I

(Old Wang did not do well in geography in junior high school, and the North Equatorial Warm Current was recorded as the North Pacific Warm Current, which has been changed.)

Li Quan's ocean-going fleet and the Spanish galleon returned to Asia one after the other, and the time gap was less than ten days.

However, the destination is different.

Li Quan arrived on the east coast of Luzon Island, circled the island from the north and went straight to Manila. And those Spanish galleons sailed to Cebu Island to dock. After losing Luzon, the Philippine Governor's Palace was changed to Cebu.

There was no cargo on Li Quan's ship, only a pile of tobacco, sugar and rum.

It was those Spaniards who couldn't make up any money for a while, so they exchanged goods for Li Quan. After he arrived in Manila, he sold it directly to Chinese merchants at a low price, and then took the silver and silver coins he got from America, and went to the Datong Bank in Manila to exchange them for Chinese silver dollars.

Due to the strict control of the imperial court and the fact that silver dollars are more convenient than silver, almost only silver dollars are accepted in domestic transactions.

Although silver dollars are mixed with impurities, they are more reliable than silver. You don't need to find a master to identify the fineness when trading. For large transactions, even silver dollars are not used. Datong Bank and private banks have money order services.

The next step is to repair the ship, and purchase some Luzon specialties by the way, intending to ship them to northern China for sale.

Zhang Huangyan, governor of Luzon, heard that Li Quan had returned from America, and immediately sent someone to invite him to a banquet.

"Meet President Zhang!" Li Quan greeted with cupped hands, and he also brought a gift, which was a piece of sandalwood brought back from Hawaii.

Zhang Huangyan said with a smile: "Yuheng is really young and promising, and he even sailed across the ocean in a huge boat. Can you anchor in Manila for the return journey in the future, and don't go to Taiwan or Fuzhou to land?"

"It depends on the situation." Li Quan didn't give much face.

Zhang Huangyan's meaning is very clear, he wants to use Manila as the destination of American trade, so as to prosper the commercial economy of Luzon Island.

And Li Quan's return voyage this time directly arrived at the east coast of Luzon. If he wanted to come to Manila, he had to make a detour, and the distance was enough to go directly to Taiwan. Next time I come back, maybe it will be near Taiwan. Wouldn’t it be better to go directly to Fuzhou to trade?

But Zhang Huangyan said: "As long as Yuheng anchors in Manila, I will immediately send someone to negotiate with the Philippine governor to ensure that Yuheng will not be attacked on the west coast of America in the future."

"It's a deal!" Li Quan was waiting for this sentence, otherwise why would he come to Manila in a circle?

That night, the guests and the host had a good time, and everyone took what they needed.

Zhang Huangyan attached great importance to this matter, and sent an envoy the next day to visit the governor in Cebu, Philippines.

The governor of the Philippines is Sabignano Manrique Delarra. This man has been in office for more than two years. Apart from making money, he has devoted all his energy to countering the rebellion.

Well, counterinsurgency can also make money.

The officials and army of the Philippine colony spend about 200,000 silver pesos a year on their salaries.

After the rise of the Netherlands, the Philippines was threatened and had to increase its troops and replenish its fleet. As a result, the expenditure of the Philippine colony also increased, and 40% of the "surplus silver from Mexico" was directly shipped over.

With the rise of China, the Philippines lost Luzon, leaving only those southern islands. The governor took the opportunity to ask the king for money, saying that in order to guard against China, administrative and military expenditures rose again, and 45% of the "surplus Mexican silver" was shipped in every year.

The so-called "Mexican leftover silver" refers to the amount of silver that is officially mined in Mexico, after deducting the silver that was shipped back to Spain, and then deducting the expenses of the Mexican colony. According to historical data, the amount of silver mined in Mexico was actually more than three times the official amount, and the colonial officials made a lot of money!

In the past few years, the Philippine uprising continued, and the governor and officials continued to ask the king for money, trying to transport 50% of Mexico's leftover silver to the Philippines.

In fact, the large-scale uprising has been suppressed, but the governor deliberately left sporadic small uprisings, not to raise the bandits' self-respect, but purely to raise the bandits for money!

Governor's Dela La received Zhang Huangyan's envoy and asked, "Is there anything you want to do when you come to Cebu?"

The envoy cut to the chase: "Just a few days ago, there was a fleet from China that came back from your Mexico."

"What?" Delara was shocked.

The envoy continued: "The Chinese fleet will also go to Mexico next year. Please tell the Spanish Navy not to attack the Chinese fleet without authorization!"

"Sorry, I can't decide, you'll have to talk to the admiral," Delarra said.

The Philippines only wanted money, but after getting the money, they didn't replenish the warships at all. All the ships were antiques from thirty years ago.

In both the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, there is the so-called galleon trade.

Because there are so many warships and pirates in the Atlantic Ocean, every time the treasure ship and official merchant ship go to sea, there are twenty or thirty warships to escort them.

On the Pacific side, there are no warships at all, and even if there are, they are all old-fashioned small boats.

So much so that Japan can bully them. Once the galleon trade had to dock in Japan, Toyotomi Hideyoshi directly confiscated a Spanish galleon for religious reasons. The Spaniards had no temper for this, and since then, they have not dared to dock in Japan, and have not carried out any acts of revenge.

The Chinese envoy came to negotiate this time, mainly to inform the Mexican fleet that there are more than 20 Spanish warships on the west coast of Mexico, which are specially used to deal with Dutch and British pirates.

The envoy said: "Once the Chinese fleet is attacked, every Spanish galleon traveling from Cebu to America may become the San Philip!"

The St. Philip was the Spanish galleon detained by Toyotomi Hideyoshi.

