Under the diligent leadership of Waldes, Zheng Cai, the deputy general of the Fujian Navy Division, and Zhang Guoji, the newly appointed president of the Daming Overseas Trade Bank, entered the city wall again. The so-called inside the city walls is the Spanish fortified area known as the Royal City of Manila by the local aborigines and Chinese.

The star-shaped fortified area, which covers an area of about 10 hectares, is surrounded by an 8-foot-thick and 22-foot-high stone wall. The huge fort is located between the Passy River and Manila Bay, and on the other side of the Passy River is a Chinese settlement surrounded by a tall wall.

After Zheng Cai and Zhang Guoji arrived in Manila, they were deeply dissatisfied with the behavior of the cannons on the walls of the Spanish fortress pointed at the Chinese residential area. However, Valdes, who came to greet them, told the two that the defense of the Chinese and the local natives was the consensus of all the Spaniards living in the royal city of Manila, and even His Excellency the Governor could not change the direction of the cannon.

Although Wades, on behalf of Governor Silva, invited the two to live within the city walls to avoid the humiliation of living under the cannons, they refused the offer after deliberation and chose to live with their own people.

The royal city of Manila, which was given the coat of arms by King Philip II of Spain and proclaimed the title of "City of Eternal Loyalty and Honor", has a unique atmosphere inside the city walls in addition to its towering walls and cannons covered with walls. The well-paved roads, houses and imposing churches, governor's palaces, and coconut palms everywhere within the city walls make for a beautiful landscape, very different from the chaotic Chinese settlements on the other side.

Of course, the neatly planned buildings and clean streets within the walls have nothing to do with the fact that the fortress was built less than 30 years ago, and the small number of people living inside the fortress. After all, the only citizens who can live in the city are "legitimate" Caucasians.

Zheng Cai and Zhang Guoji, through their communication with Waldes, knew that there were only less than 2,000 European soldiers in the city, and the population of the entire city was between 10,000 and 20,000. Due to the wariness of the local indigenous peoples, only Chinese or people of mixed Chinese and indigenous race can enter the city to work.

Although the Spaniards had to rely on the help of the Chinese to keep the city running and sustaining, the Chinese were not allowed to stay overnight in the city, and they had to leave the city before the evening or face punishment.

The more they learned about the Spaniards in Manila, the more Zheng Cai and Zhang Guoji disliked the Spaniards. However, the two of them are businessmen, and no matter how disgusted they are with these Spanish behaviors, the two of them still hide their emotions very well.

However, Zhang Guoji, who originally had some guilt for the Spaniards, finally felt that it was superfluous to treat these Western barbarians with any etiquette and honesty after staying in Manila for a while. How to better complete the task assigned by the emperor has become the most important knot in the hearts of the two.

After passing the stone building of the church of San Augustine in the center of the city, you will arrive at the Doge's Palace at the other end of the square in the city center. Unlike the church opposite, the Doge's Palace is a three-storey building of masonry.

After passing through the spacious arcade on the first floor, the group entered the main entrance and followed the wooden staircase to the living room on the second floor. This place was the first time Zhang Guoji had come in, and the beautiful tapestries and gorgeous portraits on the walls immediately aroused his interest.

The drawing room of the Doge's Palace was a large and large room, with the east and west sides of the room topping up to the outer walls, so that the room was well lit because of the large continuous windows on both sides. Zheng Cai noticed that there was only a small portal on the wall leading to the governor's office to the north, so that even if someone attacked the second floor, the guards defending the governor would be able to resist for a long time with the narrow portal.

While the two of them were paying attention to the details of the parlor, the wooden door to the north finally opened, and the Governor of Manila, Silva, walked out of the door with the clerk Hawthorne.

He walked to the long table in the middle of the room and stopped, and said to the two of them in a stern tone, and the guards guarding the door immediately put their hands on their swords with bad intentions, and stared fiercely at the two Chinese envoys standing at the other end of the long table.

It was only then that Hawthorne translated coldly in broken Chinese: "Your Excellency the Governor is asking you why the Emperor of China, while sending you to express his friendship with the Kingdom of Spain, supported a woman of unknown origin to demand the crown of Portugal from our Majesty, and sent troops to attack Macau, invading the Portuguese subjects who owe allegiance to my King?" Did the Emperor of China want to go to war with our Kingdom of Spain? ”

Zheng Cai only thought for a moment, then ignored the threat of the guards behind him, and said calmly to Silva: "Before answering the governor's question, I want to correct one of the governor's statements.

