Chongzhen Chat Group

Chapter 1220 Pie in the sky

"Who knows!" The man next to him, who had a beard and had no idea, said casually, "I'm exhausted. Who cares, I just want to relax after I get ashore. !”

At first the man wanted to speak, but he heard cheers coming from the boat behind him. When he turned around to look, he saw that his crew members were all crowding onto the deck, cheering each and every one of them as if they looked like ghosts or not.

"God bless, here we go again!"

"After I get ashore, I must hug the Japanese woman. No, no, no, it's the Ming woman who will sleep with her for a few days!"

“Manila is so prosperous now, great!”

"..."

After hearing this, the bearded man smiled and said to the people around him: "Captain, look, everyone is eager to relax!"

When the captain heard this, he still frowned and ignored the cheers of his men. He turned around and used a monocular to look at the Manila Port in the distance again.

After watching for a while, he suddenly said in a nervous voice: "John, something is wrong. Why don't you see us Spaniards? Why do you look around and it seems that everyone is Ming?"

The bearded man, that is, John, said with some disapproval: "Those Ming people only come in droves if they have something to gain. Captain, it's not like you don't know that Ming people are probably the largest ethnic group in the world!"

"No, John, come and see!" The captain seemed a little anxious. He reached out and thrust the monocular telescope into John's hand, and said eagerly: "Look, why are there so many Ming warships in the port? On those ships They are all soldiers, I must have read that right!"

When John heard this, he didn't believe it. He quickly took the monocular and started looking at it.

Not to mention, the first thing I saw was the warships with Ming soldiers on them. I didn’t have a telescope, but from a distance I thought it was a sailboat from my country. After taking a closer look, I realized that it seemed to be a warship from the Ming Dynasty. Moreover, at this time, three Ming warships had already set sail to meet them.

After looking carefully for a while, John had a bad idea in his mind. He put down the monocular and looked at the captain and said, "Could it be... Could it be that Luzon was captured by the Ming Dynasty?"

He felt a little incredible when he came to this conclusion. Their ship came to Luzon more than once. Based on their understanding of this huge country in the East, it seems that they have no interest in overseas affairs. So how could the Ming Dynasty send troops to capture Luzon?

But if the Ming Dynasty hadn't captured Luzon, why couldn't there be any trace of the Spaniards at the dock? Not only are there no people, there are no warships, and there are no flags, it makes no sense at all!

The captain reached out and grabbed the monocular, and when he wanted to look at it again, a crew member suddenly shouted unexpectedly.

"Look, there's a ship coming over there!"

"Hey, there's a boat coming here too!"

"What do you mean, are you surrounding us? Don't they know that we are here to give them silver dollars!"

"..."

The captain was shocked and turned around to look. Sure enough, in several directions behind them, at some point, many ships appeared, heading towards them. He hurriedly took a look with the monocular telescope, and was suddenly shocked and said: "John, quick, ring the bell, the enemy is attacking, the enemy is attacking!"

"Are they all Ming warships?" John looked at the captain with a bitter look on his face and asked.

When the captain saw that he was still standing here, he couldn't help but become anxious. He immediately put down the monocular and shouted: "Nonsense, hurry up and ring the bell!"

John still didn't move, and said with a very ugly expression: "Captain, do you think we can defeat them, or can we escape? Now our two ships are in urgent need of docking for repairs!"

After hearing what he said, the captain collapsed. He understood that John was right. I took these two ships from Mexico and crossed the Pacific to Luzon. I was already exhausted. How could I fight another battle with a superior enemy, let alone the current situation of being surrounded?

Thinking this way, the captain became a little desperate. However, his expression soon changed again, and he said loudly and unwillingly: "Quickly, throw all the silver dollars into the sea, and don't give a single silver dollar to the Ming Dynasty!"

After he finished speaking, he had to run off the bow to do it himself.

When John heard this, he was shocked. He quickly hugged the captain and said, "Captain, are you crazy? We definitely can't escape. Mingren knows that we are doing this and is so angry that we are still alive!" "

At this time, although the alarm bell was not sounded, the ships surrounding Mingguo were already close. The originally joyful crew members on the ship could almost see the situation clearly with their naked eyes. Suddenly, everyone panicked. Being surrounded by Ming warships like this is definitely not a good thing!

