() "Dutch?" Valdes stared at William aggressively and said in Dutch: "If you say you are, I will let you know that a despicable, shameless and hateful Dutchman has ventured to Spain.
What a price the land will pay!" Valders had spent many years in the Spanish Netherlands and could speak Dutch fluently.
The Netherlands provided safe protection to William's family who was fleeing the war. William lived there for several years and experienced the entire process from boyhood to youth. He had a deep affection for the Netherlands and was very disgusted with Valdez's tone. However, he had no intention of interacting with the Netherlands.
The other party clashed, which was not wise. He shook his head and replied in Dutch: "No, I am not Dutch, I am German."
Valdez's face turned pale when he heard this. It is difficult to tell the difference between Dutch and Germans in appearance, but language does not lie. William's Dutch level is not much better than his. Valdez said: "Germans
Man? Good thing you're not one of those swamp-dwelling lowlanders! The Netherlands is the cesspool of Europe...and the bastards of the world, and the people there are notorious, disgusting, perfidious bastards who don't have
Loyalty, no shame, nothing worthy of praise, the Almighty and Almighty God is ashamed of them!"
Valders cursed the Netherlands and the Dutch people in fluent Dutch, which stunned William. He shrugged for a while and said: "I can hear that you hate the Netherlands very much."
Valders snorted coldly: "Because I am a person with conscience."
"This is the best joke I've heard this year." William thought to himself. Seeing Huang Chen's puzzled expression, he turned to briefly explain it in English.
Valdes was very surprised that the two were communicating in English. He turned his gaze back to Huang Chen and looked at him seriously again. When the two ended their conversation, Valdes said with a stiff smile: "I have to say.
Whether it is your age, your wealth or your knowledge, you have surprised me very, very much. I am Antonio Carreno de Valdes, Captain of the Spanish Coop and Commander of the Fortress, you may call me Valdes.”
Huang Chen replied politely: "My surname is Huang Mingchen. I am very happy to meet you, Mr. Valders."
"Why do you have a Dutch sailing ship in your fleet?" Valders couldn't help but ask the mystery in his heart. He pointed at William again: "What's going on with him?"
Huang Chen smiled and said: "I don't know if Mr. Valdes has heard the news. A fierce maritime conflict broke out between the Netherlands and us in Copper Mountain more than a month ago. The "Heusden" is the ship I took from that war."
Trophies gained.—Mr. William Wolfe was once captain of the "Heusden" and is now in my service."
Valders was greatly surprised. The chicken coop was located in the north and the news was blocked. He didn't know about it. However, as long as it was bad news about the Dutch, it was good news for him. Valders asked: "You
The "we" in the mouth refers to? "God, the spirit of adventure, the spirit of bravery. People who resist the tyranny of the country and corrupt officials, of course, you can also directly understand them as pirates."
Valdes frowned slightly when he heard Huang Chen boasting. The country that hates pirates the most in the world is none other than Spain. Spanish transport ships in the Americas were seriously threatened by pirates, and the king had to send warships to protect them.
The hateful British pirates once embarrassed the Spanish Armada. In the eyes of the Spaniards, all pirates should be hanged.
Valdez said: "Could it be that you are a subordinate of Nikolay the First Officer?" Valdez has not met Nikolay the First Officer, but he has heard many rumors about him. He had frequent contacts in the past.
Qi, Manila. Since the Dutch entered East Asia, he immediately abandoned the Spanish and turned to fight fiercely with the Dutch. Now he is the most powerful pirate in the East Asian waters.
Huang Chen said: "That's true, but it may be more appropriate to use the word ally to describe our relationship."
Valdez didn't care that Huang Chen was Nikolai Yiguan's subordinate or ally. He only cared about what the other party brought. He asked: "You said you came here to seek a deal, so what's on your ship?"
Huang Chen's smile was full of confidence: "raw silk, porcelain, silk... everything you Spaniards need."
The Spaniards were most interested in raw silk from the Ming Dynasty. Valdes couldn’t wait to ask: “How much raw silk is there?”
Huang Chen stretched out a finger and shook it: "One hundred Dan."
"..." Valdez took a deep breath. The Spaniards purchased raw silk in Manila for about 300 pesos (equivalent to about 240 taels of silver), and 100 tons was 30,000 pesos (about 24,000 taels of silver).
. Shipped to America, the profit can reach 5-8 times. Valdez realized that Huang Chen was a rare big customer, and said enthusiastically: "You are richer than I thought. Let the guests stay on the shore."
