The Mantaga Palace has become the place for the people of Folangji at this time.

Today is a formal European-style banquet, so most of the food used is made by Europeans themselves, but the tableware is not commonly used by Europeans, but the magnificent gold and silver ware and Chinese porcelain of the royal family.

Of course, the staple food of Europeans is bread, but wheat that makes high-quality bread has the lowest yield among all major crops, so white bread is a food that only rich people, nobles and church privileged people can enjoy. They add milk to the flour and use beer yeast to make delicate and delicious small bread, called queen bread, which is now placed at the innermost part of the long dining table.

Inukai Masaichi sat at the end, picked up a piece of hard black bread made of rye and oats, and threw it back to the plate with a bang, muttering dissatisfaction to Ono Koda next to him: "A ridiculous banquet, a golden plate, but it serves this kind of thing. I can use it to knock your head out in one go."

Ono Kengtian leaned to his side and whispered: "Don't complain. How can we not bow our heads under the eaves of people? We have to rely on them to survive now. I heard that all the people who stayed in the Ming Dynasty were almost killed. People who fled to the mountains had their faces bruised and swollen, and even died of bloating. At least we still have food and drinks."

He said that, sipped the inferior whiskey and couldn't help but frowned: "Why don't you use local wine? This wine is like vinegar."

"Shh, he's going to speak," said Husband, snatching the samurai bun and hurriedly.

Sure enough, Azeger had stood up and bowed politely to everyone and said, "Gentlemen, you are welcome to the feast of noon today."

He wore a short-clad tight-fitting dress made of oriental silk. He wore a Portuguese love poem with small and round pearls on his expensive shawl, shining under the candlelight, making him feel more and more honorable.

"Gentlemen", Azeger smiled and nodded to everyone, saying: "Tonight's feast, please drink as much as you want, without any scruples. At the same time, I need to seek your opinions on some things."

He said, looking around the guests sitting around the dining table.

This was a complex team. He led the officers of the Portuguese fleet, Captain Pedro, his subordinates, Hiroshi Miyamoto and his Eastern samurai, the native chiefs who defected to him, and the mercenary leaders recruited during the journey eastward. The forces and factions were complex, the race and dress were also different.

Various dishes were presented by the slaves who originally belonged to the Manchujia Palace, and of course the most exquisite food was placed on the side of these leaders. In addition to fish and vegetables, the dishes were also mainly pork.

The medieval Europeans did not disgusted with animal internal organs like the current Europeans. In fact, they would not let go of every inch of edible part, including the pig's uterus and bladder. However, they had to dye them whether it was drinks, bread or dishes. The oily and dark red color made people feel very appetizing.

Due to different eating habits, some of these people use knife and fork, some use chopsticks, and some use hands to grab it, making this magnificent palace-style feast look a bit weird.

Azeger took a sip of brandy made with white wine, grabbed the napkin with a smile, wiped the corner of his mouth, and said, "Everyone. Today, I would like to come together. In addition to having lunch, it is about our way out. Whether we can gain a foothold in Mantaga is related to the future of each of us."

This sentence immediately attracted the attention of all factions. Everyone stopped knives, forks, chopsticks, and listened to his speech intently.

"To be honest, I didn't expect the Ming army to be so good at fighting. Judging from the news that Captain Pedro told me, the combat power of the Ming army's navy was underestimated by us. No, it was not underestimated, but a complete estimate was wrong. Now that the Ming army has solved the East China Sea, the target will soon point here. The news from the secret spies left by Mr. Hiromiyamoto on the border of the Ming Dynasty also confirmed this point."

He spread his hands and shrugged, "Then the question is, we are fighting, retreating, or......... find a way to seek reconciliation with the Ming Dynasty? Please express your views, gentlemen."

The banquet room suddenly became noisy, and people from various factions began to whisper. Azeger held the meal and observed the reactions quietly. Then he looked at Archbishop La Mario deeply.

His army was not pirates. It was the regular Portuguese navy, affiliated with the local governor of India, Albukirk, who was known as the "Portuguese God of War". This governor was a devout and crazy believer and seeker of interest. Since he gained a firm foothold in India, his ambitions have begun to look up to the entire Far East.

According to Alb Clark's observation, he believed that Mantaga was the key to controlling trade in the Indian Ocean and the Far East. If he occupied this place, he could establish the status of Portugal in the East's maritime trading empire. With this as a foothold, he could also seize Colombo, Java, Kalimantan, Sulawesi and the Maluku Islands.

When he first went to India, he devoted himself to the cause of conquering the East with a storm. Not only did he attack the Arab cities one after another and destroyed and burned them, but he also sank some of the Arab ships. He occupied Goa and Malacca, swept the Arab ships from the Indian Ocean, established maritime hegemony, and obtained enough power from the Indian king to become the governor of India.

