Li Quan's ocean-going fleet, as well as the Spanish galleon, returned to Asia one after the other, with a time gap of less than ten days.

It's just that the destination is different.

Li Quan arrived on the east coast of Luzon and circled the island from the north to Manila. The Spanish galleons sailed to Cebu Island, and after the loss of Luzon, the Philippine Governor's Office was changed to Cebu.

Li Quan's ship had no cargo left, only a pile of tobacco, cane sugar and rum.

This is those Spaniards, who couldn't make up the money for a while, and exchanged the goods for Li Quan. When he arrived in Manila, he sold them directly to Chinese merchants at a low price, and then took the silver and silver coins he got from the Americas and went to the Datong Bank in Manila to exchange them for Chinese silver dollars.

Due to the strict control of the imperial court and the fact that silver dollars were more convenient than silver, domestic transactions were almost exclusively in silver dollars.

Although the silver dollar is mixed with impurities, it is more reliable than silver, and there is no need to find the master to identify the color when trading. In large transactions, even silver dollars are not used, and Datong Bank and private bill numbers have bill of exchange business.

The next step was to repair the ship, and by the way, to purchase some Luzon specialties and plan to ship them to northern China for sale.

Zhang Huangyan, the governor of Luzon, heard that Li Quan had returned from the Americas, and immediately sent someone to invite him to a banquet.

"Meet Mr. Zhang!" Li Quan greeted him, and he also brought a gift, which was a piece of sandalwood brought back from Hawaii.

Zhang Huangyan said with a smile: "Yuheng is really young and promising, and he actually drove a giant boat across the ocean. In the future, can you anchor in Manila and not land in Taiwan or Fuzhou? ”

"Well, it depends." Li Quan doesn't give much face.

Zhang Huangyan's meaning is very clear, he wants to make Manila the end point of trade in the Americas, so as to prosper Luzon's commercial economy.

And Li Quan returned this time and arrived directly on the east coast of Luzon, and if he wanted to come to Manila, he had to go around a circle, and the distance was enough to go directly to Taiwan. The next time I come back, maybe it's near Taiwan, wouldn't it be better to go directly to Fuzhou to trade?

Zhang Huangyan said: "As long as Yuheng anchors in Manila, I will immediately send someone to negotiate with the Philippine governor to ensure that Yuheng will not be attacked on the west coast of America in the future." ”

"It's a deal!" Li Quan was waiting for this sentence, otherwise why would he come to Manila in a circle?

That night, the guests and hosts enjoyed themselves and took what they needed.

Zhang Huangyan attached great importance to this matter, and the next day he sent an envoy to Cebu Island in the Philippines to visit the governor.

The Governor of the Philippines is called Sabiniano Manlik de la Ra, a fellow who has been in office for more than two years, and in addition to making money, all his energy is spent on counterinsurgency.

Well, counterinsurgency can also make money.

The officials and military of the Philippine colonies spent about 200,000 silver pesos a year.

After the rise of the Netherlands, the Philippines was threatened and had to increase its forces and replenish its fleet. As a result, the expenses of the Philippine colonies also increased, and 40% of the "Mexican surplus silver" was shipped directly.

With the rise of China, the Philippines lost Luzon, leaving only those southern islands. The governor took the opportunity to ask the king for money, saying that in order to prevent China, administrative and military expenditures would rise again, and 45% of the "Mexican silver surplus" would be shipped in every year.

The so-called "Mexican leftovers" refers to the amount of silver that is officially mined in Mexico, minus the silver shipped back to the Spanish mainland, and then the expenses of the Mexican colonies. According to historical data, the amount of silver mined in Mexico was actually more than three times that of the official mined, and the colonial officials made a lot of money one by one!

In recent years, the Philippines has continued to revolt, and the governor and officials continue to ask the king for money, trying to transport 50% of the Mexican surplus silver to the Philippines.

In fact, the large-scale uprising has been suppressed, but the governor deliberately left sporadic small uprisings, not to raise the Kou for self-respect, but purely to raise the Kou for money!

The Governor's Drala received Zhang Huangyan's envoy and asked, "Is there anything you have to do with your visit to Cebu?" ”

The messenger got straight to the point: "Just the other day, there was a Chinese fleet that returned from your Mexico. ”

"What?" Drala was shocked.

The envoy continued: "The Chinese fleet will also go to Mexico next year, please tell the Spanish Navy that it is not allowed to attack the Chinese fleet without authorization!" ”

"I'm sorry, I can't call the shots, you'll have to talk to the fleet commander," said Delala. ”

The Philippine side only asked for money, and after getting the silver, it did not replenish the warships at all, and all the ships were old antiques from thirty years ago.

In both the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, there is a so-called galleon trade.

Due to the warships and pirates of the Atlantic countries Cheeto, every time a treasure ship and an official merchant ship went to sea, twenty or thirty warships escorted it.

On the Pacific side, there are no warships to follow at all, and even if there are, they are all old boats.

So much so that Japan can bully them, once the galleon trade had to dock in Japan, Toyotomi Hideyoshi directly confiscated a Spanish galleon for religious reasons. The Spaniards had no temper at all, and from then on did not dare to land in Japan, and did not retaliate in any way.

The main purpose of the Chinese envoy's visit was to inform the Mexican fleet that there were more than 20 Spanish warships on the west coast of Mexico, which were specially used to deal with Dutch and British pirates.

The messenger said: "In the event of an attack on the Chinese fleet, every Spanish galleon from Cebu to the Americas, could turn into the St. Philip!" ”

The St. Philip was the Spanish galleon that was captured by Toyotomi Hideyoshi.

