Hale opened his hood and took off his priest's attire. He picked up the Delinger pistol and played with it carefully. He quickly opened the hinged barrel, studied the chamber, then closed the chamber and fired the gun.
Pull the hammer back, pull the trigger again and again, and listen carefully to the soft sound of the firing pin popping out under the control of the ratchet.
The Baroness saw a note in the wooden box, which was scrawled by Weiss in a hurry. She picked it up and read aloud: "Rose of Manila, Baroness Charlo. A pious person."
Soldier, courtesy of Vincenzo Lando Vananova."
"A man will face a duel in a few hours, but he still has the energy to compensate for the damage caused to your husband's armor." Hale finished studying the pistol and began to play with the bullets that came with the gun, pea-sized spherical projectiles, and paper
The shell was integrated with the flash cap. "A musket," he muttered, "a flashy thing, but still much more useful than your husband's armor."
"At least it's suitable for hunting parrots and sparrows in farmland to prevent them from eating corn."
"Don't mention your corn anymore," Lucrezia stretched, not caring that her seductive breasts were trembling in the water, "I have already written to the steward of the farm and told her not to plant lilacs.
and nutmeg fields, half of the other land is planted with corn, and the other half is planted with sweet potatoes. As for the development of the new sugar cane plantation, I also asked them to start preparations. I don't care about Charlo's armor, it is just a display now.
There is nothing outside. Don’t think about that now,”
"Did you get the goods I asked you to buy for me in Macau in my letter?"
"Don't mention that you need Australian products - most of them are out of stock. Except for dried rice noodles and spirits, which are all available, only one-third of the quantity of soap is available. Other items are even worse."
"Where are the instruments?"
"It's just a part. Some of them they won't sell. But my servants are very persuasive - they still got it."
"You are truly my lucky star."
"Stop talking about your sweet flattery - I really don't understand, what do you want these weird things for? You also need to buy so much rice and noodles. Isn't the rice from the Philippines enough to fill the bellies of your men?
?”
"In the service of His Majesty the King and His Excellency the Governor, of course."
The Baroness had a look of disapproval on her face. As a Portuguese noblewoman, she had no respect for the King of Spain and Portugal. Not to mention the hostility between the merchants of the two countries competing in Southeast Asia.
"This way I can better serve the Baroness." Hale said, kissing her breasts on the shoulder.
The widow smiled brightly and whispered: "You are really a devil." She said, "Tell me, who can win the duel? Who do you prefer, Vananova or Sanavria?"
"Is this a bet?" Hale put down the pistol and bullets, closed the wooden box, and showed a smile rarely seen by others, "What's the bet?"
"A gold coin," Lucrezia responded casually. Her voice suddenly became cold: "I bet the count kills that liar, because he deserves to die. From Goa to Macau, people everywhere tell me that Sanabria uses
Forged promissory notes from the Seville Chamber of Commerce and invalid Genoa bonds defrauded them of their wealth. My father’s friends in Lisbon have already filed a complaint in Madrid. But the result will certainly not be what they want.”
Lucrezia did not further explain the reason for her worries. Just as few people knew the true source of her large wealth, it was not because her husband received a title in the Philippines and bought large tracts of land to grow spices; nor was it because she owned
Several purchase and sale certificates for the Manila galleon can legally transport a batch of Eastern goods to Acapulco for sale every year. In fact, with her Portuguese origin and relationship with the Jesuits, the Mercy Church she presides over in Manila has received support from the Far East.
The general support of Portuguese businessmen; and the low interest rate on her loans, she attracted many local Spanish businessmen and East Indian maritime merchants who converted to Catholicism in just a few years. This will of course arouse the jealousy and dissatisfaction of other charitable foundation groups in Manila.
, especially the "Brothers of Mercy", the earliest local charity foundation group. Sanafria is the only non-clergy director in this group. In terms of snatching the Baroness's business, Don Esteban Sanafria
Fria has done a lot behind the scenes.
"Bet on a pistol?" Hale took out a gold coin from his arms and put it in Lucrezia's hand. With just a glance, she noticed the difference in this coin: the size, weight and texture were the same.
There is no difference between other pistols, and the texture is indeed gold. But its shape is surprisingly regular, the edges are smooth, and there are no burrs common in coins. The front and back of the gold coin are smoother and smoother than ordinary coins, and even the patterns are exceptionally clear.
