After sailing in Manila Bay for more than two hours, I finally saw the endless pier under the city of Manila.

Along the way, Deng Haonan and others listened carefully to the guide's introduction to the situation in Manila. Although Deng Haonan knows a lot about Manila, he does not know anything about the ancient history of Manila after a few hundred years.

It's a busy place every day, and ships laden with all sorts of goods arrive here and are quickly loaded onto oxen and wagons waiting near the docks, and then transported to a nearby trading station. Some of them stayed in Manila for consumption, and most of them were traded to merchants from various countries who came to do business.

Manila, as a hub for the trading of goods between the East and the West, has dozens of transactions completed every day. The main reason behind this unprecedented prosperity is that these goods do not have to pay taxes, and there is only a so-so customs inspection at the port, a symbolic fee is charged, and then a large number of goods can be traded.

Spain occupied the Philippines for only a few decades, and its rule was unstable. In addition to encircling the Filipino Turkish chieftains, the Spaniards also had to face the prying eyes of the Dutch. Therefore, the Spaniards set low tariffs on Manila's merchandise trade, enveloped merchants from all over the world, and made Manila an international city, so that the Netherlands did not dare to be overly arrogant on the Manila issue and anger the interests of other countries.

This policy Deng Haonan understands very well, this is the originator of the open door policy in later generations, Spain's strength in the Far East has been challenged by the Netherlands, so it has to pull all countries together to deal with the Netherlands.

This may be the reason why the Dutch finally withdrew from the world maritime hegemony! The Dutch never ceded their interests to other countries, blindly monopolized the interests of the sea, and were eventually defeated by the European coalition. Perhaps at this time, the clues have begun to appear.

Not long after the Dutch invasion of the Philippines ended, in the newly revived Manila market, taxes on formal transactions were already low. But there are also businessmen who do smuggling deals.

In the evening, it was a different story, when secret transactions began on the wharf, and the policemen, who had paid enough money, opened the gates of the wharf with pleasure, and then watched as many young and strong men loaded boxes of goods onto the cargo ships, and this smuggling transaction made at least several thousand Spanish silver coins each time it changed hands.

"You don't have to worry about making money in Manila!"

This is what the guide bragged to Deng Haonan and others, of course, Deng Haonan and the others just smiled.

The sail ranger lowered the sails, and several sailors boarded the dock in a dinghy, and then pulled the cable of the Black Pearl, and slowly docked at the pier. The cable is then fastened to the pier at the pier.

The arrival of Di Haonan and his entourage immediately attracted the attention of everyone on the nearby shore and dock. The battleship with three gun decks had already surprised them, and the military uniforms of Di Haonan and his party on the foreign ship shocked them even more.

Which country's navy is this?

That's what everyone thinks for the first time.

Soon, when someone heard Deng Haonan's language, they immediately shouted, they turned out to be Da Ming?

Their startled appearance had already made Deng Haonan and others accustomed to it.

At this time, for their fingers, there is no weight loss at all.

The disembarkation of Na Haonan and others did cause a lot of commotion. But it was only a matter of minutes, and soon they regained their composure, for they were so busy. A lot of goods are waiting to be traded, which is several times the profit, and no one can get along with the money.

However, there are also some people with sharp eyes, and they see that there is also a Daming hard sailing ship, and from her draft, connoisseurs can tell at a glance that there are goods in it. With the blockade of the Dutch Navy, very few ships of the Ming Dynasty came to Manila. The original fourfold price for the acquisition of Daming properties has soared to five times at this time, but it is priceless, and there is not a single Daming merchant ship in sight for several months.

These bosses came up immediately, and saw that Di Haonan was guarded by hundreds of guards in the center, and knew that Haonan was the person who was talking, so they were ready to come over and talk to Deng Haonan.

"Stop!"

There was a sound of gunshots, and the guards around Deng Haonan had already raised their dog-lock muskets and pointed at the crowd that came over.

These merchants wore all kinds of clothes, skin and eyes, and obviously came from all over the world. Suddenly, I saw a row of muskets pointed at them, and I was immediately frightened.

"Misunderstanding! Misunderstand! ”

The Spanish guide immediately came out to play the round, and it was evident that he knew the merchants who had come by, and he must have dealt with them a lot.

