Ming East India Company

After seeing Bai Kecheng off, Bai Ye immediately summoned Su Zhongman:

"Go to the Mori family immediately and borrow 50,000 koku of grain from them to solve the food problem on Dongfan Island."

Will they lend it to us?

"At the same time, send people to approach the Tokugawa family in a big way. If the Mori family won't lend, there are plenty of others who will. Let's see who's in a hurry then."

Hakuno knew that the Mori clan's survival depended entirely on Ryukyu's support, so he was very confident in how to control the Mori clan.

"Secondly, immediately send someone to find Lynn and have him do everything he can to smuggle some ginna bark from the Spanish."

"Ginkgo bark?" Su Zhongman was puzzled; he had never heard of such a thing before.

"Just have Lynn look for it. The Spanish don't have many connections, but you have to find it."

By this time, Europeans had learned about the effects of ginna bark from the South American Indians. Although it would be more than two hundred years before quinine, which could be used as a specific drug for malaria, was developed, malaria resistance had not yet been "forged".

Therefore, boiling the bark of the goldenrod tree into a decoction can also treat malaria.

Of course, the Spanish have only just begun to popularize the bark of the golden ginseng, but for Shirano, the most urgent task is not to solve the problem of the patients, but to give hope to the immigrants from Tofan Island.

Even if only one patient is saved by the bark of the golden ginseng, the immigrants on the island will believe that Shirayuki can really cure them and will continue to stay on Tofan Island.

Confidence is always more precious than gold.

The above two methods can only solve the immediate problem. There is only one fundamental solution: to obtain ginna trees and sow them directly to produce quinine from the source.

Although it takes 3-4 years for ginna tree seeds to mature, this payback period is short enough compared to ship timber, which can take hundreds of years to mature.

Currently, all golden ginseng seeds in the world are in South America, firmly monopolized by the Spanish royal family. The Spanish have been aggressively harvesting the bark in the Americas and transporting it to East Asia via the Manila galleons. They only sell processed bark medicinal materials and strictly prohibit any golden ginseng seeds or seedlings from leaving the fleet.

Furthermore, an ironclad rule was established: anyone caught harboring or leaking seeds would be hanged immediately.

The only way to get it is by stealing.

……

On the ship's slipway in Kagoshima, Cornelius Brandt was hiding in a corner, puffing on a cigar.

Although both Shirane and Adams strictly prohibit smoking, there are always those who are addicted and want to have a couple of puffs.

Looking at the shipwrights building the base on the slipway in the distance, Brandt couldn't help but sigh.

As one of the people who came to Kagoshima with Adams, Brant was once the captain of the Loyal, another ship in that fleet.

However, because the Loyalty sank early, he had to lead the remaining crew to join the Friendship, and then drifted all the way here.

He watched his former colleagues thrive in foreign lands, becoming nobles, while he himself was reduced to an ordinary dockworker.

Brandt couldn't help but sigh.

In particular, I heard a couple of days ago that Adams had brought his wife and children from England, as well as his brother's family, over, and now the whole family are nobles in the Ryukyu region.

Every day, someone would carry her in a sedan chair when she went out, someone would warm her bed when she returned home, a cook would serve her when she was hungry, and rice wine would accompany her when she was thirsty...

This is the life of the elite, unlike me, who smokes a cigar with trepidation.

When will I be able to live a life like Adams?

Brant, lost in his daydreams, was unaware that Adams had come up behind him.

"Cornelis, what are you doing?" Adams's icy voice rang out.

"Ah!" Brandt cried out in surprise, feeling guilty, and quickly turned around to explain:

"Minister, I just came out for a smoke after dinner. This place is far from the work area, so there shouldn't be any safety hazards..."

By this time, Adams was the Minister of the Ship Department of the Ryukyu Navy, and Brandt no longer dared to call him by his name.

Unexpectedly, Adams completely ignored his smoking at the shipyard, merely glancing at him before saying, word by word:

"Get yourself ready and come with me to see the master."

"East, the owner?"

"Yes."

……

With a mix of trepidation and excitement, Brant followed Adams toward Baiye's residence.

Along the way, he repeatedly deduced why Shirane had summoned him.

