I am Emperor Wanli

Chapter 750

The first mate explained sheepishly, "In our Ming Dynasty, the emperor is a dragon, a true dragon emperor."

Leon suddenly realized and was about to ask a few more questions when he saw the first mate turned around and disappeared.

We were about to dock, and he was the first mate, and he was very busy.

Marcelo asked curiously, "Leon, what was the first mate talking about just now?"

"Tells the story of this port, saying that their emperor is the incarnation of a dragon."

"The incarnation of the dragon? Why would the people of the Ming Dynasty regard their supreme emperor as a dragon? What an evil monster!"

"My Lord Marquis, different civilizations have different beliefs. In the eyes of the Ming people, the dragon is supreme and is the god that dominates everything."

Leon said meaningfully, "Mr. Marquis, there is an old saying in Ming country, when in Rome, do as the Romans do."

Marcelo nodded thoughtfully. "Yes, we should do as the Romans do."

The Luxi docked at the pier, set up the gangplank, and a border officer boarded the ship to check the documents. After the inspection, the captain said to Leon and Marcelo: "Gentlemen, you can go around the port area. Please remember that our ship will leave at nine o'clock tomorrow morning. I hope you will not delay the sailing date."

"Thank you Captain."

Leon expressed his gratitude, hurried ashore with his adjutant Condorcet, found a carriage, and headed straight to the restaurant in the port area, where the news was the best.

The carriage brought the two men to a six-story building, which was magnificent and splendid.

"My dear guests, this is the largest restaurant in the port area. It is definitely the right place to ask for information here."

Leon and Kondo got out of the carriage and looked up at the plaque hanging on the third floor. There were three big characters written in the style of flying dragons and dancing phoenixes: "Xunxiang Tower".

As I walked into the hall, a wave of heat hit me.

"You idiot, here you are!"

"Fuck your mother, where would I be if I wasn't here?"

"Long time no see, I missed you so much."

"Pah, no taboos, good luck. Sailinmu, I'm going out to sea tomorrow, and you're telling me to die here."

"Shit, the East Japanese maids are in urgent need. Those East Japanese daimyo can't squeeze anyone out anymore, but I still have hundreds of orders to deliver."

"Damn it! What's so good about the maids from East Japan? Are Persia and India better?

I tell you, Persian and Ottoman merchants have teamed up to select two beauties, saying they are the daughters of fallen princes and nobles, with beautiful faces and fragrances, and they want to present them to the emperor."

"Is there still this?"

"The emperor has been on the throne for five years, and there has been no addition to the harem since the time he became the crown prince. The ministers below feel bad about this."

"That's right. The emperor is so restrained, how can the people below have the nerve to take in more concubines? But it's not easy to enter the harem."

"So Persian and Ottoman merchants are following Yang Jinshui's path"

"Wouldn't that give the Imperial Concubine an additional rival? Can you agree to that?"

"You don't understand. It's because the imperial concubine is the imperial concubine, so..."

"Everyone, everyone!" The shopkeeper said with a smile, "You can discuss and give opinions on state affairs and world affairs, but it is better for you to say less about the affairs in the Western Garden. If you let it slip, it will be disrespectful and bring disaster upon yourself."

After everyone listened quietly, there was silence for more than ten seconds, and then the noise returned to normal.

"Old Wang, is there really gold in Genzhou and Xunzhou?"

"It is said that there is gold in the north, silver in the south, and gold, silver and jewels in the middle."

"I heard that it was occupied by the Spanish a long time ago?"

"Nonsense, that land was occupied by the remnants of the Shang Dynasty thousands of years ago, and it was the Spanish who bullied them. The remnants of the Shang Dynasty, the descendants of Yan and Huang, share the same ancestry. Can we just watch them get bullied?"

"Hit the shovel! Beat his mother!"

"Old Li, I heard that there's a guy called Oros in the west who dares to challenge us?"

"It's also called the Principality of Moscow. It's so poor and so arrogant!"

"We must punish him and teach him how powerful the Horse King is! Tomorrow I will buy a Nanjing Football League lottery ticket and add a few lead bullets for our soldiers on the Western Expedition."

"Then you might as well smoke two more packs of Red Sun cigarettes."

"Hongri cigarettes are good to smoke, but I really can't afford them."

Various local dialects, noisy and endless, poured into Leon's ears from all directions, containing a lot of information that made him very excited.

Poor Leon's brain, due to the language barrier, was very slow in processing all the information that poured in, and his mind was almost boiling.

In the end, Leon gave up. The information was too complex, the dialects were too different, and his brain was too weak to process it all.

"Hello, shopkeeper!"

When the shopkeeper saw Leon, he smiled and bowed and said, "Hello, sir. Are you Portuguese?"

"Yes, I am an envoy from Portugal."

"Hey, your Mandarin is really authentic, even more authentic than those Cantonese people who lost the street."

The shopkeeper was not frightened by Leon's "official identity", but his words became more friendly.