"Mr. Deng!" Then the guide explained: "They are all businessmen who have been in Manila all year round, and like you, they are all guests of the Governor-General!" ”

Huzi stepped forward and shouted, "What are they doing blocking the road? ”

The guide saw that Huzi's eyes were sharp. didn't dare to talk nonsense at the moment, and hurriedly said: "This sir, they saw that your department intercepted a ship of the Ming Dynasty, and they wanted to come over to trade, and they didn't mean anything else!" ”

"Fart!" Huzi said angrily: "What intercepted? That ship is our own! ”

"Yes, yes, yes!" The guide hurriedly changed his words and said, "Seeing that I can't speak, don't be surprised, of course it's your ship!" ”

The more Huzi listened, the more wrong it became, and these people thought that it was a looted ship.

It's no wonder that Deng Haonan and they suddenly owned two Western galleons, and in the eyes of others, they naturally used Western ships to rob the Ming boats. Because they have never seen the Ming people dare to rob a Western ship, and it is a large warship like the Black Pearl.

The more he described, the darker it became, Deng Haonan didn't bother to explain these things, and immediately signaled Huzi not to talk to him, and brought the guide over.

Mu Haonan said: "No."

The guide glanced at Di Haonan in astonishment, and immediately replied: "Deng Xianniu has won the prize!" The Chinese name under it is Li De! ”

Na Haonan blurted out: "Germans? ”

Li De was stunned for a moment, then looked at Di Haonan in surprise, and said, "That's right!" Under are the Prussians! Sir has been to Europe? ”

That Haonan was purely speculative, but it was just a polite pass, but he didn't expect it to be guessed.

Immediately laughed and said, "The spirit has swam!" If you have a chance, you should go for it! ”

After Li De heard this, he knew that Deng Hao was erudite and talented, because he knew that the Ming people knew the names of the Netherlands, Spain and other countries at most, and they really didn't even know where their specific locations were, let alone know the Duchy of Germany, after all, Germany at this time was in the division of vassal states, and few people in the East knew about it.

When Li De was about to think about having a good relationship with Na Haonan, Na Haonan continued: "Along the way, you are also hungry to inquire about our affairs!" I'm sure you know what we're going to ship for! ”

"Uh" Li De was stunned for a moment, and then nodded embarrassedly.

Na Haonan smiled: "That's good! I still have something to do! I will entrust you to sell our goods, I will give you a 1% commission, the higher the price you sell, the more you will be paid! ”

Yes!

Li De screamed in surprise, he couldn't believe his ears!

One percent rake? What's that concept?

Di Haonan's goods are conservatively estimated to be worth 200,000 taels, and one percent is 2,000 taels of silver, which is Li De's guide tip for a year.

Seeing that Li De was speechless in surprise, Deng Haonan smiled: "Okay! If you don't speak, I'll say yes! Now you can negotiate with these merchants on my behalf! ”

As he spoke, Na Haonan patted Li De on the shoulder, and then laughed and led people away.

It wasn't until Deng Haonan walked away that Li De came back to his senses. Pinched my arm, it hurt, it's not a dream!

※

According to the address provided by Yan Siqi, Deng Haonan and his party looked for Zhao Lai along the south bank of the Bashi River

On the south bank of the Bashi River, there is a majestic Bashi Castle, on which there are Spanish soldiers standing on guard with guns, and the fiery red figure can be seen clearly.

The Bashi Castle was built by the commander of the Spanish invading army, Rigesby, to garrison the Spanish army, control the whole of Manila, and then rule the Philippines together with the Filipino Turks. Across the Bashi River, you can clearly see the fortress artillery deployed on the castle.

And those powerful artillery still seem to have a strong vitality, supporting the glory of the declining Spanish Empire.

The white navy uniforms of Na Haonan and others attracted many people along the way to stop and watch, but fortunately, Manila allowed guns, and the standard dog-lock musket deterred many people from approaching the idea of talking.

After walking along the river for about a mile, turn left on St. Andrew's Street, which is lined with shops on both sides, but with high walls and stone barriers, giving Deng Haonan the feeling of walking into an ancient castle.

A short walk was a higher wall, only to finally see the vermilion gate.

