Taichang Ming Dynasty

Chapter 406 Standing on your own
"Someone will definitely be hanged. Didn't that crazy man named Mendoza get beheaded by General Bear from the North? Anyone who has correspondence with him will probably die." Thinking of this, the arms dealer Harald Brandt's heart began to beat wildly.

Harald Brandt once thought of writing to Mendoza, who was on the front line of the battlefield, to ask him about the size of the enemy army and the Ming army's demand for weapons, that is, to ask him to help do a market survey, so as to have less information disadvantages when negotiating purchase orders with the official.

However, Harald Brandt had no way to send a letter, and he had no idea where Mendoza's unit had been transferred by the Liaodong military. So he approached Long Huamin, hoping he could help him. But Long Huamin, deeply devoted to missionary work and unwilling to get involved in the "worldly" world of commerce, dismissed him with a random excuse.

Harald Brandt was furious for a while because of this. Now that he thought about it, Long Huamin's decision not to mail the letter really saved his life. Otherwise, the list of nine would have become a list of ten.

"Everyone! Stay on topic." Dinesh Joao rapped his knuckles on the table, feeling the discussion would veer off topic. "I propose we move out of here and find somewhere else to live. What do you all think?"

"If they have to move, they should move!" Harald Brandt said with a mixture of fear and resentment. "We rented this house. Why should we move out to make room for them? That's just not right."

Rogers Heydrich nodded silently.

"Yeah, it's better if we let them move." Ryan Hobbs, the mine owner who had been at the forefront, also agreed. He looked at Dinesh Joao and said, "I remember your name was signed on the lease."

"So, at least all three of you agree to live separately from the Jesuits?" Dinesh Joao exchanged glances with mine owner Ryan Hobbs, arms dealer Harald Brandt, and plantation owner Rogers Heydrich. He received affirmative responses from all three.

"Mr. Amato, what about you?" Dinesh João turned to look at the slave trader Władysław Amato who had been silent.

Władysław Amato bowed his head and saluted slightly before speaking: "Mr. João, President Nicolo Longobardi has just been captured by the Emperor's Royal Guards, and we are already trying to set up our own faction. I'm afraid this is not a good idea." The businessmen still did not have a good understanding of the Ming Dynasty's military system, so they equated the Jinyiwei with the Imperial Guards.

"Don't try to be a gentleman here. I was almost scared to death by those guardsmen," Harald Brandt immediately retorted to Władysław Amato, rolling his eyes. "You didn't see it. The guard only touched the face twice and twisted the priest Miranda's jaw off. And his arm! It took only two strokes to pull it off too."

"I was watching from the sidelines, and it was truly horrifying. Those men were like demons descending from the sky. In their hands, Priest Miranda looked less like a human and more like a lamb waiting to be dismembered! When that guard drew his sword, I thought he was going to cut out his tongue or even kill someone." Harald Brandt grew increasingly terrified as he spoke. "I think we'd better get them out of here! If we get involved with these priests who chant the wrong words again, and get splattered with blood, who knows when the same thing will happen to us! I don't want to be disemboweled."

"When you bumped into me, I thought you were going to pee," Rogers Heydrich joked.

Harald Brandt didn't take it as an offense. Instead, he continued, "Fortunately, it was just cutting clothes, otherwise I would have peed myself. It was terrifying!" He then looked at Władysław Amato and said, "If you still want to live with them for the sake of friendship, then go ahead and stay with them. Anyway, no one wants to go through this kind of torture anymore."

"I'm not pretending to be a gentleman; I am one." Władysław Amato smiled at Harald Brandt. Then, turning to Dinesh João, he said, "This isn't a question of friendship. From a practical perspective, we still need the Jesuits. If we fall out with them, it will only bring us harm, not good."

Władysław Amato continued to explain, "Take the language issue, for example. Although we've tried very hard to learn the Celestial Empire's language, up until now, we can only understand everyday spoken language. Once we stray from everyday language, we're left speechless like idiots! For example, how much of the Emperor's edict did you all understand?"

All the businessmen shook their heads.

Although Li Yongzhen deliberately spoke very slowly when he announced the decree in order to appear solemn, almost to the point of enunciating each word, but for the merchants, being slow was useless. No matter how slowly it was read, the heavenly book was still the heavenly book.

Even if they concentrated and listened intently, they could only grasp a few scattered words, and they weren't sure if these words meant the same thing they knew. The polysemy of a word was the biggest challenge for foreigners learning the language. Moreover, merchants generally weren't good learners, and they couldn't compare to the missionaries, who had graduated from professional schools and received specialized training in Macau.

Harald Brandt objected, "That's not a problem! We do need translators to help us communicate, but they don't have to be Jesuits. This is the capital, the heart of the Chinese Empire, the largest city in the world. There must be many Chinese like Lord Xu who can speak Portuguese, Spanish, and even Latin." Harald Brandt glanced sideways at the cash box in the room. Although the box was placed in Dinesh João's room, it contained funds for the entire delegation's activities. "We have the money, so we don't have to worry about not being able to hire people willing to provide us with services."

"By hiring Chinese as translators, aren't you afraid that they will monitor us and sell my whereabouts and secrets to the authorities?" Rogers Heydrich asked.

"Deus!" Harald Brandt said nonchalantly, "Are you planning to collude with the Tatars and Jurchens in the north to attack the capital?"

"Of course not!" Although they were communicating in Spanish, Rogers Heydrich subconsciously glanced at the door.

"That's fine, let him find out." Harald Brandt rolled his eyes. "We're here to make money! If I can make money, I'll tell you how many mistresses my father has."

