The Revolt of the Three Feudatories: All-in at the start in Beijing

Chapter 246 The Governor of Iberia of the Great Han Dynasty

"The Revolt of the Three Feudatories: A Bet on Beijing from the Start" is sparking a reading frenzy. Haven't you read it yet?

After hearing Zhang Ying's words, Liu Weiqing did not reply. Instead, he stood up, straightened his clothes, and bowed respectfully towards Beijing with a very serious expression.

"Zhang Ying, you're wrong!"

"His Majesty the Emperor is my uncle. He has never treated me badly. Whether I need troops or money and provisions, he always sends them to me immediately. Without His Majesty, I, Liu Weiqing, am nothing!"

"Therefore, whatever His Majesty is willing to give me, I will accept it without question; whatever His Majesty is unwilling to give, I will not force him to give it, understand?"

After Liu Weiqing finished speaking, he put down his hand, sat down again, and spoke calmly, but every word was like a nail driven into the ground.

"From now on, you will only be in charge of literary matters and the construction of the royal city. You are not allowed to leave Dhaka even for a moment. As for today's matter—let His Majesty decide."

After Liu Weiqing finished speaking, he took a blank memorial from the table, spread it out, picked up a pen, and wrote very quickly. With a flick of his wrist, he completed the entire letter of apology in one go.

After finishing writing, he took out the Indian royal seal from his waist, pressed it onto the sealing wax, then put the memorial aside and looked at Xu Chuang and Yin Huasheng.

"Generals, let's leave it at that. I will personally write a letter of apology to His Majesty and submit it along with your military reports."

After what happened with Zhang Ying, Liu Weiqing had figured it out. Liu Mu was still his uncle after all, and he had no intention of rebelling, so he would definitely not harm him. But people like Zhang Ying were a different story; they were too selfish.

Xu Chuang and Yin Huasheng, still in shock, nodded blankly, then took out military reports from their pockets and handed them over with both hands.

It records everything that happened along the way—the battle situation of the night raid on Nantianmen, the treatment of the Allied prisoners, the reconstruction of Malacca, the sights and sounds of Dhaka, and everything that happened in Anyuan Hall today, as well as the names and achievements of those who made meritorious contributions along the way.

Liu Weiqing took it and placed it next to his own letter of apology. The three documents were stacked together, wrapped in an oilcloth bag, and sealed with sealing wax.

"Someone come here!" he called out.

The Han Chinese captain outside the hall walked in and knelt on one knee.

"Deliver this to the post station. It's an urgent dispatch, 800 li (400 km) per day. Remember, it must be delivered by land!"

The captain took the oilcloth package, saluted again, and turned to leave the main hall. Liu Weiqing stood up and cupped his hands in greeting to Xu Chuang and Yin Huasheng.

"I have matters to discuss with you two tomorrow, so you should go and rest. I am tired!"

……

The next morning, when Xu Chuang and Yin Huasheng entered Anyuan Hall again, there were already two people sitting inside.

One was Liu Weiqing, and the other was a Portuguese man, around ten years old, with brown hair and deep-set eyes.

He was dressed in the blue official robes of the Han Dynasty, with white cranes embroidered on his rank badge. He sat to Liu Weiqing's right, with a cup of tea in front of him. His gesture of serving tea was exactly the same as that of Han officials.

Liu Weiqing stood up. "This is Pereira, the former Governor-General of Goa in Portugal, and now the Governor of Goa appointed by the imperial court, a rank of Western Official."

The Westerner stood up, bowed to Xu Chuang and Yin Huasheng, and spoke fluent Mandarin with a Cantonese accent.

"I am Pereira, and I have long admired the names of both generals."

Xu Chuang and Yin Huasheng returned the greeting, both thinking the same thing—how did the Governor-General of Goa become the Governor of the Great Han?

Liu Weiqing gestured for them to sit down and then spoke first.

"Last month, the King of Portugal's special envoy arrived in Dhaka, bringing with him a personal letter from the King. The King of Portugal has agreed to become a vassal state of the Han Dynasty."

"From then on, the King of Portugal became a vassal of the Han Dynasty for generations. All of Portugal's overseas colonies, including Goa, Macau, Timor, and several trading posts on the east coast of Africa, were transferred to the Han Dynasty. Portugal only retained its homeland and royal territories."

Liu Weiqing pointed at Pereira as he spoke.

