Hale lifted his hood and took off his priestly garb. [Read full text] He picked up the Delinger pistol and played with it carefully. He quickly opened the hinged barrel, studied the chamber, closed the chamber, and pulled the hammer back, again and again. Pull the trigger and listen carefully for the soft click of the firing pin as it pops out under the ratchet control.
The Baroness saw a note in the wooden box, which was scrawled by Weiss in a hurry. She picked it up and read aloud: "Rose of Manila, saved by Baroness Charlo. Presented by Vincenzo Lando Vananova, a devout soldier."
"A man will face a duel in a few hours, but he still has the energy to compensate for the damage caused to your husband's armor." Hale finished studying the pistol and began to play with the bullets that came with the gun, pea-sized spherical projectiles, and paper The shell is integrated with the flash cap. "A musket," he muttered, "a flashy thing, but still much more useful than your husband's armor."
"At least it's suitable for hunting parrots and sparrows in farmland to prevent them from eating corn."
"Don't mention your corn anymore," Lucrezia stretched, not caring that her seductive breasts were trembling in the rising water. "I have already written to the steward of the farm to tell you that besides planting lilacs With the nutmeg fields, half of the other land is planted with corn and the other half with sweet potatoes. As for the development of the new sugar cane plantation, I also asked them to start preparations. I don't care about Charlo's armor. It is now nothing more than a display. There is nothing outside. Don’t think about that now,”
"Did you get the goods I asked you to buy for me in Macau in my letter?"
"Don't mention that you need Australian products - most of them are out of stock. Except for dried rice noodles and spirits, which are all available, soap is only a third of the quantity. Other items are even worse."
"Where are the instruments?"
"It's just a part. Some they won't sell. But my servants were very persuasive - they got it anyway."
"You are truly my lucky star."
"Stop talking about your sweet flattery - I really don't understand, what do you want these weird things for? You have to buy so much rice and noodles. Isn't it possible that the rice from the Philippines can't fill the bellies of your men?" ?”
"In the service of His Majesty the King and His Excellency the Governor, of course."
The Baroness had a look of disapproval on her face. As a Portuguese noblewoman. She had little respect for the King of Spain and Portugal. Not to mention the hostility between businessmen from both countries competing in Southeast Asia.
"This way I can better serve the Baroness." Hale said, kissing her breasts on the shoulder.
The widow smiled brightly and whispered: "You are really a devil." She said, "Tell me, who can win the duel? Who do you prefer, Vananova or Sanavria?"
"Is this a bet?" Hale put down the pistol and bullets and closed the wooden box. He showed a smile that was rare for others to see, "What's the bet?"
"A gold coin," Lucrezia responded casually. Her voice suddenly became cold: "I bet the count kills that liar, because he deserves to die. From Goa to Macau, people everywhere tell me that Sanabria used forged promissory notes from the Seville Chamber of Commerce. They were defrauded of their wealth by invalid Genoese bonds. My father's friends in Lisbon have already filed a complaint in Madrid. But the outcome will certainly not be what they want."
Lucrezia gave no further reason for her anxiety. Just like few people know the true source of her large wealth, it is not because her husband received a title in the Philippines and bought a large area of land to grow spices; nor is it because she has several purchase and sale certificates for Manila galleons, which can legally Every year a shipment of Eastern goods is shipped to Acapulco for sale. In fact, with her Portuguese origin and relationship with the Jesuits, the Mercy Church she presided over in Manila was generally supported by Portuguese businessmen in the Far East; and the interest rates she lent on loans were relatively low, attracting many locals in just a few years. Spanish merchants and East Indian maritime merchants who converted to Catholicism. This will of course arouse the jealousy and dissatisfaction of other charitable foundation groups in Manila, especially the "Brothers of Mercy", the earliest local charitable foundation group. Sanafria is the only non-clergy director in this group. In terms of robbing the Baroness of her business, Don Esteban Sanabria had done a lot behind the scenes.
"Bet a pistol?" Hale took out a gold coin from his arms. Put it in Lucrezia's hands. With just a glance, she noticed the difference between this coin: its size, weight and texture were the same as those of other pistols, and the texture was indeed gold. But its shape is surprisingly regular, its edges are smooth, and there are no burrs that are common in coins. The front and back of the gold coin are smoother and smoother than ordinary coins, and even the patterns are exceptionally clear.
