Cursed Mountains and Seas

Chapter 370 Wang Cheng: This official agrees with Vice Envoy Jiang's proposal.

A few moments earlier, at the Governor's Palace in Manila.

A group of high-ranking colonial officials, led by Luzon Governor Miguel López and military commander Velasco, are holding an emergency meeting.

The topic is enough to shock everyone.

—At this moment when the stench of the massacre has not yet dissipated, we must invite the people of Dazhao back!
"Your Excellency, a month has passed since the massacre."

Today, Manila has lost its barbers, tailors, shoemakers, cooks, farmers, ranchers, and most importantly, its merchants.

We are about to face an unexpected predicament: we will soon have no food to eat and no shoes to wear, and we will not be able to buy them even if we pay extremely high prices.

A list of goods that meet domestic requirements is nowhere in sight.

Upon hearing a report from an internal affairs official, the other colonial raiders had to admit one thing:
“Those overseas Chinese from Dazhao, and even those working in all industries, are all excellent workers who perform their labor at reasonable wages.”

"Without the Dazhao expatriate community, Manila would not be able to survive."

"Moreover, for our government, the import tax paid by merchants from Dazhao each year amounts to 52,000 pesos, which is equivalent to about 42,000 taels of silver. Who will fill this fiscal gap?"

So it's not that expatriates have to live in Manila, but rather that Manila can't do without those expatriates."

They were all talking at once, but the main point was very clear.

Only after slaughtering all the expatriates did these ruthless bandits realize that they and the Frankish expatriates knew nothing about farming or production; all they knew was robbery and whipping.

The prosperity of this port city in the past was not due to its own governance, but because it could parasitize the economic body built by the immigrants of the Dazhao Kingdom like a tumor.

When their fig leaf was torn off, they were immediately exposed, barely able to survive.

The meeting had been underway for several days, and now that a consensus had been reached, Governor Miguel López immediately signed the Governor's Order:
"The search for those who escaped has come to an end."

I will personally go out and invite the survivors back, and tell them that the massacre was actually orchestrated by the indigenous Bangbangya people.

Find two scapegoats and hang them to vent their anger.

As for me, the governor, I left Manila some time ago on business and was completely unaware of this, having been deceived by those seemingly honest Bongbongya people the whole time.

Find a few more expatriates who have knelt before us most utterly, return their property to them, and widely publicize the benevolence of us Franks. I believe those expatriates will then know who they should hate.”

Governor Miguel's words drew a burst of laughter.

As the world's leading colonial empire, even if they lacked Wang Cheng's vision that transcended his time, they had already experienced the benefits of using indigenous people to govern other indigenous peoples through long-term practice.

They gradually began to explore new governance models.

Subsequently, an interior official further proposed:

“Your Excellency, I suggest that the ‘orphanage’ system, a new continental practice, be established in Manila to ensure the future stability of the colony.”

As the name suggests, the "orphanage" was a school that sent all the children in the colony, regardless of whether they had parents or not, to the Church of the Holy Cross.

This is not to give them any advanced education. More than 90% of the people on the Western Continent are illiterate, so what advanced culture could they possibly have?

The purpose is simply to prohibit them from using their native language, continuing their native customs, or practicing their native religion, thus severing the cultural heritage that their parents have been exposed to from a young age, and forcibly assimilating them.

The ultimate goal was to turn them into the labor force needed by the lower strata of colonial society, and to completely dismantle the original social structure!

Only children who are converted into qualified members of the Church of the Holy Cross can leave these schools alive.

In fact, the Franks had long established various "orphanages," "charitable institutions," and "boarding schools" in the New World, Southeast Asia, and Bharata.

According to colonial officials, the mortality rate in some Indigenous boarding schools exceeded 70%, even higher than in concentration camps.

A conscientious priest once described the tragic condition of the children:

"Father, Mother, why did you send me to the Mercy Hall?"

Even spoiled porridge and leftover soup, things that are inedible, are served.

"Working hard from morning till night is not as good as a calf or sheep."

Those who are successfully reformed can be released alive, while those who are not reformed are destroyed on the spot. After all, reducing the indigenous population is one of their important objectives.

The colonists only needed the expatriates whose bones had been completely broken to work; they didn't need any rebels with deep-seated hatred.

Governor Miguel nodded in agreement to the suggestion, a calm smile on his face as he gave the final summary of the meeting:

"Gentlemen, the dog will come back when it's hungry."

To paraphrase "The Influence of Sea Power on the Influence of the Sea ...

The hardship of living conditions is only temporary. Once the Dazhao immigrants from abroad gather in Manila again, the city will soon prosper once more.

Then"

The military commander beside him, Velasco, responded with a sinister smile:

“Every twenty years, there is a massacre of the expatriates, and all the wealth they have accumulated is taken away.”

The meeting room erupted in laughter.

Bang!
Just then, the door to the conference room was suddenly pushed open by a group of guards outside.

Before Governor Miguel could even get angry, they exclaimed in panic:
"Sir, look out over the sea!"

The executives in the conference room subconsciously looked out the window, and then the smiles on their faces gradually froze.

Looking at the more than two hundred large warships flying the dragon flag, and the rows of muskets and cannons on board, everyone couldn't help but gape in astonishment.

"God! This can't be real!"

