Chapter 547: Only by Retaliating Can One Protect

In the eyes of Philip II, the Great Ming was truly bullying people too much.

First, at the end of the first year and the beginning of the second year of Wanli, they launched a surprise attack on Miyangang in Luzon, and soon after, they captured Manila, the capital of the Philippine Governor-General's District. In the waters of Luzon, the Great Ming military and the Red-Haired Barbarians fought for nine years, completely beating the Philippine Governor-General's District to the point of existing in name only. By now, the Far East Governor dispatched by Philip was more like a commissioner responsible for maritime trade in Davao City on Mindanao Island.

Philip II had been planning to acquire Portugal through legitimate means for a very, very long time. He had even used various methods to force the Duchess, the first heir in line, to withdraw from the competition. The Antonio supported by the Great Ming caused Philip II's years of planning to fall through.

And this time, the Great Ming's global trade, the distribution center for Great Ming goods, was not in Seville, Spain, but in Lisbon. This was equivalent to cutting another heavy piece of meat off Philip II.

Philip had normal trade relations with the Great Ming and had even sent many gifts, yet the Great Ming Emperor was still so heartless!

If there were no reaction, then Philip would not be worthy of being called the hegemon of the West.

Zhu Yijun held a Grand Court Meeting at the Huangji Hall to welcome the warriors who had returned from the deep ocean. They had defeated towering giant waves, fierce pirates, and silent diseases, bringing back vast amounts of silver and countless raw materials to the Great Ming. They were the warriors who had conquered the ocean and were worthy of such courteous treatment from the Great Ming Emperor.

"Time flies. In the tenth year of Wanli, the Great Ming completed its first global voyage, and in the eleventh year of Wanli, it completed the Great Ming's first global trade. It has been one hundred and forty-eight years since the last time the Great Ming official ships went south to the Western Ocean. The ten-thousand-mile sea lanes of the Southern Ocean have long forgotten the Big Dipper flag of the Great Ming sea ships, and in the Western Ocean, there are only legends of the Great Ming Treasure Ships."

"After all, the Great Ming Treasure Ships are also legends within the Great Ming itself."

"Today, as you warriors return from the deep ocean, I, standing here, can righteously say to our ancestors that I have not failed the trust of our ancestors, I have not failed the Great Ming's mountains and rivers, and I have not failed the people of all lands."

"The Great Ming needs silver, and likewise, the Great Ming needs raw materials. Without silver, the Great Ming's department stores have no channels; without raw materials, the Great Ming's workshops will never have sufficient supply. The Great Ming would just be consuming itself like this, sliding toward the abyss."

"Today, at this moment, everything has changed."

"Gentlemen, you are all meritorious officials of the Great Ming."

Why explore the deep ocean? To develop maritime technology at the cost of the people and the treasury, wasting national and private funds, wasting energy, just to go and see how those uncivilized barbarians in the lands of the eight wildernesses are jumping around?

This is a viewpoint that the lowly Confucian scholars have consistently held since the opening of the seas in Wanli. Anyway, the Great Ming has a commodity advantage; sitting at home, one can wait for customers to come to the door to buy goods. The Great Ming does not need to go out; anyway, they will come to the door themselves.

This is the answer: to ensure the stable inflow of silver and to ensure the sufficient supply of raw materials for the Great Ming. The cotton textile workshops in Songjiang Prefecture need massive amounts of raw materials to expand their scale.

"Proclaim the decree." Zhu Yijun looked at the people on the moon terrace and said to Feng Bao with a beaming smile.

Two young eunuchs pulled open the long-scroll imperial decree. Feng Bao stepped forward, flicked his horsetail whisk, and shouted in a high-pitched voice: "By the order of Heaven, the Emperor decrees:"

"The whale waves are vast, stretching for I know not how many ten thousand miles; having traveled through various foreign lands, I have not heard of their rites of honoring culture and virtue. Now, I wish to spread culture and virtue to the four directions, so that my fame reaches the barbarians. I specially dispatched the deep-ocean special envoys Liu Ji, Chen Tianrui, and others, leading the bold and talented, crossing the blue waves and the great ocean to trade with various foreigners. The abundance of their people, the majesty of their ships, and the ingenuity of their talents are unprecedented in ancient times."

"Along the way, they recorded the differences in climate and seasons, the differences in geography and people, collected the beauty and ugliness of the people of various countries, the similarities and differences in customs, as well as the differences in local products and the systems of territories, and compiled them into volumes to be presented before me. My heart is greatly comforted."