The captain had originally mustered up the courage to do this, but when John said this, his courage suddenly disappeared. He couldn't do it, risking his own life that Akito wouldn't become angry. He also cherishes his own life. Who would think of dying in a foreign country like this?

Just like this, after a while, Ming warships slowly approached from all directions, and the expressions of the Ming soldiers standing on the deck of the Ming army could be seen with the naked eye. They didn't dare to express hostility, and no cannons or anything else dared to stick out of the side of the ship. Everyone gathered on the deck with their hands empty in a polite manner. Especially John's hand, which was holding a white flag he found from somewhere, was climbing on the flagpole and waving it.

Soon, a Ming Army warship approached, while other Ming Army warships remained vigilant.

After half a day, the situation was reported to the Ming army's flagship, Zheng Zhilong: "Commander, these two sailboats are indeed Spanish. Both ships are filled with silver coins..."

The Spaniards plundered and mined silver from Mexico, minted it into silver dollars, then came to Manila for trade, then transported the goods back to Mexico, and then sold them in Europe. This was also the main source of large amounts of silver inflows in the middle and late Ming Dynasty in history.

However, after the rise of the Netherlands and the British, especially after the defeat of the Spanish Armada, Spain ordered Mexico to transport all silver coins directly back to Europe for emergency relief. Here in Luzon, we no longer go back and forth to the Pacific Ocean once a year as we did before.

Naturally, the Spaniards in Mexico didn't know about Luzon being captured by the Ming Dynasty. This fleet crossed the Pacific to Luzon, and almost ran into the arms of the Ming army, sending two ships of Mexican silver dollars.

Zheng Zhilong couldn't help but be overjoyed when he heard the report. This was really wealth falling from the sky. However, he never thought about embezzling it for himself, so he quickly said to Liu Jinsheng beside him: "Report to His Majesty, so that Your Majesty will be happy!"

He really got a lot of wealth for nothing. No matter who it is, he will definitely be very happy. Of course, the Spaniards are an exception.

Emperor Chongzhen happened to be in the chat group and was naturally very happy after hearing Liu Jinsheng's report. Spanish treasure ships are still famous. But the greatest wealth came from the fleets transporting goods back to Europe from the Americas. Originally, a very famous time in history seemed to be when England and the Netherlands joined forces to rob the Spanish treasure fleet. It's just that this time on the Ming side, it was the Spaniards who brought it to their doorstep.

Emperor Chongzhen was happy for a while, but suddenly his heart moved, and his eyes turned to North and South America.

In fact, speaking of it, he has already begun to lay out North and South America. It would be strange if someone who traveled from later generations could spare North and South America if he had the ability. However, Nanyang and Japan have not been settled yet, so he has not brought up the issues in North and South America. But secretly, there is work being done.

For example, Emperor Chongzhen sent Jin Yiwei to secretly investigate the Spanish Pacific route. I know that the Spanish sold many Ming people as slaves to North and South America. At this time, there were already many Ming people in Mexico.

But North and South America are really too far away. It won’t be that easy if the vassal king goes back! But now, since the Spaniard has hit the muzzle of the gun, what should he do to make a fuss about it?

With this in mind, Emperor Chongzhen thought carefully for a while, and then he had an idea in his mind, and immediately replied to Liu Jinsheng: "Order Zheng Zhilong to display all the captured coins so that the people in Luzon can see the two ships of silver coins! "

"What your Majesty means..." Liu Jinsheng was a little excited and didn't know how to describe it. He finally confirmed smoothly, "Put out all the silver coins and blind their eyes?"

When I was a pirate, I would sometimes come back from robberies, and I did this. The purpose is to boost morale and make the pirates you see be more proactive next time they go to rob.

"Yes, we want everyone to see that there are mountains of gold and silver in Mexico." Emperor Chongzhen immediately confirmed, "It's best to publicize the wealth of Mexico. In addition, after staying in Luzon for a few days, even people Take the silver coins and escort them back to Fuzhou Governor's Mansion. Remember, if there are large ports along the way, we must stop and promote them, do you understand?"

