Chapter 1650
Treasure of the Church
Chapter 1650 Treasure of the Church
From Ran Tianlu's point of view, what Father Blanco said is quite credible. After all, those high-ranking Spanish officials in the city also come to the church to make confessions on weekdays, and they will more or less reveal some military information and real thoughts to the priest.The battle situation of the Manila defenders has become more and more tense in recent days, and refugees from the south continue to flee to and from the city. These conditions will definitely increase the psychological pressure on local civil and military officials.
But compared to the outside of the city, it is of course that the city with the protection of the city walls and artillery is more secure. Although this place will soon become the target of the Haihan army, most people in the city will still be lucky. , counting on the city defense measures to stop the invaders here.
Father Blanco is obviously not too optimistic about the local defenders being able to repel the Haihan army's next offensive. In order to prevent these precious religious artifacts and documents from being destroyed in the war, he came up with such a solution that surprised Ran Tianlu. plan.
Ran Tianlu couldn't help but said: "Father, why don't you leave the city earlier to avoid this war. You have a special status, I believe the Haihan people will not make things difficult for you."
Father Blanc shook his head and replied: "I can't leave here. The army must protect this city, and I must protect my faith. The believers in the city need me, especially when we encounter disasters, I must Let them know that the Lord is always protecting us."
Although the camps to which the two parties belonged were hostile, Ran Tianlu was still deeply moved by the calmness and firmness of faith shown by Father Blanco in the face of the war.After all, not everyone can keep calm when the war comes, let alone give up their personal safety to help others, at least Ran Tianlu can hardly persuade himself to do something like this.
"If you have a chance, report the situation to your superiors and try to save your life after the city is destroyed." Ran Tianlu said secretly in his heart.It is rare to have such a Spaniard who can make him look at him differently, and he doesn't want to see the other party lose his life in the chaos of war.
Ran Tianlu and Father Blanco agreed on the evening's handover, and then they left the city and returned to the store, asking his subordinates to free up two warehouses to store items that would be shipped from the church later.Chaosheng Commercial Warehouse occupies a large area, and there are more than 30 rooms in the warehouse alone, so it is not a problem to make a little space.
After nightfall, Ran Tianlu went to wait at the gate of the city. Not long after, three carriages drove out of the city, and the first carriage sat Father Blanco wearing a black cloak.Ran Tianlu noticed that the guards of this convoy were not the clergy of the church, but Spanish soldiers with live ammunition. It seemed that the priest had also used his connections to buy insurance, and specially asked the Spanish army guarding the city to help the church escort these items.
However, Ran Tianlu was not too surprised by this. After all, Father Blanco also said that the items to be transported out of the city this time were church property, which must be of great value. Responsible for escort is the most assured.As for these things after entering the Chaosheng store, Ran Tianlu was not too worried about safety issues. The store itself was equipped with more than [-] armed security guards belonging to the "Golden Shield Escort". These people were all trained professionals. Not only is he skilled, but he can also use Haihan's special pistol when necessary, which is enough to calm the scene.
Of course, the identities of these people are also registered as Ming people. To the outside world, these people are just ordinary housekeepers, and only Ran Tianlu knows their true identities.
When the convoy was approaching the store, Ran Tianlu had already ordered someone to open the gate of the store in advance, so that these carriages could drive directly into the yard, so as not to stop on the street outside and attract attention.
After the car stopped, Ran Tianlu planned to order someone to go forward to unload the goods, but the priest rejected his arrangement, and asked the accompanying Spaniards to complete the strenuous work.
"These are important items of the church and should not be easily touched by pagans," the priest explained.
This explanation makes sense, Ran Tianlu has been in the Spanish church in the city for so long, of course he also knows that there are all kinds of weird rules in the church.Although priests used to say slogans such as "God loves the world and saves all living beings", the Western colonists did not have any kindness when dealing with heretics.Ran Tianlu is the only believer here at Chaosheng Commercial Inn, and it is a reasonable reaction for the priest not to trust other people.