"You are too polite, boss. I want to ask you about someone."

"Who?"

"I am also a Portuguese. Later, I became a naturalized citizen of your country and joined your navy. I work under General Yu. My last name is He Sai, and my courtesy name is Fengxian."

"Lieutenant Colonel He Fengxian!"

Leon asked in surprise: “Does the shopkeeper know him?”

"Lieutenant Colonel He is a frequent visitor here, of course he knows him."

"Then can you tell me where he lives?"

"No need to tell."

"Ah, why?"

"He is in this restaurant now."

"Here?" Leon couldn't believe it.

"Yes, I am having a drink and dinner with some friends in the private room on the third floor. Envoy, I will take you there."

"Okay, thank you, shopkeeper."

Leon and Condorcet followed the shopkeeper up to the third floor, walked along the left corridor, and stopped at the door of a private room.

Leon glanced at it and saw a small sign hanging on the door, marking the name of the private room, three words, "Dongting Lake". The door of the private room was not closed, but half closed, and a loud voice came from inside.

"Captain Wu, Captain Zheng, and Deputy Commander Yang, you are being transferred to Sanbao County this time. From now on, you are all soldiers of Chen Dushi and comrades.

This time, I, He, was fortunate enough to be entrusted by Admiral Liang of the Right Battalion of the South China Sea Fleet to host a banquet for you in Xiangjiang Port. In the future, our Right Battalion will cooperate sincerely with the Shenwu Army and the Wuxiang Army to make new achievements. "

Leon immediately recognized that the man with the loudest voice was the Jose he was looking for.

The shopkeeper knocked on the door first, then pushed it open, and a wave of heat rushed out. A dozen people were sitting around a large round table, all wearing short-sleeved shirts and shorts, and some were wearing a pair of bamboo slippers.

The people sitting around heard the sound and looked over. The one standing in the middle, gesticulating and talking, was none other than José. He turned his head, his eyes skipped over the shopkeeper, and saw Leon and Condorcet.

He couldn't believe it at first, then his eyes turned red, he pushed the chair away, stumbled over, pushed the shopkeeper away, and hugged Leon.

Leon felt like he was hugged by a bear and suddenly felt suffocated, but he was soon surrounded by an inexplicable sense of intimacy and heard Jose's soft sobs.

He couldn't help but stretch out his right hand and gently pat Jose on the back.

José suddenly let go of Leon, wiped his eyes, turned around and said to everyone with a smile: "Everyone, this is my friend from my hometown. I can't help myself for a moment, please don't be offended."

Everyone stood up and answered cheerfully.

"Lao He, what you said is true! How could we be surprised by your true feelings?"

"that is!"

"Lao He, what are you doing standing there? Call your fellow villagers in to drink with you."

Jose laughed loudly and said to the shopkeeper, "Shopkeeper, give me two more hard dishes. They must be hard and expensive! And two pots of Dongtingchun. Oh, and three packs of Furong cigarettes. Tobacco and alcohol go hand in hand."

"Okay!" the shopkeeper replied with a smile.

Jose took Leon and Condorcet into the private room and introduced them to the people inside: "This is Leon, my senior and former boss. This is Condorcet, my former comrade and Leon's adjutant.

Back then, the three of us were all taken prisoner by Marshal Yu. Haha!"

After saying this, Jose burst into laughter, as if being Yu Dayou's captive was not a shameful thing, but a blessing.

Everyone laughed together and didn't think anything of it.

"Leon, Condorcet, let me introduce you. This is Wu Dafei, the commander of the 11th Infantry Regiment of the Shenwu Army; this is Liang Youguo, the commander of the 10th Infantry Regiment of the Wuxiang Army; and this is Yang Piandao, the deputy commander of the 10th Infantry Regiment of the Wuxiang Army.

This is Wan Nianzi, deputy director of the Political Work Department of the Right Battalion of the Nanhai Navy; this is Yang Shoushan, head of the Second Section of the Political Work Department of the Nanhai Navy Command; and Yang Kaifu, commander of the 29th Marine Regiment.
This is Chen Guoliang, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Nanhai Navy Command, my immediate superior. This is Xiao Runing, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Logistics Department of the Nanhai Navy Command."

Xiao Runing was in his forties, not tall, and fat. He laughed like the Maitreya Buddha. He smiled and replied, "I am also the sucker who paid the bill tonight."

"God of Wealth!"

Everyone laughed and talked.

"In the north there is the God of Wealth Yang, and in the south there is the God of Wealth Xiao."

"We rely on the mountains for food, the sea for food, and the God of Wealth for food all over the world."

Leon was a little confused. Jose's introduction made him understand that those present included the Ming Dynasty's Army, Navy, and Marine Corps. The "Right Battalion of the South China Sea Navy" that he always mentioned should be the main force that defeated him and drove him out of Malacca and Goa.