"Goa is the first stop. His Majesty has issued an imperial decree to transform the former Goa Governor's Office into the Great Han Goa Governor's Office, and Pereira has been appointed as the Great Han Goa Governor. The Portuguese garrison in Goa Port has been reorganized into the Great Han Goa Navy, under the command of the Nantianmen General Office."

Pereira stood up, took out a document from his pocket, and handed it to Xu Chuang with both hands. It was a handover document in both Chinese and Portuguese, stamped with the wax seal of the Portuguese royal family and the seal of the Ministry of Rites of the Han Dynasty.

Attached to the document was a detailed brochure of Goa port—it listed everything clearly, including how much grain was in the warehouses, how many ships were in the port, and how many soldiers lived in the barracks.

"Goa Port can accommodate sixty large ships, and the grain in the warehouse is enough to feed an army of 30,000 for half a year. The Portuguese soldiers total 2,300, and all of them have been reorganized. Their uniforms have been changed, and their flags have been changed to the sun and moon flag of the Han Dynasty. Now they are just waiting for the general sent by the court to take over."

Xu Chuang flipped through the documents, then looked up at Liu Weiqing. "Have they all been handed over?"

"Everything has been handed over. The Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi has taken over Macau. Timor Island is too far away, so it will be temporarily managed by Metsuiko in Malacca. As for the trading posts on the east coast of Africa, His Majesty said there's no rush. We'll take them over one by one when the next fleet arrives." Liu Weiqing picked up a roll of bright yellow silk from the table and handed it to Yin Huasheng. "General Yin, this is His Majesty's imperial edict to you. It arrived three days ago."

"Yesterday's events were too rushed!"

Yin Huasheng stood up, took it with both hands, and unfolded it.

The imperial edict stated: "Yin Huasheng is hereby appointed Governor-General of Iberia, a second-rank official, stationed in Lisbon. He is responsible for coordinating military and diplomatic affairs between the Han Dynasty and the Kingdom of Portugal, commanding all Han troops and officials in Portugal, and possessing the authority to make arbitrary decisions."

"Furthermore, reinforcements will follow from Sivan, departing from North Korea in western batches, passing through Malacca, Goa, and the Cape of Good Hope, and finally assembling in Lisbon."

"The officials and staff of the Iberian Governor's Office shall be selected by Yin Huasheng himself, and the list shall be submitted to the Ministry of Personnel for record-keeping."

After reading it, Yin Huasheng's eyes welled up with tears. He first closed the imperial edict, then raised his hands above his head, knelt down, and kowtowed, regardless of whether the floor was marble or not.

"Your subject, Yin Huasheng, receives the imperial decree and kowtows in gratitude for Your Majesty's

Xu Chuang nodded upon seeing this. Having fought together for a long time, he naturally knew Yin Huasheng's obsession with restoring his Yin family.

Back then, the highest-ranking official in the Yin family was only the prefect of Yangzhou. Now, he is considered to be at the pinnacle of officialdom, having far surpassed that position.

Although Liu Weiqing was unaware of this, he didn't disturb him. After Yin Huasheng stood up, he said, "Goa is the only way for reinforcements to reach Lisbon. You should stop in Goa for a few days first. Pereira will travel with you and take care of the handover along the way."

Xu Chuang thought for a moment and asked, "After the handover of Goa, what else needs to be done on the Indian side?"

Pereira put down his teacup and replied, "The port of Goa itself has been handed over, but north of Goa, the British East India Company still has a trading post in Surat, and the Dutch East India Company has outposts in Cochi and Ceylon. These three places haven't been touched yet. However, after the Battle of Nantianmen, they've basically wiped out all their large ships around India. Only some merchants and clerks remain in Surat and Cochi, posing no threat."

Liu Weiqing stood up from the throne, walked to the palace entrance, and stood with his back to the morning light inside the palace.

"Those trading posts aren't urgent. Once General Yin has established a firm foothold in Lisbon and reinforcements arrive, we can deal with them one by one. Right now, the most important thing is to open up the shipping route from Goa to Lisbon!"

As Liu Weiqing spoke, he turned around and looked at Yin Huasheng.

"General Yin, you will go to Lisbon to oversee Europe for His Majesty. Once the Western Army arrives, you will be the first governor of the Han Dynasty in the West."

Yin Huasheng stood up and clasped his hands in greeting.

"Your Majesty, I will certainly live up to your high expectations."

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