"It's so exquisite! Did you make it?"
"The first batch of placer gold sent from Baguio was cast into some blanks. According to the Governor's instructions, I made several for him in the workshop using a rolling mill and a screw forging press for making brass parts. The German who worked for me It took the clockmaker a week to carve out the impression. Coincidentally, just yesterday, His Royal Highness the Governor personally went to the workshop to supervise this work. He saw that within the time that the Mexican coin craftsmen had minted a coin, our The machine had already forged 20 pieces, so I was very surprised."
"The Governor intends to open a mint in Manila? Can the King and the East India Council agree?" The Baroness threw away the pistol gold coin and picked out a bottle of roses from a pile of large and small bottles on the table. Oil, indicating Hale to apply it on her shoulders and neck.
"My dear protector," he obeyed and whispered in her ear: "This plan depends on you and your friends to promote it. You will silence those colonial judges and officials who are getting in the way. . I assure you that not only the Governor, but Archbishop Lorenzo also approved of this plan. Both His Majesty the King, the Council of the East Indiamen, and the Vice-President of New Spain expressed their appreciation for the good thing of no longer having to send financial aid to the Philippines. Everyone will be happy to see it work.”
Due to lack of coinage and Spanish laziness, the Philippine colony had no mint. The currency needed for the colonies, precious metal currency was shipped from New Spain, and base metal currency was supplied by Chinese merchants. Lack of products and no currency of its own made the colonial authorities in Manila "exploited" economically - the silver coins shipped from New Spain flowed into the pockets of Chinese merchants, and the Philippines has been in a state of deflation. Down.
"The mood of the King of Spain and his Chancellor of Finance has nothing to do with me..."
"That's true if you're a mint contractor."
"You are crazy, this kind of benefit cannot fall into my hands-"
"I guarantee that you will get the authorization from the Governor - think about the profits. If you can undertake it, we haven't counted the other benefits." His fingers slid over the delicate skin.
The rich widow let out a low gasp. The difference between the currency's value and its value represented a large profit, a temptation the Baroness could not resist at any cost.
"How much money do I have to invest in this business?"
According to the traditional practice of many countries in medieval society, the state did not pay any fees for coinage and adopted an "all-inclusive" model. The contractor only needed to deliver sufficient quality and quantity of currency in accordance with the contract, and the rest was responsible for its own profits and losses. To become a contractor of the mint, you need to invest a large amount of start-up capital out of your own pocket, including building houses, purchasing equipment, hiring workers, purchasing currency materials and fuel, etc.
"Twelve thousand pesos, not including currency."
"It's really not cheap." The Baroness fell into deep thought. Although the amount was within her affordability, it still required some planning to raise such a large amount of cash in the short term. In the early stage, she organized the Baguio Company to search for gold mining. As one of the major shareholders, exploration and mining cost a lot of money, leaving the Baroness financially stretched.
The Baroness has always been Hale's biggest benefactor. It is precisely because of the generosity of this passionate and wealthy widow that his career can advance so smoothly: even after he became a legend in the colony, he proposed Baguio The expedition plan was still questioned - except for the governor who provided a small team of soldiers and two ships in exchange for one-fifth of the profits, the whole of Manila was laughing at his plan as "whimsical". This venture was only possible thanks to the Baroness's funding.
“If everything goes well, you’ll get your entire investment back in the first year.”
"And for the Governor and his friends?"
"It all counts."
"You are really a devil," the lady's voice was full of affection. "Do you know how much money I have spent on you since you came to Manila? You asked me to invest in building a water-powered mill, then a sugar mill, and then to mine Gold, now you want me to plant corn and sweet potatoes and act as a minting contractor..."
“It’s worth every time, isn’t it?”
Hale's fingers were rough and nimble, and his vigorous massage and rubbing left flushing marks on the Baroness's fair skin. As his hands went over her shoulders and went deeper, Lucrezia's breathing became increasingly heavier. "What else?" She struggled to keep her head clear.
"There is also a second thing. Please introduce me to Count Vananova. I hope to meet him. If he can survive the duel - I am very confident about this. As for the third thing, that is - "Haier suddenly bent down and carried the mistress out of the bathtub. Lucrezia let out a moan-like cry, tightly hooked her arms around the man's neck, and let him carry her towards the big bed at the other end of the bedroom. (To be continued...)
