Port Feifu is located overseas, and Hong Chengchou is unable to take care of it for the time being, but Macau is under the jurisdiction of Guangdong, so he can still reach it.

According to the customs order issued by the emperor, the ports are currently under the jurisdiction of local customs. However, the terminals of Guangzhou Port are scattered and not as centralized as Tianjin. It is also not as new as Shanghai Port. There are no intricate relationships and it is easy to manage.

It was really difficult for Hong Chengchou to move here. The petty officials who managed the docks at Haikou said it was a minor offense and they basically didn't stop greeting him. They were all the children of the local gentry, so it was normal for Hong Chengchou not to follow him.

Suffering from the fact that he only had a few weak scholars under his command and no capable and competent personnel to help him, he could not act for a while and could only live with it. However, in this predicament, he finally found the key to breaking the situation.

Macao!

Although Hong Chengchou is a scholar, he is also familiar with military and war manuals. His strategy is naturally good and his courage is extraordinary. In this difficult situation, the only way is to establish prestige and purge the port personnel. And the best way to establish prestige is

Killing involves blood, and if you want to kill someone, you need soldiers.

He easily figured out the relationship between this, so, with his guide and a few men, he came to Macau, preparing to borrow troops to kill people.

The personnel in the port have long been infiltrated and controlled by the smugglers. He can't find reliable manpower, and this kind of mutiny must not be leaked. Once a little bit of news leaks out, what is waiting for him is probably

Unexpected.

Don't say it's impossible, there are a lot of pirates in Guangdong. As long as you do it cleanly and put the blame on the pirates, everything will be fine and the government will catch the pirates if they have the ability.

Therefore, Hong Chengchou cautiously brought his people to Macau. Not only the borrowing of troops, but also customs duties, he had to carefully discuss with the other party.

Macau is located to the east of Pearl River City in Guangdong, facing Hong Kong across the sea. There is a Pearl River estuary between the two. Inside the gap formed by the peninsula is the famous Lingding Ocean.

After all the hardships have been encountered, only the stars around are scattered in the fighting.

The mountains and rivers are broken, the wind flutters and the catkins float, and the life experience is ups and downs, and the rain hits the rafters.

Afraid: I am afraid on the beach, I am alone in the ocean.

Since ancient times, no one has ever died, leaving a loyal heart to illuminate history!

This famous poem "Crossing the Lingding Ocean" was written by the famous poet Wen Tianxiang when he was passing by the Lingding Ocean by boat when he was being escorted. It is really popular and well-known to every household.

Taking the famous local Guangzhou boat, Hong Chengchou walked the same path as Wen Tianxiang and set foot on the land of Macau with a completely different mood.

Macau is divided into two parts: the peninsula and the outlying islands. The peninsula is connected to the land, and the outlying islands live alone in the sea. At first, the Portuguese only lived on the outlying islands. Later, when it became inconvenient, they bribed officials in Guangdong and gradually invaded the peninsula.

Macau was under the administration of the Xiangshan County Government, but Hong Chengchou did not intend to alarm the other party. Instead, he quietly came to the Macau Peninsula by sea. At the governor's residence on the top of Shishan Mountain, he met the first Governor of Macau, Mascara.

.

The Governor of Macau was appointed by the Governor-General of India, but his power was not great. He only managed defense. He was commonly known as the head of the army. His power was not great, but it was just right for Hong Chengchou.

Mascara also just arrived in Macau. He even arrived later than Hong Chengchou, but he took office with an army, so his life was naturally better than that of Hong Chengchou, but the benefits were limited. The Macau Council and the Jesuits

Don't want to see him.

According to the original history, he should only take office as the Governor of Macau next year. However, due to the sudden changes in the Ming Dynasty, various true and false news circulated uncertainly. For the sake of the safety of Macau, the Portuguese and Indian Governor directly dismissed Ma Shi, who had conflicts with him.

Jialu was also sent to Macau, out of sight and out of mind.

In the defense official residence of Shishan Summit Fort, Hong Chengchou met the newly appointed governor. Ma Shijialu was probably less than forty years old. His hair was neatly combed, he had a big aquiline nose, and he looked smart and capable.

The straight military uniform looks very stable and mature.

"Hello, dear Mr. Daming." Ma Shijialu also spoke, which surprised Hong Chengchou. He didn't expect that the other party could speak Chinese. However, he soon discovered that the other party only knew this sentence, and the rest were all "let's say".

General translation.

"How about you, sir?" Hong Chengchou thought for a moment and used a more Westernized title.

After being polite to each other, the two sat down and introduced each other. After hearing that Hong Chengchou was an official sent by the Ming Dynasty to establish the customs, Ma Shijialu's eyes lit up and he couldn't wait to ask.

"Sir, I don't know what the customs regulations are."

"Customs is naturally used to collect tariffs. Exported goods and imported goods must be taxed." Hong Chengchou slowly explained. He spoke slowly to facilitate interpretation.

"Since the customs was first built, there are currently only three ports open, and these ports are currently under the jurisdiction of our customs..."