"The Ming promotes culture and mandate, spreading to the guest courts; countries holding jade come by ladder and boat. The miraculous achievement is heaven-made. For the meritorious service, I bestow the 'Extraordinary Merit Medal', and specially grant the deep-ocean loyal and brave warriors one hundred taels of silver, ten bottles of National Cellar liquor, and an extra grant of one front-opening flying-fish pattern cloak."

"The Han dynasty mountains and rivers have loyal and good people in every generation."

"The established constitutions of successive dynasties spread virtue and grace. Proclaim this to the world, so that all may hear and know."

"Respect this."

The rewards were exceptionally generous. The sailors and soldiers who went to the West this time each received a first-class Extraordinary Merit Medal. In addition to the merit medal, each person received a reward of one hundred taels of silver, ten bottles of National Cellar liquor, and one finely spun woolen cloak. These were hard currency among hard currencies. For example, this flying-fish pattern front-opening cloak cost more than thirty taels of silver for one in the private market; it was a cloak that could be worn for a lifetime.

"We kowtow to thank the imperial grace." Liu Ji and Chen Tianrui, on behalf of all the crew members, kowtowed to thank the Emperor for his vast and mighty grace. They had originally thought that a reward of ten taels of silver would be good, but the Emperor directly gave them one hundred taels.

In the matter of rewarding meritorious officials, the Great Ming Emperor never treated them thinly.

"Maritime trade has never been a carnival for a few people. The Great Ming is not suited for that kind of maritime trade method of the West." Zhu Yijun looked at Liu Ji and Chen Tianrui and began to answer their questions.

When Li Yougong was picking up people in Tianjin, he also heard those doubts. After returning to the palace, Li Yougong reported it to the Emperor.

The great navigation of the West is a kind of adventure. Its most fundamental logic is a private economy of "willing to bet and willing to lose." If this ship of goods and weapons arrives, I will make a fortune, occupy cities and lands, and be infinitely rampant. If the next ship, goods, weapons, and crew sink into the ocean, then I am willing to bet and willing to lose, making room for other gamblers and changing to a new gambler.

The most intuitive manifestation is that watertight compartments in the West only began to appear slowly in modern times.

The West can take such risks because the West has a calm and peaceful "big bathtub," with extremely good sea and wind conditions, which in turn bred a general gambler's adventure culture. The sea conditions and changeable wind conditions of the Western Pacific simply could not breed general adventure. Only when there is winning and losing is it gambling. Under changeable sea and wind conditions, the risk is really too great.

Without a navy, even a short water journey from Yuegang to Jilong Danshui Town could be blown to Qiongzhou. One can imagine the degree of difficulty.

Maritime trade in the West is a carnival for a few, while maritime trade in the Great Ming can only be a miracle of ten thousand people working as one.

This fundamental difference in geography and culture has caused the Great Ming and the West to take two completely different routes in the Age of Discovery: the Great Ming uses commodity plunder, while the West uses armed plunder.

Which is superior and which is inferior? Which is good and which is bad? Whose morality is more noble? Zhu Yijun never wanted to discuss this. He was a pragmatic person, and he cared more about how to obtain silver more efficiently.

Obviously, the Great Ming is using its own way to siphon off the world's silver.

"Your Majesty, I believe the most important problem is the issue of profit distribution in maritime trade. The Great Ming imperial court is making a fortune in deep-ocean trade, but the powerful and wealthy cannot. They must be feeling dissatisfied," Liu Ji said very worriedly.

The public opinion that completely stopped official ships and official trade since the Zhengtong years started from here, so Liu Ji was naturally worried.

"I have already decreed that private ships are allowed to accompany. The wind and wave resistance of three-masted ships is indeed inferior to five-masted ocean-crossing ships. The court officials are currently discussing opening up the subscription and purchase of commercial five-masted ocean-crossing ships." Zhu Yijun released a very positive signal for maritime trade, decreeing that private individuals are allowed to purchase five-masted ships.

This is something the liberal faction has been demanding and advocating for, and now it is finally starting to go through the process.

In fact, it has already been confirmed in the court discussion that it will be opened up, but there are still some concerns in the court about the pricing.

