(Lao Wang did not do well in geography in junior high school. The North Equatorial Warm Current was recorded as the North Pacific Warm Current. This has been changed.)
Li Quan's ocean-going fleet and the Spanish galleon returned to Asia one after another, with a time difference of less than ten days.
However, the destination is different.
Li Quan arrived on the east coast of Luzon Island and circled the island from the north to Manila. The Spanish galleons sailed to Cebu Island to dock. After losing Luzon, the Philippine Governor's Palace was moved to Cebu.
There was no cargo on Li Quan's ship, only a pile of tobacco, cane sugar and rum.
This was given to Li Quan by the Spaniards who were unable to raise money for a while and exchanged goods for goods. After he arrived in Manila, he directly sold them to Chinese businessmen at low prices, and then took the silver and silver coins obtained from America.
Go to Datong Bank in Manila to exchange for Chinese silver dollars.
Due to the strict control of the court and the fact that silver dollars are more convenient than silver, almost all domestic transactions only accept silver dollars.
Although silver coins are mixed with impurities, they are more reliable than silver. There is no need to ask a master to identify the quality during transactions. When making large transactions, you don't even need silver coins. Datong Bank and private banks have draft business.
The next step is to repair the ship and purchase some Luzon specialties, planning to transport them to northern China for sale.
Zhang Huangyan, the governor of Luzon, heard that Li Quan had returned from America and immediately sent someone to invite him to a banquet.
"Meet Mr. Zhang!" Li Quan greeted him with a cupped hand. He also brought a gift, which was a piece of sandalwood brought back from Hawaii.
Zhang Huangyan said with a smile: "Yu Heng is really young and promising, and he actually sailed a huge ship across the ocean. From now on, can we anchor in Manila on our return trip instead of landing in Taiwan or Fuzhou?"
"Well, it depends on the situation." Li Quan didn't give much face.
Zhang Huangyan's intention was very clear. He wanted to use Manila as the end point of American trade to prosper the commercial economy of Luzon Island.
As for Li Quan's return voyage this time, he directly arrived at the east coast of Luzon. If he wanted to come to Manila, he would have to go around a circle. The distance was enough to go directly to Taiwan. Next time he comes back, he might be near Taiwan. Wouldn't it be better to go directly to Fuzhou for trading?
Zhang Huangyan said: "As long as Yuheng anchors in Manila, I will immediately send people to negotiate with the Governor of the Philippines to ensure that Yuheng will not be attacked on the west coast of America in the future."
"It's a deal!" This is what Li Quan was waiting for. Otherwise, why would he come to Manila in a detour?
That night, the guests and hosts had a great time, each getting what he wanted.
Zhang Huangyan took this matter very seriously and sent an envoy to Cebu Island in the Philippines the next day to visit the governor.
The Governor-General of the Philippines is Sabignano Manrique de Lara. This man has been in office for more than two years. In addition to making money, all his energy has been devoted to countering rebellion.
Well, you can also make money by countering rebellion.
The annual salary expenditure for officials and the army in the Philippine colony is about 200,000 silver pesos.
After the rise of the Netherlands, the Philippines was threatened and had to increase its military strength and replenish its fleet. As a result, the expenses of the Philippine colonies also increased, and 40% of the "Mexican surplus silver" was directly shipped over.
With the rise of China, the Philippines lost Luzon, leaving only the southern islands. The governor took the opportunity to ask the king for money, saying that in order to prevent China, administrative and military expenses would increase again, and 45% of the "Mexican surplus silver" would be shipped every year.
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The so-called "Mexican surplus silver" refers to the amount of silver that is left after deducting the silver mined by the official government in Mexico, deducting the amount transported back to Spain, and deducting the Mexican colonial expenses. According to historical data, it is speculated that the amount of silver mined in Mexico is actually the official amount of silver mined in Mexico.
The amount of mining was more than three times, and colonial officials made a lot of money one by one!
