Chapter 1075: I Will Apply Thunder, You Will Be Responsible for Reconstruction

When Li Li Yashi took out the "Hand-held Thunder," the first thought of the assassin in front of it was what kind of thing Li Li Yashi threw out from behind the tree, but the roaring explosion interrupted his train of thought, and he had no way to have more thoughts.

After the gunpowder exploded, the iron beads hidden in the medicine tube splashed in all directions with a sharp whistle.

This one hand-held thunder killed one person and injured two, while the three assassins on the other side fell into madness in the face of this situation.

"Divine art! It's divine art!" Exclamations came one after another. The assassins shouted loudly. Li Li Yashi didn't go far, and the palace guard soon arrived and arrested all the assassins.

Li Li Yashi still had four hand-held thunders. People are like this; they cannot imagine things outside their cognition. The West is generally ignorant, and religion is very common. When they encounter things they don't understand, they will put them on gods and ghosts. The hand-held thunder thrown by Li Li Yashi exceeded the cognition of these assassins.

This is not any divine art at all, but a miracle created by human power. It is a single-soldier weapon invented by Qi Qi Jiguang based on the flowering bomb. Its precursor technology is the time-delay wooden fuse and flowering bomb widely used by the Great Ming, but the craftsmanship is more difficult.

The Great Ming craftsmen are truly ingenious.

Li Li Yashi leaned behind the tree and gasped heavily. He was covered in sweat. When the palace guard arrived and it was safe, his thinking detached from high tension, his limbs tended to be weak, and he couldn't even stand still.

He is not young. At fifty-something, he traveled long distances and was exhausted to return to the West, and the West welcomed his return in this way.

His thoughts became very chaotic. He was guessing the origin of the assassins, guessing Antonio's standpoint, thinking that if he hadn't returned to the West, he wouldn't have encountered such a disaster, and thinking about his children left in the Great Ming.

His thoughts were too chaotic, affecting Li Li Yashi's judgment ability. He forced himself to calm down, discarded all distracting thoughts, and controlled himself to stand up, checking if he had any injuries.

The assassin's musket scratched his clothes, but there were no injuries.

He dismantled all those complex thoughts into separate problems. This is the methodology taught by the theory of contradiction, dismantling a complex contradiction caused by different standpoints and interests into small contradictions.

Only by grasping the main contradiction can one clarify one's own situation and then make decisions.

By the time the palace guard found him, he had already clarified all his problems.

The panic in his heart gradually dissipated. The situation was completely within his expectations. Returning to the West was such a situation. He made the decision, so there was no need for regret.

Life is like this, there is only "no regrets after placing a piece." Any regret, except for increasing mental internal friction, is useless.

Similarly, there is no need to over-render the beauty of that path not taken; it is also full of thorns.

Secondly, he also had a clear judgment on the source of the assassins. Two groups of people, mostly from three aspects: Philip's anger at Li Li Yashi's betrayal, the Holy See's punishment for his violation of the vow of celibacy, and the Falanxi Lion Henry not wanting him to go to Falanxi.

And Antonio's standpoint can also be determined. Antonio neither connived nor instructed. He was simply powerless. If he had a way, his closest comrade, Sword Saint Marcus, would not have died.

After Marcus died, Antonio also suffered various assassinations, from disobedient nobles, from Lisbon sea merchants, from Philip, from England, etc.

The captain of the Great Ming Global Trading Fleet and the Commander of the Barbarian Capital, Huo Hao Chengxin, came to the palace and met Li Li Yashi.

"If you continue to stay in the West, such assassinations will follow one after another. Come back to the Great Ming with me."

"His Majesty will not laugh at your weakness. Before departure, His Majesty specially exhorted me that if you regret it, take you back. The Great Ming doesn't lack a pair of chopsticks like you." Huo Hao Chengxin said very sincerely.

Li Li Yashi lived in the Great Ming for many years, and he had no credit but had hard work. He translated a large number of Western arithmetic works, and also introduced Galileo and Kepler to the Ming. He also served as a "friendly nation surprise" role for a long time, looking at Great Ming problems from the perspective of a barbarian, providing the Great Ming with a certain degree of error correction ability.

Huo Hao Chengxin said meaningfully: "The West is where the current productive forces and relations of production have not changed. Everything the Great Brightness Sect did to pursue light was just pulling up seedlings to help them grow."

Li Li Yashi understood Han language and had also learned many idioms. There was a farmer who saw that the wheat seedlings were growing too slowly, so he went to the field and pulled up the wheat seedlings. Later, these wheat seedlings all died. The West's productive forces are low, and even iron pots cannot be popularized. The relations of production are serfs and slave owners.