This is a naked threat, China has occupied Luzon, Taiwan and the Ryukyu Islands, and Spanish galleons must pass through this region if they want to make their way to the Americas. Of course, you can also make a detour, but you can't sail along the Kuroshio, not to mention the smooth wind, and there is a greater chance of encountering a big storm.

The choke point of the galleon trade has long been choked by the Chinese Navy.

The two sides had fought a previous battle, with China seizing Luzon, but an armistice was soon signed. What is this for?

China wanted to keep getting silver from the Americas, and Spain wanted to keep getting Asian goods. To each his own for what he needs, and that's it, they all want to resume the galleon trade as soon as possible.

Now, the Chinese fleet is heading to the Americas, clearly disrupting trade.

"I'll tell you." Drala was completely out of control.

"Wait for the good news!" The messenger turned and left.

In Mexico and the Philippines, too many people depend on the galleon trade for their food.

Others don't mention it, but they say that Delara and his cronies are using their privileges to obtain permits. They do not directly participate in trade, they only speculate on licenses as securities, and they can earn several times the profit by buying and selling short.

A galleon, divided into thousands of spaces, each of which requires a permit, and each permit is a silver penny!

If the Chinese want to trade in the Americas, as long as the trade volume is not large, let the Chinese do it.

For colonial officials, an attack on the Chinese fleet would cut off the galleon trade would be a matter of burning eyebrows. Not only did the king ask for the guilt, but there were also many people whose jobs were smashed, and they definitely couldn't eat and walked around.

Delara called a meeting of Filipino officials, and the crowd had nothing to say about it.

In order to solve this problem once and for all, the king had to send a large fleet to take back Luzon, Taiwan, and the Ryukyu Islands. Is this possible? The royal family has long been bankrupt and can't afford to fight in Europe, let alone come to Asia to start with China.

Then they could only hide it from the king, and the colonial officials continued to engage in smuggling, continued to speculate on licenses, and tacitly acquiesced in the Chinese merchants in the silver silk trade. Everyone's happy!

Except for the Spanish king and the native merchants, no one had anything to lose.

In fact, everyone has long been dissatisfied with the king, and has been restricting the trade volume of galleons. Another time and space, in a few more decades, the king will be forced to increase the volume of trade, double, double, double.

"The great Spanish Empire has lost its glory after all." Drala looked at the setting sun and sighed.

Think about how majestic they were when they crossed the world and dominated Europe, but now they are being bullied by a bunch of countries.

As a nobleman, as a governor, Delara was devastated by this.

Of course, the money that should be earned still has to be earned, and the mind must not only stay in the past, but also keep pace with the times and face the future.

And in Manila, there is an endless stream of businessmen who visit Li Quan.

Li Quan simply called all the people who submitted the worship posts and had dinner together at the Hokkien Hall in Manila.

"This cup, to Commander Li!"

Lin Ruosa, manager of the Fujian Chamber of Commerce in Manila, took the lead in standing up and toasting.

The word manager has been around for a long time.

"Command Respectfully." Other businessmen raised their glasses.

Li Quan smiled: "It's easy to say." ”

After three rounds of drinking, the merchants began to ask: "Commander Li, how long will it take to get back and forth to the Americas?" ”

Li Quan replied: "It will take five or six months to go, and three months to come back." ”

"That's nearly a year," Lin Ruosa asked again, "Is there a big storm in the middle?" ”

Li Quan replied truthfully: "The journey not only takes a long time, but also has a lot of wind and waves, and I heard that the Spaniards occasionally sink ships. The return journey was smooth, the road was calm, and it was relatively safe. It should be noted that you must bring enough fresh water with you when you go, and the fresh water should be sealed as much as possible. Prepare more tea, pickles, and beans, which are used to sprout. I don't know which one is useful, anyway, ordinary crew members often drink tea, and the leftover tea leaves can't be poured, so the crew chews and swallows it. As long as you are on the shore, you should buy as many fruits and vegetables as possible to prevent scurvy. ”

Li Quan's crew did not suffer from scurvy, in fact, it was mainly the tea that played a role, and the vitamins of the bean sprouts were negligible.

Lin Ruosa continued to ask: "Is it good to ship the goods to the Americas?" ”

Li Quan smiled: "You can sell it if you ship it." I was in a hurry this time, and the Spaniards didn't know it beforehand, so the volume was not large. But if you go again this year, there will definitely be more Spanish businessmen gathered there. They have silver, and they can eat as much as they carry. ”

The Port of Acapulco has a fixed opening date and will only be postponed in exceptional circumstances.

Before the opening of the market, a large number of merchants flocked to the market, including wealthy merchants, officials, clergy, soldiers, and even Indian peddlers, transport workers, and ordinary people, as well as merchants from Peru, the Caribbean, Central and South America, and the Kafir region of Africa.

The mega-rich came mainly from Mexico City, Lima, the Caribbean and Kafir in Africa, and then there were three more transshipment routes, south to South America, overland to Mexico City, and land in Central America and then by sea.

The freight route from Acapulco to Mexico City is directly named "China Avenue".

Once the galleon trade was cut off and the whole of America was in short supply, Spain would not dare to provoke China at all.

Li Quan said to many maritime merchants: "I did not run the ship to make money, but to expand to the Americas on the orders of the emperor. Owners, shopkeepers, and ship owners, as long as you are willing to go to the Americas, you are welcome to do so, let's make an appointment to set off together! ”

The merchants did not dare to decide immediately, they had to go back and ask for advice.

Some are joint ventures, and the shareholders' meeting has the final say. Some are wholly-owned companies, and the big bosses live along the coast of Fujian.

It is too far and dangerous to trade in the Americas, and the risks are too high, and you have to be brave to make a lot of money.

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