First of all, it won't be any reward or reward; he's well aware of the quality of his work lately.

Secondly, it probably wasn't anything bad like committing crimes, since Brandt considered himself "honest and law-abiding" except for occasionally smoking a few cigars.

Lost in thought the whole way, Adams led Brandt to Baiye's house.

The room was covered with dense bamboo tatami mats, which Brant stepped on silently, spotless. High on the main wall hung a huge Ryukyu-style screen with a dragon over the sea, outlined in gold lacquer and set against a dark black background. In the center of the hall stood a three-legged gilded incense burner, from which wisps of fine sandalwood smoke rose, their subtle and deep fragrance filling the room and calming Brant's tense emotions.

Shiro sat upright in a rocking chair in the room, his hands resting steadily on his knees, his back straight, his eyes fixed on Brandt.

"You're Cornelius Brandt?" Shirano asked.

Brandt replied cautiously:

"It is I."

Shirane sized up Brandt for a moment, then continued to ask:

"Adams said you're fluent in Spanish?"

Brandt quickly explained his family history: his ancestors were peasant farmers from the Lowlands who later married an Iberian woman after the Spanish settled there. Therefore, he was born fluent in both languages ​​and bore a striking resemblance to a Spaniard.

Shirane nodded in satisfaction:

How much is your monthly salary now?

"The monthly salary is about two pesos." Brant was right. Although Adams was good at shipbuilding, he was a miser when it came to his men. Knowing that the sailors who had fallen with him couldn't escape, he simply squeezed them dry.

"So, I'm offering you a job that pays 100 pesos a month. Will you take it or not?"

Upon hearing this, Brandt's eyes lit up instantly.

One hundred pesos a month—that's enough for him to live a carefree life in the Netherlands for a few years.

"Oh, by the way. If you take this job, you'll get a 500-stone estate, hereditary. What do you think?"

Before Brandt could react, Shiro dropped a second bombshell.

"Also, I recently found you a marriage partner on Kagoshima. I imagine you've been wandering for most of your life and haven't married or had children yet!"

After these three moves, Brant was immediately moved to tears and knelt down, kowtowing repeatedly.

"Thank you for your great kindness, Lord. I will fulfill the task you have entrusted to me as if I were serving God."

Shirane then had someone bring out a huge picture:

"This is the tree I drew. From now on, you will infiltrate the Spanish fleet, follow them to the Americas, steal the seeds of this tree, and then transport them back to Ryukyu to plant."

"Once you complete this task, all the rewards I just mentioned are yours."

Although Brant had some doubts, he gritted his teeth and accepted the mission after considering the tempting conditions offered by Shirayuki.

After Brandt left, Adams still asked Shirayuki with some concern:

"Master, what if he leaves and never comes back?"

Baiye smiled and shook his head:

"Impossible, because he couldn't refuse the price I offered him."

Adams took over the rest.

William Adams personally oversaw all the preparations. As a long-time adversary of the Spanish, he was intimately familiar with Spanish rules and the Inquisition's censorship logic.

At the heart of the plan, besides the flawless forgery of documents, there was another key person: Sanchez, a wealthy Spanish businessman in Manila.

Since he acted as a go-between for the Ryukyu Kingdom and the Spanish, Sanchez has suddenly realized that this business of selling out one's country is really easy.

As one of the most prominent merchants in the Manila colony, Sanchez controlled several merchant shipping routes between Manila and the Americas.

Shirono has reached a top-secret agreement with Sanchez through Adams: as long as Sanchez assists Brandt in completing this task,

Once the deal was done, the Ryukyuans would allow Sanchez's ships to sail directly to Kagoshima. This would allow him to trade timber, spices, and firearms with Japan, bypassing the control of the Spanish monarchy and reaping unimaginable profits.

At this time, Sanchez did not know that Ryukyu and Kagoshima, Japan were the same thing. He was still using outdated information and thought that as long as he joined the Silver Silk Road, he would have a continuous stream of wealth.

Little did they know, Ryukyu had completely monopolized this trade route and controlled all the nodes along it.

Faced with the risk of execution on one side and the potential to become the richest man in Southeast Asia on the other, Sanchez accepted the secret agreement with little hesitation.