In recent years, uprisings have continued in the Philippines, and the governor and officials continued to ask the king for money, trying to transport 50% of Mexico's remaining silver to the Philippines.
In fact, the large-scale uprising has been suppressed, but the governor deliberately left behind sporadic small uprisings, not to support the bandits for self-respect, but purely to support the bandits for money!
Governor Delara received Zhang Huangyan's envoy and asked, "Do you have anything to do with your visit to Cebu?"
The messenger got straight to the point: "Just a few days ago, a Chinese fleet came back from your country of Mexico."
"What?" Delara was shocked.
The envoy continued: "The Chinese fleet will also go to Mexico next year. Please tell the Spanish Navy not to attack the Chinese fleet without authorization!"
Delara said: "Sorry, I can't make the decision. You have to contact the fleet commander."
The Philippines only wanted money. After getting the silver, they did not replenish their warships at all. All the ships were antiques from thirty years ago.
In both the Pacific and the Atlantic, there was the so-called galleon trade.
Due to the large number of warships and pirates from various countries in the Atlantic Ocean, every time treasure ships and official merchant ships go to sea, they are escorted by twenty or thirty warships.
On the Pacific side, there are no warships following at all, and even if there are, they are all old-fashioned small boats.
So much so that Japan was able to bully them. Once the galleon trade was about to dock in Japan, Toyotomi Hideyoshi confiscated a Spanish galleon for religious reasons. The Spanish had no temper about this, and from then on, they did not dare to sail in Japan.
Arriving ashore, no retaliation was carried out.
The Chinese envoy came to negotiate this time, mainly to inform the fleet on the Mexican side - there are more than 20 Spanish warships on the west coast of Mexico, specially used to deal with Dutch and British pirates.
The envoy said: "Once the Chinese fleet is attacked, every Spanish galleon traveling from Cebu to America may become a San Felipe!"
The San Felipe was the Spanish galleon captured by Toyotomi Hideyoshi.
This is a naked threat. China has occupied Luzon, Taiwan and the Ryukyu Islands. If the Spanish galleons want to go to America, they must pass through this area. Of course, they can also take a detour, but they cannot sail along the Kuroshio Current and cannot go smoothly.
Not to mention, there is a greater chance of encountering a big storm.
The throat of the large sailing ship trade has long been choked by the Chinese navy.
The two sides fought a war before, and China captured Luzon Island, but soon signed an armistice agreement. What was the reason for this?
In order to continue to obtain American silver, China wanted to continue to obtain Asian goods. Each took what they needed, that's all, and both wanted to resume the galleons trade as soon as possible.
Now, Chinese fleets are heading to the Americas, clearly disrupting the trade situation.
"I will tell you." Delara couldn't say anything harsh at all.
"Waiting for good news!" the messenger turned and left.
In Mexico and the Philippines, too many people depended on the galleon trade for their livelihood.
If no one else mentions it, it will be said that Delara and his cronies are taking advantage of their privileges to obtain licenses. They do not directly participate in trade, but only speculate on licenses as securities. They can earn several times the profit by buying and selling short.
A large sailing ship is divided into thousands of spaces. Each space requires a permit, and each permit is worth a lot of money!
If the Chinese want to trade with the Americas, as long as the trade volume is not large, let the Chinese do it.
For colonial officials, it was an urgent matter if they attacked the Chinese fleet and cut off the trade of galleons. Not only would the king have to be held accountable, but many people's jobs would be ruined, and they would definitely be left with nothing to live on.
Delara convened a meeting of Philippine officials, but everyone had nothing to say.
To completely solve this problem, the king would have to send a large fleet to take back Luzon, Taiwan and the Ryukyu Islands. Is this possible? The royal family has long been bankrupt and cannot even fight a war in Europe, let alone follow them in Asia.
Chinese open ladle.
Then we can only hide it from the king, and colonial officials will continue to engage in smuggling, continue to speculate on licenses, and acquiesce that Chinese businessmen are involved in the silver wire trade. Everyone is happy!
