Chapter 143: War Begins (Part 2)
After the news came that the Da'an court allowed civilians to purchase firearms, everyone knew that the war was coming to an end.
Of course, as the former overlord who was hit hard, the Spaniards are still struggling desperately and trying to restore their influence. In just a few dozen days after August, the Spanish Governor-General of the Philippines in Manila implemented the standard four-step crisis response strategy. In the first stage, they claimed that the news of "the Chinese emperor arming merchant ships" was pure rumor, and that the governor was calm and composed, and the overall situation was stable; in the second stage, they claimed that Chinese merchants may have obtained outdated weapons from the black market, which posed a certain threat to the shipping routes, but it was still harmless; the governor had already planned and also intended to arm the sea merchants close to Spain...
The third stage - oh, there was no third stage. While the senior bureaucrats of the Governor-General's Office were doing their best to suppress the deadly news of attacks in various parts of the South Pacific, a converted fishing boat somehow bypassed the defense line, was quietly sent into the naval port of Luzon, and detonated on time at nine o'clock in the morning. All the senior naval officers who were in a meeting on the flagship were injured, and the command force was almost wiped out.
The damage from this attack was not too great (after all, not many people died), but the shock was extremely great. If the threat posed by Chinese merchant ships before was just sporadic news that could be suppressed with some effort, then after this explosion, the situation became clear to the whole world - it was proved that the Spanish navy was simply unable to guard against China's oversaturated attacks, and the omnipresent small civilian ships could easily penetrate any defense and launch attacks in all the most incredible locations. From now on, there will never be peace in any part of the South China Sea.
——Now that things have come to this, what else can be said?
However, this conclusion is actually quite ridiculous. In reality, Spain has been the overlord in Southeast Asia for decades and has a profound foundation and rich experience. It cannot be compared with Da'an, a nouveau riche that has only been reforming for five or six years. Even if the main force of the navy cannot win in a direct confrontation on the battlefield, the long-accumulated civilian shipping industry far exceeds China's trump card. If the maritime merchants close to Spain were willing to take the lead and delay the Chinese's saturation attack regardless of the losses, then there would be a chance of a turnaround when the Spanish Empire had caught its breath and transferred fleets from other colonies.
In fact, the Spanish Governor of Luzon did have such a plan. He hoped to mobilize his own businessmen to retaliate, to respond to guerrilla warfare with guerrilla warfare, to respond to saturation with saturation, and to use trump cards to consume the Chinese and intimidate each other. He also deliberately found big capitalists close to the empire, appealed to their emotions, explained things to them with reason, and persuaded them in the name of God with passion and earnest words, which made the big capitalists shed tears and were inexplicably moved - and then none of them expressed their opinions.
——Come on, brother, do you really expect us to fight to the death with the Chinese?
That’s right, the European merchants in the Age of Discovery were half merchants and half pirates, and each of them was a top villain with blood on their hands and was brutal and ruthless. But evil people also have evil logic. They dare to burn, kill and plunder in Southeast Asia, Africa and America because the local natives are too weak and humble. Torturing them is like torturing animals. There is no threat except pleasure. But now - now, if they really want to stand up, they will not face small merchant ships with only cold weapons, but may face the Feixuan Zhenjun, Wanshou Emperor, Qingmiao Emperor, and some unethical things produced by the firearms factory...
Yes, as subjects of the King of Spain and people of God, they should support the country, be loyal to the doctrine, and help the weak and fight against the strong; but the Chinese are really too strong!
After Dutch and Italian merchants were invited to visit coastal factories, the big players who were qualified to join the game had actually obtained relatively accurate intelligence. China may still have a shortage of warships, but the output of firearms is definitely sufficient. The so-called "infinite" is not an exaggeration - fighting with a boss who has infinite firepower and infinite manpower and may explode into the second stage at any time, have the capitalists poured the water of the South China Sea into their brains?