However, this crazy believer and wise general did not have such strong confidence in whether he could make the God he believed in also become the master of the East. He always had some caution in his heart for the Ming Dynasty, the most powerful country in the Far East.

Azeger's fleet was his first attempt, occupying Mantaga, testing the Ming Dynasty's reaction to this, and then deciding his further deployment to the Far East.

Now it seems that the Ming Dynasty is not willing to lose Mantaga and is ready to put it into force. As the commander of the Expeditionary Force, Azeger, when he found that he had miscalculated the strength of the Ming army, had no time to get further instructions from Albukirk, so he had to discuss countermeasures with his collaborators.

La Mario came to Mantaga on the order of the King of Portugal. The King of Portugal opposed the use of force with the Ming Dynasty. In his opinion, becoming an ally with the No. 1 power in the Far East was obviously more beneficial to Portugal, but after three years of experience, Yali.

During the rebellion of Adni's uncle and other radical naval officers, he had to begin to pay attention to the opinions of the naval system.

Albukirk is known as the "God of War" and has a great reputation in the navy. His opinions cannot be ignored. Therefore, Archbishop Lamario came to Mantaka himself after learning about his plan, hoping to give his own opinions to the king after a field investigation. Since he was a member of the peace talks, Ezeg was polite to him on the surface, but in fact he was quite hostile.

Sure enough, Ramario coughed and began to speak. He looked around everyone and said, "Everyone, I believe you should know that, more than a hundred years ago, the Ming Dynasty's naval general Zheng He had voyaged the West seven times. He had visited the Persian Gulf, Aden, and the Red Sea. He sent a sub-family fleet and even the east coast of Africa.

And... the size, number of Ming army ships and the total number of crew members are the sum of our current naval fleet. The Ming army has strong ocean strike capabilities, which is indisputable. Now Captain Pedro has confirmed that the Ming army's artillery is not inferior to us. I think His Majesty the King's opinion is correct. We should be an allies with this powerful country, rather than becoming enemies, which will be a misfortune for us."

Azeger's deputy Sand immediately retorted: "His Excellency Bishop, I think you are a little alarmist. Mr. Hiroshi Miyamoto and the Ming army have had many years of fighting. Judging from his understanding, the Ming army does not have the super firepower cannons that Captain Pedro said."

He looked at Pedro contemptuously and added: "Captain Pedro's failure of two warships. Perhaps it was because of improper command, or perhaps it was because the Ming army relied on the right terrain and the number of ships to make up for the shortcomings. As for the bullet marks on the ship, hehe, the soldiers never tire of cheating. Give me two ships, I can dismantle it into a sampan to prove the strength of my artillery fire."

He stood up and said proudly: "As the Royal Spanish Navy Colonel, I swear to the omnipotent Lord: Give me ten warships, and I will destroy all the Ming navy that appeared in the South China Sea. Fight for the supreme glory for the Portuguese royal family and the Royal Navy, and give His Majesty the power of His Majesty and the Pope's grace to the East!"

Azeg patted his shoulder excitedly and said, "Montaga must be guaranteed to have this trading port in our hands, and our merchant ships will carry the wealth of the Ming Dynasty and fill their goods on the mast."

"Pa" two crisp applauses. Ramario clapped gently and retorted: "It sounds very beautiful, Your Majesty. But don't forget that this place is at the foot of the Ming Dynasty. It is as huge as a giant elephant. When you raise one foot, you can crush this place. We only have ten warships. Of course, if Captain Pedro and Mr. Miyamoto's ships are more than that, where are our supplies and soldiers? And the Ming army can mobilize 100,000 troops in one day and night."

"Mr. Bishop", Miyamoto Hiroshi said stutteringly: "As far as we know, the Ming Dynasty people were not wary and were not good at using weapons. Two hundred of us could loot a city of 30,000 people. Fifty people could chase the Ming army of 1,000 people to escape."

La Mario shrugged and said, "Then I am very curious, why don't you lead more than two thousand people from you to occupy ten rich cities, but you are crowded with us in a small thorny?"

Miyamoto's face turned red and he said with a angrily voice: "This...... The officials of the Ming Dynasty were corrupt and the army was low in combat power. It is well known that not only the army, but Captain Pedro stayed in the Ming Dynasty for three years. He should also be very clear about the combat power of the Ming Navy.

Our failure this time was mainly due to the loss of our country's base and being forced to bring our family to greatly affect our combat capabilities. At the same time, Yang Ling, the general of the Ming army, was resourceful. This person was not only good at fighting, but also very good at encouraging morale of the army. However, the Ming Dynasty's officialdom had a very bad habit......"

