After Zhang Guoji, Zheng Cai and others left the Governor's Palace, Walders couldn't help but ask Zheng Cai: "Mr. Zheng, why do you want to expose the rubber business?" Wouldn't it be nice to hand it over to our own shipping trading company for rubber trade? ”

Zheng Cai admired the Spanish-style buildings on the side of the road, and replied casually: "We have just said that there is no limit to the purchase of rubber. In the current situation, the more ships that participate in the Mexico-Manila-Daming route, the more your Majesty's trade ban order will be a dead letter.

If you and the Governor were the only ones to maintain this route with us, whether there was a problem in Mexico or Manila, our trade would have to be suspended. According to our experience, people who want to eat alone often end up badly, but it is the behavior of being willing to share the dividends of trade that allows us to gain more support from friends.

As long as our friends from Mexico and Manila join this trade route, we will have enough strength to stop the Viceroy of New Spain from enforcing the ban on trade on behalf of your king. Even if we were to smuggle, we would still need friends in Mexico. ”

As an officer in the colonies, Waldes preferred to acquire wealth in more direct ways, such as plundering the ignorant natives. But the defeat in Taiwan made him understand that Asia is not an uncivilized America, and here he will not achieve Cortez's exploits, but may be sent to the gallows by Asians.

After a trip to Beijing as a captive, and after comparing the generosity and wealth of the old and new masters, he had already decided to obey the master of the Eastern Empire and gain his wealth and reputation from the new master, rather than continue to obey the stupid and greedy nobles of the country.

He sold his estates in China, used the money he got to pay off his debts, and bribed the rest of the money to the nobles in the country to get an appointment as a colonial official. But these black-hearted fellows sent him to the barren and dangerous land of Asia, completely ignoring his loyalty to the king.

And the emperor of China, just after he told him a few inside stories about the affairs of the Spanish colonies, gave him a large sum of money and goods, and gave him a stake in a shipping trading company. Compared with the two, it is naturally too generous for the new owner. Valdes believed that there was no better choice to be loyal to such a noble and generous new master.

Because of this, he was very concerned about whether the interests of the Chinese emperor would be lost, because it was also related to whether his interests would be damaged. Although Waldes's experience in the smuggling trade was not sufficient, he continued to ask Zheng Cai: "So what is the use of this rubber?" If all of us join the rubber trade, will the price of rubber plummet? I have followed His Majesty's advice and am asking my relatives to buy land in Mexico with rubber groves. ”

Zheng Cai thought for a moment and replied: "You don't have to be too nervous, when this year's trading ships bring back the rubber, we will naturally sell some of the finished products to Mexico, and then you will know what the rubber is for." As for the rubber groves, I suggest you buy more and bring some saplings and seeds to try planting on this island. If you can grow rubber trees in the Philippines, the cost can be more than half that of Mexico. ”

After listening to Zheng Cai's suggestion, Waldes was thoughtful, and after a long time, he changed the subject and asked, "If it is really as you said, I believe that His Excellency the Governor and the officials of the colony should not refuse your request."

I heard, however, that a fleet of ships from southern China was gathering on this stretch of sea, as if intent on attacking a certain princely state. His Excellency the Governor is very concerned about the movements of these fleets, and he wishes to know who your fleet intends to attack..."

The fleet, which the Spaniards cared about, was now divided into several fleets and attacked the long coastline of Quang Nam. From the south of Hengshan to the south of the Cham kingdom that was subject to Quang Nam, that is, the three vassal states of Champa, Hua Anh and Nam Phan controlled by the Nguyen clan in Quang Nam, pirates appeared everywhere on the coastline of nearly 1,000 miles.

Originally, Quang Nam was a narrow country from east to west and long from north to south, and the terrain was high in the west and low in the east, and the plains suitable for planting were close to the east coast. The appearance of these pirates immediately dealt a heavy blow to Quang Nam. Because these pirates not only attack the coastal villages, but also burn the ripe rice.

When the news reached Hue, the lord of Quang Nam, Nguyen Phuc Yuan, was furious and mobilized the army guarding Hue to quell the invasion of the pirates. However, the pirates, who had been easily beaten by the Quang Nam army in the past, became extremely flexible this time. These pirates did not stay on land for long, nor did they attack fortified cities and ports, but they only vigorously attacked the defenseless seaside villages and cut off the sea transportation from the north and south of Quang Nam.