A five-masted ocean-crossing ship with a construction cost of 25,000 taels of silver—how much is appropriate to sell it for? If it is sold too cheaply, some people will smuggle and resell it, and it will easily cause "friendly nations to be shocked." If you add money and have to add 50,000 taels of silver to pick up the ship, and it ends up selling for this price?

If it is sold too expensively, it will be accused of being "cruel to the inside and tolerant to the outside," giving to friendly nations rather than to one's own servants.

The Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Works believe that selling it for 50,000 taels of silver is most appropriate, and selling it to the West for 250,000 taels of silver. After all, the industrial chain was not connected at the beginning, so a high price is reasonable. For example, for fast sailing ships, the Shah's envoy expressed more than once that money is not a problem, but the Great Ming doesn't sell them, right?

As for "friendly nations being shocked," the Great Ming actually doesn't need to care too much. Buy early and enjoy early; buy late and enjoy a discount.

New technology and new ship types are naturally expensive. It's not that the Great Ming is begging friendly nations to buy them; it's that friendly nations are insisting on stuffing silver into the Great Ming's hands.

"Your Majesty is wise!" Liu Ji was overjoyed when he heard this. He actually wanted to say that flat-bottomed sand ships are for inland river transport, two-masted ships are for coastal transport, three-masted ships are for near-sea, and five-masted ships are for deep-ocean. Three-masted ships for deep-ocean trade are really a bit dangerous.

This time, a total of five ships were lost, all of which were three-masted clinker-built ships. One got lost, one hit a reef and ran aground, and three took on water in a storm. Although the casualties were not large, more than fifty soldiers and sailors were left in the ocean forever. Ships that were originally "learning from the barbarians' techniques" are really risking one's life for deep-ocean navigation. In contrast, five-masted ships are much more stable.

The production of five-masted ocean-crossing ships has steadily increased to the point where private individuals can purchase them, representing that Great Ming maritime trade has entered a new chapter!

The rolling trend of opening the seas is unstoppable!

"As for strong painkillers like opium, ayahuasca, and khat, the ban remains in effect. The ban means that regardless of the amount, they must be strictly investigated and punished. If caught with the goods, they will be beheaded immediately, and there will be no private leniency!" Zhu Yijun once again emphasized the court's decision. The ban means that if caught, they will be killed, and there will be no letting go.

The Great Ming's beheading requires three reviews of the death penalty and two checks and supplements to minimize the occurrence of unjust, false, and wrong cases.

A ban is a ban. A ban must use heavy codes. Regardless of the amount, there is only one sentencing standard, and that is beheading immediately, regardless of who is involved.

This is not only the Emperor's will but also the consensus of the court officials. The Dissection Institute has already proven its harm. In order to publicize this harm, the Great Ming has already listed its harm in the Di Bao (Imperial Gazette) to tell everyone in the Great Ming about its terrible harm and accelerate the formation of a consensus.

It's not that the Great Ming doesn't want to make money. Tea, coffee, and wine—the Great Ming will also sell them.

Zhu Yijun chatted with the returning court officials for a long time and answered several questions they were most concerned about. He said with an extremely helpless tone: "Regarding the Han people in Mexico's Sun City, I have already persuaded them, but I am powerless. I hope Philip II will not ruin himself."

Facing the Great Ming's siphoning of silver, Philip was naturally dissatisfied with the status quo of the trade deficit. However, for Spanish goods, the Great Ming was only interested in silver. The Great Ming could produce everything else itself. This situation would be difficult to change within three hundred years. By the end of the Qing Dynasty, despite the dying situation of the Qing Dynasty, the Qing Dynasty was still a trade surplus country. This was determined by the scale of production.

In order to change the status quo of the trade deficit, Great Britain dumped opium on the Qing Dynasty, and even the two Opium Wars broke out. Later, Great Britain was still in a trade deficit because Great Britain soon ate a boomerang. The Qing Dynasty was defeated and could not continue to ban smoking. Opium in the Qing Dynasty became rampant, and soon it began to export in large quantities to Great Britain.

Great Britain used opium to change the trade deficit, which eventually led to the rampant opium in the country.

Before Great Britain sailed the four seas, the maritime hegemons were Spain and the Netherlands.

From the 31st year of Wanli to the first year of Kangxi, Spain launched three large-scale massacres against the Chinese in the Philippines.

The 31st year of Wanli saw the Dalun Mountain massacre of 25,000 people. In the 12th year of Chongzhen, the cruel colonialists again launched a second massacre against the Chinese in the Philippines. This time, the death toll was 27,000. The remaining 13,000 were listed as lowly people, each paying a head tax of six yuan per year, and they had to change their faith.