Before Brant embarked on his journey to Manila, he underwent two months of hellish "re-education" by Adams at a secret villa in Kagoshima.

Adams crafted an identity for him that was perfectly aligned with Spanish maritime rules and was flawless:

Juan Carlos Fernández, 24 years old, is of Spanish descent from Seville. Born into a family of sailors, his parents died early. He sailed on Atlantic merchant ships from a young age. Three years ago, while on a voyage to the South Pacific, his ship was caught in a storm and sank. He was left alone in the waters off Luzon and drifted to Manila. He was determined to return to Spain by merchant ship and made a living when he stopped in Peru.

This character setting perfectly explains why he appeared in East Asia, why his accent was slightly foreign, and why he wanted to board a ship to the Americas alone. Every detail is consistent with the common experience of Spanish sailors at that time, without any abruptness.

What is harder to replicate than experience is religion.

The Netherlands is a Protestant country, while Spain is the most stubborn stronghold of Catholicism. The Inquisition's investigation of heresy was even more rigorous than its identification documents.

To board a ship bound for America, one had to possess a baptismal certificate issued by the Catholic Church, be able to recite Catholic scriptures fluently, and be proficient in all religious rituals. Any slight lack of familiarity with these rituals would immediately be considered a Protestant heresy.

Adams brought in Catholic priests from Kagoshima to teach Brandt day and night.

From the most basic sign of the cross to pre-meal prayers, liturgical rituals, and the full memorization of the Hail Mary and the Lord's Prayer, even the daily catchphrases, prayer habits, and mannerisms of Spanish Catholics, everything had to be replicated. Brandt had to truly see himself as a devout Catholic, not a fake Dutch Protestant.

In the early days, Brandt made frequent mistakes. His habitual Dutch slang, his non-standard use of the swastika, and his stutters when reciting scriptures all earned him extremely harsh corrections from Adams.

Adams knew this wasn't training; it was survival. Before the Inquisition in Manila, any small mistake could be Brant's demise.

"I'm not teaching you how to act, Juan."

Adams always addressed him by his Spanish name, a constant reminder of his changing identity.

"Brant has been dead since you accepted this mission. The only survivor is Juan Fernández, a devout Spanish Catholic sailor. If you slip up, Sanchez will be implicated and executed, the secret pact in Ryukyu will be exposed, and you yourself will be burned alive in a square in Manila."

Brandt had that phrase etched into his very being.

He practiced day and night, silently reciting scriptures while eating, making the sign of the cross while walking, and imitating the posture, bowing, and speaking manner of Spanish sailors in front of the mirror. He changed all his little gestures and catchphrases, and even his eating habits and daily routines were completely in line with the daily life of Spanish sailors.

Two months later, the Dutch sailor Brandt was no longer standing in front of Adams; instead, there was a young Spanish sailor with a steady gaze, a perfect accent, and impeccable manners.

Finally, there's the forgery of identity documents.

Bai Ye assigned the task to Lynn in advance. Relying on his years of experience, Lynn forged the sailor qualification documents of the Spanish Seville Chamber of Commerce, the baptismal certificate of the Manila Catholic Church, the maritime statement of the merchant shipwreck, and the local colonial authorities' records of the shipwreck...

The handwriting, seals, signatures, and paper of each document are completely replicated from the official Spanish style.

Ultimately, the key to making these documents effective and passing the review of the Manila colonial authorities lay with Sanchez.

Only with Sanchez's intervention could these forged documents be officially registered at the Governor General's Office and the church in Manila, becoming truly legitimate and verifiable identity documents.

With everything prepared, Brandt changed into a worn but clean Spanish sailor's outfit, erased all traces of his connection to Ryukyu, boarded a Ryukyu merchant ship, and quietly sailed away from Kagoshima Bay, heading south towards the Hachiren district near Manila Bay in the Philippines.

Lynn had already arranged for someone to meet him. Under the cover of night, he brought Brant ashore and took him directly to his private residence in the Eighth District. The whole process went unnoticed by anyone.

The next day, Lynn delivered "Juan Fernandez" to Sanchez.