Alfaro's Chinese is indeed not very good, especially since he learned Chinese from Guangdong businessmen, while Jinghua's interpreter and Huang Zhiting communicated in Mandarin, which made it even harder for him to understand.
It wasn't until Huang Zhiting said coldly "I would rather start a war" that he realized something was wrong from her tone and the murderous atmosphere in the scene.
He did not get up, but quickly turned to the interpreter and asked: "Mr. Zhou, is there something wrong? I feel like there is some misunderstanding?"
Of course, "Mr. Zhou" did not dare to relay it easily, so he could only cough dryly and said: "Vice-General Huang will not accept your Castilian etiquette. You must kneel down and worship according to the Ming Dynasty's custom, otherwise... there will be a war."
The muscles on Alfaro's face twitched, but he didn't hesitate for long and quickly asked: "Is it just in my own name?"
Zhou Tongyi obviously did not understand the difference and asked inexplicably: "What else?"
"Oh, that's easy to handle, that's easy to handle." Alfaro was obviously relieved and asked: "What is Daming's kneeling ceremony like? Kneel down on both knees and crawl over to kiss her insteps?"
"No, no, no!" Zhou Tongyi was shocked, his face turned pale with fright, and he quickly said: "Kneel down from a distance, knock your head on the ground and don't move. If I don't let you get up, just keep prostrate. Never do anything to her." Any reckless act of intimacy!"
Alfaro is indeed a devout missionary. In order to successfully preach, he is not only willing to sacrifice his own life, but also to sacrifice things such as glory. He immediately said: "No problem, Mr. Zhou, please convey my sincere apology. I have no intention of offending, and will immediately act in accordance with Ming etiquette."
After he finished speaking, he didn't hesitate. He knelt down and knelt down, knelt his head on the ground, and said something in a respectful tone.
Huang Zhiting's expression remained unchanged and she looked towards the interpreter. Zhou Tongyi had already explained, saying that the missionary did not understand Ming Dynasty etiquette very well, but he had corrected him. He was willing to start over again according to Ming Dynasty etiquette, and sincerely apologized to the governor. .
"It's common sense that the other country has a long road and poor etiquette. I don't need to pursue it this time." Huang Zhiting's face softened, she glanced at Alfaro who was kneeling in front of him, and said calmly: "Since he is here as an envoy, and Let him get up and answer."
Zhou Tongyi personally "directed" Alfaro's actions this time, asking him to kowtow once more before standing up.
After Alfaro stood up, the expression on his face was quite calm, and it seemed that he did not feel insulted. The people present in the Jinghua fleet and Huang Zhiting's close confidants now had a better impression of this "monk" and said to themselves: Although this guy doesn't know etiquette, he seems to be someone who can educate.
In fact, they don't know that there is a misunderstanding here.
Alfaro is not the Spanish ambassador. Although he has a high social status even in Spain, in his philosophy, as long as he does not kneel on behalf of the kingdom, there is no problem. Because from the previous introduction, he subconsciously thought highly of Huang Zhiting's status in the Ming Dynasty.
In Europe, a person with a personal territory of more than 10,000 square kilometers and an army of more than 20,000 people is definitely not something that a count can handle. Almost all of them are at the level of duke or above. In particular, the "20,000 standing army" was too astonishing. Many monarchs of the principalities did not have such a strong military force, so in his opinion, Huang Zhiting should be at least equivalent to a duchess.
It is only natural to pay tribute to a powerful duchess in a personal name. Is there any problem? No.
So that's how the misunderstanding came about.
Then he discovered that although this "Her Majesty the Duchess" was strict about etiquette and had to follow her rules, she was still very polite - because she got up immediately.
People on Daming's side also felt that Alfaro's performance was okay, because not only did he strictly follow Zhou Tongyi's instructions to kowtow in return and then stand up, he even bowed slightly after standing up.
Now, the etiquette issues have been resolved, and it’s time to get down to business.
"Ask him why he came here." Huang Zhiting didn't know much about "diplomacy", so she followed the military's standards for receiving enemy envoys.
Zhou Tongyi then quoted Huang Zhiting's words and asked, "I would like to ask you why you came to see her."
Alfaro said: "Dear Countess..."
Zhou Tongyi interrupted: "It's Dutong!"
Alfaro didn't understand, but he still adhered to the reminder of the first batch of missionaries who came to China to "do as the Romans do." He nodded and said, "Okay, okay, as you wish."
He paused slightly and continued: "Dear Lady Metropolitan, although you should already know my identity, out of politeness, I still need to introduce myself: My name is Pedro de Alfaro , my father and elder brother are the Counts of Rioja in the Kingdom of Castile. I am the second son in the family, so I have served God since I was a child and joined the Franciscans.
With the gift of the Holy See and the permission of the King, I was first made a priest of the Province of San Jose (Note: the San Jose here is not San Jose in California, but the San Jose that would become the capital of Costa Rica in Central America), and then Acting President of the Province of Manila. .