In the first year of Kangxi, Spain and the Netherlands joined forces again to massacre more than 35,000 Chinese in the Philippines, killing all women and children. Afterward, they launched inhumane massacres against the Chinese throughout the Southern Ocean because the large presence of Chinese made them feel threatened in their rule.

Even though Manila was the largest transshipment port in the Far East, and even though Spain and the Netherlands' largest trading partners in the Far East were China, they still raised their butcher knives against unarmed civilians.

"Mexico is very far, and the West is very far, but the Southern Ocean is very close. If Philip really does this, I swear that I will retaliate equally, slaughtering all the Red-Haired Barbarians in the Southern Ocean, whether by navy or land route. I will go to the West, destroy his Summer Palace, capture him to the Great Ming, and behead him to show the public." Zhu Yijun calmly made a promise as a Great Ming Emperor, just like when he promised Qi Jiguang that his golden spears and iron horses would swallow ten thousand miles like a tiger.

The promise of a Great Ming Emperor can be treated as a fart. After all, imperial decrees can be reneged on, but it is better to believe some promises.

Altan Khan had a deep feeling about this.

"Philip is not a confused person." Wan Shihe stood out and bowed, saying: "Your Majesty, I have always said that barbarians are wolf-faced and beast-hearted, fearing power but not cherishing virtue. Precisely because they fear power but do not cherish virtue, I believe he will not."

"Now the Great Ming has the strength and determination to retaliate equally. Any unfriendly behavior will invite the wrath of heaven. Precisely because we have the ability to retaliate, we can protect. Just like this time, the Great Ming caravan is unimpeded globally, and the various Governor-General's Districts of the Western countries dare not easily test the Great Ming's edge because the Great Ming will really beat them."

"The Goa Governor-General's District is the best example. It is the 'moving a tree to establish trust' of the Great Ming's opening of the seas."

Wan Shihe put forward a viewpoint, believing that the Great Ming does not need to worry too much. Only when the Great Ming has no ability to retaliate do these wolf-hearted barbarians dare to act recklessly. This is the necessity of showing power overseas.

In the Strait of Malacca, the Great Ming fought with the Goa Governor-General's District for two and a half years, smashing the Goa Governor-General's District that had been operated for sixty years.

"There is also Philip II himself. He is not confused. He is also a very diligent monarch. He has to deal with a large number of official documents every year and write more than four hundred letters to governors in various places. From the fact that he swallowed the two breaths of Luzon and Portugal, we can see that he will not easily offend the Great Ming." Wan Shihe personally admired Philip II very much.

A diligent monarch committed to making Spain great will not easily offend a great Eastern power. That would be a disaster for the whole of Spain.

Spain lacks centripetal force, so it has to rely on religion. And now, for Great Ming goods, silver is another important centripetal force. Currency is currency; only with goods is it currency. Offending the Great Ming, the largest source of commodities, would be a foolish decision.

"I hope so." Zhu Yijun nodded and said, as long as Philip II doesn't do anything stupid, Zhu Yijun is willing to maintain the status quo of friendly nations. If he does something stupid, the Great Ming can only break free from the shackles of rites and teachings.

Projecting force to the West is still too difficult for the Great Ming. The deep-ocean projection capability is insufficient, the number of strong troops is too small, and there is no logistical supply. Wanting to launch a war of annihilation ten thousand miles away—the Great Ming is not that powerful yet.

But if Philip really does something unpleasant, Zhu Yijun will use all his strength to make Philip pay the price.

In June of the eleventh year of Wanli, the great sailing ships of the West will arrive at the port. What reaction Philip will have will be clear at a glance.

After the Grand Court Meeting, the Great Ming court was immersed in a happy atmosphere because the Great Ming Emperor finally stopped eating alone and opened up the purchase of five-masted ocean-crossing ships. The court was full of praise and eulogies. Likewise, the price of 50,000 taels of silver for a five-masted ship also made everyone in the world excited!

The Great Ming Emperor is a benevolent Son of Heaven, and the world is extremely fortunate!

Of course, this immediately made Shah Mahomet and Legaspi unable to sit still. They bought ships for 250,000 each, but when it came to Great Ming merchants buying ships, it only cost 50,000 each? The unit price of one ship was not even as much as the price they added! Is this reasonable?

This is of course reasonable.