In my impression, the Right Battalion of the South China Sea Navy is a naval fleet with strict training, strict discipline, and very fierce combat. I never expected that the officers of this fleet would sit at the wine table, laughing and joking, with no distinction between superiors and subordinates, only the friendship of comrades.

Were he and the Portuguese fleet defeated by these incompetent officers?

Leon smiled and sat down with Condorcet.

Slowly, the banquet returned to normal.

It was obvious that the two sides began to drink fiercely.

The right camp of the South China Sea Navy is the host, and the Shenwu and Wuxiang armies are the guests. The side says that the other side came from the southwest fairyland, and they are all heavy drinkers; this side says that the other side are from all over the seven seas, and they can drink a lot.

They all have only one goal, which is to get the other person drunk.

The Marines smiled and remained neutral. The officers of the South China Sea Navy Command occasionally tried to smooth things over, but in fact they were still taking sides, secretly helping the Navy and pouring wine into the Army's mouths.

As they toasted each other and Jose introduced things softly, Leon figured out some of the situation.

The 11th Infantry Regiment of the Shenwu Army was reorganized from the Zhenxiang soldiers, and the 9th Infantry Regiment of the Wuxiang Army was reorganized from the Bozhou and Sinan Miao soldiers. Both are elite divisions of the Miao people in the southwest.

Following Chen Lin, he defeated local "warlords" such as the Xu Yongshe clan and the Shuixi An clan, and made many military achievements.

At the end of last year, Chen Lin was transferred to Sam Poh County by the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty and took office as the commander-in-chief of the Pagan Regional Command, in charge of the attack on the east, south and west of the Pagan Toungoo Kingdom.

After learning about the situation, Chen Lin asked the emperor for permission to transfer the 11th Infantry Regiment of the Shenwu Army and the 9th Infantry Regiment of the Wuxiang Army, which had rich experience in jungle and mountain warfare, to join the Pagan Regional Command.

The request was quickly approved. The main forces of the two infantry regiments were sailing down the Yangtze River, loading at Wusong Port and transporting all the way to Malacca Port.

Jose also told Leon that according to the latest decree of the Ming Cabinet, Malacca Port was changed to Sam Po Port and the Malacca Strait was changed to Sam Po Strait.

Wu Dafei, Liang Youguo and Yang Piandao traveled by land, heading south directly from Hunan, first arriving at Xiangjiang Port, and contacted the South China Sea Navy Commander on behalf of the two infantry regiments to discuss preliminary communication work such as the sea transportation of the main troops and subsequent coordinated operations.

"Leon, our South China Sea Navy Right Battalion, also known as the South China Sea Second Fleet, has been assigned to the Pagan Dusi. We will cooperate with them in the future, so today we will host a banquet for them."

Leon looked at Jose, whose face was beaming with emotion.

"Jose, you're having a good time in Ming Country!"

"It was a very pleasant life. No one here said I was a shameful illegitimate child, and there were no hypocrites from the Vatican watching me. I could eat and drink whatever I wanted."

Jose said this in high spirits, he turned his head and pressed Leon's shoulders, looking happy.

“Leon, I got married the year before last, in the third year of Wanli. County Magistrate Song found a matchmaker for me. A cousin from his clan had been a widow for three years and had a little boy.

After I got married, I settled down in Xiangjiang Island. My wife is very gentle and virtuous. She gave birth to a big fat boy for me last year.

Leon looked at Jose with a complicated expression, "You don't plan to go back to Portugal?"

"I didn't plan to go back before, but now I've let it go. If there's a chance, I still want to go back." Jose looked at Leon and said meaningfully: "When I saw you coming, Leon, I knew that the possibility of my return to Portugal has increased."

Leon was silent for a while, and suddenly said: "I am the deputy envoy of the Portuguese delegation, and the chief envoy is the Marquis of Mahazan."

Jose's face changed drastically.

Later on, Jose would still laugh and chat happily, drinking with his comrades heartily, and burst into laughter from time to time, but careful people could still see the worry flashing in his eyes from time to time.

After eating and drinking, everyone started smoking again, smoking Furong brand cigarettes.

Leon and Condorcet were both given a cigarette, and they lit it with a lighter and took two puffs, imitating the others. At first, they were not used to it at all, and coughed violently a few times, but within a few seconds, they learned the correct way to smoke without any instruction, and a feeling of ecstasy came over them.

The combination of the smoke and the alcohol was quite powerful. The people riding on the clouds looked like living gods.

Condorcet could not help but whisper to Leon: "Baron, if these cigarettes are sold in Europe, they will sell like hot cakes."

"Yes," Leon looked at the cigarette burning between his fingers and the wisps of smoke, and sighed, "I can imagine now that in a few years, the Pope and the cardinals will also be surrounded by smoke when they hold meetings."

After dinner, José followed Leon and Condorcet to the Yuelai Inn in Xiangjiang Port where Marcelo and others were temporarily staying.

Seeing Marcelo, Jose's expression changed several times, and finally he spoke in silence.
(End of this chapter)