Except for the Spanish king and local merchants, no one suffered any losses.
In fact, everyone had long been dissatisfied with the king and had been restricting the trade volume of the galleons. In another time and space, a few decades later, the king would be forced to increase the trade volume, double, double, and then double.
"The great Spanish Empire has lost its glory after all." De Lara sighed as he looked at the sunset.
Think about how majestic and majestic they were back then when they traveled across the world and dominated Europe, but now they are bullied by a bunch of countries.
As a nobleman and as a governor, Delara was deeply saddened by this.
Of course, the money that should be earned must be earned, and the mind cannot just stay in the past, but must also keep pace with the times and face the future.
In Manila, there was an endless stream of businessmen visiting Li Quan.
Li Quan simply called all those who had sent their greetings and had a dinner together at the Fujian Association Hall in Manila.
"This glass is dedicated to Commander Li!"
Lin Ruosa, manager of the Fujian Chamber of Commerce in Manila, was the first to stand up and raise a toast.
The word manager has existed for a long time.
"Commander Li." Other merchants raised their glasses.
Li Quan smiled and said, "Easy to say."
After three rounds of drinking, the businessmen began to ask: "Commander Li, how long will it take to go back and forth to America?"
Li Quan replied: "It took five or six months to go and three months to come back."
"That's nearly a year," Lin Ruosa asked again, "will there be any big storms along the way?"
Li Quan answered truthfully: "The journey there not only takes a long time, but also has many winds and waves. I heard that the Spaniards occasionally had their ships sink. The return journey was smooth and calm, and it was relatively safe. It should be noted that you must bring your luggage with you when you go.
Enough fresh water, and the fresh water should be sealed as much as possible. You should also prepare more tea leaves, pickles and beans. The beans are used to sprout bean sprouts. I don’t know which ones are useful. Anyway, ordinary crew members also often drink tea. Don’t pour out the leftover tea leaves. Let them all be used.
The crew chewed it and swallowed it. As long as they docked, they should buy as many fruits and vegetables as possible to prevent scurvy."
Li Quan's crew did not suffer from scurvy. In fact, the tea was mainly responsible, and the vitamins in the bean sprouts could be ignored.
Lin Ruosa continued to ask: "Is it okay to transport the goods to America?"
Li Quan smiled and said: "You can sell it if you transport it. I left in a hurry this time, and the Spaniards didn't know it in advance, so the transaction volume was not large. But if I go again this year, there will definitely be more Spanish businessmen gathered there. They have a lot of money, and if they transport it, they will be able to sell it."
They can eat as much goods as they want."
The Port of Acapulco has a fixed opening date, which will only be postponed under special circumstances.
Before the market opened, a large number of merchants arrived, including wealthy businessmen, officials, priests, soldiers, and even Indian vendors, transportation workers and ordinary people. There were also merchants from Peru, the Caribbean, Central and South America, and the Kafir region of Africa.
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The rich mainly come from Mexico City, Lima, the Caribbean and African Kafir. Then there are three transshipment routes, going south to South America, transported by land to Mexico City, transported by land in Central America and then by sea.
The freight route from Acapulco to Mexico City was directly named the "Avenue of China."
Once the galleons trade was cut off, the entire Americas would be short of goods, and Spain would not dare to provoke China at all.
Li Quan said to many maritime merchants: "I am not running a ship to make money, but to expand to the Americas under the emperor's order. All proprietors, shopkeepers, and ship owners, as long as you are willing to go to the Americas, you are all welcome. Let's make an appointment to meet together.
Set off!"
The merchants did not dare to make an immediate decision. They had to go back and seek advice.
Some are joint ventures, with the shareholders meeting having the final say. Some are sole proprietorships, with the big bosses living in coastal Fujian.
In fact, the American trade routes are too far, too dangerous, and the risks are too high. If you want to make big money, you have to be brave.