He smiled cunningly, picked up a glass of wine and took a sip, then frowned, and grinned, "They like to take off their anger and take credit for others. Generals who have made great contributions will be taboos from the monarch and eventually cause themselves to be killed. Generals who have defeated the war will also become scapegoats for the monarch, even if they have won every battle.

Now Yang Ling has violated the first line, which has caused some uneasiness among some officials. As long as he violates the second line again, he will be attacked immediately by others. As long as he is forced to leave this position, the army of tigers and wolves led by a lion will immediately collapse again into a group of cattle and sheep that can be slaughtered by others."

Sand smiled and said, "I asked for a fight with all my might, for this purpose. As for supply and military replenishment, my specific plan is: first recruit an army of 4,000 to 6,000 from the Indian Governor, first occupy Guangdong Province as a base, completely annihilate the Ming Navy and gain control of the sea. Then gradually infiltrate into the inland.

As for the issue of follow-up troops, 10,000 to 15,000 soldiers can be recruited from the local area, and about 10,000 mercenaries can be recruited in Japan and Luzon. After obtaining the sea control power, the cannons on the warships can be unloaded as field heavy artillery, and thousands of cannons can be transported to the ground. With such firepower, we will not encounter any large-scale resistance."

Pedro was a Spaniard, but he had no choice but to temporarily throw the sect to seek safety. He knew the strength of the two warships destroyed on Dulong Island and Fernando's command ability, so he firmly believed that the Ming army had powerful artillery land, so he was very unwilling to take the initiative to attract the Ming army's warships to this place of residence.

However, because of his special identity, he didn't want to express his opinions, but when he heard Sander's whimsical words, he couldn't help it. He shook his beard and said lightly: "Col. Sander, I have no doubt about the combat effectiveness of the 6,000 regular Portuguese soldiers. But the Ming Dynasty could send 30,000 naval troops to the West, and who can support the ocean supplies of tens of thousands of navy, whether in Portugal or Spain?

4,000 soldiers were recruited from India, and I think India will no longer belong to you. General Albuquerk will not agree to this plan. A fleet of tens of thousands of people took a boat south from the Iberian Peninsula, and bypassed the Cape of Good Hope until no country on the way could support such a huge army. In addition, how to maintain the ships and prevent and control the epidemic?"

La Mario also mocked: "This is not the most important thing. You must know that war cannot always go smoothly. In case of unfavorable situations, how can such a huge army retreat? You said you would recruit nearly 10,000 mercenaries, how can you recruit so many people? How to train? How to cooperate? Once the army goes east, the country will be empty. If other countries take the opportunity to fight with our country at this time, how should we deal with it?"

A series of 'how' left Sander speechless, and he said in anger: "Even if we don't attack the Ming Dynasty, we can at least protect the safety of the thorny land, right? Why do we ask for and? This is the only way for the flow of spices, porcelain, silk, and tea. As long as we have the absolute right to trade here, Cairo and Mecca will go completely bankrupt. Venice will not get the spices and silks it needs unless they send their merchants to Portugal to spend a lot of gold coins."

Miyamoto Hiroshi, who was eager to take revenge, did not mind that the Portuguese had sunk several of their warships, but was resentful of the failure on the land of Ming Dynasty and strongly encouraged Azeger and Sand to start a war against Ming Dynasty, while La Mario and Pedro were opposed. The two sides argued endlessly, and the mercenary commander Alonso looked at his eyes and nose, as if an old monk had entered a state of meditation.

The two sides were fighting for a long time. An oriental person hurried in and whispered a few words to the waiter. The waiter hurriedly led him to Hiroshi Miyamoto. Hiroshi Miyamoto's face suddenly became extremely ugly after hearing his whisper.

Both sides stopped while arguing, and Ezeg asked strangely: "Mr. Miyamoto, what happened?"

Hiro Miyamoto held his knees with his hands and said word by word: "Your Excellency, the news I just received is that the Folangji people in Haojing were forced to flee to the Shizhou Island because they killed the bribe-seeking Haidao envoy. They... have been defeated by the Ming army. My people saw thousands of Folangji people being escorted by the streets of Fuzhou with their own eyes."

Azeger said in surprise: "How could it be? I know those people, although they are smuggling merchants, their force is not weak. Their four main warships have no less firepower than our warships. I am about to send someone to contact them, hoping to join forces with them. How many warships did the Ming army dispatch and how long did it take to fight?"

Hiromiya hesitated and said, "The large warships in Fuzhou Port did not go out to sea, so my people couldn't figure out how many ships they had dispatched, but we know that the military camp was dispatched to sea. They set off in the early morning and returned at dusk. The round trip only took one day to go back and forth."