In this situation, can breaking the old relations of production change everything? Will it really usher in light?

Huo Hao Chengxin was completely pessimistic about this.

Li Li Yashi shook his head and said: "Huo Commander, you are right. The West does not have enough conditions at present. I know very clearly, but no matter when the West wants to change, it needs to start from changing the relations of production and abolishing the serf system."

"And the actions of us pioneers are by no means meaningless."

"The situation in the West is completely different from the Great Ming. The Great Ming is tens of thousands of miles away. The Great Ming's experience can only be used for reference. The road still has to be walked by the Westerners themselves, and the falls must be taken by the Westerners themselves! Only when they fall hard, when they are poor, they will change; when they change, they will pass; only when they are at a dead end will they change."

"The historical experience and lessons explored will all make those who come later benefit greatly. This is the reason why I want to stay."

Huo Hao Chengxin nodded helplessly after hearing Li Li Yashi say this: "Well, you have already left the Great Ming merchant ship, and I cannot send sea defense inspectors to protect you."

"I know. Entering the barbarians means being a barbarian. Sending Great Ming people to protect me, a barbarian, is inappropriate." Li Li Yashi expressed understanding.

The Great Ming has the "Hua-Yi Distinction." He left the ship, which is equivalent to completely leaving the Great Ming territory. The ship is also Great Ming territory. This point is discussed in great detail in the theory of sea power.

"I also brought a piece of news. The people who sent people to assassinate you this time, one group came from Philip. He has many people in Lisbon. This assassination is just the beginning." Huo Hao Chengxin had his own information channels. The Great Ming built several Ming halls in the West, and the ability to collect intelligence was very strong.

"His Highness Philip is angry at my betrayal. I have nothing to say. We will see the truth in our hands." Li Li Yashi nodded.

Huo Hao Chengxin frowned and said: "There is another group of people whose origin is a bit strange. They are English privateers, that is, pirates. Their purpose is just to stir the water more turbid. People with lower bottom lines and no morality can take the opportunity to profit."

"English?" Li Li Yashi was stunned. This was something he didn't expect. The Holy See didn't send anyone, and Lion Henry didn't send anyone, but the English wanted to kill him. It was simply inexplicable. Li Li Yashi had no grievances with these English people.

Huo Hao Chengxin shook his head when thinking about the English people's behavior: "Sometimes, the English people do things without seeking any benefits for themselves, only seeking to make the situation more chaotic. They do things that harm others and benefit themselves, and they also do things that harm others and don't benefit themselves."

The English people's so-called offshore balance policy is a stirrer. As long as they can make the entire West restless, the English people will spare no effort to do it. It is also the bad luck of the West to have such a thing.

The reason the Holy See didn't send anyone was, on one hand, arrogance, and on the other hand, rigidity. They received the news the latest, and the opinions of the cardinals in the Holy See were not consistent. After arguing for a period of time, the Holy See chose to do nothing, and the Holy See didn't have much strength to do these things.

Philip did it, which means the Holy See did it.

"There is another thing. The Portuguese King found me and asked me to persuade you to stay in Portugal. How are you considering it?" Huo Hao Chengxin asked about Li Li Yashi's decision.

Li Li Yashi closed his eyes for a long time before opening his mouth: "Of course I am willing to stay, but Antonio doesn't mind, and many Portuguese will mind. I am the Minister of State, and the Portuguese will strongly oppose it."

"That's the logic." Huo Hao Chengxin nodded affirmatively, shook his head, and smiled: "When Xu Fan first became Minister of State, the Portuguese also strongly opposed it. Later, when Xu Fan left, the Portuguese held a state funeral for him."

"Before Antonio became the King of Portugal, the meat-eaters of Portugal planned to sell Portugal to Spain, and the price was very cheap."

Li Li Yashi's Spanish identity was not a problem. When Xu Fan was first appointed, some people questioned it, but immediately a palace secretary scolded these people: When the previous kings, bishops, and nobles sold Portugal, where were you? Now you have the courage to oppose and question, should good people be blamed?

After Antonio won the personal expedition, he gained a lot of prestige. While he was alive, no one dared to oppose him openly. Moreover, whether Li Li Yashi did well or not did not affect Antonio continuing to be the King. If Li Li Yashi didn't do well, Antonio only needed to dismiss him and change a set of teams to explain.

The current Portuguese economy relies entirely on the distribution of Great Ming goods, and Antonio has absolute control over this.

"If you don't want to be in Portugal, it's fine. The Falanxi King Henry contacted me through merchants and offered a huge reward, a full 270,000 taels of gold, offering a reward for you, hoping that you can defect to him." Huo Hao Chengxin talked about another possibility.

