sjar Chapter 560 Sweet potato fairy seeds!
Chapter 560 Sweet potato fairy seeds!
Li Che personally helped the old king onto the elephant carriage. The latter trembled but did not dare to resist.
Watching the curtain of the sedan chair fall, Li Che suddenly pressed the sedan chair pole and said, "Your Excellency, do you know why all the Fengguo Navy is anchored here?"
Without waiting for an answer, he pulled out a scroll of sea chart from his sleeve. "From here to the many islands in the South Seas, the waterways previously controlled by the Portuguese are now protected by the Fengguo Navy!"
Sulu's pupils suddenly contracted.
On the nautical chart, the black Fengtian flag representing the Fengtian fleet was planted all over the South China Sea islands, and Luzon was circled in cinnabar in the center, like a betel nut that was almost ripe.
"Be careful on your way back to the palace." Li Che patted the elephant chariot. "Don't worry, sir. As long as you cooperate, I guarantee you'll have a more comfortable life than when the Portuguese were here."
"Yes, yes, yes." Sulu replied quickly.
Watching the guards turn the corner, Li Che put away the faint smile on his face.
There was a sound of footsteps nearby. Fu Liang had come to Li Che's side without him noticing, a look of worry on his face. "Your Highness...are you being too lenient towards these people?"
Li Che looked at him: "What do you mean?"
"When Your Majesty led us to expel the foreign tribes, whenever we encountered a place of resistance, we would not only massacre the entire city for three days, but at least kill all the leaders. Only in this way could we deter them from resisting again."
"Your Majesty often says that those who are not of our race must have different hearts. We don't know the character of the people of Luzon. If we don't let them clearly see the blood, I am afraid that they will rebel again after the army leaves."
Li Che smiled and shook his head: "Fear is not the only source of loyalty. Besides, who said that this is the limit of my beating?"
Fu Liang was surprised and asked, "What does Your Highness mean?"
"To rule a country, it's not about controlling their monarch, but conquering their people. The Portuguese are stupid and are using the wrong method. What can a cowardly puppet king do?"
"The Chinese way of governing the people lies in education. From today onwards, within ten miles of the Royal City of Luzon, Sulu will remain the ruler of Luzon. Beyond that, the people should speak Qing language, read Confucian classics, and believe in the deity Mazu."
Li Che looked at Fu Liang and said softly, "Within ten years, the people here will be celebrating!"
Hearing this, Fu Liang's face couldn't stop twitching.
Although what Li Che said was a bit profound and he could not fully understand it, he had a feeling that what Li Che did seemed even more horrible than a massacre.
One is to destroy Luzon from a physical level, and the other is to destroy Luzon from a spiritual level.
"General Fu, are you willing to be the governor of Luzon?" Li Che suddenly asked again.
"Ah, me?" Fu Liang was even more surprised.
"That's right. After I return to Feng Kingdom, I will definitely leave a general here to guard it. After much consideration, you are the most suitable one."
Fu Liang showed hesitation on his face. After struggling for a long time, he gritted his teeth and spat out a few words: "I don't want to!"
This time it was Li Che's turn to be surprised.
Fu Liang didn't let Li Che wait any longer and continued, "I know my own character. Although Your Majesty has many flaws from his wartime days, like post-war plundering and indulging in extravagance and debauchery, I understand."
"Your Highness is so interested in Luzon that I will only ruin your plans if I stay here. Please choose another wise man."
Li Che looked at Fu Liang in surprise, then burst into laughter: "You, you really missed the opportunity!"
Fu Liang lowered his head and smiled apologetically. He had indeed missed a great opportunity, but it had broadened his path forward.
As long as you follow Prince Feng wholeheartedly, what does a mere admiral of Luzon matter?
Prince Feng will sooner or later rule the world, and I, Fu Liang, will be his loyal minister!
By then, I would be a loyal minister for two generations, and wouldn't what I get be much more than this small broken island?
. . . . . .
The next day.
"Your Highness, this is the 'Devil's Field' that the Portuguese strictly forbid the natives from approaching." Ying Bu cut off a section of vine, and milky white juice dripped down the iron blade. "The Portuguese soldiers are guarding it with muskets, and not even a leaf is allowed to be taken out."
Li Che squatted down and dug up the soil. When his fingertips touched the rough skin of the tuber, his pupils contracted slightly.
The dark red spindle-shaped fruit rolled out covered in wet mud, about the size of an adult man's fist.
He suddenly remembered the children he saw on the official road littered with starving people when he left the border last year. Their arms were not even as thick as these sweet potatoes.
"Get some fire!"
While Ying Bu was stunned, Hu Qiang had already pulled down the dead vines and lit the fire with extremely skillful movements.
Li Che casually threw the sweet potato into the embers, and the aroma of burnt potatoes mixed with the smell of the sea spread.
Hu Qiang squatted beside the fire, stared at the sweet potatoes in the fire, and swallowed his saliva.
Several Luzon native servants suddenly knelt down and kowtowed, muttering something, with fear in their eyes.
The interpreter whispered, "They say it's the heart of a mountain ghost. Portuguese priests once punished those who stole it with thunder and fire."
Li Che glanced at the group of natives and said nothing.
The sweet potatoes in the charcoal fire gradually turned golden. Li Che used a wooden stick to dig out the sweet potatoes and put them aside.
After the sweet potatoes cooled down a little, he broke open the hot flesh and pulled out the sugary juice into shiny threads.
Li Che handed half of the sweet potato to Hu Qiang, and the other half to the trembling native boy beside him.
Hu Qiang took the sweet potato and hesitated for a moment, then broke it in half again and handed one half to Li Che.
Li Che smiled slightly, lowered his head and took a bite.
Soft, sticky, sweet...it's exactly the taste in my memory.
Seeing Li Che eat the sweet potato, the surrounding serfs let out suppressed exclamations.
As for the sweet potato in Hu Qiang's hand, he had already swallowed it in one gulp, and probably didn't even taste it.
Hu Qiang touched his head, looked at the sweet potato in Li Che's hand, shook his head, and then stared at the native boy who was holding the sweet potato in a daze.
The aboriginal boy gritted his teeth, made up his mind, closed his eyes tightly and took a small bite, then froze in place.
Devil's Field? The heart of a mountain ghost?
It's just a clumsy lie of despicable colonizers!
Li Che didn't know if there were any immortal seeds in the world. If there was nothing that could make one become an immortal instantly after eating it, sweet potatoes were definitely worthy of the word "immortal seeds"!
Li Che took the coconut milk handed to him by his personal guard and swallowed the sweet potato with the coconut milk. The sweet taste suppressed the dryness in his throat.
He suddenly raised his voice and glanced at the natives in the distance:
"An agricultural college will be built here in half a month. Anyone who can cultivate ten acres of potato fields will be rewarded with a house and three iron plows!"
While the natives were stunned, Li Che said:
"I will leave you 20% of the sweet potatoes here. Don't underestimate this 20%. It means you won't have to endure hunger anymore!"