Merchant ships and warships seemed to be separated by a chasm. Tang Xingyuan shared their difficulties, and Pan Xuezhong also shared the difficulties of the Nanyang Chinese. This is not a chicken-and-duck argument, but the result was not successfully achieved.

Consistent.

The conversation was not speculative, and Pan Xuezhong was not allowed to show his friendship as a landlord during dinner. The two of them said goodbye and went back to the inn. Chen Yuanliang naturally knew where he was and led the way. Knowing that his companion was in a bad mood, he did not talk about anything.

.

As Chen Yuanliang saw, he had come all the way, and had asked Chen Kai for instructions before, which was almost like a surrender letter. When they met this time, he was indeed a knowledgeable person, but he wanted to

No matter how hard he crossed the red line that he couldn't touch, he couldn't do it anymore, which really made him very angry.

"Mr. Pan is too stubborn."

He has been doing business for many years, and it is not that he has never dealt with Zhejiang people. In his memory, the Zhejiang people he knows are basically very good at changing according to changes in the environment, and they are also very practical, not just empty talk. But now

Not to mention anything else about this man, he only said that this stubbornness was the only thing he had ever seen.

"The gentlemen on the same ship will have to visit friends and purchase goods for a few days. They will always stay for a few days. In the past few days, I will go and talk to Xiang Yier. He is not a person who cannot listen to others' advice."

"Then I can only ask Yinglong."

It is not Tang Xingyuan's style to be discouraged and give up, or to get angry. Even if they could not reach an agreement just now, he did not have a quarrel with Pan Xuezhong to distinguish right from wrong. Keep a fine line in life, this is his father

The philosophy of life taught to him when he was young has benefited him a lot over the years.

There was room for change, and Chen Yuanliang was able to take the initiative to ask for help. Tang Xingyuan was relieved. His mind was no longer entangled in this, and he paid more attention to the things around him.

This is the Chinese community in Manila. I heard Chen Yuanliang say that the locals call this place Binandu, and it has existed as early as the Wanli period. Looking sideways at this moment, the buildings on both sides of the road are basically in the Han style, and I feel confused.

It feels like you are in your own country, rather than in such a foreign country.

However, this feeling was completely destroyed when a church not far away appeared in front of his eyes. It was a completely Spanish colonial-style Catholic church, which was quite similar to the one he had seen in Macau.

Of course, this similarity is basically at the same level as his understanding of European ships. It can be seen that it is a European church, nothing more. As for the detailed classification of styles, it seems a bit difficult.

Today is not a Sunday. There are only a few people coming in and out of the church. Some of them are Spaniards at a glance, and some are wearing Han Chinese clothes. They are probably some Han Chinese who have converted to Catholicism.

.

Although China has suppressed religions in history, as long as it does not threaten its rule, it is generally relatively tolerant. Local Taoism, imported Buddhism, Catholicism, Christianity, etc. can all develop freely in China.

Tang Xingyuan didn't think it was surprising at all.

"I heard that when this church was first built, a deaf and mute worker dug out a black cross. After seeing the cross, he could speak and hear sounds. Therefore, the cross in this church is

The black one is said to be that one."

Manila, Chen Yuanliang has been here countless times. Some of the local customs and customs are enough to serve as a tour guide. However, after Tang Xingyuan heard this joke, he actually sneered at it. His original respect for the gods has turned into respect for the gods.

The person who created it was so pretentious and disdainful that he didn't even want to take another look at it. He just agreed absentmindedly, that's all.

He has read the books of sages, and although he may not have the ability to take the imperial examination, he still understands the principle of the monsters and gods. Gods, he believes that they really exist in this world, just like Mazu, he

I have always believed in piety, and I have never been disrespectful to other gods. However, I have never looked down upon those people who cheat in the name of gods. Even if they don't want to offend, I don't bother to pay attention to them.

.

The fact that Tang Xingyuan was like this was all seen in Chen Yuanliang's eyes. Originally, he was just talking to relieve his boredom. As for whether the story was true or not, he didn't care at all, and he would not make any excuses for these irrelevant things.

The inn was already on the edge of Binandu. The two continued walking, chatting here and there, but they didn't feel bored. On both sides were Han courtyards and shops. Outsiders had no time to know what was going on in the courtyard.

But just look at those shops, they are busy going in and out, no matter men, women, old or young, they are all busy making a living. Along with their work are goods and money flowing in and out.

Such a scene once again allowed Tang Xingyuan to regain the illusion of being in Han Dynasty. It was like the cotton fields and cotton spinning workshops in Qiongzhou, just like the mulberry forests and embroidery houses he saw when he visited Shunde Silk Weaving.

