Yongli Ming Dynasty

Chapter 25 Red Barbarians
In the courtyard of the palace, Pang Tianshou, dressed in a red eunuch robe, spoke with a strange accent to a middle-aged man with a high nose bridge beside him.
The middle-aged man was wearing a round-necked robe and looked extremely uncomfortable. He listened to Pang Tianshou's words with great effort while twisting his body.
If you look closely, you can see that this middle-aged man has slightly curly hair and green eyes. He is the image of a foreign friend in later generations.

This man was none other than Ferreira, the Portuguese mercenary leader recruited by Pang Tianshou. Because Zhu Lang specifically requested to see him, Ferreira also changed into Ming dynasty clothing and followed Pang Tianshou into the palace to meet him.

"Eunuch Pang, you must keep an eye on this red barbarian. Don't let him cause any conflict with His Highness."

Li Guoyong looked at Ferreira beside him with a frown on his face. This red barbarian looked strange. He didn't know why His Highness insisted on seeing this person.
"Don't worry, Eunuch Li. This red barbarian has lived in Haojing for many years and knows some of the etiquette of our Ming Dynasty. He will definitely not conflict with Your Highness," Pang Tianshou immediately said flatteringly.
"Let me be clear in advance. Because of your case, I have been reprimanded by the prince, so I helped you get this opportunity to meet him. If you offend His Highness again, I will not be able to help you," Li Guoyong said in a cold tone.

"Hey, look at what Eunuch Li said. Doesn't this just show that Eunuch Li is close to His Highness? Foreign officials like me want to be scolded by the prince, but we don't have such a blessing."

As Pang Tianshou spoke, he turned his hand and three silver bills fell silently into Li Guoyong's sleeves.
Li Guoyong pinched the lines on the paper and felt the size of the paper. He realized that it was a silver note worth 100 taels. His expression finally eased.

"This is the first time I meet His Royal Highness Prince Gui, and I don't know the rules of the palace. Please give me more advice, so as not to offend His Royal Highness." Pang Tianshou handed over three hundred taels of silver, but his face was as if nothing had happened, and he still spoke respectfully to Li Guoyong.

"Your Highness is kind and generous, and he doesn't impose too many restrictions on us. As long as we don't lose our manners, it's fine."

"To be honest, Your Highness is quite interested in firearms. When Eunuch Pang comes in, you might as well introduce more about firearms. I believe it will impress the prince," Li Guoyong pinched the banknotes in his sleeve and said slowly.
"Thank you, Eunuch Li, for your advice."

Pang Tianshou's eyes were full of thought. With Li Guoyong's advice, he would know how to show his value after entering.
Just for this sentence, the three hundred taels of silver are worth it.
Last year, he received a secret order from Emperor Longwu. On the one hand, he went to Haojing to learn about firearms and prepare for the purchase of firearms in the future. On the other hand, he wanted to recruit a group of red barbarian soldiers who were proficient in firearms.
Today, the power of artillery is known to the world. The Ming army has repeatedly used artillery to cause heavy casualties to the Qing army.

The Red Barbarians were good at making giant cannons with great power. This was a consensus among the government and the public during the Chongzhen period.

When Emperor Longwu ascended the throne, the Qing army was at its peak, so he also thought of hiring Red Barbarian gunners and purchasing Red Barbarian artillery to resist the Qing army.

But Pang Tianshou had just arrived in Haojing and had only had time to recruit dozens of red-haired mercenaries when he received the news that Emperor Longwu had suffered a disaster in Tingzhou.
After Pang Tianshou knew about this, he no longer cared about firearms. The person who assigned him to do the job was gone, so what kind of job could he do?

But Pang Tianshou did not reveal any flaws. He still acted like an imperial envoy of the Ming Dynasty and asked about the firearms of the Haojing Cannon Factory in a fake manner. Then he found an excuse and returned to Guangdong Province with dozens of Portuguese mercenaries he hired.

When they arrived in Guangdong Province, they found that there was a rumor in the province that Ding Kuichu and others were going to support the King of Gui in Zhaoqing. After finding out about the King of Gui, Pang Tianshou did not hesitate and led the mercenaries directly to Zhaoqing.
These eunuchs were born to be attached to the Zhu family. When there was an emperor, they were the eunuchs in the inner court, powerful and majestic. But when there was no emperor, they were like dogs without a home, and even ordinary people would not even look at them.

Of course, eunuchs like Wang Kun have the ability to influence the court and be wooed by all parties, but among the tens of thousands of eunuchs in the Ming Dynasty, there is only Wang Kun, the eunuch in charge of the Imperial Household Department. Apart from eunuchs like Wang Kun, how can the rest of the eunuchs be qualified to step up to the poker table?