The solicitation from the Falanxi King Henry IV.

"That merchant said that Henry IV's greatest wish is to let every household in Falanxi have a chicken in their pot. He hopes you can understand that he can also be a friend, not necessarily an enemy. Those feudal lords are also his enemies." Huo Hao Chengxin explained the reason why Henry solicited Li Li Yashi.

Li Li Yashi was very emotional: "Henry is really willing."

"The Falanxi King Henry provided extremely generous rewards." Huo Hao Chengxin explained the conditions proposed by Henry.

If the persuasion is successful, the Great Ming Global Trading Fleet can receive a reward of 270,000 taels of gold;

If the persuasion is not successful, but Li Li Yashi is tricked to the port designated by the Falanxi King, it is 300,000 taels of gold.

In other words, the Falanxi King Henry is buying control of Li Li Yashi.

Li Li Yashi was surprised and curious: "You told me so clearly? Then how can you trick me and hand me over to Henry? The trading fleet belongs to the Great Ming Imperial Court. This commission can be kept in your own pocket."

The trading fleet's profits all went to the Imperial Court. This is a public account. This commission obviously cannot go through the public account

"I still have to return to the Great Ming. If I sell you out, will His Majesty have me beheaded? Three hundred thousand taels of gold is indeed a lot, but it is not enough to make me give up everything." Huo Hao Chengxin was indeed indifferent to this three hundred thousand taels of gold.

He was a Barbarian Regional Commander; if he wanted to make money, he only had to lift his hand slightly, and people would kneel to offer him silver, and much more than this three hundred thousand taels of gold.

For example, when the Great Ming purchased goods, as the Barbarian Regional Commander, Huo Hao Chengxin had great authority. He could, under some pretext, persuade the imperial court to purchase a batch of goods from a certain family that were not quite suitable. After selling them, if he didn't earn enough profit, it was simple: when overseas, he could just rob a batch to make up for it.

For example, many merchant ships would depart with the Global Merchant Fleet to Mexico, Peru, and other places. The Global Merchant Fleet provided protection, and the price for this protection quota was not cheap. As long as Huo Hao Chengxin was willing, he could even set up a brokerage to specifically sell this quota.

The misuse of public office for private gain is a very long story in Chinese history, with too many cases to draw lessons from.

Huo Hao Chengxin did not misuse public office for private gain; it was just that the things he sought could not be given to him by money. The labor compensation His Majesty gave the merchant fleet was enough; each crew member was allowed to carry no more than three hundred catties of personal goods. Huo Hao Chengxin's was a bit more; he could carry forty-five thousand catties of personal goods.

"It is better to stay in Portugal." Li Li Yashi finally chose Portugal because he felt Antonio was right; he indeed needed to put his ideas into practice first.

This decision by Li Li Yashi made Antonio very happy, and he soon arranged the appointment ceremony.

On the fifteenth day of the first lunar month in the twenty-third year of Emperor Wanli, Antonio summoned secretaries, Han gentry, Portuguese nobles, officials of all levels, and so on. The place where the ceremony was held was beyond everyone's expectations: before Marcus's tomb.

This was something Li Li Yashi had never expected.

Antonio, wearing the imperial-bestowed five-chapter *gunfu* robe, sat upright before Marcus's tomb, looked at Li Li Yashi's puzzled eyes, and said: "Are you surprised?"

"Marcus and I knew each other when we were very young. I am an illegitimate child, and illegitimate children never receive their father's love. Looking at it today, it seems even my identity as an illegitimate child is fake."

Antonio and his Wang Hou, Catarina, had four children, and these four children were all healthy, without any problems. Antonio was very sure that he was probably not an illegitimate child.

Wang Hou Catarina and Antonio had a common grandfather, but Catarina married a Portuguese duke, while Antonio could only struggle to survive in a monastery. Clearly, Catarina's identity was not a problem, so the one with the problematic identity was Antonio.

The relationship between Antonio and the Wang Hou was not love, but a political alliance to ensure Portugal belonged to the Portuguese.

"Marcus and I grew up together. When I was expelled, he followed me to sea. When I was communicating with those pig-like Governor's wives for plant seeds, Marcus helped me guard the door, because seeds could be exchanged for His Majesty's imperial favor and partiality."

"I returned to Portugal, and Marcus helped me fight everywhere, pacifying all rebellions against me."

"Later he died, died under an assassination. He was assassinated and didn't die until nightfall. Do you know what he said to me before he died?"

Li Li Yashi asked suspiciously: "What?"