"Isn't your father dead?" Rogers Heydrich joked.

"That old drunk is dead, I was just using him as an example! Tsk!" Harald Brandt smacked his lips. "How many mistresses did he have when he was alive?"

"Hahaha!" Rogers Heydrich laughed loudly. The others followed suit. It had been a long time since they had laughed so hard.

"Let's go for a drink," Harald Brandt suddenly suggested. He suddenly felt the need to relax.

"Let's go to Huanghuafang. I hear there are a lot of singing girls and dancing girls there who have been trained since childhood. Any one of them could rival the mistress of the Governor of Manila," Rogers Heydrich chimed in. "But I wonder how good they are in bed."

"Do you think they'll do our business?" Ryan Hobbs chimed in. "Why not if they have the money?" Rogers Heydrich smiled lewdly. "Is there any whore in this world who doesn't love money?"

"Gentlemen! Let's have some fun and relax later, okay?" Dinesh Joao knocked on the table again. "We're talking business now!"

"Mr. Dinesh Joao, I think there is nothing more to discuss. The three of us all agree with your proposal to avoid these plagues. Only Mr. Amato is unwilling to do so." said Harald Brandt.

Władysław Amato corrected him: "It's not that I don't want to, but I think we still need the Jesuits."

"I've already refuted you," Harald Brandt immediately followed up. "The translation problem can be solved by hiring a Chinese person. If you don't want to spend the money, I can pay for it."

"Mr. Brandt, why are you bringing up money again?" Władysław Amato chuckled and said, "Language is only one aspect of the problem. Just like you, I'm just giving an example. And even if we can solve this problem with your proposal, we still need the Jesuits. Don't you all know that the Celestial Empire has always looked down on merchants, and foreign merchants like us are even more despised? If we don't rely on the Jesuits, we won't even have the chance to go north to Beijing."

"'This is a different time.' Now the Jesuits have angered the Emperor with their reckless preaching! President Niccolò Longobardi has been arrested and will most likely be hanged. Can we still rely on them?" Harald Brandt retorted. "Preventing ourselves from being implicated by them is the most important thing."

The three people outside the conversation nodded silently. They were here to make money, not to risk their lives with the missionaries.

"Don't forget!" Władysław Amato said pointedly, "Don't forget, Mr. Bell is also a Jesuit."

Harald Brandt's eyes flickered, and he said stubbornly, "So what? He was arrested anyway."

"Wasn't he released the next day?" Dinesh Joao interrupted. "And it took the most prominent Chief Minister to release him. This shows that His Majesty the Emperor values ​​Lord Bell very much."

"I don't see why he takes it so seriously. If His Majesty the Emperor really values ​​Lord Bell, then why did he still arrest nine people in the end?" said Harald Brandt.

"If you think about it the other way around, maybe it's because of Don Bell's mediation that only so few people were arrested," Dinesh Joao said. "Father Trigo, Father Catano, and Father Vagnoni—none of those three big guys were arrested."

"Good, good!" Harald Brandt knocked on the table. "Let's put it another way. Even if His Majesty values ​​Monsignor Bell, it's only for him. What does that have to do with the Jesuits? Otherwise, even President Niccolò Longobardi wouldn't have been arrested. We just need to please him."

"It's not that simple!" Dinesh Joao said, "Even if His Majesty the Emperor only values ​​Monsieur Bell, Monsieur Bell is also a Jesuit. If we fall out with the Jesuits, how can we please Monsieur Bell? You know, Monsieur Bell was brought here by Father Trigo."

"Whose side are you on?" Harald Brandt said indignantly. "Didn't you propose this motion? I support you, so why are you contradicting me?"

Dinesh João straightened his posture and said to Harald Brandt, "I'm not arguing with you. What I'm saying is that we should keep our distance from the Jesuits to avoid being unnecessarily implicated by certain people's stupid behavior, but we can't offend them. Moreover, even if we don't care about the Celestial Empire, the Church is still very influential in places like Japan and South Asia, and it has appeal to other merchants. It will be of no benefit to us to offend them. That's why I suggest that we move out and find another place to live, leaving this house to them. The rent of a few dozen taels of silver is just a small amount. We've already spent so much money, so these two won't be a big deal."

Harald Brandt was silent for a while, and finally nodded in agreement: "Okay, I agree." He did have a lot of resentment towards the Jesuits, but he had to admit that Dinesh João's considerations were the most favorable.

Rogers Heydrich and Ryan Hobbs agreed.

"Mr. Amato. Do you still object?" Dinesh João turned to look at Władysław Amato.

"You all misunderstood. I didn't say I object. I agree with you." Władysław Amato shrugged and smiled. "I just think it's not a good idea to rush out right after being released from confinement. It's likely to offend people."

Dinesh Joao nodded. "I didn't say I was leaving today. I just wanted to discuss it with everyone and come to an agreement."

"Then when are we leaving?" Harald Brandt really didn't want to stay here for even a single day.

"Let's first ask the brokerage firm to choose a good place." said Dinesh Joao.

"Will the dental clinic do business with us?" Ryan Hobbs asked.

"As I said, there is no bitch in the world who doesn't love money. We have money, why don't they do business with us?" said Rogers Heydrich.

Ryan Hobbs added, "Of course, everyone loves money. But we're not native to the Celestial Empire, after all. I remember very clearly that it was Mr. Xu who guaranteed us the house, and that's why we signed the contract with the pawnbroker. And Mr. Xu was willing to guarantee it because of his connection with the Jesuits. That's why I said earlier that it would be best if they moved and we stayed. At worst, we could just give them some money."

(End of this chapter)