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Chapter 50 Bargaining
"I'm very busy. The Jesuit adults always have many things to entrust me to handle." Lando twirled his mustache in an extraordinary manner - this was specially left to enhance his masculinity.
"Really?" said the black slave girl, "Are you interested in doing a small thing for my master in your busy schedule?"
"Who is your master?"
"Here," the black slave girl picked up the money bag, "do you think my answer is satisfactory?"
Look at this heavy purse, which contains at least three hundred Spanish pesos. This was a great temptation for the cash-strapped Lando. After the nightmare, his enthusiasm for defecting to Lingao had dropped a lot. With this money, I can at least live in Macau for a while.
"It would be better if you have two masters." Lando said, "Okay, tell me what's going on."
"You are a good soldier."
"good."
"You served Aragones," said the black woman.
"Yes. Can't serve him since he went bankrupt. What a shame," Lando said. This Spanish playboy has been afraid to return to Manila since he lost his ship. He hangs out in Macau all day long. His condition is worse than his own. It is unlikely that this person will come to recruit him.
"You have been to Lingao."
Lando suddenly became alert: Not many people in Macau knew about his participation in Aragones' adventure to attack Lingao. Aragones kept the secret strictly when he set sail. After he fled back to Macau in defeat, he even kept secret about such a humiliating defeat. As for the sailors on the ship, they were either from Europe or Malays recruited from various islands in the Southeast Asia. People only know how to sail a boat, but they don’t know where to go. The few people who knew either died in the night attack that night or in the battle with Zheng Zhilong.
As for myself, I have never publicized that I participated in this operation with the ship.
How did this black woman know that she had been to Lingao?
"Does this have anything to do with you?"
"That's okay, but my master wants to know."
Your master must know about this. Lando thought, who is this person? What is he trying to do?
"It can't be said that I have been there," Lando said cautiously, "I have entered the port of Lingao, that's all."
"You also saved Aragones' life in the South China Sea."
"Saving him was a matter of course."
"Are you willing to go to Lingao again?"
"It depends on what you are doing." Lando realized that this man knew what happened to him on the Countess of Scarborough.
"It's certainly not an easy thing to ask a capable person like you."
"Okay. You little nigger girl, tell me quickly: What on earth does your master want me to do?" Lando became impatient, and he said with an arrogant expression - he is a distinguished lord here, and This ugly black woman has so much to say.
There was a malicious look in the black woman's slanted yellow eyes, but she continued: "My master, she, he wants you to go to Lingao, no matter what your identity is - to find out how their fortress is laid out. , how far their artillery can hit, what are the weaknesses of their armaments, everything about the situation of the Australians defending on high ground."
"Humph, your master must be plotting against Lingao." Lando said.
The other party remained silent.
"There are many people here who have been to Lingao, why are they looking for me?" Lando felt strange. There are boats from Macau to Lingao every week for people selling goods in Lingao.
"This is the master's order." said the black slave girl. "He said that you know the Australians better than anyone here."
Lando was stunned by these words. What did he mean? He could explain them any way, but when he said them at this time, it seemed to hit his mark.
“Knows more than anyone here”
For a moment, he even thought that he had been exposed, and he looked very discouraged as he looked like a great lord.
Lando's first reaction was to refuse, but at this time he did not dare to act hastily. He vaguely felt that the other party seemed to know something.
He became cautious: "This task is difficult."
"Four hundred Spanish pesos."
"I want eight hundred."
"Six hundred. Here are three hundred." The black woman took out a money bag and said, "You will give me another three hundred when you come back."
"Deal." Six hundred pesos was a good deal.
"How long do you need"
"A month."
"I'll be waiting for you here in a month."
"Okay." Lando then said to the stall owner, "Here, give me a bowl of milk made from your beans. It's too dark here."
Half an hour later, the black slave girl reported to Li Siya everything about her meeting with He Landu.
"He really asked for six hundred." Li Siya commented boredly.
More than a year has passed since she escaped from Bopu in a panic by changing boats. The schemer in Macau and the female pirate on the South China Sea continue to play her tricks and adventures. Sometimes I work for someone, sometimes I advise someone. Nor would he refuse to commit a lucrative maritime robbery when he had a good opportunity.
The more chaotic the situation at sea, the better her business. Read the full article. Even her flip-flopping stance gave her many opportunities that others didn't have. All parties hope to use her as a channel to establish relations and talk to a certain party. Many people are also keen on the vertical and horizontal trick in the South China Sea.
As a pirate and a mercenary on the sea, Li Siya actually became a famous figure for a while. She appeared in Manila, Batavia, Guangzhou, and Taimuang Port.