This is a naked threat. China has already occupied Luzon, Taiwan and the Ryukyu Islands. If the Spanish galleon wants to go to America, it must pass through this area. Of course, you can also take a detour, but you can't sail along the Kuroshio Current, not to mention that you can't go smoothly, and there is a greater chance of encountering a big storm.

The throat of the galleon trade has long been choked by the Chinese navy.

The two sides fought a previous battle, China seized Luzon Island, but soon signed a truce. Why?

In order for China to continue to obtain American silver, Spain in order to continue to obtain Asian commodities. Everyone takes what they need, that's all, they all want to resume the galleon trade as soon as possible.

Now, the Chinese fleet is heading to the Americas in an apparent attempt to disrupt trade.

"I'll tell you." Delarra couldn't speak harsh words at all.

"Wait for the good news!" The messenger turned and left.

In Mexico and the Philippines, too many people live off the galleon trade.

Others don't mention it, just say that Delarra and his cronies are using their privileges to obtain licenses. They do not directly participate in trade, but only speculate on licenses as securities, and they can earn several times the profit by buying short and selling short.

A large sailing ship is divided into thousands of spaces, and each space requires a permit, and each permit is a waste of money!

If the Chinese want to trade in the Americas, as long as the trade volume is not large, let the Chinese do it.

For colonial officials, the event of an attack on the Chinese fleet and the cessation of the galleon trade was a matter of immediate concern. Not only the king wanted to question the crime, but also many people's jobs were smashed, and they definitely couldn't afford to walk around.

Delara called a meeting of Filipino officials, and no one had anything to say about it.

To solve this problem completely, the king had to send a large fleet to bring back Luzon Island, Taiwan Island and the Ryukyu Islands. is it possible? The royal family has long been bankrupt and can't even fight in Europe, let alone come to Asia to fight China.

Then you can only hide it from the king, and the colonial officials continue to engage in smuggling and speculate in licenses, acquiescing to the fact that Chinese businessmen have a hand in the silver trade. All the best!

Except for the Spanish king and local merchants, everyone has nothing to lose.

In fact, everyone has long been dissatisfied with the king and has been restricting the trade volume of galleons. In another time and space, in a few decades, the king will be forced to increase the volume of trade, double, double, and double.

"The great Spanish Empire has lost its glory after all." Delarra sighed looking at the sunset.

Thinking about how majestic and majestic they were when they roamed the world and dominated Europe, but now they are bullied by a bunch of countries.

As an aristocrat, as a governor, Delarra was deeply distressed by this.

Of course, the money that should be earned has to be earned, and the mind can't just stay in the past, but also keep pace with the times and face the future.

In Manila, there was an endless stream of businessmen visiting Li Quan.

Li Quan simply called all those who voted for the greetings, and had dinner together at the Hokkien Guild Hall in Manila.

"This cup, to Commander Li!"

Lin Ruosa, manager of Fujian Chamber of Commerce in Manila, was the first to stand up and toast.

The word manager has long existed.

"Regard Commander Li." The other merchants raised their glasses one after another.

Li Quan smiled and said, "It's easy to say."

After drinking for three rounds, the merchants began to ask: "Commander Li, how long will it take to go back and forth to America?"

Li Quan replied: "It took five or six months to go, and three months to come back."

"That's nearly a year," Lin Ruosa asked again, "Will there be a big storm in the middle?"

Li Quan answered truthfully: "The journey there is not only time-consuming, but also has a lot of wind and waves. I heard that the Spaniards occasionally sank their ships. The return journey is smooth and calm, and it is relatively safe. It should be noted that when you go, you must bring Enough fresh water, and the fresh water should be sealed as much as possible. We also need to prepare more tea leaves, pickles and beans, and the beans are used to sprout bean sprouts. I don’t know which ones are useful. The crew chewed and swallowed it. As long as they are on shore, buy as many fruits and vegetables as possible, so as to prevent scurvy."

Li Quan's crew did not suffer from scurvy. In fact, it was mainly the tea that played a role, and the vitamins in the bean sprouts were negligible.

Lin Ruosa continued to ask: "Is it okay to ship the goods to America?"

Li Quan smiled and said: "You can sell it when you ship it. I left in a hurry this time, and the Spaniards didn't know it in advance, so the transaction volume was not big. But if I go again this year, there must be more Spanish businessmen gathered there. They can eat as much as they want."

The port of Acapulco has a fixed opening date, which will only be postponed under special circumstances.

Before the opening of the market, a large number of merchants flocked, including rich merchants, officials, priests, soldiers, even Indian hawkers, transport workers and ordinary people, as well as merchants from Peru, the Caribbean, Central and South America, and Kafir regions of Africa. .

The rich mainly come from Mexico City, Lima, the Caribbean and Kafir in Africa, and then there are three transshipment routes, going south to South America, transporting by land to Mexico City, transporting by land in Central America and then by sea.

The freight route from Acapulco to Mexico City was directly named "China Avenue".

Once the galleon trade is cut off, the entire America will be short of goods, and Spain will not dare to provoke China at all.

Li Quan said to many maritime merchants: "I am not running a ship to make money, but to expand to the Americas by the emperor's order. All owners, shopkeepers, and ship owners, as long as you are willing to go to America, you are welcome. Let's make an appointment to work together. Set off!"

Merchants are afraid to make a decision immediately, they have to go back and ask for advice.

Some are joint ventures, and the general meeting of shareholders has the final say. Some are sole proprietorships, and the big bosses live along the coast of Fujian.

It is true that the American trade route is too far and too dangerous, and the risk is too high. If you want to make a lot of money, you have to be brave.