"I must be dreaming." Just moments before, Miguel, who had held the power of life and death in his hands, couldn't help but shudder and exclaim in surprise:

"Aren't our secret missionaries and believers in Dazhao saying that the country's government strictly enforces the maritime ban and that the nobles don't care about their overseas citizens at all?"

Why would they send so many people to attack us?

Even before sending out messengers to ascertain the other party's intentions, they knew how despicable their actions were.

They only dared to act so recklessly because they always believed in the "benevolence and righteousness" promoted by the Celestial Empire.

But once they realized that the other party was serious this time, they all became as anxious as ants on a hot pan, at a loss for what to do.

Forget about orphanages and harvesting every twenty years; all of that was thrown to the winds.

In his moment of confusion, Governor Miguel's expression suddenly turned serious, as if he had heard someone speak.

Holding the cross emblem on his chest with both hands, he listened intently to divine revelation.

Then, his expression returned to composure, and he gave the order to the crowd:
"Immediately dispatch an envoy with gifts to the other party's flagship to pay homage to the imperial envoy of the Great Zhao Emperor."

We'll say the massacre was just a misunderstanding, and we will severely punish the Bangbangya perpetrators and give them an explanation.

Although others did not understand what this meant, it did not prevent them from strictly implementing it.

Bow with hands on chest:

"Yes, Your Excellency!"

On the flagship, the Five Peaks Banner, all the generals had gathered together.

Several Francois presented the Angel of the Great Zhao with a large sum of money, repeatedly emphasizing that it was all a misunderstanding and hoping that they would not interfere in Manila's internal affairs.

After listening to the envoy's words, Wang Cheng, sitting imposingly in the main seat, showed no emotion on his face. He ordered his personal guards to escort the envoy out, and then immediately asked Jiang Jichun:
"Vice Envoy, what do you think?"

The generals all looked at him.

During the ten days of travel at sea, the deputy envoy remained well-behaved and did not cause any trouble for the fleet.

Although he was a loner and often disagreed with others, no one in the fleet dared to ignore his presence.

This was not only due to the power of the living spirits and deities, but also because of his own status as a deputy envoy.

Why did the mainstream of the imperial court view overseas Chinese as treacherous and lowly people?
In short: "Out of control!"

Even the owners of various businesses prefer to hire middle-aged people who have elderly parents to support, young children to raise, and debts to bear. Having concerns makes them more cautious and less likely to act recklessly based on mere courage.

Let alone the common people under its rule?
If a large group of single men with no ties were to gather, and there were also beer halls, it would be a nightmare for anyone to see.

The same applies to ocean-going fleets.

Even back then, Zheng He always had a deputy named Wang Jinghong who held a very high position and whose power was almost equal to his.

The inscription on the stele commemorating the miraculous response of the Heavenly Princess in Changle, Minzhou, is signed: "Zheng He and Wang Jinghong, the chief eunuchs."

In addition, all the officers and generals of the naval force came from military households in the garrisons, and their families and promotions were in the hands of the imperial court. Only then did the emperor feel at ease entrusting such a powerful force, sufficient to establish a country overseas, to him.

In comparison, how could Wang Cheng, a local military household, be more trusted than Zheng He, who came from the background of an imperial servant?

If the top two leaders are still getting along well, then the one who should be worried is Emperor Shaozhi.

Therefore, the deputy envoy could never have been on the same page as Wang Cheng from the very beginning.

The selection of Jiang Jichun was quite deliberate.

He served as an official for many years, and on the surface, he belonged neither to the once-powerful Yan faction nor to the Qingliu faction, which was based in the Censorate.

He always kept to himself and was upright and incorruptible.

Moreover, the Jiang family's wealth was not in his name, but was held by the clan, making him a perfect example of an extraordinary scholar who was devoted to learning.

In addition, his family held the hereditary title of commander of a thousand households, so he should be knowledgeable about military affairs and wouldn't be a hindrance to the fleet.

He and Wang Cheng, one wielding individual power and the other controlling the entire fleet, could cooperate and supervise each other.

This is also where Xu Shaohu, the Grand Secretary, excelled.

On the surface, there seemed to be no problem with it, it was acceptable to all parties, and the emperor had no objections.

If Wang Cheng hadn't been protected by the "Rare Goods for Hoarding" and the "Three Questions of Sang Hongyang," which were specifically designed to counter the gentry and powerful families, he wouldn't have been able to conclude that this person harbored ill intentions, even if he saw that this person didn't get along with him.

This is also the source of Jiang Jichun's confidence to openly fight for the right to speak and even control.

He wasn't intimidated when Wang Cheng asked him a question.

You don't necessarily have to speak out later to disagree.

He had already obtained details of the imperial council meeting from within the Guishan Academy and knew that Wang Fugui, like Minister of War Zhang Ao, was a proponent of war.

Therefore, he did not hesitate to advocate for peace:
"Our Great Zhao is the army of a king, and we should value peace above all else. I believe we should go ashore and make contact with Governor-General Francis."

As a proper scholar who had passed the imperial examination, he was about to teach these soldiers a lesson by citing classical texts, and then, when Wang Cheng went his own way, he would stage a scene of a loyal minister dying to remonstrate.

Send him and his cronies to their deaths.

As countless wicked thoughts surged in his mind, he saw Wang Cheng, who should have been the one advocating for war, nod immediately after hearing only the beginning of his statement:
"Very good, I agree with Vice Envoy Jiang's proposal!"

Jiang Jichun: ? ? ?

(End of this chapter)