The Black Sails of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 6 Why should we wage war against the lowly people?

He was speaking Spanish, which none of the Han Chinese around him could understand.

But everyone could hear the anger in his tone, and they all lowered their heads even further, almost parallel to the ground.

At this moment, Lu Dongzhu stepped forward with a stiff upper lip and said in broken Spanish, "Miss Catherine, I apologize on his behalf. He is a captain who has just arrived in port and does not know etiquette."

Catherine seemed not to hear her, and looked at the tax collector and priest standing at the entrance of the shop, greeting them, "Good morning."

The two returned Catherine's greeting: "Good morning, Miss Catherine."

"Add an extra 5% tax to this merchant."

“But, miss,” the tax collector hesitated, “your father…”

“Consider it my offering to the Lord. I believe you will be very pleased with this offering, Father.” Catherine gave a sweet smile.

The Spanish priest smiled and said, "Of course, miss."

After Catherine finished speaking, she glanced at Lin Qian with disgust, then flicked the reins and rode away.

Lu Dongzhu hurriedly retreated to the side of the road. A mounted guard passed by and kicked him in the back, causing Lu Dongzhu to fall backward.

The mounted guards burst into laughter and followed Catherine away.

The waiter quickly helped Lu Dongzhu up; blood had already flowed from his nose, pooling on his chin and dripping onto the ground.

The Spanish priest shrugged at Lin Qian and said, "Then, let's sign the contract under the witness of the Lord."

Lin Qian suppressed her temper and said, "Didn't you see that Master Lu was injured because of the guards' reckless behavior? We can't sign the contract today."

“No, you must sign today.” The priest shook his head, not even bothering to explain why.

Lu Dongzhu interjected in Spanish, "Sign, sign now."

He covered his nose with one hand and gestured with the other to invite everyone into the shop.

Lin Qian stood still.

Lu Dongzhu walked to his side and said in a low voice, "When you're under someone's roof, you have to bow your head. You don't know how hard it is here if you don't live here. This contract has to be signed today, and I'll pay the extra taxes as a favor."

Although Lin Qian couldn't swallow this insult, he wasn't a naive young man. He knew that sticking his neck out would not only fail to bring him any benefit, but would also put Master Lu in a difficult position.

Since things had come to this point, Lin Qian had no choice but to follow her inside.

The waiter took out paper and pen, and the two parties drew up a written agreement based on the price they had just agreed on. Then the two Spaniards signed their names.

The document was made in triplicate, with one copy each for Lin Qian, Lu Dongzhu, and the Spaniard.

Lu Dongzhu bowed to the two Spaniards and said, "The tax money will be delivered to the Governor's Mansion and the church today. Thank you both. Please go back now."

The two Spaniards left satisfied.

Lin Qian said, "The taxes paid to the church originated from me, so I should bear them. Please deduct them from the silver coins."

While wiping the blood off his face with the handkerchief handed to him by the waiter, Lu Dongzhu waved his hand and said, "Brother Lin just risked offending the Franks to speak up for me. For that alone, I want to be your friend. I'll pay the taxes. Let's not argue anymore."

It's clear that Lu Dongzhu has a generous and forthright nature. When associating with this kind of person, it's best to be straightforward; being too evasive will only hurt feelings.

Lin Qian cupped her hands and said, "Since you consider me a friend, I won't stand on ceremony. When I return to the Ming Dynasty, there will still be plenty of empty seats in the cabin. I will then purchase more from you." Master Lu looked to be about forty years old, while Lin Qian was only in her early twenties, so he naturally addressed her as "younger brother."

Upon hearing this, Lu Dongzhu's smile widened: "Of course. Luzon Island is rich in resources, and the Francois bring many good things, especially cloves, cardamom, glassware, pearls, and tortoiseshell, which are the most profitable. Brother Lin, just let me know what you want, and I'll reserve the best for you."