The reason why I am here today is that I originally set out from Manila with the treasure fleet of the Kingdom of Castile. I was planning to go to Malacca to discuss with the local bishop the matters regarding the missionary work of the Kingdom of Castile and the Kingdom of Portugal in the East. However, I met your fleet on the way.
Baroness... Your Excellency, Lady Metropolitan, please know that I am here to convey goodwill to you and your fleet in order to avoid misunderstandings between two powerful fleets that are meeting at sea for the first time. "
Translator Zhou Tong finally translated such a long statement to Huang Zhiting. Huang Zhiting did not answer much after listening, but simply asked: "The way you express your goodwill is to attack the rearguard formation of my fleet?"
"Ah, that was a misunderstanding, Your Excellency, Your Majesty the Metropolitan." After listening to the translation, Alfaro immediately defended: "What happened was originally like this: the Treasure Fleet discovered that part of your fleet has been following us, and the Fleet Commander thought that this approach It was against international practice, so we sent a formation equal to your fleet's rear guard formation to inquire. However, there seemed to be a misunderstanding between the two sides due to different maritime etiquette, which led to an unnecessary and tragic battle.
In this battle, our fleet had the tonnage advantage, while your fleet had the firepower advantage, but in the end it was our fleet that first realized that this was an avoidable war, and therefore took the lead in withdrawing from the battle area and returning to the big fleet. until your arrival. "
"The report I heard is somewhat different from what you said, but I don't want to worry about why the war started." Huang Zhiting asked lightly: "I just want to know whether you will choose war or peace next."
Alfaro was stunned when he heard this, and thought to himself: Father Luo Mingjian and others say that the Chinese are cautious and tactful in their language. Why is the Baroness so straightforward and even aggressive? It seems that she is extremely confident in the force she possesses.
But now the form is stronger than the person, Alfaro must have a clear reply, so he can only say: "Your Excellency, the female capital, the Kingdom of Castile and myself have a clear understanding of the power of the Ming Empire. We have no idea about the power of the Ming Empire." Malice, and equally no malice towards you and your fleet.
I have just said that the previous battle was a misunderstanding... Moreover, judging from the results of the battle, our losses may be greater. I personally went to Jinggang with Father Luo Mingjian, and had the honor to visit the local governor (translation issue) Mr. Gao Mengnan and the deputy governor Mr. Gao Wuqin. They are real gentlemen, and our exchanges were very pleasant.
At that time, on behalf of the Kingdom of Castile and the Governor-General of the Philippines, I reached a number of oral agreements with them, including that after the Philippine territory was stabilized, the Kingdom of Castile would send a fleet to visit Golden Port and would also send more merchant ships. Go to Jinggang to carry out trade and so on. I believe this is something that will help both parties understand and cooperate with each other.
In view of the bright prospects for cooperation between the two parties, both the Commander of the Treasure Fleet, Sir Diego, and I believe that today’s battle should not be complicated or politicized. We sincerely hope that this unexpected incident can be resolved peacefully and amicably, and provide a better future for both parties. Cooperation lays the foundation of friendship. "
After hearing this, Huang Zhiting did not answer immediately. After a while, she said: "You just said that this time you were going to Malacca to discuss some missionary matters with the local bishop?"
"Yes, Your Excellency."
"Very good. Since you keep talking about cooperation, now I happen to have a cooperation to discuss with you. I hope you can show the goodwill you mentioned."
"I feel very honored, Your Excellency." Alfaro said happily: "I wonder what kind of cooperation it is? Oh, please allow me to explain in advance: When the Treasure Fleet was in Manila, it had already conducted a huge cooperation with the Quanzhou Squadron of the Nanyang Fleet of Jinghua Company. For commercial cooperation, our ships are now almost full of all kinds of goods from your country, and we can no longer trade.”
Huang Zhiting shook her head slightly and said, "Trade matters are not my business. What I want to say is another matter."
"I am all ears, Your Excellency."
"This fleet is about to pass through the Strait of Malacca. I heard that the king of your country is also the king of Portugal...So I hope that you or your fleet commander can persuade the local Portuguese officials in Malacca not to hinder our actions, and finally It would be nice if we could stop at Malacca City for supplies, can you do that?"
Alfaro had already thought about why such a large fleet from Jinghua appeared here, so now he was not very surprised, so he just asked: "Your Excellency, with all due respect, could you ask me about the destination of your fleet?" ?”
Huang Zhiting was silent for a moment, nodded and said: "Okay, we are going to Myanmar."
Alfaro was slightly surprised. He didn't know about the Battle of Ming-Myanmar yet. He couldn't help but frowned. He hesitated and asked: "Well...I wonder if your fleet is going to bring trade or war to Myanmar?"
"Does this have anything to do with you?"
"It really has nothing to do with me." Alfaro smiled bitterly: "But it may have something to do with the Portuguese - to be precise, Portugal has great interests in Myanmar."