No matter where there is no influence from the Guangdong Commercial Alliance and the man behind them, Chen Fujun, even the most ordinary fields and streets will have similar scenes.

I had such an illusion until I approached the inn and saw a few natives carrying paran machetes sitting under the trees in the distance, lazily chewing betel nuts and chattering. He had traveled all over the country, and it was not that he had not visited foreign countries.

However, just by looking at them, you can see that the natives are ignorant and barbaric from the bottom up. To use a term commonly used in ancient China to describe them, they are barbarians.

Thanks to these barbarians, he was finally brought back to reality. But when he turned around, he saw that at the inn not far away, the Han people were still working hard. This coming and going made his face

There was an extra wry smile.

"In Nanyang, the diligence of us Han people is not inferior to that of our hometown."

Chen Yuanliang said solemnly, and Tang Xingyuan also nodded heavily and expressed the same formal affirmation. The status of the Han people in Nanyang became more and more embarrassing with the invasion of Western colonists. On the one hand,

The Han people are world-famous for their intelligence and hard work, and Western colonists need the Han people to produce and create wealth for them; on the other hand, Nanyang has always been adjacent to the Han land, and the huge population base of the Han people may not be comparable to that of the entire Europe, let alone the whole of Europe.

Not to mention the colonies with only a handful of colonists in Southeast Asia, such a huge population gap always puts them under great pressure.

In addition, there are many differences and contradictions between Eastern and Western civilizations. Before the Western colonists entered Nanyang, the Han people went to Nanyang to make a living, and they were also cultural exporters of advanced civilization to backward civilization. This is even more

They became competitors of the Western colonists. However, they could not simply drive out the Han people out of economic interests, because they simply could not rely on those lazy, ignorant, and barbaric Nanyang monkeys to create them.

The wealth I longed to gain after traveling thousands of miles here.

The waiter had already warmly welcomed them in, and Chen Yuanliang walked in as usual. After informing the waiter where they were staying, he went to discuss with the shopkeeper.

Tang Xingyuan, on the other hand, did not go in immediately. He stopped at the door of the inn and looked up. Behind the big trees where the natives who had just noticed were sitting were the Spanish fortresses and forts. And those vaguely visible cannons

The mouth seemed to remind him that this Binandu was within the range of the Spanish cannons. As long as they wanted to, they could directly turn the prosperity of this place into a sea of ​​​​fire!

………………

Arriving at the inn, most of the companions who had gone out to visit friends had not returned yet. After the two had dinner, Chen Yuanliang began to prepare for the voyage. On the other hand, Tang Xingyuan, who originally only wanted to hire a shipbuilding designer, something happened at this moment.

There were twists and turns, and it was a problem that he couldn't solve personally, so he was free.

After about an hour, those companions came back one after another and sat down together to chat for a while. They also talked about the oppression of the Chinese businessmen in the Spanish team, which was in perfect harmony with what they had experienced today.

The next day, Tang Xingyuan did not go with Chen Yuanliang to Pan Xuezhong, but set out with a companion who also came here to buy spices, which was a complete show.

After yesterday's argument and a night of thinking, when Chen Yuanliang arrived at Pan Xuezhong's home, the latter already felt a little guilty for yesterday's rudeness, but his position remained unchanged - as a matter of principle, there would be no

Changing things easily out of concern for the other person's feelings.

"If you don't build Galenic ships, just build some merchant ships. No matter how much goods you transport, you will only make money for those ghosts and barbarians. I really don't understand why they are so short-sighted!"

The look of hatred on his face really made Chen Yuanliang laugh out loud. Seeing his old friend like this, Pan Xuezhong became angry for a while. But before he could talk to Chen Yuanliang about the oppression of Nanyang Chinese by Western colonists,

Old things, hoping to awaken some sympathy among others, but it was Chen Yuanliang who was the first to respond.

"The scholars, farmers, industry and commerce are at the end of the four peoples. My brother is still placing his hope in the imperial court?"

Let’s not mention the massacre during the Chongzhen period. After all, the country was about to be subjugated at that time. The Manchus in Liaodong and the rogue bandits in the customs had already made the Ming court scratch its head. How could it care about Nanyang? But as early as the Wanli period

At that time, the emperor was furious about this, but he still did not send troops to conquer. This was not only due to the limitations of the country's power, but also because the rumor that Luzon was rich in gold and silver was broken. When the income was lower than expected and the investment, the operation was cancelled.

.

