Chicken coop, San Salvador.

Even in October, when the midday sun was still very hot, and the gates of San Salvador were open, but no one, whether soldiers or slaves, took refuge in the shade of the trees, and a glass of sugar cane juice became the best drink to survive the heat.

When the Egret appeared near the harbor, the city of San Salvatore sounded the alarm, apparently mistaking the Yahat for a Dutch warship, but soon the news arrived from the battery at the mouth of the strait, with the green dragon flag of the Oriental Trading Company flying on it, and the face of the yellow race on the ship, and there were no artillery.

Therefore, the sudden war preparations were suddenly unraveled, and the Spaniards were lazily lying in the shade of the trees. But soon, the Egret arrived in port, and everyone gathered to pass.

"Rum, they brought rum, God, this is the best Ming ship I've ever seen." Someone exclaimed at the pier.

This ignited the enthusiasm of everyone, and many people gathered at the port, and when the people above set the quantity and price of the goods, everyone helped to unload the goods, wine, fresh fish and some poultry, all of which were loved by the Spaniards.

The meeting between the Oriental Trading Company and the Spaniards was set up in a grass hut in the harbor, which was originally set up by the Dutch, under which was a large area of shade, which was within the firing range of the Egret arquebus, which was within the firing range of the Spaniard's coastal defense battery, which was the best place to build trust between the two sides.

"Although I don't want to admit it, there is no doubt that you Eastern Trading Company have assisted us in defending this God-protected castle." Under the straw hut, Commander Bordorio said in an arrogant tone.

This arrogance stems from the so-called racial superiority, but also from some resentment with the Oriental Trading Company, after all, Tamsui City was taken from the Spaniards by these merchants in front of them.

"I'm not here to fight for the credit for defending San Salvador, after all, this city is in the hands of you Spaniards, and it is beneficial to both of us. I've come to ask Lord Leo how we can account to the Governor of Coquela in Manila. Li Zhaoji asked with a smile, picking up the wine with lemon juice.

Bol's Leo looked at Pietro, and the two discussed in a low voice, obviously not understanding what Li Zhaoji meant, and Pietro said directly to Nakata Liangren, who provided the translation: "You ask him, he is not our mercenary, why should he report to Lord Coqueira." ”

Nakata Liangren translated the words as they were, and Li Zhaoji smiled and said, "I don't think Lord Leo wants to tell your boss that Tamsui City was taken away, but if we don't have a unified voice, this unfavorable news for you will pass through the merchant's mouth and reach Coquela's ears, right?" ”

Bol's Leo understood, as Lee said, that he had no intention of telling Manila about the loss of Tamsui City.

The reason is very simple, Coqueilla is a typical abandonment faction, if according to the Philippine governor's intentions, the entire island of Taiwan will be abandoned, leaving no one behind.

But the governor of New Spain in Mexico City apparently did not think so, after all, after leaving Manila, there was no reliable stop for Manila galleons between Mexico and the Philippines, after all, Japan was no longer allowed to enter Spain.

And it would take six months for a Manila galleon to leave Manila and arrive in Acapulco in New Spain, and it would be impossible to see land and be resupplied for half a year.

So Coqueira was only willing to leave the most basic guards in Taiwan, so Tamsui City had long been abandoned, and in his order, only the city of San Salvador was allowed to be retained, and even the gate on the top of the hill, the three round forts had to be evacuated, not only to withdraw, but also to dismantle the fortress.

It was Leo of Pol, who wanted to keep the battle at bay outside of San Salvador, so he sent Petro to Freshwater City.

Since Freshwater City has long ceased to exist with Coqueira, it is lost at this time, so there is no need to tell him.

"You are a threat, I don't like it." Leo of Bol said.

"It's not a threat, it's just a statement." Li Zhaoji spread his hands, he knew very well that the military discipline of the Spaniards was very strict.

For example, this Leo of Pol did not defend San Salvador in history, although the Dutch sent all the captives and their indigenous wives to Manila, but Leo of Pol did not dare to go, but went to Batavia to earn a living.

Because Pol's Leo fled, it was Coqueira who took responsibility for the loss of Taiwan and was imprisoned for five years.

"What do you want?" Leo of Bol was not a professional soldier, on the contrary, he was better at being a politician and thus got straight to the point.

Li Zhaoji said: "You have defended this city and defeated the invincible Dutch East India Company, which is a very remarkable achievement. As you said, you have the support of our trading company, so you can mention it in your report to the governor of Coqueira, so that our trading company will get some convenience when going to Manila to trade. ”

"And what do I get?" Leo of Pol said.

Li Zhaoji pointed to the Egret behind him and said, "This ship will soon go to the South Seas, and my other ships will do similar things, if you need it, we can ask the trading company's trading ships to Manila to help you transport supplies and messengers."

In addition, our trading company can also provide you with some supplies in normal times, how about the rum we brew? Does it taste pure? ”

"A taste of the British." Petro said.

Lee Siu Ki laughed and didn't refute, because this is the technique of the British.