Gao Jingshi once briefly mentioned this to her, but Gao Jingshi did not pay special attention to the specific situation of Portugal in Myanmar in his previous life. He only knew that there seemed to be Portuguese mercenaries in Myanmar, so he only mentioned a few words. Huang Zhiting knew Of course it was very limited, so he asked: "What does it matter?"
Alfaro then told what he knew.
It turns out that as early as the sixth year of Hongzhi (1493), shortly after Columbus discovered the New World, Pope Alexander VI delineated the dividing line for the two maritime powers at that time, Castile and Portugal, to carve up the world. It was known in history as " Papal Meridian”. So the Spanish went west to America, and the Portuguese went east around the Cape of Good Hope in Africa and advanced all the way to Asia.
Portugal moved quickly. In 1510, the Portuguese captured the Indian port of Goa; in 1511, they captured Malacca, an important maritime trade town, thus occupying the maritime artery leading to the Ming Dynasty.
In 1513, the first Portuguese to reach Ming Dynasty landed in Guangzhou. After that, his compatriots came in large numbers and stayed in Macau without wanting to leave. Finally, after a tentative war, Portugal realized that it could not force Ming to force Ming Dynasty, so it had to use other roundabout methods to request "temporary residence" there. Trade considerations - and certainly bribery considerations - allowed it.
The Portuguese entered Myanmar earlier than they entered the Ming Dynasty. In the Arakan Kingdom on the west coast of Myanmar and the Mon Kingdom on the east coast, there have been Portuguese traders and soldiers for a long time.
During the Toungoo dynasty's unification of Myanmar, the Burmese army was surprised to find that when they faced off against the Mon warriors, there were foreign soldiers wearing bloomers and beards among the Mon troops. They used advanced weapons to help the Mon soldiers. The tribesmen defended the city.
However, the outnumbered Bamar army finally broke through the enemy's defenses, and learned from the Mon prisoners that these foreigners were Portuguese mercenaries. At that time, King Toungoo treated these foreigners with courtesy and persuaded them to join his army. The Portuguese even became his military advisers.
The Portuguese not only brought military knowledge to the Taungoo court, but also brought something that the Burmese had never enjoyed before - wine. Soon, the king indulged in wine and debauchery, and his behavior became eccentric. He teased the minister's wife, told dirty jokes in the court, and had someone beheaded if he didn't get his way. His behavior increasingly aroused the disgust of the people of the country. Soon, on a journey to find the white elephant, the king was killed by his guards - this king was Mang Yinglong's wife and uncle, Mang Ruiti.
Mang Yinglong, who succeeded to the throne, was the first generation of "Mang Chief" in the Ming Dynasty. He was completely different from the previous king. Although he also admired the Portuguese, he only needed their military capabilities and stayed away from their fine wines.
Mang Yinglong selected a group of warriors he liked from among the captured Portuguese, "issued" a Burmese wife to each of them, and formed a "cutting in the door" foreign gun team. Under his command, this team was fierce and invincible, and made great contributions to the unification and expansion that followed.
Arakan (later Myanmar's Rakhine State) in the west also made good use of the Portuguese and became a wealthy kingdom. It not only resisted the annexation of the Toungoo Dynasty, but also expanded its territory outwards, from the Ganges River to The Irrawaddy River encompasses the entire southwestern coastal region of Myanmar and part of present-day Bangladesh.
Arakan's wealth came mainly from maritime robberies and the use of looted goods to trade with the interior. The king of Arakan opened trade to the Portuguese fleet, established a treaty port, and used the port as a transit point for Europeans to trade slaves. He recruited Portuguese free gunmen and established a quite powerful naval fleet to wreak havoc in the Strait of Malacca. Loot other countries' ships.
Among the robbery troops of the King of Arakan, there was an adventurer from Lisbon named Filipe de Britoe Nicote. This man was born in a poor family. He jumped on a ship sailing to South Africa at a young age, dreaming of getting rid of poverty.
However, he did not find any good opportunities in South Africa. Instead, he moved to Arakan and finally joined the kingdom's navy. By then, he had grown from a small crew member to a very experienced sailor and warrior. Soon, he was promoted to captain by the king and led the soldiers of Arakan to roam the Indian Ocean.
Because of his experience in Arakan, he has always coveted Myanmar, hoping that one day he could find an opportunity to go to Myanmar to establish his own colonial territory and gain domestic recognition and appoint him as the local governor.
Portugal, or the Governor-General of Goa, is very supportive of his adventurous move and has provided him with a large amount of resources.
In other words, Portugal now regards Myanmar as its own dish, and is just waiting for an opportunity to take advantage of it.
After hearing this, Huang Zhiting understood what Alfaro's wry smile meant.
If Jinghua's expedition was to conquer Burma, then it would be equivalent to grabbing Portugal's favorite prey. In fact, it became a situation where two tigers were competing for food.
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