The noise in the hall completely disappeared, and even a needle fell to the ground could be heard. After a long time, La Mario shook his clothes and said loudly in a high tone: "Generals, gentlemen, we must make a decision immediately, and we cannot wait until the Ming army's warships drove under our noses before negotiating. I think the most correct way is to contact the Ming court immediately and resolve the problem of Mantaoka through negotiation."

He pointed to the door and shouted: "The combat power of the Ming Navy is already very obvious. Their ability to capture rather than kill our immigrants also means that they have the sincerity to negotiate. Opportunities are fleeting and we cannot wait any longer, gentlemen. I don't want the soldiers wearing Ming army armor to rush in directly from the door and then take us from the dining table to the cell, and follow the will of His Majesty the King, and negotiate with them!"

Azeger and Sand looked at each other. After a long time, Azeger sat down dejectedly and said, "...Okay, Sand, send someone to contact Yang Ling. We negotiate. We are willing to pay tribute to them in accordance with the old rules of the vassal states of the Ming court, in order to obtain freedom of trade and ownership of Mantaga."

He looked up at Sander and said, "Send someone to notify Governor Albuquerk immediately and draw warships and troops as much as possible. Adjust as much as you can, and be sure to reinforce the full spear as soon as possible to prevent it."

Yang Ling was extremely satisfied with the resolution made by General He, Cheng Qiyun and Adni, and was even more satisfied with the results of the battle. However, Adni also personally landed on the island to fight, which still scared him.

Yang Ling, who was still scared, used family rules on Adni as soon as he returned to the room. His tight and elastic little butt was slapped several times, in return for a sympathetic and graceful look, but he refused to beg for mercy and admit his mistake.

Yang Ling had no choice but to punish Cheng Qiyun. The same slap fell down. However, Cheng Qiyun was so cute that she looked like a snake. She was beaten with a look of spring, just like a vine wrapped around him. Yang Ling was so embarrassed that she had no naughtyness to play. She wanted her husband to beg for great success, but in the end she turned into a battle of panting. Cheng Qiyun was finally fought... and begged for mercy.

However, this incident that did not leave any future troubles still gave Yang Ling a warning: family affairs, state affairs, world affairs, matters of slightness, heavyness, slowness and urgentness. Sometimes, when you should give up family affairs, you should give up. When you should give up your children's feelings, you should give up.

If his subordinates made a wrong decision when he was away, they used cruel killing poles to attract the pirates of the Mantaga to launch an attack in advance. Then the Ming army, who was not fully prepared, would probably fall into a passive position and at least have to pay more casualties. That was because of his own selfishness, he had killed countless innocent lives in vain.

He was surprised by the arrested smuggling team's appearance of black slaves. After interrogation, Yang Ling realized that the West had started trading black slaves. There were already pirate ships specifically to capture people from other places for profit. The black slaves in this smuggling fleet were purchased from Western pirate ships.

At the same time, because they lived in Macau, although they rarely reselled the population from Macau, they also engaged in dirty acts of selling Western population to the East, and then selling women and children from the East to the West. In this way, Yang Ling naturally would not be lenient in the main evil. In addition to placing women, children and black slaves from being disturbed by others, those who are extremely guilty will be handed over to the Censorate for interrogation and dealt with according to the laws of the Ming Dynasty.

That morning, a Fujian businessman came to the Governor's Office and called for a name to see Lord Yang Ling. The Governor's Office had become accustomed to some people who were irrelevant to come to see the Governor, and knew that most of these cats and dogs were of great origin, so they did not dare to neglect at all. They hurriedly welcomed him into the living room and reported to Yang Ling.

Upon hearing the news, Yang Ling hurried to the living room. When the merchant saw Yang Ling, he greeted him politely and said, "Caomin Jia Qingyou, greeting the Governor."

Yang Ling smiled and said, "Mr. Jia, you are..."

Jia Qingyou didn't dare to sit down and said with a smile: "Caomin is a businessman who often travels to Southeast Asia to trade some medicinal materials."

When Yang Ling heard that he was a real businessman, he felt curious and couldn't help but feel a little lazy. He sat on the chair lazily and said lightly: "Oh, don't be too polite, sit down and reply, what do you have to see the governor?"

Jia Qingyou still didn't dare to sit. He wiped his sweat and stood there in a proper manner and said, "Caomin is a businessman. After the cargo ship passed the time of the thorns, he was robbed by a group of ghost pirates there. They detained the Caomin ship and asked Caomin to send a message to the adults. Only when the news was brought to them would they return the cargo ship."

"Hmm?" Yang Ling suddenly leaned forward and said with a gaze: "Menzhijia? Pirates of Folangji? What news do they want you to bring?"
Chapter completed!