Thanks to the connection of the industrial chain, the improvement of production scale, and vertical integration cost control, production costs have begun to decline. This is an objective commercial law, so there is no need to be surprised or shocked.

Shock doesn't work either. The officials of the Ministry of Rites don't treat barbarians as people at all. The Minister of Rites says "barbarians are wolf-faced and beast-hearted" every day. Even when the Emperor gave them a seat at the fleet review, according to the Ministry of Rites, they should kowtow to thank the imperial grace for letting them stand and watch the ceremony.

The cost was indeed high before. Now that the Great Ming has opened the seas for ten years, it hasn't been in vain. How much was a cubic foot of teak back then? How much is it now? How much was a barrel of tung oil? How much is it now?

Of course, these are all to fool the Shah's envoy and Legaspi. It's just an explanation, as long as it makes sense. If they make trouble again, they won't be sold in the future.

The cost of five-masted ocean-crossing ships needs to include the cost of building the factory, so they are so expensive. Someone has to pay for those early investments, right?

In mid-May of the eleventh year of Wanli, Great Ming Emperor Zhu Yijun issued an interesting imperial decree. The Great Ming had its own "Liquor Inspection Day," set for the last day of May.

On this day, all liquor shops in the capital could bring their liquor to Yanxing Tower for inspection. Of course, this kind of inspection was mainly a commercial activity, not the liquor monopoly of the two Song dynasties. Liquor shops all over the world could participate. It was too late this year, so whoever arrived would be counted.

In order to make this liquor inspection meeting more lively, the Great Ming Emperor was generous for a rare time, taking out 10,000 bottles of National Cellar liquor for sale.

Zhu Yijun thought that not many liquor shops would participate. After all, it was the first time to hold such a liquor inspection meeting. The Great Ming had too little experience in this regard, and the Great Ming's liquor shops did not have high recognition of this business model. Although the two Song dynasties used it for nearly three hundred years, it was the first time in the Great Ming.

But by the end of May, Zhu Yijun looked at the long gift list and said blankly: "How did this become a money-making business again?"

There were too many participants. Famous liquors with names were basically on the list. Selling liquor is an ancient trade. Various famous liquors had sitting merchants specializing in operation in the Great Ming. After the news reached the Southern Yamen, countless literati and scholars took painting boats to the capital to participate in the grand event.

This suddenly became extremely lively. The capital was crowded with people, and the Five Cities Military Commission didn't have enough manpower to verify the road permits. They hurriedly asked for help from the Embroidered Uniform Guard. In addition to verifying the road permits, they also had to maintain the order of the capital. The Yamen runners of Shuntian Prefecture had all gone out. Under the instruction of the Emperor, Zhao Mengyou sent three thousand-man battalions of the Criminal Investigation Guard to support them, which finally stabilized the situation.

The Criminal Investigation Guard brought the Embroidered Uniform Guard. With those embroidered spring knives strapped on, no matter how powerful they were in the local area, they could only coil up when they arrived at the Great Ming court.

There is only one person in the Great Ming court who can call the wind and rain, and that is His Majesty!

Feng Bao said with a smile: "Wang Qian, who is in charge of Yanxing Tower, submitted a memorial, asking His Majesty to personally write the four characters 'First in the Capital' as a reward for the first place in this liquor inspection."

"I don't understand liquor. 'First in the Capital'—I don't drink it, so isn't this cheating?" Zhu Yijun shook his head and said. He really didn't drink a drop of alcohol, just because he was afraid that drinking would ruin things. He didn't want to cheat people either, so "First in the Capital"—let's forget it.

"For this calligraphy, various families are willing to take out silver. It's naming the liquor inspection day. For example, this year it can be named 'Five-Fragrance Burned Liquor' or 'Shandong Autumn Dew White'. They are willing to take out this much silver!" Feng Bao held up a palm and said.

"How much silver? 5,000 silver wants to buy my calligraphy? Who are you looking down on!" Zhu Yijun immediately shook his head and said.

Feng Bao hurriedly said: "It's 50,000 silver."

50,000 silver is one-tenth of the late Emperor's imperial mausoleum, just for more than ten days of lively naming, and this is only for one year. Next year, it will have to be auctioned again.

"But this liquor must be really good. I can't cheat people. At the very least, it can't be worse than the National Cellar." Zhu Yijun immediately changed his tune. 50,000 taels to buy four characters is indeed worth it. And those who get "First in the Capital" will be extra careful in doing business. Otherwise, if something goes wrong, the Emperor will pursue the responsibility. Using the Emperor's signboard to cheat and swindle is testing the bonds between the nine clans.