Speaking of this, Mascara also suddenly spoke, speaking in a hurried tone. The rapid words made the interpreter unable to react. After being confused for a while, under the urging of Du, the interpreter began to translate.

"Sir, building a customs in a port means that the Ming Dynasty allowed foreign ships to do business. I don't know how many such ports there are. Is Guangzhou Port like this? I don't know what is allowed to be bought and sold in the port."

Several questions came to Hong Chengchou, which made Hong Chengchou a little confused.

"Sir, these are not important. The purpose of my coming today is to borrow troops from you." Hong Chengchou decided not to dwell on the customs function and went straight to the topic. He found that he could not have too much contact with these Western barbarians.

They don't understand the polite politeness and may even regard this kind of politeness as a theme.

"Like sir, I'm new to the job, but I don't have troops with me, and the port officials are not very cooperative with my work because of their collusion with local smugglers, so I hope to borrow some firepower from you, sir."

Gunner." Hong Chengchou said the contents in detail.

And this kind of political discourse obviously interests the first Governor of Macau. Whether it is domestic or foreign, as long as it is mixed with this kind of thing, it contains huge interests. Whether it is commercial interests,

Or political interests.

In the original history, Maascar Road would also secretly connect the trade route with Manila and make a lot of profits. Obviously, this is a person who chases money. No, or rather, people all over the world today

Caucasians are all chasing money this way.

In Hong Chengchou's words, he smelled the smell of gold coins. Think about it, a huge port, a port where goods can be bought and sold freely, and this port happens to be located in a country like Ming Dynasty that retains milk and honey.

Thinking about the huge amount of porcelain, silk, and tea produced by the Ming Dynasty, thinking about the huge population of the Ming Dynasty, and the market behind it, Maaskar Road almost trembled with excitement.

And now, the manager of this port is currently discussing with me about borrowing some soldiers and horses so that he can carry out his work and complete the establishment of such a port. Taking this opportunity, he can completely insert himself into this port.

In one hand, even if you cannot obtain certain management rights, as long as you are familiar with the rules here before others, you will return to Portugal with a large amount of gold coins.

"Sir, no problem, no problem at all. With our friendship, it doesn't matter how many soldiers and horses you want. As long as I have it here, you can take it." After figuring out the key points, Maaskar Road

His eyes were almost gone when he smiled, and his originally cold expression became filled with enthusiasm and warmth.

"Uh, okay, let's..." On the contrary, Hong Chengchou had never dealt with foreigners before, so he couldn't stand the other party's disgusting words. We had just met, okay, where did the friendship come from? Moreover, the other party's cheerful words

, he couldn't react for a moment, could he agree so directly?

However, no matter what the other party's intentions are, he should take the troops and horses back first. As long as he controls Guangzhou Port, his mission will be completed.

"Yes, we, I like the word us." Hong Chengchou's words touched the base of Ma Shiqian Lu Ye again, making him inexplicably excited, "Come on, Mr. Hong, let me do it for Guangzhou Port, for the customs, and for ours."

Friendship, let’s have a drink.”

He casually picked up the red wine lying next to him, opened it, poured two glasses, forced one glass to Hong Chengchou, and drank it in one gulp. He was extremely generous.

Looking at the wine as red as blood in the transparent glass in front of him, Hong Chengchou was a little dazed. Could this be blood? These foreigners are still in the era of drinking blood like raw hair?

Fortunately, he was also a learned man, and he quickly thought that this might be the legendary wine, and a poem immediately came to his mind.

"Glow-in-the-dark cup of grape wine, I want to drink the pipa immediately." After chanting, he raised his head and drank it. However, the sour taste made Hong Chengchou feel uncomfortable when he drank this kind of wine for the first time, and his face became ugly.

"Haha..." Mascara also looked at his expression and laughed. It was obviously not the first time he had seen someone make a fool of himself after drinking wine for the first time.

Clang clang clang!

However, after a clear sound of a bronze bell clanking, his laughter stopped abruptly, like a duck with its neck cut off, and his face was shocked and ugly.

This is a huge bronze bell located next to the fort. When the bell rings, it indicates an enemy invasion.

"Damn it, it can't be those Dutch guys! These stray dogs peeing everywhere!" Mascara also cursed in a low voice, stood up, and hurried out.

"Master Hong, please come and take a look." However, he did not forget to greet Hong Chengchou before leaving, probably to let him see his troops.

"Okay." Hong Chengchou was stunned and quickly followed.

When they arrived at the observation deck, when they held up their telescopes and looked at the groups of gunboats on the sea in the distance, their reactions were different.

"Oh, buy it!" Mascara groaned, his voice full of disbelief. How could there be such a huge fleet in this world.

"Damn it, it's not the Dutch, it's not the Spanish, the unfamiliar sun and moon flags, which country's fleet is this?" The frustrated tone showed his mood at the moment.

Then, looking at the familiar yet unfamiliar flag, Hong Chengchou was surprised and filled with unspeakable joy that the Imperial Navy fleet had arrived in Macau at this time!
Chapter completed!