Of course, big capitalists are not so stupid. They can be moved as much as they want during face-to-face conversations, but they still need to be rational when making decisions behind the scenes. This attitude became even more obvious after the top leaders of the Spanish Navy were bombed. Faced with the Governor’s urging, the better ones would just avoid the meeting and leave a message saying goodbye, “Sir, I’m going to sail away tonight, and I’ll definitely do my part next time.” As for the worse ones, they would simply declare “strict neutrality” and then privately send people to contact the Chinese naval command headquarters in Guangdong, saying that they are actually very interested in Eastern Confucianism and that they have long been a Chinese lurking in the West!
By mid-October, the situation in the Southeast Asian colonial empire had completely collapsed. Well-armed civilian merchant ships began to infiltrate the Americas-South Sea route in large numbers, hijacking Spanish ships and attacking colonies with weak protection. The Spanish ships basically transported gold and silver looted from the Americas. They could make money by robbing, which of course could motivate them to the maximum extent. The routes were blocked and shipping became urgent. The naval fleet that was originally enough to deter the sea could only run around in countless distress calls. Although they tried their best to hold on, the effect was often not great. The small civilian boats were flexible and light, and could easily escape the encirclement of the Spanish navy. If the navy pursued too deeply, it might be taken advantage of by the Chinese fleet lurking on the side and besiege and attack the reinforcements.
Such scattered attacks lasted for a month, and trade in Southeast Asia basically came to a standstill. The reason why the Spanish were able to occupy a dominant position in Southeast Asia and even the South Pacific was not only due to their military advantage, but also the unique local colonial order. The risks of doing business at sea were quite high, but according to the original practice, as long as enough taxes were paid to the Spanish colonial governor, one could exchange for the protection of the empire and travel freely between major cities in the South China Sea without being harassed by pirates and robbers.
But now, Spain can hardly protect itself, let alone maintain maritime security. The old order is on the verge of extinction, trade relations are in a mess, and no one is willing to do honest business. The old overlords are on the verge of collapse, and merchants who are eager for protection can only suspend their business or turn their attention to more reliable people who are more capable of protecting them.
Since September, businessmen from all over the world have been passing messages to China through secret channels, hoping that the Chinese navy can "protect business", "respect the free market", and "fulfill the obligations of a suzerain state", and expressed their willingness to pay for such protection, and the specific fees can be negotiated.
These words are very euphemistic and very implicit. But the so-called "fulfilling obligations" and "protecting business" actually have only one meaning - the capitalists have already prostrated themselves on the ground and are willing to offer the crown of ruling Southeast Asia to the Eastern power.
Faced with such an attractive position, the Chinese side did not make a clear response, but only warmly received the merchant's envoys, gave them gifts and sent them back. Although there is no definite news, the businessmen are not worried. This time they came well prepared and had a strategy in place long ago. They knew that Dongfang had a peculiar habit of declining three times and three times in such important events. They had to decline three times and be humble repeatedly before they were forced to accept this glorious crown. Before accepting it, they will most likely cry bitterly, bang their heads on the ground, and say things like "You have caused me so much suffering" and so on.
——This set of procedures is really confusing, but since everyone is willing to follow the process, then isn’t it okay for everyone to just cooperate?
The old king is dead, and the new king should be appointed; metabolism has been like this since ancient times.
·
By mid-October, the Spaniards, who had been struggling for more than half a year, finally could no longer hold on. Oversaturated firepower strikes destroyed commerce and greatly weakened the empire's finances; the powerful navy was damaged by more than half in the continuous battles, and not only was it unable to resist the increasingly sophisticated Chinese fleet, it was even difficult to maintain its advantage over the other powers that were eyeing it covetously; consecutive defeats made the empire lose face and its prestige collapse, and even the colonial natives who were originally docile and submissive gradually showed signs of viciousness.
Therefore, once the situation crossed a certain power node, sparks would appear everywhere on the vast imperial front. Within more than a month, terrible news came from all directions - attacks, battles, provocations, rebellions; the army suffered heavy losses and was unable to fight on a large scale. The treasury was nearly exhausted, and friendly bankers were unwilling to repay bonds; both human and material resources were on the verge of collapse.
