Merchant ships and warships seem to be a chasm separating them. Tang Xingyuan has their difficulties, and Pan Xuezhong also has the hardships of the Nanyang Chinese. It's not a chicken-and-duck story, but it doesn't work out to reach an agreement.

The words were not speculative, and the dinner did not let Pan Xuezhong fulfill the friendship of the landlord. The two said goodbye and left, and they wanted to return to the inn, Chen Yuanliang naturally knew where they were, and they took the road here, knowing that their companions were in a bad mood, and they didn't talk about anything.

As Chen Yuanliang saw, he came from afar, and he had asked Chen Kai for instructions before, and he almost made a name for it. Seeing him this time, he is indeed a knowledgeable person, but he has to cross the red line that cannot be touched, and he can't say anything, which really makes him angry.

"This Mr. Pan is too stubborn."

He has been in business for many years, and it is not that he has not dealt with Zhejiang people. In his memory, the people in Zhejiang he knew were basically very good at changing according to the changes in the environment, and they were also very pragmatic and not empty talk. But the person in front of him, not talking about anything else, only said that this stubbornness was the only thing he had ever seen.

"The princes on the same ship will have to visit their friends for a few days and buy goods, and they will always stay for a few days. In the past few days, when I go to talk to Xiang Yi or Two, he is not a person who does not listen to people's persuasion. ”

"Then there's only please, Ying Long."

Giving up in discouragement, or getting angry, this is not Tang Xingyuan's style. Even if he couldn't get along, he didn't quarrel with Pan Xuezhong, and he argued right and wrong. Being a man and leaving a line is a philosophy that his father taught him when he was young, and he has learned a lot over the years.

Leaving room for turnaround, Chen Yuanliang was also able to take the initiative to ask for help, and Tang Xingyuan put his mind at ease. The mind is no longer entirely entangled in this, and more attention is paid to the things around you.

This is a Chinese settlement in Manila, and I heard Chen Yuanliang say that the locals call this place Binnandu, which has existed as early as the Wanli period. At this moment, looking sideways, the buildings on both sides of the road are basically in the style of the Han family, and in a trance, it seems that you are in a local country, rather than such a foreign country.

However, this feeling was completely destroyed when a church was seen not far away. It was an out-and-out Spanish colonial-style Catholic church, similar to what he had seen in Macau. Of course, this resemblance is basically the same level as his knowledge of European ships, and it can be seen that it is a European church, nothing more, and as for the detailed division of styles, it seems a bit difficult to be strong.

Today is not a Sunday, the church is sparsely populated with occasional people coming and going, some of them can be seen at a glance as Spaniards, some are Han costumes with their right sides, and some are probably some Han people who believe in Catholicism.

Although there has been a repression of religion in China's history, it has generally been relatively tolerant as long as it does not threaten its rule. Local Taoism, imported Buddhism, Catholicism, religion, etc., can all develop freely in China. In this regard, Tang Xingyuan does not feel the slightest surprise.

"I heard that when this church was first built, a deaf and dumb worker dug up a black cross, and when he saw the cross, he could speak and hear. So, the cross in this church is black, and it is said to be that one. ”

Manila, Chen Yuanliang has been here for an unknown number of times, some customs, even if it is enough to act as a tour guide. However, Tang Xingyuan listened to this paragraph, but he sneered at it a little more, and his original reverence for the gods had turned into contempt for the people who created them, and he didn't want to take a second look, but he just echoed absentmindedly, that's all.

He has read the books of sages, although he does not have the ability to take the imperial examination, but he still understands the reason of the strange power and confusion of the gods. God, he believes that there really exists in this world, just like to Mazu Niangniang, he has always believed in piety, and he has never been disrespectful to other gods. However, for those who swagger and deceive under the banner of gods, they never give a damn about it, and even if they are not offended, they don't bother to pay attention to it.

Tang Xingyuan was like this, and he saw everything in Chen Yuanliang's eyes. Originally, he was just talking about relieving boredom, but as for whether the story was true or not, he didn't care, let alone make any excuses for these irrelevant things.

The inn was already on the edge of Pennandu, and the two of them continued to walk, chatting with each other without being bored. On both sides are the courtyards and shops of the Han people, and outsiders have no time to know how to do it in the courtyard, but only look at those shops, in and out, busy, regardless of men, women and children, they are all busy for their livelihoods, and they are accompanied by the exchange of goods and money.