But without the help of the laborers in the store, the speed of unloading the three trucks of goods to the warehouse was very slow.Ran Tianlu noticed that the boxes lifted from the car were extremely heavy, and it took four men to lift them off the car, and they had to rely on the small cart provided by the store to transport them away smoothly. It took almost two hours for more than 30 boxes of goods to be transported into the warehouse prepared by Ran Tianlu in advance, and then affixed a seal with Father Blanco's personal seal one by one.
After counting the boxes in the warehouse, Father Blanco retreated from the crowd and waited, and then said to Ran Tianlu: "Ran, after the war is over, if the Haihan people are repelled, the property stored here can be left for you." box, as your reward. Of course, if we fail, then there is no more nonsense."
Ran Tianlu said: "It's agreed to do things for the church, how can I get paid, I don't think it's necessary."
Father Blanco said: "If you do things for the church, the church will naturally not treat you badly. Just remember, before the battle is settled, don't open these boxes in advance, so as not to cause disaster."
After Father Blanco and his party left, Ran Tianlu went back to the warehouse where these boxes were stored and looked them over again and again. Although Father Blanco told him not to open the boxes in advance, Ran Tianlu had his own way.He asked someone to push the platform scale over, and lifted several boxes to be weighed on the scale.Sure enough, these boxes were extremely heavy. Father Blanc took a lot of time and effort to transport these boxes out of the city. It was impossible for them to contain bricks and stones, so there seemed to be only one possibility left.
"So the Manila church is so rich?" Ran Tianlu squatted beside the box, scratching his head while thinking.This box is mostly filled with valuables such as gold bricks and silver coins, so it has such a weight, and its value is worth the trip of Father Blanco's trip out of the city.
But in this way, if these more than 30 boxes are all gold and silver, the total value is quite an astonishing amount.Father Blanco boldly transported these things to the outskirts of the city and put them in the hands of Ran Tianlu, this courage is also powerful enough.Ran Tianlu thought, is he really sure that my place is the safest place?What do you mean by giving me a box as a reward, are you not afraid that I will swallow this batch of goods if I get greedy?
But after Ran Tianlu thought about it, it was not groundless for Father Blanco to do so. Even if he knew what was in the box at this time, he could not transport it to other places according to the normal situation.After all, the periphery is the control area of the Haihan Army, and transporting so many valuable things out is tantamount to throwing oneself into a trap.
Of course, this was because Father Blanco did not know Ran Tianlu's real identity, and thought that his relationship with Haihan was limited to normal trade.And Father Blanco thought that the Haihan army would not embarrass trading partners who were clearly merchants, and it was very likely that they would not thoroughly check the goods stored in Chaosheng's warehouse, so there was such a bold operation.There is another factor that cannot be ignored, which is naturally Ran Tianlu's disguised Christian identity, if not for this, he would not have been able to get Father Blanco's approval.
Should this be reported to the higher authorities?Ran Tianlu didn't hesitate at all about this, the army will soon be approaching the city, and the military will definitely come to him at that time, and most of the Chaosheng store will be directly requisitioned as a military warehouse.The most important thing is that the destruction of the city is almost inevitable, and it is unlikely that these goods will be returned to the church. Ran Tianlu has no guts to swallow these goods for himself—God knows if there are other people in this Chaosheng warehouse who have the same experience as himself. double identity.
Ran Tianlu is from the Ministry of Security, but this does not mean that the Ministry of Security is the only agency where Haihan puts intelligence personnel here.The Military Intelligence Department under the Ministry of National Defense is also a very powerful intelligence agency, but its focus is different from that of the Ministry of Security.Naturally, the Military Intelligence Department is mainly concerned with military intelligence, and the information collected by the Ministry of Security from other countries is not limited to the military field. Political, economic, cultural and other aspects are also the objects of the Ministry of Security's intelligence work.
