I am Emperor Wanli

Chapter 866 Drake's Letter of Allegiance

Drake kept swallowing.

Submit your certificate!
This request from the Ming people is so vicious!
Cut off your own escape route!

Follow the Ming Dynasty wholeheartedly!
But if I don’t submit my surrender now, I will die!
No matter how much the Queen of England has done for me, it is not as important as my life!

But what kind of token of allegiance can I offer?

Kill a few Spanish nobles to show loyalty to the Ming people?

No!

He repeatedly stated that he was a mortal enemy of Spain and a lifelong enemy, and only then did the Ming people spare his life.

Now the Ming people have to pledge their allegiance, not because they are worried that they will not kill the Spaniards, but because they are worried that they will sell out the Ming people for the British.

To straighten out this relationship, it would be useless to kill as many Spanish nobles as possible, as it would not eliminate their worries: when the interests of Britain and Ming conflict, which side will they stand on?
Drake thought over and over, what kind of token of allegiance could satisfy the Ming people?

After thinking for a while, he gritted his teeth and finally made a decision.

“My Lords, among the captives there is a baron who is a distant relative of Queen Elizabeth and has been ordered to oversee the Queen’s investments.

There was also a Viscount of the Netherlands, who represented the bankers and oversaw their investments.

I am willing to kill these two people in front of everyone to show my break with Britain and my loyalty to the Ming Dynasty."

Talent!
You grasped the essence of the pledge so quickly!
He is indeed a hero among the Western Barbarians and a tyrant who is hated by the Spaniards.

Wang Fengju waved his hand: "You don't have to kill your compatriots to show your resolve, it's good enough to have this intention."

If Drake really did this, he would be showing his loyalty, but the Ming Dynasty would be branded with a bad reputation and would have to kill his former master before he could be accepted under its command.

The Ming Dynasty is not Dong Zhuo, who only takes in various Lu Bu as his adopted sons!
Those who betray their loyalty and massacre their former masters, no matter whether they are from the Ming Dynasty, the Western Barbarians, India or the Arabs, are not good people and will not be accepted by mainstream society.

Wang Fengju said: "You just need to write a letter of allegiance. From now on, the Ming Dynasty only needs you to fight the Spaniards. If England dares to be an enemy of the Ming Dynasty in the future, it doesn't matter whether you are there or not."

Derek couldn't believe his ears.

Is the only token of allegiance you want?
I can write as much of that stuff as you want.

Huangfu Tan said from the side: “All we want is your attitude.

There is an old saying in our Ming Dynasty: "Strong winds reveal strong grass, and turbulent times reveal loyal ministers." Loyalty can only be seen in times of life and death.

No matter how many English nobles you killed, you were just trying to save your life, not to be loyal to the Ming Dynasty."

The interpreter next to him couldn't help but lower his head and roll his eyes. How much do I have to say for just one ancient saying of yours? Fortunately, you didn't use idioms, otherwise I would have to tell him a long story first.

After hearing what the interpreter said, Drake's face turned serious.

If Wang Fengju on the opposite side agreed to this pledge of allegiance, Drake would instead look down on this Ming general in his heart and feel that he could not control such a powerful force under his command.

But Wang Fengju just asked for his letter of allegiance. The so-called letter of allegiance was just to see his attitude.

manner?!
Drake couldn't help but feel scared.

If I had hesitated for a moment or responded rashly, I would probably have been hung on the mast, waiting to be fed to the birds and dried up.

The generals of the Ming Dynasty are really cunning.

Indeed, the person who can lead such a powerful force is not an ordinary person.

Drake understood the intentions of Wang Fengju and Huangfu Tan. They were just using a little trick to test him.

My loyalty doesn't matter to them.
He asked in a deep voice: "My two honorable lords, what do you need me to do?"

"Contact the French Huguenot pirates, the Dutch, Swedish and your English Protestant pirates, all the pirates who have grudges against Spain, you can attack Spanish ships at will.

The ports of the Ming Dynasty can be opened to you, and your ships can enter the port for supplies and rest. Our trading company will purchase your spoils, including prisoners, at a preferential price.