After hearing what the emperor said, a thought immediately flashed in Liu Jinsheng's mind. Could it be that the emperor wanted someone to rob Mexico? Although he wasn't sure, he had an intuition that this method was similar to what he used to do when he was a pirate.

After exiting the chat group, he conveyed the emperor's will to Zheng Zhilong. When Zheng Zhilong heard this, he immediately became sensitive.

In the past, he was also a big pirate. I also understand this kind of stimulation method. But Mexico is too far away, and Ming Dynasty is so prosperous. If it were him, he doesn't think he would be tempted.

Although Zheng Zhilong thought so, the emperor's decree was given, so he just followed it.

As a result, a sensational scene occurred at the Manila port.

"Look, the imperial navy has captured two ships. They belong to Xiyi. Everyone, hurry up and go see them!"

"Not necessarily. Don't we also have sailboats in the imperial navy?"

"You are stupid. Just these two broken boats, how could they belong to the Imperial Navy? Besides, didn't you see what happened just now when the Imperial Navy surrounded them and arrested them?"

"It seems like there really is a Xiyi, go and see it!"

"..."

The Ming people in Luzon had a special feeling for the Western Yi. They used to be aloof, but in the end they were trampled under their feet. Because of the massacre, this hatred for the Western Yi could not be forgotten in a short time.

At this port, there were many merchant ships coming to Luzon for trade, and businessmen from the mainland also gathered to watch. As a result, more and more Ming people gathered here.

Fortunately, the port was originally a heavily guarded place, and there was no shortage of soldiers. With soldiers maintaining order, there was no chaos.

When the two sailboats were escorted to the port and the Spaniards were escorted off the boat one by one, the crowd of onlookers started to stir again.

"Come on, this Xiyi hasn't taken a bath in how many years! The wind stinks three miles away, it's killing me!"

"It must have been floating on the sea for a long time. Where did it come from?"

"That's why you don't understand. Xiyi is really smelly, otherwise they are Xiyi! Do you know why Xiyi likes spices? Is it because they are born with body odor?"

"These Xiyi are all unshaven. They have indeed been at sea for a long time! But it is also a fact that Xiyi smells bad!"

"..."

The people watching involuntarily dispersed, and some even covered their mouths and noses with their hands and pointed. I didn't have a good impression of Xi Yi in the first place, but now I can't keep my mouth shut in this situation.

John was escorted off the ship and gathered at the dock. Looking at the scene in front of them, they were still terrified. Their uneasiness about the future made them dare not resist at all, and they just said whatever they said.

It wasn't until boxes of silver coins were taken off the ship and placed on the pier not far in front of them that they became slightly commotion, but when the Ming army's swords and guns pointed at them, they became calm.

"What are these boxes of?" Ming people who were watching were very curious and started to guess.

Suddenly, two soldiers carrying the box seemed to be careless and did not cooperate well. The box tipped over, and suddenly, with a "crash", the contents fell out and rolled all over the floor. Under the sun, the reflected sunlight really blinded the eyes of the onlookers.

"Wow, what is this? It's not all silver, right?"

"No, this is nothing but silver!"

"Wow, I get it, I get it, this is a Spanish treasure ship, it's full of these silver coins, it's all silver!"

"..."

Rubbing his eyes, if he didn't know something, he quickly asked what he knew. I knew that most of them were Ming people who originally stayed in Luzon. They saved money and exchanged it for this kind of silver dollar. They also knew that it came from Mexico. Regardless of whether they wanted to show off their knowledge or not, they all took it. Said it knowingly.

After listening to the introduction and seeing the soldiers carrying boxes one after another, no one knew how many there were, the scene in front of them really shocked the onlookers. Especially the visual impact of silver dollars all over the floor, how many times in your life can you experience this?

While the crowd was watching, the news spread, and the number of people watching became even larger, no, more and more, blocking the dock.

In the distance, there was an official who looked like he was an official. After learning about the situation, he headed towards Manila like crazy. He didn’t know why he was going there.

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