In a place like Chaosheng Commercial Store, Haihan has invested a lot of money and resources. Dozens of people work and live here. If such a large organization is only used to support and protect Ran Tianlu If there is only one person, he himself does not believe in such an arrangement.Therefore, he has always tacitly assumed that there are other Haihan intelligence personnel in the store, and it is very likely that there are more than one person--I heard that the Military Intelligence Department has always operated in groups of two or three, and depending on the purpose of the operation, there may even be more people Configuration.
The Spaniards secretly transported a batch of goods at night, but they couldn't hide it from their own eyes. In fact, Ran Tianlu had no desire to steal it for himself.Although money is attractive, life and one's own future are undoubtedly more important.
"Bring all the boxes back to the warehouse and put them away. Seal the doors and windows of these two warehouses, and no one else is allowed to approach them." After Ran Tianlu wanted to understand the stakes, he decisively issued an order.He can restrain himself, but he can't guarantee that everyone in the store can restrain their desires, so before the Haihan army arrives here, he must ensure that there are no problems with these things.Ran Tianlu had a hunch that if the follow-up was handled properly, this might be another great contribution to him.
While Ran Tianlu was dealing with a batch of mysterious goods sent by a Spanish priest in the name of the church, the interrogation of the captives by the Haihan military at the port of Cavite had also come to an end.
A total of 34 officers of all ranks from the Manila Fleet below Juan were captured, and the information obtained through interrogation basically tended to be the same. Spain no longer had any other established maritime armed forces in the local area, and the defensive measures of the defenders were only The fortifications of Manila city on land.As for the strength of the defenders, it is basically consistent with the information collected before the war. The city is dominated by Spanish armed personnel, while the outside of the city is mainly local armed forces surrendered to Spain.
At this time, the total strength of the defenders no longer has much advantage. Haihan mobilized more than [-] combatants for this expedition, and about three-quarters of them were the army. In terms of the combat effectiveness of the Spanish defenders, Facing this expeditionary force composed of various elite units of the Haihan Army, it may be difficult to have a chance to stand up again.
The interrogation of Juan is the top priority of all interrogation work, but it is indeed very difficult to persuade a general of his level to give up his inherent position.Even though Simao tried his best to persuade him to accept the conditions offered by the Haihan people.
But in fact, most of the military situation that Haihan wants to know has already collected enough information through other channels. The reason why he wants to win Juan is to use his identity to persuade the defenders in Manila to surrender as soon as possible. It is possible to avoid war as a final solution.It’s just that this idea still hit a snag with Juan after all. The stubborn Spaniards didn’t want to betray their country and beliefs, and they didn’t believe that the alliance formed by Haihan and Portugal could keep their promises and let the Spaniards who were willing to surrender leave Manila.
"Well, we have already tried to solve the Manila issue in a peaceful way. Since it doesn't work, let's prepare for war." Yan Chujie finally had nothing to do with Juan, and could only choose the original plan and start a war against the city of Manila.
As for Juan and the hundreds of people under him, they have to be detained in Cavite Port for a period of time for the time being, and they will not be transported away until Haihan frees up enough capacity after the war.Of course, these Spaniards will not all be assigned to the same place for hard labor. Haihan’s iron mine in Hainan Island, the coal mine in Heitugang, the tin mine in Bangka Belitung Island, the gold mine in Jinguashih in Taipei, and even the distant The copper mines in Fushan County, Dengzhou, Shandong, and the state-owned plantations scattered throughout the Haihan border may become their final destination.Except for a very few of them who were very cooperative during the interrogation stage, most of them will spend the rest of their lives in hard labor.
However, for Juan and other officers, they still have a chance to escape. Before attacking Manila City, Haihan will submit a list of captured persons to the defenders. If the Manila authorities in the city are willing to pay a ransom in exchange for their Freedom, then Haihan will let them go.Of course, the military's calculations are also very clear. This group of people are all navy, and they can be used as ordinary infantry at most when they return to the city. Anyway, after the city is broken, these people can be captured again. Then hit the Spaniard for a ransom fee.
On January [-], the main force of the Haihan Army completed its assembly in Pasay Town and marched north to Manila.