Mainly, in this day and age, alcohol can only be produced by brewing, so there is no need to worry too much about fake liquor. At most, it's just adding more water. Isn't drinking just for emotional value? The National Cellar sells so expensively, but it is still snapped up every time.

Zhu Yijun's National Cellar is sweet potato burned liquor. You say it's good to drink—how good can a sweet potato burned liquor be?

"That is natural." Feng Bao hurriedly bowed and said.

The naming of the liquor inspection day is after the inspection, determining the first place, and when the Di Bao is published to the world, then the naming is carried out. For example, if Shandong Autumn Dew White wins the championship, it is "Shandong Zhao's Autumn Dew White, First in the Capital."

50,000 taels is the endorsement fee.

The liveliness of the capital caught the Great Ming court off guard. Zhao Mengyou's Criminal Investigation Guard could not support it, so he had to let the Beijing Camp send a remaining infantry battalion to maintain order, which finally prevented any accidents.

On the last day of May, Xie's Five-Fragrance Burned Liquor, the number one famous liquor in the south of the Yangtze River, and Shandong Zhao's Autumn Dew White broke into the finals. In order to participate in this liquor inspection day, the big boss of the Xie family took the hydrofoil sailing ship of the coastal defense patrol from the Southern Yamen to the capital.

In order to take the fast ship, the big boss of the Xie family lobbied the Duke of Wei's mansion in the Southern Yamen. After paying a boat fee of 50 silver, he got a one-time special horse permit.

When hearing that someone took the initiative to take the hydrofoil sailing ship and paid a boat fee of 50 silver, the coastal defense patrol who received him was full of confusion. It was the first time he heard such a strange request.

The coastal defense patrol "Water Flying," who had been driving the hydrofoil sailing ship for five years, would also be shaken to pieces.

In the end, Shandong Zhao's Autumn Dew White won the championship and received unanimous praise from twenty-eight liquor tasting experts.

The liquor that Xie's brought to the capital to participate in the inspection was spilled on the road. The fast ship was fast, but it was also bumpy, and the liquor jars were shattered directly.

Xie's was slightly inferior, but the big boss also high-profilely announced: Zhao's, don't be arrogant! Wait until next year when they bring the good liquor from home to the capital to fight again! This year was really too hasty!

Zhao's Autumn Dew White also invited the top courtesan of Taibai Tower, pulled up banners, beat gongs and drums to show off in the streets, and returned to Shandong!

Shen Yiguan, the assistant of Shuntian Prefecture, had been very busy these days. Sitting merchants have to pay taxes, six out of every hundred.

The workload of this liquor inspection was equivalent to two months of workload on weekdays. In order to prevent the merchants in the jurisdiction from being targeted by the Tax Inspection Institute, the Yamen runners also painstakingly told them not to have any fluke mentality and to pay commercial taxes honestly. If they were targeted by the Tax Inspection Institute, even the Grand Secretary and Imperial Tutor could not save them.

After the liveliness, the capital did not become empty. The capital with narrow roads was congested everywhere.

On the fourth day of the sixth month of the eleventh year of Wanli, the great sailing ship from the West arrived at the port again. The envoy who came this time was still Solon. This State Secretary with white beard submitted the credentials in Shuntian Prefecture, clearly expressing Philip II's anger and dissatisfaction.

Philip II's way of expressing anger was: I will never come again!

Solon told the Great Ming that this was Philip II's last great sailing ship trade. After this time, they would owe each other nothing and live their own lives!

"Why does it feel like a child throwing a tantrum? If Zhi'er doesn't like someone, he will say to him: I won't play with you!" Zhu Yijun held the credentials and said to Zhang Juzheng with a confused face.

"He will come again." Zhang Juzheng said very confidently: "The Great Ming does not have his silver, but there is silver flowing in from Womagang and Japan. The Great Ming can also sell goods to Lisbon, and Philip has no other place to buy the Great Ming's goods."

"It's just a bit of emotion. Just appease him."

Wanting to do extreme behavior but not daring to, not wanting to interact but not being able to—Philip II now had only one thing he looked forward to most: using cotton cloth to completely crush England's annoying handicraft industry. Then everyone would be good friends! ===== CHAPTER 548 =====