[Sorry, Zhao Hao's son's generation name is Shi, not Shi. This has been corrected.]

The sound of firecrackers outside was already making a mess. In the study room of Courtyard No. 9, Liu Xuesheng and Xu Kezheng were still crying to Master Zhao about the inhuman treatment suffered by the overseas Chinese in Luzon.

Zhao Hao listened very carefully, making the two believe that he could really empathize with the suffering of the overseas Chinese.

Little Luzon is Manila. Although it has superior geographical conditions, the natives of Southeast Asia are too incompetent and supplies on the island are very scarce. Therefore, both the natives and the Spaniards are dependent on Chinese products.

Especially since the development of the galleon trade from Mexico to Luzon, the 400-ton Spanish galleons brought shiploads of South American silver and purchased silk, raw silk, porcelain, lacquerware, spices and other popular goods in the maritime trade at high prices.

In the eyes of Ming Dynasty overseas Chinese merchants, the "Eastern Red Hair" "are mostly minted in lace silver coins, with no products, and the ships that come to Guangdong only carry silver." In other words, these wealthy people who are so poor that they only have money left are much more generous than the "Western Red Hair". They never pick and choose the goods they sell to Manila, and they don't even bargain. They accept all the goods, and most importantly, they pay in cash!

The Portuguese merchants were much more cunning. They put all their purchases on credit and would not settle until the end of the year. Sometimes when their ship sank or was attacked by pirates, they would simply refuse to pay. They were so shameless!

As a result, Manila quickly became a rising international trade center, comparable to Malacca on the west coast of the South China Sea. Overseas merchants and overseas Chinese naturally flocked to the city, and in just a few years the population increased from more than 2,000 to more than 10,000.

There are more than a thousand Spanish talents in Luzon, only one-tenth of the Chinese overseas.

This caused fear among the Spanish, because they knew very well that Luzon was at the doorstep of the Ming Empire, but it was 30,000 miles away from their own "Vice-Governorship of New Spain"...

In fact, in another period of time, it was not until thirty years later that the Spaniards finally began large-scale anti-Chinese massacres.

However, the course of history has been changed so much by Zhao Hao, this big moth, that it has basically lost its reference value.

Liu Xuesheng told Zhao Hao that at first the Spanish mainly exploited the overseas Chinese because they needed a large number of craftsmen and merchants to maintain the operation of the colonial cities.

But since the fifth year of Longqing, when the Jiangnan Group's fleet wiped out the Portuguese Macau fleet, everything has changed.

The Spanish Governor of the Philippines, Sandro, was very shocked. Although he always believed that Portugal was not worthy of being compared with his own country, he still admired the Portuguese navy.

The Portuguese navy was able to fight the Spanish Invincible Armada with its superior tactics and mobility despite being at an absolute disadvantage in numbers, but was annihilated by a private fleet of the Ming Empire! This naturally made Sander extremely worried - how powerful was the regular army of the Ming Dynasty?

When conquering the Sultanate of Luzon and many tribes on the Luzon Islands, the Spaniards heard more than once from those who died at their hands curse that the heavenly soldiers of the Ming Dynasty would soon come and drive all of them, the red-haired devils, into hell!

No wonder high hopes were placed on the Ming army, it turns out they were really powerful... Eh, I seem to have confused myself?

The Spaniards then began to worry about the increasing number of overseas Chinese, whose number was dozens of times their own, and they were afraid that these people would become the internal supporters of the Ming Dynasty during the attack.

So they decided to take a two-pronged approach: on the one hand, they captured slaves from the island countries in Southeast Asia to build castles for defense; on the other hand, they started to reduce the number of Chinese in Manila. They planned to repatriate half of the overseas Chinese next year to test the reaction of the Ming Dynasty...

If the Ming Dynasty reacts strongly, they will restrain themselves; if there is no reaction, they will show their executioner's nature - kill everyone! Just like they have done many times in America.

This is the simplest and most efficient way to permanently occupy a piece of territory...

Zhao Hao felt that he had an obligation to stop the massacre that was brought forward by himself thirty years. After listening to the two people's complaints, he said in a deep voice: "Don't worry, this young master, the South China Sea Group, and even the Ming Dynasty will not sit idly by and watch their people being bullied by outsiders!"

"That's great..." Liu Xuesheng and Xu Kezheng immediately kowtowed and expressed their gratitude profusely.

"But God helps those who help themselves, so you have to do your best to save yourselves!" Zhao Hao asked the two to stand up, and said to Liu Xuesheng in a deep voice: "Go back now and help the Luzon Trading House and organize the overseas Chinese there. If necessary, you can get a batch of weapons through the trading house, so that if the Spaniards suddenly take action, you will not be helpless."

"Yes, thank you, sir." Liu Xuesheng agreed hurriedly. In fact, he came back this time to buy arms for the overseas Chinese in Luzon. However, his uncle told him that the group's regulations were very strict. Without Mr. Zhao's approval, not a single bird gun could be leaked out.

"As for Brother Xu, how about you come with me to Beijing after the New Year?" Zhao Hao turned to Xu Kezheng with a smile again.

"Go... go to Beijing?" Xu Kezheng asked with some stammering: "What for?"

"Of course, we need the court's approval to rebuild the Luzon Governor's Office to protect the overseas Chinese in Southeast Asia!" Young Master Zhao stood up and said without disguising his intentions: "How can we allow the red-haired devils to run wild in the world of our Ming Dynasty? Luzon is ours, and no one is allowed to interfere!"

