unclear

Chapter 1213 Acting cheaply
"Captain Settle's inference is very accurate. I also think it is more likely to be pirates. The public security in the Viceroyalty of Peru is indeed not very good. The Governor can only control a few large cities and ports. Armed riots often occur in other areas.

The coastal waters are not peaceful either, with pirate activities everywhere from Guayaquil Port to Lima. However, most of these pirates are local fishermen, with few people and small boats, usually only operating in the near sea, posing little threat to the routes often taken by large sailing ships, and rarely visiting such distant waters.

But there are exceptions, such as the Spanish pirates, who are familiar with the operation and navigation of large sailing ships and specialize in looting high-value goods. They may have to hide in the archipelago waters for supplies and rest for some reason.

Don't get me wrong, there are no pirate warehouses or farms on the archipelago. As for fresh water and sea turtles, it is said that the meat of those giant sea turtles is similar to beef. If you catch a few and put them on the boat, you can slaughter them at any time, which is equivalent to canned food alive."

Captain Sun gave a high evaluation of Settle's inquiry, not out of polite flattery, but a well-reasoned analysis. He also briefly introduced the local customs and practices, mainly related to this operation.

"Spanish pirates? They are robbing their own people!" But Settle became more and more confused as he listened. It was not a turtle but a human.

If the enslaved Incas and blacks had risen up in rebellion and had to go to sea to kill and rob in order to survive, this would be understandable. But shouldn't the Spanish come all the way from Europe to act tyrannically? Why would they risk their lives to go to sea to rob? This is too unbelievable.

"Well... it's a long story and hard to understand, but it's true. The Spanish court established two viceroyalties in America, New Spain and Peru, with the viceroy as the highest official.

But the governor does not have the final say, he only represents the King of Spain. In addition, there are the Catholic Church representing the Pope, the governor representing the army, the town council representing the people, and the independent judicial institution, the Tribunal of Inquisition.

The powers of these departments are highly overlapping, which means that everyone can control everyone, but no one can control anyone else. Apart from the high degree of agreement on taxation, almost nothing can be implemented smoothly.

In addition, the Spaniards also established a large number of kingdoms, such as Castile, New Toledo, New Andalucia and New León, most of which were managed by nobles, and their specific subordinate relationship with the viceroyalty has not been clarified to this day.

It is precisely because of such a chaotic court structure with unclear responsibilities that the government orders cannot be implemented smoothly. For example, the standards for how much tax to collect are different in different places. As long as the share to be paid to the King of Spain is paid in full, local officials can collect as much as they want, and almost no one can stop them.

As a result, the people below suffered. They had grievances but nowhere to tell them, so they had no choice but to take up arms and rebel. If they fought hard, they might still be able to survive, but if they didn't, there would be no way to survive.

Over the past year or so, the Naval Statistics Department has bribed many local people, including low-level Spanish officials, and learned from them a truth that had never been thought of before.

In the Spanish-ruled areas, in addition to the black slaves bought and sold from Africa and the local Inca slaves, there were also many slaves from Europe. They were called indentured servants, commonly known as white slaves.

Most of these white slaves were from the lower classes of Europe. They could not live a normal life in their hometowns for various reasons, so they had to go far away to find a way to survive. However, they could not afford the ship fare from Europe to the New World and could only borrow from loan sharks.

How to pay back? It's very simple, just like what Your Majesty did, pay back with labor. Sign a contract with the creditor and do free labor for a few years to repay the loan. After paying off the loan, you will be free again and receive a salary.

But the creditors in Europe were much more stingy than your Majesty. They didn’t give the slaves enough food on a daily basis, made them live in a cowshed, beat and scolded them at any time, and refused to provide medical treatment when they were sick. Many white slaves were tortured to death before the end of their contracts.

Over time, some white slaves had no choice but to take risks and rise up. They were more educated than the Incas and more familiar with the sea, so most of them went to sea as pirates. At the same time, they hated the creditors and government officials who had ruined their families, so they specifically went against these people. If the Spanish government officials fell into their hands, unless they could pay a large ransom, most of them would die! "

Settle only asked one question, but Captain Sun spoke for several minutes, and it sounded like his speech had been edited, but he basically answered the question clearly.

"I wonder which batch Captain Sun belongs to?" Settle listened carefully, clasped his fists when he was done, and established a relationship with him.

"Sun Xingzhe, the 22nd issue of the Haihu Division."

"Senior Sun is more familiar with the local customs and practices here. I have an idea. Please help me figure it out and see if it is feasible." After listening to Captain Sun's self-introduction, Setel immediately changed his tone. He no longer talked about his position and title, but began to ask for advice as a junior.

"Captain Sai, you're welcome. We are all carrying out the emperor's orders. No matter how deep our personal relationship is, as long as it is related to the combat mission, I will tell you everything I know. Please speak!" Unfortunately, Captain Sun didn't buy it, but he didn't refuse either.

"If there really are pirates in the Galapagos Islands, can we find a way to contact them and use them?" Settle looked at Tao Daxiang and Ma Lun, and seeing that they had no objection, he immediately expressed his thoughts.

"Well... I have no right to agree to it. I need to report to the General Staff." Captain Sun was stunned when he heard this. He also looked at the two highest-ranking generals, but also saw no expression from them. After pondering for a moment, he shook his head helplessly.

"I can understand... This time, following His Majesty on the Western Expedition has taught me a lot. When facing a strong enemy, His Majesty did not just attack with force, but instead put winning the heart first.

There were many Arab tribal armed forces in the Ottoman army. When they learned that the Ming army would only attack the Ottomans and would not pursue their past, they immediately turned from enemies into allies. Not only did they provide supplies, camels and guides, they also helped to find out the movements of the Ottoman army, saving a lot of trouble.

At the gates of Damascus, His Majesty encountered the Ottoman and European coalition forces again. After defeating them, he treated them differently and had a meeting with a surrendered Austrian field marshal. He persuaded him with reason and benefits, and poached the Europeans from the Ottoman side to become allies in attacking the Ottoman Empire.

On the way back to Manila Port by boat, I asked His Majesty for the secret of this operation, and finally got two words: people's hearts.

Whether Arabs or Europeans, they cooperated with the Ottomans out of their own interests. As long as Your Majesty offers more benefits, they have no reason not to fight back.

If His Majesty were here, he would have done the same. It is true that many of the white slave pirates were Spanish, but it is also true that they hated the Spanish government, at least the government in the New World. The Ming army came to attack the Spanish government in the New World. In this respect, the two sides were allies, so why not take advantage of it?

According to military law, this matter should indeed be reported. But in an emergency, as the commander of the decoy fleet, His Majesty and the General Staff have granted me the power to act at my own discretion. If anything goes wrong, I will be solely responsible. However, how to communicate with the white slaves will require Senior Sun's help. "

At this point, we can see what makes Settle different: he is bold and willing to take responsibility for his decisions. This is quite similar to Hong Tao. Once he has figured out something, he will try it no matter what others say, even if it costs him a price.

(End of this chapter)