Although the strength of the Quang Nam army was strong, it was useless, but it was restrained by the pirates back and forth, and its morale was greatly reduced. Just when Nguyen Phuc Nguyen was very ruthless and wanted to transfer back part of the army that was in Shai Lei and Chang Duc Lei north of Hue, and must clear out this group of pirates, even worse news befell the head of Quang Nam.

Due to the transfer of troops from Quang Nam and Hue to the south, the most important trading port in Quang Nam was raided by pirates, and Hoi An, which had insufficient troops, was captured by pirates within half a day. After receiving the news, one of the Imperial Guards returned to rescue Hoi An City, but outside Hoi An City, they were ambushed by pirates using artillery and various firearms, and less than 300 of the elite troops of nearly 1,500 people fled the battlefield.

After the general who led the army, Ruan Youjin, was wounded, he finally recognized that the pirates were using Ming firearms. The Portuguese merchants living in Hoi An also secretly spread the news that although the troops attacking Hoi An claimed to be pirates, many of them were wearing the standard armor of the Ming army.

These Portuguese merchants also told Nguyen Phuc Nguyen through Nguyen Thien that they had been warned not to intervene in this war, otherwise the Portuguese merchant ships would not only be attacked by the Ming navy, but would no longer be able to make any transactions with the Ming State. For this reason, these Portuguese merchants begged Nguyen Phuc Nguyen to clear up the misunderstanding with the Ming Kingdom as soon as possible, otherwise they would have to withdraw from Quang Nam Kingdom.

After Ruan Fuyuan heard the news, he was stunned. He didn't understand why the army of the Ming Kingdom would disguise itself as pirates to attack him, it was simply unreasonable.

Sitting on the dragon chair, he was silent for a long time before he ordered to the eunuch beside him: "Let Ruan Fulan and Ruan Youyi come to see Gu." Everyone else stopped Lone, and Lone didn't see any of them today. ”

The eunuch hesitated and replied, "But the military advisor Tao Weici rushed back from the front and was waiting outside the palace for His Highness's summons." ”

Ruan Fuyuan immediately reprimanded angrily: "Tao Junshi is back, you should report it to Gu as soon as possible, what are you still rubbing here?" Do you want to send you out to see the garden? ”

The eunuch hurriedly rolled out of the palace gate and went to summon the closest adviser to Ruan Fuyuan.

After Tao Weici entered the palace, he first saluted Ruan Phuc Yuan, who was at the top, and then hurriedly said: "Your Highness, the minister thinks that this pirate attack must have something to do with the fact that we sent troops to capture Saigon last year. At the moment, it seems that maybe this is a retaliatory action of the Ming Dynasty against us, and this war cannot continue any longer, otherwise we are in danger of being attacked on both sides. ”

Seeing Tao Weici walking into the hall, Ruan Fuyuan had already gotten up and walked down the imperial steps, but the words of this close advisor made him stop, and he stood on the last step and said quite unhappily: "Lone is also a little suspicious in his heart, but even if Emperor Ming sends a large army to attack, Lone may not be afraid of him."

It is simply a fool's dream for a young child who has not yet been on the throne for less than three years, and his domestic prestige has not yet been established. As the emperor of the Heavenly Empire, it is simply unseemly to let his army invade our country in the name of piracy, and to plunder and burn our subjects.

Whenever the Central Plains Dynasty became strong, it would invade the land of my Dayue, but the aspirants of my Dayue never gave in. Later, Li Taizu raised troops in the Blue Mountains, and it took several years to expel the Ming army from the country. Although Lone is not as capable as Taizu, how can the children of the Northern Dynasty be comparable to Emperor Xuande.