(End of this chapter)
From Ran Tianlu's point of view, what Father Blanco said is quite credible. After all, those high-ranking Spanish officials in the city also come to the church to make confessions on weekdays, and they will more or less reveal some military information and real thoughts to the priest.The battle situation of the Manila defenders has become more and more tense in recent days, and refugees from the south continue to flee to and from the city. These conditions will definitely increase the psychological pressure on local civil and military officials.
But compared to the outside of the city, it is of course that the city with the protection of the city walls and artillery is more secure. Although this place will soon become the target of the Haihan army, most people in the city will still be lucky. , counting on the city defense measures to stop the invaders here.
Father Blanco is obviously not too optimistic about the local defenders being able to repel the Haihan army's next offensive. In order to prevent these precious religious artifacts and documents from being destroyed in the war, he came up with such a solution that surprised Ran Tianlu. plan.
Ran Tianlu couldn't help but said: "Father, why don't you leave the city earlier to avoid this war. You have a special status, I believe the Haihan people will not make things difficult for you."
Father Blanc shook his head and replied: "I can't leave here. The army must protect this city, and I must protect my faith. The believers in the city need me, especially when we encounter disasters, I must Let them know that the Lord is always protecting us."
Although the camps to which the two parties belonged were hostile, Ran Tianlu was still deeply moved by the calmness and firmness of faith shown by Father Blanco in the face of the war.After all, not everyone can keep calm when the war comes, let alone give up their personal safety to help others, at least Ran Tianlu can hardly persuade himself to do something like this.
"If you have a chance, report the situation to your superiors and try to save your life after the city is destroyed." Ran Tianlu said secretly in his heart.It is rare to have such a Spaniard who can make him look at him differently, and he doesn't want to see the other party lose his life in the chaos of war.
Ran Tianlu and Father Blanco agreed on the evening's handover, and then they left the city and returned to the store, asking his subordinates to free up two warehouses to store items that would be shipped from the church later.Chaosheng Commercial Warehouse occupies a large area, and there are more than 30 rooms in the warehouse alone, so it is not a problem to make a little space.
After nightfall, Ran Tianlu went to wait at the gate of the city. Not long after, three carriages drove out of the city, and the first carriage sat Father Blanco wearing a black cloak.Ran Tianlu noticed that the guards of this convoy were not the clergy of the church, but Spanish soldiers with live ammunition. It seemed that the priest had also used his connections to buy insurance, and specially asked the Spanish army guarding the city to help the church escort these items.
However, Ran Tianlu was not too surprised by this. After all, Father Blanco also said that the items to be transported out of the city this time were church property, which must be of great value. Responsible for escort is the most assured.As for these things after entering the Chaosheng store, Ran Tianlu was not too worried about safety issues. The store itself was equipped with more than [-] armed security guards belonging to the "Golden Shield Escort". These people were all trained professionals. Not only is he skilled, but he can also use Haihan's special pistol when necessary, which is enough to calm the scene.
Of course, the identities of these people are also registered as Ming people. To the outside world, these people are just ordinary housekeepers, and only Ran Tianlu knows their true identities.
When the convoy was approaching the store, Ran Tianlu had already ordered someone to open the gate of the store in advance, so that these carriages could drive directly into the yard, so as not to stop on the street outside and attract attention.
After the car stopped, Ran Tianlu planned to order someone to go forward to unload the goods, but the priest rejected his arrangement, and asked the accompanying Spaniards to complete the strenuous work.
"These are important items of the church and should not be easily touched by pagans," the priest explained.
This explanation makes sense, Ran Tianlu has been in the Spanish church in the city for so long, of course he also knows that there are all kinds of weird rules in the church.Although priests used to say slogans such as "God loves the world and saves all living beings", the Western colonists did not have any kindness when dealing with heretics.Ran Tianlu is the only believer here at Chaosheng Commercial Inn, and it is a reasonable reaction for the priest not to trust other people.
