Let us temporarily leave Nanjing and turn our attention to the Pearl River waters of the Ming Empire, which later became known as Lantau Island. On the coast, there is a complete Western-style fort with huge guns, which are pointed at the sea, and when the sun shines, the barrel reflects the light of metal, like the fangs of a giant beast, sharp and shiny.

After the fort, Portuguese soldiers in red cut-out uniforms, arquebuses and swords at their belts patrolled back and forth, with neat steps and full of energy. At the dock, the tall and majestic Portuguese warships were quietly moored there, with huge sails and dense side guns, ensuring that the Portuguese navy could go back and forth in this era, and no one could control it. A monument to the discovery of the Portuguese king's family crest and a cross stands in the middle of the island, announcing that it has become part of the Portuguese Empire.

On the map of the Ming Dynasty, it is under the management of Dongguan County under the jurisdiction of the Guangdong Political Envoy, but because the Ming Dynasty is mainly an agricultural empire at present. In terms of coastal defense, it is also the guiding principle of coastal and even land defense, and does not pay attention to the control of islands.

Hong Kong, which became famous in later generations, was a small place of insignificance, at least for the time being, in the eyes of the Empire. At the height of the temple, such an island where birds don't poop won't attract much attention, and no one really cares about the control of the imperial court here.

Since there was no real functioning yamen, all the imperial court institutions only existed on paper, and no one would really come to work. This place has gradually become a place that only exists in the territory and is not actually under the control of the imperial court. There are fishermen who make a living on the island, and there are also some men with embarrassing backgrounds who live here for a while and then quietly leave or disappear silently.

A place like this has its own rules of life, and even in terms of order, it also relies on knives and fists, and a few strongmen maintain the life of the entire island, even if the government really comes, the natives here will not buy it. But this order was completely changed a few years ago. A powerful group of foreign conquerors has taken the island into their own hands. The local indigenous powerhouses were either eliminated or had to be used for their own purposes, and the entire island was completely subjugated to Portuguese administration.

At the foot of the mountain, large houses are lined up, and a European-style stone castle stands on the mountainside, with tall and strong walls, and muskets on the shoulders of soldiers, representing the new order here. Not far from the castle, a huge granite-domed domed church echoes it. Several heavy, loud bells rang over the island.

Outside the church, a five-story torii stands like a wall, and the carved cross at the top shines brightly in the sunlight.

On the third floor of the five-story torii, the sculpture depicts the Tree of Wisdom and a seven-winged dragon with the Virgin adored by the Catholic Church. Next to the sculpture, five conspicuous characters are carved in Chinese: "Our Lady Stepping on the Dragon's Head".

At the wharf, merchant ships or tributary ships from the east and west oceans anchored here to avoid the wind, waiting for the arrival of the suitable ocean current monsoon in order to enter the Ming inland trade. Fishermen from Guangzhou's coastal villages risked being arrested and killed by the government to transport grain, fruits, and vegetables to trade. Even some of the Muraki fans, who had a dismal business in their residences, also stood on the boat and lifted their skirts to sell themselves to the exotic sailors.

Although the Ming Dynasty has a market division at the moment, it is not active in dealing with trade, and there are many restrictions on foreign merchants. Most merchants, unable to obtain the status of tribute envoys and trade with the Ming Empire, on the contrary, could find luck here, buy the goods they need, or sell their own goods. In the hands of the Portuguese who occupied the area, Tuen Mun has been built into a famous free port on the sea.

In the fortified castle, a short and thin old man fifty miles away, wearing a nine-chapter gon robe and a nine-beam crown on his head, was dressed like a Ming prince's clan. However, the nobles of the Ming clan obviously will not appear here, drinking tea opposite the Westerners, and they will not be like this old man, with a group of guards who know that they are robbers at a glance.

Opposite the old man was a tall, well-proportioned European man in his early thirties, dressed in a brand-new naval uniform with dazzling gold threads on the cuffs and neckline. On the other side, a short, sturdy cardinal priest fifty miles away was talking to the old man in fluent Chinese.

"Your Excellency Xu Yang, we will be here to pray for you. Expect the Great Lord to bless you and your men for ultimate victory. And finally make your wish come true, becoming a true prince or governor. ”

The old man in the prince's uniform is Xu Yang, the most powerful pirate leader in the eastern and western oceans, although the number of his subordinates is claimed to be 10,000, but this actually includes women, children and other non-combatants. In addition, although nominally counted as his subordinates, in fact, the two are only cooperative relations, not subordinates in the true sense.

For example, Deng Tong and Li Qi, whom he invited this time, were originally the thieves of the Fujian Sea, because of their own strength or trade interests, they nominally respected Xu Yang as the leader, but in fact they still did their own thing. After the fall of the Black Shark Gang, there was no leader on the water surface of Zhejiang, and no pirate force would give up such a large territory. In fact, for most businessmen, after the Black Shark Gang is finished, the waters of Zhejiang will not become safer, only more dangerous.

For example, stepping on the territory of Zhejiang, no matter whether Xu Yang agrees or not, Li Qi and others will do it, and saying hello in advance can only be regarded as the morality of the rivers and lakes, or respect for the predecessors. Even if Xu Yang really wanted to stop it, he might not be able to stop it.

Even the status of the titular leader of this pirate has a strong enough authority at sea, and the Portuguese commander named Bartolok in front of him, although he is the current supreme military and administrative officer of Tuen Mun, has to give three points of courtesy to Xu Yang. No matter how later generations talk about Portugal at this time, they praised their ships for their strong guns and excellent equipment, but it is an undeniable fact that their population and delivery capacity are hard to beat. Including the indigenous soldiers recruited in the South Seas, the total number of Portuguese troops here did not exceed 1,000.

More importantly, they are businessmen who pursue profits. Without the Chinese goods provided by Xu Yang, this free port would not have existed for long, and both sides are each other's most important partners. The relationship between the two has always been harmonious, Xu Yang nominally converted to Catholicism, and Bartolok exchanged birthday stickers with Xu Yang according to the rules of the Ming Dynasty.

Xu Yang looked at the priest named Perez reverently, "Thank you to the great Lord for saving me, the lost Lamb, and all glory will be to the Lord, and I believe that the Lord will bless me to achieve the final victory and defeat the barbaric heretics." Let the official from the north know that Xu is not Xie Ao's kind of waste. Their gang of government people are arrogant, and if they don't let them know that they are powerful, they will not sit down and negotiate. If he is willing to sit down and talk this time, the commander can also participate in the meeting, and maybe even your Tuen Mun Island matter can be resolved together. ”