.
"It's so exquisite! Did you make it?"
"The first batch of placer gold sent from Baguio was cast into some blanks. According to the Governor's instructions, I made several for him in the workshop using a rolling mill and a screw forging press for making brass parts. The German who worked for me
It took the clockmaker a week to carve out the impression. Coincidentally, just yesterday, His Royal Highness the Governor personally went to the workshop to supervise this work. He saw that within the time that the Mexican coin craftsmen had minted a coin, our
The machine had already forged 20 pieces, so I was very surprised."
"The Governor-General plans to open a mint in Manila? Can the King and the East India Council agree?" The Baroness threw away the pistol gold coin and picked out a bottle of roses from a pile of large and small bottles on the table.
Oil, signaling Hale to apply it on her shoulders and neck.
"My dear protector," he obeyed and whispered in her ear: "This plan relies on you and your friends to promote it. You will silence those colonial judges and officials who are getting in the way.
. I assure you that not only the Governor, but Archbishop Lorenzo also approves of this plan. Both His Majesty the King, the Council of East India, and the Vice-President of New Spain are convinced that there is no need to send financial aid to the Philippines anymore.
Everyone will be happy to see it come to fruition.”
Because of the lack of currency and Spanish laziness, the Philippine colony did not have a mint. The currency needed by the colony, precious metal currency, was shipped from New Spain, and base metal currency was supplied by Chinese merchants. The lack of products and no own currency made Manila
The colonial authorities were economically "exploited" - the silver coins shipped from New Spain flowed into the pockets of Chinese merchants, and the Philippines was in a state of deflation.
"The mood of the King of Spain and his Chancellor of Finance has nothing to do with me..."
"That's true if you're a mint contractor."
"You are crazy, this kind of benefit cannot fall into my hands-"
"I guarantee that you will get the governor's authorization - think about the profits. If you can undertake it, we haven't taken into account the other benefits." His fingers slid over the delicate skin.
The rich widow let out a low gasp. The difference between the currency value and the currency value was a huge profit, which was a temptation that the Baroness could not resist in any case.
"How much money do I have to invest in this business?"
According to the traditional practice of many countries in medieval society, the state does not pay any fees for minting, adopting an "all-inclusive" model. The contractor only needs to deliver sufficient fineness and quantity of currency in accordance with the contract, and the rest is responsible for its own profits and losses. Become a mint
Contractors need to invest a large amount of start-up capital from their own pockets, including building houses, purchasing equipment, hiring workers, purchasing currency materials and fuel, etc.
"Twelve thousand pesos, not including currency."
"It's really not cheap." The Baroness fell into deep thought. Although the amount was within her affordability, it still required some planning to raise such a large amount of cash in the short term. In the early stage, she organized the Baguio Company to search for gold mining.
As one of the major shareholders, exploration and mining cost a lot of money, leaving the Baroness financially stretched.
The Baroness has always been Hale's biggest benefactor. It is precisely because of the generosity of this passionate and wealthy widow that his career can advance so smoothly: even after he became a legend in the colony, he proposed Baguio
The expedition plan was still questioned - except for the governor who provided a small group of soldiers and two ships in exchange for one-fifth of the profits, the whole of Manila was laughing at his plan as "whimsical". It all depended on the Baroness's support.
Fund this adventure to make it a success.
"If everything goes well, you'll get your entire investment back in the first year."
"And for the Governor and his friends?"
"It all counts."
"You are really a devil," the lady's voice was full of affection. "Do you know how much money I have spent on you since you came to Manila? You asked me to invest in building a water-powered mill, then a sugar mill, and then mining.
Gold, now you want me to plant corn and sweet potatoes and act as a minting contractor..."
“It’s worth every time, isn’t it?”
Hale's fingers were rough and flexible, and his powerful massage and kneading left flushed marks on the Baroness's fair skin. As his hands crossed her shoulders and went deeper, Lucrezia's breathing became more and more heavy.
, "What else?" She struggled to keep her head clear.
"There is also a second thing. Please introduce me to Count Vananova. I hope to meet him. If he can survive the duel - I am very confident about this. As for the third thing, that is -
"Hale suddenly bent over and carried the mistress out of the bathtub. Lucrezia let out a moan, tightly hooked the man's neck, and let him hold her towards the big bed at the other end of the bedroom.