She was a guest of various sealords, governors, commanders, and businessmen. Everyone asked her to do things for them, and paid her large sums of money without hesitation, or gave her the privilege of transporting goods. , but everyone is secretly wary of her.
However, Li Siya knew that her good days of having both sides would not last long.
After Zheng Zhilong became a Chinese official, he was able to use the power of the Ming government to continuously obtain supplies of ships and people from the mainland. Xiong Wencan even directly sponsored cannons and ships to him. The goods he trafficked did not need to be purchased secretly, but were purchased openly and then transported to the Zhongzuo Office without any hindrance. In contrast, Kuiqi's situation was much worse. Although he had many more men and ships than Zheng Zhilong at the beginning, it was difficult to replenish them, and his maritime trade business was constantly hit by Zheng Zhilong. Although Liu Xiang on the Guangdong sea He is at odds with Zheng Zhilong, but he is not Li Kuiqi's ally either. After Zhu Cailao was destroyed, most of the remaining power was absorbed by Zheng Zhilong, and the rest was absorbed by Liu Xiang and Lingao. Liu Xiang's power surged, and he was eager to eliminate an opponent so that his power could reach a higher level and become China's The well-deserved overlord of the southeastern coast.
Li Siya estimated that Zheng Zhilong has a high probability of winning, not only because he has the support of the government, but also because his foundation is much deeper than Liu Xiang. Whether it is the Portuguese or the people, they have deep influence. Once Li Kuiqi is destroyed, Liu Xiang will be destroyed in an instant.
After Zheng Zhilong eliminates all his opponents, he will forcibly establish a new order at sea here. Not to mention that the Portuguese are helpless, even the Dutch may not be his opponent.
Therefore, Li Siya's recent activities have begun to be biased towards serving Zheng Zhilong's potential opponents - she still dare not openly offend Zheng Zhilong. To be precise, for the Dutch.
She had just met with Savanchi Gonzalez, the personal representative of Deccarpentier, the governor of the Dutch East India Company in Batavia. This man was a true Spaniard, and had been a Spanish officer in the past. After being dishonorably discharged and destitute, he had no choice but to try his luck in Manila. After no luck in Manila, he simply went to the Dutch side and became an officer in the East India Company.
The Dutch East India Company welcomes all European scum who are willing to serve it. The mortality rate of whites in the East Indies is very high, and the governor needs a large number of soldiers, officers, and business personnel, so basically no one is turned away. However, for Catholics like the Spaniards, serving the Dutch was in danger of losing their souls - the Dutch allowed religion at home, but in the East Indies, all company personnel had to participate in Protestant religious ceremonies, otherwise they would be rebellious and could be rebelled at any time. Possible to be hanged - the East India Company's laws were notoriously harsh.
Savanchi González had no choice but to risk his soul in the service of the Dutch. An experienced former Spanish artillery officer in the East India Company's army, he served on several expeditions, including the unsuccessful expedition to the Pescadores and Pescadores a few years earlier. That time, he commanded three 12-pound cannons on the hastily built fort, facing the densely packed Junk ships on the sea and the steady stream of Chinese soldiers coming to land.
After the failure of the expedition to the Pescador Islands, he followed the fleet to Dangang and built a castle there. Savanchi Gonzalez served as the local fort artillery commander for the first stage. During this period, we had several exchanges of fire with incoming Chinese pirates and local indigenous people. Survived battles and epidemics.
He gradually became trusted. When the governor needed someone to enter the Portuguese colony, Spanish Savanchi González became a suitable candidate. A real Spaniard is obviously safer than a Dutchman sneaking into Macau - Macau has the Jesuits, the mortal enemies of the Dutch. What's more, the former Spanish artillery officer also played a big role in the next move planned by the governor.
Savanchi Gonzalez was tall and stocky. In his early years, he lost one eye in a battle with the Turks and became one-eyed. He wears an eyepatch and his scars outline the image of a "full-fledged soldier."
Savanchi Gonzalez came to Macau as an unemployed veteran and soon met Li Siya's agent in the pub. Then he visited the legendary female pirate and handed over the governor's letter.
In the letter, the Governor asked Li Siya to provide information about Lingao, including the true situation of the so-called "Australians" - there are many legends about them, and some goods have also been transferred to various parts of the East Indies and India. But so far, no one has seen Australian long-distance trading ships appear on the sea.
Your Excellency the Governor is very interested in knowing: What are the so-called Australians? Are they white? Are Australians interested in trade? Are the castles built in Lingao for trade with China? If so, what is their current trade situation? What is the attitude of the Chinese government towards them? What is the condition of the Australian iron ships and artillery? Is their performance exaggerated? How many Australians are there in Lingao? Are there any blacks, Malays, people, Europeans? and the Chinese serve them, are these people equipped with weapons, how many of them are firearms, and what are the performance of the firearms?
