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Chapter 1356 The overwhelming wealth

After seeing off the giant whale Mukuhara, Settle picked up the helmsman's binoculars and peered out to sea for a while, then his expression turned even more grim.

Wu Bing's flagship is still nowhere to be seen, and even if it does arrive, it won't rashly plunge into the port. Warships rarely dock during wartime; they usually anchor outside the harbor so they can set sail at any time and are less vulnerable to surprise attacks.

If people and small amounts of cargo need to board or disembark, they will be ferried by small boat, which will take about two hours to row from the anchorage to the dock. However, messages can be relayed faster than by small boat, and the specific situation has already been explained to the lookout.

Wu Bing did not return alone; a small fleet followed behind his flagship. These were not warships of the Ming Dynasty navy, but four Spanish galleons, three of which had a rather unique appearance and origin.

“It really could be a silver transport ship! It’s just blind luck… When luck comes, no one can stop it!” After hearing the lookout’s explanation, Settle stood with his hands on his hips, staring at the sea for a long time without saying a word.

He couldn't figure it out no matter how much he calculated, and his deputy ended up stealing the biggest credit. What do you call that? That's fate! Who knows why the Spanish had to send silver ships at this particular time?

"Hey! Commander Sai, no, no... Let's talk this out. Help me out first, I'm injured. Really, I'm really injured. If I were another meter away, we'd be separated by life and death!"

However, Wu Bing did not follow naval custom of anchoring. Instead of entering the port, he brazenly drove a two-masted sailing ship into the port area and stopped not far from the Settle flagship. Under the watchful eyes of everyone, he boarded a small boat and was ferried across.

He had barely climbed halfway onto the flagship's railing when he discovered Settle standing there, not only refusing to lend a hand but also resting one hand on his pistol at his waist. He quickly dropped his joking demeanor and put on a grinning, sympathetic expression.

"...Call the medics!"

Setter wasn't really going to draw his gun; even if Wu Bing had violated military regulations, the ship's staff would need to discuss the matter before determining his guilt, and he had no authority to do so on his own. When he saw that there was indeed blood on the other man's left sleeve, he dropped his airs and turned to yell at the boatswain.

"Oh, it's no trouble at all. It's just a minor injury. I was bumped by the rigging and it's already been bandaged. It's just a superficial wound, nothing serious. Come on, the people in the cabin said this is a bit serious. I've been thinking about it for a while and I'm still worried, so I came to you for advice."

Even though he couldn't use his left arm, Wu Bing still nimbly climbed onto the ship's side, called to the boatswain, and pulled the bewildered Settle into the captain's cabin below the sterncastle. He muttered to himself as he walked, looking very anxious.

"Is it really a silver transport ship?" After entering the captain's cabin and closing the door, Settle shook off the sleeve that was being pulled and asked, feigning composure.

"Of course! I wouldn't dare joke like that even if you gave me ten lives! They seized three ships at once, and the silver coins alone amounted to over 11.2 million pesos, along with six chests of gold and three chests of jewels. I'm not very good at judging the purity and price of these two types, but they're definitely worth a fortune!"

Even after entering the captain's cabin, Wu Bing still couldn't calm his excited heart. He pulled out a handful of shiny, golden, green, and purple metals and stones from his pocket, and sweat beaded on his nose.

"...This must be the tax paid by the colonies to the King of Spain. How heavy is 10 marks?"

The silver coins minted by the Viceroyalty of Peru were far inferior in design precision to those minted by the Ming Dynasty, failing to pique Setter's interest. The emeralds and amethysts, though beautifully translucent, also failed to capture the man's attention. However, a rectangular, palm-sized, heavy, golden-yellow metal piece caused Setter's pupils to involuntarily contract and dilate, and even his breathing to quicken.

“That’s right, it’s the May Day tax paid by the Governor-General’s District to the King. I asked the clerk on the silver-carrying ship carefully, and he said the purity is about 92%, and the weight is equivalent to 2300 grams of silver in the Ming Dynasty.”

In addition, several boxes of irregularly shaped gold bars were found at the port. The Spanish called them "wax bars," and they were privately minted. In order to evade the king's May Day tax, they were cast into various shapes and weights, and were prepared to be wrapped in beeswax and wood and transported back to their homeland.

"Don't worry, I've had everything registered and sealed according to quantity and weight, with witnesses from the Statistics Department and the Army signing off. It's all under special guard in the ship's hold; not a single silver coin will be missing!"

Although he had been surrounded by silver coins, gold bars, and gems for several days, Wu Bing still looked on with admiration. Fortunately, he hadn't forgotten his responsibilities and had done everything he was supposed to do; unless multiple people cheated together, no one could take anything away.

"Damn it... move it further away, so I don't get annoyed. Why did you bring all this here? Explain yourself clearly, this has nothing to do with me, and I won't sign anything as collateral!"

Governor Du has departed for Baylor, and even if he were to, he wouldn't vouch for it. You just stay on the ship all day; you'll report back when the Pearl Harbor cargo ships arrive!

"Wait a minute, what if you end up in Lima? Hurry up, set sail before dinner is served and take the gold and silver back. I'll pretend you were never here and won't pursue the matter of desertion!"

Unfortunately, no matter how beautiful or valuable they were, none of them belonged to him. Setter immediately lost interest, took a big bite out of the gold bar, looked at the obvious teeth marks, and angrily threw it into Wu Bing's arms, while simultaneously issuing an order to leave.

"No, no, no, we've been friends for ages. If you don't help, no one else will. I'm short-handed, and it's not safe to guard so many valuables. I'll just leave it all to you, and we'll both get the credit."

Actually, it wasn't exactly a lie. When you sent me south to attack Lima, you had the intention of finding silver. Now that you've found it, you naturally have to come back to report. After all, you're the deputy commander-in-chief!

If Wu Bing could leave, he wouldn't have come. His purpose in coming here was to push these three ships and the valuables in the cabins onto Settle. It wasn't that he wanted to frame anyone, but rather that it was too torturous to be stuck with so much money all day long, unable to eat or sleep properly.

"...I just don't understand why you would share the credit that you've already earned with someone else? If it were me, I would keep things clear no matter how good the relationship is. Isn't it too much of a waste to lie about this?"

Some people were eager to share the credit with him, but Setter was reluctant to accept it, mainly because he couldn't understand why Wu Bing did it this way.

While it's not impossible for superiors to suppress subordinates in the navy, the relationship between these two individuals isn't a standard superior-subordinate one. They're merely temporarily assigned to the same operational unit, and after the war, they'll go their separate ways, possibly never having the chance to cooperate again. There's no need for any preamble.

Even if Wu Bing also wanted to stay and develop his career in the Americas, he shouldn't have come to him seeking favor. The governor didn't have personnel authority; the decision of who to send or not to send rested with the Naval Staff, unless the emperor personally appointed him.
(End of this chapter)