holy See. Now that they are together, it is impossible not to attract attention."
"It seems that although the princes in the DPRK are thousands of miles away, they have a very clear view of the situation in Europe."
Jiang Liang couldn't help but sigh.
"I heard that England is already negotiating with Spain about Hampshire. It seems that Henry VII not only does not want to continue paying war reparations, but also needs to take back the Hampshire that was ceded to Spain."
Xie Yi couldn't help but nodded solemnly.
He was originally a prefect in the Ming Dynasty, but was later transferred to Europe. He originally felt a little disheartened, but he was actually sent to a distant Europe as an official.
After coming to Hong Kong, he discovered that being an official in Hong Kong was not necessarily worse than in Daming. At least, life in Hong Kong was quite comfortable.
The climate here is quite good. Although there are many barbarians, they are extremely respectful of the Ming Dynasty. The Ming Dynasty people have a very high status here, let alone official court officials like him.
"The Spanish will not agree~"
"They finally defeated the English and obtained war compensation and land. How could they let Henry VII take it back with just a word?"
"There must be another war between England and Spain!"
Jiang Liang said with great certainty.
"Not only with Spain, but also with us, there will inevitably be a war. On this issue, our interests and Spain's are always the same."
"War reparations must continue to be paid, and the land ceded to us in the Ming Dynasty must never be returned to the English."
Xie Yi also nodded solemnly.
While the two were discussing the matter, someone hurriedly came to Jiang Liang's office and said: "Your Majesty the Governor, the Duke of Corste, the special envoy of the King of Spain, wants to see you."
"Say Cao Cao, Cao Cao is here~"
When Jiang Liang heard this, he immediately smiled and said, "Invite him to come to my office."
Then he looked at Xie Yi and said: "The Spanish probably want to ally with us again, but the above means that our Ming Dynasty should maintain a glorious and isolated policy in European affairs, because only in this way can our products be sold.
better."
"There is no way. The Spaniards sell our Ming Dynasty products too expensively. They are really too greedy."
Jiang Yi smiled and nodded.
Soon, the Duke of Castel, the special envoy of the King of Spain, came to the governor's office under the leadership of officials from the governor's palace.
"My friend, we meet again~"
Seeing Duke Colster, Jiang Liang opened his arms directly and gave him a hug.
"Jiang, long time no see~"
Kolster responded enthusiastically.
Jiang Liang and Kolster met in Golden Continent. At that time, Kolster was just a poor little nobleman. Later, he quickly became rich by relying on trade with the Ming Dynasty.
Later, during the war between Spain and Portugal, England, and France, Carlster, as a naval admiral, followed Tian Erniu's fleet in several battles and made repeated military exploits. He was soon made a Duke by the King of Spain. Now
He is also an important figure in Spain.
Not only did he hold great power in his hands, but he also maintained trade relations with the Ming Dynasty. Therefore, his personal wealth was also very huge, and he was known as the richest Spanish Duke.
After some pleasantries, Kolster also directly explained his purpose of coming.
"My friend, you must have guessed what I came to Hong Kong for this time."
"Henry VII of England, like the pirates of England, has no credibility. He just signed the contract last year, and now he wants to use it as toilet paper."
"Not long ago, Henry VII officially made a rude request to our great Spain to take back Hampshire, and also said that it would be unable to pay next year's war reparations."
When he said this, Karster looked very angry.
Hampshire is now a jewel in the crown of the great King of Spain and an important medal on the chest of the Duke of Colchester. However, Henry VII of England actually intends to break the contract.
This is absolutely unacceptable to Spain.
It is not only about the huge war reparations and the importance of Hampshire to Spain, but also about the face of Spain's biggest brother in Europe.
The Three Kingdoms War was finally won, but before the fruits of victory could be tasted, Henry VII was about to break the contract. Wouldn't this be a slap in the face of the Spaniards?
This is absolutely unacceptable to the Spaniards who have always regarded themselves as the best in Europe.
Therefore, the King of Spain is also taking action, contacting all parties, not necessarily guarding his own interests, but also taking this opportunity to tell European countries that Spain is the big brother of Europe, and any behavior that harms Spain's interests will be strongly criticized by Spain.
be opposed to.
"This is absolutely unacceptable to our great Spain, and the perfidious English pirates must also be punished!"