But without the help of the laborers in the store, the speed of unloading the three trucks of goods to the warehouse was very slow.Ran Tianlu noticed that the boxes lifted from the car were extremely heavy, and it took four men to lift them off the car, and they had to rely on the small cart provided by the store to transport them away smoothly. It took almost two hours for more than 30 boxes of goods to be transported into the warehouse prepared by Ran Tianlu in advance, and then affixed a seal with Father Blanco's personal seal one by one.
After counting the boxes in the warehouse, Father Blanco retreated from the crowd and waited, and then said to Ran Tianlu: "Ran, after the war is over, if the Haihan people are repelled, the property stored here can be left for you." box, as your reward. Of course, if we fail, then there is no more nonsense."
Ran Tianlu said: "It's agreed to do things for the church, how can I get paid, I don't think it's necessary."
Father Blanco said: "If you do things for the church, the church will naturally not treat you badly. Just remember, before the battle is settled, don't open these boxes in advance, so as not to cause disaster."
After Father Blanco and his party left, Ran Tianlu went back to the warehouse where these boxes were stored and looked them over again and again. Although Father Blanco told him not to open the boxes in advance, Ran Tianlu had his own way.He asked someone to push the platform scale over, and lifted several boxes to be weighed on the scale.Sure enough, these boxes were extremely heavy. Father Blanc took a lot of time and effort to transport these boxes out of the city. It was impossible for them to contain bricks and stones, so there seemed to be only one possibility left.
"So the Manila church is so rich?" Ran Tianlu squatted beside the box, scratching his head while thinking.This box is mostly filled with valuables such as gold bricks and silver coins, so it has such a weight, and its value is worth the trip of Father Blanco's trip out of the city.
But in this way, if these more than 30 boxes are all gold and silver, the total value is quite an astonishing amount.Father Blanco boldly transported these things to the outskirts of the city and put them in the hands of Ran Tianlu, this courage is also powerful enough.Ran Tianlu thought, is he really sure that my place is the safest place?What do you mean by giving me a box as a reward, are you not afraid that I will swallow this batch of goods if I get greedy?
But after Ran Tianlu thought about it, it was not groundless for Father Blanco to do so. Even if he knew what was in the box at this time, he could not transport it to other places according to the normal situation.After all, the periphery is the control area of the Haihan Army, and transporting so many valuable things out is tantamount to throwing oneself into a trap.
Of course, this was because Father Blanco did not know Ran Tianlu's real identity, and thought that his relationship with Haihan was limited to normal trade.And Father Blanco thought that the Haihan army would not embarrass trading partners who were clearly merchants, and it was very likely that they would not thoroughly check the goods stored in Chaosheng's warehouse, so there was such a bold operation.There is another factor that cannot be ignored, which is naturally Ran Tianlu's disguised Christian identity, if not for this, he would not have been able to get Father Blanco's approval.
Should this be reported to the higher authorities?Ran Tianlu didn't hesitate at all about this, the army will soon be approaching the city, and the military will definitely come to him at that time, and most of the Chaosheng store will be directly requisitioned as a military warehouse.The most important thing is that the destruction of the city is almost inevitable, and it is unlikely that these goods will be returned to the church. Ran Tianlu has no guts to swallow these goods for himself—God knows if there are other people in this Chaosheng warehouse who have the same experience as himself. double identity.
Ran Tianlu is from the Ministry of Security, but this does not mean that the Ministry of Security is the only agency where Haihan puts intelligence personnel here.The Military Intelligence Department under the Ministry of National Defense is also a very powerful intelligence agency, but its focus is different from that of the Ministry of Security.Naturally, the Military Intelligence Department is mainly concerned with military intelligence, and the information collected by the Ministry of Security from other countries is not limited to the military field. Political, economic, cultural and other aspects are also the objects of the Ministry of Security's intelligence work.
