Isabella was obviously a little dissatisfied with the warning that Huang Dong conveyed to her. Finally leaving the capital full of rules and standing in front of her subjects, Isabella thought that she could indulge herself a little.

But unexpectedly, before she could give a speech to the subjects of Macau, Chongzhen had already set restrictions on her, which made her feel that her power was offended. However, she grew up in a life of exile, and still has some experience in social life.

She didn't vent her anger on Huang Dong because of Huang Dong's admonition, and after a period of silence, Isabella, who calmed down, asked Huang Dong: "Why can't I declare the subordination of the Kingdom of Portugal to the Kingdom of Spain and let the Kingdom of Portugal officially become independent?" ”

Huang Dong maintained a respectful posture, lowered his head and replied with a straight look: "Because Your Majesty asked the minister to tell His Highness that it is not in the interests of the Ming Dynasty to start a war with Spain at this stage.

In what is now the Southeast Asian Ocean, the Dutch are the most powerful, not the Spaniards. I wanted to expand my maritime trade, and the biggest obstacle I encountered was the Dutch, not the Spanish.

Therefore, before the Dutch maritime power in the Southeast Asian ocean fell, His Majesty did not want to let the Ming and the Spaniards fight each other because of the independent cause of the Kingdom of Portugal. His Highness should know that without the support of the Ming Dynasty, the cause of the independence of the Kingdom of Portugal could not have succeeded. ”

After listening to this explanation, the anger in Isabella's heart finally disappeared a lot, but she thought about it and asked with some puzzlement: "Since Your Majesty doesn't want to make enemies with the Spaniards, then why did you let me go south and announce the news of my official succession to the Portuguese throne in front of the citizens of Macao?" And let the Portuguese in Macau officially swear allegiance to me?

What is the difference between such an act and the declaration of the independence of the Kingdom of Portugal and the declaration of war on the Kingdom of Spain? If the king of Spain had heard this, would not have declared war on us as well? ”

Huang Dong recalled for a moment before continuing: "Your Majesty said that a round trip from Macao to the mainland of Spain will take as little as 2-3 years and as much as 3-4 years. If we had waited for the orders of the King of Spain to reach Asia, we might have solved the problem of the Dutch.

Moreover, His Majesty also said that although the King of Spain brought the crown of Portugal, Spain and Portugal were still two kingdoms governed separately. For example, the closest to Macau was Manila, which was occupied by the Spaniards, but it was the Indian Governor of Goa who ran the city.

As long as Your Highness does not openly declare the independence of the Kingdom of Portugal and go to war with the Kingdom of Spain, the Spaniards in Manila will definitely not pay attention to it, Your Highness, you swear to inherit the Portuguese throne in Macau.

After all, to wage war against the Ming Dynasty, Manila will not get any benefits, but will have to pay a large amount of war costs. Even if they take back Macau, although this will not happen, Goa will accept the fruits of the war, and Manila will only make a wedding dress for others. ”

Isabella thought for a long time, and finally smiled and said, "Therefore, in order to maintain trade relations with the Ming Dynasty, Manila will pretend to know nothing about the affairs of Macau. Well, since His Majesty has thought it so thoughtfully, then I will naturally obey his orders..."

Diego Rodriguez, a Goan businessman who had been in Macau for a year, was just getting familiar with how to deal with Chinese businessmen when he encountered an incident in which the squadron attacked the Fortress.

After receiving the news, he rushed to Senado Square with his weapons and prepared to assist the Council in securing Macau. However, his heroic deeds were not praised in any way, but were immediately disarmed by the citizens' armed forces led by the Macau Council and imprisoned in a cell in the city hall.

Diego Rodriguez was treated equally with more than 20 Europeans, either Portuguese who had just arrived in Macau or Spanish merchants who traded with Macao. They originally thought that their actions were righteous and courageous, and that they were helping their fellow Europeans to resist the aggression of the indigenous peoples.

But when they were put in prison, they realized that it was a military operation with internal and external collusion. Far from being rewarded for their heroic deeds, they were seen by the council that controlled the island as lackeys and traitors loyal to the Spanish king.

Diego Rodriguez, who is also Portuguese, was overwhelmed by the fact that the battle was waged by Queen Isabella, who had inherited the Portuguese throne, in the hope of reclaiming his Portuguese crown from the King of Spain.

It was precisely because of the high war taxes levied by the Kingdom of Spain on the Portuguese people that Diego Rodriguez had to go overseas to survive. He really didn't expect that he almost helped the abuse. Although he did not know Isabella's identity, since the members of the Macau Council and Bishop Antonio were willing to recognize the legitimacy of her succession to the throne, he felt that she was a real member of the royal family.

