There is no such thing as the Kangxi and Qianlong eras

Chapter 380 Reclaiming Macau

After quickly reading the Macau battle report, Nie Yu asked the two people who had come up with the question, "What is the specific situation in Macau right now?"

Liu Jun and Wang Ruoyu, having received Chen Younian's report, came specifically to report to Nie Yu; they certainly couldn't have come unprepared.

Liu Jun said, "Haojing'ao was originally occupied by a group of Portuguese during the Zhengde period of the Ming Dynasty. They built forts and watchtowers on the island. The Ming Dynasty ordered these Portuguese to withdraw from Haojing'ao and dismantle the forts and watchtowers, but the Portuguese refused."

"The two sides then fought a battle, which the Ming Dynasty won. The Portuguese surrendered and dismantled the fortifications and watchtowers. A lease treaty was then signed, under which the Portuguese would pay rent annually to lease Macau. This practice continued until the Qing Dynasty."

Nie Yu then asked, "How much is the rent?"

Liu Jun replied, "We have checked the records and verified with the Guangdong authorities, and confirmed that it is 500 taels of silver per year."

For 500 taels of silver a year, Jing'ao was leased as a temporary concession for Portuguese business.

This was not treason, because the Ming Dynasty had very strict rules regarding the lease to the Portuguese. It was agreed that the lease would be 500 taels of silver per year, and the Portuguese were not allowed to build fortifications or blockhouses in Macau, nor could they station troops or fleets there.

In order to monitor the Portuguese in Macau, the Ming Dynasty even set up a Xiangshan County Magistrate in the poor Xiangshan area.

Although the magistrate of Xiangshan County was soon corrupted by the Portuguese in Macau who "did as the Romans do," this also shows that the Portuguese were indeed terrified of the Ming Dynasty.

Even after the Qing dynasty took over Macau, the Portuguese in Macau still didn't dare to really resist. They obediently paid rent and bribed the Qing government officials to open back doors for themselves.

Moreover, the reason why the Ming Dynasty was willing to lease Macau to Portugal after defeating the Portuguese was essentially a mutually beneficial relationship.

The Portuguese needed Macau as a transit point for doing business with the Far East, while the Ming Dynasty also needed Portugal, this old colonial empire, to bring a steady stream of silver and foreign exchange to the Ming Dynasty.

During the Zhengde era of the Ming Dynasty, the Portuguese were still the world's leading colonial power; otherwise, they wouldn't have been so arrogant as to want to conquer southern China with only a thousand men.

Later, as the Portuguese declined, the Spanish (the Franks), the Dutch, and the British took turns in power.

Nie Yu put down the report and tapped his fingers on the table: "A rent of 500 taels of silver a year is still too low."

Liu Jun and Wang Ruoyu remained silent, patiently waiting for what would happen next.

After waiting for a moment, Nie Yu suddenly asked, "If I want to take back Haojing'ao, how many troops would I need to mobilize?"

“Without losing a single soldier,” Wang Ruoyu said.

Nie Yu continued, "What do you mean?"

“Simply cut off their food supply,” Wang Ruoyu said confidently. “After the fall of Guangzhou, some Guangzhou merchants, having heard of the Han army’s battle in Haojing’ao, offered a plan to Your Majesty: simply order a ban on the transport of food and water from Guangzhou to Haojing’ao, and within three months, the Portuguese in Haojing’ao will surely surrender.”

Running out of food for three months is a rather simple and unpretentious tactic.

This was also a common tactic used by the Ming and Qing dynasties to deal with the Portuguese in Macau—it was convenient, labor-saving, and required minimal fighting.

The Macau that the Portuguese are leasing now is not the Macau of later times. Only the Macau Peninsula is allowed to be leased; Taipa Island and Coloane Island were occupied after the First Opium War.

The Macau Peninsula is connected to Guangdong in one corner, so the Portuguese did not develop agriculture on the Macau Peninsula and relied entirely on Guangzhou for food and supplies.

If Guangzhou cuts off food and water to Macau, Macau's supplies will collapse after only two or three months at most.