The building is about to collapse and a single tree cannot support it. At this point, even a fool can hear the shaking of the pillars of the empire. On October 19, after receiving a military report of yet another defeat in the war against China, the Spanish Governor of the Philippines, Diego, screamed and cursed in his official residence, waving his cane to smash all the porcelain and crockery in the room, and pulled out a pistol to shoot at the carriage outside the window. He then knelt on the ground and cried bitterly, banged his head against the wall, and almost collapsed, chanting incantations that no one could understand. This went on for a full hour before he was forcibly carried out by his subordinates, and a skilled barber performed bloodletting therapy on him to calm his overly aggressive mood.
Finally, after releasing a whole pint of blood, Governor Diego calmed down. With a pale face and tears in his eyes, he agreed to his subordinates' sincere suggestions and promised to send envoys to seek peace with China.
"Go, go, don't worry about me!" He weakly recited the Italian Tansillo's poem: "Although the heart is broad, it cannot tolerate shame; although the heart is broad, it cannot tolerate shame!"
·
On October 25, news of the Spanish intention to seek peace was sent to the capital, immediately arousing unexpected ecstasy among the top court officials. The senior officials of the six ministries who received the intelligence from various channels were extremely excited. In addition to holding private banquets to celebrate, they visited the Cabinet and even the Ministry of Foreign Affairs under various excuses to congratulate the important officials who presided over the naval battle. After all, in addition to the national justice and the face of the court, many dignitaries followed suit and also had large investments in the Nanyang market. Now that the situation has turned around and they have made a fortune, how can they forget the people who dug the well when they drink the water?
By the afternoon of that day the glory of the cabinet's victory had reached its climax. Feixuan Zhenjun Wanshou Emperor, who had been hiding in the palace for a long time, made a rare statement and sent people to reward the officials on duty at the central government with nourishing bird's nests and medicinal food. It is said that these are delicacies directly taken from the emperor's royal meal, and their taste is extremely extraordinary.
Taking into account that the True Lord has been living in seclusion in the Forbidden City in recent years, the frequency of summoning the outer court has been reduced to once a month, and he has been cut off from news and his mind is quite unpredictable; such a direct and clear statement can be said to be extremely rare and is enough to greatly consolidate the position of the center. The cabinet therefore felt honored and accepted the gift respectfully, thanking the emperor for the favor and writing a letter of thanks, asking the eunuch to pass it on.
Of course, the special reward bestowed by the emperor must be enjoyed according to etiquette. The cabinet chief, Yan Fenyi, stood up first, took the bird's nest and bowed to the west, opened the jade cup and looked at the red blood bird's nest inside, but nodded and smiled at the prince of Duke Mu opposite him:
"I am able to enjoy the honor and glory I have today because of the blessing of the prince."
The prince hurriedly bowed in return and said he dared not, and the other cabinet members smiled. Everyone has been following the entire process for more than half a year, and of course they know the deep twists and turns of the Sino-Western naval war. It is hard to say about the specific planning strategies and deployment of troops, but the decision to open weapons to the public, which was the key move that ultimately determined the victory of the entire battlefield, was advocated by the Prince of Mu, who did his best to suppress the rest of the opposition from the central government and persuaded the hesitant Master Feixuan - that's right, even though the court was in a huge financial crisis in the South China Sea, Master Feixuan was still unwilling to release dangerous firearms to the public; it was the Prince who made a personal guarantee, guaranteeing that the weapons obtained by the merchants would always lag behind the military by two to three versions, and that the core technology would still be in the hands of the royal family and the court and would be safe; the emperor thought over and over again before finally writing down the edict reluctantly and agreeing to the request.
——In fact, even though the edict was issued reluctantly, Zhenjun still quickly regretted it and quickly sent people to ask for the imperial edict back, saying that it needed to be revised; but the prince was very quick to see the opportunity and immediately asked Zhang Taiyue to issue it to the upper and lower levels after getting the edict without any delay; the matter was done and there was no turning back, so the eunuchs sent from the palace to pursue the imperial edict had to return in disappointment and reluctantly accepted the matter.