Macao is the territory of our Ming Dynasty, and neither in the past nor at present, has our country recognized the instrument of ceding Macao to Portugal or anyone else.

Since Macao belongs to the Ming Dynasty, the action of sending an army to Macao is not called an attack. Did the king of your country send an army into Manila, also known as the Spanish army, to attack the city of Manila?

His Excellency the Governor thinks that there has been a war in Macao, and it seems to me that it is nothing more than the suppression of a group of armed forces that are intent on rebelling against His Majesty the Emperor's power over Macao. This was a counterinsurgency operation within our country, not a war with the Kingdom of Spain.

Or, is His Excellency the Governor declaring to me that the King of Spain is asserting ownership of Macao to His Majesty the Emperor? If that is the case, then I can convey this request to His Majesty the Emperor. But are you really ready to declare war on us, Your Excellency the Governor? ”

Silva's face suddenly became a little ugly, but he quickly returned to normal, and said to Zheng Cai: "Regarding the incident in Macau, I will convey it to His Majesty the King, and Manila does not want to get involved in the conflict between that lady and the governor of Goa until His Majesty has made a decision."

But I also hope that you will assure me that the events in Macau will not implicate Manila merchants who trade with China. Besides, who is the lady who asked me for the Portuguese crown? Why did His Majesty the Emperor support her? Isn't this undermining the relationship between China and our country?

Mr. Zheng Cai, you should know that it was not easy for me to get the support of the businessmen of Manila and Mexico to further strengthen trade ties with China. His Majesty's actions may be a great blow to our business dealings, and it will also be detrimental to your interests. ”

Zheng Cai pondered for a while before replying again: "Your Excellency the Governor, in your opinion, His Majesty the Emperor or His Majesty the King of your country, which of them is richer?" ”

Without thinking about it, Silva replied: "Naturally, Your Majesty the Emperor, since we opened the Manila sailing route, the silver transshipment from Manila to China alone is enough to build a silver bridge connecting Manila to Macau." ”

Although he knew that Silva was exaggerating, Zheng Cai did not deny it, and he continued to ask: "Then in your opinion, Governor, who is more valuable than the Kingdom of Portugal on this island in the sea of Southeast Asia?" ”

Silva hesitated for a moment, but in the end he chose the waters where the Spice Islands existed. Zheng Cai then came to a conclusion: "His Majesty the Emperor is rich all over the world, occupying the richest land in the world, and he can't even look down on the islands in this sea, so how can he have any thoughts about that Portuguese kingdom?" ”

Silva was silent for a long time before he hesitated and asked, "Then why did His Majesty the Emperor support that lady?" ”

Only then did Zheng Cai reply positively: "Naturally, His Majesty our Emperor is very fond of that lady, so she let her mess around. Believe me, Your Excellency, this is only a whim of His Majesty the Emperor, and when His Majesty's favor for the lady has subsided, the farce will be over. So, you and your Majesty need not be overly anxious.

I think Your Excellency should focus on trade. According to what I have received, is it true that Mexico sent an envoy to Manila to limit the scale of trade between Manila and China?

I have also heard that the envoy also brought bad news. As the war in Europe continued, your king felt that there was not enough money at home, so he decided to increase the number of precious metals shipped back from the Americas. As a result, the Viceroy of New Spain decided to reduce the amount of silver transported to Manila in order to reduce the size of the trade on this route. Is this true? ”

Silva immediately let go of any last worry about the Macau lady and turned to the second half of Zheng's words, saying, "I don't know where you got this information, but I don't think you need to worry too much about these rumors.

This is not the first time that instructions have been given to restrict the trade in galleons. As early as 1593, after the birth of Jesus, the king had already decreed that the trade in Manila's galleons should be restricted. It is stipulated that no more than two galleons may arrive in Mexico per year, each with a deadweight of no more than 300 tons.

But if you look at the galleon trade now, you can see that this order is not really being obeyed. The archipelago in which Manila is located has no gold or silver mines, no precious spices, no suitable for grazing, only some rice and coconuts, and the citizens of Manila cannot survive without maintaining trade with China.

So, we're going to get that envoy out and don't let him disrupt the trade between Manila and China..."