As for Macau buying grain from other places, that's pure nonsense. When the Ming Dynasty was still in power, the Portuguese, Spanish, and Dutch were all enemies.

The only places around Macau where you could buy food were Luzon and Annam. Luzon was a Spanish colony, northern Annam was Dutch territory, and the Nguyen clan in the south were extremely hostile to these Western-believed red devils.

Although it is now a puppet Qing dynasty, and relations between the Portuguese and the Spanish and Dutch have eased somewhat, they are still in a state of tension and war most of the time.

Even now, if Guangzhou cuts off food supplies to Macau, the Portuguese in Macau will not be able to buy a single grain of food in Luzon or Annam.

Because Annam was embroiled in a civil war, the Tay Son dynasty and Nguyen Phuc Anh, supported by the French, had plunged Annam into misery.

Luzon in the southeast is still Spanish territory, but the alliance with the Portuguese has just broken down.

Portugal has really caught a good time. The current Queen of Portugal has been suffering from mental illness for many years due to her close-kin marriage and has long been unable to manage the country.

The eldest son, who was also a close relative, died a few years ago, and the remaining younger son was unwilling to assume regency and was also mentally ill.

Last year, this mentally ill Portuguese prince, who had been hiding for several years and even allowed the noble council to seize power and undermine the monarchy, finally couldn't escape his fate and was forcibly brought out to become the regent of Portugal, known in history as João VI.

The reason why João VI was brought out was not because the Portuguese people needed this regent, nor because the noble council was deeply righteous; it was purely because the external pressure on Portugal had reached its limit.

After Napoleon seized control of France through a military coup, he defeated the Spanish, forcing Spain and Portugal to become enemies once again.

The Portuguese noble council sensed the crisis and pulled out King João VI to take the blame. This guy was also very capable; the first thing he did after taking power as regent was to form an alliance with the British.

Then, using this as a pretext, Napoleon attacked Portugal the following year, seizing large swathes of Portuguese colonies and territory, while simultaneously ordering Portugal to break its alliance with the British.

King João VI was forced to sign an unequal treaty, and afterwards continued to secretly form an alliance with the British.

Of course, this secret alliance did not last long. Only six years later, Napoleon, who had already proclaimed himself emperor, once again sent troops to Portugal and captured Lisbon, the Portuguese capital.

This truly insane Regent John VI, under British protection, fled across the ocean to Brazil, becoming the first emperor of the Brazilian Empire. There, he amassed power and, seven years later, joined forces with the British to successfully defeat Napoleon. It can be said that without Napoleon's conquest of Portugal, Brazil might not have been able to develop into what it is today.

Less than a year after John VI returned to Portugal from Brazil to restore the country, his son, who had remained in the Brazilian Empire, seized power and led Portugal to completely lose its vast South American colonies. Portugal also suffered a crushing defeat in the Far East and never recovered.

Nie Yu carefully recalled this history. If he remembered correctly, the countdown to Portugal's demise should have started around next year.

In preparation for his coronation, Napoleon planned to first give Portugal a good beating the following year, inflicting heavy losses on them.

Therefore, the Han Dynasty doesn't really face much pressure in dealing with the Portuguese in Macau.

Portugal is already beset by internal and external troubles, so what pressure could it possibly have? Besides, the Han Dynasty has a technological advantage in weaponry.

That being the case...

We must seize this opportunity while he is ill.

These Portuguese people in Macau had been occupying Macau for over a hundred years after China fought the First Opium War and saw the weakness of the Qing Dynasty.

Nie Yu made up his mind and said, "Haojing'ao was leased to the Portuguese during the Ming Dynasty, so it is my Chinese homeland. These Portuguese can only be considered tenants of Haojing'ao. Now the tenants dare to take up arms and attack their masters... Heh."

Upon hearing the cold laugh at the end, Liu Jun and Wang Ruoyu immediately stood up to receive the imperial decree.

Nie Yu paused for a moment, then decisively said, "I don't care about the past of the Ming and Qing dynasties in Haojing'ao. Now that the area east of Guangdong has been restored to our great Han, Haojing'ao must be taken back no matter what."