During the war between Spain and the Netherlands, Li Zhaoji sent Liu Mingde to Dayuan Port, because of Guo Huaiyi's relationship, so the trade there was very smooth, and the Oriental Trading Company could purchase rice in Dayuan, of course, more importantly, sugarcane, of which bagasse and other things were everywhere.

And this is precisely the raw material used to make rum, fresh sugar cane is fermented during transportation, and after arriving in fresh water, you can enter the distillery to make wine, because it is rum, Lee Siu Kee for the sake of stability, let the English people participate in it, even the koji is the original goods brought by the English ship.

Recently, trading companies have been encouraging the people of Kedagran to grow sugar cane so that they can make their own rum in the future.

For the sake of good supplies, Pol's Leo would also agree to Li Zhaoji's proposal, of course, he verbally agreed that Li Zhaoji would not accept it, and at Li Zhaoji's insistence, Pol's Leo wrote a letter of introduction to Li Zhaoji, detailing the role of the Oriental Trading Company in the defense of San Salvador, in exchange for Li Zhaoji's supply contract.

The Spaniards had no choice because the chicken coop had lost its role as a commercial port.

There were only soldiers stationed there, their indigenous wives, and some Catholic indigenous slaves.

In the early years, it served as a trade transit point between the Philippines and Japan, and there would be merchants from Fujian and Jiangnan who came to trade, but with the decline of trade, even merchants rarely came, and the Spanish colony in Taiwan was limited to providing some services for Manila galleons.

Without trade, there was no supply, so everything here was scarce, and after a Dutch attack last year, Coqueilla even cut off the communication ships between Taiwan and Manila, and the only stable supply and communication channel disappeared.

Li Zhaoji had long heard that Che Zhidan, who had taken refuge, had a clear understanding of these situations, and he was not worried that Pol's Leo would not agree.

The attacking Dutch almost mutinied because of supply difficulties, and the Spaniards were no different.

At this time, Pietro took the initiative to say: "Ming people, it's good that you are willing to trade with us, but the price of your goods is too high, and if you don't lower the price, the trade will not last long." ”

All of the colony's expenses were appropriated by Manila, which is why Corquilla kept the local garrison as small as possible.

Obviously, in the absence of trade and the rule of the natives, to purchase supplies from the Oriental Trading Company was to fish for the sake of the water.

Li Zhaoji smiled and said, "Even if I reduce the price of goods, or even only give you the cost price, will this trade be able to continue?" ”

Pol's Leo shook his head slightly, and Li Zhaoji said: "So, you must learn to open source and reduce expenditure, especially open source." If you don't have a single income, sooner or later you will become poor, and I will not give you credit. ”

"Mingguoren, obviously you have a way." Pol's Leo listened to Li Zhaoji's words and said bluntly.

Lee said: "My trading company needs to build a city, reclaim land, and need labor, but I am short of people. ”

Needless to say, after all, the Spaniards were the pioneers of the slave trade, and here, they had guns, and they could go and capture slaves and sell them to the Oriental trading companies.

The Oriental Trading Company bought the hut with four barrels of rum and used it as the trading company's base on Chicken Coop Island, and the trade relationship between the two sides was established.

It's just that the first deal of Li Zhaoji did not go well.

The Egret came loaded with fresh food and rum, but only got silver coins that only filled half a barrel, and if it went back, the vacancy rate would be too high. But the chicken coop really didn't produce what the empire needed.

Although an agreement was reached for the slave trade, it was impossible for Spanish soldiers to sell their indigenous wives to the Oriental Trading Houses, which were now in need of women.

Lee wanted to buy a little raw silk from the city of San Salvador, which was said to have been sold to a Ming merchant ship that had been blown by the sea breeze to this generation before the war, but was rejected by Leo of Pol because the raw silk could be used as a commodity on a Manila galleon that would pass through the city next July.

Because of a coincidence, Li Zhaoji found a suitable commodity to buy, which was given by Pietro.

This alcoholic guy hates English-style rum, perhaps this has something to do with the fact that he was cut off a toe by the English, so he added some lemon juice to it, and when he saw the fresh lemon, Li Zhaoji was uncontrollable with excitement, and there were fresh lemons in the chicken coop, indicating that there must be lemon trees in the local area.

In fact, on the main island on the opposite shore, there is a lemon grove that has been planted for more than ten years, and October is the ripe harvest season.

Lemon is not a favorite food for sailors, after all, it is too sour, but it is a food that can really save everyone's lives, because it is rich in vitamins and other trace elements that can save sailors from the trouble of scor.

In the 17th century, when Lee saw the ill-managed lemon trees, he had already written the lemons necessary for ocean-going ships into the regulations of the trading company, and became the duty that every captain had to fulfill, and according to history, this decree alone could save more than two million sailors.

Although it is rumored that it was only in the middle of the eighteenth century that English doctors demonstrated the effectiveness of lemon in the prevention and treatment of scurvy, and it was adopted by the British Royal Navy forty years later. But in fact, the Portuguese and Spaniards have long discovered this, but they don't pay so much attention to it.

For example, in a small island in the South Atlantic, where the Portuguese cultivated lemons in the 16th century to supply ships, the island was not famous until the early 19th century, when a famous emperor of the world was imprisoned there.

Its name is St. Helena.