Such a scene once again made Tang Xingyuan find the illusion of being in the Han land. It's like the cotton fields and cotton spinning workshops in Qiongzhou, just like the mulberry forests and embroidery houses he saw when he visited Shunde silk weaving, just like any place that has not been influenced by the Guangdong Business Alliance and the Chen Fujun behind them, even the most ordinary fields and alleys, there is no shortage of similar scenes.

This illusion was not until we approached the inn, and in the distance, I saw a few natives with Palan machetes sitting under the trees, lazily chewing betel nuts. He has traveled from south to north, and it is not that he has not been to a foreign country, just at a glance, it can be seen that those natives are ignorant and barbaric from the bones, and if you use the nouns commonly used in ancient China to describe it, that is barbarian.

Thanks to the blessings of these barbarians, he was finally brought back to reality. Just turned his head, and on the inn not far away, the Han people were still working hard. This back and forth made him have a bitter smile on his face.

"In Nanyang, the diligence of our Han people is not lost to our hometown at all."

Chen Yuanliang said solemnly, Tang Xingyuan also nodded heavily, expressing the same formal affirmation of this. The position of the Han Chinese in Nanyang became more and more awkward with the invasion of Western colonizers. On the one hand, the Han people are world-renowned for their intelligence and industriousness, and Western colonizers need Han people to produce and create wealth for them. On the other hand, Nanyang has always been adjacent to the Han land, and the huge population base of the Han people may not be comparable even in the whole of Europe, let alone the colonies of only a few colonists in Nanyang, so such a huge population difference makes them always have great pressure.

In addition, there are differences and contradictions between Eastern and Western civilizations. Before the Western colonizers entered Nanyang, the Han people came to Nanyang to make a living, and they were also cultural exporters from advanced civilizations to backward civilizations. This made it even more a competitor to the Western colonizers. But simply exterminating the Han Chinese, they could not do so out of economic interests, because they could not rely on the lazy, ignorant, and savage monkeys of the South Seas to create the wealth they had so long to harvest from thousands of miles away.

Xiao Er had warmly beckoned them in, and Chen Yuanliang walked in as a matter of course, informed Xiao Er of his stay, and went to negotiate with the shopkeeper on his own.

It was Tang Xingyuan, but he didn't go in at the first time. Standing at the door of the inn and looking up, behind the big trees where the natives who had just noticed were the fortresses and batteries of the Spaniards. And those vaguely visible cannon muzzles also seemed to remind him that this Pennandu was within the range of the Spaniards' cannons, and as long as they wanted, they could directly turn the prosperity here into a sea of fire!

………………

When I arrived at the inn, most of the companions who had gone out to visit friends had not yet returned. After the two of them had dinner, Chen Yuanliang began to prepare for the departure, but Tang Xingyuan's side, originally it was just to invite shipbuilding designers, but at this moment things had twists and turns, and it was a problem that he couldn't solve personally, but he was idle.

After about an hour, those companions came back one after another, sat together and chatted for a while, and talked about the oppression of the Espanyol Chinese businessmen, which was in contrast to what they had happened today.

The next day, Tang Xingyuan did not go to Pan Xuezhong with Chen Yuanliang, but set off with a companion who also came here to buy spices, and made this play enough.

After yesterday's argument and a night of thinking, when Chen Yuanliang arrived at Pan Xuezhong's house, the latter was already a little ashamed of yesterday's faux pas, but his position still hasn't changed - the issue of principle will not be easily changed in order to take into account the other party's feelings.

"If you don't build Galen ships, you can build some merchant ships, and no matter how much cargo you had, you will make money for those ghosts. I really don't understand, why are they so blind! ”

The hatred on that face made Chen Yuanliang laugh out loud. Seeing his old friend like this, Pan Xuezhong was angry for a while. It's just that he didn't wait for him to talk to Chen Yuanliang about the oppression of the Nanyang Chinese by Western colonizers, hoping to awaken some of his sympathy, but it was Chen Yuanliang who took the lead in reacting.

"Shinong Industry and Commerce, at the end of the Four Peoples, my brother is still pinning his hopes on the imperial court?"

The massacre in the Chongzhen period is not mentioned for the time being, after all, at that time, the country was about to die, and the Manchu Qing in Liaodong and the Liukou in Guannai had already scratched the head of the Ming Dynasty, where did they still care about getting Nanyang. However, as early as the Wanli period, the Son of Heaven was furious about this, but he still did not send troops to conquer, which was not only limited by national strength, but also because the rumor that Luzon was rich in gold and silver was broken, and when the income was lower than expected and the investment, the action was canceled.