This is a discourteous act, I now sincerely invite you to enter my castle as a guest."
Huang Chen did not agree immediately, but said: "Your Excellency Valdes, your castle is a completely unfamiliar place to me. I need the protection of guards. I hope Mr. Valdes can understand."
Valdes looked at the guards behind Huang Chen. There were about 100 of them. They had firm eyes and strong bodies. They were either wearing Western-style breastplates or Chinese-style armors. They were armed with short spears, matchlock guns, knives and bucklers. They were a group of people.
A group of well-disciplined elite soldiers. However, there are only 100 of them, which poses no threat to the city of San Salvador. Valdes nodded and said: "You can bring your guards."
"Your Excellency Valders, your choice has created the best conditions for us. I think this will be a pleasant transaction."
"This is exactly what I hope." Valdez nodded, "Please."
On the way, Valdes thought of William again, a German, looked at him with suspicion, and asked: "Are you a sincere Christian or someone destined to hell?" The Spanish are Christians, and the Dutch are.
In contrast to the Protestants, the Holy Roman Empire established by the Germans had many lords and different beliefs. Valdez suspected that William was a Protestant destined to go to hell. He certainly had reason to doubt that a true Christian
How could a gangster sacrifice his life for the Dutch?
William cleverly responded: "I can only say that I am willing to dedicate everything to the Lord, including my life."
Valders snorted slightly, obviously not satisfied with his answer, but stopped pressing the question.
Entering the city of San Salvador, Huang Chen found that there were very few residents and few houses. Only the dome, the church, and the monastery could barely be seen. Valdez explained reservedly: "I only came here last year to build this place.
Because the city lacks the necessary manpower, everything is very crude. I think by the end of my term, it will be completely different."
Huang Chen pointed directly to the point: "I don't think this is suitable for large-scale town construction."
Valdes was convinced: "Indeed, the land here is barren and not a good place to settle down. I am currently sending troops to formosa island, intending to choose a good, livable land to build a new castle. But
You know, the natives of Formosa are complete savages, and they chase my soldiers like gadflies, trying to kill them all brutally."
Huang Chen had heard that the indigenous people in northern Taiwan were more ferocious than those in the south, and could hardly communicate with them.
While talking, Valdes led Huang Chen to the round fort. Huang Chen left Yang Dong and most of the guards outside, and only brought William Zhang Ruozhong and a small number of guards in.
Walking into Valdez's office, Huang Chen's eyes were immediately attracted by an exquisite sailboat model.
Valdes proudly explained: "It is based on the pride of Spain, the Santiago. With a displacement of 1,200 tons and 60 cannons, it is the best warship in the world and no one can defeat it at sea."
it."
Huang Chen secretly laughed at Valdez's bragging and said: "The Spanish battleships are not as outstanding as you said. At least your invincible fleet lost to the British and was robbed of the world's first place."
Valdez seemed to have been greatly insulted, and his voice suddenly rose: "I am surprised that you, an Asian, can know about a European war that happened thirty-nine years ago (1588), but this does not mean that
Showing that you are well-informed will only highlight your ignorance, because only one year later (1589), Spain completely defeated the larger British fleet. In 1604, Britain signed the Treaty of London with us, the first in the world.
?The British received only the humiliating title of vanquished."
"William, is that so?" Huang Chen asked William in surprise. He clearly remembered that the Spanish Armada was destroyed by the British. Could it be that his memory was wrong?
William said impartially: "As he said, Spain defeated the British fleet the following year. In the following ten years, the two sides had victories and defeats, and they basically tied. The two countries made peace in 1604. Britain was not the number one in the world.
Nor a humiliating loser."
Huang Chen nodded and said to Valdes: "Okay, I take back what I just said. - Mr. Valdes, can you let me see it."
Huang Chen admitted his mistake, and Valdez's expression softened. While handing the "Santiago" sailboat model to Huang Chen, he said: "This is my friend, a private shipbuilder in Havana, when I was serving in America."
It was a gift given to me by Martin de Alama. Out of friendship, Alama made it with extra care. Look at its craftsmanship, it is like a work of art."
Although what Valdez said was a bit exaggerated, it was basically the truth. This model was indeed beautifully made, and Huang Chen observed it extremely carefully.
Seeing the towering poop of the model, William said with a hint of irony: "In the 17th century, the whole of Europe was trying to design more slender sailing ships. Reducing the size of the poop has become a general consensus among European designers.
The Spanish turned a blind eye to this and still clung to the backward combat concept of maritime infantry combat." (To be continued...)