If Lone doesn't teach these Ming people a good lesson, and let these Ming people look down on my Quang Nam country, will Lone change the national policy and let the Khmer be impossible for them? Isn't the envoy sent by the Ming Dynasty in Hue? Lonely wanted to ask him what Da Ming was doing like this. ”

Tao Weici hurriedly persuaded him: "Your Highness, before the minister came to see His Highness, he had already visited the envoy of the Ming Kingdom and probed the tone of this envoy, and the current situation is probably extremely unfavorable to my country. ”

Looking at the solemn expression on Tao Weici's face, Ruan Fuyuan finally calmed down the anger in his heart, he calmed down a little before asking, "What did the envoy of the Ming Kingdom say?" ”

Tao Weici immediately replied: "The envoy of the Ming State said: In addition to continuing to ensure the safety of the Chinese in Saigon, our country must also compensate the Chinese in Saigon for the losses suffered by the Chinese in the war, and in addition, he once again asked to go to Saigon to inspect the situation of the local Chinese.

He also revealed to the minister. If the Ming demands could not be satisfied, then the Ming might consider safeguarding the territorial integrity of the two vassal states of Cham and Cambodia, and support the legitimate rights and interests of the northern Zheng lords to safeguard the unification of the Great Vietnamese. ”

Nguyen Phuc Nguyen immediately asked, "So what happened to those pirates who invaded our country?" ”

"The envoy said that these pirates have nothing to do with the Ming Dynasty. However, if the lord of the country is willing to accept the request of the Ming Dynasty, he is willing to hold a meeting for our country and the pirate leader in the capacity of the Ming envoy to resolve the contradictions between the two sides in a peaceful way. ”

Ruan Fuyuan was finally angry, "Bastard, these pirates are obviously the officials and soldiers of the Ming Dynasty, and he is embarrassed to mediate, does he treat Lone as a fool?" ”

Tao Weici responded to Ruan Fuyuan's anger with silence, and no response made Ruan Fuyuan's anger slowly subside, and he finally asked helplessly: "Master Tao, how do you think the current situation should be resolved?" ”

Tao Weici replied without hesitation: "At present, we can only admit defeat and thoroughly follow the requirements of the Ming envoy to show our deference to the Ming Emperor, which is the way to preserve our country." ”

Ruan Fuyuan fell into silence for a long time before he asked coldly, "Is this the only way we can go?" ”

Tao Weici immediately persuaded and said: "Your Highness, the enemy of life and death of our country is only Lord Zheng in the north. Previously, Zheng Zhu led the army south, if it were not for Nguyen Youyi's use of stratagem to make Zheng Zhu believe that there was a rebellion in his rear, I am afraid that the northern army would have fallen under Hue City.

In just over ten years, Hue Quang Nam governed Hue into a city with no two prices, people are not thieves, and merchants from all countries gather. The country can be described as politically harmonious, and only then did it have the foundation to compete with the Zheng family in the north.

However, after all, Thuan and Quang are not as densely populated as the north, and the area is not as vast as the north, so it is His Highness who is committed to opening up new land in the south and collecting Champa and trying to Khmer in order to enrich the population of our territory.

However, if China's policy of opening up to the south attracts an invincible enemy like the Ming Dynasty, then such a pioneering policy will lose its original intention. The Portuguese, who were originally on our side and assisted us in resisting the Northern Dynasties, would also abandon our country because of the hostility of the Ming Dynasty to our country.

The reason why our country was able to resist the army of the Northern Dynasties was that we relied on domestic politics and peace, and secondly, because these Portuguese forged cannons for us and maintained the sea passage with huge ships. Without the help of the Portuguese and the loss of sea transportation routes, we would not be able to resist the southward movement of Zheng's army.

What's more, if the Ming army attacks our country with great fanfare, we can still call on the people to resist to the end in the name of Dayue. But now that the Ming army has no intention of taking the land of Guangnan, nor is it under the banner of the official army, how can the Northern Dynasty join forces with us to resist the Ming Dynasty?

If we continue to stalemate with these pirates, this year's summer harvest will be over, and the two northern walls will be difficult to complete. Under the panic of the people in the country, if the Northern Dynasty takes advantage of the situation again, our country will be in danger. Yes, please ask His Highness to bear the burden of humiliation and give in to Daming earlier. ”

The small palace suddenly fell silent, and after coming over for a long time, Ruan Fuyuan finally let out a long sigh and said, "Ruan Fulan and Ruan Youyi will arrive in a while, Tao Junshi will discuss with them how to deal with this matter." I'll leave this to the three of you..."