But there is one thing: if you dare to attack Ming ports and ships, or harm any Ming citizens, including the survivors of the Xia and Shang dynasties in Genxunzhou, you will be the mortal enemy of Ming.

No matter where you flee to, the Ming army and navy will bring you to justice and sentence you to death."

The conditions are so good?!

Drake couldn't believe it.

He raised his head and asked carefully: "My two honorable lords, do you trust us so much?"

"We do not believe in your loyalty and kindness, but we believe that you are not reckless or stupid.

We need minions now to help us plug the loopholes in Spain.

If you are friends with the Ming Dynasty, you will benefit greatly. If you are enemies with the Ming Dynasty, you will die without a burial place.

You can choose your own path, but you will bear all the consequences yourself."

Drake understood what Wang Fengju said, thought for a while, raised his head and said: "In this ocean, the Ming Navy is the most powerful. We are afraid of the strong and are willing to work for them.

My Lord, I need a ship and my sailors. I am willing to travel to the Caribbean Islands, contact Protestant ships that have a grudge against the Spaniards, pass on your orders to them, and persuade them to join the flag of the strong and join hands to fight against the Spaniards. "

"Yes, lieutenant, take Drake down, select the best ship from the captured ships, release his sailors, and give him water and food.

Drake, this admiral will wait for you at Springwood Harbor in two months. If you come as promised, regardless of whether there are any results, this admiral will regard you as a man and will use you.

If you don't come, this admiral will regard you as ungrateful and your future will be one and only one end: hanging on the mast of a Ming ship.

Understand? "

After hearing what the interpreter said, Drake trembled slightly.

The words of the Ming general are truly domineering.

But Drake believed that the general could do what he said.

"Okay, two months from now, we will arrive at Springwood Port, a port in eastern Panama." Drake said the name of the port in an awkward accent, patting his chest and saying, "I will definitely arrive on time and report my achievements to the general."

After Drake was taken away, Zhu Jingfa, who had been standing by silently, asked, "Admiral, this thief has evil intentions and may not be able to change his mind."

"We don't want them to return, we just want them to join forces and attack the Spaniards together. When the Spaniards are done, we will turn against them. Those who are not of our race must have different hearts.

England, France, and Germany have their own language and culture, their own religious beliefs, and their own nation and state, which are completely different from the remnants of the Xia and Shang dynasties.

We have only interests to cooperate with them.

We are partners now, but we may be at war soon."

Zhu Jingfa said: "Admiral, why don't you take action as soon as possible to avoid future troubles?"

"Consequences? Captain Zhu, what are consequences?"

Hearing Wang Fengju's question, Zhu Jingfa didn't know how to answer.

Aren't these English pirates a future trouble? You said it yourself, we in the Ming Dynasty will have a falling out with them sooner or later, so we might as well deal with them as soon as possible.

Huangfu Tan explained: "You have to eat one bite at a time. The mainland of Ming Dynasty is thousands of miles away from Genxunzhou. The most important thing now is to eliminate the Spanish forces in Genxunzhou.

The next step is to educate the descendants of the Xia and Shang dynasties. There are tens of millions of descendants of the Xia and Shang dynasties in Gen and Xun continents, scattered all over the country.

We think they are from the same clan and have the same origin, but many of them do not recognize that.

In the eyes of many indigenous people of Gensun, we are no different from the Spanish and Portuguese. To them, we are not of the same race, and our hearts must be different.

The next and most important task for us in Genxunzhou is to educate the tens of millions of survivors of the Xia and Shang dynasties.

Captain Zhu, this is not an easy task. It will take decades, countless efforts, and countless resources to complete. "

Huangfu Tan said in a serious tone: "Genxunzhou is too big, Rushou Sea and the Atlantic Ocean are too big, and our navy is scattered everywhere and is not noticeable at all.

There are cats living in the front fence and dogs running around in the back fence, and there are holes everywhere.

When we are unable to spare any effort, we must use the barbarians to control the barbarians, at least we cannot let these Western barbarian countries unite to deal with us. "

Zhu Jingfa's eyes lit up. "Director Huangfu means to take advantage of the conflict between the new and old religions of the Western Yi people and make them kill each other, leaving them no time to take care of other things?"

