Earl Vannanova had taken off his hat and owed his body slightly as a gift. "Dear gentlemen, you are here. It really makes me very honored." The Count took off his cavalry outfit when playing ball and put on a gorgeous hunting suit. A seaman standing behind him might be the captain, with a tall and strong body like a Nordic man, and his dark brown and yellow skin was obviously the result of the long-term burning of tropical sunshine and sea breeze. He wore a wig, a long-clad dress with golden double buttons on his lapel, and a triangular cap decorated with iron anchors and rubber leaves was clamped under his arms, his feet stood apart, and his body was as straight as a mast. His eyes at others made the Spaniards feel as if he was a young seaman who had made a mistake, waiting in front of the captain with fear.

"Emperor, is this your ship?" Perhaps he was dizzy on the sampan, and a port clerk asked foolishly. The Count did not care and pointed his hand at the top of the mast. The flag was embroidered with the family emblem of Lando, which was inlaid on the red flag carriage that was famous far and far away.

The wind was getting stronger and stronger, and the waves were leaping high with dazzling sunlight. On the shore, the reefs were shattered into sharp pieces. The Esmelada threw a single anchor, and all the sails had fallen, but they were still bumping with the waves. Weiss walked on the shaking deck, as comfortable as walking in the veranda of the yacht. The patrol captain became more and more curious about the Count, thinking he was just a knight, but he was like an old seaman when walking on the boat. In contrast, the port officer and clerk had already fallen behind, and had to hold the bulwark to barely maintain balance. What kind of person was this European noble who came from afar?

There is nothing to see on the yacht. Compared to the graceful hull linear shape, the above deck presents an amazing simplicity and neatness from beginning to end. It seems that its only mission is to sail quickly and flexibly avoid the attacks of enemy ships. It seems that this is not a yacht. It is an armed speedboat that can be put into battle at any time. After watching the cannons on the deck, the patrol captain became more determined.

"Do you have only two cannons on your ship?" asked the patrol captain. When the count ordered to remove the cannon's coat as he asked him to remove the black light, his eyelids thundered sharply. In the Far East, he only knew that the Portuguese technician Bo Carlo in Macau would cast heavy cannons with iron. Of course, the Chinese also used iron cannons, but it was really hard to call them cannons. The patrol captain had boarded the Junke ship and saw the Chinese iron cannons. They were all small and cold, rotten iron pipes, and there was no standard or processing. It seemed that they were randomly made of mud molds and cast them with iron. Tied them on the side of the ship with sloppy ropes, which could not be compared with the well-cast cannons in front of them.

"There are no spiral guns and light falcons. How do you deal with the Rades Dragon Pirates? Their arson ships and speedboats will surge like tides."

The Count turned around and said a word. The captain of the yacht wearing a wig issued a few commands loudly in words that he could not understand. In a blink of an eye, four sailors rushed to the cannon position, untied the cables, and pulled several screw turntables under the cannon. Wherever the Count's whip was swung, the muzzle turned toward it, raised and lowered. It seemed that it was not a heavy cannon, but a short spur that could be mastered by hand. The demonstration was conducted twice, proving that the short cannon on the bow deck and the cannon at the stern were authentic "rotary cannons", but they fired not 2 pounds of small iron balls or shotguns, but devastating 24 pounds and 68 pounds of huge bullets.

"Whether the Rads Dragon or the Malay pirates, I have prepared the best gifts for them." The Count pointed the silver-clad whip tip to the ammunition tank next to the 68-pound Caron cannon, and the intimidating grape bullets were neatly placed there.

"Your Excellency. Your warship is so sophisticated. Even in all parts of Europe, Seville and Genoa, the most abundant fast ships, may be difficult to cause." Even though the navigation gun aiming drill deliberately avoided the patrol ship, the Spanish were still quite shocked. Anyone with a little common sense about naval warfare can see that a clutch like the Esmedala, which can carry cannons, can capture a large sailboat from the weak stern in just two or three. Moreover, Weiss's guests have not seen the horror of 68 pounds of flowering bullets and incendiary bombs.

"You are right. The Esmedala is my ship, and I am a soldier. My ship is like my sword. I am willing to hear you call it a warship." The Count said proudly: "My warship must be able to quickly snatch wind and chase the pirate ships of Malay pirates; it must have a shallow draft to facilitate deep access to the robber's nests covered with dark beaches and rescue Christians who have been plundered as slaves. No local ship is my choice, so I ordered the Esmedada in the dock in Hong Kong. Another local factory made mining machines for me. I designed a flexibly rotating gun mount and ordered them to make it. As for the cannons, I ordered them in the casting ground of Mr. Bocaro, Macau. All these costs are from my personal income."