There are a total of one hundred and twenty-five questions in the letter.
The more Li Siya read, the more suspicious she became. If the previous questions were general intelligence, the subsequent questions about the Australian army, weapons, and the port conditions and fortification conditions at Lingao were all military in nature.
What do the Dutch want to know about this? Li Siya thought, do they want to take action against the Australians? The geographical environment of Lingao is not the best, but it is much closer to the coast of China than Taiwan, and it is on the way from the East Indies to mainland China. On the transportation line. The Dutch occupied this place
"These questions are worth at least five thousand dong." Li Siya said to the visitor after reading the letter.
"This is one thousand guilders." Gonzalez generously took out a leather bag. "After you answer all the questions, I will give you two thousand guilders."
"I want five thousand dong - the cost is extra." Li Siya said, "This work is very difficult, and I will have to spend a lot of money myself."
"I only have this power." Savage Gonzalez said, "But the Governor said: If your information is accurate, he can pay more."
"What if it's not accurate?" Li Siya smiled and took a sip of wine.
"This is beyond my ability to understand." Gonzalez bowed.
"I need time to answer your question. It will take about one or two months." Li Siya said, "Should you go back or wait here for my reply?"
"Of course it's here." Although Mr. Gonzalez was not very religious, he felt uncomfortable being forced to participate in Protestant prayers every day. Of course it would be great to be able to temporarily escape from this kind of religious hard labor - and Macau's climate and food are much better than those in the East Indies.
"You can stay at the Crown Hotel. The food is very good, and there are some women you may be interested in." Li Siya said, taking out a money bag from the drawer: "This is three hundred rials."
After Savanchi Gonzalez resigned, she asked someone to call Li Chun, also known as Li Huamei. She had just returned from Goa and was resting.
"I'm afraid your business won't work out." Li Siya said to her nurse, "The Dutch are plotting against Lingao."
"Cheese eaters are asking for trouble." Li Huamei sat on the cushions - this action was a bit presumptuous for her status. But the relationship between them is more of a partnership than a master-servant relationship.
Unlike her young lady who focused more on intrigues and intrigues, Li Huamei preferred to do straightforward things, whether it was business or robbery at sea.
"I prefer the Australians, although they are a bit stupid." Li Huamei chuckled, "They all call themselves captains even if they can't climb the mast."
But it doesn't matter to Li Siya whether she feels good or bad. The key is the issue of interests.
According to Li Huamei, the Dutch alone could not destroy the Australians at Lingao. Li Huamei had seen Australian artillery fire, and seen their defense system and iron ships. It is impossible for Bobu Port to be captured from the front - when Bobu Port did not have heavy artillery, the joint assault of the Spaniards and Liu Xiang was completely defeated, not to mention that now they have turned Bobu into a fortress.
"Just what I saw: There are two forts in Bopu that are almost impossible to capture." Li Huamei marked on the map, "One is on the old beacon tower. There is a heavy cannon on it, which can hit almost one league. Outside. Then there is a similar cannon on the front deck of their holy ship."
Li Siya looked at the lines of fire of the artillery on the map - the coverage area of these two guns was too wide. Any ship would be within range as soon as it approached Bopu. The Australian artillery was simply incredible.
But the most terrifying thing is not the cannon. Li Siya knew that the firing speed of heavy artillery was very slow. A 12-pound artillery fire could fire almost once a minute. According to the size of the cannons mentioned by Li Huamei, the firing interval between the two cannons must be at least ten minutes.
And it is difficult to adjust the aiming of large artillery. If you are not afraid of losses, use large ships to attract firepower within range, and small ships rush into the harbor at full speed - it is best to use rowboats and rush in on the tide.
The key is that the Australians also have a very obvious advantage in small artillery. In particular, some artillery pieces that fire cone shells are far superior to all European artillery in terms of range, penetration, and firing speed. If she hadn't personally experienced the power of artillery fire on the Countess of Scarborough - at that time they had neither fortresses, heavy artillery, nor even iron ships, but they beat the Spanish galleons to the point where they were unable to fight back. ——She would never believe that there were such powerful artillery fire in this world.
"It is completely impossible to attack or bombard these two places - the Holy Ship is taller than the largest Galenic ship. The hull is so iron that the sailors cannot climb on it, and it is impossible to lose it by setting fire to it. Combat capability. As for the old beacon tower, it is located deep on the coast, and you have to travel a long distance after landing to reach its feet."
Li Huamei continued to mark the map: "These two places are just the places I saw. There must be other forts or defense facilities in the places I didn't see. They also have several key support points in depth, all of which are Fortress-like.",.