In a place like Chaosheng Commercial Store, Haihan has invested a lot of money and resources. Dozens of people work and live here. If such a large organization is only used to support and protect Ran Tianlu If there is only one person, he himself does not believe in such an arrangement.Therefore, he has always tacitly assumed that there are other Haihan intelligence personnel in the store, and it is very likely that there are more than one person--I heard that the Military Intelligence Department has always operated in groups of two or three, and depending on the purpose of the operation, there may even be more people Configuration.
The Spaniards secretly transported a batch of goods at night, but they couldn't hide it from their own eyes. In fact, Ran Tianlu had no desire to steal it for himself.Although money is attractive, life and one's own future are undoubtedly more important.
"Bring all the boxes back to the warehouse and put them away. Seal the doors and windows of these two warehouses, and no one else is allowed to approach them." After Ran Tianlu wanted to understand the stakes, he decisively issued an order.He can restrain himself, but he can't guarantee that everyone in the store can restrain their desires, so before the Haihan army arrives here, he must ensure that there are no problems with these things.Ran Tianlu had a hunch that if the follow-up was handled properly, this might be another great contribution to him.
While Ran Tianlu was dealing with a batch of mysterious goods sent by a Spanish priest in the name of the church, the interrogation of the captives by the Haihan military at the port of Cavite had also come to an end.
A total of 34 officers of all ranks from the Manila Fleet below Juan were captured, and the information obtained through interrogation basically tended to be the same. Spain no longer had any other established maritime armed forces in the local area, and the defensive measures of the defenders were only The fortifications of Manila city on land.As for the strength of the defenders, it is basically consistent with the information collected before the war. The city is dominated by Spanish armed personnel, while the outside of the city is mainly local armed forces surrendered to Spain.
At this time, the total strength of the defenders no longer has much advantage. Haihan mobilized more than [-] combatants for this expedition, and about three-quarters of them were the army. In terms of the combat effectiveness of the Spanish defenders, Facing this expeditionary force composed of various elite units of the Haihan Army, it may be difficult to have a chance to stand up again.
The interrogation of Juan is the top priority of all interrogation work, but it is indeed very difficult to persuade a general of his level to give up his inherent position.Even though Simao tried his best to persuade him to accept the conditions offered by the Haihan people.
But in fact, most of the military situation that Haihan wants to know has already collected enough information through other channels. The reason why he wants to win Juan is to use his identity to persuade the defenders in Manila to surrender as soon as possible. It is possible to avoid war as a final solution.It’s just that this idea still hit a snag with Juan after all. The stubborn Spaniards didn’t want to betray their country and beliefs, and they didn’t believe that the alliance formed by Haihan and Portugal could keep their promises and let the Spaniards who were willing to surrender leave Manila.
"Well, we have already tried to solve the Manila issue in a peaceful way. Since it doesn't work, let's prepare for war." Yan Chujie finally had nothing to do with Juan, and could only choose the original plan and start a war against the city of Manila.
As for Juan and the hundreds of people under him, they have to be detained in Cavite Port for a period of time for the time being, and they will not be transported away until Haihan frees up enough capacity after the war.Of course, these Spaniards will not all be assigned to the same place for hard labor. Haihan’s iron mine in Hainan Island, the coal mine in Heitugang, the tin mine in Bangka Belitung Island, the gold mine in Jinguashih in Taipei, and even the distant The copper mines in Fushan County, Dengzhou, Shandong, and the state-owned plantations scattered throughout the Haihan border may become their final destination.Except for a very few of them who were very cooperative during the interrogation stage, most of them will spend the rest of their lives in hard labor.
However, for Juan and other officers, they still have a chance to escape. Before attacking Manila City, Haihan will submit a list of captured persons to the defenders. If the Manila authorities in the city are willing to pay a ransom in exchange for their Freedom, then Haihan will let them go.Of course, the military's calculations are also very clear. This group of people are all navy, and they can be used as ordinary infantry at most when they return to the city. Anyway, after the city is broken, these people can be captured again. Then hit the Spaniard for a ransom fee.
On January [-], the main force of the Haihan Army completed its assembly in Pasay Town and marched north to Manila.
(End of this chapter)