"Hong Kong. Are you talking about the island off the coast of Guangzhou that is now in the hands of those Australians?"

"It is precisely that the Australians have built good shipyards and gun casting factories on the island. They are very good at making machinery, and the cannons are particularly good - but unfortunately they will not sell them no matter how much they pay."

"You have a very close relationship with Australians!" said the tax officer maliciously.

"Of course," Lando proudly touched his beard, "A lord like me, a loyal servant of God, will be welcome wherever he goes, not to mention that Australians are a group of material worshipers!"

As he said that, he patted the velvet wallet around his waist, and a crisp jingle sounded inside. A burst of laughter immediately sounded on the deck.

Lando continued: "The Jesuit priests in Macau have proposed to initiate a fundraising for the construction of this ship, so that they can patrol and catch pirates outside Macau. I hope that the gentlemen of Manila can raise this money - if they can be raised, only two or three Esmedara will form a small fleet and hand it over to me to lead. The fierce and cunning Moro rowing team will be completely destroyed, and the pagan gangsters who invaded Cebu and Visayas will have to surrender. By then, the glory of God and the glory of His Majesty will be reflected from Malacca to the entire Eastern Islands of Maluku."

Dombario looked at the count with a half-shocked and half-suspected expression. The patrol captain held his sword tightly excitedly, "Ah, the Moqiuli is also a well-equipped ship, but Mr. Sanavria's mind would never have the noble and great idea of ​​you."

"What this noble gentleman refers to," said the Count to the Hall of Basilio, "It must be your best friend's hall? His Excellency Sanavria's palace at sea?" He turned back and continued to listen to the patrol captain, throwing the tax officer with awkward expression on the back of his head.

"... In the colonial fleet of the Royal Family of East India, there was no faster and more gorgeous three-masted sailboat than it. Mr. Sanavria spent a lot of money to hire the first-class shipbuilder of Goa, Diyago Louis, to build it himself. Its rigging and sails are also the best. It can walk two to two and a half rigs in one hour..."

"But a larger crosswind can overturn it." The wig-wearing captain suddenly interrupted. The Spanish tone he spoke was quite strange, but he could understand it. "Carved beams and walls on the side of the ship, and erecting scary statues such as Apollo, Minerva, Nepton, etc. will only increase useless weight, reduce speed, and make the sailing more unstable."

"Wow, Mario, my good captain," said the Earl: "You have seen the court? The Marine Express of His Excellency Sanafria? For the sake of the merciful Virgin, you did not offend his ship, do you?"

"Your Excellency, we entered the bay, and as soon as we drove past the side of Mayu and the Nun, the three-masted ship followed." Captain Mario touched the wig on his head from time to time, as if he was afraid that it would be blown off by the wind. "I am sure it is the ship you mentioned, with the bow and stern full of gilded statues, like those Chinese women showing off their wealth, with their hair full of golden jewelry, but they couldn't even walk steadily. Its captain might regard us as pirates, and raised sails and chased them desperately."

"What did you do?"

"I ordered a circle around the three-masted ship so that the captain with no eyeballs could recognize your flag. It still tried to catch up with us, even the aileron sails hung out, and of course it was thrown away. How could the buffalo run over the horse?"

"Okay, look at you, and scare the guests. Dear Mario, Lord Sanafria, if you hear your treasure ship described by you, you will probably use Jupiter's weapons to smash you and me into pieces." The Count walked to the open hatch at the back of the deck before stopping. He untied a heavy silk pocket from his waist and patted it, sending out a crisp and pleasant sound of gold coins: "Hisser Tax Officer, I guarantee to you in my reputation that this 180-ton boat is not loaded with any cargo to be sold in Manila. But I am still ready to comply with the decree of the Governor and pay a parking tax of 12 silver pesos per ton. You and your colleagues can inspect every cabin and every corner to check if there is any falsehood in my words."

Dom Basilio was extremely embarrassed, and his hat was almost crushed in his hands. He could only bow his head and bow his waist, praise the Count's virtue of forgiveness, repeatedly expressing his apology and repeatedly claiming that the Count's private yacht, Esmelada, was anchored in Manila without inspection, nor did he need to pay all taxes and fees on merchant ships.
Chapter completed!