There were many difficulties and obstacles, and many twists and turns; without Mu's all-out push, this astonishing move would never have been possible. Success depends on heaven, but planning is ultimately up to man. Now that the big move has taken effect and the victory has been decided in one fell swoop, we should all remember where our roots are and certainly not take away the credit for other people's achievements. Besides, the cabinet ministers are close to the gold and can make a lot of money from it. Considering their bright future prospects, they must show great affection to the Foreign Affairs Office and must not be negligent.
It's all about making money, it's not shameful.
·
After enjoying the emperor's reward, the cabinet continued to work, while the prince led the Foreign Affairs Office to discuss Southeast Asian affairs. According to the regulations of the imperial court, foreign wars should have been decided by the Ministry of War of the Cabinet together with the Imperial Household Department. However, after several naval wars, the power changed according to actual circumstances. Basic overseas affairs were now handled by the Office of Foreign Affairs, and the Ministry of War was merely a signature.
Compared with the conservative cabinet, meetings at the Foreign Affairs Office are much simpler. Everyone sorted out the important documents one by one, saying whatever came to mind without following a specific procedure. After checking the letters sent by various parties today, the prince did not mention the news about the Spaniards, but specifically asked Master Gao:
"I heard that Guangdong sent a message saying that merchants from Southeast Asia are actively showing goodwill?"
Gao Suqing was entrusted by Prince Yu to take charge of the customs. He had express channels in Southeast Asia and Tianzhu and was very well-informed, so he nodded immediately:
"Yes, many sea merchants have expressed their willingness to cut off ties with the Spanish, surrender to Guangdong, and pay taxes regularly as long as the imperial court can protect their business. Guangdong believes that they are still sincere."
The prince flipped through the documents and snorted:
"Sincerity? Just paying a few small coins, how can you call that sincerity! How did the Nanyang merchants serve the Spanish in the past? Have they forgotten? They only pay taxes but do nothing. How thoughtful of them!"
The colonial empire, the old overlord that has been able to occupy the main transportation routes and act tyrannically for decades, is not just satisfied with collecting a little protection fee. In fact, the Nanyang merchants not only had to pay tribute and taxes to the Spaniards, but even their daily trade was influenced by the colonial governors. This time when China and the West went to war, the Governor-General of the Philippines immediately issued an order to impose trade sanctions on Da'an; if it were not for the independent development of the entire firearms industry chain and the controllable upstream and downstream, Da'an might have been strangled by the foreigners.
When they were serving the Spaniards before, the merchants were so attentive and considerate that they even had to consider people’s faces when buying and selling goods. Now that they have to carefully seek favor from the Da’an court, they are only willing to pay a few coins, right?
Who are you fooling?
Of course, Da'an was generous, kind, and advocated free trade; even if it had the power to influence commerce, it would never abuse it; but as the saying goes, the court could choose not to use it, but the foreigners had to give it - apart from anything else, there was an opium trade in Southeast Asia at the time; no matter how magnanimous Da'an was, it could not just ignore this.
This sentence was so powerful that Master Gao could not say it anymore.
"If you are only willing to pay taxes and not bear other responsibilities, then you are still unwilling to obey." The prince concluded: "I guess you are taking chances and always think that we are new to maritime trade and lack control, so you can fool us as much as you want. Humph, it's true that 'people from afar are unwilling to obey'..."
Confucius said, if people from afar are dissatisfied, one should cultivate culture and virtue to win them over; of course, the prince of Duke Mu might not have such culture and virtue, so everyone could only remain silent. Only Yan Donglou, who was waiting on the side, spoke reluctantly:
"…Then, should we send a letter to Guangdong to directly reject the petitions of these foreign merchants?"