"Issue the order that Guangzhou will immediately ban the import of food, water and all other necessities from Macau. If Macau sends any envoys, they shall be sent back and not allowed to enter the country."

"I am not an overly xenophobic person. After Macau runs out of food for a month, I will have the Portuguese from Macau send their governor to Guangzhou for negotiations."

"Also, send another imperial edict to Cai Qian, ordering him to dispatch a fleet to Macau for a stroll, so that the Portuguese in Macau don't think that our Han Dynasty has no hospitality."

The Portuguese in Macau are not entirely pushovers. The food shortage in Guangzhou could certainly threaten them, but the Portuguese, cornered as they are, would probably launch a fleet attack on the coast of Guangzhou.

The Ming dynasty was not afraid because of Zheng Zhilong, the "King of the Fujian Sea," and the Qing dynasty was not afraid because of the powerful Fujian navy.

Since the Han Dynasty did not have a sufficiently powerful navy, it had no choice but to use Cai Qian, who had already been recruited, to the point of exhaustion.

Fortunately, Cai Qian was quite sensible; the official position and title given to him by the Han Dynasty were enough to keep him running around.

However, the Han Dynasty still needs to establish a well-organized navy as soon as possible. This fleet composed of pirates cannot be used indefinitely, otherwise the Han Dynasty's future opening of the seas will be severely affected.

After discussing the official matters concerning Macau, Liu Jun continued to report on some future governance matters in Guangdong on behalf of the cabinet.

Although Guangdong only accounts for half of the area for now, some related governance and the resettlement of the Heaven and Earth Society rebels must be put on the agenda.

The position of Governor of Guangdong may not be established initially, but officials from the three essential departments—Guangdong Provincial Administration Commissioner and Provincial Surveillance Commissioner—must be selected and dispatched there.

Oh, and there's also the island of Qiongzhou Prefecture. This island wasn't very important during the Qing Dynasty, but it was quite crucial during the Han Dynasty.

Qiongzhou Prefecture is an island like Taiwan. The Han Dynasty doesn't impose a sea ban; on the contrary, it wants to open the sea. So, Qiongzhou Prefecture has to be taken over first.

Moreover, if Nie Yu remembered correctly, Qiongzhou Prefecture also had high-grade Phoebe zhennan wood, which could be used to build warships. It was not as good as the teak from Annam, but it was still much better than ordinary cedar and oak.

The three of them, the emperor and his ministers, discussed political affairs in a semi-casual manner. Guangdong had just been conquered, and the opening of the sea route was also involved. There were indeed many things to do, but it was not necessary to report every single detail.

The cabinet and various ministries would first sort out most of the less important and urgent tasks, and only consult Nie Yuqin for decision on truly important matters.

After discussing for more than half an hour, the political and military affairs of Guangdong were finally reported, and Liu Jun and Wang Ruoyu got up to take their leave.

Nie Yu raised his hand to stop the two: "The weather has been getting hotter and hotter lately. I have some new shaved ice here. You can each take a portion back and use it to cool off."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

The two quickly bowed in gratitude and then happily withdrew.

Nie Yu was already used to this. The two men said they were there to report on their work, and they did report on their work, but work reports could also be written in memorials, and it wasn't always necessary to meet them in person.

I came to meet you in person, not for anything else, but just for a bowl of shaved ice.

There's no way around it; Nanjing's shaved ice supply is limited, so every little bit you eat reduces the available quantity.

This year is unbearably hot, and all these civil and military officials are eyeing the ice blocks in his hands.

The Song Dynasty emperors set a good example by rewarding ministers who braved the summer heat to report on their work with iced shaved ice.

This even became a common practice, which annoyed the Song Dynasty emperors themselves.

Because ministers often coveted those small amounts of shaved ice, they would run to the emperor every day to report on their work, even requesting an audience with the emperor late at night, all to advise the emperor to be diligent in governing and to love the people.

To be honest, there's something Nie Yu doesn't understand. The puppet Qing dynasty's Manchus had eaten shaved ice before, so why were they so shocked by ice cream when they saw the Western powers eating Western food?
(End of this chapter)