The establishment of the Macao City Council dates back to 1583 (the 11th year of Wanli in the Ming Dynasty). However, in the beginning, the focus of this parliament's work was not actually Ming Guo.

At that time, an important historical event occurred: Chen Rui, the new governor of Liangguang in the Ming court, summoned the Portuguese leaders and bishops living in Macao, and officially allowed the Portuguese to stay in Macao, ending the ambiguous attitude of the Ming court towards Macao.

This was followed by the establishment of the Macau City Council.

Since it is a city council, it naturally represents the interests of the local Portuguese in Macao. In other words, the city council was formed by the local church and the top Portuguese businessmen who had interests in Macau.

In fact, the main task of the establishment of the Macau City Council at that time was not to work with the Ming Dynasty, but to "unite and prevent the Spaniards, who had annexed Portugal, from coming to share the profits of trade with China".

Yes, the Spanish colonizers at that time were the great enemies of the Portuguese colonizers - although the two peoples had become one country de jure at that time, for the Portuguese in Macao, the Spaniards were the great enemy.

It's a long story.

Five years earlier, in 1578, King Sebastião of Portugal had launched a holy war against Moslyn in North Africa, but the war was lost, and Sebastião was captured and executed.

With King Sebastião no heir, there was a succession crisis in Portugal. In the years that followed, there were heirs in Portugal, such as his uncle and nephew Antonio. However, all of these were opposed by Pope Gregory XIII.

After that, King Philip II of Spain, who had the highest priority over the Portuguese throne by blood, favored by the Pope, appeared. In November 1580, Philip sent Duke Elba to lead an army to capture Lisbon, and Antonio was forced into exile.

In 1581, under pressure from the military and the Pope, the Council of Portugal finally conditionally recognized Philip as King Philip I of Portugal. Although the Portuguese still retained considerable autonomy, the two countries were de jure united. After that, it was the Portuguese of Macao who were recognized by the Ming Dynasty.

To put it simply, a group of bereaved dogs, people who lost their country, with hatred for Philip I of Spain and fear and precautions against the Spanish bandits who had just occupied the Philippines, established an indigenous Portuguese city council in Macau to protect the interests of the colony.

In 1623, when the Macau City Council had been running happily for decades, the Portuguese once again officially obtained the "place of residence" document from the Ming Kingdom, and at the cost of 500 taels of silver per year, they were legally granted the right to "lease" Macao for a long time.

At the same time, Portugal began to formally send a governor to the colony of Macau.

The first governor of Macao to officially take office in Macao was named Masgar Luye. And at this point in time, it is not far from the arrival of the crossing crowd.

Like the officials of the Ming Dynasty, the governors sent by the Portuguese "imperial court" were naturally not treated well by the indigenous Portuguese. You must know that at this point in time in 1623, more than 70 years have passed since the Jiajing year when the Franji people first came here...... The indigenous Portuguese who have lived in Macao have multiplied for generations, many of whom have never returned to their home country of Portugal and are pure "colonial natives".

The Macao City Council, which is controlled by the natives, naturally does not welcome the Governor Chincha, who was sent down from above. Therefore, since the first governor of Macao, the relationship between the two sides has not been very harmonious. The powers of the Governor were confined to military defences by the Native Assembly, and the official residence was located in the Fort. In the original history, this situation would have to evolve for at least 100 years before the pattern of the later governors in charge of the military and political power of the colonies was formed.

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April 3, 1631, noon, Macau City Council.

The council chamber, with its rows of fan-shaped tables and chairs and a central lecture table, has begun to take shape as a mature parliament in later generations.

At this moment, there is chaos in the parliament. About forty or fifty Mr. Parliamentarians, who had hurried to the news after hearing the news, were clamoring and shouting without grace, completely losing the order that they had in the past.

In the center of the hall, a group of dignitaries gathered around a long table, deaf to the cacophony of voices behind them—all listening carefully to the words of a Ming interpreter.

This chubby translator in a floral satin robe was none other than Master Niu Xijianniu, who had swallowed the shares of Zong's firm not long ago.

At this moment, Master Niu stretched out his finger and crossed line by line on the Chinese-style official document sent by his uncle. At the same time, he spoke fluent Spanish, a seventeenth-century human simultaneous translator.

Generally speaking, this official document sent by the Guangdong bureaucracy of the Ming State is still quite "special".

The special point is that although this is a standard Ming style official document, which is also written in traditional characters, the words and sentences in it are so straightforward that it is not in the Ming style at all...... That's right, this is the traversal style, the memo mode that later generations strive for accurate writing without ambiguity.

This is a fatal memo, or a final announcement. It is divided into two parts.