As ordinary eunuchs, they can only wait for the court to be re-established and enter the palace to wait for the emperor's edict. This is their only way to survive.

That's why Pang Tianshou was so determined to bribe a huge sum of money and befriend Li Guoyong, just to meet Zhu Lang first.

Except for Wang Kun, who is well versed in court affairs and has taken control of the court, the rest of the eunuchs, whoever is closest to the emperor, has a higher status and can control more power.

As for why Pang Tianshou took those dozens of Portuguese mercenaries with him when he fled, it's nonsense. He, Eunuch Pang, is a wealthy man, and now there are bandits everywhere in the world. If he didn't have the protection of mercenaries, if he was robbed by bandits on the way, where would he go to seek justice?

Therefore, Ferreira was fooled all the way and really thought that he was hired by the emperor of the huge country on the other side of the strait, so he obediently accompanied Pang Tianshou to Zhaoqing.
Li Guoyong and the other man were talking, and in the blink of an eye they were outside the study. Li Guoyong asked them to stop outside the door and go in first to report, and then he let them in.

When Pang Tianshou heard the call from the study, a hint of nervousness flashed across his eyes. He took a deep breath and then walked into the study.

"Your servant Pang Tianshou, the eunuch of the Imperial Horse Administration, pays homage to His Royal Highness Prince Gui, and wishes His Royal Highness eternal blessings and longevity." Pang Tianshou entered the room without even raising his head, but knelt down and kowtowed, bowing with great ceremony.

"Thank you for your hard work, Eunuch Pang, please get up."

Pang Tianshou heard a young voice and stood up. He looked up at the young man behind the table.

The young man behind the table was wearing a yellowish-brown python robe and had a handsome face. He really looked like a royal noble.
Pang Tianshou's mind turned, and just as he was about to speak, he found that the young prince seemed to have been looking at the red barbarian below with great interest.

So he changed the subject and started introducing Ferreira.
"Your Highness, this man is the leader of the Red Barbarian artillery, Ferreira, whom I recruited in Haojing. The Red Barbarians are proficient in all kinds of firearms, and Ferreira is one of the best among them. He can operate all kinds of artillery with ease."

Pang Tianshou saw Zhu Lang's thoughtful look, still sizing up Ferreira, so he spoke again.

"This Ferreira does not speak the language of our Celestial Empire, but I know a little about the foreign language. If Your Highness has any questions, I can ask them on his behalf."

The young prince's eyes finally fell on Pang Tianshou. Pang Tianshou felt the Gui King's eyes and was immediately delighted.

But before he could react, the King of Gui shifted his gaze away and spoke a few very awkward words.
“Are you Portuguese or Spanish? Could you understastand my word?”

Ferreira stood there, eyes wide open, looking at Zhu Lang above, and did not speak for a long time.

“You can’t speak English?”

Zhu Lang frowned as he looked at Ferreira below. If it was English, he could still communicate with him with his poor English level in his previous life, but if this person only knew Portuguese or Spanish, he would be helpless. After all, these two languages ​​were already considered minority languages.
Who has time to learn Portuguese?

“yes, yes, I can, I’m just shocked”

Ferreira finally woke up from his dream and began to speak English with a very strange accent.
Ferreira's accent is so strong that it sounds like the curry-flavored English of later generations.

But then again, the UK is probably not as far away as India yet, and there is probably no such thing as curry-flavored English in the world.

In short, the two of them started to communicate in English with strange accents as if no one was around. Pang Tianshou and Li Guoyong, who were waiting on the side, looked at the two of them in astonishment, and for a moment they were at a loss.
Pang Tianshou had a look of shock on his face. How could he not understand that the King of Gui was talking to Ferreira in a foreign language that even he himself could not understand, and it seemed that the conversation was going very smoothly. The two of them were almost having a normal conversation.

But how could this be possible? I had only learned some Red Barbarian language by chance, and it took me a lot of effort to understand only some key words, ensuring the most basic communication.

As a vassal king of the Ming Dynasty, the King of Gui has always lived in the inland. Where did he learn the Yi language?

Pang Tianshou did this, looking at the King of Gui above, with a trace of awe in his heart, and felt that the young prince in front of him was suddenly covered with a layer of mystery.
Li Guoyong, who was standing by, also opened his mouth wide, looking at Zhu Lang who kept uttering awkward syllables, with a look of astonishment on his face.
He had always been with Zhu Lang, but he never knew that Zhu Lang could speak Yi language. When did his prince secretly learn this Yi language?

The two were shocked and didn't know what to do for a moment. They could only stare at each other, watching the two people in the field communicating with each other.

(End of this chapter)