"Reject? Why should we reject?" The prince said, "No matter how you look at it, being willing to pay taxes to us is a gesture of goodwill. Since it is a gesture of goodwill, we cannot reject it rudely, otherwise it would be too rude. However, since the foreign merchants are still hoping for the best, we must help them to face the reality and deal with the current situation correctly. This is also something we have to do..."
He sighed, raised his head and looked at the young elder:
"How is the gold price in Nanyang recently?"
This sentence came out of nowhere, and the young cabinet elder was stunned for a moment before replying:
"About thirty-eight thousand coins, with some fluctuations."
“It’s really quite high.”
Why is the price of gold in Nanyang so high? Don’t you have any idea? The young minister was full of complaints, and only replied:
"Ups and downs are common. According to Ruwang, there are still many gold diggers coming from far away to try to get a piece of the pie."
"You're all thinking about chasing the ups and downs, and making another fortune, right?" The prince smiled. "It's not enough to make so much money, and you're still thinking about grabbing it all in one fell swoop, leaving nothing behind. The greed of speculators is really endless... Of course, greed or not is nothing, but since you want to make money in the market, you should always respect the forces that maintain the market. If you can't distinguish between the primary and the secondary, something bad will happen sooner or later."
"The prince is saying..."
"What I mean is," Mu said calmly, "if there is a rise, there must be a fall - the current price of gold has risen too high, right?"
·
On November 5, the Guangdong Provincial Government was ordered to issue a notice to respond to the merchants' request.
The main points of the announcement are as follows:
Recently, the government has received many letters from various places, and wise men from all over the country have given their opinions. They all say that Southeast Asia is in chaos and the people are displaced, and everyone is in a panic. The Governor's Office has inherited the trust of the Holy Lord and is responding to the expectations of the people. It is our job to shepherd the people on behalf of God and maintain order overseas. The head of the yamen read these documents one by one, and felt so ashamed and terrified that he felt embarrassed. The people are secular and uneasy, isn't it because the governor's office is not virtuous enough to pacify the people both inside and outside? Now that we cannot even stabilize our existing territories, how can we dare to accept allegiance from overseas? I hope that all gentlemen will not mention such things from now on, so as not to aggravate the sin of the local officials' shallow moral character!
——In short, the governor's office politely declined the businessman's request.
According to common sense, this was a gesture of courtesy from the government office. China is a great country, so we should behave in a measured way. We should not be so impatient and panicky, rushing at the smell of meat like a hungry ghost who hasn't eaten for three days. However, such a refusal also requires cooperation between the upper and lower levels. If no one persuades the governor to take the position after the refusal, the governor's office will be in limbo and will never be able to step down.
However, there is no need to worry about this issue. Two days after the announcement was made, a piece of gossip spread like wildfire and instantly spread throughout Southeast Asia - the Da'an court seemed to have softened its attitude and agreed to start peace talks with the Spaniards.
As soon as the news came out, the effect was immediate. Peace talks meant that the situation was stabilizing, and a stabilizing situation meant that the demand for gold was weakening. The price of gold, which had been pushed up by panic, immediately turned down and fell below 28,000 coins that day.
A rapid rise can suck the blood of investors, and a rapid fall has the same effect. On the morning of the day when the gold price plummeted, countless leaping figures were seen on the high-rise buildings and walls of Nanyang cities - these were gamblers who bought up gold at the last minute, greedily seeking huge profits; they had become rich overnight in the last round of wild growth, but what they gained would be lost in the end, and the market turned around rapidly overnight. The gamblers who survived the last round of reshuffle will finally repeat the mistakes of their predecessors this time.
After two rounds of shuffling, the only lucky ones left were at a loss and had no idea how to deal with this strange and inexplicable market. However, a very small number of well-informed capital tycoons are always smart. After quickly analyzing the situation, they make the most accurate judgment.
On November 25, the Nanyang merchants collectively wrote to the Guangdong Provincial Government again, with earnest words and clear meaning:
We are willing to obey your leadership and follow your instructions. We recognize no one else but you. Please follow the will of heaven and take the position quickly!
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