The two then chatted for a while, enjoying each other's company. Master Lu then had a waiter bring tea.

"There are no tea plantations in Luzon, and few ships travel between Luzon and the Ming Dynasty to trade tea. This tea is very rare in Luzon. Brother Lin, please try it."

Lin Qian herself had little interest in tea, but she had learned quite a bit about it in her previous life in order to interact with others. She picked up the teacup, took a sip, and said, "The tea has a light fragrance and a long-lasting aftertaste. Is it Longjing?"

Master Lu was quite pleased with himself: "It is indeed Longjing tea. It's just a pity that the Francois don't recognize the merits of tea..."

Lin Qian had long been curious about the relationship between the Spanish and the Han people, so she took the opportunity to probe by saying, "These barbarians are arrogant and unruly. Women ride horses freely in the market, and officials arbitrarily exploit them. They are truly barbarians beyond the reach of civilization."

Lu Dongzhu looked terrified and quickly gestured for Lin Qian to keep her voice down.

"Brother Lin, watch your words. That Franco woman is not someone to be trifled with."

Lu Dongzhu lowered his voice and said, "She is the only daughter of the Governor of France and is very favored. Not to mention riding a horse in the bustling city, she is also capable of killing people. If you see her next time, Brother Lin, remember to bow your head and pay your respects."

"I've heard that there are only a thousand or so Francois on the island, while there are tens of thousands of Han Chinese. Why are you so afraid of them?"

Master Lu hesitated for a moment, then sighed and said, "Very well, this is an ugly affair on the island. Even if I don't say anything, Brother Lin will find out sooner or later from others. That was in the thirty-first year of the Wanli reign..."

The thirty-first year of the Wanli reign, which is seventeen years ago, was 1603 AD.

According to Lu Dongzhu, the Ming emperor heard rumors from somewhere that there were gold mines on Luzon Island, so he sent the magistrate of Haicheng County and a centurion to the island to explore.

At that time, there were only a few hundred Spaniards on the island, while there were tens of thousands of Han Chinese. The Spaniards were already very wary of the Han Chinese.

This move deeply angered the Spanish governor, who believed that the Ming Dynasty was using "mineral exploration" as a pretext to survey the hydrology and topography in preparation for a subsequent invasion, and even viewed the Han Chinese on the island as Ming Dynasty accomplices.

After the Ming Dynasty's mining team left the island, the Spanish began military preparations. Within a few months, they organized a group of Japanese and Luzon natives as their allies and launched an attack on the Han Chinese without warning.

The Han people were caught off guard and had no way to defend or resist.

The attack quickly turned into a massacre, which lasted for three days and three nights. The area around the Eighth Market was littered with corpses and rivers of blood.

Han Chinese people, regardless of gender or age, all perished tragically, with the death toll reaching over 30,000. The entire Balian Market was decimated.

If it weren't for the fact that the island relied on Han Chinese to maintain its commerce and agriculture, the entire Han population on the island would probably have been slaughtered.

"Such a thing happened?" Lin Qian was quite surprised. He was quite familiar with history, but he had no recollection of the massacre in 1603.

"This matter is too shameful, and the Ming government dares not publicize it, so Brother Lin naturally does not know about it."

"What is the court's response?" Lin Qian pressed.

In his memory, the Ming Dynasty was extremely tough on other foreign powers, except for its unfavorable war against the Later Jin.

Master Lu was extremely disdainful and snorted coldly: "The imperial court? The imperial court only issued a proclamation, which stated, 'The overseas conflict is unknown, how can we, as lowly people, incite war?' And that was the end of it."

Even though he was utterly disillusioned with the Ming Dynasty, he couldn't help but sigh: "How can we, the 'lowly people,' wage war? Alas! Brother Lin, we Han Chinese on Luzon Island... from now on, we are no longer considered citizens of the Ming Dynasty, and naturally we can only be bullied by the Franks..."

(End of this chapter)