The gate is closed, there are three stone steps at the door, and the six stone lions are symmetrical left and right, and they are arranged in a figure-eight direction.

It's really magnificent!

Di Haonan glanced at Lin Feng.

Lin Feng said: "According to Yan Siqi's description, this is the Zhao family's mansion!" ”

Di Haonan nodded and made a color towards the big cow. The big bull understood, stepped forward and slammed the knocker.

For a long time, the door was not opened, the opening in the door was still open, and a person looked out from the inside.

"Who are you?"

It's cautious enough!

Na Haonan thought in his heart.

"Is this the Zhao Mansion?" Lin Feng stepped forward and asked.

The man looked at Deng Haonan and his entourage of hundreds of people, and the army was full of food. Loaded with guns, a little scared. However, when he heard that the voice was a Ming Fujian accent, he immediately felt very cordial, and immediately said: "That's right! Do you dare to ask your friends if there is something? ”

Lin Feng said: "We are members of the Brotherhood Alliance, and we came to Manila to discuss with Old Man Zhao!" ”

The man replied and said, "Good! I return to the Lord, please wait! ”

After saying that, the man closed the door and hurried to the court.

The time was not big, only the footsteps inside were heard, and there were quite a few people. Immediately afterward, the sound of several latches being unloaded was heard, and the vermilion gate was opened with a creaking sound.

More than 20 men dressed in black came out, all carrying muskets, and stood along the stone steps from both sides of the gate.

Huzi subconsciously raised his hand, and the wings of the escort were lined up, and they suddenly became vigilant.

Rushing!

There was a neat sound of gunfire, and the dog-lock musket had changed from the momentum of the back of the shoulder to the chest of the gun, and the muzzle of the gun rushed up. As long as Huzi gave another order, the muzzle of the gun fell, pointing straight ahead. Na Haonan was very satisfied, but obviously Huzi was a little too nervous. Immediately wave your hand to show that it doesn't matter.

At this time, three people walked out of the middle. On the left is a middle-aged man, with slightly dark skin, a hero scarf wrapped around his head, and a Ming gown, with a hint of elegance. On the right is a big man with thick eyebrows and big eyes, a wide nose and a wide mouth, dressed in black, with two fire mirrors pinned to his waist, which looks like the head of the minions on both sides.

One of them looked a little old, his sideburns had turned white, but his eyes were sharp, and he looked like he was a talker!

I saw him wearing a beard, and he looked around at Deng Haonan and his party. In Deng Haonan's eyes, his beard is long but not few, and eighty percent of it has either degraded or been mistakenly lost by his hands.

Soon, after the old man glanced for a week, his gaze finally stopped at Deng Hao

"Down there is Zhao Chuanfeng!" The old man first arched his hand at everyone, and then bowed his hand to Deng Haonan and said: "Please forgive the old man for being clumsy, I don't know which leader of the Brotherhood Alliance has arrived?"

Na Haonan learned from Zhao Chuanfeng's appearance, and also arched his hand: "The four leaders under the main seat of the General Alliance, the junior Deng Haonan, have seen Old Man Zhao."

"Oh?" Zhao Chuanfeng obviously didn't know that Yan Siqi had another four leaders, and he was a little surprised, and immediately smiled: "If you are sure to be born, you will be terrible!" As soon as you look at the little brother Deng, you will know your talent, little brother."

Then he said: "It's been a long time since there has been any news from the head of the alliance."

Di Haonan nodded, knowing that Zhao Chuanfeng was asking himself about Yan Siqi's token, which was used to prove that he was genuine. Immediately looked at Lin Feng, Lin Feng hurriedly took out Yan Siqi's handwritten letter from his briefcase. Give it to Deng Haonan.

"This is a personal letter from the head of the alliance to the old man!" Deng Haonan handed the letter to Zhao Chuanfeng and said, "Please also ask the old man to take a look!" ”

Zhao Chuanfeng nodded, took the letter in Deng Hao's hand, opened it, and it was true. Immediately smiled: "Look! Patronized and spoke, and neglected everyone! ”

Then he turned around and made a gesture of please, "Brother Deng, please!" Brothers, please! ”

Na Haonan nodded and said, "Old man Zhao, please first."