There is nothing strange about this, but in the uproar of that time, the Ming court finally ended up with "the four people of China, the merchants are the most cheap, how can they be untouchables, raise a military revolution, and abandon it is a pity." In other words, the Ming Dynasty believed that these people who went to the Philippines were all merchants, and merchants were not worthy of the imperial court's use of force.

Looking at this rhetoric before and after the overall incident, it is more like a fig leaf pulled out for not sending troops to avenge the 20,000 Han people. It's just that this excuse, which seems to be in line with the concept of valuing agriculture and suppressing business, just lost the face of the Ming Dynasty, which can be called ridiculous.

Chen Yuanliang is talking about this old matter, and the imperial court is often habitually laissez-faire to these people who are outside the territory. This is completely different from Zheng He's seven voyages to the West in the early Ming Dynasty, when he had to go to Java to conquer Chinese pirates, grant overseas Chinese consular positions, and crusade against non-ministers, so as to strengthen the dynasty's influence in the South Seas. The decline of national strength is one of them, but more importantly, it is due to the different priorities of the country.

In this regard, Pan Xuezhong understood and immediately gave a negative answer. At the same time, he even said that this time, in the final analysis, he still had hope for the forces behind the Guangdong Business Alliance, but he didn't expect it to be so timid.

"Brother, in the opinion of a foolish brother, you still have to try to get out first before you have such an opportunity. If you settle everything in one go, who can guarantee that there won't be a recurrence in the future? ”

………………

"Mr. Pan has already been persuaded by him, and he also has remorse. Therefore, he persuaded that he would build a merchant ship first, and then build the Galen ship when he had the opportunity later. He said that he should think about it, and I think there is a chance that it will be nine times out of ten. ”

"So good, so good."

praised Chen Yuanliang's negotiation skills, and Tang Xingyuan also made a guarantee, saying that he would have the opportunity to advise Chen Kai to build a warship in the future, which made Chen Yuanliang a surprise.

It was another early morning, and this time Chen Yuanliang brought back the good news of success. In this regard, Tang Xingyuan was overjoyed, and hurriedly asked when he could leave, and what additional requirements Pan Xuezhong had on his side. Chen Yuanliang also knew that the commission paid by the Guangdong Business Alliance to Pan Xuezhong this time was not low, and because of Chen Kai's letter, they finally decided that if they could really complete Chen Kai's request, they would also give Pan Xuezhong a part of the shares as a reward.

This can be said to be a bloody investment, and it can also be seen that their hopes are high, and as an intermediary, this friendship is bound to be of great use.

In the face of Tang Xingyuan's inquiry, Chen Yuanliang knew everything and said that Pan Xuezhong could keep everything simple. As for the reason, Pan Xuezhong still had to go to Qiongzhou Mansion in advance to have a look, because building a sea ship has always been a big project, raw materials have to be inspected, and craftsmen and workers have to be trained, and it is even likely that he has to try to "dig" some familiar Chinese craftsmen from the Nanyang side to ensure that the ship can really be built.

Similar things can be described as very complicated, and he has to slowly clear up the order. In addition, he has not completely made it clear on his family's side, and it is true that the business here cannot be left behind in a moment, so this time he went to Qiongzhou alone with Chen Yuanliang and Tang Xingyuan, and it was also a front station.

After reaching a cooperation, Tang Xingyuan visited again. The two sides tacitly agreed not to talk about the Galen ship anymore, but only to further discuss the arrangements and arrangements for the future in the past.

In this way, they discussed until late at night, and Chen Yuanliang and Tang Xingyuan simply stayed in the Pan family's guest room for one night. The next day, Chen Yuanliang went back to arrange the itinerary, and Tang Xingyuan continued to discuss shipbuilding matters with Pan Xuezhong, so as to adapt to the work style of the "chief designer" as quickly as possible.

After a few days of this, the things on Chen Yuanliang's side were arranged, and Pan Xuezhong's side was also ready. On the eve of departure, Chen Yuanliang and Tang Xingyuan, who had just returned to do the play for two days, came over to make a final explanation, but they saw Pan Xuezhong sitting in front of the brazier in the study, throwing the manuscript paper that he had spent many years drawing into the fire one by one, rising with the tears in his eyes.

"These, these are Brother Pan's years of hard work!"

Seeing this, Tang Xingyuan blurted out. Hearing this, Pan Xuezhong raised his head, and the red in his eyes was as firm as his thoughts.

"If it's hard work, it's been remembered for a long time. These things will never be allowed to flow out of Manila, and leaving them behind is also a source of trouble. But out of Manila Bay, on the sea, I redraw them one by one, and when the time comes, what can they do to me? ”