From a heart, Zhu Yicheng didn't want to cease the battle, but now he has not yet achieved combat power. If he now has a fleet of new warships, then he would undoubtedly directly drive his troops south to destroy the Portuguese fleet, and then directly take back Macau's territory that was deceived by the Portuguese.

But for the sake of Guangdong's strategy, a ceasefire is the best choice. However, neither Zhu Yicheng nor the Ming Dynasty could actively request a ceasefire. This was related to the prestige and morale of the Ming Dynasty. After winning the battle, he requested a ceasefire. If he said this, he would be ridiculed by the people of the world. As an emperor who repeated the Ming Dynasty and had extremely high prestige, Zhu Yicheng could not let his imperial career suffer such an unlucky experience.

But from a political perspective, a ceasefire is the way to ensure that one's best interests are. Therefore, Zhu Yicheng felt a little embarrassed. Although from his intuition, from the perspective of Western thinking and ensuring Macau's interests, the Portuguese are very likely to accept the ceasefire and even take the initiative to make a ceasefire demand to himself. Unfortunately, Zhu Yicheng was unable to determine whether the Portuguese would really do this, or when the Portuguese would contact the Ming Dynasty to make this request.

"What the emperor is concerned about is that the red-haired ghost has always been a person who bullies the power and is afraid of the strong. If I guessed well, Macau may have the idea of ​​a truce, but this matter can only be brought up by the red-haired ghost. I, the Ming Dynasty, cannot take the initiative to propose it. If I lose my dignity, it will also make the red-haired ghost feel that I am weak and can be bullied, and thus there will be endless troubles." Wu Sidao agreed with Zhu Yicheng's view, but not taking the initiative to mention it does not mean that I do not contact the other party, especially under the premise of ensuring the Guangdong strategy, this matter must be resolved.

"Sir, how do you do it appropriately?"

"If the emperor is worried, let me deal with this matter. The emperor just thinks it is not known." Wu Sidao understood Zhu Yicheng's thoughts and immediately replied with a smile.

Zhu Yicheng was immediately overjoyed: "I am certain that if you have a sir to deal with this matter, I'll ask you sir."

Just when Zhu Yicheng and Wu Sidao were discussing this matter, in Macau far southeast, Macau Governor Jia Shidu and the fleet's highest commander General Andrad were at a loss in the study of the Governor's Mansion.

In the Battle of the South China Sea, the powerful Portuguese fleet was defeated and suffered heavy losses, which made Jia Shidu, who was confident before the war, thundering after receiving the news of the results, and could not speak for a long time.

There were two second-class battleships, five third-class battleships, and seventeen armed merchant ships. Such a huge loss was enough to hurt Portugal, and seven battleships. If His Majesty the King knew that the Imperial Fleet had lost seven battleships in the Far East, I am afraid that he, the governor, would not only do the best, but would even be taken back to Europe for trial.

As commander General Andrade failed in this battle, thus seizing his military post and escorting him back to Portugal to the military trial table. They not only had to bear the anger of His Majesty the King, but also had to bear the consequences of this battle. Now the Portuguese fleet has lost the courage to continue fighting with the Ming Navy. Due to the defeat, the private agreement with the Qing army could not be fulfilled, which made it difficult for the two to get on the brink of their own.

In addition, the losses of the seventeen armed merchant ships have caused the Portuguese merchants in Macau to attack them. The Macau Council had strongly opposed intervening in the war before the war, but it was only after the pressure of Governor Jasdu and General Andrade that he barely passed the war order.

Macau is different from the New World and other colonies. Macau's situation is quite special. Since the Portuguese pretended to be pitiful in the hands of the Ming Dynasty, it finally "defrauded" Macau's right of residence, but Macau's governance was jointly governed by the Ming Dynasty local government and the Portuguese. In addition, Macau is a developed commercial city. The initial Portuguese were all merchants. For business considerations, Macau's councils were basically composed of merchants who were permanently stationed in Macau. What they made with the Ming Dynasty was only cooperation, and in many cases, the decision-making was biased towards the Ming Dynasty to obtain the other party's support for Portuguese merchants in business.

The Qing Dynasty entered the pass and defeated Nanming and took over the rights of Nanming in Macau. Therefore, the political system of Macau has not been much different from the initial one. Therefore, the rights of the governor of Macau did not take overall military and political control from the beginning like other colonies, and most of the rights were in the hands of the council.

The upper class of the Portuguese Empire was extremely dissatisfied with this, especially after Joao V ascended the throne, the rule of Macau began to be adjusted. Seven or eight years ago, under the instruction of Joao V, the authority of the Macau Council began to be gradually reduced, attempting to give all the rights to the governor sent by the king, so that the city of Macau would be transformed from a commercial co-organized parliamentary system to a real colonial system.

As a confidant of Joao V, Jasdu was sent to the Far East as the governor of Macau, and at the same time, General Andrade led a powerful fleet to accompany him. His real intention was to send a voice to the Macau Council that Macau must be directly ruled by the empire.

The Macao Council of Commerce is not foolish. In this form, the so-called arm cannot twist its thighs. Facing the king's appointed governor and the Portuguese fleet, they were dissatisfied but could not resist. This is why Jia Shidu was able to provoke this war.

Furthermore, as the governor, Jia Shidu did not rely on force to act recklessly. He privately promised many conditions to the Council, especially informing the main figures of the Council of Parliament on the content of the agreement between Portugal and the Qing court, promising that Macau would gain great benefits after this war, and he would give these benefits to the merchants in Macau, so that these merchants could gain unprecedented gains in this war.

But now all this has fallen into vain. The defeat of the Portuguese fleet has not only failed to benefit the merchants on the council, but have lost seventeen armed merchant ships and a large number of sailors in this naval battle. Some merchants who fought with them have even been buried in the sea. Such losses are difficult for merchants to accept.

In addition, the war offended the emerging Ming Dynasty, which made these merchants even more frightened, fearing that the Ming Dynasty would attack Macau again after conquering Guangdong. With the small land of Macau without the military advantage of the Portuguese fleet, how can they compete with the other side?
Chapter completed!