There is nothing surprising about this, but during that uproar, the Ming court finally concluded that "among the four people in China, merchants are the lowest, so why should we treat them as untouchables and launch a military revolution, abandoning them with no regrets?" In other words,

The Ming Dynasty believed that these people who fled to the Philippines were merchants, and merchants were not worthy of the court's use of force.

Looking at the overall incident, this rhetoric is more like a fig leaf pulled out for not sending troops to avenge the 20,000 Han people. However, this excuse that seems to be in line with the concept of focusing on agriculture and suppressing business, actually makes the Ming Dynasty

His face was completely lost and he could be called extremely ridiculous.

Chen Yuanliang was talking about this old story. The imperial court was accustomed to letting people like them live outside the territory. This was similar to the early Ming Dynasty when Zheng He made seven voyages to the West, including going to Java to conquer Chinese pirates and granting overseas Chinese consulships official posts.

, and the use of this to strengthen the influence of the dynasty in Southeast Asia are completely different from conquering unconquered subjects. The decline of national power is one of the reasons, but more importantly, it is due to the different focus of the country.

Pan Xuezhong understood this and immediately gave a negative answer. At the same time, he even said that after all, he still had hope for the forces behind the Guangdong Business Alliance, but he did not expect that it would still be like this.

Timid and timid.

"Brother, in my humble opinion, I still have to try to get out first before I have such an opportunity. If we finalize everything once, who can guarantee that it won't happen again in the future?"

………………

"I have already tried to persuade Mr. Pan, and he also regrets it. So I tried to persuade him to build the merchant ship first, and then build the Galen ship later when there is a chance. He said that he should consider it, and I think it is very good.

It’s eighty or nine years old.”

"So good, so good."

After praising Chen Yuanliang's negotiation skills, Tang Xingyuan also guaranteed his vote by saying that he would advise Chen Kai on the construction of warships if he had the opportunity in the future, which surprised Chen Yuanliang.

Another morning passed, and this time Chen Yuanliang brought back the good news of success. Tang Xingyuan was very happy about this, and quickly asked when he could set off, and what additional requirements Pan Xuezhong had. Chen Yuanliang also knew that,

The Guangdong Business Alliance paid a very high commission to Pan Xuezhong this time, and because of Chen Kai's letter, they finally decided that if they could really fulfill Chen Kai's request, they would also give Pan Xuezhong a portion of their shares as a reward.

This can be said to be a huge investment, which also shows that their hopes are high, and as a middleman, this friendship will definitely be of great use in the future.

Faced with Tang Xingyuan's inquiry, Chen Yuanliang knew everything and said that Pan Xuezhong could keep things simple. As for the reason, Pan Xuezhong wanted to go to Qiongzhou Prefecture first, because sea-going shipbuilding has always been a big project and the raw materials needed to be inspected.

, but also to train craftsmen and workers, and it is very likely that he will even try to "dig" some familiar Chinese craftsmen from Nanyang to ensure that the ship can really be built.

Similar things can be said to be very complicated, and he has to slowly sort them out. In addition, he has not fully explained his family's side, and the business here is indeed not something that can be left behind in a short while, so this time he is

Going to Qiongzhou alone with Chen Yuanliang and Tang Xingyuan was also a front line.

After reaching a cooperation, Tang Xingyuan visited again. The two parties had a tacit agreement not to talk about the Galen Ship anymore, but only had further discussions on the arrangements and exhibition after the past.

In this way, the discussion continued until late at night, and Chen Yuanliang and Tang Xingyuan simply stayed in the Pan family's guest room for the night. The next day, Chen Yuanliang went back to make arrangements for the trip, while Tang Xingyuan continued to discuss shipbuilding matters with Pan Xuezhong in order to adapt as quickly as possible.

The working style of this "chief designer".

This continued for several days. Chen Yuanliang's affairs were arranged, and Pan Xuezhong was also ready. On the eve of departure, Chen Yuanliang and Tang Xingyuan, who had just returned from two days of acting, came over to make the final announcement, but Pan Xuezhong was seen sitting there.

In front of the fire pot in the study, he threw the manuscript papers that he had spent many years drawing into the fire one by one, and the tears in his eyes rose together.

"These, these are Brother Pan's years of hard work!"

Seeing this, Tang Xingyuan immediately blurted out. After hearing this, Pan Xuezhong raised his head, and the redness in his eyes was as firm as his mind.

"Since they are painstaking efforts, they have already been engraved in my heart. The Francois will never let these things flow out of Manila, and leaving them will be a source of trouble. But after leaving Manila Bay and reaching the sea, I will never let them out of Manila.
Chapter completed!