Almost immediately, Diego Rodriguez wanted to contact the cell boss and grant him allegiance to Queen Isabella and contribute to the cause of the independence of the Kingdom of Portugal. But after he had listened to Queen Isabella's speech in the square, he dispelled the idea that had come to him.

Because this lady Isabella, in her speech to the citizens, except for claiming her legal right to the Portuguese throne and demanding that her distant relative, the king of Spain, return the Portuguese crown, did not mention any independent words about the Kingdom of Portugal, much to the disappointment of Diego, who was listening to the speech close to the bars.

After Isabella's speech, those who were on the wrong side were quickly pardoned, but they were also asked by the council to leave Macau within three days, or to formally swear allegiance to Her Royal Highness Queen Isabella.

With the exception of a very small number of people, most of those who did not settle in Macau chose to leave Macau. Diego thought about it for a long time, and finally decided to go to Manila with the others. Since the Queen Isabella was unwilling to raise the banner of independence and call on the people to fight against the Kingdom of Spain, he was unwilling to serve her.

From Macao to Manila, sailing from northwest to southeast, passing near the Paracel Islands, to the north and west coast of Luzon, and then along the west coast of Luzon to the port of Manila in the Philippines, the one-way voyage time of this Silk and Silver Road is about one to two weeks.

After Diego's Spanish ship docked at the port of Manila, the Spanish captain hurried ashore to report to the Governor of Manila about the accident in Macau.

After receiving the captain's report, Manila's Governor Silva thanked him for bringing the news back to Manila and quickly sent him away.

As soon as the captain left Silva's office, the Manila governor covered his eyes with his hands and complained to his cronie Valdes: "May is a bad month, bad news is coming one after another.

Before I could figure out how to deal with the envoy from Mexico, there was bad news from Macau. Can anyone tell me how this Isabella, who competes with our Great Majesty for the crown of Portugal, came to be. ”

After returning to Manila after losing his colony in Taiwan, Waldes, a Spanish officer who had been captured by China, was not only not punished, but became a popular man next to Governor Valdes, and his experience made the colonial officials lose their glasses.

However, Waldes knew why he was valued by Governor Silva, so when Silva complained to him, he quickly excused the Chinese: "Your Excellency, I thought this might be just a misunderstanding. We cannot take the word of a merchant and assume that the Emperor of China is trying to start a war with the Kingdom of Spain by making an excuse to attack Macao. ”

After listening to Silva's remarks, another close confidant of Silva, Clerk Hawthorne, immediately retorted with some dissatisfaction: "Mr. Valdes, are you too optimistic?" The squadron had already occupied Macau and expelled the Portuguese who refused to pay allegiance to the puppet king. Doesn't this show their hostility to the Kingdom of Spain? ”

Without hesitation, Valdes defended himself: "Of course, we all know that Macau is not a colony occupied by the Portuguese, but a place that they leased from His Majesty the Emperor of China.

If the Chinese emperor believed that this lady was the one who really held the Portuguese throne, then he was doing his moral duty as a king by helping her to reclaim power of Macau from the Portuguese.

His Majesty's actions on the basis of retrieving the crown of a princess who had lost her country are noble and beyond reproach, and at least we should not be free to comment on the power of the Emperor of China over the lands of the East, which is also recognized by our Great Majesty. ”

Clerk Hawthorne was speechless for a while, and before he could think about how to respond to Waldes's words, Silva finally put down the hand covering his forehead and asked Waldes rather puzzledly, "According to your opinion, do you want me to hide this matter?" ”

Facing his boss, Valdes put away his mocking tone and replied respectfully, "Your Excellency, why do you want to hide it? Since China has not declared war on us, and the lady has not declared the independence of the Kingdom of Portugal, there is no need for Manila to react.

Macau was under the jurisdiction of the Governor of Goa, Noronya, and the Portuguese had previously refused to allow our merchants to trade in Macau. Therefore, if something goes wrong in Macau, it should be dealt with by the Governor of Goa himself, and we don't need to wade into this muddy water.

In addition, we can announce the matter to the Attorney General, Mr. Monfalcon, the Bishop and the Manila Parliament. Perhaps we can take advantage of this opportunity to send that odious envoy back to Mexico, and let him report to the Governor of Mexico on the events that have taken place in Macau. Isn't that a good thing to kill two birds with one stone? ”

Silva, who was still a little depressed, finally smiled, walked up to Valdes, patted him on the shoulder, and said, "You're right, maybe it's a good thing." Hawthorne, go and gather the Attorney General and the Bishops and Councillors, and I have sad news for them.

As for you, Mr. Valdes, contact the envoys of the Emperor of China for me. After the meeting, I hope to be able to talk to them and see what they have to say about the events in Macao..."