Antonio's hand trembled, and he said: "Marcus said to me: Do not raise an army out of anger; do not use force against Spain while in extreme anger. With Portugal's weak national strength, the result of raising an army would only be a crushing defeat."

"I am not a good monk; I have never had any reverence for the gods. I am not a good abbot; the monastery I was in had its qualifications revoked by that cardinal and was completely destroyed."

"I am not a good king; although I can sail a ship, I cannot govern a country. After Xu Fan left, Lisbon changed from a city of flowers to something foul-smelling again, and I don't even know where the problem lies."

"I am not a good brother; Marcus died before my eyes, and I could not avenge him."

"But I think I can be a sincere and honest person. Marcus did not let me raise an army out of anger, but told me to govern the country well and let the Portuguese people live and work in peace. This wish, I must realize it."

"Now, I appoint you as the Minister of State of Portugal, in charge of all major state affairs of Portugal. You can try all the things you want to do."

"Do not worry. Our Portuguese economy mainly relies on the distribution of Great Ming goods. Even if you fail, as long as Great Ming goods continue to appear in the port of Lisbon on time, there won't be any major problems."

Li Li Yashi succeeding would be the icing on the cake; Li Li Yashi failing would not severely damage Portugal's economy and people's livelihood. This was the reason why Antonio's appointment received the support of most people.

Try it, what if it succeeds? Even if it fails, the price paid is not heavy and is bearable.

"Thank you for the King's trust." Li Li Yashi bowed with a furrowed brow and accepted the appointment. His official titles were Great Bright Envoy, Chief Clerk of the Portuguese Prince's Mansion, and Portuguese Minister of State, corresponding to his three identities.

The reason Li Li Yashi furrowed his brow was that he felt things were a bit strange. He felt Antonio might have other motives; the entire inauguration ceremony was filled with all kinds of strange atmospheres.

The Portuguese King Antonio offered three cups of wine to Marcus and returned to the palace with everyone. He kept the four leaders of the Han gentry—Heaven, Earth, Profound, and Yellow—let Li Li Yashi sit down, and had court servants push out a huge map.

Antonio unfolded this map and said: "You must have been thinking about one question along the way: you handle state affairs, so what do I do? I'll tell you now: I'm going to kill people."

"Just like what Marion did in Falanxi, execute all the feudal nobles."

"I will apply the thunder, and you will be responsible for the rebirth from the ashes, moving toward the light together, starting with killing the feudal lords."

"Henry the Lion? Just a coward. He even wanted to borrow the hand of the Great Bright Sect, but I am different; I want to do it myself."

"As a captain, I have never lacked courage!"

The map was of Portugal's territory, which contained many nobles. This map was densely marked with many castles, city defenses, and so on. Clearly, it had been planned for a long time. Antonio had never found a Minister of State, which made him unable to do what he wanted to do.

"The commoners elected me as King, and I have never been able to fulfill my promises. Starting today, you stay in Lisbon, and I will go kill these feudal lords, letting the Portuguese people live like human beings." Antonio stood before the map and said very solemnly.

"This is our collective decision." The leader of the Heaven-rank Han gentry group stood out and explained Antonio's behavior, saying it was by no means the King's arbitrary action, but a collective decision of everyone.

Antonio said very seriously: "If it were just opposing me, that would be fine; I could endure it. But after Marcus died, the Spanish Tercios invaded my Portugal, and they remained silent, not even obeying orders to cooperate in repelling the invading enemy."

"Since they have betrayed Portugal, there is no need for them to exist."

"I, Antonio, promise with the sword in my hand, all traitors will suffer the most severe punishment!"

Li Li Yashi didn't even have time to submit his Portuguese development plan before Antonio set off.

On the seventeenth day of the first lunar month, Antonio took three thousand elites and began his crusade. He left Lisbon, and then on the twenty-third day of the first lunar month, he sent back the first batch of prisoners, and subsequently, a steady stream of prisoners was sent back to Lisbon.

Li Li Yashi was under a lot of pressure; he even hoped for Antonio's defeat. He was fighting too fast, and there were too many camp-manors to establish.

He never expected that having too many camp-manors to establish would become his distress upon returning to the West.

Antonio became the thunder, piercing through all the dark clouds, while Li Li Yashi was responsible for the part he proposed: rebirth from the ashes after destruction.

Li Li Yashi was busy to the point of exhaustion. He needed to find enough manpower, send a group of Han gentry to preach the management methods of the camp-manors, make different plans according to different regions, and also handle relationships in all aspects and sort out the interests involved.

This was also the reason why the Han gentry and Antonio's subordinates unanimously agreed to Antonio's "foolishness." If Antonio didn't kill all the old nobles, how could they, the new nobles, obtain enough benefits?

