In the evening, Shen Boxian hosted another dinner. The following day, the foreign merchants came to the poet's shrine to place their orders.
The quantity of orders placed by the foreign merchants this time exceeded expectations by a significant margin, totaling 1.6 million bolts. This already represented more than half of the potential production capacity. If this trend continued, the earlier industrial warning would become a reality. This was especially true for agriculture and grain. Although there were the Tunken Guards and the ability to purchase grain from Japan, the speed of grain cultivation could not possibly match the pace of silk expansion.
With a thousand threads of concern, the joy that had just appeared on the faces of the two vanished. After the banquet and seeing off the foreign merchants, they discussed again at the poet's shrine and decided to accelerate the transfer of indentured servants to the Tunken Guards, implementing this in all coastal garrisons.
Meanwhile, a storm was quietly brewing.
Just in the afternoon, outside the Zhezhi Governor-General's Mansion, Chen Dong, a wealthy merchant from Nanyang, accompanied by a Portuguese man, knocked on the gates of the Governor-General's Yamen.
Hu Zongxian and Qi Jiguang were discussing the next moves in the Japanese civil war.
Hu Zongxian believed that Oda would surely be defeated, while Qi Jiguang was not so sure. The reason was that Oda was very formidable and kept his new tactics with firearms a secret. Other feudal lords were still unclear about his combat methods, so Oda's firearms still possessed a complete element of surprise. As long as they were used appropriately, the same overwhelming victories could be achieved.
The two were arguing fiercely. At this moment, a gatekeeper reported, "Nanyang merchant Chen Dong, and Marcus, Deputy Representative for the Far East of the Portuguese East India Company, request an audience!"
Hu Zongxian had been seeing no one for some time, with only close friends able to enter. The entire Governor-General's Yamen had effectively become a mere formality. Thus, upon hearing that an outsider sought an audience, he habitually said, "Do not see them!"
The gatekeeper knew his temper, but the entry of two envoys, carrying an aura of significant affairs, made him feel it was unusual. He stood there, unsure whether to advance or retreat.
Upon hearing the mention of a Portuguese person, Qi Jiguang also thought of something and reminded him, "Your Excellency, this Portuguese person seems to be Soza's deputy? According to court practice, during wartime, negotiations with sea merchants are under Your Excellency's purview..."
Hu Zongxian pondered for a moment and sighed, "Wait for me for a moment."
He then said to Qi Jiguang, "Yuanjing, something has just happened at court, and the Portuguese have come to see me. This is likely no simple matter... I will not be able to stay in Hangzhou for much longer, so why bother with this? In Jiangnan, only my situation here is troublesome. I have repeatedly requested to retire, but the court has not responded... This is what worries me..."
Qi Jiguang immediately understood and said to the gatekeeper, "Your Excellency is unwell and unable to receive guests. Please ask them to proceed directly to the Ministry of Rites' Guest Department in the capital."
"Yes."
The gatekeeper turned to leave immediately.
But at that very moment, amidst shouts and commotion, a tall, burly red-haired barbarian forced his way into the back courtyard and, in very unrefined Chinese, shouted, "Who is the Governor-General? I want to see the Governor-General! You lowly peasants, do not stop me!"
Hu Zongxian, upon hearing this, did not know where the anger was coming from and roared, "Who is making such a racket? This is the Governor-General's Yamen!"
Unexpectedly, the red-haired barbarian became even more animated. He shoved aside the two gatekeepers who were blocking him and loudly declared, "Who are you? Call out Hu Zongxian! I have an ultimatum for him!"
An ultimatum?
What in the world?
Hu Zongxian and Qi Jiguang, although accustomed to dealing with Japanese pirates for many years, had never heard this word before and exchanged glances.
Qi Jiguang snorted and calmly asked, "Are you Marcus? Why have you come to the Governor-General's Mansion?"
Marcus, still with his gruff voice, shouted, "Who is Hu Zongxian? You two?"
With a bang!
Hu Zongxian slammed the tea table and stood up, enraged, "You Portuguese, you have no manners! I am Hu Zongxian! Guards, escort this red-haired barbarian out!"
With a crash!
Several personal guards quickly appeared and prepared to seize him.
Marcus's eyes widened, and he roared, "Good! You are Hu Zongxian! This is for you! The final ultimatum from our Portuguese royal family!"
With a whoosh,
He produced a document and handed it over.
Hu Zongxian smiled faintly and said, "I am sorry, I am not seeing guests today. Please leave! If you have anything to say, go directly to the Ministry of Rites' Guest Department in the capital."
Hahaha,
Hahahahaha,
Marcus let out a strange laugh and shouted, "I am telling you two, Hu Zongxian, I am here today out of courtesy... Whether you accept this ultimatum or not is irrelevant. I only need to deliver it! You will be responsible for all consequences!"
With that,
Marcus turned and left. Chen Dong, who had been following him, was already terrified beyond measure. He lowered his head and hurried away.
The two opened the document and saw two languages. The pages were large, three to four times larger than normal paper, but contained very few words. The Chinese text read:
"The Royal Family of the Kingdom of Portugal, dispatching the East India Company
To the Great Ming Dynasty
Issues a solemn warning:
As Lixing Port is a free trade port jointly constructed by our nation and our allied overseas merchants, the war initiated by a few influential officials of your country in Lixing Port is therefore an illegal private war. Our nation resolutely opposes it and hereby informs your country as follows:
First, immediately release over two thousand of my overseas merchants in Lixing Port;
Second, severely punish your country's warmongers Zhu Mo, Yu Dayou, and Zhang Juzheng;
Third, compensate my overseas merchants for all costs and losses incurred in constructing and maintaining Lixing Port, amounting to ten million taels of silver.
Your country is given one month to reply. If no reply is received, our nation will formally declare war on your country."
With a bang!
Hu Zongxian slammed the table again, roaring with fury, "Nonsense!"
"A barbarian nation, with hearts like wolves!"
"Distorting facts!"
At this moment,
Hu Zongxian's hair and beard were all standing on end, truly enraged. Qi Jiguang, who had never seen him like this, quickly said, "Your Excellency, you must not be angry!"
Hu Zongxian leaned on his chair, gasped for a breath, and then calmed down, sighing, "It has happened after all... Alas, with the Portuguese making such a fuss, other small countries will likely follow suit. Yuanjing, you must return to your camp immediately, organize your troops, and guard against any Japanese pirate attacks..."
He slowly sat down and continued, "This so-called ultimatum, I can suppress it, but it is meaningless... That Marcus said that it was merely a formality, and the declaration of war is likely already on its way to the capital... If five or six countries declare war together, although it might not amount to much for now, it will cause another huge wave in the court..."
He understood Yan Song extremely well.
One could know his intentions from the slightest hint.
This matter was likely instigated by Yan Song out of dissatisfaction at being excluded from the "immortal ranks." He intended to use the Zhoushan Lixing Port incident as a diplomatic maneuver, leveraging foreign powers to force a resolution to the Lixing Port predicament. As long as this predicament was resolved, his Yan family could hold on for a while longer.
He knew from the very beginning that Zhu Mo's "humiliate the pirates" strategy was aimed at gaining the upper hand over the Yan family. This method was extremely brilliant. By striking them from time to time and investigating those colluding with pirates, they could exert pressure on the Yan family for a long time. The world hated pirates so much that they would naturally always support these actions. Consequently, Yan family followers, intimidated by this pressure, would not dare to act recklessly, leading to long-term passivity. Perhaps in just a year or half a year, their collapse would be imminent.