"Is that so..." Xu Kezheng then understood why Master Zhao had gone to so much trouble to find him and come to the country. It turned out that he wanted to annex Luzon!

"You are right, young master. Luzon was originally the territory of our Ming Dynasty. It was only after the maritime ban that it was ruled by the natives of Southeast Asia." Liu Zixing also smiled and echoed, "Now that the Luzon Sultanate has been destroyed by the red-haired devils, it can be seen that its fate has come to an end. So it is the right time to let the Luzon Islands return to the territory of the Ming Dynasty. It can also be regarded as revenge for them..."

"Yes." After being persuaded by the two men, Xu Ke finally nodded and said, "I will follow your arrangements, sir."

"Haha, okay, you can just enjoy the New Year first. After the New Year, we'll take the first ship to Beijing." Zhao Hao smiled with satisfaction, raised his glass and said, "Come on, I wish everyone a happy New Year!"

"Happy New Year, young master." Everyone quickly raised their glasses and clinked them with Zhao Hao.

~~

After New Year's Eve, on the first day of the first lunar month, the visitors from Lingnan left Xishan Island and prepared to go to Suzhou and Jinling for a stroll. It was rare to spend the New Year in Jiangnan, so they had to experience the New Year atmosphere that was different from Lingnan.

Zhao Hao stayed on Xishan Island obediently. First, the children were still young and it was not easy to make too much trouble. Second, Qiaoqiao was about to give birth, so it was better to stay still than to move.

Sure enough, on the sixth day of the Lunar New Year, she was making wontons for the babies when she suddenly started to have stomachache. The maids and servants around her were very experienced and quickly helped Madam Fang to the delivery room that had been prepared earlier. While making preparations in an orderly manner, they invited Doctor Tan to come over.

Zhao Hao, accompanied by Jiang Xueying and Ma Xianglan, had gone to the Coast Guard Sanatorium not far from the Guest House to visit the Coast Guard officers who had retired due to injuries and illnesses. Upon hearing the news, the three of them immediately ended their trip and hurried back.

Before the carriage came to a complete stop, Sister Ma jumped out first and rushed into the delivery room at a speed that was inconsistent with her usual elegant and calm demeanor.

Zhao Hao helped Jiang Xueying get out of the car. They looked at each other and understood why Sister Ma was so worried.

Because Qiaoqiao said that if this baby is a boy, he will be given to Sister Ma as her son...

Watching Sister Ma's back disappearing behind the curtain, Master Zhao prayed silently in his heart, hoping that mother and child would be safe.

"Don't worry, brother. This is Sister Qiaoqiao's first child. The first time is easier than the second time. Besides, we have Doctor Tan to take care of her. She will be fine." Xueying gently held his hand and comforted him softly.

"I think it's enough for each of you to have at most a pair of children." Zhao Hao said with a wry smile, "Otherwise, giving birth to a child will be like going through the gates of hell, and I will be heartbroken to death."

This was also the reason why he didn't like children. Even with the protection of Jiangnan Hospital, it was still too dangerous for women to give birth in this era. He was not happy at all that his beloved wife had to sacrifice her life to give birth to a child.

In fact, he secretly thought that it would be good to be a DINK with Sister Ma. Unfortunately, his wives all scoffed at his idea and were still very enthusiastic about having children. Especially the silly woman Qiaoqiao, who not only wanted to give birth to a child for herself, but also for her sisters...

He was feeling confused and didn't know how much time had passed before he heard a cry coming from the delivery room.

"Congratulations, young master. Mother and child are safe!" The female relatives knew what the young master cared about most, and hurried out to announce the good news.

"Okay, there's a reward, a big reward." Zhao Hao breathed a sigh of relief and said to Li Mingyue who was accompanying him with a wry smile: "I can't be happy anymore when I think you have to go through this again."

"Brother, don't let Sister Qiaoqiao hear what you said, otherwise she will be sad." Li Mingyue stroked her belly and smiled, "You men don't understand this kind of happiness."

"Okay, I really don't understand." Zhao Hao adjusted his mood, pulled up the corners of his mouth, maintained a bright smile, and walked into the delivery room.

In the delivery room, Qiaoqiao had been helped by the maids to change into a white mid-length dress, and was lying on the bed with a pale face.

Zhao Hao's fourth son had also been bathed and wrapped in swaddling clothes. Ma Xianglan knelt beside the bed, staring at the child infatuatedly while holding Qiaoqiao's hand, tears streaming down her face.

Hearing the footsteps, Qiaoqiao opened her eyes and tried hard to force a smile at him.

Zhao Hao also responded with a heartfelt smile. He walked forward, held Qiaoqiao's other hand, kissed her forehead, and said, "Thank you for your hard work."

"It's okay." Qiaoqiao said softly, "I feel it's much easier than last time. Sister Xianglan, don't cry. I didn't send the child to someone else's home. Isn't he still a member of our Zhao family?"

"No matter what you say, I owe you my whole life." Ma Xianglan cried even harder.

Zhao Hao had no choice but to free up one hand and gently wipe away Sister Ma's tears. He wanted to comfort her, but he didn't know where to start. His eyes turned red and he started to cry.

Seeing them crying, Qiaoqiao started crying too.

It was not until the fourth child of the Zhao family in the cradle began to cry loudly that Sister Ma quickly calmed herself down, carefully picked up the little life, and gave it to the wet nurse to feed.

Zhao Hao naturally avoided it. Before leaving, Sister Ma asked him the name of his child.

Zhao Hao smiled and replied, "His grandfather had already given him a name. His name is Zhao Shili!"

p.s. I’ll write one more update.