Huo Hao Chengxin left Lisbon on the second day of the second lunar month to return to the Great Ming. Huo Hao Chengxin also carried a memorial written by Li Li Yashi. This memorial was to report that he was safe, and also to summarize his plan for Portugal's development, hoping to get His Majesty's approval.

Antonio was on a campaign and ignored state affairs entirely. All state affairs were handed over to Li Li Yashi. Li Li Yashi could only submit the plan to His Majesty the Emperor for his perusal; after all, Li Li Yashi was also the Chief Clerk of the Portuguese Prince's Mansion and still counted as an official of the Great Ming.

"Is Antonio rebelling?" Before boarding the ship, Huo Hao Chengxin looked in the direction of Lisbon and shook his head, saying: "He is truly able to endure; he endured until now, waiting until he had a Minister of State before he started acting."

"He really knows nothing about state governance or economics. Sitting on a gold mine of Great Ming goods, he can only exert less than one-tenth of its effect! It's simply a makeshift troupe within a makeshift troupe!" Li Li Yashi got angry just talking about this.

After Li Li Yashi became the Minister of State, he found that there were simply too many problems.

Li Li Yashi said even more angrily: "Moreover, the government offices Xu Fan helped him build have completely failed due to the long-term lack of a Minister of State. I don't even know what he has been doing!"

Huo Hao Chengxin smiled and said: "He is still good at fighting, but he really doesn't know how to govern. Without a Minister of State, even if he wins, he will eventually have to enfeoff other nobles, so he was waiting for a person of lofty ideals to help him sort out state affairs."

"To tell you the truth, he has also asked me about those problems. They were really simple problems, but he handled them into a mess."

"Can you believe it? Antonio actually allowed Lisbon merchants to issue private notes, based on Great Ming goods arriving in Lisbon, because Antonio couldn't manage it."

Li Li Yashi's face turned red, and he said loudly: "Of course I believe it! I saw it with my own eyes! How much money Antonio must have made being this middleman! Private notes are rampant, and he still has the energy to launch a crusade!"

When Xu Fan was there, everything was fine, and no Lisbon merchant dared to issue things like private notes. But Antonio let it be, because he really didn't know what to do.

The private notes Huo Hao Chengxin mentioned were also called Great Ming Goods Notes, similar to Felipe's gold bonds. But Felipe issued gold bonds using his own credit to exchange for money, while Lisbon merchants only needed to borrow Antonio's relationship with the Great Ming to issue Great Ming Goods Notes without any cost, seeking huge profits.

"12.3 million silver! Over ten million taels of silver! This group of damned things stole so much silver; this is enough to pay off the war loans owed to His Majesty! Damn it!" Li Li Yashi slapped the table and stood up. The self-restraint he had learned in the twenty years of the Great Ming was all thrown away at this moment.

If His Majesty had 12 million silver stolen from him, His Majesty would hunt the other party to the ends of the earth, and even if they hid on an uninhabited island, he would drag them out and grant them a seat in the Dissection Institute!

Antonio had 12 million silver stolen from him, but he didn't even know he had been stolen from. It's simply unbelievable!

"In my life, I have never seen a business more profitable than issuing securities! This is more profitable than selling opium to the Great Ming! Tens of thousands of times more profitable!" Li Li Yashi was so angry his tongue was tied. He didn't know until he checked the accounts that Portugal's state affairs had rotted to such a degree.

The leader of the Heaven-rank Han gentry group stretched out his hand to signal the two to calm down. He shook his head and said: "Two gentlemen, His Highness Antonio is not unaware, but he had no choice. These merchants and bankers who issue Great Ming Goods Notes are actually backed by Portuguese nobles."

"It's useless to just kill these merchants; you need to kill these nobles. He has been waiting for an opportunity, and finally, he has waited for the Minister of State he wanted. He originally thought he wouldn't wait for such an opportunity until he died."

Li Li Yashi asked with great dissatisfaction: "Why didn't you help him? Why did you create such a mess?"

"We don't know how either." The leader said frankly: "Special Envoy Li, you opened up the Philippine Governor's Mansion and felt that handling these chores was very easy, but we can't do it. Giving suggestions is fine, but really getting our hands on it, we are also completely in the dark."

"It's not that we haven't tried, but we couldn't do it."

Li Li Yashi was no novice; he had been the Governor of the Far East twenty years ago, and the Philippine Governor's Mansion was established under his leadership. What Li Li Yashi felt was very simple was also a headache-inducing problem for these "opinion-givers."

The gap between people is sometimes greater than the gap between people and dogs.