Zhao Chuanfeng nodded with satisfaction, and he was not polite, he was the first to go in, and Di Haonan followed.

※

Na Haonan's subordinates were arranged to rest in the side hall, and someone brought tea and water.

Here, Deng Haonan followed Zhao Chuanfeng to the main hall. During this period, Zhao Chuanfeng introduced Na Haonan to the two people beside him. The scholar is dressed as his son Zhao Chenggong, and the warrior is dressed as the head teacher of the Zhao family, who is in charge of nearly a thousand generals of the Zhao family.

After Na Haonan got acquainted with them one by one, the two of them turned around and left.

The maid made her tea, and then exited the hall.

Na Haonan knew that he was going to discuss important matters with Zhao Chuanfeng next. Immediately sat down with him, drinking tea and talking about things.

Zhao Chuanfeng said first: "That little brother sat in the position of the four leaders at a young age, which is really gratifying!" ”

Na Haonan said: "Old man Zhao has won the award!" Just call me Haonan! ”

Zhao Chuanfeng laughed and said, "Then the old man will make a loud voice and call you a virtuous nephew!" Then he said: "The leader of the alliance mentioned in the letter that the virtuous nephew is quite capable, and he specially recommends the virtuous nephew to come here to establish a trading station, and the old man has been waiting for this day for a year!" ”

It turned out that Zhao Chuanfeng had always had trade dealings with mainland businessmen. Since the beginning of the carp year, after the Dutch East India Company invaded Penghu and was driven away by the Ming Dynasty sailors. It cut off the trade between the Ming Dynasty and the South China Sea. The Ming Dynasty imposed a sea ban, so ordinary maritime merchants could not come to Manila.

As a maritime merchant, the Zhao family relies on the sea to eat the sea, and without trade, it is equivalent to taking the life of the Zhao family.

At that time, the East India Company was not strong and could only rob unarmed merchant ships. As a result, pirates along the coast of the Ming Dynasty could also carry goods to Manila for trading.

As a result, Zhao Chuanfeng got in touch with the pirates of the Ming Dynasty from the beginning. Later, he fixed to do business with the brother alliance, and the transaction between the two sides was very smooth. It was a pleasure to work with.

In January, the Dutch East India Company grew and received the support of parliamentarians from the six major cities of the United Provinces of the Republic of the Netherlands. In March, the East India Company appealed that it had been unjustifiably expelled by the Ming Navy, so the Dutch Grand Council approved the Dutch Navy to send a detachment to the Far East to defend the rights of Dutch maritime merchants.

In fact, this was nothing more than a political conspiracy, and after the Dutch navy arrived in the Far East, under the banner of the East India Company, it directly helped the East India Company blockade the South China Sea and plunder the ships of various countries. After receiving the letter sent back by Van Weidt and the diplomatic protests of various countries, the Netherlands immediately blocked the news, insisting that the Dutch navy had returned and had not participated in the armed robbery. All of this was the responsibility of the Dutch East India Company, which caused the infamous legal fact of the East India Company.

The addition of the Dutch Navy made it impossible for the pirates along the coast of the Ming Dynasty to compete alone, so they continued to unite and became the three major merchant gangs today. Due to internal problems and mutual restraints, none of the three major merchant gangs dared to rashly clash with the Dutch navy. The Chao Gang has the North Bay to trade with Vietnam and other countries, and the Lu Gang sits on Shandong, which can trade with the Ryukyus, Korea, and the Wei Kingdom, and only Yan Siqi's fraternal alliance suffers the most. The fraternal alliance was infighting, and Zheng Yiguan colluded with the Netherlands to monopolize the trade between the fraternal alliance and the kingdom and the east, which made Yan Siqi's situation worse.

And Zhao Chuanfeng maintained close contact with Yan Siqi, and as a result, Zhao Chuanfeng also lost the mainland supply.

Na Haonan and Zhao Chuanfeng communicated with each other about what they knew one by one, and finally figured out all the facts and understood the current situation.

Na Haonan said modestly: The kid has narrow shoulders, and I will ask Uncle Zhao for more advice in the future! ”

"Good!" Zhao Chuanfeng nodded and said, "Let's not talk about it, do you have any plans?" ”

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