Part 1: The "Solution to the Expiration of the Land Rent in Haojingao in the Fourth Year of Chongzhen" drafted by Xiangshan County Hufang has been approved by the higher-level departments Guangzhou Fufang and the Guangdong Zuobu Political Envoy Yamen: From this year onwards, the Guangdong government of the Ming Kingdom has decided to recover the land rights of Haojingao and stop leasing to foreign countries. At the same time, the annual rent of 500 taels of silver from the Francois was stopped.

The document clearly points out that all buildings and their appurtenances on the ground of Hao Jing Ao are irrefutable property of the Ming government, and anyone who deliberately destroys or damages them will be prosecuted for criminal responsibility.

The second part of the document deals with the placement of Furlong tenants.

First of all, the Ming government generously gave Francos 7 days to find a new house to live in. Here, Manila, Batavia and Banten are kindly recommended in the document.

For those foreigners who are unable to leave, the Guangdong government has also generously made a promise: foreigners are allowed to apply for green cards and work visas according to the amount of family property (the above capital verification and certificate issuance and other business are entrusted by the Zhangchao General Military Office to the Yamen, the political envoy of Guangzhou).

All foreign visitors who successfully apply for visas will be provided with temporary accommodation by the Zhangchao General Army in Yizhou and properly settled.

Above.

When Mr. Niu sweated on his head and translated the guild loudly, the high-end people in Macao present were silent.

Before this, the Portuguese, who had just received the official document, did not actually understand the meaning of the official document. The few gentlemen present at the time were not familiar with Chinese Traditional, so they could only guess and even guess, plus a little wind from Uncle Zhong.

Even so, the Portuguese felt a strong sense of danger, and the clerk Andrade sent an urgent summoning of the governor, the councillors, and the bishops.

By the time the parliamentarians came to Parliament one after another, the apparent meaning of the document had been translated, which caused a collective uproar among the councillors. After that, Mr. Niu, the official translator who came over, read out all the superficial and hidden meanings of the official document in Portuguese.

"Declaration of war, distinguished lords, this is an official document from the Ming government declaring war!"

Although there is not a single murderous word in the official document, it is a declaration of war. Master Niu was sweating profusely, and his last words were decided.

With the words of Mr. Niu, the most urgent closed-door meeting of the Macau City Council since its establishment began.

First, the current Speaker of the House of Representatives, Lalo, will speak. This descendant of the nobility from Lisbon, with the assistance of Master Niu, clearly informed the parliamentarians, as well as the governors and bishops who came to the meeting, that the Guangdong government of the Ming Kingdom, under the impetus of the Cao family, officially made the most unfavorable choice for the Portuguese residents.

Yes, as soon as the document was thoroughly translated, the Portuguese top brass recognized who was behind the document.

After all, the Francois have lived in the land of the Ming Dynasty for decades, and they know quite well about the Ming Dynasty government, and they know that the government cannot write this kind of legal document-style official document.

So who can write it? Didn't the official document say: Zhangchao General Military Mansion.

The big man behind the scenes.

In fact, many Portuguese people present, after hearing the shocking news announced by the Speaker, had a faint feeling that the second boot had finally fallen.

In recent years, the Cao pirate group, a force that emerged little by little from Yizhou, has long become the great enemy of the Portuguese.

From cutting off Japanese trade at the beginning, to monopolizing cross-strait trade, to suppressing the Portuguese forces in Macao, and finally openly showing their fangs and clearly stating that they want the Portuguese to get out of Macao, this series of changes happened in front of the eyes of the Portuguese.

However, the other side is developing too fast, whether it is hard power or soft power, whether it is a large gunboat or the official position of deputy commander of the Ming Navy, all this makes the Portuguese have nowhere to speak.

Today, the boots finally fell off. In this official document, the Portuguese can analyze who is behind the so-called green card and visa, after all, this is a strange word that appeared in the previous negotiations with the crossing people. Not to mention that the name of Zhangchao General Soldier has clearly appeared on the official document.

"So, gentlemen, this is the official declaration of war on us by Cao and his independent pirate group, and has received the endorsement of the Guangdong administration of the Ming Kingdom!"

Speaker Lalo concluded: "We have seven days to decide whether to surrender or not...... Go apply for that hellish green card and follow the requirements of this official document. Of course, we can also go to Manila, or ...... The Speaker paused and said, "Fight." ”

After a brief silence, a loud voice came from the back row of the council: "Aren't only drunkards and filthy debtors being caught on the boat in Manila?" Why leave Macau? I'm not going anywhere, this is my hometown! With everything I cherish, I'll never leave! ”

With the sound of this oath, the council hall boiled, and the shouts of defending the homeland resounded through the hall and soared into the sky.