Huangfu Tan nodded and said, "Before we set off, when I was receiving training at the Political Work Bureau, the Emperor came to personally tell us about the situation in the Western Barbarians and taught us strategies on how to deal with it.

We just want to take advantage of all their contradictions.

The contradiction between Protestantism and Catholicism, the contradiction between countries, the contradiction between feudal landlords and merchants, and the contradiction between Christianity and Islam.

Constantly intensifying their conflicts, causing them to fall into endless internal friction, blocking their path to development, and finally making Europe the second India.

Captain Zhu!
According to the previous intelligence, the situation in Rushou Sea is almost the same as what Drake said, which is exactly what we want.

In the strategy of the Emperor looking down upon the world, in the strategies formulated by the imperial court and the Navy Department, the whole world is a chessboard, and if we move a few pieces here, it will definitely affect Europe."

Wang Fengju added: "Currently, there are indeed many French Huguenot pirate ships in the Rushou Sea area, as well as ships from the Netherlands, Germany, Sweden and other Nordic Protestants.

They were mortal enemies of Spain. Their struggle in the Mediterranean region was a continuation of the struggle between the old and new religions in Europe, and an overflow of the struggle between Spain-Rome and England-Germany.

The more intensely they fight here, the more hatred and fighting will be aroused on both sides when the news gets back to Europe.

However, these pirates were previously a group of scattered soldiers and a loose organization. The Spaniards were annoyed by them, but the harm they caused was minimal.

This won't do. This isn't a child's game. If you want to fight, you have to use real anger.

We must foster a leader to unite the Protestant forces in the Rushou Sea region and fight the Spanish forces to the death.

Drake is one of the candidates chosen by this admiral and Director Huangfu.

Drake is not good enough, we can just choose again. If we set more traps, we can always catch the right wolf.

I think this Drake has an extraordinary demeanor and sharp mind, and he might become a good knife in our hands."

Zhu Jingfa was still a little worried. "Admiral Wang, Director Huangfu, I'm still a little worried. I'm worried that we might end up losing more than we gain."

Wang Fengju smiled faintly, "Haha, if he dares to cause trouble, we can catch him once, and we can catch him a second time. But the second time we won't be as lucky as we are now."

Huangfu Tan said, "Captain Zhu, have you read "Water Margin"?"

"I've read it." Zhu Jingfa was shocked. "Director Huangfu, you said that Drake is the Song Jiang of England?"

"That's right. England is just a makeshift team now. Its navy and strength are far inferior to Spain's. It can only resort to this last resort and engage in piracy and looting.

From the conversation just now, we can all hear that Drake is very utilitarian.

He ventured across the seas, hoping to get rich like everyone else, and also to achieve fame and success and be knighted by their queen.

I believe that it won't be long before the Drakes realize that their queen, the noble appointed by the king, is nothing but a worthless person and a traitor in front of the Ming Dynasty.

The nobles who are canonized by the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty are truly successful and famous!"

Wang Fengju said calmly: "Why not give it a try? Even if you miscalculate, you can just fight one more battle and catch up again.

If it succeeds, we will have many more minions to use.

Two months passed in a flash.

Chunmu Port in Jumang County, the eastern port of Shangzhou Isthmus, is a scene of bustling construction.

Thousands of soldiers and civilians were busy building roads, trestle bridges, and castles. In the periphery, dozens of warships were anchored outside the port. One of them was huge, with masts towering into the sky. It was the "Pingliang" Class A battleship.

Zhu Jingfa stood on the stern deck, looking at the sea with a telescope.

The adjutant asked, "Captain, what are you looking at? There are no enemy ships in this area, and no one is so brave as to go into the tiger's den and seek death."

"No, let me see if there will be any pirate ships coming."

The adjutant was even more confused, "Captain, the Spanish navy doesn't dare to come, how can the pirate ship dare to come?"

Zhu Jingfa didn't want to explain and continued observing the sea with the telescope.

It is now a little after five in the afternoon, and the sun is slowly falling towards the isthmus. The sunlight passes over the isthmus, dyeing a large orange-red area on the sea.

The sea was choppy and full of light and shadows, but not a single ship was visible.

Could it be that Admiral Wang and Director Huangfu's strategy of recruiting minions was a complete failure?
(End of this chapter)